Malachi 3:10 - Blessings From Tithing.
Mal.3:10: Blessings From Tithing.
CONTENT; What's in the verse; Translations; Paraphrase; Word
Study:
Mal 3:10 (KJV) Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse,
that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith,
saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven,
and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to
receive it.
Malachi 3:10 (NLT) Bring all the tithes into the storehouse so
there will be enough food in my Temple. If you do," says the LORD
Almighty, "I will open the windows of heaven for you. I will pour out a
blessing so great you won't have enough room to take it in! Try it! Let
me prove it to you!
Malachi 3:10 (AMP) Bring all the tithes (the whole tenth of
your income) into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house,
and prove Me now by it, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open
the windows of heaven for you and pour you out a blessing, that
there shall not be room enough to receive it. [Mal 2:2.]
Mal 3:10 (CWR) Bring your full tithe to my Temple so that there
will be plenty of food in my house. Try me, and see if I will not
open the gates of heaven and pour out so many blessings on you,
spiritual and material, that you will not be able to count them all.
Storehouse: The treasury rooms of the sanctuary (see 1Ki 7:51;
2Ch 31:11-12; Ne 13:12). [NIV SB]
Storehouse: a place in the temple for storing grain and other
food given as tithes. The priests lived off these gifts. [Life
Application SB]
Storehouse: From the time of King Hezekiah on (2 Chron. 31:11),
special storehouses held grain brought in payment of tithes. These may
have been special rooms in the Temple or a kind of lean-to against a
side of the Temple. The blessing was such an abundance of crops that
the storehouses would overflow. [Ryrie SB]
Windows of heaven: Not only will there be plenty of rain to
remove all fear of drought, but through these openings, so to speak,
the divine blessing will be poured out in great abundance. [SDA
Commentary]
Pour out . . . blessing: The promised covenant blessing (see Dt
28:12; cf. Isa 44:3). [NIV SB]
Blessing: Not necessarily a material blessing, though that seems
to be emphasized here (see on v. 11). [SDA Commentary]
CONTEXT; What's around the verse; Overview; Topic:
Overview
Malachi predicted a day of purifying judgment (3:1-5). The LORD
urged His people to show repentance by their tithes (vv. 6-12) and
talk (vv. 13-15), and promised to bless individuals who fear Him (vv.
16-18). Malachi closed with a vivid image of the Day of the LORD
(4:1-4), and a promise of Elijah's return (vv. 5-6). [The 365-Day
Devotional Commentary]
SECTION HEADINGS
Temple tithes (3:6-12)
Robbing God (3:6-15)
You Have Robbed God
CROSS REFERENCES; What's in verses elsewhere.
Proverbs 3:9-10 (KJV) Honour the Lord with thy substance, and
with the firstfruits of all thine increase: [10] So shall thy barns
be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new
wine.
2 Cor. 9:6, 7 (KJV) But this I say, He which soweth sparingly
shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap
also bountifully. [7] Every man according as he purposeth in his
heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth
a cheerful giver.
COMMENTARY / APPLICATION: Moving From The Head To The Heart
What is God teaching here? What does it teach about Jesus?
Malachi's challenge to the Israelites to try God is a rare
instance in which people are encouraged to test the faithfulness of the
Lord (3:10). [Nelson SB]
The Giver of all has a right to expect us to render Him an
honest tithe, and also willing gifts as we are able. [SDA Commentary]
The tithing system began during the time of Moses (Leviticus
27:30-34; Deut. 14:22). The Levites received some of the tithe because
they could not possess land of their own (Numbers 18:20-21). During
Malachi's day, the people were not giving tithes, so the Levites went to
work to earn a living, thereby neglecting their God-given
responsibilities to care for the temple and for the service of worship.
Everything we have is from God; so when we refuse to return to him a part
of what he has given, we rob him. Do you selfishly want to keep 100
percent of what God gives, or are you willing to return at least 10
percent for helping to advance God's kingdom? [Life Application SB]
Jesus demands more in terms of stewardship than merely the
precise compliance with the tithe, but He sanctions at least the
practice of tithing (Matt. 23:23; cf. Luke 11:42, note). Though
stewardship may include more than the tithe, it is never less than the
tithe. [Believer's SB]
It's possible for a believer to say in all honesty when he hears
a call to turn back to God, "How am I to return?" This is because
we are often unaware of straying from the LORD. Like Saul, we don't
know that the LORD has departed from us (see 1 Sam. 16:14).
Malachi suggested a simple test. Go through your checkbook! Are
you giving God a fair portion of what you earn? Or are you robbing
God by selfishly using what He has given you without concern for
others or for the ministry of the Gospel?
The question comes with a challenge. If you've been holding back
because of fear that you won't have enough, God invites you to test Him.
After all, the wealth of the universe is His. Shake off your fear, God
says, and "see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and
pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for
it."
God can be trusted. We need not hold back out of fear. [The
365-Day Devotional Commentary]
The Eye of the Beholder (Mal. 3)
Every once in a while, about every day, I tell my wife she's
beautiful. She usually smiles and says, "That's what you think."
She suspects that I'm biased, even though I keep telling her
that I'm totally objective about her.
I must admit that in most cases, beauty is in the eye of the
beholder. What seems beautiful to one person won't to another. It all
depends on our perspective.
That's what Malachi said in this chapter of his little book. Our
attitude depends on how we look at life. Malachi even identified three
things that we need to look at from God's perspective.
The first is discipline (vv. 1-5). When some painful thing
occurs, don't despair. Look at it as a purifying fire. See the beauty
that exists within you, that God is so eager to display. God is
willing to burn away your impurities, even though it hurts you. Don't
think of the present experience. Look beyond it, and rejoice in what
you will become.
The second is finances (vv. 6-12). Don't look at the little you
have, and worry about how you'll make ends meet. This will only shut
your heart to the LORD, and make you stingy in your giving. Instead
remember that God possesses all the wealth in the universe. Trust Him
enough to give freely, and expect Him to provide all that you need.
The third is blessings (vv. 14-18). Some media evangelists sound
so much like the disgruntled of Malachi's day. They ask us to
measure blessings by financial well-being, and so beg us to give to
their ministry, promising that God will more than repay in good, hard
cash.
But Malachi urged us to serve God not for profit, but out of
love. Even so, we are abundantly repaid, not in cash here, but in
blessings stored up for when Christ returns. Only in eternity will we see
the distinction God makes between those who serve God and those who
do not, so we should not expect large cash down payments now!
And don't expect those outside of Christ to see life as we do.
Many Christians may not even share these perspectives. But you and I
need to embrace the way of looking at life that Malachi adopted. We
need to look beyond our pain, to look beyond limited resources, and
to look beyond material rewards. When we see the beauty God seeks
to create in us through discipline, the unlimited resources of our
God, and the glory that awaits us in eternity, we will serve God with
overflowing joy. [The 365-Day Devotional Commentary]
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