The God of Israel requires his followers/children/kingdom to annually set aside a tenth of their finest increase of crops, animals, etc. for them to enjoy at the Temple with God. If living too far away from the Temple to bring those things, then they are to be traded for money and then those things bought once they get to the Temple to be enjoyed.

They are to be shared with the Levites (Temple workers and their families) and with those less fortunate (orphans, widows, immigrants, etc.). Whatever the Levites receive is to be tithed in offering to God by giving it to the High Priest (Numbers 18:26).

Every three years all of the tithe is to be given to the Levites and the less fortunate at home.

“You shall tithe all the yield of your seed that comes from the field year by year. And before Yehowah your God, in the place that he will choose, to make his name dwell there, you shall eat the tithe of your grain, of your wine, and of your oil, and the firstborn of your herd and flock, that you may learn to revere Yehowah your God always.

And if the way is too long for you, so that you are not able to carry the tithe, when Yehowah your God blesses you, because the place is too far from you, which Yehowah your God chooses, to set his name there, then you shall turn it into money and bind up the money in your hand and go to the place that Yehowah your God chooses and spend the money for whatever you desire—oxen or sheep or wine or strong drink, whatever your appetite craves. And you shall eat there before Yehowah your God and rejoice, you and your household. And you shall not neglect the Levite who is within your towns, for he has no portion or inheritance with you.

“At the end of every three years you shall bring out all the tithe of your produce in the same year and lay it up within your towns. And the Levite, because he has no portion or inheritance with you, and the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, who are within your towns, shall come and eat and be filled, that Yehowah your God may bless you in all the work of your hands that you do.

[Deuteronomy 14:22-28; 26:12-15]

This, like everything else within the kingdom of God, must be done as prescribed by God. It must be brought to “the place where God chooses to set his name” which is the temple. There is no substitute location.

You may not eat within your towns the tithe of your grain or of your wine or of your oil, or the firstborn of your herd or of your flock, or any of your vow offerings that you vow, or your freewill offerings or the contribution that you present, but you shall eat them before Yehowah your God in the place that Yehowah your God will choose, you and your son and your daughter, your male servant and your female servant, and the Levite who is within your towns. And you shall rejoice before Yehowah your God in all that you undertake. Take care that you do not neglect the Levite as long as you live in your land.

[Numbers 18:17-19]

In modern times, without Access to the Temple, how can an annual tithe unto God be conducted? The commandment is that it be done at a location. The location, Jerusalem and the temple area, are still there. The question is — is God still there? Of course, the third year tithe is still commanded to be done at home.

“When you have finished paying all the tithe of your produce in the third year, which is the year of tithing, giving it to the Levite, the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, so that they may eat within your towns and be filled, then you shall say before Yehowah your God, ‘I have removed the sacred portion out of my house, and moreover, I have given it to the Levite, the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, according to all your commandment that you have commanded me. I have not transgressed any of your commandments, nor have I forgotten them. I have not eaten of the tithe while I was mourning, or removed any of it while I was unclean, or offered any of it to the dead. I have obeyed the voice of Yehowah my God. I have done according to all that you have commanded me. Look down from your holy habitation, from heaven, and bless your people Israel and the ground that you have given us, as you swore to our fathers, a land flowing with milk and honey.’

[Deuteronomy 26:12-15]

God considers the tithe his (Leviticus 27:30); however, to properly submit to this commandment, one must simply save up a 10th of their income and use it in annual celebration of relationship with God, near God, and share it. Every three years, give it all away.

To not save it is like robbing God (Malachi 3:8). To eat it ahead of time, grudgingly, in mourning, or in any other way to desecrate it is a disgrace unbefitting a child of God.

°