He Gave Himself
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Malachi 3:6-12
"Yay, a Bible passage about money!" - you right now
In this passage, the Lord rebukes His people for their lack of tithing.
God invites His people to return to Him. And to do so - specifically by returning to tithing. He uses very strong language, saying that they have actually been "robbing" Him (4x in 3:8-9) by not tithing!
What is tithing? To us, tithing is maybe a churchy word that we assume simply means an offering or donation. In both Hebrew and English, the word is actually simply derived from the word "ten," and it means a tenth.
So to tithe is to give a tenth of our resources to God.
And said a bit more strongly, the tenth *already* belongs to God (of course, it ALL belongs to God). So the act of tithing is our recognition that that tenth belongs to God - it's His. And we are setting it aside for His use.
From their earliest days, God's people were commanded by Him to tithe (Leviticus 27:30-32).
But it was not without a greater purpose. God's design through tithing was that there would be resources for the needy people of the community: the Levites (priests), the sojourners, the fatherless, and the widows (Deuteronomy 14:22-29, esp. v. 29).
And now in Malachi's day - God's people, just as they had always done (3:7), "turned aside" from God's command to tithe. They were selfishly hoarding up their resources for themselves, while the needy of their community would have gone without.
They were robbing God, and robbing one another.
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God's design has always been that through blessing us, others would be blessed. Yes, He blesses us (praise Him!). But His intention is never that the blessing stop on us. But that it would then extend to others.
Two passages to consider:
>>>Psalm 67:1-4
"May God be gracious to us and bless us
And make his face to shine upon us, Selah
That your way may be known on earth,
Your saving power among all nations.
Let the peoples praise you, O God;
Let all the peoples praise you!
Let the nations be glad and sing for joy..."
As we read Psalm 67, we might arrive at the Selah at the end of verse 1, give a hearty "Amen!" and contentedly close our Bibles.
But you notice: the psalm continues!
Why does the psalmist desire God's grace and blessing? For God's face to shine on His people?
SO THAT His way would be known on earth.
SO THAT His saving power would be known among all the nations.
SO THAT the peoples would praise Him!
SO THAT the nations would sing for joy!
God's blessing isn't desired so that it can stop on His people. We desire His blessing so that His blessing can flow *through* us, bless others, and ultimately result in people coming to know God through faith in Jesus!
>>>Ephesians 4:28
"Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need."
In this one verse, there are three ways that a person can view their work and their income.
1. stealing (obviously wrong)
2. "... let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something..."
Many of us live in such a way that we assume the verse ends there. We labor. We work. And we do so, so that we can have something. So that we can make an income, and have resources to live our lives.
But once again, the verse continues!
3. "... let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need."
In Paul's view, we work and we labor, not just so that we can have. But so that we can have something to share with those in need.
God's blessing is not to stop on us.
His blessing is to flow through us to others.
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We might ask, what can motivate us to live in such a way? We are commanded to tithe, to give, and to share. But is there a motivation - a foundation - underneath these commands that might be helpful to us?
If you happen to have your Bible open to Ephesians 4 still, let your eyes drift down a few verses to verse 32, and also into the beginning of chapter 5.
"Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God."
The rhythm of the New testament is always,
"Live in this way.
But live in this way
Because God has already done this for you in Jesus."
Why should I be kind?
Because God has been kind to you first. In Jesus.
Why should I forgive?
Because God has forgiven you first. In Jesus.
Why should I walk in love?
Because God has loved you first. Through the sacrifice of Jesus.
And so in light of Malachi 3, we might ask,
Why should I tithe?
Why should I be generous?
Why should I give and share with others?
Because God has been generous to you first. In Jesus.
He gave - not just a tenth - "As Christ loved us and gave *Himself* up for us."
"For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
That though he was rich,
Yet for your sake he became poor,
So that you by his poverty might become rich."
2 Corinthians 8:9
- Joe