Let’s look closely at Abram’s tithe. First, the goods that Abram gave the tenth from didn’t even belong to Abram:
Genesis 14:21 (KJV) - And the king of Sodom said unto Abram, Give me the persons, and take the goods to thyself.
Notice in verse 21 the king of Sodom didn’t ask Abram if he would give back to him the people, but rather said GIVE ME the people and keep the goods for yourself. The way that is worded indicates that the king of Sodom was claiming that the people and the goods belonged to him, but he offered the goods to Abram.
It would normally have been the custom that the victor owns the spoils, but normally the spoils would have belonged to the enemy. In this case, Abram was RECOVERING goods belonging to the King of Sodom.
NOTE: The king of Sodom had an original right both to the persons and to the goods, and it would bear a debate whether Abram’s acquired right by rescue would supersede his title and extinguish it; but, to prevent all quarrels, the king of Sodom makes this fair proposal (v. 21).
--Should the Church Teach Tithing by Dr. Russell Earl Kelly, pages 24-25
Genesis 14:22-24 (KJV)
22And Abram said to the king of Sodom, I have lift up mine hand unto the LORD, the most high God, the possessor of heaven and earth,
23That I will not take from a thread even to a shoelatchet, and that I will not take any thing that is thine, lest thou shouldest say, I have made Abram rich:
24Save only that which the young men have eaten, and the portion of the men which went with me, Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre; let them take their portion.
Notice in verses 23 and 24 Abram also acknowledges that the goods belonged to the king of Sodom. But the king of Sodam offered that Abram could keep the goods for himself. Abram declined the offer. He didn’t want man to take credit for his wealth. By not accepting any of the goods for himself, Abram was putting all his faith in God to provide for him rather than man.
Therefore, it is clear that both the king of Sodom and Abram acknowledged that the spoils of war did NOT belong to Abram, yet he gave a tenth of the spoils to King Melchizedek. This would seem that Abram did something wrong, if not even illegal, but Biblical historians agree that it was custom in Abram's day to give the king a tenth of the war spoils. Had Abram not given the tenth, he would have gone against custom.
Conclusion: Abram did NOT give a tenth of his income, or his wealth. Abram gave a tenth of the spoils of war that didn’t belong to him and declined to keep the goods offered to him. That is NOT an example of tithing for Christians to follow today. By declining to keep any of the goods for himself, Abram showed his faith that God would provide. That is the example of faith that Christians should be following. Furthermore, the law did NOT require a tenth of war spoils to be given, so to say that tithing was before the law and then in the law is not true. What Abram did was NOT even codified into the later law.
Gary......with all due respect to you, I must say that this as is most cases with people who have an agenda, an example of forcing the Bible to say what we want it to say NOT what it actually says.
Your comment was.............
"The way that is worded indicates that the king of Sodom was claiming that the people and the goods belonged to him, but he offered the goods to Abram. It would normally have been the custom that the victor owns the spoils, but normally the spoils would have belonged to the enemy. In this case, Abram was RECOVERING goods belonging to the King of Sodom."
Really, is that what the Bible really says Gary???? BUT that is NOT what the Scriptures do in fact say is it Gary???
As you have correctly stated and I agree with you.....READ THE BIBLE! Lets do that shall we.
Genesis 14:14
"And when there came one that had escaped and told Abram the Hebrew, for he dwelt in the plain of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol, and brother of Aner and these were confederate with Abram."
Verse 13 tells us that Abram had some allies. These allies and their men went also. The allies are referred to the same way that the kings are referred to in verse 11 and earlier. The Bible tells us that 'four kings seized all the goods ...' It wasn't just 4 guys on horseback with robes and crowns. It is talking about their armies. The same is true of the 3 people named in verse 13. There were those three and their armies or the men in their households. This is supported in verse 24. Abram's allies went with him into battle against the 4 kings and Abram wanted to make certain that they got the reward they were due.
Verse 16.....
"And he brought back all the goods and also brought again his brother Lot AND his goods and the women also, and the people."
I do not know of anyone who reads this who can say that Abram brough Lots' goods and there for he did not tithe on what he did not own.......except you. They brought back from the cities they attacked the spoils'goods of the war.
Clearly the Scriptures say that Abram and his friends brought back all the goods AND Lot AND his goods as well.
That is what it says Gary NOT was is indicated at all.
Abram's gift is an excellent example of what Paul wrote about in the New Testament.
2 Cor 9:6-7
"Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give , not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. "
Abram decided on his own how much he wanted to give. YOU should decide for yourself how much you want to give.
According to the Code of Hammurabi of that day, Abram had a perfect right to the spoils of war and he did. He could have given more than 10% but didn't and we can give more than 10% if we so choose to do so.
Gary, therefore reading the Bible we see that Melchizedek blessed Abram in verse 19 as he recognized that Abram's victory was because God had '..delivered your enemies into your hand.' Abram gave Melchizedek a tenth or tithe of everything he got from the 4 kings. The word 'everything' is explained further in the book in Hebrews.
Heb 7:4
" Just think how great he was: Even the patriarch Abraham gave him a tenth of the plunder!" ( NIV)
Abram gave him a tenth of everything he plundered back from the 4 kings that had plundered Sodom and Gomorrah and had taken all the people and Abram's nephew Lot. The tenth or tithe was a portion of what Abram had at the time.
Now that is what the Bible says Gary.........NOT what I want it to say my friend.