Give It Up! (Malachi 3:10)

Good morning brothers and sisters. Today we are going to be taking a look at Malachi 3:10, let’s go there in our Bibles. Before we get going let’s pray and ask God to bless our time together in his word, let’s pray. 

For those of you who remember, the last sermon I gave, we were in the book of Daniel. Daniel lived and wrote during the time of the Babylonian exile when the Jews were removed from the promised land for their covenant disobedience. And if you remember, Daniel perceives in the writings of Jeremiah the prophet the number of years (70) the jews were to remain in exile but after the (70) years were up, God would have mercy on His people and restore them back to the land, and God did. Fast forward about 100 years of the people being in the land and that’s when Malachi is prophesying (that’s about 400 yrs before Christ). And everything is just going great, they learned their lesson from their time in exile, they’re loving God and trusting him and obeying him…. No, that's not what was happening, it is actually almost worse than before the exile. Take a look at the opening verses of Malachi. “I have loved you” says the Lord. But you say, “how have you loved us?”. Right out of the gate we see the people’s failure to trust God. The people group whom God had redeemed out of slavery in Egypt, kept, fed and protected in the wilderness, brought them into the land that He promised to give them, stayed faithful to despite their repeated faithlessness to Him, and brought back to the land after they were kicked out of it for THEIR sin. And how do they respond to God saying that he has loved them? “How have you loved us?”. Look, there’s a lot that i could point to try and give a sense of the people’s spiritual condition but their response to God just about sums it up. They were doubting Him, and let’s  be sure to learn from their doubt. Church, when you are tempted to doubt God’s love for you, look back at what He has done in your life, look at the cross. The precious Son of God, crucified for your sin, crushed by the wrath of God so you could have peace with God. 1 Corinthians 5:21 “For our sake, He made Him sin, who knew no sin, that in Him, we might become the righteousness of God”. Now that we have a sense of where the people are at, in this book, let’s take a look at our main text. 

Malachi 3:10 “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”.

Let’s walk through this verse together and see what we find. The first part, “Bring the full tithe into the storehouse. That there may be food in my house”.

Let’s first ask, what was the tithe?

Well the word tithe means 1/10 or a tenth portion of something and it has to do with the peoples giving part of their income to the Levites. Remember, when the people entered the promised land, each tribe was allotted land except for the Levites, whose inheritance was the Lord, and were to be freed up by the giving of the tithe, to be able to solely focus on serving the Lord as either priests or in some other role in the temple. And this wasn’t an optional giving on the people’s part, it was a part of the Law of Moses, the covenant agreement that God made with the descendants of Abraham. Deuteronomy 14:22 “You shall tithe all the yield of your seed that comes from the field year by year”. The tithe offering didn’t just look like giving crops but it was whatever the persons income was, that could be crops, or livestock or money, etc….

This tithe was used three different ways, levites, and priests would live off of the tithe as we heard earlier and they’d also use the tithe in offering and sacrifice to God. Second, the tithe was used for funding feasts and religious holidays that the people were to observe because they were centered around God’s redeeming them and his goodness and kindness towards them as a people and a nation. And third, every three years a tithe was specifically used to feed and take care of not only the levites but also those who were in need. Deuteronomy 14:28-29 “At the end of 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 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”.

Isn’t that a beautiful glimpse into the heart of God? Who he is? A mighty King, seated high above heaven and earth, raising up nations and tearing them down, commanding the stars and planets, surrounded by heavenly beings that if we were to get a glimpse of we’d be compelled to fall down and worship, yet he cares for and is mindful of the “Sojourner, the fatherless, the widow”. Those who are on the fringe of society, the needy and the vulnerable. That’s your God church.

And we can ask another question, why did God through Malachi bring up the issue of tithing? We just read in Deuteronomy that it was a part of the covenant agreement, the people know this. So what was going on? Well go up to verse 8 of this chapter. Malachi 3:8 “Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me. But you say, “how have we robbed you?”. In your tithes and contributions”.

The people had been neglecting to offer the “Full” tithe. God takes this seriously, think of the language that is being used, “You are robbing me”. Yes, the lack of tithing would affect certain individuals who depended on it, like we just heard in Deuteronomy, but more important than that, this was a direct affront to God as the one who gave the commandment, and it also dishonored God because a portion of the tithe would be used as an offering and sacrifice to him. Did God confront the people about their tithing because without it He would be lacking something, as if he needed it? No! God is self existent, there is nothing outside of His own being that he requires. Listen to Psalm 50:10-13 “For every beast of the forest is mine, the cattle on a thousand hills. I know the birds of the hills, and all that moves in the field is mine. If I were hungry I would not tell you, for the world and its fullness are mine. Do I eat the flesh of bulls? Or drink the blood of goats?”.

Or how about what Paul says in Acts 17:24-25 “The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life, breath, and everything”. Verse 28, “In him we live and move and have our being”. That’s your God church. The self sustaining one. He doesn’t need us, he doesn’t even need us to believe in Him, the height of Mount Everest is not decreased in any way by your or I’s never seeing it. There’s nothing that you or I can or can not do that takes anything away from God. So again, why did God confront the people about their tithing? Or lack there of. Well why does God confront the sin in the lives of his people today? Because he wants them to “Return to him” just in word, in truth. Take a look at verse 7 of Malachi 3 “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?”. And now verse 8 again, “ Will man rob? Yet you are robbing me”. It’s like a parent telling a wayward child to come home and the child says, “how can I come home?” and the parent answers, “well for starters you can put one foot in front of the other and start walking”. 

Let’s ask another question, what was the main point of the tithe? It was an act of worship. It was a way to recognize God as the real giver of everything that they had. The ground doesn’t produce fruit without God commanding it to. The cow doesn’t give birth without God letting it. Yes the tithes was used for the Levites and the needy, but it was meant as a way for the people to be able to express reliance upon God in a spirit of trust and worship. As if to say, “ God you give us everything, everything that we have as a people and a nation is really yours, you give to us freely so we give back to you and one another freely”. 

The maker of heaven and earth did not institute the tithe for himself but for the people, who needed to be me reminded again and again that, “The world and its fullness are His”. Church, no the tithe is not specifically laid out as a command in the new covenant in the sense that we have not been told to give a specific amount. But that doesn’t mean that we don’t give, actually being under the new covenant, it may mean that we give much more. In the old covenant the peoples giving was supposed to flow from the fact that God had redeemed them, he had saved them and become their God, their redemption, their everything, they should have had more than willing hearts to give up whatever God asked of them. How much more should we be willing to give as people who are partakers of the new covenant that’s in the blood of Christ? We give joyfully to the church because we know that “He who did not spare his own son, but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him, graciously give us all things” (Romans 8:32)

So, brothers and sisters it may be God wants you to give 10% or 20% or 30% or more! But all of this flowing from a heart that is 100% willing to give up whatever God might ask because God in Christ has given us all things, even his own son. Let’s continue reading, 

“And thereby put me to the test”. Now we know that it a sin to put God to the test, Deuteronomy 6:16 says, “You shall not put the lord your God to the test as you tested him in Massah”. Jesus quotes this to shut up the devil when Satan tempted him in the wilderness, Matthew 4:7. What is God saying here? Is he telling them to do something that he told them not to? NO! There is a sinful way to test God and a righteous way. Let me re read the verse, “You shall not put the Lord your God to the test, as you tested him in massah”. What happened in Massah? Remember in Exodus 18 when the Israelites were thirsty because there was no water and they were just about ready to kill Moses and they grumbled and said, “is the lord among us or not?”. They put God to the test by doubting Him. So what is God calling the people to do here in verse 10? He’s actually calling them to faith. He’s calling them to trust and obey. He’s saying, “Trust me, do what I’ve commanded and see if I will not bless you, put my word to the test by obeying it”. In the same way church, by faith we put God’s word to the test when we walk out on the bridge of God’s promises. When you face trials of various kinds but by faith cling to the promises of God that “He will never leave you or forsake you” Deuteronomy 31 and though “The mountains may depart and the hills be removed his steadfast love shall not depart from you, and his covenant of peace shall not be removed, says the Lord who has compassion on you”. Isaiah 54:10 or what about when Satan accuses you and slams you with the guilt of sin? We put God’s word to the test by saying and BELIEVING that, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus”. Romans 8:1 There is a right way and wrong way to test God, a way for faith and a way of doubt. 

And let’s look again at vs 10 “If I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need”. It would have been enough if the God of the universe had just said, “Bring the full tithe in”. That would be enough to warrant full obedience. But he doesn’t just give the command, he sites a promise and not just a small promise, He didn’t say, “Bring the full tithe in and I’ll match it”. NO, He instead says, “I will open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need”. The “windows of heaven” language, guess where else in the Bible we see it used. Genesis 7 when God “Opened the windows of heaven” and flooded the whole earth. What type of blessing are we talking about here? This is overwhelming blessing, earth saturating blessing, that God said He would pour down on them if they were to take Him at His word and obey.

And so that’s Malachi 3:10. God calls the people to trust Him and give up what they would hold onto, and says that if they do, He would bless them.

What about us? Are there things that we are withholding from God? Is it money or income? Like the people in Malachi 4. Is it obedience? Is it trust? Is it love?

We have as the new covenant people of God may not have a mandated tithe like in Malachi’s day, but the Gospel call to the believer and the unbeliever is to give up everything and surrender it to Christ, even our lives. What does Jesus say? Matthew 16:24-26 “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me, for whoever would save his life will lose it but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it”.

Brethren, Church, total surrender is part of the gospel call. Jesus will not share the throne of our hearts.

Think of the rich young ruler in (Matthew 19) who came to Jesus and asked, “what do I need to do in order to have eternal life?”. And remember Jesus tells him to keep the commandments and the guy says, “which ones?” And Jesus lists of a few and the guy responds, “ya ya I’ve kept all of those, what am I still missing?” And Jesus then tells him to sell all the he has and give it to the poor and that he’ll have treasure in heaven and to come and follow Him. And the young man leaves and walks away sorrowful because he had a lot of possessions. What happened? Jesus wasn’t going to play games with the guy, who said “tell me what I need to do in order to have eternal life and I’ll do it” Jesus put a finger on his idol and the guy clutched it back and walked away. Now I’m not saying that what it looks like to truly follow Jesus, for everyone, is to sell everything that we have, but for some it may be. And we can apply the rich young ruler story to our lives, just replace money or possessions if those don’t apply, with whatever does.

But notice in both Matthew 17 and 19, yes commands are given, but so to are promises, “Deny yourself, take up your cross and follow me and you will have life”. “Go sell all that you own and you will have treasure in heaven”. Just like in our main text we see that, we can’t give up anything that God can’t or won’t replace with something far greater. How did Jesus respond to Peter when he pretty much said, “See Lord, we have left everything and followed you, what are we going to get?”. Jesus graciously answers, “truly I say to, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, who will not receive now in this time, house and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come, Eternal Life”.

Because the God who calls you is the one who made you and “without him was nothing made that was made”. “Bring the full tithe in”, give up whatever you would hold back from God and in so doing put Him to the test and see if He will not “Open the windows of heaven for you and our down for you a blessing until there is no more need”. And guess what, He already has! The windows of heaven were open and who came down? CHRIST! The jewel of heaven, the TRUE blessing, the Ultimate Joy, “He the theme of heavens praises robed in frail humanity”. Yes, there are indeed many things, each one marvelous, that we gain from giving up our lives and coming to God through Christ, Freedom from sin, forgiveness of trespasses, saved from the torments of hell, peace with God, adoption as sons and daughters of the most high, the free gift of righteousness, justification, glorification, the redemption of our bodies, Eternal life…. We could go on, but what is the capstone of the these benefits, what is the pinnacle of all blessings from God? Jesus! The prize of faith is Jesus himself. The perfect son of God, the spotless lamb. There are many things that we enjoy and take pleasure in but Christ is the ultimate joy, the greatest treasure, the ultimate beauty. Is the one who made all beauty not far greater than His creation? He who made sex, and its form and function and every other bodily pleasure, is He not more enjoyable than His creation? And you gamers and those of us who love fantasy worlds and depictions of monsters and heroes and beasts and valiant warriors… let me share a depiction of Jesus with you. 

Revelation 19:11-16... “Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called faithful and true, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many jeweled crowns, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is the word of God. And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following Him on white horses. From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the wine press of the fury of the Wrath of God. On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, the King of kings and the Lord of lords”.

Before I close, I just want to as quick as I can leave us with one more exhortation. The awesomeness of the true Jesus needs to influence our evangelism. Guys, what do we have to offer a dying world? Look around, we are small in number, we don’t have fancy chairs or a professional music team, we don’t have an elaborate children’s ministry… what can we offer? What can you give to the homosexual? What can you give to the addict? What can you give to the self righteous, to the weak, the wayward, the lost? What can you give to your children? What can you give to your spouse? What can we give each other? Christ. This Christ, who is the excellent one, the true blessing of heaven, who one who made THE sacrifice for sin, the living Christ, who is coming back to judge the living and the dead. The one who even now calls us to “Bring in the full tithe”, by faith give up that which you would hold back from God, whatever is might be, and receive the ultimate blessing, Jesus. And let us encourage others to do the same. Let’s pray.