Today, we begin with Malachi
3:6-12 with an explicit intent to read deeply these words, not to find some
hidden command or promise but to find all that was going wrong with God and his
people, the nation of Israel.
“I am the LORD,
and I do not change. That is why you descendants of Jacob are not already
destroyed. Ever since the days of your ancestors, you have scorned my decrees
and failed to obey them. Now return to me, and I will return to you,” says the
LORD of Heaven’s Armies.
“But you ask,
‘How can we return when we have never gone away?”
“Should people
cheat God? Yet you have cheated me!
“But you ask,
‘What do you mean? When did we ever cheat you?’
“You have
cheated me of the tithes and offerings due to me. You are under a curse, for
your whole nation has been cheating me. Bring all the tithes into the
storehouse so there will be enough food in my Temple.
If you do,”
says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, “I will open the windows of heaven for you. I
will pour out a blessing so great you won’t have enough room to take it in! Try
it! Put me to the test! Your crops will be abundant, for I will guard them from
insects and disease. Your grapes will not fall from the vine before they are
ripe,” says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies.
“Then all
nations will call you blessed, for your land will be such a delight,” says the
LORD of Heaven’s Armies.
(Mal 3:6-12)
These scriptures are often so
much misused by the church; particularly our contemporary Western Christian
church where we have, at times, watered down Jesus and recreated God into our
image. Often these scriptures have been misused as a promise towards a
prosperity gospel – invest in me and I will ensure that all is returned to you
and more. Give me five dollars and I will ensure you get fifty in return.
It is a complete misreading to
focus on yourself and the blessing that you think God might have for your
wallet in these scriptures, a complete misreading. God is not an investment
bank, nor is he a savings scheme or the super shares with a hundred percent
guarantee on the stock exchange.
So, this week, as we read into
and pick up the key themes of Malachi 3:6-12, I am not going to focus on the
actual practice of tithing. I will talk into it, but I will talk into tithing
within the context first and foremost of a covenant relationship.
God, church is a covenant
partner. And if you have heard a key message over the last few weeks, when
Israel, when we, enter a covenant relationship, it is a two-way relationship.
Both parties must give, both parties have obligations. Both parties need to
demonstrate loyalty and faithfulness. This is something Israel was struggling
to do in any way. This is something that we fail to do when we don’t see our
relationship with Christ as a covenant relationship.
If we want to see what a covenant
relationship looks like in human fullness – then it is a marriage. A marriage
is a two-way relationship in which each partner is faithful, loyal and
committed to each other. And it is in the context of a marriage that we are
going to reflect on tithing and what it really means.
It is pretty common practice that
when two people commit to each other in marriage, one of the first actions is
the establishment of a joint bank account. In fact, banks look favourably upon
joint bank accounts, and you are most likely to get a mortgage if your mortgage
is part of a joint bank account. To banks, a joint account shows a commitment
from both partners to honouring any debt and fulfilling the obligations of a
mortgage.
In a marriage, two incomes become
one. And if it is a one income marriage, that one income becomes the income of
the couple. Some of us in this church know the reality of this, as if you
happen to lose your job and you are in a committed relationship, with you
partner still in employment, you are not eligible for income support such as
the unemployment benefit.
A marriage, in the time of
Ancient Israel, or now in Aotearoa New Zealand, is a committed relationship. It
comes with financial legal obligations – all property and income is shared full
stop. And separation often comes at the costs of both parties, as it is
expected that assets and savings are split equally.
So, want does this mean when it
comes to tithing, what does this mean when it comes to Malachi. And what does
this mean today, when the church is literally the Bride of Christ.
In Malachi, God and Israel, are
in very real marital argument. The letter starts, with God stating up front. I
have been the only committed partner in this relationship. I have loved you,
but you have despised me. God then goes on to point out how Israel has been the
partner in the relationship that has been unfaithful and disloyal.
Imagine this, in a marriage,
asking your partner to go and buy takeaways. They come home; they have bought
themselves a burger but have bin-dived for you and have bought you in return a
half-eaten mouldy subway sandwich. God points out through Malachi in Chapter 2,
that this is the sort of sacrifice Israel now gives to God, the best of the
best is kept for themselves, and the throwaways are presented to their Covenant
partner.
I don’t know about you, but if
Eric persistently bought me food recycled from rubbish bins while eating his freshly
cooked steak sandwich, I would feel cheated.
But the cheating was much deeper,
the cheating of Israel extended to the bed. The marriage of Israel to its God,
was being violated in the bed. And it was real violation, as I pointed out two
weeks ago – Israel was in violation to its God, in marrying into relationships
that involved other Gods; Israel was in violation to its own community in
violation with each other and, Israel was in actual violation with their own
partners. Men were actively being disloyal to their wives.
We learnt last week that Israel
had totally turned from God; they had turned from the justice of God; to a
complete misjustice in how they treated each other. This is how that stood in
their marriage, where God called Israel to return to their Covenant
relationship. Return to me, and we start there this week. Not at the tithe but
at the relationship. Return to Me. Return to me.
You see the relationship had
broken right down between the two Covenant partners. God was still there, he
was faithful, he was loyal and his arms were open – Return to Me. Israel had
fallen over physically and spiritually; the hope of the return was so, so hard.
But also they were blind –
remember the argument approach, God states up front where Israel is, and Israel
argues back, then God comes in with the punch-line.
Return to Me
“But you ask, ‘How can we return
when we have never gone away?”
Then comes the punch-line. “You
have cheated me.”
In the most simple act, you have
cheated me. Here we are in a Covenant relationship – a one-income relationship
and you can’t even give me a small tithe of that income. Just as the adulterous
husband cheats his wife from her income, you are doing that to me – you have
your own private bank account off-shore in some foreign tax haven. You have
cheated me.
You see, this is not a passage of
instruction for a tithe. It is a passage that reminds us deeply, that when we
enter into a covenant relationship, even the covenant of the cross, we enter
into a relationship with Jesus that equates to a marriage. In our relationship
with Jesus everything we own belongs to him, everything we earn belongs to him
– everything.
Return to Me.
“But you ask, ‘How can we return
when we have never gone away?”
You have cheated Me.
I have always been taught that
where you primarily invest your money, is where your heart is. If you primarily
invest your money into banks and bonds, then your heart is deeply caught within
the bounds of money itself; if you primarily invest your money into boats,
cars, trains, shoes, earrings, then their your heart is to. But the opposite
can be true as well, where you choose not to invest your money into, is
something that means little in your heart.
Investing just a tithe in the
time of Ancient Israel was an investment into the temple and into the
ministries and functions that came from the temple. If Israel invested just a
portion, just a tithe, just ten percent of their money, then the temple could
function well and serve in all the ministries God had called the priests to
perform.
But what I love about Malachi 3:6-12,
is God tells Israel how to simply return to Him. Bring all of the tithe back
into the storehouse.
I find that just simple – it is
not a deep spiritual return. It is one Covenant partner saying to the other –
show me your commitment, return all of the money that belongs to this family
into this house.
It is so special, because if you
believe you have slipped away in your covenant relationship, the return is as
simple as – return what is owned to this house to this house. This response is
not a deeply religious one, it is not ritualistic, it is physical active
response of one Covenant partner recommitting to the other.
Return to Me.
“But you ask, ‘How can we return
when we have never gone away?”
You have cheated Me.
Return all the is owned to My
Temple, to My Temple.
And the return of the tithe, the
physical return of the tithe, even in the time of Israel has a physical impact.
God is not saying return the tithe to me – but return the tithe owning to me in
your storehouses to the temple – he is saying contribute to my temple. When a
tithe is returned to the temple, it becomes planted into the ministry of God
and, as such, the impact of the tithe being returned to the temple, is a
community impact.
Return to Me.
“But you ask, ‘How can we return
when we have never gone away?”
You have cheated Me.
Return all the is owned to My
Temple, to My Temple.
Then you as a Nation will be
blessed and all Nations will call you blessed.
This last bit, verse 12, is
profound as it reminds us of the whakapapa of Covenant.
“Then all nations will call you
blessed, for your land will be such a delight,” says the LORD of Heaven’s
Armies.
In Malachi 2, verses 10, Malachi
referred to the Covenant of Israel’s ancestors. It is often quite easy to just
think this is referring to one Covenant, but it is referring to many. And once
we get to Verse 12, we realise deeply that Malachi was referring to the
Covenants found within the whakapapa of Israel. One of these being the Covenant
with Abraham.
It is in Genesis 15 that we learn
of the Covenant with Abraham – a Covenant of blessing – all Nations would be
blessed. Now get this, Malachi references back to a Covenant of Nations and
blessings with a return of the tithe. Genesis 15 comes after Genesis 14. The
Covenant of Abraham comes straight after Abraham gives freely a tithe to the
priest Melchizedek.
Most preachers will correctly say
that tithing came before the laying of the foundations of Biblical law with
Moses; it started with Abraham and a promise of blessings which would pour into
all nations.
Jesus too would refer to giving
and expectations in the context of the widow:
While Jesus was in the Temple, he
watched the rich people dropping their gifts in the collection box. Then a poor
widow came by and dropped in two small coins. “I tell you the truth,” Jesus
said, “this poor widow has given more than all the rest of them. For they have
given a tiny part of their surplus, but she, poor as she is, has given
everything she has.”
(Luk 21:1-4)
We would also learn that, in the
church of Acts, buying into the Covenant relationship of the cross came with
the physical action of giving:
All the believers devoted
themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in
meals (including the Lord’s Supper), and to prayer. A deep sense of awe came
over them all, and the apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders.
And all the believers met together in one place and shared everything they had.
They sold their property and possessions and shared the money with those in
need. They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the
Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity— all the
while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day
the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved.
(Act 2:42-47)
Return to Me.
“But you ask, ‘How can we return
when we have never gone away?”
You have cheated Me.
Return all the is owned to My
Temple, to My Temple.
Then you as a Church will be
blessed and all people will call you blessed.
Now I want to give you some practical
application. And I am going to ask you up front, are you in a Covenant
relationship with Christ? If you aren’t now is the change to get right with God
and come to the Cross and find this God that brings so much healing, blessing
and compassion. A God that also judges but as you heard today – he is a God
that is quick to say – Return to me.
But if you are in a covenant relationship with
Christ, how is it showing in your possessions? Do you have a deep understanding
that a Covenant is like a marriage, all you possess belongs to God. And if you
are in a Covenant relationship with God, how is your giving into his Kingdom,
let’s be frank, into this church, your own family of believers. Because if you
are not giving, you are cheating, not us, but God.
I know this is hard. But it is true – you are
in a covenant relationship – a two-way relationship. It is a relationship that
involves you giving into his Church – your Church. As you return to God, return
to God physically in marriage and allow your income to become his income.
Just as the tithe would do in the Bible, and
giving does here today, giving pays for ministries, for our Pastor, for this
building and all the bills that come with it. It doesn’t shock me that the
Temple in the Bible fell into disrepair so many times – without giving, a
building cannot stand on its own and a ministry cannot be sustainable.
You can give the two small coins of the widow;
or we call could be radical and give all that we have; the word tithe itself
just means ten percent. It’s like a small tax, but it is investment into your
relationship, into your community and into your family.
Church, this is not a sermon on donuts, but
even donuts require money to be made, this is a sermon on the amount though and
it is a call for action. Return to God, return to the covenant relationships
established from Abraham and settled at the cross. Restore the tithe to God’s
house – you are the bridge of Christ – return the tithe to this storehouse, to your
family.
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