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implying that the commandment was already in existence or had been enjoined before;
and the same might be said of other commandments which were laws of God and rules of
life for man, and for keeping of which Abraham is praised, and for the non-observance of
which punishment is recorded, long before Jehovah's laws were published on Sinai.

So, with regard to Mosaic tithes and offerings, it has been shown elsewhere that
before the descendants of Jacob left Palestine it was a well-established custom in Egypt
to make regular offerings to the gods and to pay to the temples first fruits of the harvest,
(see Sacred Tenth, p. 3) so that with these customs, at any rate, the Israelites, on leaving
Egypt, would be familiar. They would likewise remember that two-tenths, or a double
tithe, of increase was paid by the Egyptians to Pharaoh, who supported the priests, and
that, by virtue of the legislation of their own ancestor, Joseph, whose bones they were
taking up for burial in the land of Canaan at the very time their own law was given;
whilst as for tithes, how could the Israelites forget the observance of this custom by their
great ancestor Abraham, or fail to remember the vow of his grandson Israel, "Of all that
thou shalt give me, I will surely give the tenth unto Thee"? (Genesis 28:22).

These things, presumably, must have been to them as household words, and hence
there can be little doubt that the inspired legislator adopted the already existing practice
of tithe-paying, and inserted it in the statute law of the divine code, because he found
that, with some modification, this ancient payment might be made a proper stipend for
the servants and officers of the theocracy, and also that second and third tithes might
furnish the means of promoting regular worship at the national sanctuary, and foster
social intercourse and good feeling between rich and poor. (See McClintock and Strongs
Encyclopaedia, 10, p. 436.)

We have thus reached, as already intimated, a higher platform that any upon
which we have yet stood. We have emerged from the clouds of probability and conjecture
concerning the origin of tithe-paying, to see the custom recognized, regulated, and
embodied in what has been generally accepted as a most ancient code of written laws.

It is claimed for this code that it was written by inspiration of the God of Israel, of
whom Jews and Christians alike believe that He never yet made a law that was unjust or
unwise, or that did not tend to His people's happiness. If, then, YEHOVAH God has
given laws upon tithe-paying, they are sure to be worthy of at least our respectful study,
and we accordingly proceed to examine, so far as our data enable us, the working of these
laws among the Israelites, from their entrance into Canaan down to the close of Old
Testament history.

TO BE CONTINUED…

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