Called to Gather, Pray, and Worship

Malachi 3:10

So says the Lord Almighty, “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.”

Pondering Point

If you did not do so yesterday, do yourself a favor and read Malachi 3:6-18 (provided below) to get the context of this blessing (the whole book is just over ten minutes on audible). Ask yourself who gives first in this account and be ready to defend your answer. Look closely. 😊

The Act of Honoring
Or Robbing God
Malachi 3:6-18

This blessing is clearly conditional based on the upcoming behavior and attitude of God’s people in response to God’s words through Malachi. What do you learn from the story about God’s character and His attitude toward “stuff”? Since God’s character does not change (“I, the Lord do not change” v.6), how might a dialogue go between you and He over giving? What does God treasure (see v.17)? What about you – what do you treasure? Where, when and how are the blessings revealed according to this reading? Consider these questions as you ponder this story from God’s Word.

Malachi 3:6-18

Breaking Covenant by Withholding Tithes

6 “I the Lord do not change. So you, the descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed. 7 Ever since the time of your ancestors you have turned away from my decrees and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you,” says the Lord Almighty.

“But you ask, ‘How are we to return?’

8 “Will a mere mortal rob God? Yet you rob me.

“But you ask, ‘How are we robbing you?’

“In tithes and offerings. 9 You are under a curse—your whole nation—because you are robbing me. 10 Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it. 11 I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not drop their fruit before it is ripe,” says the Lord Almighty. 12 “Then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land,” says the Lord Almighty.

Israel Speaks Arrogantly Against God
13 “You have spoken arrogantly against me,” says the Lord.

“Yet you ask, ‘What have we said against you?’

14 “You have said, ‘It is futile to serve God. What do we gain by carrying out his requirements and going about like mourners before the Lord Almighty? 15 But now we call the arrogant blessed. Certainly evildoers prosper, and even when they put God to the test, they get away with it.’”

The Faithful Remnant
16 Then those who feared the Lord talked with each other, and the Lord listened and heard. A scroll of remembrance was written in his presence concerning those who feared the Lord and honored his name.

17 “On the day when I act,” says the Lord Almighty, “they will be my treasured possession. I will spare them, just as a father has compassion and spares his son who serves him. 18 And you will again see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not.

Prayer for the Week