The Antitype of Tithes

*What's the Scriptural Antitype of Tithes?*

INTRODUCTION

Now concerning the Antitype of tithes in the Bible, whereof somebody wrote to me: it is good that I first implore you to follow this piece with a ready mind, looking unto God to guide us through His Spirit and His Word. This is because many who make inquiry with idols in their heart and put the stumbling block of their iniquity before their face are answered according to the multitude of their idols, hence they gain no profit from their inquiry (Ezekiel 14:1-11).

It is the regular pattern of the "pro-tithing" advocates to ask for "the Antitype of tithes " when all the strongholds of their defence have been cast down. It does not matter to them that all the facts of the foregoing discussions show that modern tithing in the churches have no place in the Bible. They are content to take resort to this last bubble of inquiry about the Antitype of tithes. By the grace of God, even this bubble, like all others before it, will always burst when the smallest needle of truth is thrust into its heart.

When I began to make my personal study on tithing, I lit upon the truth I'm about to share in this piece. At the time the Lord of heaven and earth revealed it to me, I had no idea of the concept of type and Antitype. I give Him the glory for this revelation that is hidden from the wise and prudent, but given unto babes! (Matthew 11:25)

Before we go into it, I'll love to show us that it is not every Old Testament practice that we are shown its specific Antitype in the Bible. It's expected that the most important ones should gain recognition. If this is the case, the less important ones, of which the Lord Jesus Christ enlisted the tithes in Matthew 23:23, would normally have little or no mention. No wonder the New Testament writers spent too little time on the subject, unlike modern preachers. The lighter types could be very easily understood for their individual Antitype by every sincerely seeking heart. Whenever there is a real challenge in comprehending it, we fall back on the word of the Lord Jesus Christ in John 5:39, "Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and *they are they which testify of me*"; whereby we affirm that the Lord Jesus Christ is the Antitype of them all. After all, Col 2:17 says that the body of those things, which are a shadow of things to come is of Christ.

As for the issue of tithing, we thank the Lord that we are not left without witnesses as to the Antitype, whereof this piece has been made necessary. Though we do not find it mentioned in the New Testament, the Old Testament itself made the matter very obvious for the discerning mind.

*Jacob's Vow*
*[[Gen 28:20-22/KJV]]* (v 20) And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on, (v 21) So that I come again to my father's house in peace; then shall the LORD be my God: (v 22) And this stone, which I have set for a pillar, shall be God's house: and of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee.

Some think that tithing was a regular practice with Abraham and his descendants, but we have no Bible proof for that. What we have here is a vow by one of his grandchildren to give a tenth of all that God would give him if he was prospered. It was a conditional vow. The tithing would come after the prosperity, not before it as many modern preachers claim. However, we have no record in the Bible that he fulfilled his pledge to God after the blessings. Nevertheless, it was a binding vow that entitled the Lord to a tenth of all he was blessed with. This would surely be demanded from his offsprings through the law that God gave Moses years later.

*The Levites*
*[[Num 3:11-13/KJV]]* (v 11) And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, (v 12) And I, behold, I have taken the Levites from among the children of Israel instead of all the firstborn that openeth the matrix among the children of Israel: therefore the Levites shall be mine; (v 13) Because all the firstborn are mine; for on the day that I smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt I hallowed unto me all the firstborn in Israel, both man and beast: mine shall they be: I am the LORD.

The day the Lord smote the firstborn sons in Egypt, the firstborn sons of Israel were spared though they were also in Egypt that night. The Lord spared them from the minister of death, yet they were supposed to be dead, but for the lamb that was slain for their sakes. Now that they were spared their life was no more their own but His who spared them. We would readily understand the Antitype of this to be the salvation we gain through the death of the Lamb of God. Every firstborn of Israel thenceforth belonged to God by right. But He chose to replace them with the Levites. They thenceforth took the position of the firstborn sons of Israel before the Lord. They had no portion nor inheritance in their nation and among their brethren because the Lord is their inheritance and they were His belonging (Deuteronomy 18:1-2). This tribe of Levi who represented the firstborn sons whose lives were spared in the Passover are a type of the souls that are now being spared from spiritual death unto eternal life. They have no portion with the world because the Lord is their inheritance.

*[[Deu 14:27-29/KJV]]* (v 27) And the Levite that is within thy gates; thou shalt not forsake him; for he hath no part nor inheritance with thee. (v 28) At the end of three years thou shalt bring forth all the tithe of thine increase the same year, and shalt lay it up within thy gates: (v 29) And the Levite, (because he hath no part nor inheritance with thee,) and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, which are within thy gates, shall come, and shall eat and be satisfied; that the LORD thy God may bless thee in all the work of thine hand which thou doest.

*The Object of the Tithes, According to Deuteronomy 14*
*[[Deu 14:23]] KJV* And thou shalt eat before the LORD thy God, in the place which he shall choose to place his name there, the tithe of thy corn, of thy wine, and of thine oil, and the firstlings of thy herds and of thy flocks; *that thou mayest learn to fear the LORD thy God always*.

*[[Deu 14:26]] KJV* And thou shalt bestow that money for whatsoever thy soul lusteth after, for oxen, or for sheep, or for wine, or for strong drink, or for whatsoever thy soul desireth: and thou shalt eat there before the LORD thy God, and *thou shalt rejoice, thou, and thine household*,

*[[Deu 14:29]] KJV* And the Levite, (because he hath no part nor inheritance with thee,) and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, which are within thy gates, shall come, and shall eat and be satisfied; *that the LORD thy God may bless thee in all the work of thine hand which thou doest*.

We see from the above verses the object of tithing. The first, according to Deut 14:23, is to instil the fear of the Lord in the hearts of the sons of Jacob. As they eat the tithes in the temple in the presence of the Lord, they acknowledge that it belonged to the Lord who has permitted them to enjoy it with their household. This is similar to the life we now enjoy in Christ Jesus our Lord, knowing that it is His own, not ours. We live diligently in all holy conversation, reverence and godly fear.

The second object, according to Deut 14:26 is for rejoicing. This is the joy of the Lord in the heart of His consecrated souls.

The third object as in Deut 14:29 is the blessing of the Lord for the faithful. This is what was repeated in Malachi 3:10.

*Purging the Sons of Levi*
*[[Mal 3:1-4/KJV]]* (v 1) Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts. (v 2) But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner's fire, and like fullers' soap: (v 3) And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the LORD an offering in righteousness. (v 4) Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the LORD, as in the days of old, and as in former years.

The prophecy above asserts that the Lord Jesus Christ, when He appears and comes into His own temple, shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver to purify the sons of Levi and purge them as gold and silver, so that they may be able to offer an offering in righteousness unto the Lord, an offering pleasant unto Him as in the days of old and as in former years.

This type of offering would not be possible until the Lord of the temple enters into His own to purge and purify them as a royal priesthood (1Peter 2:5,9) to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. Therefore, till this kind of offering would become possible, the prophet Malachi, in the proceeding verses of the third chapter of the holy book that bears his name, reminded the nation of Israel of their unfaithfulness in the Mosaic covenant of tithes and offering.

Conclusion
The tithes which was a tenth part of the increase of crops and animals produced in the Holy Land was concentrated unto God. The number ten mostly stood for a whole. It shows completeness. The Israelites were bound by law to set it apart as holy unto God. They gave it as support for the Levites whose portion was not with them but with God. As the tenth stood for the whole, so it foreshadowed the offering up of the whole body, soul and spirit to the Lord, which are His (1Cor. 6:20). All these things are a shadow of the offering up of the purified sons of Levi (which now includes the Gentiles, Romans 15:16) in the refiner's fire as an offering, nay, a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, as a reasonable service, an offering in righteousness, pleasant unto the Lord, as in the former years and in the days of old (Romans 12:1; Malachi 3:3-4).

Rom 15:16 ... that the offering up of the Gentiles might be acceptable, being sanctified by the Holy Ghost.