“ 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. “ —- Malachi 3:7–8 (KJV)
——————-
As we bring our study of Malachi to a close, it is good to look back at the complete inventory of charges, (seven of them, including this weeks text ) that are leveled against the priesthood.
1. I have loved you, saith the LORD. Yet ye say, —Wherein hast thou loved us? Was not Esau Jacob’s brother? saith the LORD: yet I loved Jacob, And I hated Esau, and laid his mountains and his heritage waste for the dragons of the wilderness. ( 1:2-3 )
2. if then I be a father, where is mine honour? and if I be a master, where is my fear? saith the LORD of hosts unto you, O priests, that despise my name. And ye say, —Wherein have we despised thy name? ( 1:6 )
3. Ye offer polluted bread upon mine altar; and ye say, —Wherein have we polluted thee? In that ye say, The table of the LORD is contemptible. And if ye offer the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil? and if ye offer the lame and sick, is it not evil? (1:6-8) for my name shall be great among the heathen, saith the LORD of hosts.
But ye have —profaned it—, in that ye say, The table of the LORD is polluted; and the fruit thereof, even his meat, is contemptible. Ye said also, Behold, what a weariness is it! and ye have snuffed at it, saith the LORD of hosts; and ye brought that ——which was torn, and the lame, and the sick; thus ye brought an offering: should I accept this of your hand? saith the LORD. ( 1:11-13 )
4. why do we deal treacherously every man against his brother, by —-profaning the covenant of our fathers? … …Yet ye say, Wherefore? Judah hath dealt treacherously, and an abomination is committed in Israel and in Jerusalem; for Judah hath profaned the holiness of the LORD which he loved, and hath married the daughter of a strange god. Because the LORD hath been witness between thee and the wife of thy youth, against whom thou hast dealt treacherously: yet is she thy companion, and the wife of thy covenant. ( 2: 10,11,14 )
5. Ye have wearied the LORD with your words. Yet ye say, —-Wherein have we wearied him? When ye say, Every one that doeth evil is good in the sight of the LORD, and he delighteth in them; or, Where is the God of judgment?
6. 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?
7. Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, —-Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings.
They have questioned His Love, despised His Name, profaned His altar, broken the Covenant, tired Him with their unbelief, broken the Law, and finally, been thieves!
They have not given God, what is his just due, 10% of the very best , from an overall 10% of the produce of the land of Israel, food — grain fruits, and cattle.
People that owned land and cattle tithed 10% of their produce, cattle were selected randomly.
Leviticus 27:30,32,33 (KJV): 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. And concerning the tithe of the herd, or of the flock, even of —-whatsoever passeth under the rod—-, the —tenth shall be holy unto the LORD. ——He shall not search whether it be good or bad, —-neither shall he change it: and if he change it at all, then both it and the change thereof shall be holy; it shall not be redeemed.” [[ btw this is the Last Law in Leviticus , and related to the last charge in Malachi ! ]]
This tithe was given to the priests, as priests did not inherit any land in Israel - per Gods design, He, was to be their inheritance!The “produce” of the priests, was this 10%, from which they were REQUIRED to, —-not tithe—-, but offer a HEAVE OFFERING, and every offering to the LORD IS TO BE FROM THE BEST!
Numbers 18:25–29 (KJV): “ And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Thus speak unto the Levites, and say unto them, When ye take of the children of Israel the tithes which I have given you from them for your inheritance, then ye shall —-offer up an heave offering—- of it for the LORD, even a tenth part of the tithe.
And this your heave offering shall be —-reckoned unto you—- , as though it were the corn of the threshingfloor, and as the fulness of the winepress. Thus ye also shall offer —-an heave offering—- unto the LORD of all your tithes, which ye receive of the children of Israel; and ye shall give thereof the LORD’S heave offering to Aaron the priest. Out of all your gifts ye shall offer every heave offering of the LORD, —-of all the best—- thereof, even the hallowed part thereof out of it. “
Tithes and offerings are different things people! Tithes are a grateful acknowledgment and returning of Gods blessing (rain) back to Him to be used for His purposes, offerings require the best of what we have!
The priests made a LOT of money in Jesus’ day by REQUIRING unblemished animals for offerings. They would sell “kosher” animals for a premium ( while finding faults with a petitioners animal ) and also make money off of currency trade to temple currency, while KEEPING the good animals for themselves and offering the blemished ones on the altar!! ( Charges 3 ,6 ,7 above ).
Now you know why Jesus was so hopping mad, and why His most acid comments were squarely aimed at those profiting from the faithful!
…. And not much has changed since Malachis day, or Christs…..
The book of Malachi should be a frightful wake up call to any one who dares to use it to flog the Bride of Christ to raise money !
Every charge sticks, and they are aimed at the one who is supposed to know better, from whose lips people should be seeking guidance and help! ( We have done a detailed video and study on tithing that looks at every single verse where it is mentioned, and we commend those to your attention if you are interested in digging deeper. )
The book of Malachi is not the tithing book….. it is a solemn admonition before 400 years of absolute silence, before the advent of the true Priest that would show us the right way to worship God!
Hallelujah!!