Malachi 3:10 Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in my 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.
Merriam Webster Dictionary.
The:
definite article
Meaning:
[1] It is used as a function word to indicate that a following noun or noun equivalent is definite or has been previously specified by context or by circumstance.
For example: Put the cat out, This gospel of the kingdom, Preach the word,
[2] It is used as a function word to indicate that a following noun or noun equivalent is a unique or a particular member of its class.
For example: The dragon was wrought with the woman. Which keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.
There is a lot of confusion, and a whole lot of noise as it pertains to where you should return your tithes and offerings, and even though some may take it for granted that returning to your local church is a no- brainer, there are several questions that need to be clarified on the issue, so that folks might be aligned with God’s will.
For instance, when it says in our first passage that the tithe should be returned to “The storehouse”, does it mean any local church, or any congregation from any denomination? For instance, is your local Baptist church where you attend church regularly, each week, “The storehouse” that the Bible is referring to?
The opening passage in Malachi also includes these two words: “My House”, so the next logical question is what is God referring to when He says My house?
If I were to give you an invitation to my house, you would not go to any house on my street and call it my house, for the simple fact that I do not live there and it’s not mine anyway.
And there are follow up questions to your answers to the question of what constitutes “My house.” For instance, does The Lord leave it up to any preacher to designate and determine what My house is?
The Lord is speaking very specifically in the passage for He says that the tithe must be brought into the storehouse, and the storehouse must be His house, so when those two stipulations are employed in the interpretation, it does not leave any wiggle room for suppositions, assumptions, or private interpretation.
There are a multitude of churches, denominations, congregations, independent ministries, and other televangelists who are claiming a piece of the pie by instructing their followers to fund their churches or ministries with their tithes and offerings that have been devoted to God.
Now, while it is true that through your freedom of choice you can contribute to any of these ministries, the tithes and offerings that have been consecrated to God must be returned to God’s storehouse or My house, according as God stipulates.
Several points must now be made as clear as crystal before we proceed, because the fuzzies on this issue need clarification from the Bible.
[1] Just because a local church, a denomination, a televangelist, or independent ministry purports to preach from the Bible, that is not necessarily the qualifier for being The Storehouse, or My house.
Mega churches, where thousands of Christians may congregate each week, where the name of Jesus is purported to be lifted up, and where faith healings occur, do not necessarily constitute the storehouse, or My house, according to the Scriptures.
[2] Even the preaching of genuine truth does not necessarily make a church or independent ministry The storehouse, or My house.
For instance, God forbid that if for some unknown reason, Lindrey, Junior, and myself were to become upset with the establishment or the conference and we were to go out and form our own independent S.D.A church, namely, The Three Amigos S.D.A church.
And let’s say we were to preach the unadulterated straight truth from the Bible and Spirit of Prophecy, does that then qualify us as “The store house or My house?” It absolutely does not.
Let us just say here that God forbid if that were ever to take place, do not come or attend, and you must never support the three amigos with your tithes and offerings that were vowed to God for it’s neither the store house, or My house.
[3] My house is a defective place, a place where you must not expect to find perfect people. In fact, if a church claims to free from any defects, that stands as an instant disqualifier as being “My house.”
When Jesus was upon the earth, His house was a place full of defective people, yet it was His house. There were people there who were possessed with demons and there were a number of hypocrites, blind guides and fools, according to Jesus, yet, it was His house.
When persons disconnect from the God ordained church, or storehouse because there are too many hypocrites, and form their own independent church, it is just a matter of time before hypocrites will start to attend their church, because, according to what we have read in the Bible, you will always have a set of hypocrites, until the shaking does its work.
In fact, in the parable of the wheat and the tares, the disciples of Christ became quite dismayed by the presence of hypocrites, and they asked the Lord what they should do about the issue. Should they go root them out of the church, so that others may not be affected?
Christ’s answer to that dilemma was an absolute no, for He then made it plain that they should be left alone, and not uprooted. It was “My house” He was referring to, and since it is His house, He has both the freedom and the authority to designate who can be members. Let’s read:
Matthew 13: 27 So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then has it tares?
28 He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up?
29 But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them.
30 Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.
Therefore, let’s sit back and listen to The Lord as He describes some of the people who are members of the storehouse, the congregants who attend “My” house on a weekly basis. Let’s read:
Matthew 23: 13 But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in.
14 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows' houses, and for a pretense make long prayer: therefore, ye shall receive the greater damnation.
15 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves.
17 Ye fools and blind: for which is greater, the gold, or the temple that sanctifies the gold?
In addition to these unfavorable descriptions, there were also murderers to be found in His house, that’s the reason why when Jesus preached a sermon they didn’t like, they took Him to the edge of a cliff after Divine hour, to throw Him over, yet it was His house. Let’s read:
Luke 4: 28 And all they in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath,
29 And rose up, and thrust him out of the city, and led him unto the brow of the hill whereon their city was built, that they might cast him down headlong.
30 But he passing through the midst of them went his way.
John 8: 39 They answered and said unto him, Abraham is our father. Jesus saith unto them, If ye were Abraham's children, ye would do the works of Abraham.
40 But now ye seek to kill me, a man that hath told you the truth, which I have heard of God: this did not Abraham.
Not only did His house have some murderers, it also had a lot of thieves. This is the reason why when the complaint is made about God’s remnant church that it has too many hypocrites, you should think twice, for if a church doesn’t have any hypocrites it most likely is not “My house.”
Thus, according to the testimony of Christ on the state of things in His house, there were to be found several thieves. A “Den of thieves” refers to a sort of lair, where many are to be found, very similar to the den of lions into which Daniel was once thrown. It wasn’t one lion down there. Let’s read:
Matthew 21: 12 And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves,
13 And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves.
Now, we are trying to be as reasonable and logical as possible as we think these things through. If His house has some murderers, a lot of thieves, a lot of hypocrites, and some liars, it might seem logical for Jesus to be done with the it, and go start His own independent church, where truth can be preached in a much more favorable environment.
But no, He still regards it as “My House” and week after week and Sabbath after Sabbath He continues to attend services there, because as far as Jesus was concerned, the storehouse, My house didn’t change because of negative circumstances on the ground. Let’s read:
Luke 4:16 And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read.
In fact, when pressed on the issue of His financial contributions to the defective church, He sent Peter with some money to pay directly to the same den of thieves, for as far as Jesus was concerned, it was still “The store house and My House” just as it had been ordained by God in the Old Testament. Let’s read:
Matthew 17: 24 And when they were come to Capernaum, they that received tribute money came to Peter and said, does not your master pay tribute?
25 He saith, Yes. And when he was come into the house, Jesus prevented him, saying, What thinkest thou, Simon? of whom do the kings of the earth take custom or tribute? of their own children, or of strangers?
26 Peter saith unto him, Of strangers. Jesus saith unto him, then are the children free.
27 Notwithstanding, lest we should offend them, go thou to the sea, and cast a hook, and take up the fish that first cometh up; and when thou hast opened his mouth, thou shalt find a piece of money: that take, and give unto them for me and thee.
Apparently, even satan recognizes that God has a specific storehouse, which The Lord describes as My house. This is the reason why he took Jesus from the deserts and set Him on a pinnacle of the temple for there was the designated headquarters of the place God had then chosen as His house. Let’s read:
Luke 4: 8 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.
9 And he brought him to Jerusalem, and set him on a pinnacle of the temple, and said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down from hence.
[In heavenly Places pp 284] The church of Christ, enfeebled and defective as it may be, is the only object on earth on which He bestows His supreme regard.... The Lord has a people, a chosen people, His church, to be His own, His own fortress, which He holds in a sin-stricken, revolted world.
[Last Day Events pp 43] Let all be careful not to make an outcry against the only people who are fulfilling the description given of the remnant people, who keep the commandments of God and have faith in Jesus.
God has a distinct people, a church on earth, second to none, but superior to all in their facilities to teach the truth, to vindicate the law of God. My brother, if you are teaching that the Seventh-day Adventist Church is Babylon, you are wrong.
It becomes obvious that God is very particular, and specific when He speaks of The storehouse, as being My house and therefore we must brush aside all the noise and the fuzzies, and let the word of God speak for itself authoritatively.
As we read, let us try to avoid inserting any private interpretations into the Scriptures, for that will do violence to the passages that are being reviewed.
Question: What is the storehouse, and My House?
Deuteronomy 12:5 But unto the place which the Lord your God shall choose out of all your tribes to put his name there, even unto his habitation shall ye seek, and thither you shall come.
6 And thither ye shall bring your burnt offerings, and your sacrifices, and your tithes, and heave offerings of your hand, and your vows, and your freewill offerings, and the firstlings of your herds and of your flocks.
7 And there ye shall eat before the Lord your God, and ye shall rejoice in all that ye put your hand unto, ye and your households, wherein the Lord thy God hath blessed thee.
8 You shall not do after all the things that we do here this day, every man whatsoever is right in his own eyes.
10 But when ye go over Jordan, and dwell in the land which the Lord your God giveth you to inherit, and when he giveth you rest from all your enemies round about, so that ye dwell in safety;
11 Then there shall be a place which the Lord your God shall choose to cause his name to dwell there; thither shall ye bring all that I command you; your burnt offerings, and your sacrifices, your tithes, and the heave offering of your hand, and all your choice vows which ye vow unto the Lord.
13 Take heed to thyself that thou offer not thy burnt offerings in every place that you see.
14 But in the place which the Lord shall choose in one of thy tribes, there thou shalt offer thy burnt offerings, and there thou shalt do all that I command thee.
17 Thou must not eat within thy gates the tithe of thy corn, or of thy wine, or of thy oil, or the firstlings of thy herds or of thy flock, nor any of your vows which you vow, nor thy freewill offerings, or heave offering of thine hand.
18 But you must eat them before the Lord thy God in the place which the Lord thy God shall choose, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy manservant, and thy maidservant, and the Levite that is within thy gates: and thou shalt rejoice before the Lord thy God in all that you put thine hands unto.
26 Only thy holy things which thou hast, and thy vows, thou shalt take, and go unto the place which the Lord shall choose.
Deuteronomy 14: 22 Thou shalt truly tithe all the increase of thy seed, that the field bringeth forth year by year.
23 And thou shalt eat before the Lord thy God, in the place which he shall choose to place his name there, the tithe of thy corn, of thy wine, and of thine oil, and the firstlings of thy herds and of thy flocks; that thou mayest learn to fear the Lord thy God always.
24 And if the way be too long for thee, so that thou art not able to carry it; or if the place be too far from thee, which the Lord thy God shall choose to set his name there, when the Lord thy God hath blessed thee.
25 Then shalt thou turn it into money, and bind up the money in your hand, and shall go unto the place which the Lord thy God shall choose.
Deuteronomy 15: 19 All the firstling males that come of thy herd and of thy flock thou shalt sanctify unto the Lord thy God: thou shalt do no work with the firstling of thy bullock, nor shear the firstling of thy sheep.
20 Thou shalt eat it before the Lord thy God year by year in the place which the Lord shall choose, thou and thy household.
It becomes very obvious that the returning of tithes and offerings must be in accordance with what God chooses, for the following statement occurs to often in the previous passages, for it to be ignored: “The place which the Lord thy God shall choose”. In fact, the phrase occurs no less than 16 times in the instructions given to the people.
Therefore, the next logical question has to be: What is this place which The Lord Your God shall choose?
It is the designated place where you would find the law of God containing the ten commandments and the Spirit of prophecy as being manifested through God’s presence, and all the designated synagogues associated with that place. Let’s read:
Exodus 25:1 And the Lord spoke unto Moses, saying, 2 Speak unto the children of Israel, that they bring me an offering: of every man that giveth it willingly with his heart ye shall take my offering.
8 And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them.
21 And thou shalt put the mercy seat above upon the ark; and in the ark thou shalt put the testimony that I shall give thee.
22 And there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim which are upon the ark of the testimony, of all things which I will give thee in commandment unto the children of Israel.
2nd Chronicles 6: 6 But I have chosen Jerusalem, that my name might be there; and have chosen David to be over my people Israel.
10 The Lord therefore hath performed his word that he hath spoken: for I am risen up in the room of David my father, and am set on the throne of Israel, as the Lord promised, and have built the house for the name of the Lord God of Israel.
11 And in it have I put the ark, wherein is the covenant of the Lord, that he made with the children of Israel.
2nd Chronicles 7:1 Now when Solomon had made an end of praying, the fire came down from heaven, and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices; and the glory of the Lord filled the house.
2 And the priests could not enter into the house of the Lord, because the glory of the Lord had filled the Lord's house.
The designation of the store house, as it pertained to all of the synagogues associated with the law of God, and His presence, would come to a final end when Cestius, and later Titus would raze the city and the house to the ground.
This was foretold by Christ Himself as he sat upon the mount of Olives., but up until that time it would remain the headquarters of the storehouse, or “My house, as designated by God. Let’s read:
Matthew 24:1 And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple.
2 And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.
Fast forward to the day of Pentecost and thereafter as the Christian church gets rolling under the direct auspices of the Holy Ghost. God is a God of order, and thus, He plans and He organizes with the same accuracy that was manifested at creation. Let’s read:
Acts 2: 46 And they continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart,
47 Praising God, and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.
Acts 10:1 There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of the band called the Italian band,
2 A devout man, and one that feared God with all his house, which gave much alms to the people, and prayed to God always.
3 He saw in a vision evidently about the ninth hour of the day an angel of God coming in to him, and saying unto him, Cornelius.
4 And when he looked on him, he was afraid, and said, what is it, Lord? And he said unto him, your prayers and thine alms are come up for a memorial before God.
5 And now send men to Joppa, and call for one Simon, whose surname is Peter.
6 He lodges with one Simon a tanner, whose house is by the sea side: he shall tell you what you ought to do.
Now, we have to hit pause as we figure out what is transpiring here. Why would the angel put Cornelius in contact with Peter, so that Peter will tell him what to do? Why doesn’t the angel just go ahead and tell Cornelius what he needs to do, since he is already there with him?
Instead, the angel puts Cornelius in contact with the organized church, of which Peter is a representative, because God is a God of order, and therefore, every aspect of His work must be executed in an orderly manner.
Here it is again, the same scenario occurring where this time it’s Jesus who is speaking. For some reason He also does not tell Saul what he needs to do, but instead, puts him in contact with a member of His house, “MY house” because He has a specific church upon the earth. Let’s read:
Acts 9: 3 And as he journeyed, he came near to Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven.
4 And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecute you me?
5 And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom you persecute: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.
6 And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do.
10 And there was a certain disciple at Damascus, named Ananias; and to him said the Lord in a vision, Ananias. And he said, Behold, I am here, Lord.
11 And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the street which is called Straight, and enquire in the house of Judas for one called Saul, of Tarsus: for, behold, he prays,
12 And hath seen in a vision a man named Ananias coming in, and putting his hand on him, that he might receive his sight.
13 Then Ananias answered, Lord, I have heard by many of this man, how much evil he hath done to thy saints at Jerusalem.
15 But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel.
17 And Ananias went his way, and entered into the house; and putting his hands on him said, Brother Saul, the Lord, even Jesus, that appeared unto thee in the way as you came, has sent me that you might receive thy sight, and be filled with the Holy Ghost.
20 And straightway he preached Christ in the synagogues, that he is the Son of God.
Fast forward to the 21st century and the question is asked and needs to be answered from the Scripture: Does God still have a specific storehouse, which He designates as “My House” and if so, does He expect our tithes and offerings to be returned there, just as it was in the days of yore?
The answer is a resounding yes, and just as it was in the days of old, if you’re wondering what is the “MY house, and “The storehouse in our day, you would have to look for the church that has the same two identifying marks as formerly, namely, the law of God and the Spirit of prophecy.
In other words, if a denomination or church teaches that God’s law was nailed to the cross, and it is not valid anymore, that denomination or church cannot be the storehouse, it matters not how much Jesus it preaches.
In Biblical prophecy, a woman is used to represent the church, and therefore, you will have to look for the organized denomination that promulgates God’s law and also has the testimony of Jesus, which is the Spirit of prophecy.
Any other church, denomination, or independent ministry is just a church, but is definitely not “The storehouse or “MY house” and therefore, your tithe and offerings that have been vowed to God should be returned to His designated house. Let’s read:
Revelation 12:17 And the dragon was wroth with the woman and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, who keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.
Revelation 19: 10 And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellow-servant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.
Now, it is true that God’s people are to be found in most churches, and in every language, tongue, and people, and yes, there are many independent 7the Day Adventist churches that may have inadvertently claimed to be the storehouse.
God is now calling all to act in truth and sincerity, by restoring The storehouse, “My house” to its original owner, with the proceeds thereof, from now on, for God is just as specific as He was back then, when He declared those solemn words: “In the place which The Lord Thy God shall choose.” Let’s read:
[Test. Vol 9, pp 249] The tithe is sacred, reserved by God for Himself. It is to be brought into His treasury to be used to sustain the gospel laborers in their work. But will you rob God because you think the management of the work is not right?
Make your complaint, plainly and openly, in the right spirit, to the proper ones. Send in your petitions for things to be adjusted and set in order; but do not withdraw from the work of God, and prove unfaithful, because others are not doing right.
Jesus is more than willing to forgive wherever there have been genuine mistakes and errors, and even if one had knowingly departed from His revealed will, He will forgive if we confess.
It is not for us to judge the motives, and intents of the heart, all we are doing is establishing the Biblical fact that God still has a specific storehouse upon the earth.
And if any person so desires to follow the Scriptural instructions on returning your tithes and offerings to His house, the truth is there before you, so that you can make your move intelligently.
In closing, we hope and pray that The Bible brought clarity to the matter, so that from here on out, we may know what to do. We therefore end with a passage of Scripture that will help us to see the light clearly so that faith and practice may converge. Let’s read:
Proverbs 4:2 For I give you good doctrine, forsake you not my law.
4 He taught me also, and said unto me, let thine heart retain my words: keep my commandments, and live.
18 But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.
God Bless!