Tithing?

I recently read

a website that questioned the Bible’s position on tithing,
.

I don’t buy the author’s summary of the Bible’s position on giving.
The author suggests that tithing isn’t in the Bible, and that God
limited expectations of offerings to farmers and herdsmen.
This is a misleading interpretation. God and the early Patriarchs dictated
fairly specific set asides for priests, the church, and the poor.
Early Christians went further and took the 10% tax to the point of Communism.
Personally, I believe we should give a minimum of 3% gross to the poor and some
to the church, but mostly, I hate misrepresenting the Bible. Facts are below.

Old Testament

In the Old Testament, God largely only talked to farmers and herdsmen, so,
its not reasonable to assume that his rules for them shouldn’t be extended to everyone.
It might be more reasonable to assume that since we’ve shifted from an agricultural
society, our offerings should also shift. A couple of Bible quotes missing from the
author’s reference list:

• "Then Jacob made a vow, saying, ‘If God will be with me and will
  watch over me … then the LORD will be my God .., and of all that you give me
  I will give you a tenth. ‘ " Genesis 28:20
  
• "Be sure to set aside a tenth of all that your fields produce each year.
  … at the place he will choose … if that place is too distant …
  then exchange your tithe for silver." Deuteronomy 14:22
  

Also, the author says priests weren’t supposed to tithe, but in Numbers 18, we see
the following:

• "The LORD said to Moses, "Speak to the Levites and say to them:
  ‘When you receive from the Israelites the tithe I give you as your inheritance,
  you must present a tenth of that tithe as the LORD's offering." Numbers 18:26
  

New Testament

This is one of the areas where I believe many Republicans are prone to distort the Bible.
They like to use the Bible to justify most of their policies, but they gloss over
the fact that the early Christians were strict Communists. This can be clearly seen
in the stories of Barnabas and Ananias in Acts 4 and 5.

• "The Believers Share Their Possessions
  
  All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his
  possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had. With great power
  the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and
  much grace was upon them all. 34There were no needy persons among them. For from
  time to time those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought the money from the
  sales and put it at the apostles' feet, and it was distributed to anyone as he had need.
  Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas (which means Son of
  Encouragement), 37sold a field he owned and brought the money and put it at the
  apostles‘ feet.
  
• Ananias and Sapphira
  
  Now a man named Ananias, together with his wife Sapphira, also sold a
  piece of property. 2With his wife's full knowledge he kept back part
  of the money for himself, but brought the rest and put it at the apostles‘
  feet.
  
  Then Peter said, ‘Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart
  that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the
  money you received for the land? Didn‘t it belong to you before it was sold?
  And after it was sold, wasn‘t the money at your disposal? What made you
  think of doing such a thing? You have not lied to men but to God."
  When Ananias heard this, he fell down and died. And great fear seized all
  who heard what had happened. 6Then the young men came forward, wrapped up
  his body, and carried him out and buried him."