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Malachi 3 (ESV)

8 Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me. But you say, ‘How have we robbed you?’ In your tithes and contributions. 9 You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me, the whole nation of you. 10 Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if 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. 12 Then all nations will call you blessed, for you will be a land of delight, says the Lord of hosts.

 

REFLECTION:

• In this passage, God rebukes His people for deviating from His law and for not offering tithes and contributions (8). All God wants is for people to turn to Him, to love Him, and to keep His law. Love Him first before you are willing to sincerely offer offerings. Those who do not offer tithes are robbing God. Because tithes belong to God, they are “payables” rather than “offerings.” Contributions more than tithes is offering, and the full “tithe” is to be put into the treasury (storehouse) of the temple (10). Stealing God’s “tithes” brings a curse, and offering “tithes” to God is the source of abundant grace, the enemy is to be removed (11), and the property is preserved (11-12). God is a God willing to be gracious to us, but we must love Him first and then express our love in material offerings.
• In fact, as early as the time of Moses, the system of tithing had been established (see Lev. 27:30-34; Deut. 14:22). The Levites received part of the tithes because they had no inheritance (cf. Numbers 18:20-21). However, in Malachi’s time, the people did not tithe of what should be offered to support the servants of God, so the Levites had to go out to work and make a living, which made them not paying attention to the duty God assigned them to take care of the temple and arrange for worship. Everything we have is from God, and if we refuse to give back part of it to Him, we rob Him of His property. Are you selfishly keeping all that God has given you to yourself, or are you willing to give some back to God to build up His kingdom?

 

PRAYER:

Dear God! Please forgive me for what I owe You in the past in tithing. This reflects that I don’t love You and trust You enough. I keep it for myself, and rob the offerings to God, so that your curse comes. Lord, teach me to understand that everything I have, including my life, belongs to You, so that I can trust You with all my heart and genuinely offer to You to express my love for You.

 

HYMN: