Melchizedek's Order

 

Tithing was not peculiar to the Law of Moses and the Old Covenant.

For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of God Most High, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, to whom also Abraham divided a tenth part of all (being first, by interpretation, king of righteousness, and then also king of Salem, which is king of peace; (Hebrews 7:1, 2)

Melchizedek, a mysterious king during the time of Abraham, received tithes as a priest of God Most High. He is compared to the Son of God, as he has neither recorded birth or death, nor father or mother, nor any lineage recorded at all.

without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like the Son of God), remains a priest continually. Now consider how great this man was, to whom even Abraham, the patriarch, gave a tenth out of the best spoils. (Hebrews 7:3, 4)

As the writer to the Hebrews says, the priesthood which later received tithes, paid tithes to this king, seeing how Levi, who was commanded to receive tithes from Israel, came from the lineage of Abraham.

They indeed of the sons of Levi who receive the priest's office have a commandment to take tithes of the people according to the law, that is, of their brothers, though these have come out of the body of Abraham, but he whose genealogy is not counted from them has accepted tithes from Abraham, and has blessed him who has the promises. But without any dispute the lesser is blessed by the greater. Here people who die receive tithes, but there one receives tithes of whom it is testified that he lives. We can say that through Abraham even Levi, who receives tithes, has paid tithes, for he was yet in the body of his father when Melchizedek met him. (Hebrews 7:5-10)

This fact shows several things, perhaps most importantly the superiority of the New Covenant, in which the Son of God would be ordained a priest eternally after Melchizedek's order. In light of this study, we are looking to the fact that this king received tithes from Abraham.

Don't you know that those who serve around sacred things eat from the things of the temple, and those who wait on the altar have their portion with the altar? Even so the Lord ordained that those who proclaim the Good Message should live from the Good Message. (1 Corinthians 9:13, 14)

What soldier ever serves at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard, and doesn't eat of its fruit? Or who feeds a flock, and doesn't drink from the flock's milk? Do I speak these things according to the ways of men? Or doesn't the law also say the same thing? For it is written in the law of Moses, "You shall not muzzle an ox while it treads out the grain."{ Deuteronomy 25:4} Is it for the oxen that God cares, or does he say it assuredly for our sake? Yes, it was written for our sake, because he who plows ought to plow in hope, and he who threshes in hope should partake of his hope. (1 Corinthians 9:7-10)

So we see the concept of tithing continue throughout YHWH's working with mankind. Those who are ministering the Good Message to you, most often the leader of your local Assembly, should receive your tithes unto Yahweh.