By Hazel Holland
I’m sure that most of us are well aware that the following verses in the book of Malachi are used as the foremost reason for supporting the doctrine of “Christian tithing” in the church today. So let’s examine these verses in the context of the whole book of Malachi in order to see if we can wrest a doctrine of Christian tithing from this passage.
•
“Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me. “But you ask, 'How do we rob you?’ “In tithes and offerings. You are under a curse—the whole nation of you—because you are robbing me. Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have enough room for it. I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not cast their fruit,” says the Lord almighty. Then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land,” says the Lord Almighty” (Malachi 3:8-12).
Notice that in Malachi 3:8, Malachi tells the people that they were robbing God of “tithes” (plural). So these tithes must refer to the three different tithes required under the Old Mosaic Law. To withhold these tithes was to become a thief.
The Storehouse
In Malachi 3:10 we see that God commands the Israelites to bring the tithes into the storehouse so that there will be “meat” in His house. God challenges them to prove His faithfulness to them by opening the windows of heaven and pouring out a blessing so great that there will not be enough room to receive it.
For some reason, many people think that whenever the word “storehouse” is mentioned it always refers to the temple in Jerusalem or to the rooms that were built on to the temple in Jerusalem to store the tithe (food). But that is not so.
Since Jerusalem was not a Levitical city it makes no sense to teach that 100% of the tithe was brought to the Temple when most Levites and priests, along with their families did not live in Jerusalem, but in Levitical cities. Furthermore, since the general practice was for one family to serve in the Temple for only one week at a time, there was absolutely no reason to send the entire tithe to the Temple when 98% of those it was designed to feed were living in the Levitical cities.[18]
•
“Command the Israelites to give the Levites towns to live in from the inheritance the Israelites will possess. And give them pasturelands around the towns. Then they will have towns to live in and pasturelands for the cattle they own and all their other animals” (Numbers 35:2-3; Joshua 21:1-8; 1 Chronicles 6).
•
“Azmaveth son of Adiel was in charge of the royal storehouses. Jonathan son of Uzziah was in charge of the storehouses in the outlying districts, in the towns, the villages and the watchtowers” (1 Chronicles 27:25).
•
“…Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house…” (Malachi 3:10).
Withholding of Tithes & Offerings
Malachi 3:8 states that it was not only the withholding of tithes that God objected to, but also the withholding of offerings. These offerings were the grain offering, the fellowship or peace offering, the sin offering, the guilt offering and the burnt offering, (Leviticus 2-7). Primarily these offerings were animal sacrifices. Also the Levites food supply was provided in large part through these animal sacrifices of which they were permitted to partake of in certain instances.
An important question comes to mind at this point. Why is it that in the church today we recognize animal sacrifices have been done away with under the new covenant, but tithing has not? Since God lumps them both together (tithes and animal sacrifices) and says that His people were robbing Him by withholding both of them from Him, then if we are obligated to pay tithe today, aren’t we also obligated to offer animal sacrifices? Either we must offer both tithes and animal sacrifices (offerings) or both of these requirements have been done away with because God accepted Jesus offering of Himself as the Sacrifice for our sins on the cross.
In Malachi 3:9 we are told that if Israel withheld the tithes and offerings the nation would be under a curse. This is in keeping with the Mosaic Law that Israel had agreed to enter into with God. If Israel disobeyed God's commandments and statutes their crops would fail, the rains would not come, the harvests would be small, the locusts would consume their food, the fruit of the trees would fail, to name just a few of the curses (Deuteronomy 28:15-68). Earlier in this same chapter God carefully outlines the many blessings He will pour out upon them as a nation if they were obedient to His commands (Deuteronomy 28:1-14).
An interesting fact to point out at this time is that if tithing were an eternal moral command (as some teach) for all people for all time, then the whole race of mankind would be under a curse, not just the nation of Israel. But our text says that it was the whole nation of Israel in Malachi’s day who was under a curse for breaking the old covenant law—not the nations around them.
Spiritual Condition of God’s People
Let’s take a look at some of the other verses in the book of Malachi that deal more fully with the spiritual condition of God’s people at that time that led to the pronouncement of this curse in Malachi 3:9.
•
“To you priests who despise My name… You offer defiled food (KJV says “polluted bread”) on my altar…when you offer the blind as a sacrifice, is it not evil? And when you offer the lame and sick, is it not evil” (Malachi 1:6-8 NKJ)?
•
“Who is there among you who would shut the doors (of the temple), so that you would not kindle fire on My altar in vain? I have no pleasure in you,” says the Lord of hosts, “nor will I accept an offering from your hands” (Malachi 1:10 NKJ).
Consider now what we have just read. The priests despise God’s name, they offer sacrifices that are blind, lame and sick, and God says He will not accept their offering. So actually the people of Malachi’s day were tithing. It was the quality of their tithes from which they selected the blemished sacrifices that were unacceptable to God.
Why were blind, lame and sick animal sacrifices not acceptable to God? Because the animal sacrifices were a Shadow that pointed forward to the coming Reality—to the One who would become the ultimate and perfect sacrifice for the sins of the world—Jesus Christ!
That is why God had given the Israelites explicit instructions as to how sacrificial animals must be without spot or blemish (Leviticus 6:6; Deuteronomy 15:21; 1 Peter 1:19 NKJ). By offering blemished and second-rate sacrifices to God, the priests misrepresented what God was trying to teach the people spiritually about the coming Messiah—the spotless Lamb of God who would take away the sins of the world once and for all time.
However, in another very real sense it wasn’t the poor quality of their sacrifices that really angered God. It was the mind-set behind their giving. The infected and contaminated animals that they chose to sacrifice were but a symptom of their impure hearts. It was their hearts God was really after! Their tithes and offerings were totally unacceptable to God because their hearts were far from Him. They offered “blind, lame and sick sacrifices” because they themselves were spiritually blind, lame and sick, and were withholding their hearts from God.
Offering “Polluted Bread”
The word “meat” in Malachi 1:7 comes from the Hebrew word “taraph” and means, “to pluck off or pull to pieces; to supply with food as in morsels.” Interestingly enough, from this plucking off, pulling to pieces, and morsels, comes the familiar phrase “breaking bread.”[19]
We know that the only food in God’s house was a dozen loaves of bread (shewbread) that were placed upon the shewbread table in the Holy Place. We also know that the tithes and offerings were not brought into the Holy Place of the tabernacle. I’m sure the nation of Israel brought enough grain into the storehouses to make twelve loaves of bread on a regular basis for the Holy Place. Therefore, the “meat” (bread) God is addressing in verse 10 must be referring to something other than a lack of shewbread in His house that the priests were permitted to eat.
We know that all of the offerings, feasts, ceremonies and holy days associated with the temple worship and services were a type—a shadow that pointed forward to the future Reality—Jesus Christ (Colossians 2:16). Therefore, the “bread” in the Holy Place must foreshadow the true “Bread of Life—Jesus Christ.”
Let’s consider for a moment what Jesus had to say to the Jews about the “bread from heaven” which they said their fathers ate in the wilderness.
•
“Most assuredly, I say to you, Moses did not give you the bread from heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world” (John 6:32-33).
We know that under the leadership of the prophet Moses God did feed the nation of Israel bread (manna) in the wilderness.
•
“Our fathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat” (John 6:31).
But the “bread from heaven” (manna) in the desert was not the true “bread from heaven”. Although the “bread from heaven” that the Israelites ate in the wilderness was of sufficient quantity it lacked quality because it was only a type of the “true bread from heaven.” It pointed forward to Jesus Christ—the true “bread from heaven.” That’s why Jesus told the Jews that Moses did not give their fathers bread from heaven. That’s why Jesus said; “He who comes down from heaven and gives His life to the world is the true bread of God.”
Just as the bread in the desert that fed the children of Israel was a type (shadow) of the true bread from heaven (Jesus Christ), so the “polluted bread” on the altar in Malachi’s day was supposed to be a type (shadow) of the unpolluted, fresh, pure, “true bread from heaven”—Jesus Christ!
In order to receive this “blessing from heaven” that God promised the priests and people of Malachi’s day, they were urged to turn away from their evil ways and practices that misrepresented God’s name. If they repented of their evil ways and returned to God, He promised to rebuke the devourer for them so that it would not destroy the fruits of the ground (verse 11). Undoubtedly, the “devourer” refers to locusts that God warns will come upon their crops if they fail to bring in the tithe (Deuteronomy 28:38).
Furthermore, if Israel repented and became obedient in the giving of tithes and offerings, all the nations around her would be forced to give God the glory (Malachi 1:11). Israel’s obedience to God would be recognizable because God’s promises of blessing included abundant crops, copious rains, and large increases in herds and flocks (Deuteronomy 28:1-14).
Although the blessings and cursings spoken of in Malachi 3:8-12 refer to the material blessings God promised Israel if she would obey His commandments and statutes, there is a deeper spiritual meaning that God wants His children in every generation to understand.
I believe the prophetic message of Malachi not only spoke to the hearts of God’s people in that generation who lived under the Old Covenant, but it also speaks to the hearts of people today who live under the New Covenant. We know from the author of Hebrews that God never wanted animal sacrifices in the first place. He wanted our hearts. He wants us.
•
“Therefore, when He came into the world, He said: “Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, but a body you have prepared for Me. In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin You had no pleasure” (Hebrews 10:5-6).
David also knew that His heart needed cleansing by God after His sin with Bathsheba. Animal sacrifices couldn’t do that. He knew that God delivers those who have a broken heart.
•
“For you do not desire sacrifice, or else I would give it; You do not delight in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart—these, O God, You will not despise” (Psalm51:16-17).
•
“The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves such as have a contrite spirit” (Psalm 34:18).
Isaiah knew that God could heal the backslider’s heart.
•
“I dwell in the high and holy place, with him who has a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble” (Isaiah 57:15).
Samuel knew that obedience to God was more important that worship—offering sacrifices. Do we?
•
“Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed than the fat of rams" (I Sam. 15:22).
If God has our hearts we will not be offering “polluted bread” upon His altar, and there will be plenty of fresh “unpolluted bread” in His house. In essence, Malachi’s prophecy not only exposed the polluted hearts of the priests and people of His day, it also causes us to humbly examine our own hearts and see if there be any wicked way within our hearts that needs to be repented of before God.
Summary
1. The storehouse as mentioned in Malachi did not necessarily refer to the Temple in Jerusalem as storehouses were also built in outlaying towns and villages to store the tithe (food).
2. Since Jerusalem was not a Levitical city, most Levites and priests, along with their families did not live in Jerusalem, but in the Levitical cities.
3. It would make no sense to send the entire tithe to the Temple in Jerusalem when 98% of the people it was designed to feed were living in the Levitical cities.
4. God lumped both tithes and offerings (animal sacrifices) that were required by the Law of Moses, together when He objected to the way the nation of Israel was robbing Him of tithes and offerings.
5. If Israel failed to bring the tithe into God’s house and failed to offer acceptable sacrifices the nation would be under a curse so that the devourer (locusts) would eat their crops and destroy the fruits on their trees.
6. If Israel tithed on her increase and offered acceptable sacrifices required by the Law of Moses the nation would be materially blessed by abundant crops, plentiful rains and large increase in herds and flocks.
7. In Malachi’s day the nation of Israel was under a curse because they brought blind, lame and sick animals to the priests to offer as sacrifices. The priests dishonored God by offering blind, lame and sick animals for sacrifices.
8. God did not require the best of the cattle and flocks for tithe, but He did require the best for sacrifices because they were a type (shadow) that pointed forward to the coming Reality—Jesus Christ.
9. By offering these blemished sacrifices, the priests misrepresented what God was trying to teach the people about the coming Lamb of God who would take away the sins of the world once and for all.
10. The people of Malachi’s day were spiritually blind, lame, and sick, because they refused to repent of their evil ways, but instead withheld their hearts from God.
11. These blemished sacrifices that misrepresented God were considered by God as
defiled food (“polluted” bread) on the altar.
12. The “polluted bread” on the altar was a type (shadow) of the unpolluted, fresh and pure “true bread from heaven”—Jesus Christ.
13. If the people and priests would turn away from their evil ways, they would receive God’s blessings because He would rebuke the devourer (locusts) that would come upon their crops and destroy them.
14. God never wanted animal sacrifices in the first place. He wanted the people’s hearts in Malachi’s day, just like He wants our hearts now.
15. Malachi’s prophecy, not only exposed the polluted hearts of the priests and people in His day, but it also causes us to examine our hearts today in order to see if there is any wicked way in us that needs to be repented of before God.
Questions for Reflection (See “Christian Tithing”—A Worksheet study by Ramone Romero)[20]
1. Tithes provided firstly for the Levites and their families who took care of the Temple, and secondly for the priests who offered the sacrifices (offerings)—all of which pointed to Jesus Christ the coming Messiah. Now that the Messiah has come and fulfilled those offerings, is it possible to "rob" God of tithes and offerings anymore? Give reasons for your answer.
2. Does Christian tithing include "all the tithes" that were mandated by the Old Covenant? If not, why not? Gove reasons for your answer.
3. Why do Christians not tithe to the needy as the Law said to? Give reasons for your answer.
4. In view of the fact that the Old Covenant law became obsolete after the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, shouldn’t this mean that tithing and animal sacrifices have also become obsolete in the new Covenant reality?
5. So why does the church continue to hang onto the Old Covenant tithing law as a way to finance the gospel of Jesus Christ? Give reasons for you answer.
Notes:
[18] The American Heritage College Dictionary, p. 1444. See also (1 Chronicles 24-26; 28:13, 21; 2 Chronicles 8:14; 23:8; 31:2, 15-19; 35:4, 5, 10; Ezra 6:18; Neh. 11:19, 30; 12:24; 13:9, 10; Luke 1:5).
[19] Strong’s Hebrew Dictionary, p. 105, #2963.
[20] “Christian Tithing”—A Worksheet study by Ramone Romero: https://www.facebook.com/notes/ramone-romero/christian-tithing-a-worksheet-study/376281361126.
