GOD IS JUST

People grumbled, lacked passion and devotion for God, and had a wrong view of God (Malachi 2:17). What we believe about God is the most important thing, don’t judge God based on circumstances. You may think that life is unfair but instead of blaming the past, or circumstances, focus and do what God wants you to do. Trust that God can change things, because our God is at work!

Verses 1-2 gives the response to Malachi 2:17 which looks for the “God of justice”. It begins with a prophetic statement about God’s coming messenger (fulfilled in John the Baptist), and the Lord (Jesus Christ). The day will come when Jesus brings justice. God is our Righteous Judge. God is in the business of refining people (vv. 3-4) until we bear the image of Christ! God’s discipline is for our good, it trains us towards righteousness (Hebrews 12:10-11). God uses problems and difficulties to refine our character – so in the meantime, trust God completely. He will sacrifice our comfort to sanctify our spiritual life. We are not meant to live in this world forever, God has all eternity to make it right. Our circumstances and problems are temporal, but God’s promises are eternal. God is always fair and just! God is the Rock, He is perfect, all His ways are just, He is faithful, righteous, and upright (Deuteronomy 32:3-4)! Through Jesus Christ, God will judge the world in righteousness (Acts 17:30-31). We must therefore repent and change to please God with our lives. The foundation of His reign is righteousness and justice balanced with lovingkindness and truth (Psalm 89:14).

GOD IS IMMUTABLE

God is consistent with His promises, He doesn’t change in character and His ways. The prevalent sins in those days were sorcery, adultery, oppression, greed, lies, and the like (vv. 5-6). Yet God declared that since He does not change and He is righteous, holy, and loving, judgment has not fully come upon them. The people have constantly disobeyed God, and He desires for them to return (repent) (v.7). They need to go back to God completely to rid themselves of the consequences of their own unfaithfulness. Draw near to God – stop running away from Him and choose to be intimate with God (James 4:8).

GOD OWNS EVERYTHING

God answers the question “How shall we return?” (v.7) –brings up this issue about robbing Him (vv. 8-9). He tells us what to do and what not to do with money. The Bible tells us that the root of evil is the love of money (1 Timothy 6:10). What are we worried about the most? What makes us feel afraid? What makes spouses fight? The issue here is the state of our hearts. Many people “wander away from the faith and pierce themselves with many griefs”. Are we greedy? To honor God, we must know who He is. He is the owner of all things. Those who are covetous will not inherit the kingdom of God (Ephesians 5:5). A test of spirituality is how you deal with possessions; the antidote to covetousness and greed is giving. We need to embrace that God owns everything!

Tithe means ten percent. Everything in the world belongs to God (Psalm 50:10-12)! Leviticus 27:30 mentions “tithe of the land”, and it belongs to God. But even before the law was given, before Moses, Abraham already gave a tenth to God (Genesis 14:19-20). Jacob also understood this principle and gave tithes (Genesis 28:22). An offering is anything over and above tithing. Jesus said that He never abolished the Law (the Old Testament) (Matthew 5:17-19). In the old covenant, animal sacrifice had to be done to clear their sins, in the new covenant, forgiveness of sins is through Jesus Christ, but the rest of the laws remain. Even the scribes and Pharisees tithed (Matthew 23:23); Jesus didn’t abolish tithing but reminds us that other things about the law should not be disregarded. Paul also mentions “proportionate giving” (1 Corinthians 16:1-2); it is called “grace giving”. 2 Corinthians 8:3-5 shows us believers that had no ability to give (vv.1-5), but even in their deep poverty, they still gave beyond their own ability because they loved the Lord. The first ten percent is to be given to the Lord, and we budget with the 90%. Jesus tells us that where our treasure is, there our hearts will be also (Matthew 6:21).

GOD IS A REWARDER

We’re to “bring the whole tithe into the storehouse”, the temple (v. 10) and God presents a challenge to His people – test Me now on this – He shall “pour out blessings until it overflows”. He is the REWARDER! If we trust in the Lord, He will take care of our needs (vv. 11-12). If we give, it will be given back to us – we can never outgive God (Luke 6:38)! God loves a cheerful giver (2 Corinthians 9:6-7) and is a rewarder of those who seek Him (Hebrews 11:6). God corrected people’s wrong view of Him so that they can “distinguish” between righteous and evil men (vv. 14-18). We are creatures of hope; if we don’t have the real hope of God’s amazing promises, God’s Word won’t impact our lives. Don’t believe the lies of Satan. Cling on to God’s promises and learn to trust Him completely. Do everything for His glory!