Very good observation Bro. Digging4Truth. I see your logic here. Certainly if one believed that failure to tithe was robbing God it would be a salvational issue.
I believe that today we are not under the Law. When God charged Israel for robbing him in Malachi he was speaking to both the priesthood and the nation because they had failed to offer tithes to fill the storehouse for the poor. When the poor, widows, and strangers turned to the national storehouse for support it was empty. By refusing to tithe they were robbing the storehouse, thereby robbing the poor…and thereby robbing God. By leaving the poor and destitute languishing in need of help the priest hood had robbed God…,”even this whole nation.”. It was the sin of a nation against it’s most helpless citizens.
This goes hand in hand with what Jesus taught in the New Testament. Jesus said,
{25:31} When the Son of man shall come in his glory,
and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the
throne of his glory: {25:32} And before him shall be
gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from
another, as a shepherd divideth [his] sheep from the goats:
{25:33} And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the
goats on the left. {25:34} Then shall the King say unto them
on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit
the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the
world: {25:35} For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat:
I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye
took me in: {25:36} Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick,
and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
{25:37} Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord,
when saw we thee an hungred, and fed [thee?] or thirsty,
and gave [thee] drink? {25:38} When saw we thee a
stranger, and took [thee] in? or naked, and clothed [thee?
]{25:39} Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came
unto thee? {25:40} And the King shall answer and say unto
them, Verily I say unto you,
Inasmuch as ye have done [it]
unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done [it]
unto me. {25:41} Then shall he say also unto them on the
left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire,
prepared for the devil and his angels: {25:42} For I was an
hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave
me no drink: {25:43} I was a stranger, and ye took me not
in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye
visited me not. {25:44} Then shall they also answer him,
saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a
stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister
unto thee? {25:45} Then shall he answer them, saying,
Verily I say unto you,
Inasmuch as ye did [it] not to one of
the least of these, ye did [it] not to me.” –
Matthew 25:31-45
Their robbing the poor by leaving the storehouse barren of their tithes and offerings in the OT was robbing God. God doesn’t need money. In God’s eyes it was an issue of mercy and justice for those who were helpless. We rob God today by failing to help those in need.
In the NT we are not under the Law of Moses. We do not tithe to the national storehouse, Levites, temple, etc. Therefore this was a violation of OT Israel’s covenant with God. In the NT we are justified by faith, as it was in the days of Abraham. Paul explained that by being in Christ that we are Abraham’s seed. In Abraham’s day a “tithe” was a voluntary covenant between two individuals establishing a covenant relationship. A nomadic tribe may pay a “tithe” as tribute to a king as they passed through his dominion. This would place them under the king’s authority and entitle them to the king’s protection during their pilgrimage. Abraham is only seen tithing once to Melchezideck, the king of Salem. Please note, Abraham’s tithe was voluntary. Also note that Abraham tithed the spoils of war gained in his conquest of the king of Sodom. If Christians are to live by faith, as did Abraham, tithing is a voluntary offering that can be given to God as desired. This is in perfect harmony with Paul’s teaching. Paul stated that Christians are to give cheerfully as they have purposed in their hearts. Should a Christian tithe? Yes, if they purpose to. And by all means encourage it to sustain the ministry and the work of the Lord. However a Christian should never be forced to tithe, it should be a purposed offering, cheerfully given.
Many people do believe that tithing is absolutely essential for salvation. I respect them but I disagree. In my experience it only takes one financial crisis leaving one totally broke to demonstrate that tithing isn’t a requirement for the Christian.
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