In studying "the burden of the word of the Lord to Israel by Malachi," which runs through the four chapters under that prophet's name in the Bible, one will comprehend the momentous necessity of being constantly alert to the purity and frequency of one's tithes and offerings. Materialism had so grown among the Israelites that they could not apprehend the wisdom, power, and perfection of God, Spirit, and so were offering for sacrifice the torn, lame, and sick things of material belief. The only possible consequence of such wrong thinking and acting was suffering, sorrow, and dismay that the Lord "regardeth not the offering any more."
Tithes, as generally understood, are the outcome of the sacrificial gifts which, among ancient peoples, were usually in the form of tribute in kind paid to the deity in acknowledgment of the fruits of the harvest. These eventually became more or less fixed or specific levies through ecclesiastical government, so that the people grew into the habit of evading payment, under the plea that it was burdensome, and other forms of supporting the church were gradually substituted.
With the spiritual vision of the prophet came the discernment of the promise that a divine messenger would, through purification of thought, enlighten the human mind so that the people could eradicate the evils of sense belief and ''offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness." He gave a comprehensive list of the commercial and social requirements, and this was soon followed by the exhortation, ''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."
