John Gill Commentary Malachi 3:8

"Will a man rob God? yet ye rob me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings." — Malachi 3:8 (ASV)

Will a man rob God ?
&c.] Or "the gods"; the false gods, the idols of the Gentiles; the Heathens will not do that, accounting sacrilege a great sin, and yet this the Jews were guilty of: or "the judges" ^F3 , as the Targum; civil magistrates; will any dare to defraud them of their due? see (Malachi 1:8) . Yet you have robbed me ;
keeping back from the priests and Levites, his ministers, what was due to them; and which, being no other than a spoiling or robbing of them, might be interpreted a robbing of God: But you say, wherein have we robbed you ?
as not being conscious of any such evil; or, however, impudently standing in it, that they were not guilty: to which is returned the answer, In tithes and offerings ; that is, they robbed God in not giving the tithes, and not offering sacrifices, according as the law required: but it may be objected, that the Jews in Christ's time did pay tithes, even of all things; yea, of more than the law required, (Matthew 23:23) (Luke 18:12)

to which it may be replied, that though they gave tithes, yet it was (her Nyeb) , "with an evil eye", as Aben Ezra says; grudgingly, and not cheerfully, and with an evil intention; not to show their gratitude to God, and their acknowledgment of him as their Lord, from whom they had their all, but in order to merit at his hands; besides, our Lord suggests that they did not give to God the things that were God's, (Matthew 22:21) and the apostle charges them with being guilty of sacrilege, (Romans 2:22) and, moreover, the priests might not give it to the Levites, as they ought; and which is what they are charged with in (Nehemiah 13:10) and Grotius says that they were guilty of this before the destruction by Vespasian, as appears by Josephus.

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FOOTNOTES:

• F3: (Myhla) "deos, vel judices", Calvin, Drusius, Grotius.