Tithes – The First Fruits
Some ask: how often should we tithe? Although the Bible doesn’t give a direct answer to this question, it talks about the principle of the first fruits. God’s children in the Old Testament gave their tithe, after harvesting their first fruits. We read that they collected their first harvest from the ground and tithed it as seen in the following passages:
-“that you shall take some of the first of all the produce of the ground, which you shall bring from your land that the LORD your God is giving you, and put it in a basket and go to the place where the LORD your God chooses to make His name abide” (Deuteronomy 26:2).
-“The first of the firstfruits of your land you shall bring into the house of the LORD your God” (Exodus 23:19; 34:26).
-“When you come into the land, and have planted all kinds of trees for food, then you shall count their fruit as uncircumcised. Three years it shall be as uncircumcised to you. It shall not be eaten. But in the fourth year all its fruit shall be holy, a praise to the LORD. And in the fifth year you may eat its fruit, that it may yield to you its increase: I am the LORD your God” (Leviticus 19:23-25).
Thus, the Lord clearly promised the Levites the first fruits of the land. “All the best of the oil, all the best of the new wine and the grain, their firstfruits which they offer to the LORD, I have given them to you. Whatever first ripe fruit is in their land, which they bring to the LORD, shall be yours…” (Numbers 18:12,13)
In today’s economy, the first fruits mean that we should tithe as soon as we get paid – weekly/bi-weekly/monthly. This enables us to give to the Lord first, before we pay our other expenses. Paying God first makes Him the priority in our lives (Matthew 22:37).
For Bible teaching on tithes see Support of the Ministry.
In His service,
BibleAsk Team
