Malachi 3:10

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.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(10) The emphasis is on the word “all.”

Storehouse.—From the time of Hezekiah (2Chronicles 31:11) there were at the Sanctuary special storehouses built for this purpose; so, too, in the second Temple (Nehemiah 10:38-39; Nehemiah 12:44; Nehemiah 13:12-13).

Meat—i.e., food for the priests and Levites.

Open you . . .—According to the promise of Deuteronomy 11:13-15, &c. For a practical commentary on this verse, see 2Chronicles 31:10. “And Azariah, the chief priest of the house of Zadok, answered Hezekiah and said, Since the people began to bring the offerings into the house of the Lord, we have had enough to eat, and have left plenty; for the Lord hath blessed his people; and that which is left is this great store.”

That.—Better, until.

There shall not be room enough . . .—This rendering gives the correct meaning of the words (Compare an expression of similar import in Zechariah 10:10.) We cannot agree with the rendering of Gesenius, “until my abundance be exhausted,” as equivalent to “for ever.”

Benson Commentary

Malachi 3:10-12. Bring ye all the tithes — Make a punctual and full payment of all tithes: and in this instance make good your solemn engagement with Nehemiah, mentioned Nehemiah 10:29. Into the storehouse — This was one or more large rooms built on purpose for this use; that there may be meat — That there may be provision for the daily sacrifices, and for the maintenance of my ministers, the priests and Levites, who attend upon the service of my temple. And prove me now herewith — Make the experiment in this particular. If I will not open you the windows of heaven, &c. — There is now a scarcity of the fruits of the earth, and a dearth, but take the advice which I give you, and try whether your plenty will not be in proportion to the free-will wherewith you bring in your tithes and offerings; and whether I will not immediately send you plentiful showers of rain, whereby the earth shall bring forth its fruit in great abundance. The dearth here spoken of is mentioned Nehemiah 5:3 : compare 2 Chronicles 31:10. To open the windows of heaven is a proverbial speech, expressing God’s showering down plenty, or giving great abundance of the fruits of the earth; (see 2 Kings 7:2;) as shutting up heaven denotes scarcity, Deuteronomy 11:17; Haggai 1:10-11. And pour out a blessing — First of rain to water the earth, next a blessing of corn, wine, and oil, and all other products of the earth. That there shall not be room, &c. — Or, till there be enough; or, till you shall say, There is enough. And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes — All kinds of devourers, the locusts, the canker-worms, the caterpillars, and all other destructive insects, which, though they may be in incredible multitudes, yet, by a rebuke from God, they will be checked all at once, as if they were but one insect. Neither shall your vine cast her fruit — Neither shall your vines, or other fruit-trees, be blasted by blighting winds, so as to make their fruit fall off before it comes to maturity, but they shall carry it till it be fully ripe. And all nations — All that are near you; shall call you blessed — Shall style you a happy people. For ye shall be a delightsome land — Your country shall be again known by the name of the pleasant land, as it was formerly called. The revival of religion in a land will make it delightsome both to God and all good men.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

3:7-12 The men of that generation turned away from God, they had not kept his ordinances. God gives them a gracious call. But they said, Wherein shall we return? God notices what returns our hearts make to the calls of his word. It shows great perverseness in sin, when men make afflictions excuses for sin, which are sent to part between them and their sins. Here is an earnest exhortation to reform. God must be served in the first place; and the interest of our souls ought to be preferred before that of our bodies. Let them trust God to provide for their comfort. God has blessings ready for us, but through the weakness of our faith and the narrowness of our desires, we have not room to receive them. He who makes trial will find nothing is lost by honouring the Lord with his substance.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Bring the whole tithes - , not a part only, keeping back more or less, and, as he had said, defrauding God, offering, like Ananias, apart, as if it had been the whole; into the treasury, where they were collected in the time of Hezekiah and again, at this time, by the direction of Nehemiah, "so that there shall be food," not superfluity, in My house "for those who minister in the house of My sanctuary." Nehemiah 13:10-23. "The Levites and singers had, before the reformation, fled every one to his field, because the portion of the Levites had not been given them." On Nehemiah's remonstrance, aided by Malachi, "the tithe of corn and the wine and the new oil were brought into the treasuries."

Bring the whole tithes - o "Thou knowest that all things which come to thee are God's, and dost not thou give of His own to the Creator of all? The Lord God needeth not: He asketh not a reward, but reverence: He asketh not anything of thine, to restore to Him. He asketh of thee "first-fruits and tithes." stubborn, what wouldest thou do, if He took nine parts to Himself, and left thee the tenth? What if He said to thee; 'Man, thou art Mine, Who made thee; Mine is the land which thou tillest; Mine are the seeds, which thou sowest; Mine are the animals, which thou weariest; Mine are the showers, Mine the winds, Mine the sun's heat; and since Mine are all the elements, whereby thou livest, thou who givest only the labor of thine hands, deservest only the tithes.' But since Almighty God lovingly feeds us, He gives most ample reward to us who labor little: claiming to Himself the tithes only, He has condoned us all the rest."

And prove Me now herewith, in or by this thing - God pledges Himself to His creatures, in a way in which they themselves can verify. "If you will obey, I will supply all your needs; if not, I will continue your dearth." By whatever laws God orders the material creation, He gave them a test, of the completion of which they themselves could judge, of which they themselves must have judged. They had been afflicted with years of want. God promises them years of plenty, on a condition which He names. What would men think now, if anyone had, in God's name, promised that such or such a disease, which injured our crops or our cattle, should come at once to an end, if any one of God's laws should be kept? We should have been held as finatics, and rightly, for we had no commission of God. God authenticates those by whom He speaks; He promises, who alone can perform.

"There are three keys which God hath reserved in His own hands, and hath not delivered to any to minister or substitute, the keys of life, of rain, and of the resurrection. In the ordering of the rain they look on His great power, no less than in giving life at first, or afterward raising the dead to it; as Paul saith Acts 14:17, "God left not Himself without witness, in that He did good and gave rain, from heaven and fruitful seasons."

If I will not open the windows of heaven - o In the time of the flood, they were, as it were, opened, to man's destruction: now, God would rain abundantly for you, for their sakes. "And pour you out, literally empty out to you," give to them fully, holding back nothing. So in the Gospel it is said, that the love of God is "shed abroad poured out and forth in our hearts by the Holy Spirit which is given to us."

"That there is not room enough to receive it; literally until there is no sufficiency." (In Psalm 72:7 (quoted by Ges. Ros. etc.) "there shall be abundance of peace ירח בלי עד, literally, "until there be no moon," has a literal meaning, that the peace should last until the end of our creation, without saying anything of what lies beyond.) The text does not express what should not suffice, whether it be on God's part or on man's. Yet it were too great irony, if understood of God. His superabundance, "above all which we can ask or think," is a first principle in the conception of God, as the Infinite Source of all being. But to say of God. that He would pour out His blessing, until man could not contain it, is one bliss of eternity, that God's gifts will overflow the capacity of His creatures to receive them. The pot of oil poured forth the oil, until, on the prophets saying 2 Kings 4:6, "Bring me yet a vessel," the widows son said, There is not a vessel more. And the oil stayed." God's gifts are limited only by our capacity to receive them.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

10. (Pr 3:9, 10).

storehouse—(2Ch 31:11, Margin; compare 1Ch 26:20; Ne 10:38; 13:5, 12).

prove me … herewith—with this; by doing so. Test Me whether I will keep My promise of blessing you, on condition of your doing your part (2Ch 31:10).

pour … out—literally, "empty out": image from a vessel completely emptied of its contents: no blessing being kept back.

windows of heaven—(2Ki 2:7).

that … not … room enough, &c.—literally, "even to not … sufficiency," that is, either, as English Version. Or, even so as that there should be "not merely" "sufficiency" but superabundance [Jerome, Maurer]. Gesenius not so well translates, "Even to a failure of sufficiency," which in the case of God could never arise, and therefore means for ever, perpetually: so Ps 72:5, "as long as the sun and moon endure"; literally, "until a failure of the sun and moon," which is never to be; and therefore means, for ever.

Matthew Poole's Commentary

Bring ye: if these persons spoken of be the priests, then they are required not to detain the tithes in their own hands, but, as was their duty, to bring them into the public storehouse. If the people are the persons, ye, people, it requires them to make g punctual and full payment of all tithes of corn, wine, oil, &c.: about this did Nehemiah contend with the rulers, and made them honester, and all Judah obeyed and did the like, Nehemiah 13:10-13.

The storehouse; which was one or more large rooms built on purpose for this use, to lay up the tithes, and to keep them for holy uses. It was some large and stately chamber, for we find that Eliashib had befriended Tobiah, letting him have it for an apartment to dwell in, Nehemiah 13:5-7, &c.

That there may be meat in mine house, for the priests and Levites to live upon; that they flee not, as many had done, from the service of God in the temple, to take care of their country affairs, and by their industry provide maintenance for themselves and theirs, Nehemiah 13:10.

Prove me now herewith; make the experiment. The prophet doth in the name of God offer to put it to a short trial: By doing your duty try whether I will not make good my promise, and give you a blessing instead of a curse.

Open the windows of heaven: this form of speech is used Genesis 7:11, when those mighty rains that helped to drown the world were poured forth; and now here plentiful and fruitful rains are promised in the same phrase, in a kind of proverbial speech, to express great abundance of the thing intended.

Pour you out a blessing; first of rain, to water the earth, and to make it fruitful; next a blessing of corn, wine, and oil, and all other products of the earth, for the use of man and beast.

That there shall not be room enough; your barns and storehouses shall not be large enough to receive it all. Your

fats shall overflow, Joel 2:23,24. Or, as it is Amos 9:13, you shall have harvest work, and vintage work, and sowing work, as much, or more, than your labourers can well finish in their seasons.

Bring ye: if these persons spoken of be the priests, then they are required not to detain the tithes in their own hands, but, as was their duty, to bring them into the public storehouse. If the people are the persons, ye, people, it requires them to make g punctual and full payment of all tithes of corn, wine, oil, &c.: about this did Nehemiah contend with the rulers, and made them honester, and all Judah obeyed and did the like, Nehemiah 13:10-13.

The storehouse; which was one or more large rooms built on purpose for this use, to lay up the tithes, and to keep them for holy uses. It was some large and stately chamber, for we find that Eliashib had befriended Tobiah, letting him have it for an apartment to dwell in, Nehemiah 13:5-7, &c.

That there may be meat in mine house, for the priests and Levites to live upon; that they flee not, as many had done, from the service of God in the temple, to take care of their country affairs, and by their industry provide maintenance for themselves and theirs, Nehemiah 13:10.

Prove me now herewith; make the experiment. The prophet doth in the name of God offer to put it to a short trial: By doing your duty try whether I will not make good my promise, and give you a blessing instead of a curse.

Open the windows of heaven: this form of speech is used Genesis 7:11, when those mighty rains that helped to drown the world were poured forth; and now here plentiful and fruitful rains are promised in the same phrase, in a kind of proverbial speech, to express great abundance of the thing intended.

Pour you out a blessing; first of rain, to water the earth, and to make it fruitful; next a blessing of corn, wine, and oil, and all other products of the earth, for the use of man and beast.

That there shall not be room enough; your barns and storehouses shall not be large enough to receive it all. Your

fats shall overflow, Joel 2:23,24. Or, as it is Amos 9:13, you shall have harvest work, and vintage work, and sowing work, as much, or more, than your labourers can well finish in their seasons.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse,.... Or "treasury" (e); for there were places in the temple where the tithe was put, and from thence distributed to the priests and Levites, for the support of their families, as they wanted. There were the tithe or tenth part of all eatable things paid to the Levites, and out of this another tithe was paid by the Levites to the priests; and there was another tithe, which some years the owners ate themselves at Jerusalem, and in others gave them to the poor; and these were called the first tithe, the tithe out of the tithe, the second tithe, and the poor's tithe; though they are commonly reduced to three, and are called first, and second, and third, as they are by Maimonides; who says (f),

"after they have separated the first tithe every year, they separate the second tithe, as it is said "thou shalt truly tithe all the increase of thy seed", &c. Deuteronomy 14:22 and in the third year, and in the sixth, they separate the poor's tithe, instead of the second tithe.''

So Tobit says; Tobit 1:7

"the first tithe I gave to the Levites, who stand before the Lord to minister to him, and to bless in his name the inhabitants of Jerusalem; the second tithe I sold (as he might, according to the law in Deuteronomy 14:24), and took the money, and went up to Jerusalem, and bought with it what I pleased; and the third tithe I gave to the repair of the temple;''

so Fagius reads: but according to Munster's edition it is, the second and third tithes I gave to the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow; see Deuteronomy 26:12. It appears from hence that the sin of the people was, that they did not bring in "all" their tithes; they kept back a part of them: wherefore they are called upon to bring in the whole, and which they did in Nehemiah's time; see Nehemiah 10:38 where mention is made of the treasuries for the tithe, which were certain chambers adjoining to the temple; and besides those that were built by Solomon, there were other chambers prepared by Hezekiah in his times, when the tithes were brought in, in such plenty, that there was not room enough for them, 2 Chronicles 31:11 and besides those in the second temple, that were in the court of the priests, there were others in the court of the people, as L'Empereur thinks (g), where what the others could not contain might be put; and into which court the priests might come; and there were also receptacles underground, as well as upper rooms, where much might be laid up; add to all this, that Dr. Lightfoot (h) suggests, that these tithes were treasured up in the chambers by the gates of the temple, and were at least a part of the treasuries of the house of God, which the porters at the gates had the care of, 1 Chronicles 9:26 and particularly that the house of Asuppim, at which were four porters, was a large piece of building, containing divers rooms for the treasuring up things for the use of the temple; in the Apocrypha:

" And are resolved to spend the firstfruits of the the tenths of wine and oil, which they had sanctified, and reserved for the priests that serve in Jerusalem before the face of our God; the which things it is not lawful for any of the people so much as to touch with their hands.'' Judith 11:13

that there may be food in mine house; in the temple, for the sustenance of the priests and Levites: so the Targum,

"the prophet said, bring all the tithes into the treasury, that there may be food for them that minister in the house of my sanctuary:''

and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts; by bringing in all their tithes; when they would find, by making this experiment or trial, that the curse would be removed from them, and blessings be largely and liberally bestowed upon them by him, who is the Lord of hosts, and so able to perform any promise he makes; and here one is implied, and is as follows:

if I will not open you the windows of heaven; which had been shut and stopped up, and let down no rain upon their land, which brought a scarcity of provisions among them; but now, upon a change in their conduct it is suggested that these windows or floodgates should be opened, and rain let down plentifully upon them, which only could be done by the Lord himself; for the key of rain is one of the three keys, the Jews say (i), which God has reserved for himself, and never puts into the hands of a minister:

and pour you out a blessing: give abundance of rain to make the earth fruitful, and bring forth its increase in great plenty, which is a blessing; and not destroy the earth, and the fruits of it, as in the times of Noah, when the windows of heaven were opened, and a curse was poured out upon the earth:

that there shall not be room enough to receive it; and so Kimchi says his father interpreted this clause, that there would not be a sufficiency of vessels (k) and storehouses. Some render the words, as Junius, "so that ye shall not be sufficient"; either to gather in the increase, or to consume it. The Targum is,

"until ye say it is enough;''

and so the Syriac version. The phrase, which is very concise in the original text, and may be literally rendered, "unto not enough" (l), denotes great abundance and fulness of good things, so that there should be enough and to spare; and yet, as Gussetius observes, not enough to answer and express the abundance of mercy and goodness in the heart of God.

continued...

Geneva Study Bible

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, {k} that there shall not be room enough to receive it.

(k) Not having respect how much you need, but I will give you in all abundance, so that you will lack place to put my blessings in.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

10. all the tithes] More exactly, the whole tithe, R. V. Cf. Deuteronomy 26:12.

the storehouse] This may have been the “great chamber”, or “lean to”, surrounding the second Temple on three sides, and consisting of three stories, each containing several rooms, which had been perverted from its original purpose as a receptacle of the tithes and offerings, and assigned by the High-priest to Tobiah, but which Nehemiah had restored to its proper use again (Nehemiah 10:38; Nehemiah 13:5-9; Nehemiah 13:12-13). It is not improbable that the “chambers”, which abutted to the height of three stories on the walls of Solomon’s Temple, were intended in like manner for storehouses (1 Kings 6:5-6). In the great Reformation under Hezekiah such chambers were “prepared”, either built or restored, in some part of the Temple area, to receive the enormous influx of tithes and offerings (2 Chronicles 31:11-12).

meat] The Hebrew word properly means “prey”, or “booty”. It has, however, the same meaning of “food” as here in Proverbs 31:15 (comp. Proverbs 30:8 for the verb in the same sense), and in Psalm 111:5.

the windows of heaven] Comp. Genesis 7:11; Genesis 8:2; 2 Kings 7:2; 2 Kings 7:19.

that there shall not be room enough to receive it] Heb. till not enough. The ellipsis has been supplied in various ways: “till there be not (barely) enough, but much more than enough, i.e. abundance”; or “till there be no longer sufficiency with Me, or, as that can never be, in boundless measure”. The rendering, however, of A.V. and R.V., is the simplest and most satisfactory.

The history of the Jews in the time of Hezekiah had already afforded an example of the reward of faithful obedience, in the matter of tithes and offerings, in overflowing abundance bestowed upon them by God. 2 Chronicles 31:10.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 10. - All the tithes; the whole tithe - not merely a portion of it. God is not served with partial service. The storehouse. The tithes were brought to the temple, and laid up in the chambers built to receive them (see Nehemiah 10:38, 39; Nehemiah 13:5, 12, 13; 2 Chronicles 31:11, 12). That there may be meat in mine house. That they who minister about holy things may live of the things of the temple (1 Corinthians 9:13; Numbers 18:21). Prove me now herewith. Do your part, perform your duties, and then see if I will not reward your obedience. Open you the windows of heaven. The expression implies net only the removal of drought by copious showers of rain, but the diffusion of heavenly blessing in large abundance. That there shall not be room enough to receive it; or, unto superabundance; Vulgate, usque ad abundantiam; Septuagint, ἕως τοῦ ἱκανωθῆναι, "until it suffice;" Syriac, "until ye say, It is enough." The Authorized Version retains the negation in the sentence, and perhaps comes nearest to the meaning of the original (comp. Luke 12:17, 18). Malachi 3:10

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

Malachi 3:10. "Bring ye all the tithe into the treasure-house, that there may be consumption in my house, and prove me now herewith, saith Jehovah of hosts, if I do not open you the sluices of heaven, and pour you out a blessing to superabundance. Malachi 3:11. And I will rebuke the devourer for you, that he may not destroy the fruit of your ground; and your vine will not miscarry in the field, saith Jehovah of hosts. Malachi 3:12. And all nations will call you blessed; for ye will be a land of good pleasure, saith Jehovah of hosts." In Malachi 3:10 the emphasis lies upon kol: the whole of the tithe they are to bring, and not merely a portion of it, and so defraud the Lord; for the tithe was paid to Jehovah for His servants the Levites (Numbers 18:24). It was delivered, at least after the times of the later kings, at the sanctuary, where store-chambers were built for the purpose (cf. 2 Chronicles 31:11.; Nehemiah 10:38-39; Nehemiah 12:44; Nehemiah 13:12). Tereph signifies here food, or consumption, as in Proverbs 31:15; Psalm 111:5. בּזאת, through this, i.e., through their giving to God what they are under obligation to give Him, they are to prove God, whether in His attitude towards them He is no longer the holy and righteous God (Malachi 2:17; Malachi 3:6). Then will they also learn, that He causes the promised blessing to flow in the richest abundance to those who keep His commandments. אם לא is not a particle of asseveration or oath (Koehler), but an indirect question: whether not. Opening the sluices of heaven is a figure, denoting the most copious supply of blessing, so that it flows down from heaven like a pouring rain (as in 2 Kings 7:2). עד בּלי די, till there is no more need, i.e., in superabundance. This thought is individualized in Malachi 3:11. Everything that could injure the fruits of the land God will take away. גּער, to rebuke practically, i.e., to avert the intention. אכל, the devourer, is here the locust, so called from its insatiable voracity. Shikkēl, to miscarry, is affirmed of the vine, when it has set a good quantity of grapes, which perish and drop off before they ripen. In consequence of this blessing, all nations will call Israel blessed (Malachi 3:12), because its land will be an object of pleasure to every one (cf. Zechariah 7:14; Zechariah 8:13, Zechariah 8:23).