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.”

I would like to think that Israel is doing this in ignorance but I’m afraid the evidence opposes that possibility. These questions and answers in Malachi are based on real events in which the people are in direct disobedience to God. God again has promised to return His blessings to the nation if they will return to Him. They seemed ignorant of their leaving in the first place. “How do we return?” they wonder. God offers a starting place; tithes and contributions. This is not the problem of a few but rather for the many. The whole nation is guilty of cheating God.

Does God need the money? No, He doesn’t need their gifts but they need His. God owns it all and they like many today seem to miss that important point. We think it is ours and thus we will only share with God what we decide is enough to satisfy Him. Sick thinking. God does not depend on us; we depend on God. People treat God like He is the IRS, always looking for loopholes and runarounds. When we do that we are not skimping on God we are skimping on ourselves.

Task for Today: “Bring the full tithe into the storehouse…” (vs. 10). How much do you give? Or, how much do you keep? Do you give like God, full measure, packed down, heaped up, and running over? Question: Have you experienced what is behind the windows of heaven?