“Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and test Me now in this,” says the Lord of host, “if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows.” – Malachi 3:10
Malachi (often sarcastically referred to as the Italian Prophet!) was a prophet who was commissioned by God to speak to the priests of Israel concerning their blatant disrespect of God and His commands. Verse 2:1 says, “Now this commandment is for you, O priests” and Malachi proceeds to chastise them in several ways because they have neglected their priestly duties. Like all the prophets, Malachi doesn’t hold back much and tells it like it is because he was the voice of Almighty God during his day.
This verse is particularly interesting because it has several messages in it. First, the appointed priests were “robbing” God in two ways: they weren’t giving God their BEST and not giving Him their ALL. They were giving God blemished lambs, ones with deformities that no one else wanted. Where did they get these lambs? From the people! In other words, the priest’s tithe came from the people’s tithes and they were allowing the people to bring unwanted and useless lambs into the Temple when God clearly stated that they were to bring unblemished lambs. In addition, they were not giving ALL their lambs. They were keeping some because, quite frankly, they didn’t have enough to eat themselves! Why? Because they were not demanding the full tithe from the people. You might say this was trickle-down tithing at its worst!
Second, notice that God challenges them to “test” Him. Nowhere else in Scripture does God put forth such a challenge which makes this instance unique. In essence, God is saying to the priests to give God’s way a chance and see what happens. Put a little faith in what God says and watch His grace abound.
The third interesting fact of this passage is the reward that God promises them if they obey Him. He tells them that such a blessing will be bestowed upon them that they would not be able to contain it all! Wow! Now, that’s a blessing!
I want to encourage you that God is not kidding when He commands us to do something such as tithing. He doesn’t need your money, He wants your obedience. And with your obedience will come blessing. And that blessing will come in many ways, but it will come and will come abundantly. Trust God and let Him bless you!
In Christ,
Dave
For more insights on the prophet Malachi and this verse, read Test Him in His Promise!
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