Honouring God
ICS Daily Devotions
Malachi 3:10 (NKJV) Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house, and try me now in this,” says the LORD of hosts, “if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it.”
Many of us pray for generous buyers when selling properties, but how many will honour the Lord by paying tithes at the altar when they are sold for a profit? We are blessed by God. If we cannot pay tithes from our salary, how much more difficult will it be to give tithes on the profit from selling our properties or businesses?
Many pray to God for favour with people in their businesses. God will honour His part, but are we honouring Him with what is due to Him and His storehouse? Favour is found when we practise what is taught in the Word!
In Malachi’s day, the people withheld their tithe, and God challenged them to test His faithfulness. He never intended His house—whether the temple then or the church now—to be in lack. Their reluctance to obey caused God to withhold His hand. This is why everything we do must flow from a close walk with Him.
Hebrews 7:8-9 (NKJV) Here mortal men receive tithes, but there He receives them, of whom it is witnessed that He lives. Even Levi, who receives tithes, paid tithes through Abraham, so to speak.
Abraham loved God and placed his trust in Him, whereas Lot loved the world and was drawn to the riches of the plain of Sodom. Lot trusted what he saw; Abraham trusted the God he knew. Moving closer to Sodom was Lot’s first step toward compromise, and eventually his whole family lived there when the invaders carried everything away. In contrast, Abraham, who walked with God, led 318 trained men to defeat the invaders and recovered all that had been taken (Genesis 14:14-16).
On his return, Abraham gave a tenth to Melchizedek, recognising his superiority (Genesis 14:18-20). Melchizedek, a type of Christ with no beginning or end, establishes the priesthood that Jesus Himself fulfils. Because tithing was practised before the Mosaic Law, we can conclude that it remains relevant in the New Testament. God later included it in the Law as a form of worship and to provide for the livelihood of the Levites.
Obedience is better than sacrifice. We may give large offerings to various causes, but what God desires is obedience to His Word. The tithe belongs to the storehouse—the church where we are spiritually fed. And the spiritual principle remains true: we will always receive back from God what we have entrusted to Him.
Reflection: When God blesses you financially, do you intentionally honour Him first with your tithe, or do you make excuses to delay giving? What does your giving reveal about where your trust truly lies?
Sermon Series： Our Free Will Offering
