Put God to the Test! Malachi 3:8-13

8 “Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me. “But you ask, ‘How do we rob you?’ “In tithes and offerings. 9 You are under a curse—the whole nation of you—because you are robbing me. 10 Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house.

Hearing this text will often cause conviction in the heart of believers and lead them to believe that a firm rebuke is coming any moment now.

3:8 The Lord might have responded to Israel’s question by pointing again to their insulting so-called worship (1:4); their treachery against one another (2:10), especially their wives (2:14); their profaning the Lord’s sanctuary by intermarriage with pagan idolators (2:11); or their toleration or practice of sorcery, adultery, perjury, and economic exploitation of the defenseless (3:5). Instead, he brought to their attention another area in which their rebellion against God was manifesting itself—the withholding of tithes. As discussed in the comments on 3:5, we may suggest that Malachi’s third address focuses on what C. J. H. Wright calls “the economic angle.” That is, Israel’s attitude toward and use of their possessions was one indication of the health of their relationship with God. The Old Testament refers to “the land” over a thousand times, and the vast majority of these references are to the land of Canaan, the land that God promised the fathers, the land he gave Israel, the land where he would bless his people. How Israel regarded and treated the land and its produce was a central feature of their responsibilities under God’s covenant. Ownership of land came to represent participation in the covenant community to whom God had given the land. But that ownership had to be legitimized by an attitude of faith and gratitude toward God shown by one’s proper use of the land. This especially involved keeping the Sabbath and participation in festivals of joy with gifts to God. It also involved the bringing of tithes through which the landless priests and Levites were provided for. Although God gave Israel the land as their inheritance, he made it clear that it was actually a stewardship: “The land is mine and you are but aliens and my tenants” (Lev 25:23). One reason for this was the sinful human tendency to disconnect the gift from the giver (Deut 6:10–12). W. Brueggemann pointed out that “the land, source of life, has within it seductive power. It invites Israel to enter life apart from covenant.… Israel does not have many resources with which to resist the temptation. The chief one is memory.” So if they should be tempted pridefully to say, “My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me,” they were to remember that it was Yahweh their God “who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your forefathers, as it is today” (Deut 8:17–18). How they regarded and treated the land would demonstrate whether they acknowledged his lordship over them, their dependence on him, and their gratitude toward him. This acknowledgment was to be expressed in Israel’s festivals, especially Firstfruits, Weeks, and Tabernacles (Lev 23:9–22, 33–43), in the weekly Sabbath observance of rest (Exod 20:8–11; Deut 5:12–15), in the observance of a Sabbath year (Exod 23:10–11; Lev 25:1–7, 18–22) and of the year of Jubilee (Lev 25:8–17, 23–55), and in their sacrifices and offerings, especially the consecration of the firstborn (Exod 13:11–16; 34:19–20; Num 18:15–17), and in the tithe. These were not only acknowledgments, however, but also reminders that God had been faithful to his promises. Moses told Israel, “Eat the tithe of your grain, new wine and oil, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks in the presence of the Lord your God at the place he will choose as a dwelling for his Name, so that you may learn to revere the Lord your God always” (Deut 14:23). We should understand God’s material blessings as intended to glorify him and to enrich not individuals but the entirety of God’s people. The term for “tithe” is maʾăśēr, meaning “tenth part.” Moses had instructed Israel that “a tithe of everything from the land, whether grain from the soil or fruit from the trees, belongs to the Lord; it is holy to the Lord” (Lev 27:30). Also “the entire tithe of the herd and flock—every tenth animal that passes under the shepherd’s rod—will be holy to the Lord” (Lev 27:32). After Israel settled in the land they were to bring the tithe annually to the sanctuary and consume a portion of it, leaving the remainder with the Levites, who were to share a tithe with the priests (Num 18:21–32; Deut 12:5–19; 14:22–27). Moses instructed Israel in Deut 12:17–19:

Richard A. Taylor and E. Ray Clendenen, Haggai, Malachi, vol. 21A, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2004), 414–415.

2. Positive Motivation: Future Blessing (3:10b–12)

This section looks at first like part of the preceding command section because of the imperative in v. 10b, “Test me.” This is only a rhetorical device, however, whose purpose is to introduce what the Lord would do for Judah if they would return to him, and so it furnishes motivation. If they would bring their tithes in faithfulness to the Lord, he would demonstrate his faithfulness to them with abundant blessings. Whereas positive motivation in the first two addresses takes the form of past incentives to present behavior, both motivation sections in this final address have a future orientation. Supporting the parallel relationship of the two motivation sections, three divine quotation formulas are found in each. Here they underline the positive statement of blessing in v. 10b, the negative statement of blessing in v. 11 (“I will prevent pests”), and the result in v. 12 (“all the nations will call you blessed”). The structure and logic of the passage may be pictured as follows (author’s translation):

Thesis: And test me in this, v. 10b says Yahweh of hosts.

Result: Thesis: [See] if I will not open for you the floodgates of heaven.

Amplification #1: And I will pour out for you a blessing until there is no more need.

Amplification #2: And I will rebuke for you the devourer v. 11 Result #1: And it will not ruin for you the produce of the ground Result #2: And the vine in the field will not be barren for you, says Yahweh of hosts. Result: Then all the nations will consider you fortunate, v. 12 for you will be a delightful land, says Yahweh of hosts.

(1) Blessing from Heaven (3:10b) 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 you will not have room enough for it. This section begins with the Lord’s command to “test” or prove him and discover that he is faithful. The verb used (bāḥan) is one of three common verbs in the Old Testament for testing. The others are nāsâ and ṣārap. The synonym nāsâ occurs with the sense “test” (it can also mean “attempt”) in thirty-one verses. In ten of these it refers to divine testing either of individuals (Abraham in Gen 22:1, the psalmist in Ps 26:2, and Hezekiah in 2 Chr 32:31) or more often of the people of Israel (Exod 15:25; 16:4; 20:20; Deut 8:2, 16; 13:3; Judg 2:22–3:4) or the tribe of Levi (Deut 33:8). In ten verses it refers to testing God in the sense of challenging or disputing his presence or power and thus provoking him to anger (Exod 17:2, 7; Num 14:22; Deut 6:16; Pss 78:18, 41, 56; 95:9; 106:14; Isa 7:12). The other passages refer to human testing as when David needed to try out the armor (1 Sam 17:39) or the queen of Sheba came to test Solomon with questions (1 Kgs 10:1; 2 Chr 9:1). The word ṣārap occurs in twenty-nine verses and usually refers to the process of refining. The active participle is used of literal metalworkers in gold or silver (e.g., Judg 17:4; Isa 40:19; 41:7; 46:6). Otherwise it is used as a metaphor for the divine work of removing impurities, as in Mal 3:2–3 (see also Isa 1:25; 48:10; Jer 6:29; 9:7). The passive participle is used metaphorically of the “pure” result of the refiner’s work (Ps 18:30; 119:140; Prov 30:5). The verb used here, bāḥan, also occurs in twenty-nine verses. In nineteen of those, God is testing man, often his heart (lit. “kidneys”) or mind (1 Chr 29:17; Jer 11:20; 12:3; 17:10; 20:12; Pss 7:9; 17:3; 26:2; Prov 17:3). Though the word usually has a “theological” sense, according to Brensinger, in cases where this is lacking (Gen 42:15–16; Job 12:11; 34:3; Ezek 21:13 [18]) “the key concern involves evaluating the dependability of something.” In Ps 95:9 it is used of man testing or provoking God, but only in parallel to nāsâ. It also has this sense in Mal 3:15, where it probably was used instead of nāsâ because bāḥan had been used in v. 10. The NIV translation “test me in this” is literal and urges or commands the Judean community to give God the opportunity to prove his faithfulness in response to their faith. The expression “in this” conveys the sense “by this means” and is used similarly along with the verb bāḥan in Gen 42:15 to describe Joseph’s test of his brothers: “And this is how [lit. “by this”] you will be tested: As surely as Pharaoh lives, you will not leave this place unless your youngest brother comes here” (also see v. 33). The expression “by this” also occurs without a verb of testing but in situations where God is offering a “test” or demonstration of his presence or character. Moses is to tell Pharaoh, “By this you will know that I am the Lord: With the staff that is in my hand I will strike the water of the Nile, and it will be changed into blood” (Exod 7:17). And Joshua tells the Israelites, “This is how [lit. “By this”] you will know that the living God is among you” (Josh 3:10; see also Num 16:28; Ps 41:11). Although it is wrong to test God with complaining, rebellion, and unbelief (Exod 17:2–7; Num 14:22; Deut 6:14–18; Pss 78:17–19, 40–42, 56–58; 95:8–9; 106:6–29), it is not wrong to test him with obedience, especially when he commands it. The divine response to the people’s faithful obedience would be the opening of “the floodgates of heaven” and his “pour[ing]” on them an abundance of blessing. This promise is expressed in terms often used in oaths or emphatic declarations. The words “and see” is not in the Hebrew, which is literally, “Test me in this … if I will not open for you …” The Hebrew words ʾim lōʾ, “if not,” often introduce an oath where they may be translated “surely,” as in Isa 14:24: “The Lord Almighty has sworn, ‘Surely, as I have planned, so it will be, and as I have purposed, so it will stand.’ ” On the other hand, they may introduce an indirect question, as in Exod 22:8[7]: “But if the thief is not found, the owner of the house must appear before the judges to determine whether he has laid his hands on the other man’s property.” In this case, “to determine whether” translates ʾim lōʾ (similarly Exod 22:11[10]). An even closer parallel to the construction in Mal 3:10 is found in Job 1:11, where Satan pleads with God, “But just stretch out your hand and touch all that he has, and see if he will not curse you to your face” (REB). Here as in Malachi is an imperative clause followed by an ʾim lōʾ clause with a future perspective. This is also in a context of testing, although the term is not used until later in the book (Job 7:18; 23:10; 34:36; 36:21). Because of the frequent use of indirect questions in the syntax of testing in the Hebrew Bible, this is probably the correct understanding of Mal 3:10 and Job 1:11, although the NIV and most translations render the latter verse as an oath: “But stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face.”

Richard A. Taylor and E. Ray Clendenen, Haggai, Malachi, vol. 21A, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2004), 421–424.