Have you ever told someone you would do something, but then later forgot or didn’t follow through? Joe and I forgot to play a game with Sarah a couple of Sundays ago. We have a tradition where both parents play a game together with one child each Sunday. We rotate each week, so in four weeks each child has gotten to pick a game they want to play with just their parents.
God doesn’t ever forget something He’s promised. He’s fully reliable and
never changes. The Israelites, however, weren’t faithful. When God asked them
to return to Him, they even questioned how they had turned away and how they
were robbing Him, not realizing their negligence in giving.
Malachi 3:6-12 “I the Lord do not change. So
you, the descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed. 7 Ever
since the time of your ancestors you have turned away from my decrees and
have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you,” says
the Lord Almighty.
“But
you ask, ‘How are we to return?’
8 “Will a mere mortal rob God? Yet you rob
me.
“But
you ask, ‘How are we robbing you?’
“In
tithes and offerings. 9 You are under a
curse—your whole nation—because you are robbing me. 10 Bring
the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my
house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will
not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much
blessing that there will not be room enough to store it. 11 I
will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields
will not drop their fruit before it is ripe,” says
the Lord Almighty. 12 “Then all the
nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful
land,” says the Lord Almighty.
God reiterated to the Israelites that He doesn’t change, but they had
changed. They had been unfaithful and robbed Him by not giving the small number
of contributions He had asked from them. Many of the tithes and offerings were to
support those doing God’s work at the temple (priests, Levites, musicians, gatekeepers,
etc.). So, they were not only robbing Him, but also fellow Jews. God brought
the curses He promised in Deuteronomy 27–28 because they failed to obey the
commands from Deuteronomy 26. However, He promised to bring abundant blessings
if they repented of their rebellion, turned back to Him, and followed His ways.
Would God say you and I have turned away from Him? Where would He say we
are robbing Him–in our speech, time, or donations? We don’t have the same
specific promises for financial and national blessings, like the Israelites,
but God always blesses obedience. Sometimes it is in the form of financial and
physical blessings. When we turn back to Him in sincere love, worship, and
devotion, we will always experience the blessing of closeness to Him. The
peace and security He gives are reliable.
Alice
