Robbing God – Mal. 3:6-18 (Amplified)
Why is it that so many good Christians suffer while those who seem to hate and ignore God have it made? What is the secret to being blessed? What are they doing that I’m not? How is it they get all the breaks while I can’t get even one? What am I doing wrong?
If this sounds familiar you’re not alone. I think everyone has thoughts like these at one time or another. We see the rich and famous thumb their nose at God and the Bible while they rake in millions, or own corporations and mansions, or are so famous that they are practically worshipped themselves.
God, through the Prophet Malachi addresses this issue here in this passage, and though it applies mainly to the nation of Israel during the age of the law and the prophets, before Jesus Christ instituted the age of grace we now live in, this passage still contains many truths we can benefit from.
1. What God has promised to do He WILL do; He will never go back on a promise.
Mal 3:6 For I am the Lord, I do not change; that is why you, O sons of Jacob, are not consumed.
a. God never changes; He is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Heb. 13:8).
b. He deals with us fairly and justly always, based on three main factors:
i. What His plan of action is for all mankind.
ii. What His plan of action is for each person’s life.
iii. What our actions toward Him require that He do.
c. Any changes in His dealings toward us therefore are due to something occurring in one of these three areas.
i. His plan for mankind necessitates different courses of action depending on what it is He has decided to accomplish. (The Levitical priesthood in the Old Testament, Christ as our High Priest in the New Testament)
ii. His plan for each individual necessitates different things to occur in order to bring us into spiritual maturity. (old blessings and opportunities passing away to make room for new ones as we grow and mature)
iii. Our actions toward Him determine whether we will be blessed or cursed (even that is dependent on God’s decision to either be merciful or judgmental, whichever has the best chance of bringing about spiritual maturity in us or fulfilling His plan for mankind).
d. God had promised to make Jacob’s descendents into a great nation (Gen. 46:1-4) and to preserve and protect them so that the Messiah would come through them (Gen. 12:1-3).
e. That is why in this verse God does not destroy them because of some action toward God they have done.
2. God promises that if we turn away from following our way and return to His way, He will return to us and bless us.
Mal 3:7 Even from the days of your fathers you have turned aside from My ordinances 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?
a. The nation of Israel had wandered away from their faith, obedience, and devotion to God. Therefore He cannot give them the blessings He promised to those who follow Him (Deut. 28:1-14) and must curse them instead (Deut. 28:15-68).
b. He goes on to promise however, that if they will return and follow Him, He will return to them (be free to take away the cursing and give them the blessings He promised)
c. Their question to God of how they can return to Him is the subject of the rest of this passage. It also gives us insight into how we can return after we have turned away from Him.
3. Not obeying God’s will is the only way we can “rob” God.
Mal 3:8 Will a man rob {or} defraud God? Yet you rob {and} defraud Me. But you say, In what way do we rob {or} defraud You? [You have withheld your] tithes and offerings.
a. There are only two ways to rob or defraud God:
i. First, to steal by force, threat of violence, or deception. Since God is all-powerful it is unlikely we could ever take anything from Him by force, and since He is all-knowing we cannot deceive Him either. Therefore this way is not possible.
ii. Second, by withholding something legally due to Him. This is the way specified here.
b. Tithes and offerings were legally due to God according to the law given by God (Lev. 27:30-32). So withholding them was a violation of God’s law that necessitated cursing.
i. However, the command to tithe was given to the nation of Israel in the days of Moses.
ii. Israel was a theocracy; a combination of Church and State ruled by God, and the laws given to it were intended for both governmental and religious regulation of that nation.
iii. This means tithes and offerings were a system of income tax for governmental maintenance, and a source of supply for the functions of the Levitical priesthood.
iv. Until Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection the nation of Israel still operated under the Levitical priesthood. Therefore all laws pertaining to tithing were still valid. Afterward, Jesus Christ became our High Priest and the Levitical priesthood along with the need for supply through tithes and offerings was abolished. Only income tax to the government was still in place. And our government today ensures that we do not withhold that from them!
v. This being the case, how does this verse apply to us today?
1. There’s an old saying that goes, “what do you give the man that has everything?” Or in other words, what could we possibly give God that He doesn’t own already since everything belongs to Him anyway?
2. In every person’s life is a “storehouse” containing four vaults. In each vault God deposits treasures for us to use to sustain us and others in service to him:
a. time (health and the time God allows us to live on Earth),
b. truth (all the knowledge and wisdom we have that He gives to us),
c. talent (the natural and spiritual gifts He gives us to serve Him), and
d. things (possessions and money, the necessities of life for ourself and others).
3. The only thing we own that God does not already own is our obedience in serving Him through all He has deposited into our storehouse vaults.
a. He promises to continue to make deposits into these vaults as long as we obey Him (Lk. 11:28)
b. He also promises to make abundant deposits as well. An abundance of spiritual knowledge (truth) is the key to abundant deposits of whatever God knows we need the most (Matt. 13:12).
c. This does not mean if you read your Bible you will get rich, or live a long life, etc., what it means is that the willingness on our part to receive abundant spiritual knowledge and use it allows God to give us more and more of whatever we need to fulfill His plan for our life and for all mankind.
d. This principle is also the focus of (Lk. 6:38) where we are told to give and a generous return will be given back to us. Again, what kind of abundant return depends on what we need most to do God’s will.
i. Sometimes a lack of what we need in one or more areas of our life puts us in a place with others like ourselves who need the benefit of the abundant knowledge we possess.
ii. The plan of God for all mankind always has first priority. Sometimes we must suffer loss or lack in order to accomplish things for God greater than just having our own needs, wants and desires met.
iii. Whether we are abundantly blessed on Earth or not, we can rest assured that we have an abundance of riches in Heaven waiting for us. The brief time of hardship we experience in life is but one drop compared to the ocean of eternal joy and blessings in store for us.
4. God will not curse us for not doing something it is no longer possible for us to do.
Mal 3:9 You are cursed with the curse, for you are robbing Me, even this whole nation.
a. As stated previously, it makes no sense for God to command and require us to bring tithes and offerings to a temple that no longer exists. Therefore the curse connected to it is irrelevant as well.
5. We are blessed by blessing others.
Mal 3:10 Bring all the tithes (the whole tenth of your income) into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house, and prove Me now by it, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.
Mal 3:11 And I will rebuke the devourer [insects and plagues] for your sakes and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground, neither shall your vine drop its fruit before the time in the field, says the Lord of hosts.
Mal 3:12 And all nations shall call you happy {and} blessed, for you shall be a land of delight, says the Lord of hosts.
a. The other side of the coin is that He obviously cannot bless us for it either since it can no longer be obeyed.
b. Remember, we are now under grace, not the law. Freewill gifts are the standard on which we operate now. The story of Ananias and Sapphira is a prime example (Acts 5:1-11).
i. In the new and growing Church, all the believers loved one another and shared everything so that no one would be in need. Barnabas had just generously sold a field and brought all the money (note: not a tenth, or a tithe; all of it) to the apostles to distribute among the needy.
ii. Ananias and Sapphira also sold a piece of property. The Bible says that, with his wife’s full knowledge, Ananias kept back part of the money but brought the rest to the apostles, pretending to give it all. However, the apostles were not deceived. Peter confronted Ananias, accusing him of being under the influence of Satan. Realizing that his deceit had been discovered, Ananias fell down dead and was carried out to be buried. If the law of the tithe were still in effect Ananias would not have died for keeping out only a portion for himself.
iii. Three hours later, his wife Sapphira came in, unaware of her husband’s death. Peter asked her about the transaction and she confirmed the misinformation that Ananias had given. Outraged, Peter accused her of testing the Holy Spirit. The men who had buried her husband returned just in time to carry out Sapphira’s body to be buried her beside him.
iv. Ananias and Sapphira must have conspired together to deceive the disciples and the family of believers. They must have coveted the prestige of giving such a gift to the church but not the sacrifice.
v. Giving to the church was always a free-will offering, as it still is today. They might have truthfully said that they sold their land and wanted to give a portion of the money or they could have kept it all for themselves. But when they lied, they lied to the Holy Spirit – to God Himself - and they paid the penalty of death. Sapphira and Ananias put their own greed first - their greed for money and their greed for notoriety. They tried to deceive God and His people. Jesus Himself said it ““No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” (Matt. 6:24)
vi. The church was young then and the deaths of Sapphira and Ananias served as an example of how seriously God regarded dishonesty in His church. Aren’t we lucky that God doesn’t strike down every person who lies to Him today. Our churches might be very small. But there is a kind of death that comes as a result of deceit. It is the death of the bond of fellowship between believers and the death of the intimate relationship we should have with our Lord.
c. How then can we be blessed, if not through tithing? Again, as stated before – obedience.
i. Jesus said in Luke 11:28 “Blessed (happy and to be envied) rather are those who hear the Word of God and obey {and} practice it!”
ii. “For the [true] love of God is this: that we do His commands [keep His ordinances and are mindful of His precepts and teaching]. And these orders of His are not irksome (burdensome, oppressive, or grievous).” (1 Jn. 5:3)
iii. Look over the commandments in Exodus 20:1-17. Tithing and offerings are not a part of them. True, later in Leviticus and Deuteronomy He set up a system of tithes and offerings, but He also abolished it when He died on the cross (Mk. 15:38) The whole offerings system was intended as a teaching aid for the nation of Israel to point them to Christ, not as a restrictive set of “do’ and don’t’s”.
iv. So how do we keep the commandments then as stated in 1 Jn. 5:3? Jesus answered this as well: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind (intellect). This is the great (most important, principal) and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as [you do] yourself. These two commandments sum up {and} upon them depend all the Law and the Prophets.” (Matt. 22:37-40)
v. So where does our blessing come from? The same place, from loving God and loving others. Jesus told the rich young ruler, who had claimed to have been obeying all the commandments “You lack one thing; go and sell all you have and give [the money] to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come [and] accompany Me [walking the same road that I walk].” (Mk. 10:21) He was keeping the letter of the law, not the spirit of it. That was the one thing he lacked. He worshipped money too much to let go of it out of love for his neighbor, and follow Jesus, out of love for Him. God doesn’t require that we give all our money to the poor. He asks that we give everything, even ourselves to Him out of love for Him, and use what He has entrusted to us; our time, truth, talent, and treasure to help whoever needs it, out of love for them. In return, He will give us riches in heaven.
vi. So what about Here? How do we get riches here on Earth?
1. In the first place, we already have them, we are adopted into God’s family, and every child of a king is a prince or princess who shares in all the riches of the Father as well as inheriting a great amount of wealth.
2. In the second place, if all who followed God were billionaires, in mansions with chauffeured limousines, how would the poor and needy be served? Many poor look to the rich for a break that’s true, but it’s also true that many resent the “well off” That’s why the Apostle Paul said, “What then is the [actual] reward that I get? Just this: that in my preaching the good news (the Gospel), I may offer it [absolutely] free of expense [to anybody], not taking advantage of my rights {and} privileges [as a preacher] of the Gospel. For although I am free in every way from anyone's control, I have made myself a bond servant to everyone, so that I might gain the more [for Christ]. To the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might win Jews; to men under the Law, [I became] as one under the Law, though not myself being under the Law, that I might win those under the Law. To those without (outside) law I became as one without law, not that I am without the law of God {and} lawless toward Him, but that I am [especially keeping] within {and} committed to the law of Christ, that I might win those who are without law. To the weak (wanting in discernment) I have become weak (wanting in discernment) that I might win the weak {and} overscrupulous. I have [in short] become all things to all men, that I might by all means (at all costs and in any and every way) save some [by winning them to faith in Jesus Christ]. And I do this for the sake of the good news (the Gospel), in order that I may become a participator in it {and} share in its [blessings along with you].” (1 Cor. 9:19-23)
a. We empathize; we find things in common with those in need, and build a Christian relationship on this common ground.
b. Someone who is in the same position as yourself, or who has overcome what you are struggling with has a much better chance of ministering to you than some rich big shot would.
3. Lastly, using our brief time of blessings we enjoy and hardships we endure in this life as a tool to bring others to God and an everlasting harvest of blessings in their life as well is but a drop in the ocean compared to what is ahead of us for doing so.
6. Obedience to God is and has always been the key to being blessed.
Mal 3:13 Your words have been strong {and} hard against Me, says the Lord. Yet you say, What have we spoken against You?
Mal 3:14 You have said, It is useless to serve God, and what profit is it if we keep His ordinances and walk gloomily {and} as if in mourning apparel before the Lord of hosts?
a. Here at last is the core of the whole passage. It was their disobedience to Him, not the money they withheld that God was concerned about. After all why would God be interested in something He could easily create for Himself?
b. The freewill obedience of those who truly love Him is the only thing God cannot create. If He could we would be nothing more than robots programmed to love Him, and that would not be true worship or love!
c. Plus they were wrong about what a true “worshipper of God” looked like. Making yourself look “holy” to other people so that you could gain their attention was condemned by Jesus in the New Testament (Matt. 23:2-7)
7. Evildoers seem to prosper in life without God, but in the end they will suffer eternally, still without God.
Mal 3:15 And now we consider the proud {and} arrogant to be happy {and} favored; evildoers are exalted {and} prosper; yes, and when they test God, they escape [unpunished].
a. What was common then is still common today. We see people lie, cheat and steal their way to lavish riches while we who struggle can’t seem to get a break. It doesn’t seem fair but consider this analogy: If you have a room full of light bulbs all running on a 120 volt circuit, then one of them decides to run on 480 volts (4 times the designed voltage) it will burn much brighter than all the others, making them envy the one who is brighter than the rest – for about half a second before it blows up.
b. Those who turn their backs on God and climb the ladder of success on the backs of hard working believers are burning up an eternity of blessings in one brief lifetime in exchange for an eternity of darkness and suffering. They are to be pitied, and reached out to, not envied and copied.
8. To be rich with faith in God and fellowship with other believers is true riches on Earth.
Mal 3:16 Then those who feared the Lord talked often one to another; and the Lord listened and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before Him of those who reverenced {and} worshipfully feared the Lord and who thought on His name.
Mal 3:17 And they shall be Mine, says the Lord of hosts, in that day when I publicly recognize {and} openly declare them to be My jewels (My special possession, My peculiar treasure). And I will spare them, as a man spares his own son who serves him.
Mal 3:18 Then shall you return and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him who serves God and him who does not serve Him.
a. Notice that it was those who looked to God for guidance and leadership rather that at those who looked at themselves and followed their own agenda for success.
b. Those who serve God will be spared in the end, not those who serve themselves. The smiling face of wealth apart from God is but a mask worn by ones who are inwardly tortured. The sad fact is if they remain that way till they die, they will be outwardly tortured as well.
Conclusion and Summary: Robbing God
God never goes back on a promise; He will do everything He promises to do. Even if after we have turned away from Him; if we return to Him, He promises to return to us.
Not obeying God is the same as robbing God of something He rightfully deserves – our love, obedience, and devotion. Loving God, and loving others as we do ourselves blesses both God and those we serve through love, and God will bless us for doing so. This means our freewill obedience to God is the key to blessing and being blessed.
Those who prosper without God are to be pitied rather than copied. A torturous eternity awaits them and it is our duty as Christians to reach out to them, not envy them. If we are rich in faith toward God, and rich in fellowship with other believers, then we are the true “wealthy” of the world. Because everything else that can be banked hoarded, stored, hidden, monopolized, or stolen will still be here when they pass away, and only we who have true riches will be left to inherit the Earth and everything they left behind.
