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Proof No. 1
Here is, so to speak, mathematical proof: If we check
Numbers, chapters 1-3, we will find that
there were approximately 30 to 33 Israelites to one Levite. Now, assume 32
Israelites with an
income of 100 shekels of silver a year each. If each Israelite would give
his tithe of 10 shekels to
the Levite, the Levite's total income would be 320 shekels, of which he would
have to give a tithe
of 32 shekels to the priests, as per Num. 18:26. Each Israelite would be
left with 90 shekels of
silver, while each Levite would have 288 shekels left to him. If we add the
tithe of every third
year, the year of tithing, the balance in favor of the Levite would swing
even further. Imagine now
this going on for fifty years! Most probably the Levites would end up owning
most of the land in
Israel! Then, in the year of Jubilee, they would have to return the lot to
their original owners.
Would this make a sense? Not in the world!
Now imagine, as I concluded from the Scripture, that
Israelites give 10% of their income to the
Levites every third year only. 32 Israelites with an annual income of 100
shekels of silver each,
would earn 300 shekels each in three years. Each one would give 10 shekels
(a tithe of the third
year) to the Levite, and be left with 290 shekels (for three years). The
Levite would receive 320
shekels, of which he would have to give his tithe of 32 shekels to the priests,
and be left with 288
shekels as his after-tithe income over three years - nearly an EXACT amount
with which each
Israelite would be left. THIS does make sense - this is the principle of
equality.
One may conclude that the Levite would be left with less
than the above figures suggest, because
he is to allow the strangers and the poor to partake in the tithes. We must
remember that the other
two years, while the Israelites are using their tithes for the celebration,
they are to invite their local
Levites to the feasts, thus making up for the shortfall.
Proof No. 2
Let's assume for a moment that we really have three tithes:
when we look back to Leviticus 27 we
will find that the tithe from the flock and herd was selected by counting
every tenth animal that
passes under the rod. Assume an Israelite with 1,000 head of sheep as his
increase. If he is to
select the "first" tithe, according to God's commandment he will count every
tenth one that passes
under the rod and take 100 of them aside, and be left with 900 animals only.
Now, how is he
going to select the "second" tithe? If he obeys God's commandment on the
method of selection,
and again selects every tenth one that passes under the rod, he will select
only 90 animals, and this
is not one tenth of his increase, therefore it is not a tithe. It is even
worse with the "third" tithe: he
will take only 81 animals. So, if one is to dig in more than once to take
a tithe from his income, he
will default either on the commandment on the selection of the tithes or
on the very amount: the
tithe will no longer be one tenth, therefore, not a tithe at all.
In conclusion: there is no such thing as the "second"
or the "third" tithe. Those who claim
otherwise are telling nonsense!
There is only one tithe - 10% of the Israelite's income
- which he spends on feasting, fellowship
and celebration with his family two years out of three, and gives it to the
Levites and the poor
every third year. |
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