Kleptomaniac

In Exodus 30:14, children were never asked to give. It was those over the age of 20 who brought freewill offerings to God. Here is how we know freewill offerings are God’s way to give. The word willing in Exodus 35:5 is Strong’s #5081 and it is the Hebrew word “nadiyb” or “nadiv.” Based on the context of the verse, it means giving voluntarily, generously, and promptly. In verse 21, the word willing in Hebrew is “nadab” (Strong’s #5068). It means to volunteer, to present spontaneously. When you look at verse 29, willing is Strong’s #5071- it is the Hebrew word, “ndabah.” It means spontaneous gift. There is no way to interpret the Hebrew text as giving based on percentage. The only method we see implemented in Exodus 35 is freewill giving or grace giving. The whole message of New Covenant grace giving is that it is spirit controlled and not man mandated. There is no law that says giving must start at 10 percent of gross or net income. Grace giving can be anything from zero to one hundred percent. Law giving starts and stops at 10 percent and nothing else is required. However, giving from the heart is limitless and boundless and it’s totally motivated by the spirit of Yahweh upon the human heart. If you give any other way, your giving does not follow New Testament principles. If you think tithing is money and is connected to the New Testament, the first place to check is Matthew 23:23, which I call the Gospel syndrome.

When a pastor teaches on money tithing, the first person they mention is Abram and his tithe. To bolster their tithing position, they connect Abram’s single tithe event to Malachi and then tie up the theological loose ends using Matthew 23:23 to form a plausible impenetrable doctrine. They use eisegesis to string together tithe verses from different books of the Bible to strengthen the tithe argument, while hoping you won’t study to connect the dots and find out their teaching is out of context. In Matthew 23:23 and Luke 11:42, the context Jesus addresses is matters of the law. Since tithing is a matter of the law in Matthew and Luke, there is no principle that can be established for a New Testament money tithe. But the question is, what is the tithe in Matthew and Luke, money or food?