Introduction
The title grabbed
my attention: "Our Church Was Robbed Recently." The story that
followed said:
"We are
thankful that no one was injured physically, but it will be some time before
things are back to normal. It's clear that more than one person is responsible
- in fact, there may actually be many people who have been party to the crime.
Two things are most unfortunate about the robbery - one is that we have no
assurances that it won't happen again, and that is a bit unnerving! The other
unfortunate element is that we're certain that those who carried out the
robbery are members of our church. It's bad enough to know that a theft has
occurred, but it's really hard to imagine that professing Christians would
actually steal from God and the ministries of his church. We can certainly hope
that anyone who has participated in this act will repent and repay what has
been taken. It's reported that some of the stolen money has been used for
vacations, cars, boats, designer clothes, athletic equipment, homes, and even
dining out. We don't have a complete list of all the suspects, but there is
consolation in knowing that God does.
"You haven't
read about this in the papers and hopefully you won't. I realize that some of
you will disagree, but it would be difficult to get a conviction in the courts
given the clever way in which the robbery was carried out. You are probably also
interested in how much was taken. The amount is undetermined, but at the very
least exceeds many thousands of Fcfa.
"By the way,
the robbery happened in full view of the church during Sunday services. It
happened as the offering plates were passed during Sunday school and worship.
It also happened as people who didn't come simply didn't give the Lord's tithe."
The
people in Malachi's day had treated God badly by robbing from him. They had
become bored with God. Their worship had turned from relational to ritual. As a
result they offered blemished sacrifices (1:6-14); the priests had become
unfaithful (2:1-9); divorce was commonplace and easy (2:10-17); their words
wearied God (2:17); businessmen were defrauding their workers, cheating their
customers and taking advantage of widows, orphans and aliens (3:1-5).
But
the most egregious treatment of God was that they were robbing God (3:6-12).
How? By withholding their tithes, by giving the worst instead of the best, by
giving the least and not the most. Their attitude was, "How little can I
give and still keep God happy?"
The
people proclaimed their innocence, but Malachi, like a prosecuting attorney,
presented the evidence to back up the indictment (charge).
Five statements
stand out to me in this passage.
I.
The tithe is the minimum
"'Will a man
rob God? Yet you are robbing Me!' You ask: 'How do we rob You?' 'By not making
the payments of the tenth and the contributions'" (Mal. 3:8). The tithe
comes from a Hebrew word that means one tenth. If you make $100 today, a tithe
would be $10. It is simple math.
It gets more
complicated, because in the Old Testament Law there were actually three tithes.
The one to which Malachi referred was for the priests. A second tithe
helped celebrate the annual sacred feast. The people used these funds to
throw a party in honor of God. And then every third year the people would
give another ten percent to help the poor. When
you add that together, that equals about 23 percent of a household's income.
Tithing
has always been the floor, not the ceiling, of giving to God's work. In other
words, tithing is the place to begin, not the place to end in supporting God's
kingdom business.
The
tithe was recognized as God's. We should always refer to it as God's tithe not
my tithe. People in the Old Testament didn't give a tithe but repaid it to the
Owner of all things. Rarely does the Bible speak of giving a tithe, but rather
of "taking," "presenting," or even "paying"
tithes. No one ever said, "I feel led
to tithe." The tithe was explicit and objective. It required no heart
response. It was expected. Period. Offerings, on the other hand, were given
from the heart when touched by God's grace. You can say my offering but the
Tithe is God’s tithe.
II.
The curse came from disobedience (v. 9)
"You are suffering
under a curse, yet you - the whole nation - are still robbing Me" (Mal.
3:9). The Old Testament was written to the nation of Israel. God was addressing
the nation. Because God's people robbed Him, they have put a curse on the whole
nation. They did that to themselves.
But we must make
one thing very clear: While there are spiritual and financial consequences for
failing to give to God, we should never make the mistake of thinking that we
will be "cursed" if we haven't tithed. "Christ has redeemed us
from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, because it is written:
Everyone who is hung on a tree is cursed" (Gal. 3:13 HCSB). We rest in the
new covenant Christ initiated in His blood. He freed us from the curse of
keeping the law. And it's because of what He did for us that we should
willingly and gladly obey.
III.
The storehouse represents God's work (v. 10)
"Bring the
full tenth into the storehouse so that there may be food in My house"
(Mal. 3:10). In Israel the people brought their tithes of grain, olives, wine,
and meat to be store in the Temple. These goods supported the priests and
Levites, those serving God vocationally, since they did not have other jobs.
The goods also met the needs of the poor in the community. And, thirdly, these
goods met the expenses of the Temple operations.
Giving has always
been God's way of financing his church.He expected his people to return to
support the church with part of their income.
The tithe was not
a legalistic regulation. It was to teach his people to put him first. "Each
year you are to set aside a tenth of all the produce grown in your fields . . .
so that you will always learn to fear the LORD your God" (Deuteronomy
14:22-23).
When we put God
first in our giving, He will be first in every area of life. We pay God first.
Too many reverse this process. If there's anything left, they give some to God.
This is what was happening in Malachi's day. They were giving God the leftovers
and, as a result, robbing God.
IV.
The test challenges God to bless (v. 10)
"'Test Me in
this way,' says the LORD of Hosts" (Mal. 3:10). God challenged His people
to give according to the Law so that He could bless them. Do you realize that
this is the only time in Bible where God puts out that kind of challenge? Too often
we get hung up on the amount and miss the promise.
It's amazing to
me that people who trust God for their salvation, their eternity in heaven,
won't trust God with their finances. If we can trust God for our eternal
destiny, don't you think we can trust God with our careers, our finances, and
our giving?
V.
The blessings are out of this world (v. 10)
"'See if I
will not open the floodgates of heaven and pour out a blessing for you without
measure'" (Mal. 3:10). This is an amazing passage of Scripture. No one can
outgive God.
A young boy went
to the store with his mother. The shop owner, a kindly man, passed him a large
jar of suckers and invited him to help himself to a handful.
Uncharacteristically, the boy held back. So the shop owner pulled out a handful
for him.
When outside, the
boy's mother asked why he had suddenly been so shy and wouldn't take a handful
of suckers when offered.
The boy replied,
"Because his hand is much bigger than mine!"
Conclusion
God's
hand is bigger. His shovel is bigger. His wallet is bigger. His generosity is
bigger. His love is bigger. Make a game of it. See if you can out-give God.
That is the one game you hope you lose, and, in time, you will realize that you
will always lose.
In
the end, when we rob from God we are actually robbing from ourselves. We are
robbing ourselves of spiritual blessings, of God's provisions, of a church that
can meet the needs of others.
We
are left with a choice: How will we treat God? Will we rob God by not giving
our tithes, or will we be faithful in giving to God what is His?
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