The Blessing of Faithful Giving

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Hey everyone, there is something that I want to just remind us all about briefly…Starting in January we will be swapping our Bible Studies and our Service times. We will still be at the same times, but we will be swapping the timing of our two main Sunday activities…so, keep watching for more information about that.

Now, we’ve been talking about Malachi and what the Lord told Malachi about the People of Israel. Actually it’s been pretty interesting because so far in this series we have been reminded that even though Malachi was written some 2600 years ago, Malachi could have been written to us today based on the culture we live in today being so similar to the culture that they lived in then. Of course we were reminded of God’s love and God’s worth, and then last week we were reminded about what faithfulness looks like. Well this morning we are going to build on that foundation of what Malachi shared with God’s people. However, we are going to look at faithfulness in one of the most tangible aspects this morning…giving.

Now, what we have been discussing over this series so far is that God is not pleased with less than all of your devotion. In other words, God is not pleased if you are partially devoted to Him and partially devoted to something else. God is a jealous God, and it is not acceptable to him to share your worship with some other gods that you have chosen to worship. Well, that was the problem with the Israelites at this time, except, they were giving their other gods the better portions of their worship, and giving God their leftovers…this was not acceptable. Really, Israel’s complaints reveal a deeper issue: they’ve lost faith in God’s justice. They’ve grown blind to their own unfaithfulness, turning their focus instead to what they think God should be doing.

So, in this passage today we will be challenged to examine our own worship and financial stewardship as a reflection of our faith in God. Remember, God desires our genuine devotion, and that includes our giving. So…let’s dive in and take a look at

God’s Weariness with Empty Words:

Malachi 2:17 (ESV)

You have wearied the Lord with your words. But you say, “How have we wearied him?” By saying, “Everyone who does evil is good in the sight of the Lord, and he delights in them.” Or by asking, “Where is the God of justice?”

So far God has been talking to the Israelites and they are still not getting it…They just keep complaining and keep finding things to complain about. Even here God’s people have decided that God must have changed his views on justice because he is not doing what they wanted him to do. It’s not fair is likely a pretty common word among this group of people.

God hasn’t changed, neither has his promises…but now they are upset because they have noticed that there are evil people that are doing well financially. This is something that has happened from the beginning of time…and something that still happens today by the way.

I love how oblivious Israel is here..kind of like you and me, right? “How have we wearied him?”Kind of like the statement, “How am I complaining?” after you just literally complained about something you didn’t like. That’s what the Israelites are doing here…it would be laughable if it weren’t so sad.

Of course this question of prosperity was more of a legitimate question in the Old Testament because God did promise the Israelites prosperity if they would only obey him. Of course it would follow if they are not experiencing prosperity then there must be some level of disobedience…but they are oblivious to that idea. In addition to that fact, we have seen throughout Scripture that the question of God allowing the wicked to prosper has been answered by his sovereignty. Many times the wicked prosper so that God can be glorified..and that is enough, if one trusts the Lord. However, the Jews in Malachi’s day had failed to learn such hope from the Scriptures…so they complain about it instead…

God, in His mercy, doesn’t just leave His people in their blindness. Instead, He promises to send a messenger, one who will prepare them for a time of refining and call them back to true worship. Let’s look for…

God’s Messenger:

You see, God uses Malachi here to prepare his people for the coming messenger who will purify and refine. This process continues refining by highlighting our need to prioritize faithfulness in our own lives.

Malachi 3:1–5 (ESV)

“Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts. But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap. He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, and they will bring offerings in righteousness to the Lord. Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the Lord as in the days of old and as in former years.

“Then I will draw near to you for judgment. I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, against the adulterers, against those who swear falsely, against those who oppress the hired worker in his wages, the widow and the fatherless, against those who thrust aside the sojourner, and do not fear me, says the Lord of hosts.

Malachi is used by God to move the attention of the faithless questioners here to the future. Now Jesus confirmed that this messenger was John the Baptist and the coming of this messenger was the first of a two-fold eschatological event. That means an event of judgement. The second step of this event would be the coming of the Lord Jesus in his day. That means that Malachi is speaking of a time of judgement.

Now the coming of the Lord in his day is something that other prophets discussed. Zechariah said he will come and dwell in his city, Jerusalem. Ezekiel said that the glory of the Lord filled the temple. Previously we see that Malachi has been talking about how the Priests have been allowing ungodly things happen in the temple and so the Lord coming home to the Temple might not be very good for them, especially when paired with this idea of judgement.

The Messenger of the Covenant is only found in this place and refers to another messenger after the original messenger. So, if John the Baptist was the first messenger, this second messenger is greater…then The second messenger is Jesus and he is bringing with him judgement to the world. The day of the Lord will be a day of judgment on the whole world. Next week we will see that Malachi will speak of this day as coming like fire to burn up the wicked.

Earlier we saw that they were asking about how the wicked were prospering, and some of those that were questioning, were likely wicked themselves…they simply didn’t see themselves as wicked as others. Well, now we see what will happen to those, don’t we? God’s justice will prevail against all of those who are profaning God’s name and who are acting wickedly, all those who do not fear him…but that’s not all. What about…

God’s Unchanging Faithfulness:

See, these people are pretending like they don’t know how to keep up with God becuase he keeps changing what he wants, they are pretending to not know what they are doing wrong over and over again. This is all false…they know what their unfaithfulness is. However, God’s unchanging nature is truly foundational to who he is. This is something that should be praised, and should inspire a wholehearted devotion, not lies and complaining in his people. Let’s take a look at

Malachi 3:6–7 ESV

“For I the Lord do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed. From the days of your fathers you have turned aside from my statutes and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts. But you say, ‘How shall we return?’

We continue eavesdropping on this conversation between Israel and God and see how they continue to question here. Now, there is one of two tings going on through these conversations. The first option is that they are lying and hoping God is not smart enough to know they are lying…although, like I said before, that takes a special kind of stupid right there…The other option is that they have worshiped themselves and their own desires for so long that they genuinely don’t see what is right in front of them. That’s why they question and complain to God. I think the second option makes more sense.

You see, when we worship self for so long, we don’t see our pride and how we are puffing ourself up in the midst of every conversation we have. Then, whether it’s a conversation with God, or your spouse, or anyone else, you will see that you are right, if not all the time, most of the time. You can’t see the option of being wrong…that’s where these people are. That’s why when God tells them something they question him.

Have you ever done that? I know I have. You see, God uses people in our lives to speak to us and reveal sin patterns to us. We just have to be open to hearing it and not respond by telling them that they are wrong, or question their motivation for confronting you, or encouraging you as a believer.

So God is offering hope here…He is reminding us that he does not change. That means that what we know about God in the past is still true about him today. God will keep His promise to the nation of Israel—it will not change—because His Word, like Himself, is immutable. This is the basis for Israel’s hope. Now, they just have to return to God…which means they have to pay attention and turn their focus back to God wholeheartedly and not only with lip-service.

Remember God doesn’t change, and neither do His standards for devotion and generosity. His call to faithfulness includes every aspect of life, and in Malachi’s day, it required one particular kind of faithfulness—faithful giving.

The Blessing of Faithful Giving:

Now we have the specific charge given to the people that Malachi has passed on. Malachi will share this charge, the people will question this charge, and we will see the multiple ways they are not only robbing God, but they are robbing themselves as well. Let’s take a look at

Malachi 3:8–12 ESV

Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me. But you say, ‘How have we robbed you?’ In your tithes and contributions. You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me, the whole nation of you. Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need. I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it will not destroy the fruits of your soil, and your vine in the field shall not fail to bear, says the Lord of hosts. Then all nations will call you blessed, for you will be a land of delight, says the Lord of hosts.

Again…it’s amazing to me that when the people hear Malachi tell them to return to God, they don’t say, obey…no, instead of obeying that call, they began to argue. that is just mind boggling to me.. Although, it kind of isn’t also. Listen, I’ve been a pastor for a long time. I’ve talked to alot of people over the years. It always amazes me when people will come to me seeking Biblical advice, but then they don’t like the Biblical advice they get, so they ignore it…or they tell me I’m wrong, or I’m misunderstanding the situation, or something like that. Listen, I’m not perfect for sure…but the Scripture says what the Scripture says. I’ve had so many people come to me later and say something like, “Billy, ya know…I wish I would have listened to you about that situation”. That’s not because of me, that was the Lord working through me. However, when you don’t want to listen…I really can’t help you, because all I have to offer, is Scripture.

Well that’s what’s going on not just with Malachi, with pretty much all of the Prophets of the Old Testament. However, here there is a very specific charge that is being leveled at the people of Malachi’s time, and I think it’s a charge that can be leveled against people in our time as well. God was leveling a charge of theft against his people here. Specifically they are robbing God. However, by robbing him, we are also robbing ourselves, and others.

So, They are robbing God. Well, there are some physical things that are going on, and there are some spiritual things that are going on here. Let’s look at the physical things first. Physically, the needs of the priests and Levites were met from tithes brought to the temple by the people. That means that is how they ate. There were special storage rooms inside the temple to hold grain, produce, and money that people brought as part of their tithes and offerings. There was an annual tithe that was given to the Levites, who in turn gave a tithe of that to the priest. When a worshiper brought his tithe to the temple, he could use part of it to enjoy a special meal with his family and the Levites. Then there was another tithe that was brought every third year that was brought to the local leaders to use for the poor.

Spiritually, tithing is an act of worship at least as old as Abraham who gave to Melchizedek. Abraham was acknowledging that Melchizedek was the representative of God. Jacob vowed to God that he would tithe back in Gen. 28. By tithing, the people were not only supporting the ministry of the temple, but they were also giving thanks to God for His incredible provisions. Now, God own everything and doesn’t “need” anything that we can bring him. However, when we bring our gifts to him with grateful hearts as an act of worship, it is pleasing to the Lord.

Additionally, They are robbing themselves. You see, they had made a covenant with God. In robbing God, they were not fulfilling that covenant with the Lord, which means God cannot fulfill his promise to bless them. They were currently experiencing a drought, that was the curse that they were under. This draught was due to them robbing God from their covenant with them. You can read more about this in Lev. 26.

The truth is, whenever they rob God, they rob themselves. First, They rob themselves of spiritual blessings. These always follow faithful living, and faithful giving. However, They also rob themselves physically. You see, the money that belongs to God will go somewhere. I have seen this over and over again in my life and in the lives of others. Your tithe will go to the doctor, or the mechanic, or to taxes, or to grocery store…it will go somewhere. Let’s read what another prophet said read quick.

Haggai 1:6 (ESV)

You have sown much, and harvested little. You eat, but you never have enough; you drink, but you never have your fill. You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm. And he who earns wages does so to put them into a bag with holes.

The bottom line is, If we don’t trust God to care for us, whatever we do trust will fail. When you faithfully give your tithe’s and offerings to the Lord with a heart of gratitude, you will find that what you have will last much longer and will bring more blessing.

So what does it mean to bring the full tithe into the storehouse? Well…that is referring to giving being an act of faith. Today we don’t give in order to get something…that would be a false teaching. However, We give because we love God and we desire to obey him. We obey because God is generous to us individually. We give because God has provided for us, and when we continue to show our faith by giving what we are called to give, then we are living in faith, and not in fear.

Finally, They are robbing others. After they were exiled and came back to Judah, they had an amazing opportunity to trust God and show countless nations God’s power. Had they trusted the Lord, he would have done amazing things through them, and that would have been a testimony to everyone around. Instead…the wasted this opportunity so that no one could see their faith and call them blessed. They robbed others…are you?

Let’s read what God’s promise was

Deuteronomy 28:2 (ESV)

And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you obey the voice of the Lord your God.

Nations would have come to Jerusalem looking to learn about this amazing story and this compassionate God who took a nation out of captivity into a nation of blessing. They would have had the opportunity to make God famous in the region, and maybe the world..instead, they were to proud to acknowledge that they needed to look outside of themselves and repent of their own self-worship and idol worship.

My question this morning is…”What about you?” This passage is clearly speaking of trusting our financial resources to God…However, we also see the idea that we should be worshiping God with our financial resources…and not just our financial resources, but so much more. Now, to be fair, many people will say that there is no where in the New Testament that affirms the need to tithe, but that is not totally true. You see, Jesus actually affirms tithing in Matthew 23, and beyond that we see other passages that talk about the attitude of giving and the heart worship behind giving, which affirms what Malachi is telling God’s people here. You can read about that in 2 Corinthians 8 -9.

So this morning, I want to challenge you with two questions. First, are you giving to the Lord as He’s called you to? Malachi makes it clear that withholding from God doesn’t benefit us, and yet when we give faithfully, we enter into God’s promises, experiencing His provision in new ways. The second question is: Are you giving with the right heart? Is your giving an act of worship and gratitude, or just another task to check off? Remember, true giving isn’t just financial—it’s spiritual, an offering of our hearts to a God who provides. God has promised that, in trusting Him, you will find fulfillment and blessing. Let us honor Him not only with our resources but with hearts fully trusting in His goodness and faithfulness. Here’s the last thing I’m going to say before I pray this morning…and I want everyone to listen very carefully to this.

Malachi is using tithing as en example to address the deeper problem of idolatry in the hearts of his people. Some of you give faithfully, but that doesn’t mean that you aren’t being idolatrous in your heart with something else. Search your heart with these questions to see how you need to return your focus to Jesus and off of yourself.

Let’s pray: pray that the Lord will convict all of us in the areas that we need to refocus our own hearts back to Jesus.

The Blessing of Faithful Giving

Summary: Malachi 3:1–12 challenges us to examine our financial stewardship as a reflection of our faith in God, emphasizing that He desires our genuine devotion, which includes our giving.

Application: This passage encourages Christians to trust in God's provision and to practice faithful giving, reassuring them that true generosity is met with God's abundant blessings and fulfillment of His promises, especially in difficult times.

Teaching: This sermon teaches that giving is not just a financial transaction but a spiritual act of worship that honors God, indicating our trust in His character and provision.

How this passage could point to Christ: In the context of the whole Bible, this passage foreshadows Christ as the ultimate giver, who sacrificially gave His life for humanity and epitomizes God's generosity towards us, encouraging us to emulate that same spirit of giving.

Big Idea: Faithful giving results in spiritual blessings and a closer walk with God, highlighting that generosity is an expression of our faith and trust in Him.

Recommended Study: As you prepare, consider using your Logos library to explore commentaries on Malachi that address historical context and the significance of the temple practices during this period. Investigate various interpretations of the 'curse' in verse 9 and how it relates to contemporary views on offerings. Additionally, look into studies that discuss the concept of the 'storehouse' and how it reflects God's provision.