Abram Gives a Tenth to Melchizedek
Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was the priest of God Most High. And he blessed him and said: “Blessed be Abram of God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth; and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand.” And he gave him a tithe of all.
Listen to the "Verse by Verse" episode covering this scripture.
The book of Hebrews reveals that Melchizedek was not only “priest of God Most High,” but was actually the eternal One who would come as Jesus Christ (Hebrews 7:1-3; see also Psalm 110:4).
Abram (whose name was later changed to Abraham) had been blessed by God in recovering Lot and the others who had been taken captive. So Abram gave a tenth of the spoils to Melchizedek. This is the first mention of the practice of tithing—giving a tenth of our increase to God—in the Bible.
Tithing is covered in our “Fundamental Beliefs 15. Tithing,” which says:
“Tithing is commanded by God. Through tithing, one honors God with his material goods and assists in preaching the gospel, providing for the physical needs of the Church and caring for needy members. A special festival tithe makes it possible for one to attend the commanded festivals of God.”
We will cover other verses that relate to tithing over the next week.
For more on this see our article “Tithing: What Is It?” See also our Daily Bible Verse post on Proverbs 3:9-10, “Honor the Lord With Your Possessions.”
