Can a person actually rob God?

In Malachi 3:8-12, God makes a startling charge against His people: they have robbed Him. In this study, Dr. Toby Holt explains what that means — and what the Bible really teaches about giving.

God’s people had been withholding their tithes and offerings, giving Him their leftovers instead of their best. God calls this robbery. But then He does something unusual: He invites them to “test” Him — to give faithfully and watch Him pour out blessing. Dr. Holt explains the heart of biblical giving: it is not about hoarding God’s gifts but pouring them out for His kingdom. He even shares how his own church’s mercy fund grew rather than shrank as they gave more generously.

Questions this study answers:

1. How can someone “rob” God? By withholding from Him what is His and giving Him our leftovers instead of our best. God calls that withholding a kind of robbery.

2. What is a tithe? The word means “a tenth.” In the Old Testament, God’s people returned a portion of what He had given them as an act of worship and trust.

3. What does God invite His people to do? To test Him — to give faithfully and see how He provides. True giving pours out God’s gifts for others rather than hoarding them.

“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.” — Malachi 3:10 (NKJV)

Speaker: Dr. Toby Holt is the President of New Geneva Theological Seminary, a Reformed seminary in Colorado Springs. He is known for clear, down-to-earth Bible teaching, and his sermons have been downloaded more than 1.9 million times on SermonAudio.

Listen and go deeper: This sermon is part of the Malachi Explained study from New Geneva Theological Seminary. Find more verse-by-verse teaching across the Bible at newgeneva.org. To support this teaching ministry, visit newgeneva.org/give.