Tithing - Who was Malachi Really Talking To?

This blog post is an excerpt from my new book, "Clever Lies and Assumptions from the Pulpit to the Pews". By the way, do you have your copy?

Fact: Congregants give an average of 2.58 percent of their income to their churches—down from 3.11 percent of their income in 1968, according to studies published by Empty Tomb, a ministry that studies church finances. “Tithing is in decline,” said the Rev. William Hull, a research professor at Samford University and a Baptist minister. “The older generation was taught to tithe. It's not being taught very much any more.” [Usatoday.com 5/31/08]

Preachers and teachers love to use Malachi to support their deception and or reason for pushing tithing. In the years that I have been teaching the gospel, never have I heard any preacher teach tithing based on historical and biblical facts. Their frame of reference, when it comes to tithing, is based on traditional teaching rather than its historical and biblical origin, purpose and intent.

Who was Malachi talking to? I can tell you with all confidence that he was not talking to Gentiles or any Christian under the covenant of grace. All we have to do is read, but because the devil knows that most Christians will not read, it makes it easy to deceive them from the pulpit or the television. If by chance you do decide to read Malachi 1 verse 1, you will discover who he was talking to. Malachi was talking to an Israel that was under the law. Israel was completely backsliding and the priests were NOT doing their jobs. (Sound familiar?) The sacrifices were polluted and therefore rejected by God. The people were completely neglecting proper marriage laws and the maintenance and restoration of the House of God. (The Temple)

To prove that Malachi was not talking to Christians, nor are we today obligated to pay tithes, we must first look at the historical and biblical origin of tithing. When we do this, we will get a better understanding of who Malachi was talking to and why. I will try to do this without boring you to death.

Tithing, as required under the Law of Moses, was based on an agrarian or land-based system. Land was officially owned by God and "deeded" by the church, with the Levites obtaining tithes from Israel, instead of land. When we read the scriptures, we see how the Lord did not allow the Levites or the priest of the temple to inherit any land. (See Leviticus 25:23-24). You will also notice that in the book of Joshua chapter 13, all of the Jewish Tribes were given their allotment of land except the Tribe of Levi. Only unto the tribes of Levi he gave none inheritance; the sacrifices of the LORD God of Israel made by fire are their inheritance, as he said unto them.

God gave Israel's tithes (a tenth) to the Levites as an inheritance in lieu of land. (Joshua 13:14, Deuteronomy 10:6-9, 18:1-5, Numbers 18:21, 24) The Levites gave tithes (a tenth) and offerings out of the tithes they received from Israel to the priests (Nehemiah 10:38, Numbers 18), but they apparently didn't have to tithe the income from the sale of inherited property. (See Deuteronomy 18:6-8)

The Levites and priests were dependent on tithes for FOOD. God's house was also a STOREHOUSE and DISTRIBUTION POINT located in the Temple. The tithes, which were livestock and crops, were kept for the sacrifices, the Levites, the priests and those in need, hence Malachi 3:10 "Bring all the tithes into the STOREHOUSE that there may be food in My House. (See also Nehemiah 13:10-13, 1 Samuel 8:15, 17, 2 Chronicles 31:11, Deuteronomy 12:6-7, 17-19, 14:22 – 23)

So that you won’t get bored, I’ll close this with this: Malachi was speaking to the Jewish priests, (Not you or me) who were guilty of robbing God. (See Malachi 3:5-8). The Lord, speaking through Malachi, accuses the priests of turning from His statutes, as established and given to them at Mt. Sinai by Moses. So the Lord cursed the priests. It was at Mt. Sinai that God gave them specific instructions on what to do with the tithes, how to make an offering, and when to make an offering. Malachi came just as Nehemiah and Ezra did to remind them of these rules and regulations that they, (the Israelites, Levites and the priests), had consistently disobeyed. So, the Israelites were being condemned for failing to obey the commandments God had established in the Leviticus Law or the Law, of Moses.

Here is the shocker. The book of Malachi has only 4 chapters, but is rarely if at all read in it's entirety. I wonder why? If church leader, and lay persons alike would read the entire book of Malachi, one would notice that Deuteronomy, chapter 28, contains the Old Covenant blessings and curses referred to in Malachi 3:10. “Windows of heaven” refers to rain (Gen. 7:9; 2 Kings 7:2, 19). See also Leviticus 26:2, 3 and Deuteronomy 26:12.

"In a land often stricken by famine and drought, the greatest blessings were from the “windows of heaven” in the form of rain. Israel was primarily a nation whose wealth and success depended upon its herds and farm produce. God promised that there would not be enough storage room to preserve the food from a bountiful harvest. The obedience of the priests would lead to blessings in all of the land." Russell Kelly PhD. Author of "Should the Church Teach Tithing?"

You can read this chapter in its entirety in my new book, "Clever Lies and Assumptions from the Pulpit to the Pews".