The prophet's dictionary guide to the supernatural

High God in Genesis 14:20. C) Tithing is instinctive, as can be seen from Abraham’s account. It springs from a relational observance hinged upon a true union between the powerful and the powerless. Historically, only those who had experienced triumphant victories and enjoyed prosperous encounters with their god tithed. The custom started out as a return of a percentage of the spoils of war. Tithing began with a military conquest. A victor’s god’s portion of the property or produce obtained as the spoils of the contests were due the god (or king) in ancient times responsible for the triumph. When the tithe was paid to a deity (this can also apply to a king), it was considered a return of what was properly due. The person who fought the battle and won the conflict to take the spoils was seen as an agent of the god sent to retrieve what rightfully belonged to the god in the first place. Reward for their courageous battle was the remaining ninety percent of the spoils. The poor of the land, the slaves, and those who were captives did not tithe because it was a free-will requirement, more of a privilege, and one had to be free to choose to do so. The poor, because they could work for pay, could not tithe. They were taxed—that is, they paid tribute. See Amos 8:4–6. That tribute was a spiritual and civil statement of their being strangers in the land by deportation, or a subject and so a captive. Jehovah altered this tradition drastically when He said to Israel that they, being now the head and not the tail, were all to tithe since their covenant with Him provided means of doing so to everyone. Otherwise, only the prosperous and powerful of the land who had reaped a harvest of victory and prosperity (or who felt they would by covenant prosper) could afford to, or would dare tithe. Tithing was a bold statement to make to a god or a king that sprung from an attitude that the worshipper as a tither belonged to and relied on the god of his or her victory. It signified that the earthly possessions acquired and enjoyed were the benefits of serving their god. Tithing was also a personal responsibility, voluntarily undertaken to assure the perpetuity and prosperity of the god’s dwelling place and its ministers. See Numbers 18:26; Matthew 23:23; Hebrews 7:5–9. The interesting thing about tithing is that the sum of one’s tithe constitutes a genealogical inheritance that assures the wealth of those who commit to it and their heirs after them. 1522. Title—An appellation conferred upon a person or thing to signify its stature, function, authority, or sphere of influence. See Titular. 1523. Tittle—Title. A word used by the Lord Jesus Christ to indicate the