Malachi 3:6-12 NLT “I am the Lord, and I do not change. That is why you descendants of Jacob are not already destroyed.
7 Ever since the days of your ancestors, you have scorned
my decrees and failed to obey them. Now return to me, and I will return to you,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. “But you ask, ‘How can we return when we have never gone away?’
8 “Should people cheat God? Yet you have cheated me! “But you ask, ‘What do you mean? When did we ever cheat you?’ “You have cheated me of the tithes and offerings due to me. You are under a curse, for your whole nation has been cheating me.
10 Bring all the tithes into the storehouse so there will be enough food in my Temple. If you do,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, “I will open the windows of heaven for you. I will pour out a blessing so great you won’t have enough room to take it in! Try it! Put me to the test!
11 Your crops will be abundant, for I will guard them from insects and disease. Your grapes will not fall from the vine before they are ripe,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
12 “Then all nations will call you blessed, for your land will be such a delight,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.”
Let us discuss a redundant subject that some squirm when brought up. Why do we squirm?
We only squirm if we are lovers of money. If we were lovers of God and not money, whether I discuss or not should not bother you whether you agree or not. But I must teach for your own good whether you like broccoli or not. Your choice is whether to bottom feed or be on top of the food chain. Verse 12 shows us that if you become a thief, you will be a bottom feeder, for the obedient ones are to be called blessed and be a delight to all people!
Now in verse 7, God is using tithing and offering as a way of intimate connection. When we get married, and if a wife has nothing to bring to the table, she is not only joining her husband, but all he is and has is joined to her and vice versa. When we profess to become a people of God, we expect all God has promised is for us, and we declare it, but we are too cheap to give what is His from us. And we wonder why we have been bottom-feeding.
Verses 7 and 8 define what it is to have fallen or moved away from God. The connection of intimacy God uses is tithes and offerings. Giving is a form of worship. Even though the people were going to church, they presumed they were connected intimately through their attendance. But God said for them to return to Him through tithes and offerings, which is a path of obedience and covenant.
Our relationship with God is not a person’s lip service as they profess how they love Him much, but the relationship is a covenant. There are do’s and don’t’s. Love is not emotional, feelings, or mental but covenant. This is why human love fails. We initially move on feelings and sensations and then fail to meet each other’s obligations and abandon out of self-interest. Love is not for your satisfaction but for the interest of another. Love is to give as Father gave His Son and the Son gave up His life for you and I.
God considers not properly tithing or offering as cheating. It is the same as a spouse cheating on one another, which will bring a curse.
But verse 10 gives a way back. God gives a solution to return. The way to return is very simple and merciful. HE says to restore the tithes and offerings and return to His blessings. We tithe to Him as we give to the worship place and home church.
Please do not be a pharisee as you give, for such people give out of anxiety, thinking your Pastors will benefit and eat well. The purpose of tithing was to take care of the priests and operations of the temple. You are giving to God and leave it at that. Otherwise, examine your heart, for you may be a lover of money, and even if you do give, it is for your own return of blessings. Then, you will not be called a delight or blessing by the nations; you will only be seen as one fulfilling your religious obligations.
Even in a church, there are spiritual foreigners, housekeepers (spiritual employees), servants, spiritual water, and log carriers who get to watch the sons and daughters enjoy the presence of the Lord. They are the goats and not the sheep. The sheep are the core and promise child. But all can become if they allow God to circumcise their hearts and they choose to fully surrender and submit to God through the leadership that is appointed and anointed in the ministry (this House).
To give is to worship. Think deeply about this and meditate, asking God to open your eyes and ears.
Pastor Steve Kim