Malachi 3:6-18 Robbing God
The Provision from God
Heaven is not the only domain of God's vast property. All here on earth belongs to Him as well. (Ps 24:1-2, 1 Cor 10:26, 89:11, Ex 19:5) God is the Proprietor of everything we are the stewards of all he has. He’s looking for good stewards. He’s looking for people who are going to take the money that he gives them and use it in a way that is godly and good. (Luke 16:1) There is a close connection between what a man gives and what he gets. Some men will never lose less until they give more. God calls for the whole tithe, not for a tithe. God has never let go His right to the things material. Everything a man gets God snips a bit out of it, to remind the man that he did not get it by his own skill and wit. God gave it to him, and man is not the proprietor but the steward (Samuel Chadwick). When the children of Israel entered the promise land each tribe and the two half tribes of Joseph received a portion of the land except the Levites who did not receive any land. The people were an agrarian society and if there was no land to farm there was no food to harvest. So God set up the tithe ("a tenth") (Lev 27:30-33, Duet 12:5-18; 14:22-29), that part of the year's harvest which was due to be paid to support of the worship of God in the temple and the work of God among the priests (Heb 7:5, Num 18:21). It was holy unto the Lord. God provides for us all that they have. He controls the weather and constrains the insects. He determines the fruitfulness and bounty of the harvest. He is the one that raises the crops and rebukes the devourer. God is generous with you. They don’t appreciate the generosity of God. They’re looking at what they don’t have, not what they do have. They’re not looking at their business income, they’re looking at how they wish their business income was higher, so there’s not an attitude of gratitude. But God is generous, He’s given them life and love. He says he’s their Father. He’s provided the land. He has provided an income. Maybe it’s not what they wanted, but it’s certainly a lot better than they deserve. God is generous. God gave us the earth. God made us in his image and likeness. God gave us the Lord Jesus Christ. God gave us the Holy Spirit. God gave us forgiveness of sin. God gave us righteousness. God gave us eternal life. God gave us gifts to serve meaningfully and valuably and purposefully. God’s a giver. God so loved the world that he gave his only Son. Do you get it? God’s generous. (Driscoll).
The Problem with God You are robbing me There are in affect two problems here: Drought, the problem the people have with God and Disobedience the problem God has with the people.
Drought among the people– The people were experiencing something that was devouring their crops (v.11). The fruit was being destroyed in the field and the vine was failing to produce. The harvest was scarce, but there. This was apparently a justification for either withholding a portion of the tithe (v10 bring the whole tithe to the storehouse) or not paying the commanded tithe at all. This effected the allotment that was provided for the worship in the temple and the work of the priest (v. 10 that there may be food in my house). It wasn’t that they couldn’t tithe, (it was 10% of the harvest regardless of the amount) it was that they didn’t trust God to meet their needs when they had so little to tithe. They had so withheld these that the priests had not food enough to support life, and the sacred service was interrupted. (Trapp)They felt like they could short God to save themselves. They perceived that if they gave the tithe, they wouldn’t have enoughremaining to live on. (v 10 until there is no more need) So they choose to give little or none. The tragedy is that in God’s eyes partial obedience is no obedience (1 Sam 15:20-23). And so he says, “You’re robbing me, and then the result is you’re cursed. The reason why things are so hard is because you’re stealing from me.” Think of it this way, you’re in business partnership with someone and they’re stealing from you, would you invest more in the company? No, not till your business partner became more honest, ethical, trustworthy, and stopped stealing. What God is saying is, “I’ve invested. You’re not responding rightly. I won’t invest anymore until you change your mind because I’m not changing mine, and that’s the situation they find themselves in. So the solution is, bring the ‘full tithe,’ and I’ll pour down a blessing from heaven.” literally it would flood down from heaven. The problem is they’re stealing. The answer is they need to stop stealing and start giving (Driscoll)
Disobedience toward God. The people had rebelled against God in countless ways previous mentioned in the text (in offerings, in their marriage, etc), but now God addresses their disobedience in their tithe. God had graciously given them the meager harvest they had to honor him with a portion of it. They were to give him the tithe (10%) and they keep the rest ( 90%) Their disobedience brought a curse upon them (v 9), which effect the harvest and everyone in Israel (the whole nation of you). God’s desire was to bless his children as they walked in obedience to and dependence upon Him. They were to trust and obey and he would help and provide. God designed the firstfruits and other things to be offered to him, that men might thereby be continually reminded, that all things were his, and that whatever they received from his hand was sacred to him, Earlier the Lord criticized the priests for offering inferior quality sacrifices (1:7-14), and now He criticized the people for offering an insufficient quantity of sacrifices ( 3:10). Failure to adequately support the priests and Levites resulted in the breakdown of priestly service (Neh 10:32-39; 13:10).(Constable). You will be tested to rob God. See, they’re in an economic downturn, and times are hard. The first thing they did is cut their giving to God. That was the first thing they cut out of their budget.. We will all be tested, principally speaking, to rob God. (Driscoll).
The Proposition form God and thereby put me to the test Here God lays down the gauntlet, he throws out a challenge. He tells them to renew their trust in him and his word. He wants them to be faithful regardless of their income to bring him the “full tithe” and watch how he will respond. He challenges them to walk in obedience and watch for an outpouring. He offers to be tested that they might have a testimony of his goodness and grace. To have a testimony there must be a test. God wants the people to test his truthfulness, promises, and faithfulness that they might testify to others that he indeed is the only true and trustworthy God. God pledges Himself to His creatures, in a way in which they themselves can verify. “If you will obey, I will supply all your needs; if not, I will continue your dearth.” By whatever laws God orders the material creation, He gave them a test, of the completion of which they themselves could judge (Barnes)
The Promise of God
I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need. 11 I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it will not destroy the fruits of your soil, and your vine in the field shall not fail to bear, says the LORD of hosts. “There are three keys which God hath reserved in His own hands, and hath not delivered to any to minister or substitute, the keys of life, of rain, and of the resurrection.
Outpouring -Rain down I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing
Overrunning -Run over until there is no more need
Overriding- Rebuke I will rebuke the devourer for you
Obtaining -Restore it will not destroy the fruits of your soil, and your vine in the field shall not fail to bear,
Proclamation about God
12 Then all nations will call you blessed, for you will be a land of delight, says the LORD of hosts. God’s heart and passion is for the nations that they might see his goodness and glorify him. (Mal 1:5, 11, 14) His people are to act out his person, attest to his power, and authenticate his presence to nations. So, when his people are destitute and in despair because of their sin and they repent and return to the Lord his name is made great among the nations. But when they profane his name (1:12), his name is despised and degraded among the nations. God desires them to have a testimony of his grace, mercy and goodness. His outpouring of blessing and abundance is not only for his people to delight in the Lord and in the Land, but to proclaim his goodness and grace to the nations.
I was once staying with a woman whose husband was sick and out of employment when she received a letter from C. H. Spurgeon containing a five-pound note and these few cheery words, “A little something just to keep the pot boiling.” I changed the note for her into coins, and taking a portion, she said, “This must go into the green purse,” and she produced, a faded green purse into which the small coin was dropped. I asked her why she separated her money in that way, and she answered, “This is God’s purse, we always put aside a tenth.” “But,” I said, “God does not require this from you in your present circumstances.” “No,” was her answer, and a beautiful light came upon her face, “He may not, but it is our joy to do it. See how good He has been! I never asked Mr. Spurgeon to help us, nor did I even tell him that we were in a corner. It would be selfish to spend all this on ourselves; where would be our gratitude if we did?” (Charlotte Skinner.)
The New Testament Response
When it comes the tithe in the New Testament it is only mentioned as a criticism of the Pharisee’s miss use of it (Luke 11:42, Matt 23:23). We are not under the law of the tithe but under the liberty (Rom 6:14) to give sacrificially, generously, limitlessly and proportionally to how God has blessed us. We are encouraged to “put something aside” weekly as we may prosper (1 Cor 16:2). We and give to those who teach and minister among us. (1 Tim 5:18, Gal 6:6, 1 Cor 9:7). Not only that, he expects the disabled poor and elderly widows in the church to be supported by some kind of systematic collection. (1 Tim 5, Rom 15:26). . . . churches should support financially the missionary enterprise of taking the gospel to the unreached peoples of the world. (Rom 15:24, Phil 4:14-20) In other words, the teaching and preaching and caring and mission of the church all cost money, just like the temple service did in the Old Testament—in fact it probably cost a lot more because the mission of the church stands so much more in the forefront. So the reason the tithe is not commanded by Paul is not that Jesus abolished it. He didn't; he approved it. Nor was the reason that we should no longer give proportionately. We should, "as we may prosper." The more you make, the more you give. Nor was it that the need of the ministry is less in the New Testament. It's not. Teaching, preaching, caring, missions all take money. (Piper). Believers need to have a willingness to give cheerfully to the cause of Christ (2 Cor 9:7) Paul downplays the possibility of commanding a certain level of giving because he wants to emphasize loving willingness rather than constraint. (Piper), they need to give proportionately (2 Cor 8:3, 9:6 -like the tithe was a tenth portion) to the way God has blessed them. If you prosper more, you give more. If you prosper less, you give less (1 Cor 16:2). The believer need to understand that all our getting should be designed for giving (Eph 4:28). Everything we spend on ourselves should be to build a platform for giving, that is, for loving. Or, as Jesus taught, he is the Owner of all we have. We are just stewards commissioned to invest his money for his glory. And what glorifies him most is loving liberality from a simple base (Piper). Faith without giving is dead. (James 2:17-18 )Faith is a devotion to God in here that results in a changed life out there. “You say you have faith, but it doesn’t show up in your finances.” So faith without giving is dead. You can’t say you love God here, but it doesn’t affect how you spend out there because out of the overflow of the heart, the wallet spends. God doesn’t just give an amount because if he gave an amount, the poor would really strain to meet it and the rich wouldn’t strain at all. God wants our giving to be sacrificial so that rich and poor are being generous and sacrificial. So it’s to be cheerful. It’s to be sacrificial. It’s to be regular, not just, “I feel guilty this week, maybe I’ll feel guilty again next year.” It’s regular, and it’s also proportional so that those who make more give more, and that those who make less give less, but all give something. In the New Testament giving there is no ceiling (tenth) but a floor, a place to start. Ten percent is a good place to start a life of generosity, and by God’s grace, aspire to increase our giving through the course of our life as we mature in everything. You want to grow in Bible knowledge. You want to grow in service. You want to grow in prayer. You should aspire to grow in giving. It’s part of your spiritual development and part of your spiritual growth. (Driscoll).
God claims an absolute ownership of the soil and all its produce, and He claimed this constant acknowledgment of His ownership at the hands of men. The tithe is certainly not to be exacted by law under the present economy. Yet surely less cannot be expected of us than of the Jews. The earth is still the Lord’s, and He demands the same acknowledgment from us that He did from them. It is God that sends sunshine and shower, and causes the seed to germinate and spring up. Is God amply repaid, as the owner of the land, and for His toil, when you give Him the tenth, and that, perhaps, grudgingly? But it is not simply your substance, but yourself, also, that belongs to God. You are not your own. Then surely there ought to be an acknowledgment of His ownership. Have you even tithed yourself for God? (Illustrator).