“Woe to you, experts in the law and you Pharisees, hypocrites! You give a tenth of mint, dill, and cumin, yet you neglect what is more important in the law – justice, mercy, and faithfulness! You should have done these things without neglecting the others. Blind guides! You strain out a gnat yet swallow a camel!" (Matthew 23:23,24 NET)
Here's my optional comment. Gnats and camels are both on the prohibited foods list.
1 comment:
Matt 23:23 is an interesting verse. You have Pharisees, tithe, and mint, dill and cumin.
The tithe in the OT is a wonderful illustration of God's grace. God provided an increase of the land, and the people gave 10% back to God. In practice this was given to the tribe of Levi, who performed religious duties and were not allowed to possess land of their own and farm as the other tribes did (Num 18:21-24). There were also other tithes that were to be given to the poor and for festivals.
Apparently only landowners tithed. The poor, who worked for their subsistence or wages, did not tithe. There is no record anywhere in the OT or NT of anyone tithing wages or money. The tithe was only food. The only exception was Abraham's tithe to Melchizedek, which was of the "spoils of war". There's some history and cultural significance to this, but I won't get into it here.
But for the Israelites the tithe was a means of distributing wealth from the rich to the poor, as well as support of the Levites, which put them on an equal financial footing with the other tribes. It had a gracious purpose, beyond the idea of "making sure everyone paid their legalistic 10% share".
So here come the Pharisees. And what do they focus on? The mint, dill, and cumin. The kind of garden herbs that perhaps the poor might be able to own. They were all hung up on making sure that the little guy paid his 10% too.
Now there is nothing wrong with the little guy giving 10% of his herbs. Although literally Jesus' command in Matt 23:23 was only to the Pharisees, it would clearly cover any Jew who was following the OT tithing system. It is a little regressive, since the poor might actually feel the 10% of their garden food, whereas the Pharisees were wealthy enough not to feel such a trivial amount. But it's fair, and fits the OT system.
But not even the Pharisees had the chutzpah to suggest that the poor tithe 10% of their wages. Even they knew enough about the law to know that such a regressive system would be totally contrary to God's grace and the spirit of the OT tithe.
So, whenever I see Matt 23:23 used as a proof text for legalistic tithing of money, something the OT Jews never practiced and which is especially burdensome on the poor, it comes as quite a shock. Help me out here, someone. Is this what Jesus had in mind when he spoke the words of Matt 23?
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