In the prophecy of Malachi,
“The LORD of hosts” brought indictments against the nation of
Israel for their ways that were not like His. They worshiped with
contempt. They dealt with their wives treacherously. They wearied the
Lord with their words because they called evil – good, and they
were robbing God by withholding their tithes and offerings. Even
though all these rebellious ways were among them, the Lord called for
them to “return to” Him, and He promised He would “return
to” them. In chapter three and verse nine of Malachi we see the
result of the people robbing God with their tithes and offerings
where we read:
The
verse begins, “You are cursed with a
curse:” Because the nation of
Israel did not tithe and bring offerings unto the Lord, they were
“cursed” which is
the Hebrew word “'arar” and means “to cause or produce a curse,
to abhor, detest or be shunned” “with a curse”
which is the Hebrew word “meerah” which means “execration,
abhorrence, detestation, condemnation, denunciation and loathing”.
In other words, the nation of Israel incurred a curse that caused
them to be abhorred by the Lord.
The
verse continues, “for you have robbed me, even
this whole nation.” As though
the indictment of “robbing God” was not sufficient the first
time, the Lord gives the reason “for”
their curse - “you have robbed me”
which once again is the Hebrew word “qaba” as we saw in the
previous verse. Then, to be clear about who the perpetrators of theft
were, the Lord says, “even this whole nation”
which included “the whole confluence or body of people who lived in
the nation of Israel”. Everyone was guilty of robbing God, and the
result of their larceny was a curse.
It
is interesting as we thing about this verse for a while to consider
that it isn't as though God put a curse upon Israel for robbing Him,
but rather He shares with them the result of their theft. It is
almost as if they once again did not identify their “cursed”
position, and so God informed them. The natural results of robbing
God is that a curse came upon them, and once again, it wasn't just
brought upon a select few, it was the entire nation. Perhaps as we
consider these things the Lord will impress upon us some place
wherein we have “robbed” Him, and we also may ponder the idea of
our nation “robbing God” as well. May the Lord reveal to us and
our nation any area in which we are not in alignment with Him, and
may He be gracious enough to lift any curse that is the result of
following our ways rather than His.
Next
time we see the Lord's instruction and blessing concerning tithing,
so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until
tomorrow...there is more...
Look
for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From
Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be
Married”, and the new devotional “One Year in the Sermon on the
Mount” in all major bookstore sites, www.amazon.com ;
www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at
www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
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