This is NOT speaking of the church, for the church didn’t exist until Christ died, ascended back to heaven, and sent the Holy Spirit to indwell believers and to form the church. You can learn of this in Acts 1:1-14; 2:1-4, 41-47; 1st Corinthians 12:13; Ephesians 1:22-23; 2:11-22.

The “storehouse” in this verse is referring to special rooms in the temple for all the food that was given as a tithe to the Lord. This is brought out clearly in Nehemiah 10:35 & 38 which reads, “And we made ordinances to bring the firstfruits of our ground and the firstfruits of all fruit of all trees, year by year, to the house of the LORD…to bring the firstfruits of our dough, our offerings, the fruit from all kinds of trees, the new wine and oil, to the priests, to THE STOREROOMS OF THE HOUSE OF OUR GOD; and to bring the tithes of our land to the Levites, for the Levites should receive the tithes in all our farming communities” (NKJV). Even though these “tithes” were “offerings to the Lord,” they were actually “food for the priests.” The whole Levitical priesthood was set apart to the Lord to serve Him in the temple and their only source of income was the “tithes of food” that the other 11 tribes of Israel offered. Thus they were dependent on their brethren to be faithful in tithing the firstfruits of all their food.

Let’s read Malachi 3:8-10 to get the full picture. “Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed Me! But you say, ‘In what way have we robbed You?’ In tithes and offerings. You are cursed with a curse, for you have robbed Me, even this whole nation. 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 a blessing.” In the Law of Moses, God promised to bless His people if they were obedient to Him and to curse them if they were disobedient to Him. I would encourage you to read Leviticus 26:3-39 to see a list of these “blessings” and “curses.” In Deuteronomy 28:8, He specifically mentions the storehouses, “The LORD will command the blessing on you in your storehouses and in all to which you set your hand, and He will bless you in the land which the LORD your God is giving you.” Yet in Malachi’s day the people had robbed God (and the Levites!) by withholding their tithes of food and God had to curse them for their disobedience. Yet God is merciful, so He encourages them to “bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house,” and if they would act on His word He promises them that He would “open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you such a blessing.” God is so gracious and ready to forgive, for He longs to bless His people. All they needed to do was to “open their hearts to Him” in true repentance and bring their tithes of food, and He would gladly “open the windows of heaven and bless them.” (239.9) (DO)