“DISCIPLINED GIVING.” MALACHI 3:6-12, 1COR. 16:1-4.
MALACHI 3: 6-7, 8-9, 10-12; 1 COR. 16: 1-4.
PLEACE OPEN YOUR BIBLE TO MALACHI 3.
For many adults today money is a major concern. It is the number one source of stress and anxiety in many families. Many people are undisciplined in their use of money. Impulse buying and easy credit combine to create large debts. People don’t give to others because they feel they need all they make to meet their own needs and wants.
In the secular world-view, God has no say in how a person spends money. Money belongs to the people who earn it, and they can do with it as they please. They don’t know or they reject what the Bible says about possessions. Many reject the idea of tithing their income.
Many church members give meagerly and sporadically to the church. God expects His people to be disciplined in their giving.
Several years ago we were asked to make an audit of the giving habits of the people of Immanuel. The first thing we discovered was that more of the people give nothing than those who gave something. The average giving for the entire membership was 50c per Sunday. This explained why we were not reaching budget, and unable to pay all of our bills.
While some Christians give regularly, joyfully, and even sacrificially to the Lord and His work, the majority of Christians give meagerly and sporadically. Some have so mismanaged their financial affairs that they are convinced they cannot afford to give. A minority of believers practice the discipline of tithing that God expects from all His people.
In both Old and New Testaments, we are instructed to give as a demonstration of our faith. We are also given some specific guidelines for our giving.
Our lesson for December 7, 2003 was “Why I give.” It was that we demonstrate our commitment to God through our giving. Today’s lesson focuses on developing the discipline of regular giving, which includes cultivating the discipline of tithing.
Malachi sought to lead Israel back to God by urging them to stop robbing Him in withholding their tithes and offerings. He promised them that faithfulness in disciplined giving would bring God’s richest blessings.
PLEASE READ MALACHI 3: 6-7.
These verses 6-12 form a parenthesis between two messages concerning God’s justice and His judgment. What the Jews had labeled as God’s injustice is not God’s being unrighteous or unfair, but His being mercifully patient. A genuine call of repentance is then issued in vs. 7 and the fruit of it described in vs. 10.
In vs. 6 the immutability or unchangeable character of God is seen in His purpose to bless His elect people. Thus they are not destroyed. In vs. 5 God will judge the nation and will purge the nation but the nation will not be destroyed.
Malachi was a prophet of Israel after the exile. The date of his ministry was probably during the Ezra-Nehemiah period, about 458-430 BC. The Temple had been rebuilt and worship restored, but the worship had become corrupt. The people were giving offerings that did not please the Lord. They were not only bringing defective offerings but also withholding the tithe, apparently due to the fields’ meager returns. But withholding the tithe is stealing from the Lord. As a consequence the righteous Lord withheld blessings. Their sin evidenced a lack of trust in the Lord to provide for their needs if they kept His commands.
The people had lost faith in God and no longer believed God was just. Speaking through Malachi, God called on Israel to return to Him because He was coming to judge His people. The format of Malachi is a dialogue between God and Israel. These verses show the larger context for the words about tithing.
Being disciples of Jesus Christ includes being good stewards of our time, talent, energy, and material possessions---all that we have. Stewardship has been defined as “utilizing and managing all resources God provides for the glory of God and the betterment of His creation.”
The biblical doctrine of stewardship teaches that God owns everything. He gives all that we have. He desires to lead us in how we utilize all that we have as we serve Him. The practice of good stewardship brings glory to God. Stewardship is God’ plan for the church in carrying out the Great Commission.
Though Israel was disobedient to the Lord, He was still their God and He had not changed. Because of that truth, the sons of Jacob had not perished or ceased to be. Through Malachi God reminded Israel that He was still the Lord, the personal name for God that He revealed to them. His name teaches His unchangeableness.
As Creator, God owned Israel and everyone else. As Redeemer, God owned Israel, for He delivered them out of Egypt and gave them Canaan. Everything that they were and had came from Him. God had called them for a purpose and He still had a purpose for Israel. He is a God of mercy and longsuffering patience. He put up with Israel’s unfaithfulness and disobedience from the first day He chose them. They had to go through purifying fires, but God did not let them be completely destroyed.
The Lord charged Israel with having along history of disobedience to Him. He went back to the days of their fathers and reminded them how they turned from His statues or laws and refused to keep them. The fathers were the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Through the centuries, Israel often failed to obey the statues that God set before them individually and as a nation.
The bad news in these verses is the certainty of God’s judgment on impenitent sinners. The good news is that God is forbearing in love, giving sinners every opportunity to repent. Proof of his love is that in spite of their sins, the sons of Jacob had not been consumed or destroyed. Because of His love, God told the people, “Return unto me, and I will return unto you.” Only a loving God would offer to forgive repentant sinners. The words about tithing are part of God’s call to repent and to be forgiven.
When Israel disobeyed God’s laws, they were actually turning away from Him. God is called the Lord of Hosts or “Lord Almighty” four times in vs. 7, 10, 11, and 12. They had turned from the powerful Lord of all the forces both of heaven and earth.
God anticipated that Israel would try to claim innocence by asking, “in what way did they need to return to Him.” They seemed to have no conviction of such actions as named in Malachi 3: 5.
One of the peoples’ problems was that they were cynical about God’s claim to love them. God told them in Malachi 1:2 “I have loved you.” They replied, “How have you loved us?” When God accused them of dishonoring Him, they asked how. God said they offered to Him only the leftovers. Not only did they doubt God’s love, but they also claimed in 2:17 that God was unjust, rewarding evil people. Withholding their tithes was part of a pattern growing out of their rejecting of God’s love.
The problem addressed by Malachi is that his contemporaries, for whom God had done so much, were no longer giving to His work. This was a problem because of what it did to God; and also a problem because of what it did to them. Malachi suggested that they return to the practice of tithing because of its purpose.
PLEASE READ MALACHI 3: 8-9.
When the people arrogantly ask, “Why they should return to God;” God replied with a startling question! “Will a man rob God?” Then the Lord charged them with robbing Him. Imagine their reaction when God said this. Their response was to ask in what way were they robbing Him. God’s answer was: “In the tithe and the contributions.” The focus was not on the money but on their disobedience that is reflected in withholding their tithes and offerings. A return to Him would be reflected in a return to faithfulness in bringing to Him their possessions.
The Hebrew word translated tithes means “a tenth.” The first use of the word was when Abraham gave a tithe to Melchizedek in Gen. 14:20. The Law of Moses was strict concerning the tithe. In Lev. 27:30 God declared what should be tithed. The purpose of the tithe is given in Num. 18: 21, and where to bring the tithe is given in Deut. 12: 5-6. Jesus affirmed the practice of tithing in His teaching in Matt. 23:23.
The “contribution” or offerings was probably the various gifts that the people were to bring for the support of the priests, the Levites, and the temple. These were the freewill gifts, gifts of the first fruits, the half-shekel sanctuary tax, and the portions of sacrifices reserved for the priests. God charged Israel with keeping the tithe and the offerings for themselves and not bringing them to Him.
As a result of their disobedience, God judged them. They were suffering the effects of the curse. In spite of His discipline, the whole nation had continued to rob Him. The curse had been crop failures. God referred to Israel as the nation—not being His people—a word that He used in vs. 12 to refer to other pagan nations. Possibly, this was a way of saying that Israel was doing the same evil deeds as the pagan nations did. God’s people were supposed to reflect God’s character.
PLEASE READ MALACHI 3: 10-12.
Do your remember singing this hymn? The first stanza says:
Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse. All your money, talents, time and love;
Concentrate them all upon the altar, while your Savior from above speaks sweetly.
Trust Me, try Me, prove Me, saith the Lord of Hosts, and see if a blessing, unmeasured blessing, I will not pour out on thee.”
This hymn is based on Malachi 3: 10, which is the Key Verse for this lesson. God called Israel to return to Him. One specific way they were to return was to obey Him and bring the entire tithe to the treasure house. Tithing is an act of obedience to God. If Israel obeyed, there would be food in His house. They were to be careful that they brought the entire tithe. They were not free to set a new amount. God said to bring the tithe to the temple where there were storehouses built to keep the produce. The tithe normally involved giving food rather than currency. Since one purpose of the tithe was to feed the Levites, the people’s faithfulness would provide adequate for the Levites to eat. If everyone would tithe, churches would have all the financial resources they would need.
Then God gave a key promise. He knew that some would say that they couldn’t afford to tithe their possessions. Israel had been suffering God’s judgment upon them in the form of crop failures, from the drought and insects. So God challenged them to prove or test Him. They would find out that He would open---the gates of heaven or “flood-gates” and pour out a blessing that would be more than enough. The gates are likely sluice gates that when opened allowed water to flow out. God holds His blessings in heaven, and he wanted to pour it out like rain upon His people; life giving rain to a parched land. But they had to be obedient. The drought and devourers of their crops were not the fault of a God who didn’t care or who was treating them unjustly. Their problem was their own sins. When they returned to God, their sins would be removed and God’s blessings would come upon them again.
Also, God promised that He would rebuke the devourer that had been destroying the fruit of the ground and the vine of the field. Those pests had kept the fruit from maturing and becoming available for harvest. God promised to restore a bountiful harvest to Israel. Even with their faithfulness in bringing the entire tithe to the Lord, they would have more possessions remaining because of the abundant physical blessings from the Lord.
The O.T. emphasizes material blessings as a result of faithfulness in giving. The N.T. speaks of spiritual blessings that come to those who obey the Lord’s commands faithfully. Like all of God’s commands, tithing is meant for the believers’ good.
Returning to the Lord would allow the Lord to return to them and give them the many blessings He had for them. The surrounding nations would notice God’s blessings on Israel. They would call Israel fortunate or blessed because Israel would be a land of joy; a delightsome land.
These promises came from the Lord of hosts, the supreme Ruler of the universe. Faithfulness to God brings His blessings, which become a witness to others who do not know God. God gets praise from those He blesses and from those who witness those blessings on others.
Vs. 10 challenges us to put God to the test, but vs. 15 condemns putting God to the test. When is it right and when is it wrong to put God to the test? Putting God to the test is wrong when we presume to ask God to do something to convince us He is real and able to act on our behalf.
It is right when God’s Word challenges us to let Him act in the way He wants to act. God challenged the people of Malachi’s day to discover how God would bless them if they tithed. Only in a few instances are humans invited to test God. (See Isaiah 7: 11-12 and 1 Kings 18: 22-46) He challenges believers in every generation to discover by experience the blessings of tithing. .
These verses are sometimes used to teach that tithing will lead to financial wealth. The gospel of wealth it not consistent with biblical teachings. The biblical motive for giving is not to grasp something for ourselves but to express gratitude for what we have received. Biblical tithing is motivated by gratitude, not greed. God’s blessings in the O.T. were often stated in material terms, and some people assumed that wealthy people were rewarded for their godliness while poor people were being punished for their sins.
The blessing of giving is to become a giving person and a channel of blessing to others. Tithers also discover that the 90 percent goes further than they expected. Tithers have the reward of becoming generous givers. Looking back on a life of tithing brings joy in knowing that the tithes have been invested in missions, ministries, buildings, Bibles, missionaries and other eternal investments.
Many church members don’t tithe because they feel they don’t have enough to meet their own needs. They claim they see no way that they can tithe. Tithing is an act of faith. This involves commitment to tithing. This commitment causes us to set aside the tithe and not allow it to be used for other things. This calls for discipline.
A common mistake about tithing is waiting until after all wants and needs are met and then inevitably finding not enough money is left to tithe. After making a commitment, give a tenth of your income. Then do this all the time.
Here is the definition of Christian tithing I like. Christian tithing is the self-discipline of setting aside regularly for Christ’s work a tithe of one’s income as an acknowledgment of God’s ownership of all things, including man himself, and as a response to God’s love as revealed in Jesus Christ.
PLEASE READ 1 CORINTHIANS 16: 1- 4.
Many have wondered why such a seemingly prosaic portion of Holy Scripture as this should be preserved for us down through the ages, and have asked what special spiritual help it gives, what lesson it has for people of God since the days when the Apostle wrote it. What difference would it make to us if this portion of Scripture should be lost or not.
The Christianity of Paul was a very practical thing. One occasion for the writing of these verses was that there had been a prolonged famine in the land of Palestine. As a result of which many of the Jewish believers were suffering greatly.
The apostle, moving among the Gentile Christians in Europe, where conditions were very difficult, laid the responsibility upon them of ministering to the needs of their Hebrew brethren in Christ. Gal. 2:10 provides the earliest reference to the proposed offering for the poor Christians in Jerusalem. Earlier the leaders in Jerusalem had urged Paul and Barnabas to remember the poor, and Paul had expressed an eagerness to comply with the request.
We are told in Gal. 6:10 “As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith. “ And this has characterized the true Church of God wherever there has been a cry of need.
When nations, peoples, or cities are distress, Christian people are the first to put their hands into their pockets and share with those in need. There is no surer evidence that the risen, living Lord dwells in a man’s heart than an eager desire to be a faithful steward of money. The acid test of Christian discipleship is giving. Jesus had much to say about it.
For some time Paul had been encouraging the churches to cooperate in a generous offering for the relief of the poor saints of Jerusalem. Evidently the Corinthians had heard about his instructions to the churches of Galatia and had written to him about their own participation in the offering. In the verses in 1 Cor.16, Paul responded to their inquiry with some specific guidance.
At lease five principles of Christian giving may be discerned in the passage: (1) It is inclusive (v.2). Each one in the congregation was to have a part in the offering. (2) It was systematic. “On the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up” (v.2). (3) It was proportionate (v.2). As one had prospered, so he was to give. (4) It was voluntary (v.2). In the Jewish system a Temple tax was levied annually upon every male 20 years of age and over. There is no evidence that Paul was attempting to adapt this practice to the Gentile congregations in behalf of the mother church in Jerusalem. (5) It was administered wisely (v.3) Delegates appointed by the churches would take the gift to Jerusalem. And if advisable, Paul was prepared to go, too.
The churches of Macedonia, especially Philippi, had responded unusually well, but the Corinthian church had lagged. Paul now commences to prod and pressure the Corinthians to get their promised offering assembled. In so doing he lays down a formula for sustained stewardship that is unequaled. The principles incorporated in this formula in 1 Cor. 16: 2 are well worth repeating.
On the first day of the week, Sunday, as an integral part of worship, believers are to bring their offerings to God’s treasury. Giving is to be regular and systematic, not haphazard and spasmodic. The individual giver, the church, the kingdom, all profit by faithful, systematic giving.
“Let’s each one of you.” There are to be no exceptions. Rich and poor are to come with their offerings. One can be as miserly with little as with much, likewise as generous. The one Jesus commended most for her generous stewardship was the poor widow who put in her two mites.
The church and the kingdom need that which is God’s, that of which Christ’s followers are custodians. Each Christian needs to give for his own good. There is no healthier exercise than to tithe. Certainly the ultimate destination for offerings and gifts to God, and their distribution is the church, the only institution He established for the extension of His kingdom.
“As each may prosper.” Giving was to be proportionate based upon an individual’s financial ability. To whom much was given much would be required, and to who little was given little would be required. But that little would be great in God’s sight.
We know that the Bible teaches that every man’s tithe belongs to God; But the tithe for one with little may be much, but for one with much it may be comparatively little. So the tithe can only be thought of as a basic minimum in proportionate giving. Not “how little” but “how much” should be the measure of the faithful steward, whatever his circumstances and condition. A man’s heart must tell him what to give. The dominating question is not “what can I keep” but “What can I give?” All true giving is a bounty that we are supremely glad to give. We are to give in response to what God has given. Giving is not about money primarily but about what generous giving does to the giver and to the praise of God. We will find that God will honor such stewardship. A warning: “Let your giving be in accordance with your circumstances, or God may alter your circumstances to be in accordance with your giving.”
Paul wrote that each person was to give as God hath prospered him. Paul taught proportionate giving, but he did not spell out a percentage. Why didn’t he teach tithing as clearly as Malachi? One possible answer is that he did not want Christians to limit their giving to a tithe. Like Jesus, Paul in 2 Cor. Ch. 8-9 emphasized generous, even sacrificial giving.
How we give money is closely related to how we earn money, how we spend money, and how we save money. Discipline is needed in all these areas. The careful management of finances is a discipline that makes giving possible. Impulse buyers usually make impulse givers. Gratitude and contentment lead to the discipline of frugality, which is necessary for disciplined giving. Paul wrote to Timothy in 1 Tim. 4:7, “Discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness.” Those who practice the disciplines of worship, prayer, Bible study, and service also practice the discipline of regular giving. All of these disciplines result in godliness. Godliness is the greatest blessing of a disciplined life.
NEXT SUNDAY WE CONCLUDE OUR STUDY OF THE THEME: “DARE TO LIVE WITH DISCIPLINE.” “THE LIFE IMPACT” IS TO HELP US PRACTICE THE DISCIPLINE OF SERVING OTHERS. A.V. DAUGHERTY altav@swbell.net www.theweeks.org/av/