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The Malachi Misunderstanding

Mal 3:8-10 “Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me! But you say, ‘In what way have we robbed You?’ In tithes and offerings. 9 You are cursed with a curse, For you have robbed Me, Even this whole nation. 10 Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, That there may be food in My house, And try Me now in this,” Says the Lord of hosts, “If I will not open for you the windows of heaven And pour out for you such blessing That there will not be room enough to receive it. (NKJV)

We hear about this passage so often when it comes to modern day tithing doctrines. God says people have robbed Him through tithes and offerings. Now we are usually told because the tithe belongs to God, by not giving it we are robbing Him of what is His. Such a subtle manipulation and guilt trip to get people to give more money when we have already seen from Part 2 that the tithe was only ever edible commodities. Whenever you feel guilty for not apparently having done something you were “supposed” to, you are being ministered to by the ministry of condemnation and death (2 Cor 3:6-9), otherwise known as the law, that old useless and weak covenant (Heb 7:18), the very thing Jesus came to take away (Rom 7:6). Sela – Think about that…

Just before it says we rob God, it says this, “You are cursed with a curse.” This is often used to teach people that if you don’t tithe, you will be cursed by God. Now doesn’t that sound an awful lot like Deut 28? Do good to get good, don’t do good and be cursed… Isn’t that exactly what Jesus came to set us free from? (Col 2:14). He did all the good things on our behalf. He became a curse for us. He canceled the written code that stood opposed to us! What is so difficult to understand? But wait, there’s more! If you look at the Hebrew text of ‘You are cursed with a curse’ you will notice that the word ‘are’ is not in the original text. Yes, it was added by the translators. That is why it is written in italics in your Bible. So let’s take that out and read it like God said it: You cursed with a curse. Suddenly the whole meaning has changed! It changed from they are cursed to they are the ones who did the cursing. Can that be right? Shockingly, yes! You can give in such a way that God sees it as a curse. Let me explain:

Notice that God didn’t say they robbed Him by not giving. They robbed Him IN tithes and offerings. To me that says God saw the way they gave as robbing Him. How can you rob God by giving? Does it mean you can give (which is good) but in an improper way (which is bad)?  Yes. We know from many other passages that God looks past the actions and deeds to the motives and heart conditions of the person. When I give, God doesn’t look at what I give, He looks at why I am giving. Let me try to explain with an example. Let’s say a person is in need of a financial breakthrough. They go to church to find help from God. Then they hear a preacher say, “God can only bless you if you tithe. The more you tithe, the more you will be blessed. If you don’t tithe, God is cursing you.” So they think to themselves, “God must not be pleased with me at the moment; that is why I am in need. He has cursed me for not tithing. Let me try to please God and get myself on His good side again so my breakthrough can happen and the curse can lift.” The biggest problem with this is that firstly it paints a picture of an angry God who needs to be pleased. Secondly, this angry God is only pleased when we are able to do what He requires of us. So if the basis of the reconciliation is our ability and obedience, does that not equate to self-righteousness? Self-righteousness says, “God is pleased with me because of what I can do, how holy and good I can be.” Not what Jesus could do on my behalf, but what I can do. Well, if you are so great and able to please God, why do you need Jesus? If you are in Christ, then God is pleased with you based on what Jesus did. Jesus + anything = nothing. Jesus + nothing = everything.

Don’t give in order to be blessed. That is like trying to buy the blessing. That is why God said they robbed Him. They tried to manipulate Him through giving so He would see how good they were and bless them because of their obedience. We are not made righteous by our obedience, we are made righteous by Jesus’ free gift of righteousness. All the blessings start there. I don’t want any blessing that doesn’t start and end with Jesus! Now let’s look at another person. He is also in need of a financial breakthrough. He has a little money and is thankful to God for it. On his way to church, he sees a person in need. He decides to give the little he has, the little he wanted to give thanks to God with, to the person in need. He goes to church and hears a preacher say, ‘Whenever you give selflessly to help out others in need, it is like you were giving it to Jesus directly.’

Matt 25:34-45 Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35 for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; 36 I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’ 37 “Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? 38 When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? 39 Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ 40 And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’ 41 “Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: 42 for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; 43 I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’ 44 “Then they also will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’ 45 Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ (NKJV)

Remember from Part 2 how the tithe was to be shared with those in need? With widows, orphans, strangers and any other person in your city? Seems like God still hasn’t changed His mind about that… Whenever you say thanks to God for what you have by giving it away to meet somebody else’s need, you are truly ‘tithing’. It is as if you gave that money to Jesus in person. See the need, meet the need. Look past your wallets…

Thank you God for being pleased with me through Jesus! Thank you for giving me all I need to meet even the smallest of needs.

Read my final thoughts in Part 4 here!

Cornel

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