Robbing God and Ourselves

Please turn in your Bibles to Malachi chapter 3, verses 6-12. In the Pew Bibles, you can find that on page 954

As we have gone through Malachi, we’ve seen a recurring pattern.

First, the Lord makes an accusation. Second, he quotes the people of Israel questioning him – they ask “how?” and third, the Lord explains.

· In chapter 1. “I have loved you” “How have you loved us?” “Because I chose you”

· Next “You have despised my name” “How have we despised you?” “You have brought polluted offerings.

· Chapter 2 – “you have been faithless.” “how have we been faithless?” “You have been unfaithful in your marriages”

· And last week… “you have wearied me with your words” “How have we wearied you? “you have said ‘where is the God of justice?”

This pattern has revealed two things. First, they had not been acting in faith before the Lord. And second, they were not aware of their faithless actions. They were blind to their own sin.

Our text this morning continues this pattern. But it is also unique. It opens up with a call to respond.

So, listen for that call and listen for the next example of their faithless actions.

Reading of Malachi 3:6-12

Prayer

One day over in Scotland, a poor man had been attending church… accidentally dropped a silver coin into the offering plate. It was very valuable to him. He had meant to offer a penny. When he asked for it back, the deacon refused, “sorry, in once, in forever.” Frustrated, the man responded, “at least I’ll get credit in heaven.” To which, the deacon replied, “oh no, you’ll get credit for what you meant to give.”

Just trying to break the ice here. This is our fourth sermon this year on giving. We had three of them in our 2 Corinthians study and now this one. If you have been visiting, I don’t want you to think that every couple of months you’re going to hear a sermon on giving. No, in fact, before this year I don’t think we had a single sermon on financial stewardship.

Our philosophy of preaching involves working through books of the Bible. By doing so, we are allowing God’s Word to direct our focus. That means as we go chapter by chapter, we’ll come across matters that are sensitive. Matters that we need to hear. And that includes, of course, finances and money. It just so happens that both 2 Corinthians and here in Malachi touch upon giving (and that is not why I chose them)

As you know, these are matters close to our hearts. Really, money in general is a personal topic. I can tell you that in the marriage counselling I’ve done over the years, financial conflicts have often been the thing that puts the most stress on marriages. Money can be a control mechanism. Money is often an idol. To be sure, money is not the problem. Jesus never said that money is the root of all kinds of evil. No, he said that the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil.

What we’re going to learn this morning is that your financial stewardship in regards to God’s kingdom is an important matter. It is a window into your relationship with the Lord.

We’ll consider these verses in 3 points. Repent; renew; receive.

1. Repent – verses 6 and 7, return to me.

2. Renew – verse 8 to the middle of 10. God calls them to renew their obedience to the Lord… by bringing in the full tithe.

3. Receive – the end of verse 10 through 12. When they do, God will pour down the blessings of heaven.

1. Repent

#1 – Repent. Notice that Malachi’s prophecy in this section does not begin with a focus on their tithes. Rather, it begins with a focus on their relationship with the Lord.

You see, it wasn’t that the Lord walked away from them. No. Rather, they walked away from their relationship with him. They thought that God had abandoned them. They thought he didn’t care.

That’s why the Lord begins in verse 6 with a reminder that he hasn’t changed. And notice what he emphasizes. I do not change, that is why “you… are not consumed.” God is emphasizing his lovingkindness to them. He’s reminding them of his patience and mercy toward them.

The issue was their rejection of God and his ways. And it’s not new. That is why in verse 7 God reminds them that their forefathers also turned aside from him. The returned exiles in Judah had been doing the same thing. In the previous chapters, God pointed out the various ways they had turned aside from his statues.

And so, the Lord says to them: “Return to me, and I will return to you.”

“But… but… Lord, we are back in Jerusalem. We have returned, haven’t we? After all, we are back in the city where King David reigned… we are back where the temple is, where your very presence dwells. Why are you telling us to return to you? Is it not you who have departed us?”

They didn’t understand that it had never been about being in Jerusalem. Just like their forefathers before them, it was about their relationship with God. They had walked away from God’s commands and his promises which was tantamount to walking away from him.

But the Lord is gracious and bids them return to him.

At the heart of this appeal to “return” is repentance. That is what repentance is. It’s turning away from something that is not honoring to God and returning back to him and to what honors him.

Honestly, these verses can apply to any pattern of sin in your life or my life. Yes, in a minute we’re going to get into their failure to honor the Lord with their tithes and contributions. But the pattern we are given here is THE pattern for life - repentance and renewal.

And so we should ask, what are the ways in which we have wandered from you, Lord? We ask him to reveal our sin… our pride our lust or anger or coveting or dishonoring his name or steeling or lying or worse. And we then come to the Lord with contrite hearts. We grieve the ways in which we have broken God’s commands, all of which have damaged our relationship with him… and with those we’ve sinned against. We repent, and we then we renew ourselves to walk again in God’s ways.

And when we repent, God is merciful and loving. He will receive us when we return to him. Did you notice that second part? “Return to me, and I will return to you.”

Which brings us to the people’s first question, “But you say, ‘how shall we return?’” They didn’t know how.

2. Renew

This is the renewal part, by the way. point #2. You see, renewal is the way we return to God. Renewal of our faith. Renewal of our obedience.

But just like before, God’s people didn’t know what God was talking about. And so, in verse 8, the Lord asks, “will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me.”

I’ve been robbed twice. One time, my car window was smashed in and some things were taken. Another time, I was out of the country. I was in a crowded market, and someone bumped into me. That sort of turned me around. Someone else then bumped into me. At first, I thought it was just because of the large crowds. But a few minutes later, I looked down and the pullover windbreaker I was wearing had been cut. Someone had sliced open the front of my jacket, where there was a zippered pouch. My wallet was gone. It happened without me even knowing it.

I’m sure some of you have experienced worse. When it happens, you feel violated and unsettled. You think, what could I have done to prevent it?

Here’s the thing. Can man rob God? I mean, he knows and sees all things. He is furthermore all powerful. In his sovereignty, nothing is unknown and nothing is out of his control.

In other words, robbing God is not really possible in the sense of God being taken by surprise. So, this is a shocking accusation. The people had been robbing him, so to speak. But just like the other patterns of sin, they didn’t realize it. And so they ask. “How have we robbed you?”

The Lord responds, “in your tithes and contributions.” They had not been fulfilling their obligations. They had been holding back.

By the way, this is very similar to their polluted sacrificial offerings back at the end of chapter 1. But this accusation is broader. Notice in verse 9. “…you are robbing me, the whole nation of you.”

Let’s talk about this tithe thing. The word “tithe” comes from the Hebrew word for tenth. They were to give 10% of the fruit of their labors. That tithe was often paid in grain or other crops. And just like the sacrificial animals, they were to tithe their very best. Tithing was part of the Levitical law – those were laws related to the sacrificial system and the priest. Their tithe supported the priestly work. It was not an option, it was an obligation for them.

In a minute, we’ll come back to the question of whether tithing applies to us today. So, stay tuned.

But first, why weren’t they doing this? Why didn’t they tithe? Well, besides the drought that they were in, which we’ve discussed, their crops had been infested by some sort of “devourer.” Verse 11 mentions that. …perhaps locusts had damaged their crops. They didn’t have much to begin with and now they were experiencing both a drought and an infestation. They didn’t tithe because they didn’t think they could afford the tithe. It’s convicting to think about that… Is that not often our excuse?

They justified not tithing but by doing so, they were in fact robbing God.

It's like when you buy a house. You know, you go to the bank, you get a mortgage. You call it “your house,” but the bank really owns it. You pay the bank every month interest and principal. But if you don’t make the payments, you are in a sense robbing the bank. They can take your house back. Not tithing was robbing God because it was all God’s in the first place. They had been entrusted with it. But they thought it was theirs to give or not. And because of all the stress of the situation, they withheld from God what was truly his.

So, here’s the big question for us: Is giving 10% something that applies to God’s people today? To ask it in another way, since tithe was part of the Levitical law, does it still apply to us?

And I believe the answer to that question is “no” and “yes.”

· “No” in the sense that we no longer have that explicit obligation. The tithe mentioned in the books of Leviticus and Deuteronomy was to maintain the ceremonial law and to support the Levites who didn’t have a land inheritance, unlike the other tribes. The sacrificial system is no longer in effect. That is because Christ has come and has fulfilled it. Tithe was a part of that.

· But the answer is also “yes.” The principle of tithing is still very much a part of the New Testament teaching. Jesus affirmed giving proportional to someone’s income. Also, in 1 Corinthians 16, each person is directed to set aside a portion for the collection of the saints. As we studied in 2 Corinthians earlier this year, there’s a call to give generously. Furthermore, even though there are no more priests, we do learn that some elders in the church are to labor in teaching. In other words, supporting the work of the church and God’s kingdom is a New Testament principle. It’s just that it’s not the formal “tithe” obligation from the ceremonial law.

But, you ask, does that mean that 10% is not prescribed? Let me answer that by saying this. In the Old Testament, the tithe for the priests was not the only requirement to give. There was the Festival tithe. There was a poor tithe every third year. They were to give a first fruits offering at the earliest part of the harvest. There were others as well. Some estimate that their contributions added up to over 25% of their income.

Here’s how pastor Kevin DeYoung puts it. He said, “Whether the Old Testament requirement is a binding prescription or not, I find it hard to imagine that Western Christians who have seen the glory of God in the face of Christ and enjoy great prosperity, would want to give less than was required of the poorest Israelite.” He furthermore says this: “Statistics consistently show that Protestants give less than 3% of their income to their churches. A tithe, for most churchgoers, would be a huge step in the right direction.”

I think that is well said. Tithe is no longer mandated, but 10% is a good starting place to pray about and consider. More importantly, though… and please hear me on this… we should give joyfully and sacrificially out of hearts that love the Lord and love his kingdom.

Alright, going back to the peoples’ question. “How shall we return?” God answers in verse 10 “Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house.” He is referring to the storage rooms in the temple where the offering of crops was stored.

They were to faithfully resume their tithing despite their poverty.

You know, repentance and renewal go together. We can’t separate them. As the Scriptures say, we are to “bear fruit in keeping with repentance.” Your repentance from sin is validated by a renewed commitment to the Lord and his commands. This is not about earning salvation at all. It’s about responding to the salvation that God has given you in Christ by renewing your faith in him and your obedience to him.

3. Receive

Which brings us to number 3. Receive. We will experience God’s blessings when our lives are aligned with his commands. I’m being very intentional how I say that.

The second half of verse 10 talks about the windows of heaven being opened. It’s talking about rain. And then in verse 11, we learn that the devourer will be destroyed. You know, the plague of locusts will end. And then the soil will once again be fruitful. The harvest will be plentiful. And then in verse 12, all the nations will call them blessed.

Remember, God’s people in Malachi’s day were still under the Levitical framework. For them, there was a direct correlation between their tithing and the abundant blessing that God would give them. God was promising them that if they repented and renewed their commitment to him in their tithes, that yes, they would receive an abundance of God’s blessings.

But there’s something else here. Did you notice that the language in verses 10-12 is the language of God’s promise to Abraham? In God’s covenant with Abraham, God promised to give Abraham’s descendants an abundant land. And God promised that all the nations of the earth would be blessed through them.

In other words, the promise here was a renewal of God’s covenant promises with his people. The blessings they were promised were tied to their repentance and the renewal of their relationship with the Lord.

For us, what’s really important to understand is that the Levitical system and the covenant with Abraham have both been fulfilled in Christ. We cannot interpret these verses without understanding them through a Gospel lens. We can’t say that if we are faithful in our gifts and offerings that God will materially bless us.

No, rather, the blessings alluded to here are ultimately the blessings that we receive in Jesus Christ. He is the mediator of a new covenant. The priestly role and sacrifice itself have been fulfilled in him. Furthermore, the promise to Abraham about his seed and about all the nations of the earth being blessed are likewise fulfilled in Christ. Abraham’s true seed, Jesus, bore the curse that our unfaithfulness deserves so that the blessings promised to Abraham might come to people from all nations.

And speaking of curse, go back to verse 9. At the beginning of 9, the people were reminded of the curse of sin. Their failure to tithe and our failure to give, indeed condemn, as does any sin. But Jesus has satisfied our failure to meet these obligations and has likewise fulfilled the promise of blessing.

What I am saying is that we dare not interpret Malachi 3’s blessings to be material blessings. If we do so, we have failed to see the fulfillment of God’s promises in Christ. The blessings spoken of here, like the “land of delight” ultimately point us beyond the material things of this world. They point to a new creation – one where the curse, mentioned here, is no more… and people from all nations will worship the Lord in his very presence forever.

There are so-called preachers today who abuse this passage and who falsely promise material reward. For example, Joel Osteen said this about Malachi 3:10. He said, “Tithing is the key to financial blessings.” God wants us to have the overflowing part, he said, “but…we have to be faithful and obedient with the first part, giving.” There are so many things wrong about that. It misapplies the Levitical obligations and blessings. It completely misses the reference in these verses to God’s covenant with Abraham. Rather than focus on repentance and renewal and our relationship with the Lord, which is what this passage is about, it instead focuses on us. It is worldly and man-centered and turns money into an idol, rather than turning us from our idolatry and back to the Lord. It misses the true Gospel, the grace of God in Christ Jesus.

The message of Malachi 3 is not “give so that God will give more back to you.” No, rather it is, “give because God has already given you abundantly in Christ.”

To bring this all together, yes, we are promised blessings in verses 10 through 12. But those blessings are spiritual blessings in Christ. When we repent and renew ourselves to the Lord in obedience to him, God blesses us in abundant ways. For one, he renews our relationship with him. To use the words here… When we return to him, he will return to us. When we seek by God’s Spirit, to live in obedience to his Word, we will spiritually flourish with assurance and peace in our hearts, and perseverance in trials, and hope for the future.

And all of it comes from and through the ministry of Christ, through which we have already received abundant blessings. We do not give in order to receive Christ; we give because in Christ we have already received far more than we could ever repay.

Conclusion

So, may we not rob God. Because in doing so, we are robbing ourselves. Rather, may we renew our hearts toward him in faith and obedience. May we generously and joyfully contribute to the work of the saints. And through that repentance and renewal, may we experience the abundant blessings that God has given us in Christ Jesus.