Right Giving: Returning to God with Honest Hearts

Text: Malachi 3:6–12

Today, we conclude our series on Malachi.

We start a new series on Encounter Jesus next week, and this will run up to Easter, with content for our lifegroups (email leaders this week) and Little Fish program, which will also start next week.

But open your Bibles to Malachi 3

Malachi 3:5 NIV

“So I will come to put you on trial. I will be quick to testify against sorcerers, adulterers and perjurers, against those who defraud laborers of their wages, who oppress the widows and the fatherless, and deprive the foreigners among you of justice, but do not fear me,” says the Lord Almighty.

If we look at where we ended last week, we hear God say, ‘Do not fear me’.

We have been talking about the right relationship with God, which is described as vertical - up with God, and horizontal, how we relate with others. Malachi points to Jesus coming, saying there would be one who would restore Israel's relationship with God, that there would be divine justice for a world that seems unjust, seems scary.

And God said, ‘You do not need to fear’.

The injustice we see, this broken world that we are all trapped in, seems unfair, and that one man’s single transgression—Adam’s—should cause all of humanity to face death. But as we celebrated last week, the gospel reveals an even deeper, more astonishing “unfairness”: that one man’s righteousness, Jesus Christ, should overflow to all humanity with the gift of life. That line really stayed with me this week.

The Call to Repentance

As we begin today's passage, we are told that Israel is robbing our loving and compassionate God, and I would suggest the same treatment is happening now.

Today, and maybe as you begin this year, are you going to continue to rob God, or repent and seek first the kingdom?

We will see that this is all again to do with our covenant with God, and the invitation to renew our commitment, giving generously and joyfully, recognising that you are reciprocating the generosity and abundance given to you.

Follow with me from verse 6

Malachi 3:6 NIV

“I the Lord do not change. So you, the descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed.

• God’s unchanging character: The foundation for covenant obedience.

I the LORD - all in Caps means YHWH - the covenant name here is invoking a connection to the exodus experience of the Hebrews. The covanent then made with Moses and the people. God is still being faithful, unwavering in the covenant agreement made then. This who he told them He was then and still is now.

Exodus 34:6–7 NIV

And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.”

Yet even when God says this is who I am, compassionate, gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, they still turn away. Just as they did when they left Egypt and slavery and turned away from God. Now returning to the land of their descent or ancestors, they continue to turn away.

Malachi 3:7 NIV

Ever since the time of your ancestors you have turned away from my decrees and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you,” says the Lord Almighty. “But you ask, ‘How are we to return?’

They have wilfully rejected the instruction given them in the covenant with Moses; they have not kept God’s decrees

Yet God says return to me. I like how it was put in the commentary I was reading

Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi: An Introduction and Commentary (Hill) A. The Call to Repentance (3:6–7)

In contexts expressing covenant relationship, the word return (Heb. šûb) expresses a change of loyalty on the part of Israel or God. Typically, the term is understood as ‘repentance’, a complete change of direction back to God, or a total reorientation towards YHWH.

Verse 7 ends with this statement from the people, assuming innocence, as if the fault of the broken relationship lay with God, and they did not need to repent, as they had not sinned. It seemed to them they had returned to the land, but the benefits of this covenant relationship had not yet materialised.

The charge: “You are robbing me”—a matter of honesty and integrity.

This is the point of the whole message of Malachi: reorient your loyalty away from sin and self and turn towards God. Only then will your worship be purified and made acceptable to God, and as a result, the social issues will also be cared for and rectified.

This is what God is being robbed of by this community that should replicate his character, His covenant people.

Malachi 3:8 NIV

“Will a mere mortal rob God? Yet you rob me. “But you ask, ‘How are we robbing you?’ “In tithes and offerings.

This section of Malachi is probably the most well-known, at least by pastors and church treasurers.

But as we reach it now, understanding the context in Malachi’s day, it is another example of people's dishonesty with God.

In Mal. 1:7-8, we talked about how people and priests were offering inferior animals for ritual sacrifice at the temple. We know too that some of the men were divorcing their wives so that they could marry women from more wealthy families because of the hardship of re-establishing themselves in the land. So the failure of the people to obey the Mosaic laws regarding the tithe was presumably the result of both spiritual backsliding (even unbelief), and stinginess due to the variety of socio-economic pressures faced by the Hebrew community seeking to rebuild after babylonian exile.

The tithe or tenth part is described in Deut. 12 as the general tithe from the produce from the land and is how we now allocate it as a tenth of our work ‘from the land’.

Offering was considered a gift or a contribution made to God or the temple and may include produce from the land, material goods for the temple or personal valuables.

Now, as we understand, in Malachi’s day, the people were neglecting these obligations.

What we don’t have a full picture of is the complexity of the tithe and temple tax system.

We hear the tithe and just think it is a tenth of what we earn, given to God in our offering (now we know they are 2 different things). But actually, in this post-exilic time, the tithe system was threefold.

The Levitical Tithe (10%)

Purpose: To support the Levites, who had no land inheritance Where: Brought to local Levitical towns; portions stored in the temple storehouses

The Israelites gave 10% of all produce and livestock.

Levites then tithed 10% of the tithe to the priests (the “tithe of the tithe”).

This is the tithe Malachi primarily addresses.

In Malachi’s day: Levites were abandoning their posts because the people stopped giving (Nehemiah 13:10–11). They had returned to their own fields and Worship was collapsing.

The Festival Tithe (10%)

Purpose: To fund Israel’s worship festivals and communal rejoicing Where: Consumed by families in Jerusalem

A second 10% was set aside for pilgrimage feasts (Passover, Weeks, Booths).

It ensured every family, rich or poor, could celebrate before the Lord.

If the distance was too great, they could convert it to money and buy food in Jerusalem.

In Malachi’s day: This tithe was often neglected, weakening Israel’s worship life and community joy.

The Poor Tithe (10% every third year)

Purpose: To support the vulnerable Where: Stored locally for distribution

Every third year, the tithe was given to:

Levites

Foreigners

Orphans

Widows

This created a social safety net in a society without government welfare.

In Malachi’s day: Neglect of this tithe contributed to the social injustice Malachi condemns (Malachi 3:5).

Then there was also the annual Temple tax ( I worked out that the modern value would have been a $7 annual tax, discounted to $4.50 in Malachi’s day) for temple costs and repairs. There was also the Firstfruits offering, which was to honour God with the first and best of your produce.

The torah was clear that if the people did not keep these covenant commitments, there would be a curse instead of a blessing, and all three were being neglected: the Levites, the celebrations and the vulnerable.

Now this can seem overwhelming, but the system was in place to replicate the character of God, a cheerful giver, one of abundance that all should share in. The truth is, where we spend OUR money (what we think is ours) is where we put our value.

Jesus in Matthew 6:21 says

Matthew 6:21 NIV

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Meaning your heart follows your money, and your treasure reveals your priorities.

Martin Luther put it this way

“There are three conversions necessary: the conversion of the mind, the conversion of the heart, and the conversion of the purse.”

Have you looked over your budget recently?

Maria and I have to see if we could afford our extension:

There was money allocated for kids' lessons and education, we allocate a monthly amount called splurge for special meals as a family and had an amount on birthday presents as we love to celebrate others. We were a little supprised on how many hot chocolates I spend money on a week, but that is because I prioritise meeting with people.

But if I am honest, a lot of our budget goes into the daily needs for food for a family of six and costs to keep a roof over our head. Now that is okay, but am I like the Israelites in Malachi’s day, saying sorry God, I cannot give you my best because I need it.

Who is the LORD in your life, and who do you trust? If you trust that God is a compassionate, gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, you will bring it all.

Last week's share time was a great example of that trust on display - trusting that we can share our hearts' desire before God and this community so that we can carry each other's burdens and return to God.

This next verse is a loving challenge to that sentiment and an invitation to share God’s heart

Malachi 3:10–11 NIV

Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. 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 there will not be room enough to store it. I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not drop their fruit before it is ripe,” says the Lord Almighty.

God’s invitation to “test me in this” is unusual but not unheard of in the Old Testament. It doesn’t break the command in Deuteronomy 6:16 against “testing God,” because that kind of testing (nāśā’) comes from arrogance and unbelief. The word used in Malachi (bāḥan) refers instead to testing that comes from sincere uncertainty and a desire to trust. Here, God invites His people to step out in obedience so they can experience His faithfulness to His covenant promises.

1. Malachi 3:10–11 — Readiness to Trust God’s Provision

Malachi confronts a people who have slipped into reactive giving—giving only when convenient, only after their needs are met, only when they feel safe.

God calls them back to covenant faithfulness:

“Bring the full tithe into the storehouse…”

This is a call to readiness:

readiness to trust God before the harvest is secure

readiness to support the Levites (kingdom work)

readiness to sustain worship and justice

readiness to believe that God’s provision is abundant, not scarce

The promise that follows (“I will open the windows of heaven…”) is not a prosperity formula—it’s a reminder that God’s abundance precedes our generosity.

2. 2 Corinthians 9 — Readiness as Cheerful Giving

Paul picks up the same theme centuries later.

He praises the Corinthians not for the size of their gift but for their readiness (eagerness):

“I know your readiness…” “Your readiness has stirred up others…” “Be ready as a willing gift, not as one grudgingly given…”

For Paul, readiness is the soil in which cheerfulness grows.

A heart that is prepared, eager, and willing becomes a heart that gives:

freely

joyfully

consistently

without manipulation

Paul’s vision is not “give more,” but give from a heart already shaped by grace.

3. Exodus 35–36 — Readiness That Overflows

In Exodus, we see one of the most vivid pictures of readiness in the entire Bible, only repeated in Acts 2.

The people are invited to contribute to the tabernacle. The text repeats the same phrase:

“Everyone whose heart was stirred…” “Everyone whose spirit was willing…”

The result?

They gave morning after morning

They gave more than enough

Moses had to tell them to stop giving

This is readiness in its purest form: a joyful eagerness to participate in God’s work because God has already acted with overwhelming grace.

This is what Malachi’s audience would have been familiar with and is what he was calling them to return to.

To be prepared, eager, joyful in readiness to participate in God’s work.

Kids jars - Spend, save and give

Do we have a giving jar, and are we ready to give?

This is an area in my life that I would like to be more intentional about.

Yes, I have set up my weekly tithe for the church, but what about for celebrations and those in need?

If we return to the three-fold tithe system

A. Readiness for Kingdom Work (Levitical Tithe)

Supporting ministry, mission, and worship.

B. Readiness for Celebration (Festival Tithe)

Creating space for joy, hospitality, and shared life.

C. Readiness for Compassion (Poor Tithe)

Caring for the vulnerable, the outsider, the overlooked.

When readiness shapes all three, giving becomes a far richer vision than “paying your tithe.”

And this will be a blessing to all.

Malachi 3:12 NIV

“Then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land,” says the Lord Almighty.

That same covenant promise with Isreal I believe, is true for the new covenant in Jesus, not in prosperity of materials but in joy.

Cheerful Giving as Readiness

As we finish this series with Malachi, it is a message echoed by other prophets in the Old Testament and into the New, summarising the entire biblical arc like this:

Readiness is the posture of a heart shaped by grace. Readiness turns giving from a reaction into a discipline. Readiness transforms generosity from obligation into joy.

In Malachi’s day, they had lost sight of this, the right relationship with God.

was not to be:

Is not transactional. Is not guilt-driven. Is not sporadic.

But in readiness—a Spirit-shaped eagerness to join God in His work, celebrate His goodness, and care for His people.

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Series Arc Summary

Across five weeks, we have covered:

• God’s covenant love →

• Covenant worship →

• Covenant relationships →

• Covenant justice →

• Covenant generosity

And woven through it all: honesty—the virtue Malachi repeatedly presses as essential to covenant life.

As you truly begin 2026, is your covenant with God one of honesty and integrity? Are you ready for the blessing.

If you haven’t already, please do consider the partnership pledge, which is our version of a covenant to pursue God in the areas we have spoken about through this series.

Pray