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Malachi 3:10
Generosity and God's Provision
Malachi 3:10
Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house, and test me now in this,” says Yahweh of Armies, “if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there will not be enough room for.
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Why it is worth knowing
- God invites testing: rare in Scripture, here he says “test me now in this”
- Generosity and faithfulness in giving opens the door to God’s provision
- “Windows of heaven” describes overwhelming, more-than-sufficient blessing
- The call to give is also a call to trust: the tithe is an act of faith
Where it sits: Malachi 3:8-12
Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me! But you say, ‘How have we robbed you?’ In tithes and offerings. You are cursed with the curse; for you rob me, even this whole nation. Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house, and test me now in this,” says Yahweh of Armies, “if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there will not be enough room for. I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast its fruit before its time in the field,” says Yahweh of Armies. “All nations shall call you blessed, for you will be a delightful land,” says Yahweh of Armies.
Hear the passage it sits in, sung word for word, on BibleDo's Malachi page.
Background
Malachi writes to a post-exilic community that had grown spiritually lethargic and financially faithless. The accusation that they were robbing God (“Will a man rob God?” Malachi 3:8) through withheld tithes was startling. God’s invitation to test him is rare in Scripture (compare Isaiah 7:10-12, where God invites Ahaz to ask for a sign) (normally testing God is forbidden) but here he actively invites it: give faithfully and see if I do not provide. The “storehouse” was the temple treasury used to support Levites and the poor. The promise of a blessing “that there will not be enough room for” echoes the abundance of Eden: God’s desire is not poverty for his people but overflowing provision.