“Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.”
My Notes
What Does Malachi 3:10 Mean?
God issues an extraordinary challenge through Malachi: bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.
Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse — the command addresses the withholding described in v.8-9: ye have robbed me in tithes and offerings. The people were keeping back what belonged to God. The instruction is to bring all (kol — the entirety, without holding back) the tithes into the storehouse (otzar — the treasury, the storage facility connected to the temple). The all is the test: not partial compliance but full obedience.
That there may be meat (tereph — food, provision) in mine house — the purpose of the tithes: provision for the temple, the priests, and the poor. The storehouse is God's house — and the house needs food. The withholding of tithes had left God's house empty. The obedience fills what the robbery emptied.
Prove me now herewith (bachan — to test, to examine, to put to the trial) — the most remarkable phrase. God invites testing. Prove me — the only place in Scripture where God explicitly invites humanity to test him. The herewith (bezoth — by this, in this matter) limits the testing: in this specific matter of tithing. The invitation is: give fully, and see if I respond. Test my faithfulness by your obedience.
If I will not open you the windows of heaven — the windows (arubot — floodgates, latticed openings) of heaven. The image recalls the flood (Genesis 7:11: the windows of heaven were opened) — but reversed. The flood-windows opened to destroy. These windows open to bless. The heaven that can pour destruction can also pour blessing — and the trigger is obedience in the area of giving.
Pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough (dai — sufficiency, enough) to receive it — the blessing is disproportionate. The return exceeds the investment — so much blessing that the recipients cannot contain it. Not room enough — the overflow is the point. God's response to faithful giving is not proportional return. It is overflow — blessing that exceeds the capacity to hold it.
The verse is the only place God says: test me. The challenge is specific (tithing), the invitation is genuine (prove me), and the promise is extravagant (more than you can hold). The God who normally says 'thou shalt not tempt the LORD thy God' (Deuteronomy 6:16) here says: in this one thing, put me to the test.
Reflection Questions
- 1.Why is this the only place God invites testing — and what does the specificity (tithing) reveal about what God wants to demonstrate?
- 2.What does 'all the tithes' demand — and how does partial giving prevent the windows from opening?
- 3.How does 'not room enough to receive it' describe God's disproportionate response to faithful giving?
- 4.What would 'proving God' in the area of giving look like for you — and what fear is preventing you from bringing the full tithe?
Devotional
Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse. All. Not most. Not what is comfortable. All — the full tithe, the complete portion, held back from nothing. The people had been robbing God (v.8) — keeping what belonged to him, withholding what was owed. And God's response is not punishment first. It is a challenge: bring it all. And watch what happens.
Prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts. Prove me. Test me. The only time in the entire Bible that God invites you to put him to the test. Everywhere else: do not test God. Here: test me. In this one area — in the area of faithful, complete giving — God says: try it. Give fully. And see if I do not respond.
If I will not open you the windows of heaven. The windows of heaven — the floodgates, the openings through which God pours from above. The same windows that opened to flood the earth in judgment now open to flood your life with blessing. The mechanism is the same. The content is different. The trigger is your obedience.
Pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it. Not enough room. The blessing exceeds your capacity. God does not return what you gave proportionally. He pours — opens the floodgates and lets the blessing run until you cannot hold any more. The overflow is the signature: God's response to faithful giving is always disproportionate. You give from your portion. He gives from infinity.
The challenge is still open. God has not withdrawn the invitation. Prove me — in the area of giving. Bring the full tithe — not the partial, not the comfortable, not the after-everything-else-is-paid remainder. All. And watch what the windows of heaven do when they open.
The fear is always the same: if I give it all, I will not have enough. God's answer: you will not have enough room for what I pour out. The scarcity you fear is answered by the overflow you cannot imagine. But you will never see the overflow until you bring the all. The windows do not open for partial obedience. They open for prove me.
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse,.... Or "treasury" (e); for there were places in the temple where the tithe…
Bring the whole tithes - , not a part only, keeping back more or less, and, as he had said, defrauding God, offering,…
We have here God's controversy with the men of that generation, for deserting his service and robbing him - wicked…
all the tithes More exactly, the whole tithe, R. V. Cf. Deu 26:12.
the storehouse This may have been the "great…
Cross References
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