“Bring the full tithe into the storehouse. That there may be food in my house and thereby put me to the test as the Lord of Host, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need.”
– Malachi 3:10
What a great verse God telling his people that when you give to my worship for my glory, when you give generously, sacrificially, the full tithe is the language there in verse 10.
Malachi 3:10 Teaches that Generous Giving is Intended for Our Good.
God, the Lord of Host, says, “You just put me to the test and see that I will open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need.” What imagery. God saying, so follow this, giving is not just for God’s glory, although it’s definitely for that. Giving is not just for others good, though it’s definitely for that. Giving is for our good.
You just see, God says, “I’m going to show you, I’m going to open the windows of heaven,” what imagery, “And pour down blessing on you.” We live in a world that says our hearts will be glad the more we get, the more we even hoard and keep. God says, “No.” God says, “I have designed your heart to be glad in giving. I’ve designed giving for your good.” I just want to ask the question, do you believe that? Or maybe I just do believe that, but is that evident in the way you give? Do you give generously and sacrificially for the spread of God’s glory for the good of others in a way that God promises will be good for you?
I want to encourage you to give generously and sacrificially believing Malachi 3:10. And not even just this Old Testament old covenant promise, but all the promises we see in the New Testament. 1 Timothy 6, “Be generous. Ready to share. Invest your life what’s going to matter forever. Store up for yourself.” Matthew 6, “Treasure in heaven.” That’s a good thing. Store up for yourself. Jesus is saying, this is good for you. Store it for yourself. Treasure in heaven.
Malachi 3:10 Encourages to Give for the Spread of God’s Glory
I would encourage you, follower of Jesus, give to your local church. Give to the ministry of God’s people and the church family you’re a part of, and then as the Lord leads give beyond that to the spread of God’s glory around the world.
I’d be remiss if I didn’t even mention urgentneeds.org right now. The opportunities we have to give in ways that lead to the spread of the gospel in the front lines of urgent, spiritual and physical needs. We pray for unreached people every day on this podcast. There are opportunities to give for the spread of the gospel in these places.
So we pray, God, we praise you for the privilege of giving, for the joy of giving, and we pray that you would forgive us for the ways we, include myself in this, we so often show that we don’t believe this is a privilege and a joy that leads to blessing and goodness from your hand in our lives. So teach us to give generously, sacrificially, fully according to the leadership of your spirit in our lives, in ways that we pray resound to your glory, in ways that we pray resound to other’s good.
Praying for the North Sumatera Malay People
How do we pray for the North Sumatera Malay people, over 2 million of them living in Indonesia. God, we pray, the spread of the gospel to Malay, some of the most unreached people in the world. So little access to the gospel, millions upon millions of them. God, we pray, that was to give the resources you’ve given us that they might see and behold and know and enjoy your glory now and for all of eternity, help us to store up that kind of treasure in heaven. Help us to give for your glory for others good and for our own good according to your promise in places like Malachi 3:10.
We pray all this in Jesus name and the name of the one who gave generously and sacrificially for our salvation and our eternal life. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
David Platt serves as a pastor in metro Washington, D.C. He is the founder of Radical.
David received his Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and is the author of Don’t Hold Back, Radical, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, Before You Vote, as well as the multiple volumes of the Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary series.
Along with his wife and children, he lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area.
