For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed. Even from the days of your fathers ye are gone away from mine ordinances, and have not kept them. Return unto me, and I will return unto you, saith the LORD of hosts. But ye said, Wherein shall we return? Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings. Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation. 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 3:6-10 KJV
INTRODUCTION
These verses are often cited to support tithing as applicable to Christians today and if not paid then the Christian is guilty of robbing God; does it apply to us today? Pastors are adamant in their assertion. Do they care if they are placing, Christians, God’s people, under the curse of the Law?
At the time of Malachi’s warning there were references to four tithes in the Scriptures: Abram’s, Jacob’s, Mosaic and the King’s tithe. Which one of these was being stolen? Of these the tithe going into a storehouse of the Lord was the Mosaic.
For the office of High-priest and Priest, God chose Aaron and his sons respectively and none other under the penalty of death. It is to be noted it was God’s choice, there was no volunteering. They were forbidden to take tithes of the people, but the Levites out of their tithes (inheritance), were to give the tenth portion to the Aaronites; a tithe of the tithes. So, the only tribe paying tithes to a priest was the Levite. These, together with various first-fruits according to their devotion were the part for the Priests and High Priests.
There was no law to compel the Israelite or the Levite to pay the tithe. If they refused, they were not visited by the priest to exact the tithes; they only incurred the displeasure of disobeying the orders of God and were cursed in the field. Contrary to the actions of the Popes later, they were not executed. God has His mysterious ways of motivating people “to give over into your bosom.”
PRESENT TEACHING
It is held that although Malachi was addressing the Israelites, he was scolding them for a situation similar to the one in existence today; therefore the charge of robbing God still holds if Christians withhold the tithe.
The Church tithe, practiced today, is not after the Mosaic Law but is supposedly an “eternal principle” given to Adam and his descendants by God and therefore is binding on Christians. The local Church or the Pastor is seen as the “storehouse” referred to in the text above and those who do not bring in ten per cent of their income are cursed with a curse.
By rebuking the non-tithers, the Pastor is seeking their best interest, ensuring they do not fall under the curse.
REFUTATION OF THE PRESENT TEACHING
The persons referred to in the text are not Christians.
The prophet addressed them as the sons of Jacob” and this whole nation. They are the Israelites; it is not addressed to Christians and therefore cannot be applicable to us today. The Israelites who were obligated to pay the tithe under the Mosaic Law but had not paid nor had they provided appropriate animals for the sacrifices of the Temple. Therefore, they were “cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation” (verse 9).
Some preach this as an indictment by Malachi against the Christian notwithstanding that there were no Christians in the time of Malachi. Are Christians under a curse for not tithing? Can such a curse be on Christians when non-tithing persons are saved every day? Is Jesus saving people so they can tithe? The answers to these questions are found in the first Council of the Church in Acts of the Apostles Chapter 15. I encourage you to read the entire chapter of which the following excerpt is relevant:
But there rose up certain of the sect of the Pharisees which believed, saying, that it was needful to circumcise them (Gentile who believe), and to command them to keep the law of Moses. And when there had been much disputing, Peter rose up, and said unto them, Men and brethren, ye know how that a good while ago God made choice among us, that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel, and believe. And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us; And put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith. Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they. Acts 15:5 – 11 KJV.
The “Pharisees who believed” desired to have the “Gentiles who believed” “keep the Law of Moses,” Notice, in this council, circumcision was a separate issue from the keeping of the Law of Moses. We will not discuss circumcision here, but will focus on the tithe, which was included in the Law of Moses (Lev. 27:30-34). Peter, in this passage, called the Law “a yoke of bondage upon the neck of the disciples…”
The Galatian disciples, whether they were Jew or Gentiles matters not, attempted to keep the Law and the Apostle Paul called them “foolish”; furthermore, he said they were not obeying the truth:
O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you? Gal. 3:1 KJV
Returning to the passage in Malachi, this tithe was not ordained for Christians in the first place!
“But ye say: Wherein shall we return?” Who is the “ye” who does not wish to return? To whom Malachi is referring? The answer is plainly given. It was those called “the sons of Jacob”; ancient Israelites existing in the time of Malachi. Verse 8: “Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me, But ye say, wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings.” Who were these “robbers”? The people of Israel, “the sons of Jacob”. Malachi was scolding the robbers.
“Tithing brings a great blessing,”
For the LORD will “open you the windows of Heaven and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to hold it” (Mal. 3:10). The claim that there is a link between the works of the Law and the blessings of God. However, Christians are not blessed or cursed on the basis of tithing. The Lord said in the Sermon on the Mount, “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” (Matt. 6:33). On the contrary placing ourselves under the Law of Moses concerning tithing will bring us under its curse (Gal. 3:10).
It is claimed that Christians who do not tithe have stolen property, but we share rightful legal title to the goods we possess with Jesus Christ. This is stated in more than one place in the New Testament (Rom. 8:16-17; Gal.3:26-29; Tit.3:7).
Is the Church a storehouse?
For the shepherds have become stupid And have not sought the LORD; Therefore they have not prospered, And all their flock is scattered (Jeremiah 10:21).
The modern storehouse is seen as the Church or specifically the Pastor. The word translated as storehouse in Malachi 3:10 is also rendered “treasury of the Lord.” (See Jos. 6:24:19; 1Ki. 7:51; 14:26; 15:18; 2Ki.12:18). These storehouses existed apart from the Temple.
When the Kingdom of Israel was divided into the Northern Kingdom called Israel and the Southern Kingdom of Judah, a rival worship was setup in the Northern Kingdom by ten of the tribes. This resulted in a fall in the tithes collected by the Levites who now had only the tribes of Judah and Benjamin to collect tithes from. This decrease caused two things:
a) The Levite had to plant his own garden to survive.
b) Withholding of the tithe by the Levite from the sons of Aaron the priests. This action prompted the prophecy of Malachi against them.
Tithing Only For the Land of Israel
Another factor that has often been overlooked concerning the biblical tithing system is it applied to those Jews who lived in the land of Canaan. Jews who lived outside the land of Canaan could not tithe; the tithe from outside places was “unholy.”
And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land, or of the fruit of the tree, is the Lord’s: it is holy unto the Lord. Leviticus 27:30.
Notice, it is All the tithe of the land … is the Lord’s. It is used with regard to a specific piece of real estate (Exodus 3:8, 17) promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The term, as used in Leviticus 27:30, referred only to the land of Israel. See Leviticus 19:23; 20:2; 25:10, 18; 26:32. As the Gentile nations were not given tithing laws and had no counterpart to the Tribe of Levites, they were not instructed to tithe. The term “the land” in Leviticus 27:30 referred only to the land of Israel.
Gentile countries, on the other hand, such as Asia Minor, Greece or Italy were not allowed as lands which could tithe. The produce of those lands was considered as unclean, and unfit for the service of God, that is, it was not “holy unto God”. Alfred Edersheim said, even the very dust of heathen lands was reckoned as defiled. This is why tithe was not acceptable from these lands. The strict reading of the law demanded that the tithe come only from the land of Israel.
A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF MALACHI’S TITHES
For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them. Galatians 3:10 KJV
The curse in the text of Malachi above is the same as the curse given by Paul in Galatians 3:10 above. Therefore, if you are trying to gain God’s blessings through the “works of the Law,” you are placing yourself under the curse of the Law. This is adequate proof that you who practice tithing as a Law or “universal principle” are the ones who are “cursed with a curse” and are not “obeying the truth.”
The two main “works of the Law” which Christians are guilty of trying to obtain the blessings of God with are tithing and sabbath keeping. The Apostle Paul warned the Galatian Christians; even though they had been redeemed from the curse of the Law they were again placing themselves under the curse so that Jesus’ Blood would avail them nothing.
Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace. Galatians 5:4 KJV
American preachers are guilty of teaching that their country is under a curse for not paying them (American preachers) the tithes! The USA is one of the richest and most bountifully blessed nations in existence at any time. While there may be other socio-economic and political problems in the USA, to claim that the nation is under a “financial curse” because they don’t pay 10% of the GDP to the Pastors and Preachers is preposterous. Yet gullible Christians in the US fall for it all the time. There is no country of the world that is cursed. The promise to Abraham was “in thy seed shall all nations of the earth be blessed.”
Thus, the nation warned by Malachi, was Israel; the keeping of the Law was national; for the entire nation. The whole nation had gathered at the foot of Mt. Sinai and made a covenant with God to keep the Law. This was the only country which owed a tithe and offerings to its priesthood. It is not any other country in the world past or present.
The nations of this world do not owe their priests ten per cent of their GDP, not the US, not Britain and not my country. Therefore, this scolding by Malachi, for their failure to pay tithe, and in not bringing appropriate animal sacrifices for the service of the Temple at Jerusalem, was exclusive to the nation of Israel in the time of Malachi, early fourth century B.C. It cannot be applied to any other people.
Verse 7 says “From the days of your fathers…”
This is proof that the tithe, spoken of, is not an eternal principle, but was only from the days of their fathers. God said He was robbed. Can we determine when and who robbed Him? Yes we can. Malachi’s use of the past tense, robbed, informs us it was not Christians, but the people he was addressing who had robbed God in the past. The paragraph is not a prophecy of Christians robbing God sometime in the future, but of the sons of Jacob, robbing God in the past.
The current teaching ignores the passage of time between Malachi’s warning and the Christian era to present.
The application of this warning was only until the cross; after this the believer in Christ has victory over the Devourer and his curses. If this scripture is applied to Christians today, then anyone reading it is guilty of “robbing God”, whether you pay tithes or not! God is pro-active on our behalf; Jesus is not waiting to see if we pay tithes to rebuke the devourer. He is already victorious over him. Anyone in Christ has the benefit of that total victory freely, without tithing. When Pastors turn your attention away from Jesus’ victory to tithing as a source of protection they take your eyes of Jesus and place you under the curse.
Tithing brings fear, tension and confusion upon its practitioners.
Every Church practicing and preaching tithing, on the basis of Malachi 3:10, is riddled with fear, tension, and spiritual confusion. They are afraid of “robbing God” or afraid of the devourer destroying their livelihood. Now, fear and confusion is not from God. Those who teach tithing from Malachi 3:10 makes the Bible contradict itself. In Malachi, the tithe is the same as the Mosaic tithe (3:7). Ministers use this passage of scripture to accuse Christians who don’t tithe of robbing God and keeping stolen property. Some think the Early Church exempted the Gentiles from the Law, but they had no power to exempt anyone from the Law. The Gentiles were never under the Law and thus were never under Malachi’s curse (Mal.3:10).
The tithe discussed by Malachi is the grain and the animal tithe of the Mosaic Law.
The prophet was speaking about food, not money. The storehouses were located in the 48 cities of the Levites all over Israel and there was one in the temple at Jerusalem as well. The storehouse at Jerusalem was built by King Hezekiah (2Chronicles 31:4–10). It was for the King’s Tithe (1 Sam. 8:11-19). He then ordered to bring the tithe of the agricultural produce into the storehouse—and the people brought such abundance that the Levites had to lay it up in heaps. Hezekiah then had chambers made in the Temple to hold the surplus. They held grain, not money, they were not banks.
Malachi was a Prophet and therefore had an interest in those storehouses being full. He was also speaking on behalf of the Priests, Levites, Prophets, the poor, the fatherless, widows, strangers to have their food in the House of God. These people were fed from the “meat” in the Lord’s house. Malachi, desired the grain produce to be tithed and put in the storehouse so these people (mentioned before) would not starve or have to beg from the very people who were withholding the tithe. The tithe of the tithes which was required by law (Deuteronomy 12:6) was supposed to be sent only to the Temple at Jerusalem.
A similar situation to Malachi’s is in the thirteenth chapter of Nehemiah, a contemporary of Malachi:
“And I perceived that the portions of the Levites had not been given them; so that the Levites and the singers, that did the work, were fled every one to his field. Then contended I with the rulers, and said: Why is the house of God forsaken? And I gathered them together, and set them in their place. Then brought all Judah the tithe of the corn and the new wine and the oil unto the treasuries (storehouses).” Nehemiah 13:10–12
In the time of Nehemiah and Malachi, after the captivity, while the country was being restored there were food shortages and much poverty in Israel (Neh. 5:2–6). It was in relieving that bad environment that the prophet Malachi promised the Jewish people a help from God. But the country was in bad shape after being uncultivated for more than 70 years while the people were captive at Babylon, the land was recovering from a curse. But Malachi promised the Jews in Palestine a relief. If they would turn from the evil ways, they were to have abundance (Malachi 3:10).
“And I will rebuke the devourer for your good, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your land; neither shall your vine cast its fruit before the time in the field, saith the Lord of hosts” Malachi 3:11.
CONCLUSION
Preachers accuse Christians of not paying the Mosaic tithe and insisting they are under a curse if they don’t, have not perceived that receiving the tithe which God gave to the Levite is also robbing God and they are under the same curse.
Some of this may have shocked you; it did shock me when I did the study, but I have not presented anything debatable. These are all revealed in the Word of God and corroborated by history. Many preachers and evangelists know these facts [if they don’t, they should not be preaching about tithes], but they keep their people in the dark because they also believe the people would not fund their churches if they were aware to these facts. But all persons ought to know the truth of the Bible.
A clear understanding of the Biblical Laws of tithing is necessary to understand this warning of the Prophet Malachi to “the sons of Jacob”. It will also give you needed insight on how far Preachers and Pastors advocating a tithing system for Christians have departed from the simple truth which is in Christ Jesus. Their arrogance, carelessness and mishandling of God’s Word and resources when taking out of context the teachings is apparent.
People, with what some preachers regard as the wrong view of tithing, are still greatly blessed according to their faith and the Grace of God. God’s Grace is not sufficient for those who want to live under tithing laws and principles. Does God care for tithe, and not people? Would He curse His children if they did not give Him money?
THE END