One day a man called his church and said, “Can I speak to the head hog at the trough?”
The secretary thought she heard right but asked, “I’m sorry. Who would you like to speak with?”
The caller repeated, “Can I speak to the head hog at the trough?”
The secretary answered, “Well, if you mean the Pastor, then you may refer to him as ‘preacher’ or ‘Brother,” but I prefer that you do not call him “the head hog at the trough!”
The man replied, “Well, I was planning on giving $100,000 to the building fund…”
To which the secretary quickly responded, “Hang on. I think the big pig just walked in.”
As we begin this morning, let me acknowledge that churches have a reputation of regularly asking for money. Pastors are often characterized by asking people to give. Please, especially if you are our guest today, please don’t feel like our church needs your money.
The first message in the book of Malachi was that God loves His people. We must never forget that! As we’ve been going through this book of the Old Testament, now our topic is on giving.
Some of the top topics in the bible have been ranked by occurrences. The Bible has over 4500 verses on God. Over 300 verses on the poor, almost 300 verses on prayer, about 500 on faith and over 2,000 verses that deal with money and possessions! The word money is exclusively mentioned 800 times. The second highest topic in the Bible is about money. The inescapable conclusion: God knows that we might make our finances a greater concern than Jesus Christ.
Jesus talked about money more than any other subject. Of the 38 parables Jesus told, 16 of them are about money!
How our possessions are managed is directly linked to the extent of our love for God. Our trust shouldn’t be in our savings account. Our trust should be in Jesus Christ.
Last week we left off at chapter 3 verse 7 admonishing people to repent before Jesus returns to judge the world. We also found that He is faithfully working in us so that He can see His image reflected through us. He refines us so that we can give worship to Him. God proclaimed in Malachi, that one day people will bring offerings that please the Lord.
Malachi 3:3-4: “Then the LORD will have men who will bring offerings in righteousness, and the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem will be acceptable to the LORD, as in days gone by, as in former years.”
But back in Malachi chapter 1 the people brought their injured, crippled, and diseased animals as an offering which were not acceptable. They needed to refine their attitude about offerings to God.
We pick up where we left off last week in verse 7: “Return to me, and I will return to you, says the Lord Almighty.”
The word “return” means “to change direction.” It’s the same idea of the word “repent.”
Now let’s continue our time together in God’s Word with the last part of Malachi 3:7. Notice the people’s response to what they should repent of…
“But you ask, ‘How are we to return?’” – Malachi 3:7
First, they were to start by admitting that they had left! Which is the point of the first half of verse 7, “return to me and I will return to you.” God’s people need to ask, like the prodigal son who might have thought when he was in the pigpen, “How did I get here?”
- Some people might have turned away from God in ignorance.
- For others it might have been a slow drift away from God, as they grew callous to Him.
I like to believe that most godly people don’t purposely decide to outright rebel against God. But over time, there is a neglect of seeking the Lord for their decisions. After a while of this type of poor behavior, it can be hard to recognize how far they’ve moved away from a Godly walk.
So, what do we learn in Malachi 3:7-12 that will help us in our walk with God? In this passage we will discover the characteristics of a person who has a lifestyle of grace. We will look at 4 characteristics of such a person.
First, notice in Malachi they were told to repent of a symptomatic issue in their lives. The problem was lack of love for God which was evident in tithes and offerings. The main correction for them was to keep their commitment to God.
Our first characteristics of a lifestyle of grace involves: (Three characteristics of a Person with a Lifestyle of Grace.)
- They Realize why Giving is Important (vv. 8-10a)
Please look at verse 8:
“Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me. But you ask, ‘How do we rob you?’ In tithes and offerings.” – Malachi 3:8
The word “rob” here means: “to intentionally take something that does not belong to you.”
How could anyone steal from God? Sounds impossible?
The concept is that tithes and offerings are brought to the owner, rather than given by their possessors. The point of this passage is more about their love and honor for God than it is about the amount of their giving. It is about what their heart and trust was placed in.
Well, they were robbing God when they kept what belonged to Him and kept it for themselves. It’s possible they had lost sight of the fact that God owns everything! Deuteronomy 10:14: “To the LORD your God belong the heavens, even the highest heavens, the earth and everything in it” (see also Psalm 24:1).
Yet, God ordained that we should possess and obtain stewardship of the earth (Genesis 1:28). We are to care for it and use it. But there is one response that God commanded; the tithe was to be returned to Him.God owns the tithe and this is stated in His covenant law. He expects the tithe be given from any gain. (see Leviticus 27:28-32). The tithe shows the attitude of the giver: Their respect, honor, gratitude, worship, submission, and proper view of stewardship.
As we continue there are a few important points to share about “returning to God.”
- There is a difference between “tithes and offerings”. Both are general responsibilities of proper worship to God under covenant obligations. The tithe was an annual or temporary obligation when there was a net gain. Kind of like our annual income tax. Offerings were regularly part of a normal routine of weekly worship.
- A word about “Worship.” Worship is giving to God His worth. Worship is the most basic, initial and permanent response of a believer to God. Therefore, tithing and offerings are central to showing obedience and submission to God.
- Giving is one of five aspects of Godly worship. Just as Malachi 3:8-12 talks about giving, In the New Testament worship is made up of prayer, praise, giving, hearing God’s Word and communion (see Acts 2:42). All five are part of faithful worship to God from people that love Jesus Christ.
Back to the worship situation in Malachi 3:8. Failure to honor God in tithes and offerings could have included not giving at all, withholding part of it, or not giving at the proper time.
Whatever the extent of the fault, they had been robbing God and verse 9 says that the whole nation was under a curse. Notice it was not just an individual that felt the effect, it was widespread into the community.
“You are cursed with a curse, for you have robbed Me, even this whole nation.” – Malachi 3:9
Our offerings and tithes effect not only us but also others. One significant principle found in the Bible is that God holds people accountable for how their behavior affects others.
Most likely the people skimped on the tithe and that was more corrupt than the bad offerings of animal sacrifices. I think there are two reasons. The tithe is described as a direct sin against God Himself. And secondly the tithe effects ministry and the support of other people, it affects a community.
Recall the golden principle: ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.” – Matthew 22:37–40
The people of Malachi needed to realize that skimping the tithe would not go unpunished, but they would be blessed if they kept it.
Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house, and try Me now in this,” says the Lord of hosts, “If I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it.” – Malachi 3:10
There are general observations of this important verse:
- It does not constitute a promise that individuals will become prosperous.
- Partial tithes are not acceptable. Notice the words “Bring all” in verse 10.
- God subjects Himself to testing, but not to the sort prohibited elsewhere in the Bible which are ungodly.
- Malachi is not a person who valued preserving an institution or a godly cause over Godly living.
- There is also an eschatological overtone to the promise. This is an ongoing and eternal promise here! The “windows of heaven” imply our destiny of eternal blessings.
Verse 10 is a command and a promise. If the people complied with tithing and offerings, God would bless them abundantly. The nation as a whole can expect and experience this.
Ultimately the point is that when we give, we are saying that we trust God to take care of our needs. That leads to the next feature of giving from the middle section of verse 10: “Try me in this, says the LORD of Hosts…”
The second characteristics of a person with a lifestyle of grace.
- They Faithfully Trust God (v. 10b)
Jesus’ words: Matthew 6:33: “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”
Researcher Sylvia Ronsvalle, studied giving patterns of people who claimed to be Christian. The conclusion of the report: “If you want to know what we learned in 25 words or less, giving is down because people don’t love God as much as they love a lot of other stuff”. (“Salt of the Earth,” July/August 1997).
The word “try” means to investigate, test or prove something as true.
The real issue is our trust in God. When we decide to worship the Lord in our tithes and offerings, we extend our trust in His faithfulness to meet all of our needs.
God desires what money represents – me. When giving to God, we’re just taking our hands off what belongs to Him in the first place. Our use of money shows how much honor we have for God since an offering is a barometer of our love for Him. I like to call offerings “Giving worth to Him”
Author, Pastor and teacher Joseph Stowell writes, “it’s not so much what you have but, rather, what has you that makes all the difference”
The 3rd characteristics of person with a lifestyle of grace:
- They Rejoice in God’s Blessings (vv. 10c-12)
Please look with me at the last part of verse 10 through verse 12:
“If I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it. “And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, so that he will not destroy the fruit of your ground, nor shall the vine fail to bear fruit for you in the field,” says the Lord of hosts; And all nations will call you blessed, for you will be a delightful land,” says the Lord of hosts.” – Malachi 3:10-12
The phrase “windows of Heaven” is used in Genesis 7:11 where we read what happened when God started to flood the earth with water: “…on that day all the springs of the great deep burst forth, and the windows of the heavens were opened.”
The phrase, “such blessing” means that God will give more than enough. The world says the more you take the more you have.
Corrie Ten Boom put it this way: “The measure of a life is not its duration, but its donation.”
Proverbs 3:9-10 sheds some additional insight into how God rewards those who honor Him: “Honor the LORD with your wealth, with the first fruits of all your crops; then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine.”
The word, “pour” in Malachi 3:10 means to dump out rain. It’s a different kind of flood than Noah experienced. There will be a flood from His bucket of blessings.
God will give more than they had room to hold. But I remind you of the Manna illustration, they received plenty but were told to only take a days-worth in order that they learn to trust God as they journeyed through life. The thought is that when God blesses us, it’s not so much the amount of GOD’S blessing but that the extent and length of His blessing will continue to endure just as He promised.
Proverbs 11:24: “One man gives freely, yet gains even more; another man withholds unduly, but comes to poverty.”
Proverbs 22:9: “A generous man will himself be blessed…”
Malachi 3:11 conveys that when I give, I put myself under God’s umbrella to meet all my needs, material and immaterial. Look at verse 11…
“And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, so that he will not destroy the fruit of your ground,
nor shall the vine fail to bear fruit for you in the field,” Says the Lord of hosts.” – Malachi 3:11
And then in verse 12, God says that we will experience God’s blessing corporately and personally as we give. We’ll be able to rejoice in God’s blessings!
“And all nations will call you blessed, for you will be a delightful land,” says the Lord of hosts.” – Malachi 3:12
Application:
Giving tithes and offerings are part of acceptable Worship to God.
Who is robbing whom? When we hold back, we are held away from God’s blessing and protection.
We give because of who God is. “The LORD”, and “The LORD of Hosts” (Adonai, Yahweh, the Highest!)
Let’s trust God with our possessions!