Do Not Steal From God

6“I am the Lord. I do not change. That is why I have not destroyed you members of Jacob’s family. 7You have turned away from my rules. You have not obeyed them. You have lived that way ever since the days of your people long ago. Return to me. Then I will return to you,” says the Lord who rules over all.

“But you ask, ‘How can we return?’

8“Will a man dare to steal from me? But you rob me!

“You ask, ‘How do we rob you?’

“By holding back your offerings. You also steal from me when you do not bring me a tenth of everything you produce. 9So you are under my curse. In fact, your whole nation is under it. That is because you are robbing me.

10“Bring the entire tenth to the storerooms in my temple. Then there will be plenty of food. Put me to the test,” says the Lord. “Then you will see that I will throw open the windows of heaven. I will pour out so many blessings that you will not have enough room for them. 11I will keep bugs from eating up your crops. And your grapes will not drop from the vines before they are ripe,” says the Lord.

12“Then all of the nations will call you blessed. Your land will be delightful,” says the Lord who rules over all.

13“You have spoken bad things against me,” says the Lord.

“But you ask, ‘What have we spoken against you?’

14“You have said, ‘It is useless to serve God. What did we gain by obeying his laws? And what did we get by pretending to be sad in front of the Lord? 15But now we call proud people blessed. Things go well with those who do what is evil. And God doesn’t even punish those who argue with him.’ ”