Malachi 3:8-12
‘“Would anyone rob God? Yet you are robbing Me! But you say, ‘How have we robbed You?’ In tithes and offerings. You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing Me, the entire nation of you! Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and put Me to the test now in this,” says the LORD of armies, “if I do not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows. Then I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it will not destroy the fruit of your ground; nor will the vine in the field prove fruitless to you,” says the LORD of armies. “All the nations will call you blessed, for you will be a delightful land,” says the LORD of armies.’
Unbelievers do not get tithing. Not all christians do. God wants us to give. It’s a test of discipleship. If we aren’t giving, then we are immature. We have chosen to stop our growth. We aren’t listening to His voice. Some Christians are there.
Giving is a door to great blessing. Partially because it holds a strong place in people’s hearts. Jesus said in Matthew 6 :24, “No one can serve two masters: Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” We need to bow the knee to God.
Today’s verse call us out. Why are we robbing God? He tells us how it works; if we give He will pour out a blessing. Do we believe Him? It’s a matter of faith.
He isn’t strict about numbers. In the Old Testament there was the tithe. However in the New Testament we can give more or less. God will impress upon us what we are to give. Let His peace or lack there of guide us. I see it as tithes and offerings. We give the tithe to our church and we also give to other groups or needs that arise.
In addition to blessings today’s verse tells more about what God does for us if we give, “Then I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it will not destroy the fruit of your ground; nor will the vine in the field prove fruitless to you.” Back in the day it would have been a pest destroying their crops. For us, it’s the water heater going out, an expensive car bill. Our money gets eaten up by random things that arise. If He rebukes the devourer, then our air conditioner, which should have died five years ago, keeps working. We will still have problems, but not nearly as much.
It’s better to start when we’re young and develop this habit. Ten percent of a thousand dollars is easier than ten percent of a hundred thousand. We should still do it, however it’s not as painful if we had started earlier. If we aren’t giving we don’t have to start with a tithe. Start small and go from there. Let it be consistent. It’ll be different for everyone. When mature in this, it should be approximately a tithe.
While this passage is about giving of our finances, God wants us to be generous in all areas of our lives. Hold a loose grip on what we have. Some are real good at this. They are very generous with what they have. We also need to be generous with our time. On occasion I’m caught unprepared at work and I need a set of copies now. While walking to the copy room I see an opponent (kidding) walking from the other direction. It takes every thing inside of me not to pick up the pace and beat them. If I’m obedient I’ll hold the door and allow them to go first.
It’s all about faith. Do we believe He will pour out the blessing if we give? He will apply the pressure to obey. He will stop at a point, as He won’t force us. Keep a soft heart and obey.
Thank You, Lord, for Your blessings. Thank You for helping us through these lessons. You are generous. Help us to be like You.
