Rebel1, while the Scriptures teach tithing is not a Christian requirement,some of the claims made in the post do not ring true. When Abraham returned from the battle, he was greeted by Melchizedek, king of Salem, who said: “Praised be the Most High God, who has handed your oppressors over to you!” It was Jehovah that he praised for that deliverance.—Genesis 14:18-20. If Melchizedek was referring to anyone other than Abraham's God Jehovah,Abraham would never have given "him a tenth of everything."-Genesis 14:20. Melchizedek king of Salem was a priest (ko·hen') extraordinary. The Bible gives no record of his ancestry, his birth, or his death. His priesthood was not by inheritance, and he had no predecessors or successors in office. Melchizedek held both the office of king and of priest. His priesthood was greater than the Levitical priesthood, for Levi, in effect, paid tithes to Melchizedek, since he was still in the loins of Abraham when Abraham offered tithes to Melchizedek and was blessed by him. (Ge 14:18-20; Heb 7:4-10) In these things Melchizedek foreshadowed Jesus Christ, the “priest forever according to the manner of Melchizedek.”—Heb 7:17.
