The Bible details many curses for not paying tithes. These curses are detailed in the Old Testament, Deuteronomy 28. The curses range from sickness to enslavement. However, the consequences only applied to ancient Israel, not New Testament Christians. Only Hebrew Israelites were under the Mosaic Law covenant, which required the payment of tithes.
Many modern-day tithe advocates teach that Christians who don’t tithe (i.e., give 10% of their income to God) will be cursed. The Bible doesn’t support this doctrine. Are there consequences for not paying tithes? Absolutely. However, the consequences only applied to ancient Israel, not New Testament Christians.
Table of Contents
- Watch the Video
- A Price for Disobedience – The Advantages and Disadvantages of Tithing
- Deuteronomy 28 Curses – What Happens When You Don’t Tithe
- Bring All Tithes to the Church – Why Pro-Tithe Preachers Miss the Mark
- Recap
- Find Out More
Watch the Video
A Price for Disobedience – The Advantages and Disadvantages of Tithing
The biblical tithe was only mandatory for ancient Israel. The tithe was part of the Mosaic Law Covenant the Lord made with the ancient Israelites. It was a conditional Covenant. This means if they obeyed the commands of the Covenant, the Lord would bless them. If they violated his commandments, they would suffer consequences for their disobedience. The Bible refers to these consequences as curses.
Exodus 19:5
5 Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine:
Numbers 18:24
But the tithes of the children of Israel, which they offer as an heave offering unto the Lord, I have given to the Levites to inherit: therefore I have said unto them, Among the children of Israel they shall have no inheritance.
Deuteronomy 28:15
But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee: Cursed shalt thou be in the city, and cursed shalt thou be in the field. Cursed shall be thy basket and thy store. …
Deuteronomy 28 Curses – What Happens When You Don’t Tithe
The consequences weren’t restricted to the non-payment of tithes. The tithe was only one command among hundreds under the Mosaic Law. Based on the conditions of the Old Covenant, breaking any of the commandments brought curses upon the children of Israel. The curses are listed in verses 16 to 68. The primary categories include sickness, disease, poverty, plagues, and enslavement. Here are a few of the curses:
18 Cursed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy land, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep.
29 And thou shalt grope at noonday, as the blind gropeth in darkness, and thou shalt not prosper in thy ways: and thou shalt be only oppressed and spoiled evermore, and no man shall save thee.
60 Moreover he will bring upon thee all the diseases of Egypt, which thou wast afraid of; and they shall cleave unto thee.
61 Also every sickness, and every plague, which is not written in the book of this law, them will the Lord bring upon thee, until thou be destroyed.
68 And the Lord shall bring thee into Egypt again with ships, by the way whereof I spake unto thee, Thou shalt see it no more again: and there ye shall be sold unto your enemies for bondmen and bondwomen, and no man shall buy you.
Bring All Tithes to the Church – Why Pro-Tithe Preachers Miss the Mark
Pro-tithing preachers lead many Christians into believing that not paying tithes brings about God’s wrath, so to speak. This is a false doctrine for several reasons.
These preachers apply an Old Covenant penalty to New Testament Christians. The curses only pertain to ancient Israel. Two, they have taken the biblical tithe out of context and redefined it for their purposes. They turned the tithe into 10% of one’s income, even though the Lord never required, accepted, or wanted a monetary tithe. Finally, the consequences weren’t limited to not paying tithes.
The curses occurred when ANY of the Mosaic Law commandments were broken. From a Biblical standpoint, New Testament Christians don’t face the consequences of not paying so-called tithes.
Recap
The Bible details many curses for not paying tithes. However, tithes were an Old Covenant requirement only applied to ancient Israel. Additionally, the biblical tithe differs from the modern-day tithe (10% of one’s income). The Bible-based tithe is only crops and livestock. That said, there’s no basis for proclaiming Christians will experience consequences for not tithing.
Find Out More
Discover the hidden truth about tithes the church doesn’t want you to know. Click here. All verses listed are from the King James Version of the Bible unless stated otherwise.
