Missed Tithes and Borrowing Money in Malachi 3
Malachi 3:8-9 addresses the people of Judah, accusing them of robbing God by withholding tithes and offerings. The passage states, "Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me. But you say, ‘How have we robbed you?’ In your tithes and contributions. You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me, the whole nation of you" [1]. This passage is part of a larger section in Malachi where God confronts the Israelites for their spiritual apathy and disobedience, following a promise of the Messiah's coming and a description of the judgment he will bring [4, 8].
The prophet Malachi challenges the people's insensitivity to their sin, similar to how they questioned God's justice earlier in the book [3, 9]. The term "rob" (Hebrew: qaba') implies a deliberate act of defrauding [6]. God asserts that the nation has collectively robbed Him by failing to provide the required tithes and offerings [1, 5].
Tithes, a tenth of agricultural produce, were mandatory offerings to the Lord, as outlined in Deuteronomy 12:6, 11, 17 [5]. These tithes supported the Levites, who in turn paid a tithe to the priests [2, 6]. There were also other tithes, such as a second tithe for feasting at the tabernacle and a third-year tithe for the poor [6]. Offerings encompassed additional gifts, including produce, materials, or valuables, given to God or the sanctuary [5]. Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki (Rashi) interprets the withholding of tithes and the terumah levy (a priestly due) from the priests and Levites as tantamount to robbing God Himself [7].
The consequence of this robbery was a curse upon the entire nation [1, 5]. This curse is understood as a divine judgment, reminiscent of the curses described in Deuteronomy 28:20, 27, which were a result of disobedience [5]. The Jamieson, Fausset & Brown commentary suggests that this non-payment of tithes and offerings was the cause of national calamities, and that the people were repeating the sins of their ancestors that led to the Babylonian captivity [3]. Malachi's urgent call was for the community to repent and return to God, with a promise that God would return to them in blessings if they did [3, 5].
Sources
- Malachi “You are cursed with the curse; for you rob me, even this whole nation. -- Malachi 3:9”
- Malachi (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on Malachi 3:10: Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse,.... Or "treasury" (e); for there were places in the temple where the tithe was put, and from thence distributed to the priests and Levites, for the support of their families, as they wanted. There were the tithe or tenth part of all eatable things paid to the Levites, and out of this another tithe was paid by the Levites to the priests; and there was another tithe, which some years the owners ate themselves at Jerusalem, and in others gave them to the poor; and these were called the first tithe, the tithe out of the tithe,”
- Malachi (Presbyterian) “Jamieson, Fausset & Brown on Malachi 3:7: Reproof for the non-payment of tithes and offerings, which is the cause of their national calamities, and promise of prosperity on their paying them. from . . . days of your fathers--Ye live as your fathers did when they brought on themselves the Babylonian captivity, and ye wish to follow in their steps. This shows that nothing but God's unchanging long-suffering had prevented their being long ago "consumed" (Mal 3:6). Return unto me--in penitence. I will return unto you--in blessings. Wherein, &c.-- (Mal 3:16). The same insensibility to their”
- Malachi (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on Malachi 3 (introduction): INTRODUCTION TO MALACHI 3 This chapter begins with a prophecy of John the Baptist, the forerunner of Christ; and of the coming of Christ, and the effects and consequences of it, with respect both to the righteous and the wicked; and it contains accusations and charges of sin against the Jews, intermixed with exhortations to repentance. John the Baptist is promised to be sent, and is described by his office as a messenger, and by his work, to prepare the way of the Lord; and the Messiah is prophesied of, who is described by his characters; with respect t”
- Malachi (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on Malachi 3:8: 3:8-9 Malachi appeals to Judah for a comprehensive renewal of their practice of giving to the Lord. • Tithes, a tenth of the produce of the land, were required offerings (see Deut 12:6, 11, 17). Offerings were additional gifts or contributions made to the Lord or his sanctuary that included produce, material goods (such as construction materials or garments), or personal valuables (such as gold, silver, or precious stones). • Judah’s recent experience resulted from God’s curse (see Deut 28:20, 27). Malachi thus urgently called the community to repent, turn to the ”
- Malachi (Presbyterian) “Jamieson, Fausset & Brown on Malachi 3:8: rob--literally, "cover": hence, defraud. Do ye call defrauding God no sin to be "returned" from (Mal 3:7)? Yet ye have done so to Me in respect to the tithes due to Me, namely, the tenth of all the remainder after the first-fruits were paid, which tenth was paid to the Levites for their support (Lev 27:30-33): a tenth paid by the Levites to the priests (Num 18:26-28): a second tenth paid by the people for the entertainment of the Levites, and their own families, at the tabernacle (Deu 12:18): another tithe every third year for the poor, &c. (Deu 14:28-”
- Sefaria (Jewish (Rabbinic)) “Rashi (Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki) on Malachi 3:8: With tithes and with the terumah levy The tithes and the terumah - levy that you steal from the priests and the Levites is tantamount to robbing Me.”
- Malachi (Nonconformist/Puritan) “Matthew Henry on Malachi 3 (introduction): In this chapter we have, I. A promise of the coming of the Messiah, and of his forerunner; and the errand he comes upon is here particularly described, both the comfort which his coming brings to his church and people and the terror which it will bring to the wicked (Mal 3:1-6). II. A reproof of the Jews for their corrupting God's ordinances and sacrilegiously robbing him of his dues, with a charge to them to amend this matter, and a promise that, if they did, God would return in mercy to them (Mal 3:7-12). III. A description of the wickedness of the ”
- Malachi (Presbyterian) “Jamieson, Fausset & Brown on Malachi 2:17: wearied . . . Lord-- (Isa 43:24). This verse forms the transition to Mal 3:1, &c. The Jewish skeptics of that day said virtually, God delighteth in evil-doers (inferring this from the prosperity of the surrounding heathen, while they, the Jews, were comparatively not prosperous: forgetting that their attendance to minor and external duties did not make up for their neglect of the weightier duties of the law; for example, the duty they owed their wives, just previously discussed); or (if not) Where (is the proof that He is) the God of judgment? To this”