Tithe – Not what Malachi 3 is about
If you’ve been in church even for one day, the chances are good that you have heard or seen this:
3:10
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.
To this verse, the well-established rules of hermeneutics — the art and science of interpreting scripture — seem not to apply. Before you stop reading, unsubscribe, or click away, indulge me for one question, please. What is the chapter about? If you said tithing, you were absolutely wrong.
You know one of the simplistic rules of hermeneutics is this: first ask, “What is the writer speaking about?” In other words, what is the context? And then you follow up by asking, “What is the writer saying about what they are talking about?” More involved are the literal, grammatical, and historical studies needed to properly extract from scripture its true meaning.
No matter the approach you take, you cannot honestly end with a conclusion that this chapter is about tithing. The tithe issue here is merely an example of a specific rule that a specific people ignored. Is this all that the Messiah was coming to judge? Maybe we should look at other verses in the chapter to discover the context.
3:1 “Look! I’m sending my messenger on ahead to clear the way for me. Suddenly, out of the blue, the Leader you’ve been looking for will enter his Temple – yes, the Messenger of the Covenant, the one you’ve been waiting for. Look! He’s on his way!” A Message from the mouth of God-of-the-Angel-Armies.
3:5
“Yes, I’m on my way to visit you with Judgment. I’ll present compelling evidence against sorcerers, adulterers, liars, those who exploit workers, those who take advantage of widows and orphans, those who are inhospitable to the homeless – anyone and everyone who doesn’t honor me.” A Message from God-of-the-Angel-Armies.
3:6
“I am God – yes, I Am. I haven’t changed. And because I haven’t changed, you, the descendants of Jacob, haven’t been destroyed.
3:7
You have a long history of ignoring my commands. You haven’t done a thing I’ve told you. Return to me so I can return to you,” says God-of-the-Angel-Armies. “You ask, ‘But how do we return?’
Okay, so did you read verse 5? Is it just me? Did I miss the point? What do you think Malachi 3 is about?
June 4, 2008 at 2:41 pm
Sir
Your comments are all over the spectrum of tithing. According to Malachi 1:6 and 2:1 God was addressing the impudent dishonest thieving priests who dared him to judge them in the last verse of chapter two.
In Christ’s love
Russ Kelly
June 4, 2008 at 4:17 pm
Welcome Russ,
Thank you for your extensive work on this subject matter. Just for clarity, I agree that Malachi 3:10 Has Been Misinterpreted. Glad you could add your weight to the discussion.
It’s funny how we are all clear about not being under the old covenant anymore yet so many insist on teaching tithe as law.
June 5, 2008 at 1:19 pm
First, I commend you Kwesi for taking the time to methodically walk through the fallacy of the “tithe” as we know it today.
It really bothers me that pulpit pimps use this as a method of “holy extortion” to ensure a steady revenue stream. The tradegy is that most saints have a heart to give, yet they’re exploited into meeting a certain threshold. There are even books and conferences that teach pimps how to fleece more money out of the sheep.
Also, Russell, I became aware of your work because of your interview with CBS News regarding tithing. I must say that I’m glad to have discovered your material – and I’ll be adding you to my blog roll soon so that others will not be deceived.
The “irony” in this entire argument is that God’s truth is plainly seen in the book of Malachi (when you read the entire 3rd chapter of the book of Malachi). It’s another example of the sheep following blindly when the truth is often sitting in their lap – or on their coffee table.
Thanks gentlemen…
June 5, 2008 at 2:14 pm
@ Speaking,
“The “irony” in this entire argument is that God’s truth is plainly seen in the book of Malachi (when you read the entire 3rd chapter of the book of Malachi). It’s another example of the sheep following blindly when the truth is often sitting in their lap – or on their coffee table.”
Or on the shelf, or in a box somewhere. Isn’t that a great part of the problem?
Christians are not reading the bible. They have been trained to depend on their one master teacher, you know the one with the title and the robe.
Thus the people are destroyed… So sad, so sad.
June 5, 2008 at 3:18 pm
HA!
What robe?
While many pimps where their “ceremonial mantles”, “ephods”, etc. when there’s a special event and they’ve got to “stand in their apostolic prophetic anointing to declare a word”, most like to wear their expensive suits and shoes to show the sheep how “God blesses those who are faithful to Him!”.
You can’t display the “fruit of your faithfulness” by hiding it behind some robe.
C’mon K – if you’re gonna do this “pastoring” thing, you gotta start thinking big!
June 5, 2008 at 3:31 pm
LOL! and here I plan to lead discussion in jeans and tees. What am I thinking?
June 7, 2008 at 4:03 am
Just read through all of your posts about the tithe. I like what you said here, “I sometimes wonder if we’re not really pressuring them to tithe because we lack the faith that God will take care of His body, His ministry, and His work.”
The preaching from the pulpit is backwards. The ministers are pointing the finger at the congregation as if they were the Israelite nation being rebuked in Malachi 3. Of course we know that it was actually the spiritual leaders in Malachi that were being rebuked. How blind have church leaders become?
Revival will not happen until the leaders get the finger pointing right. It is they who lack the faith, by enforcing the tithe. Tithing is the number one security blanket for the church today. If pastors want their congregation to be led by the Spirit, then they need to start with the ability to allow us to do that with our pockets first. Unfortunately, our pocket is the only thing that pastor is worried about the Holy Spirit being in control of.
Thanks for your posts on this issue. keep it up.
- Jared B
June 7, 2008 at 3:52 pm
Jared welcome, thanks for stopping by.
Yeah, it sounds good, the spin on it is really nice from the pulpit, but when you pull it apart and examine the truth, well then it’s a different story. The things is Jared, is that we are called to more than 10% living. All that we have belongs to God. It’s the whole “it’s a law” and “you’ll be cursed” manipulation that is a joke. In the end it’s all about relationship and that should be our motivation for everything we do.
June 8, 2008 at 4:18 am
To answer your question, as I read Malachi 3, I see God saying three basic things: 1) you have been disobedient, 2) you have robbed me, and 3) you have grumbled against me. I see the three as having a domino effect. You haven’t obeyed and have turned against God. Therefore, He hasn’t blessed you the way He would love to, because He hasn’t changed and His principles remain the same. Because you haven’t been blessed, you have complained and had the nerve to blame God when you see others, specifically those outside of the body, prosper.
I see the key in verses 16-17. The people made a pact to remember God. And He was more than thrilled to reclaim them as His own.
It ends beautifully. Verse 18: And you will again see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not.
It was never about the money. It was about obedience and honor to God in ALL things. Verses 3-4 talk about people bringing their offerings in righteousness so that they can be acceptable to the Lord. That’s the whole point. God cares more about the condition of our hearts than about the percentage we bring to Him, (even back then when they WERE under the law). Always has, always will.
Our God has always been a loving God, hasn’t he.
June 8, 2008 at 8:18 am
Now there’s a concept, bring your offering in righteousness, you mean like Able and not Cain? Are you saying, I can’t just give out of obligation? Geesh, who knew?
June 8, 2008 at 7:15 pm
That’s exactly who came to mind — Cain and Abel! One’s sacrifice was accepted and the other’s not, because of obedience and righteousness. As God says in Malachi 3, He never changes.
July 14, 2008 at 3:51 pm
In the couple of churches I have had membership in, tithing was always taught and it was always said that in order to be blessed by God, you HAD to give your 10%., but what I have discovered through the Word of God as I became more mature and studied the Word for myself is that God loves a cheerful giver. If we cheerfully give whatever we have to give, whether it be 10% or more or less, God recieves it. If we give grudgingly, we might as well keep it in our purses or pockets, because God will not recieve it – 2 Corinthians 9:7. I’ve never felt comfortable with someone telling me I had to give what they thought I should give and not what God has placed upon my heart. My spirit is so grieved these days with what is going on in some of the churches. Joel Olstein is a glorified story teller (where is Word of God in his stories – he said to Larry King that he chooses not to use scripture and that he is just a motivator) and he has 20,000 or more sitting under him. Creflo Dollar has the right name if you know what I mean and how does one describe TD JAKES? And let us not forget about JUANITA BYNUM and all of her drama – this “Godly” woman who set her husband up for a fall and lied and had no shame doing it, what about the $5,000 dollar ink pens she says everyone must have in order to be someone or the $500 dollar “Emergency Prayer Kits” she sold on HSN as if to say that God is put upon a shelf and only used in cases of emergencies. (Probably why some of them caught fire right on the set and burned completely up) There are so many wrong things being accepted in the churches today in the Name of Jesus – what a shame this is!!! I am so thankful to have found this sight because there are times (lately more often than not) that I want to SCREAM OUT LOUD — WHAT ARE YOU PEOPLE THINKING! WHERE IS GOD IN ALL OF THIS!!! WHAT HAPPENED TO PEOPLE TELLING THE TRUTH AND STANDING UP FOR CHRIST!!! Some say if you tell the truth, you will be labeled a trouble maker, well what is one to do? Do we do the “popular” thing and follow the crowd and please man or do we do what we know is “RIGHT” in the sight of God. Keep on telling the truth Sir!! (Kwesi) KEEP ON TELLING THE TRUTH!!! We need more Pastors such as yourself. One last question: Have you ever read, “Ten Lies the Church Tells Women?” Be blessed.
July 8, 2009 at 7:12 am
I hear you BUT…. why does the scripture specifically say 10%. There has to be a reason for this – right? If God just wanted us to give out of our hearts be honest! How many people would REALLY give back to God. This is a form of “discipline” – the 10% – more than anything. We have to obey scripture as it is written and not pick the bits and peices we wish to.
July 8, 2009 at 11:14 am
Shirley,
“We have to obey scripture as it is written and not pick the bits and peices we wish to.”
Your statement, while well intentioned in not entirely correct. First, while two covenants are represented in the bible, only one is active. We operate under the New Covenant. So using your statement, your logic, why is the tithe the only OT law we choose to enforce. Why? Because it’s the one that benefits the receivers, the enforcers with cash.
Also, to your question; How many people would really give back to God? That’s exactly the point, right? Hopefully many would give with a cheerful heart. If you are only giving because you are afraid of a curse, are you really given, freely, cheerfully?
Finally, if we are going to say we must obey OT law, lets not stop at tithing. Let’s hold to Leviticus 11 and 12, oh, oh and we must enforce chapter 20 punishment for sin.
You see Shirley it sounds good to say we cant pick and choose but in reality. We don’t have to pick. We are under the New Covenant and no tithe is mandatory. agreed?
July 15, 2008 at 1:41 pm
Welcome Bias,
I share your frustration with the present state of the church. The more I study, the more disturbed I become. SCREAM is exactly about ending the pretense of religion and embracing the freedom of relationship with Christ.
Every now and again, someone comes along that doesn’t mind being branded rebellious or trouble maker. They usually ask a lot of questions that make the crowd uncomfortable and in the end cause great change.
The Truth of Christ! The Kingdom of God! The Salvation of the Loss! That’s what all of this is supposed to be about…
Haven’t read the book, but it sounds interesting
Stay encouraged!
Kwesi
July 24, 2008 at 5:11 pm
Over the last couple of months, I have discovered the truth about tithing. All of my life I have been taught that this is a law which Christians must keep and that obedience to this law was a salvation issue. In other words, if I didn’t give my 10% to the church, then I would loose my heavenly treasure. Also, if I saw some issue with how the tithe was being handled, I could make a complaint to the church, but I had no right to withhold it or give it to some other religious institution, because if I did, I would be “robbing” God. Many people often argue that this law superceded the time of Moses because Abraham is recorded in Genesis as giving a tenth of the plunder of a war to Melchizedek, a high priest of God. Also, his grandson Jacob also was recorded in Genesis as pledging 10% of all that God would give him in the future if he would be with him and protect him on his journey to his Uncle Laban’s house. In close read of these passages, one cannot just assume, as many do, that this tenth was given as a result of some unwritten law that originated sometime after Adam and Eve sinned.
Also, when studying the tithe, I reviewed Romans, Galatians, and Hebrews, among other books and have come to the conclusion that the Old Covenant law that was initiated with Moses is now obsolete. We Christians are under the New Covenant, led by the Holy Spirit, to keep the spirit of the law and not the letter. So are we to give to the Lord? YES! But it is all about how the Holy Spirit moves my heart to give and not about percentages.
July 24, 2008 at 8:54 pm
Welcome Seventh day,
You are correct, we are no more under the law but under grace. Some seem to want to choose when we are under the law and when we are not. Thanks be to God, we are free!
having not read the material you linked I removed it nor wanting to endorse that which I have not read.
August 3, 2008 at 3:37 am
Wonderful postes. Nuff said. ;o)
December 17, 2008 at 11:30 pm
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