Tithing

A summary of our teaching from Sunday night was essentially this:

The Jews were obligated by the Law to tithe by giving of a tenth of their produce and livestock annually to the Levites, to consume a tenth of their own produce and livestock annually before the Lord at festivals in Jerusalem, and to give a tenth of their produce and livestock every third year to be put in the storehouse for the sojourners, orphans, and widows. On an annual basis, the Law prescribed tithe calculates out to 23.33% of produce and livestock. Here are the passages that prescribes these tithes:

I think that from this we learn the kinds of things God loves for us to give to:

• The Levitical system--drawing attention to his Glory and teaching people about himself.
• The festival tithe--reminding us that he loves to provide for us and wants us to enjoy and be thankful for what he provides.
• The landless--sojourner, orphan, and widow. 

As Christians, we do not have a system like the one prescribed in the Law, but we do give generously to the things that God loves.