Malachi 3:6-12

Hebrew Text

Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia Chapter 3

6 כִּ֛י אֲנִ֥י יְהוָ֖ה לֹ֣א שָׁנִ֑יתִי וְאַתֶּ֥ם בְּנֵֽי־יַעֲקֹ֖ב לֹ֥א כְלִיתֶֽם׃

7 לְמִימֵ֨י אֲבֹתֵיכֶ֜ם סַרְתֶּ֤ם מֵֽחֻקַּי֙ וְלֹ֣א שְׁמַרְתֶּ֔םa‬ שׁ֤וּבוּ אֵלַי֙ וְאָשׁ֣וּבָה אֲלֵיכֶ֔ם אָמַ֖ר יְהוָ֣ה צְבָאֹ֑ות b‬וַאֲמַרְתֶּ֖ם בַּמֶּ֥ה נָשֽׁוּבb‬׃

8 הֲיִקְבַּ֨עa‬ אָדָ֜ם אֱלֹהִ֗ים כִּ֤י אַתֶּם֙ קֹבְעִ֣יםb‬ אֹתִ֔י וַאֲמַרְתֶּ֖ם בַּמֶּ֣ה קְבַעֲנ֑וּךָc‬ d‬הַֽמַּעֲשֵׂ֖ר וְהַתְּרוּמָֽהd‬ e‬׃

9 בַּמְּאֵרָה֙ אַתֶּ֣ם נֵֽאָרִ֔ים וְאֹתִ֖י אַתֶּ֣ם קֹבְעִ֑יםa‬ b‬הַגֹּ֖וי כֻּלֹּֽוb‬׃

10 הָבִ֨יאוּ אֶת־כָּל־הַֽמַּעֲשֵׂ֜ר אֶל־בֵּ֣ית הָאֹוצָ֗ר וִיהִ֥י טֶ֨רֶף֙ בְּבֵיתִ֔י וּבְחָנ֤וּנִי נָא֙ בָּזֹ֔את אָמַ֖ר יְהוָ֣ה צְבָאֹ֑ות אִם־לֹ֧א אֶפְתַּ֣ח לָכֶ֗ם אֵ֚ת אֲרֻבֹּ֣ות הַשָּׁמַ֔יִם וַהֲרִיקֹתִ֥י לָכֶ֛ם בְּרָכָ֖ה עַד־בְּלִי־דָֽי׃

11 וְגָעַרְתִּ֤י לָכֶם֙ בָּֽאֹכֵ֔ל וְלֹֽא־יַשְׁחִ֥ת לָכֶ֖ם אֶת־פְּרִ֣י הָאֲדָמָ֑ה וְלֹא־תְשַׁכֵּ֨ל לָכֶ֤ם הַגֶּ֨פֶן֙ בַּשָּׂדֶ֔ה אָמַ֖ר יְהוָ֥ה צְבָאֹֽות׃

12 וְאִשְּׁר֥וּ אֶתְכֶ֖ם כָּל־הַגֹּויִ֑ם כִּֽי־תִהְי֤וּ אַתֶּם֙ אֶ֣רֶץ חֵ֔פֶץ אָמַ֖ר יְהוָ֥ה צְבָאֹֽות׃ ס

Malachi 3:6 ““For I the Lord do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed.”

Options

Have not changed = ontological

do not change = unchanging in terms of covenant

O children of Jacob

Not Israel, but points to the characteristics of Jacob.

His electing love has begun from the outset, in spite of that sin, despite Jacob being faithfully unfaithful, God has not changed.

So, Jacob should be careful to ask for justice because God is coming as a refiner’s fire.

Bring the whole tithes to the storehouse that there may be food in my house. “נָא֙” is a particle of intensification.

Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia Chapter 3

אֲרֻבֹּ֣ות הַשָּׁמַ֔יִם = floodgates of heaven

Same term as in the flood narrative.

Reversal of covenant curse in Deut 28

Blessing will overturn that covenant curse.

Verse 12 — “blessed you over all the nations.

This suggests that the nations will envy God’s people!

To be called blessed is to be in an enviable position.

In antiquity, this refers to fertility - both in terms of kids as well as agriculture produce.

Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia Chapter 3

וְאִשְּׁר֥וּ

distinct from baruch.

Blessed in a bless sense.

Asherey as enviable position.

Tithing:

Gen 14

Gen 28

Sinai Covenant: Tithing agricultural produce, not everything.

What do you tithe? Agricultural produce.

usage: Support for the priesthood (10%) and the levites (the rest).

Presumably tithes are a result of voluntary once-off vows.

If he is obligated to give 10% anyway, this negates the whole vow.

Tithe agricultural produce — support the Levites.

This is the Lord’s land. Sinai stuff tied to the land.

Jubilee laws = you don’t buy it, you lease it, it belongs to God.

Stress and highlight that the land does not belong to the Israelites, but it belongs to God.

We are not landowner, God is, we lease and we borrow and we give to the landowner what belongs to him.

NT: Jesus and Pharisees on tithing

Jesus commends but this was prior to death and resurrection.

He was under the Sinai law.

Pass death and resurrection - no mention of tithing.

Tithes Passages: Deut 14:22-29

English Standard Version Chapter 14

Tithes

22 “You shall tithe all the yield of your seed that comes from the field year by year. 23 And before the LORD your God, in the place that he will choose, to make his name dwell there, you shall eat the tithe of your grain, of your wine, and of your oil, and the firstborn of your herd and flock, that you may learn to fear the LORD your God always. 24 And if the way is too long for you, so that you are not able to carry the tithe, when the LORD your God blesses you, because the place is too far from you, which the LORD your God chooses, to set his name there, 25 then you shall turn it into money and bind up the money in your hand and go to the place that the LORD your God chooses 26 and spend the money for whatever you desire—oxen or sheep or wine or strong drink, whatever your appetite craves. And you shall eat there before the LORD your God and rejoice, you and your household. 27 And you shall not neglect the Levite who is within your towns, for he has no portion or inheritance with you.

28 “At the end of every three years you shall bring out all the tithe of your produce in the same year and lay it up within your towns. 29 And the Levite, because he has no portion or inheritance with you, and the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, who are within your towns, shall come and eat and be filled, that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hands that you do.

Feasting: Party in the Lord’s presence

10% goes to the local church - not sure where you get there from Deut 14 which funds all that the church does.

Offerings = freewill gifts.

Sinai covenant revolves around this typological blessing of enjoying the land for faithfulness.

LEv 26, Deut 28 - do what the Lord says, I will bless you, I will bless oyu, I will bless you.

You don’t do what the Lord says, I will curse you.

We are talking about a typological blessing of the Sinaitic covenant and taken it as a general moral law.

We are then suddenly committed to prosperity gospel.

Q: How are you going to get people to give if they don’t have to?

A: If you are getting people to give by law, it is very different to motivating people by the Gospel. If you think that you are getting people more by law than by gospel, you are crazy. Once we think more about what Paul says about giving - then we hear nothing about tithing, we hear of obligations to support people who are working - you shall not muzzle an ox as it grinds the grain.

He does not go to tithing for supporting those in ministry.

He goes to another civil law - general equity is the principle.

Civil law has general equity significance. It is not just brushed aside. How does it apply to the broader context?

This application of the tithe, we still need to take care of people in pastoral ministry.

Priests/Levites —> Pastors: Yes they can be tent makers, but we do want to make sure that they are supporting those who are in pastoral ministry.

2. Ministry to the poor —> NT has lots to say about this. It is a significant factor in the ancient world and it is the driving force behind the collections. It is a challenge to our current context. If this were part of the tithe, not just for citizens, but also for the sojourners, then where is our contribution in this area? This will require more than money, but lots of effort to minister to people.

The poor person who is hard working and just need a job is in a very different position from someone who is addicted to drugs/alcohol etc.

How do we help you? Are you someone who can work out of it? Others are perhaps incapable.

The poor is heterogenous.

3. Feasting

The NT speak a lot about hospitality.

A qualification for elders — what does this look like?

Everything goes better with food - eating together is an essential part of ministry. Not just eating a lot of food but eating together in the presence of the Lord. What we’ve done is we have reversed the sin of the Corinthians

The beauty of tying together the Lord’s Supper and the communal meal.

Corinthians lost the Lord’s Supper by eating too much.

Most about fasting rather than feasting.

Fasting and feasting belong together — flipsides of each other.

An appropriate response to significant moments of corporate sturggle, sin, failure, to call the church to set aside food so that we could humble ourselvse and so that we can live not by bread alone.

Days of Fasting = days of humbling ourselves

Days of feasting = in directory of public worship but we don’t do that. Who is going to vote against it, but we have missed that dimension. Both God-centered lamenting (fasting in the midst of our grief, humiliation, realizing that God is up to something) but on the other hand, when God does something amazing, we are filled with thanksgiving, where are those days of thanksgiving? Thanksgiving day which is disconnected from specific events as a general time of thankfulness.

Puritan concern: some days are not appropriate for certain prayers. Some days are not appropriate for certain activity.

We still have certain seasonal days because they represent significant events of redemptive history.

Great blessings = great feasting in the presence of the Lord. Our celebrations tend to be disconnected from God.

Paul wants people to excel in the grace of giving. We are not asking about the minimum that we have to do.

I want people to know the difference between banging on about tithing (it is law), excelling in the grace of giving is not law, it is excelling in something.

What’s the minimum I need to buy something for my wife? What am I obligated to give my wife? This is problematic.

IF this is law, I need to give an exact amount - how much do I owe God? It becomes like filling in your taxes. You are trying to figure out how much I have to give.

Q: How much am I able to give?