Question:
Was the tithe of the tithe in Israel given to Aaron paid before or after the distribution of the tithe to the Levites? In modern churches, what would take the place of Aaron?
Answer:
The law of the tithe, due from the individual to God, is, we believe, Biblical, without question. God tests men in time and means. In time, God asks for one-seventh part, and God names the seventh part to be rendered to Him, namely, the seventh day. Man is tested in means by the Lord’s asking of him one-tenth of all his income. He who acknowledges God in time and property, according to God’s directions, will truly acknowledge God in everything. The law on tithing, extending beyond the individual in Israel, was the general law of the tithing system adapted to that people and the conditions under which they labored. The individual paid his tithe to the Levites, and the Levites paid a tithe of the tithe that they received to the priests. The Levites paid their tithe, of course, after receiving it from the people; because the tithe paid by the people was the Levites’ income, they could only pay the tithe of their income once they had received it from the people. The tithe of the tithe of the Levites went to Aaron and after him to the priests.
Now, no later system can adapt itself in every respect to the tithing system of Israel; neither does God ask it. We know of no Scripture law that will demand, for example, that one conference pay the tithe to the General Conference or that any organization pay the tithe to the conference in which that organization is. These things have been adopted as the carrying out of the principle of the tithe, making it equitable and thereby furnishing a simple, easily understood, and easily operated plan to support the Lord’s work. Indeed, it is not out of harmony with the Scripture and is advantageous and methodical. In such a system, the workers will stand in the place of the Levites. The tithe paid by the workers will be parallel to that paid by the Levites, and special things in God’s great general work will take the place of Aaron, the priest. And yet, as previously stated, there is no law demanding this, only the great general principle that underlies the whole tithing system and the need for uniformity and effectiveness in carrying forward God’s work. While some things are not matters of law, they are matters of principle and are expedient in the best sense. So God has left His church to regulate itself in many minor affairs.
