This morning we come to a passage that has – in my opinion – been one of the most misused passages in the entire Bible. It has been used throughout church history to perpetuate what I believe, based on my understanding of the Scriptures as a whole, are myths. And to demonstrate that, I’d like to begin this morning by taking a poll. I’m going to ask for a show of hands for each of the following questions.
• How many of you have been taught that God’s people are required to give a tithe - 10% of our gross income?
• How many of you have been taught that the church is God’s storehouse and that is where we are to bring our tithe?
• How many of you have been taught that if we don’t tithe we are cursed and that if we do tithe that God will bless us materially?
As I prepared for the message this week, I didn’t have any problem at all finding commentaries and sermons that supported these positions, or at least ones that were very close to them. That is not surprising given that this passage from Malachi 3 is the one that is typically used to develop these ideas. But I’m confident that as we look at our passage in Malachi carefully and in context this morning, we’ll discover that these are merely myths, or at best only half-truths.
So turn in your Bibles to Malachi chapter 3 and follow along as I read beginning in verse 6:
“For I the LORD do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed. From the days of your fathers you have turned aside from my statutes and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you, says the LORD of hosts. But you say, ‘How shall we return?’ Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me. But you say, ‘How have we robbed you?’ In your tithes and contributions. You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me, the whole nation of you. 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. 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. Then all nations will call you blessed, for you will be a land of delight, says the LORD of hosts.
(Malachi 3:6-12 ESV)
Before we begin to look at this passage, let’s take a moment to once again be reminded of the overall theme of Malachi’s prophecy. By now you should easily be able to help me fill in the blanks:
God desires for me to pursue Him
in the same way He has pursued me
That theme is particularly relevant to our passage this morning. In fact, I think we could summarize the main point of this passage with a similarly worded sentence:
God desires for me to give to Him
in the same way He has given to me
You’ll remember that in the immediately preceding passage the people have accused of God of not being a God of justice. In effect the people are accusing of God of changing. But in verses 6 and 7, God correctly points out that He is not the one who has changed. It is the people who have changed. They are the ones who have moved away from God by failing to keep His statutes. God is still the same covenant-keeping God that He has always been and that is the only reason that Israel hasn’t been consumed.
And because God is the same patient God he has always been, there is still hope for His people. If they will return to Him, He will return to them. But unfortunately, the people are so blind to the fact that they have turned away from God, they don’t even realize they need to return to Him. So God is going to give them yet one more example to show how they have rebelled against Him.
He has already rebuked them for being half-hearted in their worship and bringing Him substandard sacrifices. He has admonished the priests for failing to teach the truth of the Scriptures and to hold the people accountable for obeying God’s law. He has reprimanded the people for being a convent-breaking people, which is evidenced by their marriages. He has warned them that by asking for a God of justice that they are going to be the first ones to face His judgment. And now, He points out that they are robbing Him when it comes to their tithes and contributions.
But again, that is only a symptom of a much larger problem. The real issue is that any time we fail to give God what is due to Him, we are robbing Him. In the case of the people that Malachi was addressing, failing to give their tithes was just one way that they were robbing God.
In order for us to develop some relevant principles that we can use in our day to day lives from this passage, I’d like to do three things this morning:
• First, I want to give a brief overview of the Old Testament practice of tithing because it’s crucial for us to understand that practice in order to be able to make an appropriate application of this passage to our lives as New Testament Christ followers.
• Second, I want to briefly address a few of the myths that tend to come out of this passage.
• Finally, we’ll close with some Biblical principles which should guide our giving.
Tithing in the Old Testament:
As most of you probably know the word tithe means “one tenth”. The idea of giving a tithe is actually seen twice in the Old Testament prior to the giving of the Law – once by Abraham in Genesis 14 and once by Jacob in Genesis 28. But here in Malachi, Malachi is clearly referring to the tithes and contributions that were established by the Law. And under the Law there were actually…
Three required tithes:
1. Levitical tithe
The first required tithe was the tithe that was given for the support of the Levites, who were tasked with serving in the worship of God and who did not have an inheritance of land in Israel. This tithe is described in both Leviticus and Numbers:
“Every tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the trees, is the LORD's; it is holy to the LORD. If a man wishes to redeem some of his tithe, he shall add a fifth to it. And every tithe of herds and flocks, every tenth animal of all that pass under the herdsman's staff, shall be holy to the LORD.
(Leviticus 27:30-32 ESV)
“To the Levites I have given every tithe in Israel for an inheritance, in return for their service that they do, their service in the tent of meeting,
(Numbers 18:21 ESV)
It is important to note that this tithe belonged to God, but He assigned it to the Levites, who received it on His behalf.
This tithe consisted of a tenth of animals, land, seed and fruit. All of these possessions, with the exception of animals, could be redeemed by paying an additional 20%. These tithes were used for the livelihood of the Levites, who then gave one tenth of their tithes to the priests.
2. Festival tithe
The second tithe was for the purpose of funding the national feasts and is described in Deuteronomy 14:
“You shall tithe all the yield of your seed that comes from the field year by year. And before the LORD your God, in the place that he will choose, to make his name dwell there, you shall eat the tithe of your grain, of your wine, and of your oil, and the firstborn of your herd and flock, that you may learn to fear the LORD your God always. And if the way is too long for you, so that you are not able to carry the tithe, when the LORD your God blesses you, because the place is too far from you, which the LORD your God chooses, to set his name there, then you shall turn it into money and bind up the money in your hand and go to the place that the LORD your God chooses and spend the money for whatever you desire—oxen or sheep or wine or strong drink, whatever your appetite craves. And you shall eat there before the LORD your God and rejoice, you and your household.
(Deuteronomy 14:22-26 ESV)
When the people of Israel went to Jerusalem to celebrate the feasts, they were to bring an additional tithe of their animals, grain, wine and oil or to sell those possessions and bring the money from the sale. They then got to enjoy the fruits of their labor as they gathered together with their fellow Israelites to worship God.
3. The welfare tithe
The last part of Deuteronomy 14 describes the third tithe:
“At the end of every three years you shall bring out all the tithe of your produce in the same year and lay it up within your towns. And the Levite, because he has no portion or inheritance with you, and the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, who are within your towns, shall come and eat and be filled, that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hands that you do.
(Deuteronomy 14:28-29 ESV)
This third tithe was to be made every third year and was to be used for the care of those who had no other means of support – people like orphans and widows, as well as foreigners.
It is not completely clear from the Bible exactly how all these tithes fit together, but the writings of the Jewish historian Josephus and others show that the Jews understood these to be three distinct tithes that totaled around 23% of one’s possessions –
10% Levitical tithe + 10% Festival tithe + 3-1/3% Welfare tithe (10% every three years).
These required tithes were not primarily gifts to God, but rather more akin to taxes that were used to fund Israel’s theocracy. Because Israel was initially a theocracy, the Levites also acted as the civil government and these required contributions were used to fund that government. All giving apart from that used to operate the nation was always voluntary and no percentage or amount was required as we can see from these and other passages:
“Speak to the people of Israel, that they take for me a contribution. From every man whose heart moves him you shall receive the contribution for me.
(Exodus 25:2 ESV)
Then the people rejoiced because they had given willingly, for with a whole heart they had offered freely to the LORD. David the king also rejoiced greatly.
(1 Chronicles 29:9 ESV)
With this background in mind, we are now ready to address some common myths that arise out of our passage.
Some Common Myths Addressed:
Before we deal with these myths, let me just say that I approach these with a great deal of humility because I have believed and even taught them at some point in my walk with Jesus. So I’m not trying in any way to condemn those who would hold to these positions, but only trying to do the very best I can to teach what I believe the Scriptures teach as a whole.
• Myth #1 - If I don’t tithe, I am cursed
First of all, since we are not part of the theocracy of Israel, I would argue that we are not bound by the Old Testament concept of tithing in the first place. And for those who would argue otherwise, my question is this: If you’re going to hold that tithing is required, then why don’t you require the entire 23% that is taught in the Old Testament and not just 10%?
As I’ll address shortly, the idea of a tithe may have some value in determining how much we are to give, but it is not requirement for a follower of Jesus.
But the larger issue here is whether we can be cursed for not following any of the Old Testament law. Paul’s words to the church in Galatia are instructive for us here:
For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.”…Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us - for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”
(Galatians 3:10, 13 ESV)
By becoming the curse on our behalf, Jesus has freed us from the curse of not abiding by any part of the Law, including the requirement to tithe. So even if we were to determine that New Testament believers are somehow still subject to the tithe, Jesus’ finished work on the cross has freed His followers from any curse that would come as a result of our disobedience.
• Myth #2 – The church is the storehouse
The storehouse that Malachi refers to here probably consisted of storerooms that surround the Temple and which held only the priests’ portion of the tithes. Obviously such a storehouse would be completely incapable of holding anywhere close to the tithes of the entire nation of Israel.
There is absolutely no reference in the New Testament to the church ever being called a storehouse. In fact, the early church met primarily in homes and there was no such thing as “church building” for at least 200 years after the resurrection of Jesus.
The Old Testament Temple has been replaced, not by another building, but by the people who are followers of Jesus and who are described as a temple in which God dwells by His Holy Spirit:
Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him. For God's temple is holy, and you are that temple.
(1 Corinthians 3:16-17 ESV)
When we give to God, we are not giving to a building or an organization. We are giving to God to provide resources for the furthering of His kingdom here on earth. In practical terms, that normally means giving to God through local church bodies like TFC, because that is the means that God has established for that purpose. But that doesn’t mean the church is the storehouse.
• Myth #3 - Tithing obligates God to bless me materially
This myth arises from a misunderstanding of verse 10. I would guess that most of you, like me, have heard someone teach that this is the only place in the Bible where God asks His people to test Him. First of all, that just isn’t true, but even if it was, this verse is not a universal promise that if a person tithes, God will pour out material blessings on them.
Let’s keep the context in mind here. God’s people have not been obedient to Him in the area of their tithes and contributions. And the evidence here is that God, as a means of discipline, has withheld rain and sent some kind of pests that are destroying the crops. We also need to keep in mind here the main theme of this passage which we saw in verse 7. God want the people to return to Him and when they do that, He promises to return to them.
So what God is promising here is that if the people will return to Him by being obedient to Him, particularly in the area of their tithes, he will withdraw His discipline. The opening of the windows of heaven in order to pour down a blessing is almost certainly a picture of God providing abundant rain for their crops. And God also promises to keep the pests from devouring their crops.
If there is a universal principle to be gained from this passage, it is that when God brings discipline in our lives due to our disobedience, then when we repent and return to Him, He will remove that discipline. But this is certainly not an open-ended promise to bless in a material way everyone who gives a tithe of his possessions.
Because this passage is so often misused, I know that we’ve spent a lot of time this morning focusing on what it doesn’t teach. But let’s end on a more positive note by developing some Biblical principles that should guide our giving.
Biblical Guidelines for Giving:
Although I’m primarily going to use New Testament passages to develop these principles, all of them are also taught in the Old Testament as well. That’s because all of them flow out of God’s character. And that brings us back to the overall principle that I shared at the beginning of the message:
God desires for me to give to Him
in the same way He has given to me
It is God’s nature to be a giving God – a character trait that is probably best seen in this familiar verse:
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
(John 3:16 ESV)
So God is to be our model when it comes to our giving. There are obviously a lot of aspects to the way that God give that are instructive for us, but we’ll limit our discussion to four of the most important. Like the way that God gives to us, our giving to Him…
• It is to be planned
Because God knew that the men and women He created would rebel against Him, He created His plan to save mankind through the death and resurrection of His Son before he created the world or gave life to Adam and Eve.
Our giving to God is also to be planned as well. Paul instructed the people of the church in Corinth to think about their giving ahead of time and not just give on the spur of the moment:
On the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up, as he may prosper, so that there will be no collecting when I come.
(1 Corinthians 16:2 ESV)
This principle certainly doesn’t preclude us giving on the spur of the moment. Sometimes when a need comes to our attention, we are moved by God to give to meet that need. But for the most part, we need to plan our giving in advance. In a moment, we’ll talk a little bit more about how to do that.
• It is to be proportional
Obviously God didn’t just give us a part of Himself. He gave all of Himself to all who would choose to follow Him. And we can certainly learn from that. One of the dangers of a legalistic view of tithing is that it can lead to the idea that 10% of my possessions belong to God and the rest is mine to do with as I please. The Bible clearly teaches that 100% of what I possess belongs to God and that it has merely been entrusted to me for my stewardship.
But here’s where the overall concept of the tithe can be helpful. When it came to required giving for the support of the theocracy, that giving was to be proportional. Those who had more were to give more and those who had less were to give less. I don’t want to get too political here, but this is actually some pretty good Biblical support for the idea of a flat tax where everyone is required to contribute to the support of the government in proportion to their income.
We already saw this idea of proportional giving in 1 Corinthians 16:12, where each person was instructed to give “as he may prosper.”
Paul confirms this principle in his second letter to the church in Corinth:
For if the readiness is there, it is acceptable according to what a person has, not according to what he does not have.
(2 Corinthians 8:12 ESV)
Here is where the concept of a tithe might be useful as a guideline as long as it isn’t used in a legalistic manner. For most people, a tenth of their income is probably a good place to start when considering how much to give. For those who have been blessed materially, 10% is probably not enough and for those who may be struggling financially, something less than 10% might be appropriate.
As you consider that, though, just keep in mind that if your annual family income is $10,000 you are wealthier than 84% of the world and if it is $50,000 you make more than 99% of the people in the world.
• It is to be plentiful
As we’ve already seen, God gives generously. He did not spare His own Son when giving to us. And God did that cheerfully, without reluctance or without being compelled to do that for us. So we are to follow His lead and be generous in our giving.
Once again, Paul gives some useful instruction:
The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
(2 Corinthians 9:6-7 ESV)
Just as we saw in Malachi, Paul is not promising material prosperity for those who give generously. In fact, in the Parable of the Talents in Matthew 25, Jesus makes it clear that those who are good stewards and who are faithful with material resources here on earth will be given greater spiritual responsibilities in the kingdom of God. So there is a connection between how generous we are with our material resources here on earth and what God will entrust to us for eternity.
• It is to be personal
When God gave to us, it was very personal. He gave a part of Himself to us when He gave His Son. So certainly if we are going to give like God gave, we need to give something that really costs us personally.
But our giving is also to be personal in the sense that it is between us and God. We’ve already seen that idea in some of the verses we’ve looked at:
o In 1 Corinthians 16:2 Paul instructs “each of you” to set aside an amount to give.
o In 2 Corinthians 8:12 we find that our giving is to be “according to what a person has.”
o In 2 Corinthians 9, Paul writes that “Each one must give as he has decided in his heart…”
That’s why although I can give you some Biblical guidelines for you to apply, I can’t tell you how much you should give. That is between you and God. If you’re married that is between you and your spouse and God.
No one from this church is ever going to interfere in that decision or pester you to give. But we will encourage you to give cheerfully and generously because the Bible is clear that how you give is very accurate manifestation of the health of your relationship with God. That was true for the people of Malachi’s day and it is still true today.
God desires for me to give to Him
in the same way He has given to me
People who are being transformed to be more like Jesus are generous because Jesus is generous. They want to give as much as possible to further His kingdom and to meet the needs of others. Christ followers should give generously, not as a way to earn or merit their relationship with Jesus, but as a result of that relationship.
