Return to God - Part I
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First of a three part series.
6 “For I the Lord do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed. 7 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?’
How do a people return to God?
In their generosity
In their diligence
In their remembrance
This week we will address the people of God giving back to God, but only one section will be what you ordinarily think of as a sermon on giving.
8 Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me. But you say, ‘How have we robbed you?’ In your tithes and contributions. 9 You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me, the whole nation of you. 10 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. 11 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. 12 Then all nations will call you blessed, for you will be a land of delight, says the Lord of hosts.
Mal 1:6-2:9 dealt with the quality of the people’s offerings, now in verses 8-12 we see God deal with the quantity.
v9 says it is the whole nation
v10 is the famous phrase to put God to the test
v11-12 show that God will respond to this test by restoring rainfall and rebuking pests so that the people’s crop grows to the point that other nations see them as blessed.
The full offering is the tenth. See the Law of Moses in Deuteronomy 14 and the preceeding principle between Abraham and Melchizedek in Gen 14 and Jacob and God in Gen 28.
The people look to God for provision.
We are currently a society that has transitioned from the manufacture of goods to the provision of services. Imagine an agricultural society and think about how they would have given.
Think about:
Abraham’s gift to Melchizedek
Jacob’s promised gift
The gifts of a farmer or other owner of agricultural goods.
9 You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me, the whole nation of you.
There must be accountability with our giving.
The disciple looks to God for direction.
23 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others. 24 You blind guides, straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel!
There is an unquestionable mandate to the individual to give
I always put this in terms of:
TIME
TALENT
TREASURE
We joyfully give for a purpose. That we would achieve the greater laws:
JUSTICE - When we do wrong, we look to God to help us correct our actions and properly deal with the consequences of our deeds.
MERCY - When we are wronged, we remember God’s mercy toward us and offer that same mercy to the one who has wronged us.
FAITHFULNESS - That we as the whole body of the church would take this to the nations as the scribes and Pharisees were supposed to.