This booklet is made possible by the voluntary
freely given Tithes and Offerings of the
membership of The True Church of God and
those who have elected to support the work of
The True Church of God.  Contributions are
welcomed and gratefully accepted.  Those who 
wish to voluntarily aid and support this work of
God's Kingdom are gradly welcomed as co-workers
in this major effort to preach the Gospel to all
nations.


 "I will....open you the windows of heaven".  This is another of the
wonderful promises in your Bible. 

Not that heaven has windows made of plate glass or plastic.  Obviously,
the phrase is a word picture intended to express in a very graphic
way God's willingness to do great and glorious things
for those who love Him.

You will find the promise in the book of Malachi:  
"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." 
(Malachi 3:10)

In the olden times, there was a custom on feast days, at weddings,
and other celebrations, for rich people to open the upper windows of
their homes and throw gold and silver coins to passers-by below.

This may well have prompted the prophet to say that God would open
His windows too, with this difference:  The blessing He would bestow
would be so bountiful that the recipients would not know where to put
it: their pockets would not be large enough. 

"Empty out" a blessing is the marginal reading, which is even more
expressive of God's limitless generosity.  He is prepared to give everything
He has.  He will exhaust the whole vast treasury of heaven, if need
be, on behalf of His faithful children.

The next verse outlines some additional rewards:
"I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy
the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before
the time in the field, saith the Lord of host." (Malachi 3:11)

DIVINE INTERVENTION
Malachi was talking for the most part to small farmers, who understood
his language.  Their whole living depended on the preservation of their
crops. No doubt, they had often longed for some way to fight successfully
the many harmful pests that preyed upon them.  Often, they too must
have hoped to find a way to ensure the adequate pollination of their
vines so that they would not fail to bear fruits.  They had no known
reason for worry; the God of creation would take over.  Marvelously,
invisibly, but certainly, He would control the activities of the tiny
creatures He had created so that the fullest possible harvest might
be reaped.  The harmful insects would be restrained while the helpful
ones would be assisted in their beneficial operations.

As a result of this divine intervention, the whole country will be
enriched and beautified.  Prosperity would abound.  Israel would become
the envy of the world.

"And all nations shall call you blessed: for ye shall be a delightsome
land, saith the Lord of host." (Malachi 3:12)

These blessings, like all God's promises, were available to all, but
not everybody would receive them.  People who hated God and were careless
and indifferent about His requirements would not participate in the
benefits.

One big trouble with the people of Malachi's day was that they had
failed to pay the tithe that God had said was to be used to support
the religious activities of the country.  They had spent God's money
on themselves and, as a result, the ministers in the temple were starving.
Hence, the prophet's urgent plea,
"Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, so that there may be
meat in mine house..."

For those who heeded the call and did what was right in the sight
of God, the windows of heaven would be opened; for the others, they
would remain shut.

OBEDIENCE BRINGS BLESSINGS
For the obedient, there would be blessings innumerable.  For the disobedient,
there would be nothing.  They would be "cursed with a curse"  (Malachi
3:9).  Does this mean that a person can buy God's favors by giving
ten percent of his "increase" to God?  No indeed, God's blessings are
not for sale.  

Then why does He ask for tithes at all promising a blessing when obedient?

It cannot be because He needs the money, for: "The silver is mine,
and the gold is mine saith the Lord of hosts" (Haggai 2:8), and "...the
cattle upon a thousand hills...and the wild beast of the fields are
mine" (Psalms 50:10-11).  God is rich beyond all human conception,
and all paltry gifts can add nothing significant to His infinite resources.


It could be that God wants us to pay one tenth of "our increase" to
Him as a reminder that all we possess belongs to Him and we are but
stewards of His property.

ABRAHAM: A TITHER
Tithe paying goes back a long, long way in history - before there
were any Israelites.  Your Bible tells how Abraham paid tithe to "the
priest of the Most High God" (Genesis 14:18), and how Jacob promised
to do so (Genesis 28:22). Later the principle was woven into the laws
of Moses as the best way to support the priests and Levities (Leviticus
27:30; Deuteronomy 14:22).  Therefore, all down the centuries, the
tithe was considered "...holy unto the Lord." (Leviticus 27:32)

Jesus made only reference to this custom, and it is of special interest.
In His day tithe paying was scrupulously practiced by the religious
leaders of Israel but it had become a matter of law, not of love. 
They did it to acquire merit and build up a good reputation for themselves
while neglecting other matters much more important to God.

JESUS ADVOCATES TITHING
"Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithes
of mint and anise and cumin, and have omitted the weightier matters
of the law, judgement, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done,
and not to leave the other undone.  Ye blind guides, which strain at
a gnat, and swallow a camel." (Matthew 23:23-24)
Here is clear truth that it is love that matters most to God.  By
their meticulous attempts to tithe even the lowly herbs they had been
"straining at a gnat," while by their shocking lack of justice, mercy,
and faith - the fruits of love - they had been "swallowing a camel."

This statement was not an attack on the tithing system. On the contrary,
tithing is the finest way ever devised to raise money for God's purposes.
This statement was rather a rebuke at its abuse.  To give money to
God while being unjust, unmerciful, and faithless is the worse kind
of hypocrisy.  It demonstrates a total lack of understanding of God
and of His purpose in establishing the tithing plan in the beginning.

Only when tithe is accompanied by love is it pleasing to God.  Tithing
paid as a legal requirement will never bring the promised blessings.
Should Christians pay tithe today?  Absolutely! That is a question
which has been debated for a long time.  Christ's stated that it should
not be left "undone."  This is especially significant when linked with
Paul's declaration that "the Lord ordained that they which preach the
gospel should live of the gospel" (1 Corinthians 9:14).  In addition,
there is a great deal of evidence which suggest that it is very wise,
as well as a very desirable thing to do.

I know many that follow this plan, and they all seem to be getting
along quite well.  Somehow they seem to accomplish more with nine tenths
than those who spend all ten tenths on themselves.  There is a blessing
in it; and a very rich blessing it is - just as God promised through
Malachi. The windows of heaven are opened and His bounties are bestowed
beyond all expectation.  Many well known businessmen ascribe their
prosperity to their adoption of this plan.


John D. Rockefeller Sr. began tithing when he was earning only three
dollars and fifty cents a week.  H. J. Hines of "Fifty Seven Varieties,"
H. P. Crowell of Quaker Oats,  J. L. Kraft of Kraft Cheese, M. W.
Baldwin of the Baldwin Locomotive  Works, F. W. Woolworth of the well
known Five and Ten chain, William Wrigley of Wrigley's Chewing Gum,
M. S. Hershey of Hershey's Chocolate, and William Colgate of Toothpaste
Fame all put God first in their finances and found themselves on the
highway to prosperity.

TITHING WORKS
Sometimes - when needed - God fulfills His promise to "rebuke the
devourer" and care for a faithful Christian's harvest.  Our headquarters
building in New York City, valued at approximately five million dollars
was put up and paid for entirely by tithes and offerings.  God's system
works.  There is no debt on the structure.  We are preparing to erect
next to our headquarter's building another building for our school
and our Publishing Department.  This new building will also be paid
for entirely by tithes and offerings, coming from God's people.  

God is still keeping His promise.  How?  Nobody knows, but what may
be a mystery to us is no mystery to Him.  He is the Lord of creation
and knows the solution to every problem.

Why not put Him to the test?  He invites you to do so.  Should you
decide to bring your tithe - lovingly and gratefully - into His storehouse,
you too will have open the windows of heaven opened.  Into your life
will flow blessings so great and so many that there will not be room
enough to receive them.  

Prove God for yourself!



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