Tithes and Offerings
469
The tithe was to be exclusively devoted to the use of the Levites,
the tribe that had been set apart for the service of the sanctuary. But this
was by no means the limit of the contributions for religious purposes.
The tabernacle, as afterward the temple, was erected wholly by freewill
offerings; and to provide for necessary repairs and other expenses,
Moses directed that as often as the people were numbered, each should
contribute a half shekel for “the service of the tabernacle.” In the time
of Nehemiah a contribution was made yearly for this purpose. See
Exodus 30:12-16
;
2 Kings 12:4, 5
;
2 Chronicles 24:4-13
;
Nehemiah
10:32, 33
. From time to time sin offerings and thank offerings were
brought to God. These were presented in great numbers at the annual
feasts. And the most liberal provision was made for the poor.
Even before the tithe could be reserved there had been an acknowl-
edgment of the claims of God. The first that ripened of every product
of the land was consecrated to Him. The first of the wool when the
sheep were shorn, of the grain when the wheat was threshed, the first of
the oil and the wine, was set apart for God. So also were the first-born
of all animals; and a redemption price was paid for the first-born son.
The first fruits were to be presented before the Lord at the sanctuary,
and were then devoted to the use of the priests.
Thus the people were constantly reminded that God was the true
proprietor of their fields, their flocks, and their herds; that He sent them
sunshine and rain for their seedtime and harvest, and that everything
they possessed was of His creation, and He had made them stewards
of His goods.
As the men of Israel, laden with the first fruits of field and orchard
and vineyard, gathered at the tabernacle, there was made a public
acknowledgment of God’s goodness. When the priest accepted the
gift, the offerer, speaking as in the presence of Jehovah, said, “A
Syrian ready to perish was my father;” and he described the sojourn in
Egypt and the affliction from which God had delivered Israel “with an
outstretched arm, and with great terribleness, and with signs, and with
wonders.” And he said, “He hath brought us into this place, and hath
given us this land, even a land that floweth with milk and honey. And
[527]
now, behold, I have brought the first fruits of the land, which Thou,
Jehovah, hast given me.”
Deuteronomy 26:5, 8-11
.
The contributions required of the Hebrews for religious and char-
itable purposes amounted to fully one fourth of their income. So