Malachi Lesson 8 - Fairhaven Baptist Church

Minor Prophets

Malachi

Lesson 8

Text: Malachi 3:7-14

Intro: In vs.6 God reinstates the fact that He does not Change. We often divide the word of God up into two divisions, the Old and the New testaments, or dispensations of time, such as the Adamac age, or the age of the Law, the age of Grace, or even the millennium age. And these are legitimate divisions, but they are not separations in the character of God. He is the same and changes not. Because we are now in the church age doesn’t mean that God tolerates what He would not tolerate in the Old Testament. What was unacceptable for God then was Unacceptable now. Just as God’s standards applied to Cain and Able before the Law, and His standard applies today. A lot of the problems people have is when they misinterpret the pictures and illustrations of Christ for the standards of Christ, such as the type of material they wore, the haircut, etc… So tonight we are going to look at what is one of the most controversial subjects in Scripture, the act of tithing ad offerings. We can talk about divorce, about idolatry, and any other subject, and people will not be nearly as offended as when a preacher speaks about money. This is why I want t simply look at what God says, not man.

Robbing God, Vs.7-12
1. A Practice of Robbing God, vs.7&8
  1. The Provision of the Priest,
    1. the Priest were not allowed to own land,
    2. the division of Israel when it was given to the tribes, did not include the tribe of Levi
      - the reason being, is they were to be the priestly tribe, they took care of the temple- tabernacle, it was the Levi that were to carry the tents of the tabernacle, carry the decorations of the tabernacle, conduct the sacrifices, etc.
    3. When the land was divided out of 11 tribes, if each gave 10%, then that would make up for the sum of the need of the priest.
      - It is amazing how God provides that way.
        
        I personally think that any church that has more than 10 members can supply the need of the pastor. That is if each of them give the 10^th, and 10 tenths equal 1.
        
        I also think that a pastor should be provided at a average of the church, this would mean that if average is 20,000 then that should be his salary, if the average is 75,000 then the same. And this would account for the cost of living no matter where in the world or America they are living.
  2. What is a Tithe,
    1. simply put, it was a tenth,
      - this applied to money or to product.
      - Leviticus 27:30-34 (read in a minuet turn to it) & Nehemiah 13:5 both point to rooms in the temple where there was space to store tithes.
        
        IE, bring your tithe to the storehouse.
    2. Leviticus 27:30-33 “And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land, or of the fruit of the tree, is the LORD’S: it is holy unto the LORD.31And if a man will at all redeem ought of his tithes, he shall add thereto the fifth part thereof.32And concerning the tithe of the herd, or of the flock, even of whatsoever passeth under the rod, the tenth shall be holy unto the LORD.33He shall not search whether it be good or bad, neither shall he change it:”
      - Notice what it says here tho,
      - vs.31, is saying, if a person didn’t want to carry a load of corn to the storehouse, and sold it, then the amount he was suppose to bring to the house of God was to add a 5^th, that is an additional 20%.
  3. Tithing was also an act of worship,
    1. Giving of the tithe was not only for the provision of the temple, but also as an expression of gratitude to God,
      - Genesis 14, Moses brought his tithe to Melchizedek, (See Also Hebrews 7)
        
        He did this as a expression of gratitude toward God
      - Genesis 28:20-22 “And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on,21So that I come again to my father’s house in peace; then shall the LORD be my God:22And this stone, which I have set for a pillar, shall be God’s house: and of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee.”
        
        notice that both of these examples were given before the Law was given. But as we said, that standard of God changes not.
  4. The Problem with Tithing,
    1. First, the Jewish people became very legalistic about tithing, (this is tithing not form the heart, but a sense of obligation, that is to say, pay off the Lord)
      - Matthew 23:23 “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.”
        
        after all, if we are keeping the letter of the law, then we will be righteous.
        
        They were willing to take even to the very little plants, but they would not obey God with their hearts.
    2. The Second, they outright refused to pay,
      - when Nehemiah returned to Jerusalem, he found the storeroom empty. As a result the priest left their duties to ho back home to work,
      - Nehemiah 13:10 “And I perceived that the portions of the Levitates had not been given them: for the Levites and the singers, that did the work, were fled every one to his field.”
      - even though Nehemiah 10:34-39 the Nation clearly vowed to make sure they would provide for them.
    3. So here is the question, Is it 10%, or not?
      - What we will see in a moment, is they were robing God, not only of their tithes but also their offerings.
      - In short, if God lays something on your heart, and it is not fulfilled, then it is sin.
2. More Broken Covenant’s, vs.9-12
  1. Who suffered, God or the people?
    1. In robing God, they were not fulfilling their portion of the covenant.
      - As a result, the Lord couldn’t fulfill His portion of it…
        
        Leviticus 26 states that if you will keep My covenant, then I will…
        
        and He lays out a list that reads like the answer to every prayer we have.
        
        But then He says, but if you don’t then, I will not.
    2. We do not add one bit of worth to God when we give to Him.
      - But it does affect us, when we withold it.
      - God is not barging with them in vs.10-12, he is stating what He has already promised. His word has already been given and established.
    3. The act of not giving was not affecting God, but affecting them.
      - We can do more with the 90% when we give 10%, than we can with 100% if we hold back form God.
        
        “I am the Lord God, I change not”
    4. But, we should not view this as some sort of way of forcing God’s hands, I will give, and then God is obligated to multiply it.
      - This falls into the same sense of righteousness the Pharisees fell into in Matthew 23.
    5. We should also not try to set a limit, and say at this point my obligation is fulfilled.
      - The scripture says in tithe and offerings.
        
        It is not a matter of giving 10% and them we are free and clear.
        
        Remember, the 100% belongs to God, and He has the right to ask of any or all of it at any time.
  2. They Were Also Robing Others,
    1. I am not only talking about the priest, but also the blessings of other nations
      - I wonder what message is sent to the world when they saw the temple of God in ruins while the people lived in nice houses?
      - I wonder what message it sends to the world when the church is run down?
        
        People drive by, and see siding missing, the yard not mowed, the place dirty.
        
        Or if they come in, and see dirt, grime…
        
        I have been in churches, that would not want to live that way, mold growing up the wall, dirty carpet, furniture tore… we can go on.
        
        And I know that these outside things are not at the heart of God, but to the world, what message do they get when they see that?
    2. What about our personal lives and attitudes
      - has the world ever looked at church people and said, Well I have more joy than them and I don’t go to church, or I have more honor, or I lead a more righteous life…
    3. When we fail to live to the standards of God, we send a message to the world about the:
      - Devotion we have to our God, the Strength and power of our God, and the importance of our God.
  3. The blessings of God did not stop with the People of God,
    1. When the people of God are blessed, then others are blessed.
      - If we struggle to meet our needs, then how much do we give to the poor? To the charities?
      - A lot of the funding for many charities is because of Christians.
        
        Think about the Samaritans purse, or the Angel tree,
    2. When we refuse to submit to the leadership of the Lord, then We suffer, and as a result others suffer as well.
Despised by the People, Vs.13-18,
1. The Complaining, Vs.13-15
  1. Speaking against the Lord,
    1. first this is a dangerous thing to do,
      - If you remember the book of Job, the complaint that God brought against his friends, is that they spoke things that were untrue about God.
    2. It is vain to serve God,
      - there is no reason, empty, without purpose.
      - After all, here we are in Jerusalem, we have worked to rebuild the temple, and still there is Persian rule over us.
        
        Sometimes we think as Christians, that life should all of a sudden be blessings and richness after we are saved. That we should never have any problems, and that God should go before us in a blaze destroying any opposition we may encounter.
        
        But, we know the truth to be very different than that.
        
        This is one of the problems with rule based religion as opposed to relationship based.
      - What do we get from going to service?
        
        Remember the story of the pastor who went to a church to preach and they took up an offering, he reached into his wallet to get some money and put in. after the service they said they were going to give him the offering, when they did he told his wife they gave him 20 and that he had put in 20. She said you know you get out of it what you put into it,
        
        often times we get out of services what we are willing to put into them.
      - We go into it and say, bless me Lord. And if that doesn’t happen, then we complain we did not get anything our of service.
  2. Their second complaint,
    1. vs.15 those who are not of this nation seem to be blessed.
      - How many of us have ever thought that?
        
        Psalm 37 & 73 both ask this question.
      - It is difficult to be cheerful in life when our focus is on the material things of this world as opposed to God.
        
        When we start to look at homes, cars, jewels, it is easy to be distracted. But when we shift our focus to God, the tings of this world seem to fade away.
    2. Psalm 100: “Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands.2Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing.3Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.4Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.5For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endurethto all generations. ”
      - it is a serious thing to serve the Lord, and He desires us to do it with gladness.
      - It is a sad thing to see Christians people find it a duty to serve God.
    3. Philippians 2:1-12 lays out the example of Christ, and His ideal servant.
      - It would do us all good to refocus on the Lord, and our relationship with Him, and stop looking to the world for our understanding of what blessings are.