8<\/strong>. ye<\/em> have robbed<\/em> ] Rather, rob<\/strong>; lit. are robbing<\/strong>: it is still going on.<\/p>\n tithes<\/em> ] By the Law of Moses (1) “the tenth of all produce, as well as of flocks and cattle, belongs to Jehovah and must be offered to Him” (Lev 27:30<\/span>; Lev 27:32<\/span>); and (2) this tenth is “assigned to the Levites as the reward of their services” (Num 18:21<\/span>; Num 18:24<\/span>). Nehemiah in his day had to deal once and again with the evil here rebuked. Notwithstanding the “sure covenant” into which they had entered (Neh 9:38<\/span> with Neh 10:32-39<\/span>), he had occasion, on his return to Jerusalem after an absence of a few years, to reform them again in this very particular (Neh 13:10-14<\/span>).<\/p>\n Shall a man rob or cheat – <\/B>, defraud God? God answers question by question, but thereby drives it home to the sinners soul, and appeals to his conscience. The conscience is steeled, and answers again, In what? God specifies two things only, obvious, patent, which, as being material things, they could not deny. In tithes and offerings. The offerings included several classes of dues to God:<\/P> (a) the first fruits ;<\/P> (b) the annual half-shekel Exo 30:13-15<\/span>;<\/P> (c) the offerings made for the tabernacle Exo 25:2-3<\/span>; Exo 35:5<\/span>, Exo 35:21<\/span>, Exo 35:24<\/span>; Exo 36:3<\/span>, Exo 36:6<\/span> and the second temple Ezr 8:25<\/span> at its first erection; it is used of ordinary offerings; <\/P> (d) of the tithes of their own tithes, which the Levites paid to the priests Num 18:26<\/span>, Num 18:28-29<\/span>;<\/P> (e) of the portions of the sacrifice which accrued to the priests Lev 7:14<\/span>.<\/P><\/p>\n Verse 8<\/span>. Will a man rob God?<\/B><\/I>] Here is one point on which ye are guilty; ye withhold the tithes<\/I> and offerings<\/I> from the temple of God, so that the Divine worship is neglected.<\/P> <\/p>\n Will a man rob God?<\/B> among the many deviations from Gods law (which they do not, because they will not, see) the prophet chargeth them with this kind of sacrilegious theft; they had detained his tithes, shortened him in that portion which he had reserved to himself and for his service, which is, as our version expresseth it, a robbing of God. And as the words lie in the original, they do, by arguing from the less to the greater, aggravate this sin; as they may be read, Will a man rob a great man<\/I>, or, a judge<\/I>? for the word used will bear these notions. Or, Will a man rob the gods<\/I>? i.e. do not heathens abhor the foulness of such a fault, and fear the punishment of sacrilege, and therefore would not rob their idols? as another prophet asked once the question, Have any of <\/P> the nations changed their gods, which yet are no gods? <\/B>Jer 2:11<\/B><\/span>; so now, Have the nations robbed their gods? Yet ye have robbed me<\/I>; but blush, ye shameless priests and Jews, you have robbed not a great man, but the great God; not judges, but the Judge of judges; not an idol, but the living God! How great is your crime! <\/P> Wherein have we robbed thee?<\/B> a question just like those Mal 1:7<\/span>; 2:17<\/span>; 3:7<\/span>, which see. <\/P> In tithes:<\/B> the people robbed God not paying the full tenth, which God appointed should be paid to him. The priests robbed God in tithes, while they took too much, or it may be all, for their own particular and family use, and did not distribute them to all that by Gods law had a right to a proportion of them. <\/P> And offerings<\/B>; either first-fruits, or other oblations and gifts, which were appointed to be brought to the temple for the service of God; in all which the people and priests had given him less than his due. <\/P> <\/p>\n 8. rob<\/B>literally, “cover”:hence, defraud. Do ye call defrauding God no sin to be “returned”from (Mal 3:7<\/span>)? Yet ye have doneso to Me in respect to the tithes due to Me, namely, the tenth of allthe remainder after the first-fruits were paid, which tenth was paidto the Levites for their support (Le27:30-33<\/span>): a tenth paid by the Levites to the priests (Nu18:26-28<\/span>): a second tenth paid by the people for theentertainment of the Levites, and their own families, at thetabernacle (De 12:18<\/span>): anothertithe every third year for the poor, c. (Deu 14:28<\/span>Deu 14:29<\/span>). <\/P> offerings<\/B>thefirst-fruits, not less than one-sixtieth part of the corn, wine, andoil (Deu 18:4<\/span>; Neh 13:10<\/span>;Neh 13:12<\/span>). The priests had thisperquisite also, the tenth of the tithes which were the Levitesperquisite. But they appropriated all the tithes, robbing the Levitesof their due nine-tenths; as they did also, according to JOSEPHUS,before the destruction of Jerusalem by Titus. Thus doubly God wasdefrauded, the priests not discharging aright their sacrificialduties, and robbing God of the services of the Levites, who weredriven away by destitution [GROTIUS].<\/P><\/p>\n Will a man rob God<\/strong>?…. Or “the gods”; the false gods, the idols of the Gentiles; the Heathens will not do that, accounting sacrilege a great sin, and yet this the Jews were guilty of: or “the judges” c, as the Targum; civil magistrates; will any dare to defraud them of their due? see Mal 1:8<\/span>.<\/p>\n Yet ye have robbed me<\/strong>; keeping back from the priests and Levites, his ministers, what was due to them; and which, being no other than a spoiling or robbing of them, might be interpreted a robbing of God:<\/p>\n But ye say, wherein have we robbed thee<\/strong>? as not being conscious of any such evil; or, however, impudently standing in it, that they were not guilty: to which is returned the answer,<\/p>\n In tithes and offerings<\/strong>; that is, they robbed God in not giving the tithes, and not offering sacrifices, according as the law required: but it may be objected, that the Jews in Christ’s time did pay tithes, even of all things; yea, of more than the law required, Mt 23:23<\/span> to which it may be replied, that though they gave tithes, yet it was<\/p>\n , “with an evil eye”, as Aben Ezra says; grudgingly, and not cheerfully, and with an evil intention; not to show their gratitude to God, and their acknowledgment of him as their Lord, from whom they had their all, but in order to merit at his hands; besides, our Lord suggests that they did not give to God the things that were God’s, Mt 22:21<\/span> and the apostle charges them with being guilty of sacrilege, Ro 2:22<\/span> and, moreover, the priests might not give it to the Levites, as they ought; and which is what they are charged with in Ne 13:10<\/span> and Grotius says that they were guilty of this before the destruction by Vespasian, as appears by Josephus.<\/p>\n c “deos, vel judices”, Calvin, Drusius, Grotius.<\/p>\n Will a man defraud the gods? Some give this version, “Will a man defraud God?” But it is strained and remote from the Prophet’s design; and they pervert the meaning. For I do not see what can be elicited from this rendering, “Will a man defraud God?” But there are other two meanings which may be taken. The first is, “Will a man defraud his gods?” The word אלהים, Aleim, though it be in the plural number, is applied, as it is well known, to the true God; but it is applied also to idols; and in this place the Prophet seems to me to compare the Jews to the Gentiles, that their impiety might be made more evident. The same is the object of Jeremiah, when he says, <\/p>\n “<\/p>\n Go, and survey the islands, is there a nation which has changed its gods, while yet they are no gods.” (Jer 2:10<\/span>.) <\/p>\n Since their blindness and obstinacy held fast the Gentiles in darkness, that they continued to worship the gods to whom they had been accustomed, it was an abominable wickedness in the Jews, that having been taught to worship the true God, they were yet continually influenced by ungodly levity, and sought new modes of worship, as though they wished to devise another god for themselves. So also in this place the Prophet seems to bring forward the Gentiles as an example to the Jews; for they discharged their duty towards their gods; but the Jews despised the supreme and the only true God: “Behold,” he says, “go round the world, and ye shall not find among the nations so unbridled a liberty as prevails among you; for they render obedience to their gods, and sacrilege is abominable to them; but ye defraud me. Am I inferior to idols? or is my state worse than theirs?” <\/p>\n Some take the word אלהים, Aleim, for judges, as judges are sometimes so named; but this meaning seems not suitable on account of the word, Adam. As then this word generally means man, the Prophet, I have no doubt, intimates what I have stated, — that unbelievers, though sunk in darkness, are yet restrained by reverence and fear from changing their deity, and that they dare not to show levity when the name only of their god is pronounced. Since then such humility prevailed among unbelievers, could the impiety of that people, who had been trained up in the law, be excusable? a people too, upon whom God had ever made the doctrine of the law to shine. (253) <\/p>\n He afterwards adds, Because ye have defrauded me; and ye have said, Thereby have we defrauded thee? In tenths and in oblations (254) Here the Prophet again proves the people guilty of perverseness: it was indeed hypocrisy, and though gross, it was yet surpassed by impudence; for they asked, whereby they had defrauded God? and yet this was evident even to children: for we know, and we have seen elsewhere, that avarice so ruled among them, that every one, bent on their own profit, neglected the temple and the priests. Since then they were openly sacrilegious, how shameless they must have been to ask whereby they had defrauded God! The thing itself was indeed manifest and commonly known, so that children could see it. God however deemed it enough to convict them by one sentence, — that they defrauded him in the tenths and in the first-fruits; not that any advantage accrued to him from oblations, as he had no need of any such things; but he rightly calls and counts that his own which he had appointed for his own service. Since then he had instituted that order among the Jews, that they might by the tenths support the priests, and a part also was required for the poor, since God designed the firstfruits and other things to be offered to him, that men might thereby be continually reminded, that all things were his, and that whatever they received from his hand was sacred to him, he had previously called the bread laid on the table his own, and had called the sacrifices his own food, as though he did eat and drink. But as I have already said, we ought to regard the object in view, because his will was to be thus worshipped, and at the same time to keep as his own whatever belonged to his service. This then is the reason why he now complains of being defrauded of the tenths. <\/p>\n But we know that other sacrifices are now prescribed to us; and after prayer and praises, he bids us to relieve the poor and needy. God then, no doubt, is deprived by us of his right, when we are unkind to the poor, and refuse them aid in their necessity. We indeed thereby wrong men, and are cruel; but our crime is still more heinous, inasmuch as we are unfaithful stewards; for God deals more liberally with us than with others, for this end — that some portion of our abundance may come to the poor; and as he consecrates to their use what we abound in, we become guilty of sacrilege whenever we give not to our brethren what God commands us; for we know that he engages to repay, according to what is said in Pro 19:17<\/span>, “He who gives to the poor lends to God.” <\/p>\n (253) Most differ from Calvin as to the word אלהים in this passage. The Septuagint render it “God — Θεον,” the Targum, “judges,” but commentators generally “God,” i.e., the true God, supposing the audacity of the people to be here reprobated. The word for “defraud or rob,” is only found here and in Pro 22:23<\/span>, and rendered “supplant” by the Septuagint, but “rob — αποστερησει,” by Aq. and Sym. , the only meaning consistent with the context. — Ed. <\/p>\n (254) Literally it is, “in the tenth (or, tithe) and the heave-offering.” The last word comes from רם, to raise or lift up, because this offering was raised or heaved, and thus presented as it were to the Lord. See Exo 29:27<\/span>. It is rendered “first-fruits” by the Septuagint <\/p>\n (8) Robbed me.<\/strong>Because the tithes are said to be offered to Jehovah, and then He gives them to the Levites in place of an inheritance (Num. 18:24<\/span>).<\/p>\n In tithes and offerings.<\/strong>See Notes on Exo. 23:19<\/span>; Lev. 27:30-33<\/span>; Num. 18:12<\/span>; Num. 18:21-24<\/span>; Deu. 18:4<\/span>; Lev. 3:1-17<\/span>; Lev. 7:11-21<\/span>; Lev. 7:28-36<\/span>.<\/p>\n 8<\/strong>. <\/strong> The reply is in the form of a question. <\/p>\n Will a man rob God? <\/strong> A better translation of the first two clauses would be, “Will a man rob God, that you rob me?” (Compare Amo 6:12<\/span>.) A question of astonishment that anyone should think of such a preposterous thing; and yet they have done it and are still doing it. The verb is unquestionably used in the sense of “defraud” they do not pay their just dues; but there seems to be insufficient reason for substituting a different verb in Hebrew. Again an attempt is made to combat the prophet, and again he meets the objection.<\/p>\n In tithes and offerings <\/strong> These they have withheld, and by doing so they have defrauded Jehovah. The last word means literally peace offering <\/em> (compare Eze 44:30<\/span>; Neh 10:39<\/span>), which belongs to the priests (Eze 44:30<\/span>); here it includes every offering due to Jehovah. How they are defrauding him is stated in Mal 1:6-14<\/span>. The regulation of the tithes is found in Deu 14:22<\/span> ff.; Lev 27:30<\/span> ff.; Num 18:21<\/span> ff. (compare Amo 4:4<\/span>); they also went to those ministering in the sanctuaries. Some portion they may have given, but not the proper percentage (compare Act 5:1<\/span> ff.). 9. <\/p>\n You are cursed with a curse <\/strong> Jehovah has already shown his displeasure, and still they continue in the evil ways. Wherein the curse consisted is not stated, but Mal 3:10-12<\/span> imply that it came in the form of drought, poor harvests, and perhaps a plague of locusts. The curse has fallen upon the whole nation, because the whole nation has defrauded him.<\/p>\n In Mal 3:10<\/span> the prophet returns to the question asked in Mal 3:7<\/span>; he informs his hearers wherein they should return. <\/p>\n Bring ye all the tithes <\/strong> R.V., “the whole tithe.” The emphasis is upon whole; <\/em> fraud is to cease, and they are to bring to Jehovah his full share. <\/p>\n Storehouse <\/strong> Connected with the temple and built for the purpose of receiving gifts of this sort (Compare 2Ch 31:11-12<\/span>; Neh 10:38-39<\/span>). <\/p>\n Meat <\/strong> R.V., “food”; both for Jehovah (see on Mal 1:7<\/span>) and for the ministering priests and Levites. <\/p>\n Prove me <\/strong> Whether or not he is the God he was in the days when he chose Israel (Mal 3:6<\/span>), the God of judgment (Mal 2:17<\/span>), who rewards the good. That he punishes the evil they should have discovered long ago (Mal 3:9<\/span>; Mal 3:11-12<\/span>). <\/p>\n Herewith <\/strong> Giving to Jehovah all his dues. <\/p>\n If I will not <\/strong> May be translated “surely I will.” <\/p>\n Open the windows of heaven <\/strong> A figure denoting abundance of supply; the blessings will come like pouring rain (Gen 7:11<\/span>; Isa 24:18<\/span>; compare 2Ki 7:2<\/span>). <\/p>\n There shall not be room enough <\/strong> Literally, until there is no need, <\/em> which means, in superabundance. While the whole of Mal 3:10<\/span> may be understood as a promise of blessings of every sort, in view of Mal 3:11-12<\/span> it is not improbable that the prophet has in mind a specific blessing, abundant rain, the lack of which has caused the harvests to fail (compare Joe 1:16-20<\/span>; Joe 2:23<\/span>; Amo 4:7-8<\/span>). <\/p>\n Rebuke <\/strong> The rebuke of Jehovah will cause flight or destruction. <\/p>\n The devourer <\/strong> The locust, so called because of his destructiveness (see on Joe 1:7<\/span>; compare Amo 4:9<\/span>). <\/p>\n For your sakes <\/strong> Who in those days will deserve the favor of Jehovah. <\/p>\n Your vine cast her fruit before the time <\/strong> Before it ripens and brings benefit to the owner. <\/p>\n Field <\/strong> See on Joe 1:11<\/span>.<\/p>\n Mal 3:8<\/span><\/em><\/strong>. <\/strong>Will a man rob God<\/em><\/strong><\/strong> “Pretend what you will to the reverence and fear of God, if you take away what is consecrated, according to the law of Moses, to the service of God and his temple, you do no better than rob God <\/em>himself.” <\/p>\n DISCOURSE: 1274 Mal 3:8<\/span>. Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me<\/em>.<\/p>\n FIDELITY in Ministers, how unacceptable soever it may be to their hearers, is their indispensable duty. Accordingly, we find all the prophets, and all the Apostles, distinguished for it, notwithstanding they exercised it at the peril of their lives. And Gods word to all his servants is, He that hath my word, let him speak my word faithfully. True it is, that in the execution of this duty we may be accounted harsh: but we must commend ourselves to every mans conscience in the sight of God, and deal faithfully with all, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear. The Prophet Malachi has set us, in this respect, a noble example; seeing that he charged the whole nation of Israel with being thieves and robbers in the sight of God. In conformity with this example, I will proceed to shew you,<\/p>\n I.<\/p>\n What an odious thing sin is<\/p>\n By the excuses which we invent for it, and the specious names we put upon it, we contrive to hide from ourselves its horrid deformity: but, if we look at it as it is represented in the Scriptures, we shall not hesitate to pronounce it odious in the extreme. 1.<\/p>\n In our very nature<\/p>\n [The carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be [Note: Rom 8:7<\/span>.]. By the carnal mind we are to understand the disposition of every man by nature: and this is not merely inimical<\/em> to God, but enmity itself<\/em> against him: there is not any faculty in his soul that is in accordance with God; nor any thing that is in God that is pleasing to him. There is the same contrariety between him and God, as between fire and water, or between light and darkness; which cannot coalesce in any degree, but have a mutual tendency to destroy each other. The carnal mind not only is not<\/em>, but cannot be<\/em>, subject to Gods law. Were it only inimical<\/em> to God, a reconciliation might be hoped for: but the whole soul being enmity itself<\/em> against God, it can never be brought to submission to God, till the enmity itself is slain. What a picture does this give us of our fallen nature! There is nothing in man which does not hate God; nor any thing in God which man does not hate. What can be conceived more odious than this?]<\/p>\n 2.<\/p>\n In the more moral of mankind<\/p>\n [Of those who are grossly immoral, I forbear to speak. But look at those who, like the Pharisees of old, have a semblance of religion; and who, from a conceit of their own superior sanctity, look with contempt on their less specious neighbours: of these our Lord says, that they are whited sepulchres, which have a fair outside indeed, but within are full of dead mens bones and of all uncleanness. Now, let us endeavour to realize this image. Let us suppose a grave, in which a number of bodies have been buried, opened, whilst the putrefaction is in full process: we could not endure the sight or smell, even for a moment. Yet such an object is the heart of a decent Pharisee in the sight of God. His exterior before men may be fair enough; but God, to whom the inmost recesses of the soul are open, turns away from him with disgust, not able to endure the sight of such a nauseous object. Nor can we ever have a just view of our fallen nature, till we see it in this lothesome and offensive light.]<\/p>\n 3.<\/p>\n In those who make a faint profession of religion<\/p>\n [Nothing but perfect sincerity can approve itself to God. If the heart be not right with him, it is as odious in his eyes as if it were altogether insensible before him. Its professions of sanctity render it only the more detestable in his sight, whilst the life corresponds not with his professions. To the Philadelphian Church, God says, I would thou wert cold or hot: but, because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth [Note: Rev 3:15-16<\/span>.]. To our ears, this very expression is so offensive, that, if it were not the very word of God himself, we could not venture to use it: but the more offensive it is, the more it serves to illustrate that which I am endeavouring to markthe odiousness of sin. Let us remember, that there is nothing of gross sin imputed to these persons: nothing is laid to their charge, but a want of zeal in the service of their God: yet of them<\/em> is it said, that they fill Jehovah himself with such disgust, that he cannot endure the least connexion with them, but casts them off with utter abhorrence. What can shew sin in its true colours, if this do not?]<\/p>\n 4.<\/p>\n In those who, after some profession of religion, turn back from it<\/p>\n [To these is applied a proverb, which places them in their just light: They turn back with the dog to his vomit, and with the sow, that was washed, to the wallowing in the mire. Take these images: ponder them in your minds: conceive what a taste<\/em> they display: and then transfer the idea to a mans returning to sin. Is it possible for language to convey, either in more appropriate or more disgusting terms, the truth I am insisting on? Only let us realize these images, and we shall need nothing further to shew us the exceeding sinfulness of sin.]<\/p>\n From this view of the odiousness of sin, let me proceed to state,<\/p>\n II.<\/p>\n What reason we have to humble ourselves before God on account of it<\/p>\n Men will not acknowledge themselves so vile as God represents them to be: and, even when he himself accuses them, they will insolently deny the charge, just as those did whom the prophet addressed in the words before us. It is remarkable, that to every distinct charge of the prophet, whether implied or expressed, the Jews returned the very same challenge: Return unto me. Wherein shall we return? that is, We do not know that we have ever departed: how then can we return? So in the text: Ye have robbed God. Wherein have we robbed him? Tis a false accusation, a downright calumny. So again; Your words have been stout against me, saith the Lord: yet ye say, Wherein have we spoken so much against thee? We deny the charge altogether. Now this shews the spirit with which men reply against God himself. But, if we be dared to the proof of our assertions, we will meet the challenge, and adduce our proofs. Let me now address you, Brethren, In a way of indignant inquiry<\/p>\n [Will you continue thus to rob God? As for denying the charge, it is in vain. You must fall under it. You must confess your guilt. You must humble yourselves for it in dust and ashes. If you plead for further indulgence in a way of sin, I ask, How much longer will you hold fast your wickedness? and when will you consent to pay the Lord his dues? Know assuredly, that your iniquity is all recorded in his book: and, when a bill is sent to you of one hundred, it will be in vain for you to write fourscore. You must answer for your whole debt, and be cast into prison, till you have paid the utmost farthing. Increase not, then, the awful account which you have to give: but surrender up yourselves to God without delay; and devote to him all that you are, and all that you have. Less than this will not suffice: for ye are not your own: you are bought with a price: and therefore you are bound to glorify God with your bodies and your spirits, which are Gods [Note: 1Co 6:20<\/span>.].]<\/p>\n 2.<\/p>\n In a way of affectionate exhortation<\/p>\n [The charge here adduced against you reminds me of One, who says, I restored that which I took not away [Note: Psa 69:4<\/span>.]. Those words, however they may be spoken of David in the first instance, are undoubtedly spoken of the Messiah, who redeemed our souls by his own obedience unto death. Yes, brethren, He, even the Lord Jesus Christ, has discharged our debt, and made perfect satisfaction to God for all the injury that he has sustained from us. Undertake not, then, to pay Jehovah from any funds of your own. To all eternity you would be unable to present to him an equivalent for the smallest sin. But you need not attempt it. In Christ you have a propitiation not for your sins only, but also for the sins of the whole world. Go to him, therefore, as your Surety; and plead with God all that He has done and suffered for you: then shall your sins be blotted out of the book of Gods remembrance: and, though you owe him ten thousand talents, you shall freely be forgiven all.]<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Reader! look at those charges spiritually, and then ask, in what doth the robbery of God now consist? Is it not in denying, or disbelieving his covenant relations, and word, and oath, and promises? Is it not in slighting God’s dear Son, and setting up idols of self-righteousness in our own hearts? Is it not in thinking light of the Holy Ghost’s work in the soul, as the sole means of conversion, and bringing the heart to God? Ponder over these things.<\/p>\n Mal 3:8 Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings.<\/p>\n Ver. 8. Will a man rob God?<\/strong> ] Adam pillage Elohim? frail weak man seek to supplant (so the Septuagint render it) the great and mighty God? Giant-like boldness! Cacus met with his match when he robbed Hercules. Mercury, say the poets, had a mind to steal Jupiter’s thunderbolts, but dared not meddle, lest he should punish as Prometheus for stealing fire; or lest they should burn his fingers. The eagle in the fable, that stole a piece of flesh from the altar, and carried it together with a live coal, that stuck to it, to his nest, set his young and all on fire. Dionysius, that robbed his god, was cast out of his kingdom, though he was wont to boast, that he had it bound to him with chains of adamant. Belshazzar paid dearly for his bousing in the bowels of the sanctuary. Cardinal Wolsey, and five of his servants, employed by him in embezzling consecrated goods, though perhaps to better purposes, came all to fearful ends, as Scultetus noteth, and thereupon wisheth, Utinam his et similibus exemplis edocti discant homines res semel Deo consecratas timide attrectare.<\/em> “It is a snare to the man that devoureth that which is holy,” Pro 20:25<\/span> . They may be compared to those who, being of a cold and phlegmatic stomach, eat hard and choleric meats; well they may please their palates, but it cannot be for their health: no more can the murdering morsels of such sacrilegious persons, as, devouring holy things, have their meat sauced and their drink spiced with the bitter wrath of God. See Job 20:23<\/span> . Polanus reads the text thus, Will a man rob his gods? q.d.<\/em> Will any heathen do so? did not they that worshipped idols abhor sacrilege? Was it not one of the laws of the twelve tables in Rome, Sacrum sacrove commendatum qui clepserit rapseritque, parricida esto,<\/em> Let every sacrilegious person pass and be punished for a parricide? And doth not Cicero affirm those laws, that they did exceed all the libraries of the philosophers in weight and worth? Did not those old idolaters freely bestow their most precious things upon their idols, Eze 16:16-19 Exo 32:3<\/span> , yea, their very children in sacrifice to Moloch, or Saturn? 2Ki 16:3 ; 2Ki 17:17<\/span> ; being as mad upon their idols as ever was any wicked wanton upon his harlot, lavishing out of the bag? &c. And are not our modern idolaters and Papists as bountiful to their he saints and she saints? so that their churches are not able to hold their vowed presents and memories, but that in many places, as at Loretto, Sichem, &c., they are fain to hang their cloisters and churchyards with them? Shall they in their petitions to our parliaments plead for favour and forbearance upon this ground, because their ancestors, they say, bestowed so great cost upon this land for church maintenance; and shall it be said (now that they are worthily cast out), Possidebunt Papistae, possident Rapistte,<\/em> Wicked Papists had them, ungodly Rapists have them; Improprietaries, I mean, that hold by an improper title, and all others that appropriate that to them and theirs which the Almighty is invested in. This is here instanced as a capital crime, and called robbing God, as well it may; forasmuch as ministers’ maintenance (being tithes) is called the Lord’s, and holy to the Lord, Lev 27:30<\/span> , because separated from man and man’s use, and therefore might not be altered, Lev 27:28<\/span> . Or if any had a mind to redeem them, they were bound to add to the price every fifth penny above the true value, Lev 27:31<\/span> . Let all those look to this, whether impropriators, false patrons ( latrones<\/em> robbers rather), or others, that, either by force or fraud, rob God of his right ( Nunquid homo fraudabit Deum? sic vertunt Aquila, Symmachus et Theodotion<\/em> ); detaining part of the due at least, as Ananias and Sapphira did; God hath a Quare Impedit<\/em> against them, which one day they must make answer to. <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Yet ye have robbed me<\/strong> ] Because ye have robbed my ministers, who are in my stead, 2Co 5:20<\/span> , and in whom he receiveth tithes, of whom it is witnessed that he liveth, like as did Melchisedec, as a priest and tithe taker, and type of Christ Heb 7:7-9<\/span> . And as God is sensible of the least courtesy done to a prophet to reward it, even to a cup of cold water, Mat 10:42<\/span> (so that he is a niggard to himself that scants his beneficence to a minister), so for those that wrong and rob them, that deny them that double honour of countenance and maintenance that he hath appointed them, and hold them to hard allowance; muzzling the ox, or giving him but straw at the best, for treading out the grain; they will dearly answer it before God, who holds all done to them as done to himself. Surely, as David could not but feel his own cheeks shaven and his own coat cut in his ambassadors; they did but carry his person to Hanun; so here. And as there was never any king so poor and weak but thought himself strong enough to revenge any wrong done or abuse offered to his ambassadors ( Legati quod erant appellati superbius, Corinthum Patres vestri totius Graeciae lumen extinctum esse voluerunt.<\/em> Cic. pro lege Man.); so the king of heaven will not fail to curse with a curse whole nations that forget God and forsake his Levites, Deu 12:19<\/span> , it being all one to God to deal in this case against a nation or against a man only, Job 34:29<\/span> . <\/p>\n <\/p>\n In tithes and offerings<\/strong> ] He had told them before they had robbed him; or, as some read it, stabbed him as with a daggar. And here they should have confessed the action and craved pardon. But because they did nothing less, standing upon their justification (as before often), God descends to the particular wherein they robbed him, “In tithes and offerings.” The original hath it, Tithes and offerings, without the particle ( in<\/em> ); and it is as if the Lord should say, you may easily know my meaning without so many words, but that you love to contest. You cannot be ignorant that the Levites, for want of maintenance, are fled every man to his field, and so my work and worship is left undone. Good Nehemiah was sensible of it, Neh 13:10<\/span> , and because he knew that by this means religion itself would be soon undermined and overturned, he contended with the rulers, and made all the people pay their tithes; and this he worthily reckons among his good deeds, praying God to remember him for it, and not wipe it out Neh 13:14<\/span> . Hezekiah, that great reformer showed the like zeal in commanding the people that dwelt in Jerusalem to give the portion of the priests and Levites, that they might attend upon the law of the Lord (so the Vulgate), that they might be encouraged in the law of the Lord, so we read, 2Ch 31:4<\/span> ; that is, that they might not follow their callings heavily for want of maintenance, but cheerfully bend themselves wholly to the service of the Lord. And here (as Ferus once wished for the Romish synagogue) I would we had some Moses, said he, to take away the evils of the times; non enim unum tantum vitulum sed multos habemus,<\/em> for we have not one golden calf, but many; so have we of these times cause to wish we had some zealous Nehemiahs and Hezekiahs to stickle and stand for Christ’s ministers, not defrauded of their due maintenance only (a sign of gasping devotion), but trampled upon by the foul feet of the basest of the people, as the filth of the world and the offscouring of all things. Tithes, they say, are Jewish; but if Melchisedec tithed Abraham by the same right whereby he blessed him, Heb 7:6<\/span> , and if tithes by all laws of God, nature, nations, have been hallowed to God, as Junius and other modern divines allege and argue; and, lastly, if things consecrated to God’s service may not be alienated, out of case of necessity, Pro 20:25 Gal 3:15<\/span> ; it will appear to be otherwise. Or if tithes be Jewish, and yet ministers must have a maintenance (Christ having so ordained, 1Co 9:14 ), and that both honourable, 1Ti 5:17-18<\/span> , and liberal, Gal 6:6<\/span> , how else shall they be given to hospitality? 1Ti 3:2<\/span> (if they be not hospitable they will be despicable); how will men satisfy their consciences in the quota pars,<\/em> the particular quantity they must bestow upon them? The Scripture speaketh only of the tenth part. Sed manum de tabula.<\/em> Enough of this, if not more than enough.<\/p>\n Malachi<\/p>\n THE LAST WORD OF PROPHECY<\/p>\n Mal 3:1 – Mal 3:12 <\/strong> .<\/p>\n Deep obscurity surrounds the person of this last of the prophets. It is questioned whether Malachi is a proper name at all. It is the Hebrew word rendered in Mal 3:1 of our passage ‘My messenger,’ and this has led many authorities to contend that the prophecy is in fact anonymous, the name being only a designation of office. Whether this is so or not, the name, if it is a name, is all that we know about him. The tenor of his prophecy shows that he lived after the restoration of the Temple and its worship, and the sins which he castigates are substantially those with which Ezra and Nehemiah had to fight. One ancient Jewish authority asserts that he was Ezra; but the statement has no confirmation, and if it had been correct, we should not have expected that such an author would have been anonymous. This dim figure, then, is the last of the mighty line of prophets, and gives strong utterance to the ‘hope of Israel’! One clear voice, coming from we scarcely know whose lips, proclaims for the last time, ‘He comes! He comes!’ and then all is silence for four hundred years. Modern critics, indeed, hold that the bulk of the Psalter is of later date; but that contention has much to do before it can be regarded as established.<\/p>\n The first point worthy of notice in this passage, then, is the concentration, in this last prophetic utterance, of that element of forward-looking expectancy which marked all the earlier revelation. From the beginning, the selectest spirits in Israel had set their faces and pointed their fingers to a great future, which gathered distinctness as the ages rolled, and culminated in the King from David’s line, of whom many psalms sung, and in the suffering Servant of the Lord, who shines out from the pages of the second part of Isaiah’s prophecy. This Messianic hope runs through all the Old Testament, like a broadening river. ‘They that went before cried, Hosanna! Blessed is He that cometh.’<\/p>\n That hope gives unity to the Old Testament, whatever criticism may have to teach about the process of its production. The most important thing about the book is that one purpose informs it all; and the student who misses the truth that ‘the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy’ has a less accurate conception of the meaning and inter-relations of the Old Testament than the unlearned who has accepted that great truth. We should be willing to learn all that modern scholarship has to teach about the course of revelation. But we should take care that the new knowledge does not darken the old certainty that the prophets ‘testified beforehand of the sufferings of Christ and of the glory that should follow,’ Here, at the very end, stands Malachi, reiterating the assurance which had come down through the centuries. The prophets, as it were, had lit a beacon which flamed through the darkness. Hand after hand had flung new fuel on it when it burned low. It had lighted up many a stormy night of exile and distress. Now we can dimly see one more, the last of his order, casting his brand on the fire, which leaps up again; and then he too passes into the darkness, but the beacon burns on.<\/p>\n The next point to note is the clear prophecy of a forerunner. ‘My messenger’ is to come, and to ‘prepare the way before Me.’ Isaiah had heard a voice calling, ‘Prepare the way of the Lord,’ and Malachi quotes his words, and ascribes the same office to the ‘messenger.’ In the last verses of his prophecy he calls this messenger ‘Elijah the prophet.’ Here, then, we have a remarkable instance of a historical detail set forth in prophecy. The coming of the Lord is to be immediately preceded by the appearance of a prophet, whose function is to effect a moral and religious reformation, which shall prepare a path for Him. This is no vague ideal, but definite announcement of a definite fact, to be realised in a historical personality. How came this half-anonymous Jew, four hundred years beforehand, to hit upon the fact that the next prophet in Israel would herald the immediate coming of the Lord? There ought to be but one answer possible.<\/p>\n Another point to note is the peculiar relation between Jehovah and Him who comes. Emphatically and broadly it is declared that Jehovah Himself ‘shall suddenly come to His temple’; and then the prophecy immediately passes on to speak of the coming of ‘the Messenger of the covenant,’ and dwells for a time exclusively on his work of purifying; and then again it glides, without conscious breach of continuity or mark of transition, into, ‘And I<\/em> will come near to you in judgment.’ A mysterious relationship of oneness and yet distinctness is here shadowed, of which the solution is only found in the Christian truth that the Word, which was Grod, and was in the beginning with God, became flesh, and that in Him Jehovah in very deed tabernacled among men. The expression ‘the Messenger or Angel of the covenant’ is connected with the remarkable representations in other parts of the Old Testament, of ‘the Angel of Jehovah,’ in whom many commentators recognise a pre-incarnate manifestation of the eternal Word. That ‘Angel’ had redeemed Israel from Egypt, had led them through the desert, had been the ‘Captain of the Lord’s host.’ The name of Jehovah was ‘in Him.’ He it is whose coming is here prophesied, and in His coming Jehovah comes to His temple.<\/p>\n We next note the aspect of the coming which is prominent here. Not the kingly, nor the redemptive, but the judicial, is uppermost. With keen irony the Prophet contrasts the professed eagerness of the people for the appearance of Jehovah and their shrinking terror when He does come. He is ‘the Lord whom ye seek’; the Messenger of the covenant is He ‘whom ye delight in.’ But all that superficial and partially insincere longing will turn into dread and unwillingness to abide His scrutiny. The images of the refiner’s fire and the fullers’ soap imply painful processes, of which the intention is to burn out the dross and beat out the filth. It sounds like a prolongation of Malachi’s voice when John the Baptist peals out his herald cry of one whose ‘fan was in His hand,’ and who should plunge men into a fiery baptism, and consume with fire that destroyed what would not submit to be cast into the fire that cleansed. Nor should we forget that our Lord has said, ‘For judgment am I come into the world.’ He came to ‘purify’; but if men would not let Him do what He came for, He could not but be their bane instead of their blessing.<\/p>\n The stone is laid. If we build on it, it is a sure foundation; if we stumble over it, we are broken. The double aspect and effect of the gospel, which was meant only to have the single operation of blessing, are clearly set forth in this prophecy, which first promises purging from sin, so that not only the ‘sons of Levi’ shall offer in righteousness, but that the ‘offerings of Judah and Jerusalem shall be pleasant,’ and then passes immediately to foretell that God will come in judgment and witness against evil-doers. Judgment is the shadow of salvation, and constantly attends on it. Neither Malachi nor the Baptist gives a complete view of Messiah’s work, but still less do they give an erroneous one; for the central portion of both prophecies is His purifying energy which both liken to cleansing fire.<\/p>\n That real and inward cleansing is the great work of Christ. It was wrought on as many of His contemporaries as believed on Him, and for such as did not He was a swift Witness against them. Nor are we to forget that the prophecy is not exhausted yet; for there remains another ‘day of His coming’ for judgment. The prophets did not see the perspective of the future, and often bring together events widely separated in time, just as, to a spectator on a mountain, distances between points far away towards the horizon are not measurable. We have to allow for foreshortening.<\/p>\n This blending of events historically widely apart is to be kept in view in interpreting Malachi’s prediction that the coming would result in Judah’s and Israel’s offerings being ‘pleasant unto the Lord as in former years.’ That prediction is not yet fulfilled, whether we regard the name of Israel and the relation expressed in it as having passed over to the Christian Church, or whether we look forward to that bringing in of all Israel which Paul says will be as ‘life from the dead.’ But by slow degrees it is being fulfilled, and by Christ men are being led to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God.<\/p>\n The more directly Messianic part of this prophecy is closed in Mal 3:6 by a great saying, which at once gives the reason for the coming and for its severe aspect of witness against sin. The unchangeableness of God, which is declared in His very name, guarantees the continued existence of Israel. As Paul says in regard to the same subject, ‘The calling of God is without change of purpose’ on His part. But it is as impossible that God should leave them to their sins, which would destroy them, as that He should Himself consume them. Therefore He will surely come; and coming, will deliver from evil. But they who refuse to be so delivered will forfeit that title and the pledge of preservation which it implies.<\/p>\n A new paragraph begins with Mal 3:7 , which is not closely connected with the promises preceding. It recurs to the prevailing tone of Malachi, the rebuke of negligence in attending to the legal obligations of worship. That negligence is declared to be a reason for God’s withdrawal from them. But the ‘return,’ which is promised on condition of their renewed obedience, can scarcely be identified with the coming just foretold. That coming was to bring about offerings of righteousness which should be pleasant to the Lord. This section Mal 3:7 – Mal 3:12 promises blessings as results of such offerings, and a ‘return’ of Jehovah to His people contingent upon their return to Him. If the two sections of this passage are taken as closely connected, this one must describe the consequences of the coming. But, more probably, this accusation of negligence and promise of blessing on a change of conduct are independent of the previous verses. We, however, may fairly take them as exhibiting the obligations of those who have received that great gift of purifying from Jesus Christ, and are thereby consecrated as His priests.<\/p>\n The key-word of the Christian life is ‘sacrifice’-surrender, and that to God. That is to be stamped on the inmost selves, and by the act of the will, on the body as well. ‘Yield yourselves to God, and your members as instruments of righteousness to Him.’ It is to be written on possessions. Malachi necessarily keeps within the limits of the sacrificial system, but his impetuous eloquence hits us no less. It is still possible to ‘rob God.’ We do so when we keep anything as our own, and use it at our own will, for our own purposes. Only when we recognise His ownership of ourselves, and consequently of all that we call ‘ours,’ do we give Him His due. All the slave’s chattels belong to the owner to whom he belongs. Such thorough-going surrender is the secret of thorough possession. The true way to enjoy worldly goods is to give them to God.<\/p>\n The lattices of heaven are opened, not to pour down, as of old, fiery destruction, but to make way for the gentle descent of God’s blessing, which will more than fill every vessel set to receive it. This is the universal law, not always fulfilled in increase of outward goods, but in the better riches of communion and of larger possession in God Himself. He suffers no man to be His creditor, but more than returns our gifts, as legends tell of some peasant who brought his king a poor tribute of fruits of his fields, and went away from the presence-chamber with a jewel in his hand.<\/p>\n NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Mal 3:8-12<\/p>\n 8Will a man rob God? Yet you are robbing Me! But you say, ‘How have we robbed You?’ In tithes and offerings. 9You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing Me, the whole nation of you! 10Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and test Me now in this, says the LORD of hosts, if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows. 11Then I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it will not destroy the fruits of the ground; nor will your vine in the field cast its grapes, says the LORD of hosts. 12All the nations will call you blessed, for you shall be a delightful land, says the LORD of hosts.<\/p>\n Mal 3:8-12 This is the answer to the people’s question in Mal 3:7.<\/p>\n Mal 3:8 How have we robbed You? In tithes and offerings This is one example of many that the prophet could have used (cf. chapters 1-2). The tithe was given to God before the Mosaic Law was instituted (cf. Gen 14:20; Gen 18:22). There were three separate tithes taken in different years. It is related to both the needs of the Temple and the priests and also the special needs mentioned in Mal 3:5. In my opinion, the tithe is not an exegetical truth from the New Testament, but an implied truth by analogy from the Old Testament. The NT speaks more of sacrificial, joyful, regular, proportionate giving than percentage giving (cf. 2 Corinthians 8, 9). Grace should induce greater results than the law (cf. New Testament Theology by Frank Stagg, p. 292-293 and The Authority of the Old Testament by John Bright, p. 54).<\/p>\n SPECIAL TOPIC: TITHES IN THE MOSAIC LEGISLATION <\/p>\n offerings This refers to the priest’s part (cf. Exo 29:17-18; Lev 7:32; Num 5:9). This withholding of required support for the priests and the poor was simply a result of a practical atheism of the leaders and people.<\/p>\n Mal 3:9 You are cursed with a curse Literally, the curse, (BDB 76) this is related to the cursing and blessing section of the Mosaic covenant (cf. Deuteronomy 27-29).<\/p>\n the whole nation of you This shows the widespread abuses, not only of the priesthood, but of the entire nation. The term nation (BDB 156) was used by Israel in a derogatory sense of the pagan nations. Now God calls them by this name!<\/p>\n Mal 3:10 Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse This verse has three commands:<\/p>\n 1. bring, BDB 97, KB 112, Hiphil IMPERATIVE<\/p>\n 2. so that there may be food in My house, BDB 224, KB 243, Qal JUSSIVE<\/p>\n 3. test Me, BDB 103, KB 119, Qal IMPERATIVE<\/p>\n The whole issue of tithing is contentious in the church because OT texts are being used as threats or greed to promote financial giving to the local churches.<\/p>\n The concept of tithing is not ever addressed to the church. It is mentioned only in isolated ways by Jesus to Jews (cf. Mat 23:23; Luk 11:42; Luk 18:12).<\/p>\n SPECIAL TOPIC: TITHING <\/p>\n storehouse This refers specifically to the storage chambers of the temple in Jerusalem (cf. Neh 13:5). The temple is known as God’s house (cf. 2 Samuel 7; Hag 1:9; Zec 3:7).<\/p>\n test Me now in this This refers to the testing of metal (BDB 103, cf. Zec 13:9). This same term is used in Mal 3:15, where it is obvious that attitude is the key in our relationship to God. The NT guidelines for giving are surprisingly scarce (only 2 Corinthians 8-9, which refers to a one-time gift for the mother church in Jerusalem).<\/p>\n the windows of heaven Heaven was described as a domed vault (cf. Gen 1:17, firmament, BDB 954). The NIDOTTE, vol. 3, p. 718, mentions that these windows can be opened for<\/p>\n 1. blessing, 2Ki 7:2; 2Ki 7:19; here<\/p>\n 2. judgment, Gen 7:11; Gen 8:2; Isa 24:18<\/p>\n See Special Topic following:<\/p>\n SPECIAL TOPIC: HEAVEN <\/p>\n pour out for you a blessing until it overflows The blessings of Mal 3:10-11 are agricultural in nature and reflect the Deuteronomy promises (cf. Deu 11:8-13; Deu 28:1-14). YHWH’s initial desire was for Israel to be a kingdom of priests to bring the nations to Himself. He planned to bless Israel in order to attract the nations’ interest. Note Mal 3:12 (cf. Isa 61:9; Jer 4:2)!<\/p>\n Mal 3:11 the devourer The word devourer (BDB 37) is from the VERB to eat. It may literally refer to locusts or metaphorically to anything that destroys the crops (i.e., famine, desert wind, hail, etc.). The theological point (or Mosaic point, cf. Deuteronomy 27-29) is that YHWH controls nature for His purposes.<\/p>\n cast its grapes This literally means to suffer a miscarriage (BDB 1013, KB 1491, Piel IMPERFECT). Both of the terms in this verse refer to agricultural losses (cf. 2Ki 2:19; 2Ki 2:21). This is directly related to Deuteronomy 27, 28.<\/p>\n Mal 3:12 This verse reflects<\/p>\n 1. YHWH’s promise to Abraham, Gen 12:3; Isa 61:9; Act 3:25; Gal 3:8<\/p>\n 2. YHWH’s purpose that Israel be a kingdom of priests to bring knowledge of His person to the nations, Exo 19:5-6; 1Pe 2:5; 1Pe 2:9; Rev 1:6; Rev 5:10<\/p>\n 3. YHWH’s goal of a holy people, Exo 19:5; Deu 7:6; Deu 14:2; Deu 14:21; Deu 26:18-19<\/p>\n DISCUSSION QUESTIONS<\/p>\n This is a study guide commentary which means that you are responsible for your own interpretation of the Bible. Each of us must walk in the light we have. You, the Bible, and the Holy Spirit are priority in interpretation. You must not relinquish this to a commentator.<\/p>\n These discussion questions are provided to help you think through the major issues of this section of the book. They are meant to be thought provoking, not definitive.<\/p>\n 1. Who is the messenger that will prepare the way for the Messiah and appear suddenly in the Temple?<\/p>\n 2. Why does the Bible speak to the day of the Lord as primarily a day of judgment?<\/p>\n 3. Is God’s judgment related primarily to social injustices or spiritual commitments? cf Mat 25:31-46; Rev 22:11-15).<\/p>\n 4. Explain the comparison in Mal 3:8<\/p>\n 5. Is tithing a New Testament principle?<\/p>\n man. Hebrew ‘adam. App-14. <\/p>\n rob = defraud. A rare word. Occurs only here, in Mal 3:8, Mal 3:9; and Pro 22:23. <\/p>\n God. Hebrew. Elohim. App-4. <\/p>\n have robbed = are defrauding. <\/p>\n tithes. Reference to Pentateuch (Lev 27:30-33. Num 18:21-32. Deu 12:17, &c.; Mal 14:22-29). App-92. <\/p>\n offerings = heave offerings. Literally, in the tithe and the heave offering. Hebrew. trumah. App-43. Not the same word as in verses: Mal 3:3, Mal 3:4, Mal 3:10, Mal 1:11, Mal 1:13; Mal 2:12, Mal 2:13. <\/p>\n SERMON #15. MORE THAN A TITHE<\/p>\n Text:Mal 3:8-12<\/p>\n Subject:Robbing God<\/p>\n Date:Sunday Evening December 27, 2010<\/p>\n Introduction:<\/p>\n Ye are not your own, for ye are bought with a price. Is that true? Do you belong to the Lord Jesus Christ? Has he bought you with his precious blood? If so, this is in every way a reasonable deduction: Therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit which are Gods. Is that reasonable? Is this not an inference which commends itself at once to your conscience? Not only is it reasonable, it demands our attention, because it is the Word of God himself. <\/p>\n If I am not my own, if I have been purchased and redeemed by the precious blood of Christ, I ought to be utterly consecrated to God my Savior, dedicated entirely to him. Dont you think? Anything less would be worse than base ingratitude. Anything less would be robbery. Indeed, that is exactly what God calls it in our text (Mal 3:8-12).<\/p>\n (Mal 3:8-12) Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings. 9 Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation. 10 Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it. 11 And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the LORD of hosts. 12 And all nations shall call you blessed: for ye shall be a delightsome land, saith the LORD of hosts.<\/p>\n The title of my message is MORE THAN A TITHE. I want to talk to you as pointedly and practically as I can about robbing God. Let me say this at the outset: This business of robbing God goes far beyond paying tithes or not paying tithes. May God the Holy Spirit be pleased now to make his Word applicable to your heart and mine.<\/p>\n Every faculty and talent, great or small, God has given me, every possession, everything I call my own, belongs to my God. That which I possess, he has put into my hands, he has trusted to my hands to use for him: His Honor and Glory, His People, His Church, His Kingdom, His Gospel, His Cause. I am not responsible to the Lord for what he has not bestowed upon me; but I am responsible for all that he has trusted to me. I am not responsible for what he has put in your hands; but I am responsible for what he has put in my hands. And everything he has trusted to my hands, as a steward in his house, be it ever so little or ever so great, is to be consecrated to and employed for his glory.<\/p>\n I do not much like the word duty as a motivator; but the Scriptures do use that word; and it is often implied even where it is not written. Duty is not the highest or best of motives. Yet, it is our duty to obey and honor our God, even though after we have done all our duty, we are but unprofitable servants (Luk 17:10). As Robert E. Lee used to teach his students, respecting every aspect of life, Do your duty in all things. You cannot do more, you should never wish to do less. Even in the performance of duty to our God, there is delight. David sang about it in Psalms 19.<\/p>\n (Psa 19:7-11) The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple. 8 The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes. 9 The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether. 10 More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. 11 Moreover by them is thy servant warned: and in keeping of them there is great reward.<\/p>\n In the keeping of Gods statutes, in obeying his Word, in doing his will, we find great reward. As we are enabled of the Triune Jehovah to trust and delight in him, our ever-gracious God, our souls are made to rejoice in the Lord. As we are enabled of him to love one another, as we find ourselves walking in love, our very lives are sweetened by the love of the brethren. Every heaven born soul can truly say, with Paul, I delight in the law of God after the inward man.<\/p>\n Rowland Hill once said, I do not expect to be saved by a rule, but if I am saved I shall be ruled. And he was exactly right. The law of God in which we delight and by which we are ruled is the whole of his revealed will in Holy Scripture. And the law of God in which we delight is the whole of his will concerning our daily lives, as he makes it known to us. <\/p>\n We have meat to eat that the world can never know. Our meat is to do the will of our God. If I do not render him the fruit of those powers by which I am made capable of serving him, then, according to the expression of our text, I rob God! Be sure you get that. If we do not render him the fruit of those powers by which we are made capable of serving him, then, according to the expression of our text, we rob God! If we do not utterly devote ourselves to him, the Lord our God declares, Ye have robbed me! Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God (1Co 10:31). O my soul, taste not, drink not, except to the glory of God! Whatever we do Whatever you do Whatever I do let us do all to the glory of God! To do less is to rob God.<\/p>\n ADDRESSED TO BELIEVERS<\/p>\n I am specifically talking to you who are the Lords, to you who are redeemed by the blood of Christ, called by his grace, born again by his Spirit, to you who believe on the Son of God. It is to you and me that this portion of Scripture is distinctly addressed. From the sole of his foot to the crown of his head, every human being is the creature of God and the property of God; but you cannot serve God until you are born of God.<\/p>\n It is only by the omnipotent power of Gods grace in Christ fallen mans perverted faculties are restored and made obedient to the Creator. Fallen man has power only to injure, power to injure himself and others, but none to help, and none with which to serve God who made him. <\/p>\n We can stop our ears; but we can never open them.<\/p>\n We can darken our eyes; but we can never enlighten them.<\/p>\n We can harden our hearts; but we can never melt them.<\/p>\n Yes, we have power to injure ourselves, but none to help. My help cometh from the Lord!<\/p>\n Only the heart sanctified by grace, only the regenerate mind has the power to rise above self to a life devoted to Gods glory. To that I aspire. Dont you? Oh, may God the Holy Spirit give us grace to live for Christ, unto Christ. This is the thing Paul craved<\/p>\n (Php 3:8-14) Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, 9 And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith: 10 That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; 11 If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead. 12 Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. 13 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, 14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.<\/p>\n Will a man rob God? Rob God! It is a horrible crime for a man to rob man. The more intimately acquainted the men are, the more heinous the crime. It is a terrible thing to rob a stranger; but when a son robs his own father, the father who loves him even as he is robbed, the crime is unspeakable. Yet, that pales into insignificance when we think of a man robbing God. Will a man rob God? O how we rob him! We rob God<\/p>\n We rob God whenever we fail to use our tongues to show forth his praise. O my brother, my sister, loved of God, redeemed by the precious blood of Christ, sanctified by the Spirit, show forth the praises of your God! In Supplication! In Speech! In Song!<\/p>\n We rob God whenever we rob him of worship. Public Worship. Private Worship.<\/p>\n We rob God when we live unto ourselves (Rom 14:7-9).<\/p>\n For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself. 8 For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lords. 9 For to this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that he might be Lord both of the dead and living.<\/p>\n (Rom 14:7-9)<\/p>\n Again, we rob God if we give not to our dear Lord and Redeemer Jesus Christ, the peculiar honors and glories that belong to him as God our Savior.<\/p>\n I will not deny him the honor of his precious atonement, nor fail to acknowledge his justifying righteousness. I will not rob God the Father, by denying the everlasting purity of his law. Neither will I rob God the Son by refusing to ascribe to him all the merit and efficacy that belongs to him as my Redeemer. And I will not rob God the Holy Spirit by professing to work out my own sanctification. He who is our God is a jealous God; and wherever he carries on his mighty works and operations of grace, he causes the saved sinner to give him the glory. No heaven born soul takes that glory to himself that belongs to God alone!<\/p>\n Not unto us, O LORD, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy, and for thy truths sake. (Psa 115:1)<\/p>\n MORE THAN A TITHE<\/p>\n Will a man rob God? Those words in their original reference referred to the Levites, who were robbed of the tithes and offerings by which God had ordered they were to be maintained. They had no other inheritance. But God requires more than a tithe. He requires, he desires and he deserves much more than a tenth of our hearts and lives. He demands the whole and he deserves the whole of my being. My son, give me thine heart, and let thine eyes observe my ways (Pro 23:26; Pro 3:5-6).<\/p>\n Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. 6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. <\/p>\n (Pro 3:5-6)<\/p>\n Faith in Christ is nothing less than the willing, deliberate, voluntary surrender of my very life to the rule and dominion of the Son of God as my Lord and Savior.<\/p>\n It is trusting Christ alone for my salvation, trusting him alone as my sin-atoning Substitute, trusting him alone as all my righteousness before God, trusting him alone to keep me by his grace and bring me at last into the everlasting bliss of heavenly glory.<\/p>\n But Christ is more than a fire escape from hell. Salvation is more than the hope of going to heaven and having eternal life when we die. We often speak of Christ saving our souls; but that is not Bible language. The Son of God did not die at Calvary to save anyones soul. He will never save your soul. Christ saves sinners, body, soul and spirit. He will either save you, all of you, or damn you, all of you! Do you understand what I am saying? The Lord Jesus Christ demands all of you. If he is not Lord of all, he is not Lord at all.<\/p>\n The Lord Jesus Christ demands that we trust him with the rule and government of our lives, that we commit, consecrate and devote our lives to him and to him alone (Mar 8:34-35). The Son of God demands absolute surrender in the city of Mansoul. He will have nothing less.<\/p>\n (Mar 8:34-35) And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. (35) For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospels, the same shall save it.<\/p>\n Illustration: Lees Surrender at Appomattox Courthouse<\/p>\n I am calling on you now, this very hour to give up yourself to Christ, to believe on the Son of God, to acknowledge that you are his, lock, stock and barrel, that you are from this day forward his servant. I am calling upon you to devote your life, your entire life (All your family, all your time, all your talents, all your money, everything!) to the service of his kingdom, his glory and his cause alone, acknowledging that you have no right to claim anything for yourself, no right to use anything for yourself, no right even to have a thought, or will of your own.<\/p>\n Illustration: Baptismal Confession<\/p>\n Perhaps you think, Bro. Don, that sounds great. It seems to be that right thing to do. But its just not practical and reasonable. Surely, the Lord does not expect me to totally give myself up to him. Surely, he does not expect anyone to trust him absolutely. Is it really safe and wise to trust the Lord? <\/p>\n I cannot tell you that it is physically, mathematically, economically, or philosophically safe and wise to trust him. That which is demanded of God can never be made to fit any human graph or scale. In fact, I must honestly tell you that in all earthly terms, faith in Christ is anything but reasonable. As Martin Luther once said, The first thing that faith does is to knock the brains of reason out.<\/p>\n Listen to our Saviors word (Matthew 6). When he calls us to believe God, to trust him, he says If the Lord God, your heavenly Father, watches over and feeds the sparrow, dont you know that he will watch over and feed you? He who has numbered the very hairs of your head will meet your every need. If your heavenly Father clothes the worthless lilies of the field in splendor, he will never fail to supply your needs. Trust him.<\/p>\n (Mat 6:31-34) Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (32) (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. (33) But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. (34) Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.<\/p>\n Can we really be expected to put Christ first in everything? Not only is it expected, it is demanded that we trust him for everything. I do not suggest, or imply, think, or imagine that this trust is perfect. Far from it! Our highest faith in our God is so full of unbelief that it would sink us all to the lowest hell, were it not bathed in Immanuels blood and robed in his righteousness.<\/p>\n Proposition: Faith is never perfect in us; but true faith is that which trusts the Son of God in all things and for all things, absolutely. Such faith compels the believing soul to surrender all things to his dominion.<\/p>\n I know what you are thinking. If I so trust Christ that I devote my entire life to him, how can I live in this world? How can I provide for my family? If I allow nothing to keep me from worshipping God and obeying him, what will happen to my business? Is that really safe and wise? Lets look into the Book of God, and see what he says about these very practical things.<\/p>\n Exo 34:24<\/p>\n First, I want us to look at a text in Exodus 34. You will remember that in the Old Testament the Lord God required every male Israelite to leave his land, his herds, his fields, his business, his home, everything three times a year to travel to Jerusalem and spend a week there worshipping him.<\/p>\n All their pagan neighbors would soon be aware of the fact that these people not only refused to allow anything to interfere with their daily worship and their weekly sabbaths, those Jews were such religious zealots that they left everything three times a year to go to Jerusalem to worship for a week. We can mark our calendars and take everything they have without resistance when they are away worshipping Jehovah. And the Jews might reasonably fear that their worship of God would make them vulnerable to such people, except for one thing Exo 34:24!<\/p>\n (Exo 34:23-24) Thrice in the year shall all your menchildren appear before the Lord GOD, the God of Israel. (24) For I will cast out the nations before thee, and enlarge thy borders: neither shall any man desire thy land, when thou shalt go up to appear before the LORD thy God thrice in the year.<\/p>\n Lev 25:18-22<\/p>\n We have a similar situation in Lev 25:18-22. Lets camp here for a few minutes. Lev 25:18-22.<\/p>\n In this passage of the law, the Lord does not require the children of Israel to neglect their livelihoods for a week, but for a year, once every seven years (Lev 25:1-7). During this sabbath year, they were not allowed to gather crops from the previous year, or sow their fields that year. That meant that they had to trust the Lord whom they worshipped, the God they served, and him alone to miraculously provide them with food for three years! God required them to trust him and obey him because they trusted him. Is that safe? Is that wise? Lets see.<\/p>\n (Lev 25:18-22) Wherefore ye shall do my statutes, and keep my judgments, and do them; and ye shall dwell in the land in safety. (19) And the land shall yield her fruit, and ye shall eat your fill, and dwell therein in safety. (20) And if ye shall say, What shall we eat the seventh year? behold, we shall not sow, nor gather in our increase: (21) Then I will command my blessing upon you in the sixth year, and it shall bring forth fruit for three years. (22) And ye shall sow the eighth year, and eat yet of old fruit until the ninth year; until her fruits come in ye shall eat of the old store.<\/p>\n The Lord here gave his people assurance that they would lose nothing by observing these years of rest. In fact, rather than losing by obedience, they would gain much. Look at what the Lord promised.<\/p>\n 1.He promised them safety. You shall dwell in the land in safety (Lev 25:18). The word safely means more than physical safety and security. It means You shall both be safe and inwardly confident and secure. You shall neither experience evil nor fear it.<\/p>\n 2.He promised them plenty. You shall eat your fill (Lev 25:19). When we are obedient to our Savior, obedient to the revealed will of God, we may cheerfully and confidently trust him to provide for us all that we need (Php 4:19).<\/p>\n 3.He promised that they would not lack provisions during that year in which they neither sowed nor reaped. I will command my blessing in the sixth year, and it shall bring forth fruit for three years (Lev 25:21).<\/p>\n This was a standing miracle of providence. At other times one year yielded food for the next. But in the sixth year the fields would yield enough to last for three years. The blessing of God upon our provisions makes a little go a long way. Our Savior still multiplies loaves and fishes for his own. He who gave manna every day of the week, but gave none on the sabbath, gave twice the daily provision on Friday, so that his people could give themselves without concern on the sabbath to worship him.<\/p>\n All of this is intended to be an encouragement from our God to us. Here he teaches you and me to obey him in all things, to put him first in all things, confidently trusting him and casting all our care upon him. He assures us that nothing is ever lost by faith in and obedience to our God. He declares, Them that honor me I will honor.<\/p>\n I want to show you five things, five very important spiritual lessons from these verses. May God the Holy Spirit drive them home to our hearts.<\/p>\n THE OBEDIENCE OF FAITH<\/p>\n First, If we would honor our God by obedience to him, we must understand that obedience arises from faith in Christ (Mal 3:18).<\/p>\n (Lev 25:18) Wherefore ye shall do my statutes, and keep my judgments, and do them; and ye shall dwell in the land in safety.<\/p>\n There is no keeping of Gods statutes and judgments apart from faith in Christ.<\/p>\n (1Jn 3:23) And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment.<\/p>\n Let us not rob God by refusing to obey him; but understand that obedience begins with faith in Christ. Throughout this blessed Book, the Lord God calls for obedience to that which is revealed in the Book upon one basis. It is repeated throughout the Book. And it is repeated again in the last verse of Leviticus 25.<\/p>\n (Lev 25:55) For unto me the children of Israel are servants; they are my servants whom I brought forth out of the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.<\/p>\n Here the Lord God says, I call for you to obey me because<\/p>\n You are my servants.<\/p>\n I brought you out of the land of Egypt. I redeemed you and saved you. I bought you and you are mine (1Co 6:9-11; 1Co 6:19-20).<\/p>\n I am the Lord your God.<\/p>\n Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, 10 Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.<\/p>\n (1Co 6:9-11)<\/p>\n What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? 20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are Gods.<\/p>\n (1Co 6:19-20)<\/p>\n The Lord God demands that we constantly acknowledge that he is our God and we belong to him. Nothing we are or have is exempted. All must be consecrated to him. It is his right as our God.<\/p>\n Illustration: Two Borrowed Jewels<\/p>\n Obedience to the will of God is always costly. It always causes problems. It always requires that we make choices, choices that are sometimes painful. But God still requires obedience. And as we obey him, he takes care of the problems that arise because of our obedience.<\/p>\n THE DANGER OF WORLDLINESS<\/p>\n Second, we must never allow the cares of the world to keep us from the worship of and obedience to our God. When I speak of worldliness, I am not talking about wearing stylish clothes, watching television, or even going to the movies. I am talking about something far more serious. I am talking about the love of the world (1Jn 2:15-17). Nothing is so dangerous as worldliness. Nothing is such a powerful poison to our souls as the care of this world and the deceitfulness of riches.<\/p>\n It is the love of the world, more than anything else that keeps people who profess to love Christ from doing that which they know is the will of God, that which they know is best for their souls and that which they know most serves the interests of Gods glory. It is the love of the world, more than anything else that men and women to rob God!<\/p>\n (1Jn 2:15-17) Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. (16) For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. (17) And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.<\/p>\n (Ecc 3:10-11) I have seen the travail, which God hath given to the sons of men to be exercised in it. (11) He hath made every thing beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end.<\/p>\n (Mat 13:22) He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful.<\/p>\n THE PROMISE OF PROVIDENCE<\/p>\n Third, I want you to see that the Lord God our Savior pledges his providence to protect and provide for us as we seek to worship, serve and honor him in this world (Lev 25:18-19; Lev 25:21).<\/p>\n (Lev 25:18-19) Wherefore ye shall do my statutes, and keep my judgments, and do them; and ye shall dwell in the land in safety. (19) And the land shall yield her fruit, and ye shall eat your fill, and dwell therein in safety.<\/p>\n (Lev 25:21) Then I will command my blessing upon you in the sixth year, and it shall bring forth fruit for three years.<\/p>\n Our Lord Jesus clearly refers to this passage in Matthew 6 and Luke 12, where he tells us to seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be supplied. In those two passages, our Master tells us that our primary purpose on this earth must be the will and glory and kingdom of God, and assures us that he will take care of us.<\/p>\n The Lord pledges his providence on our behalf. Surely, this should be enough for every believing heart. Our Savior said, Your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of these things. Yet how often we are overcome by the fear of losing money, or friends, or the good opinion of family, or some little toy, if we devote ourselves to his cause! Oh, how little we trust Gods faithfulness! Should we not leave in his hands all our difficulties as to the matter of our provision and his method of providing it?<\/p>\n Has he not promised that he works all things together for our good? He who spared not his own Son, but delivered him up freely for us all, How shall he not with him also give us all things? <\/p>\n Besides, it is Gods blessing, not our industry, or skill, or foresight, that is the source of all our safety and provision. There is nothing to sustain faith, but the assurance here given that the Lord our God is able and willing to do for us all that we need. His heart is full of love for us. His holy arm is full of strength for us. It is most reasonable that we should trust him implicitly and obey him universally.<\/p>\n THE HINDRANCE OF FEAR<\/p>\n Fourth, we see in Lev 25:20 that it is the hindrance of fear that, more often than not, keeps us from obeying our God without hesitation. How fear robs God!<\/p>\n (Lev 25:20) And if ye shall say, What shall we eat the seventh year? behold, we shall not sow, nor gather in our increase:<\/p>\n If I worship God rather than working today, I may not be able to meet my obligations.<\/p>\n If I worship God rather than spend the evening in frivolity with my family or friends, what will they think of me?<\/p>\n If I give my money to support the gospel of Christ, how can I wisely and prudently expect to provide for my family?<\/p>\n Zedekiah, the whining, wimpish king of Judah, discovered (Jer 38:17-19) that he would have been far more safe and far more wise to obey God than to have been kept from obedience by his fear of the Jews and Babylons king.<\/p>\n (Jer 38:17-19) Then said Jeremiah unto Zedekiah, Thus saith the LORD, the God of hosts, the God of Israel; If thou wilt assuredly go forth unto the king of Babylons princes, then thy soul shall live, and this city shall not be burned with fire; and thou shalt live, and thine house: (18) But if thou wilt not go forth to the king of Babylons princes, then shall this city be given into the hand of the Chaldeans, and they shall burn it with fire, and thou shalt not escape out of their hand. (19) And Zedekiah the king said unto Jeremiah, I am afraid of the Jews that are fallen to the Chaldeans, lest they deliver me into their hand, and they mock me.<\/p>\n In the eleventh year of his reign, Bablyon invaded Judah and destroyed Jerusalem. <\/p>\n (Jer 39:7-8) Moreover he put out Zedekiahs eyes, and bound him with chains, to carry him to Babylon. (8) And the Chaldeans burned the kings house, and the houses of the people, with fire, and brake down the walls of Jerusalem.<\/p>\n THE ASSURANCE OF GRACE<\/p>\n Fifth, in Lev 25:21, the Lord our God teaches us that we will never impoverish ourselves, or suffer any loss by honoring him.<\/p>\n (Lev 25:21) Then I will command my blessing upon you in the sixth year, and it shall bring forth fruit for three years.<\/p>\n (Psa 37:25) I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.<\/p>\n (Luk 22:35) And he said unto them, When I sent you without purse, and scrip, and shoes, lacked ye any thing? And they said, Nothing.<\/p>\n (Gal 6:7-9) Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. (8) For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. (9) And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.<\/p>\n Our God has promised us safety in the path of faith and obedience; and he has promised us plenty; and he is as good as his Word! That fact ought to forever element from our minds every doubt, fear, and hesitation!<\/p>\n Illustrations:Brant Seacrist<\/p>\n Walter Groover<\/p>\n Fred Evans<\/p>\n The Pearl<\/p>\n Tell me O my God, how I am to live more abundantly to thy glory and praise. Teach me how to redeem my time better, that it may be better spent for your honor and in your service, to your glory and for the benefit of your people. Let me not rob my God!<\/p>\n Amen.<\/p>\n a man: Psa 29:2, Pro 3:9, Pro 3:10, Mat 22:21, Mar 12:17, Luk 20:25, Rom 13:7 <\/p>\n In: Mal 1:8, Mal 1:13, Lev 5:15, Lev 5:16, Lev 27:2-34, Num 18:21-32, Jos 7:11, Neh 13:4-14, Rom 2:22 <\/p>\n Reciprocal: Gen 14:20 – tithes Lev 5:19 – trespassed Lev 19:25 – General Lev 27:30 – General Num 5:9 – offering Num 18:24 – General Deu 12:6 – tithes 2Ch 31:4 – the portion Neh 5:3 – because Neh 10:35 – General Neh 10:37 – and the tithes Neh 12:47 – gave Neh 13:10 – the portions Neh 13:11 – Why is the house Psa 32:5 – iniquity Pro 20:25 – a snare Isa 43:23 – hast not Eze 18:10 – that is Eze 24:19 – General Eze 48:14 – for Hag 1:9 – Ye looked Hag 2:15 – consider Zec 5:3 – every one Mal 1:2 – Wherein Mal 1:6 – And ye Mal 2:14 – Wherefore Mal 2:17 – Wherein Mal 3:13 – What Mar 10:20 – General Luk 11:42 – and not Luk 18:12 – I give Act 5:2 – kept 1Co 9:11 – sown<\/p>\n Mal 3:8. Will a man rob God’ was doubtless answered with an emphatic “no” by these people. But they recognized the question actually to be an accusation that they had robbed Him, and then they asked in what way they had done SO. The Lord’s reply was that it was done in tilhes and offerings. When the Jews held back a part of their tithes, or brought some inferior products to the service, they were thereby robbing God. <\/p>\n Mal 3:8-9. Will a man rob God Grotius reads, Would any one dare to rob his judges as ye have robbed me? the word rendered God sometimes meaning judges or magistrates. Some others render the clause, Is it right that God should be robbed (or defrauded) by man? Here God gives them an answer to their question in the foregoing verse, Wherein shall we return; or, repent and amend? But ye have robbed me Notwithstanding it is so unjust and presumptuous to defraud God, that men in general are afraid to do it, yet ye have done it. Do you ask, wherein you have robbed me? I answer, In tithes and offerings By this seems to be meant the first-fruits of their ground and cattle, and other offerings which were allotted to the priests, Deu 18:4, out of which revenue they were to provide the daily sacrifices, and also maintain the Levites, who attended upon the service in the temple. Ye are cursed with a curse Are greatly cursed, or, you lie under a heavy curse, and are likely still to do so, for the curse shall continue upon you while you continue in this your sinful course. For ye have robbed me, even this whole nation This has not been the crime of a few only, but ye have in general defrauded me, and evil shall come upon you for it. In a note on Rom 2:22, where the apostle ranks sacrilege with idolatry, Grotius observes, Non multum distat falsos deos colere et verum spoliare. There is very little difference between adoring false gods and robbing the true God.<\/p>\n 3:8 Will a {h} man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In {i} tithes and offerings.<\/p>\n (h) There are none of the heathen so barbarous, that will defraud their gods of their honour, or deal deceitfully with them.<\/p>\n (i) By which the service of God should have been maintained, and the priests and the poor relieved.<\/p>\n The Lord proceeded to give some examples of repentance that the Israelites needed to apply. How absurd it is for human beings to rob God. To rob Him one would have to be stronger and smarter than He. Yet that is what the Israelites were doing because God was allowing it. They were thieves of the worst kind: robbers of God. They brazenly asked how they had robbed Him. They had withheld the tithes (Lev 27:30; Lev 27:32; Deu 12:5-18; Deu 14:22-29) and offerings (Num 18:21-32) that the Law commanded them to bring to God.<\/p>\n Standing beside "tithes" as it does here, "offerings" may refer to the tithe of the tithe that went to the priests (cf. Exo 29:27-28; Lev 7:32; Num 5:9). The Levites were to receive a tenth from the people and then give a tenth of that to the priests. But the widows, orphans, and sojourners also benefited from the tithes (Deu 14:28-29), so withholding it hurt them as well. Another possibility is that Malachi was distinguishing the mandatory "tithes" from the voluntary "offerings" that the Israelites brought. Or perhaps any other offerings beside the tithes are in view. In any case, tithes and offerings constitute a merism representing all their economic responsibilities to God.<\/p>\n Since God owned the land and its produce in the first place (cf. Mal 1:12-14; Lev 25:23), withholding tithes when He commanded the Israelites to give them amounted to robbing Him. Earlier the Lord criticized the priests for offering inferior quality sacrifices (Mal 1:7-14), and now He criticized the people for offering an insufficient quantity of sacrifices (cf. Mal 3:10). Failure to adequately support the priests and Levites resulted in the breakdown of priestly service (cf. Neh 10:32-39; Neh 13:10).<\/p>\n Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings. 8. ye have robbed ] Rather, rob; lit. are robbing: it is still going on. tithes ] By the Law of Moses (1) “the tenth of all produce, as well as of flocks … Continue reading “Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Malachi 3:8”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23139","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-commentary"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23139","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23139"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23139\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23139"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23139"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23139"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible <\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
SIN A ROBBERY OF GOD<\/strong><\/p>\n
Hear Gods description of it, as existing,<\/p>\n
[We say, then, of you, my brethren, whether ye will acknowledge it or not, that ye have robbed God, even this whole nation [Note: ver. 9.]. Ye have robbed him of his dues to a great extent. Even in regard to your temporal concerns, who amongst you has been a faithful steward to his God? Whatever has been committed to you in respect of property, it has been put into your hands, as stewards, to dispose of altogether for your God. But who has not accounted it his own; and disposed of it rather for the gratification of his own lusts than for the honour of his God? But, waving this matter, I will speak of other things which God may justly claim as his own. Your Sabbaths, how have they<\/em> been spent? God has given you six days in the week for yourselves, and required the seventh to be consecrated wholly to his service. It has been your duty not to do your own works, or speak your own words, or find your own pleasure on that blessed day, but to keep it holy to the Lord. But have you so kept your Sabbaths? Have you not profaned them by carnal ease and temporal occupations, and robbed God of the glory that would have accrued to him by a due improvement of them? But a daily sacrifice of prayer and praise should also have been offered to him, every morning and every evening of your life. And how has this service been performed? Has God seen, them ascending from the altar of your hearts, burning with fire that came down from heaven? Tell me, whether your own consciences do not accuse you of having withheld these sacrifices; and whether, when you have attempted to offer them, you have not been content with offering the blind and the lame for sacrifice, rather than the choicest affections of your souls? God has said to us, My son, give me thine heart; your head and your hands you may devote to the world, but your heart must be reserved for me. I ask you then, my brethren, as before God, Whether you have not alienated from him this which he claims as his exclusive property? Had a fellow-creature dealt with you as you have dealt with God in this matter, I need not ask with what name you would brand him. Know, then, that<\/em> that is the name which belongs to you in the sight of God. True, it is very humiliating to be designated by the name of thieves and robbers: but, till we feel ourselves deserving of those opprobrious appellations in the sight of God, we shall never attain that contrite spirit which our state so justly demands. Methinks I hear one and another saying, like Hazael of old, Is thy servant a dog, that he should do such things? Yes; this is not what you will do<\/em>, but what you have done:<\/em> and it is only by pleading guilty to the charge, that you can ever obtain the remission of your sin.]<\/p>\n
1.<\/p>\n
<\/strong><\/p>\nFuente: Charles Simeon’s Horae Homileticae (Old and New Testaments)<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Expositions Of Holy Scripture by Alexander MacLaren<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Discovering Christ In Selected Books of the Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"