The sacrifice of material things is essential to spiritual growth and prosperity. The first act of worship was one of sacrifice, when Cain brought of the fruit of the ground, and Abel brought of the firstlings of his flock.
The law of Moses required the Jews to give a tithe, or a tenth, unto the Lord. This was not to be given of the abundance that remained after all their material wants were supplied, but of the first ripe fruits of the field, and the firstborn of flocks and herds. It was but a reasonable and just acknowledgment of what God had done for them,— an offering unto the Lord and not unto man.
When the Israelites began to think of their tenth as given to man, because the priests were supported thereby, they lost sight of the principle involved in this form of worship. Their offerings became a mere form if they gave grudgingly as unto man. Because they received no material thing in return, they may have felt they were giving something for nothing, which was not required of them. Thus blinded by selfishness, they withheld their tithes altogether. The influence of this error is still felt among mortals.
