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Malachi : First Fruits In the past five weeks we have had a series of sermons on some of the more well known prophets from the Old Testament and the relevance of their message for today. Taking each of them in turn, as a reminder, we saw how Moses gave us a reminder of God’s way for us to look after ourselves - No.1 – which was by keeping the commandments; then there was Samuel who showed us the way of prayer in our relationship with God; then Amos who made that connect between rue religion and social justice. Then Fourthly, we saw Elijah who challenges us to take seriously the temptation to put other things, other interests ahead of serving God. And #5, last week Charmaine highlighted for us the message of Micah who again called us to see that we cannot keep our religious belief and practice in some little box over on one side, for one day of the week, and then live a totally different life on the other days of the week. Our religious beliefs (and for us that’s our Christian beliefs!) must infuse every aspect of our daily life, and if it doesn’t, then our religion is false. Today we look at the 6th and second-to-last in this series , and we look at the prophet Malachi. The social and political conditions in which Malachi lived were different from the times of the previous prophets we have looked at. Since the time of the prophet Micah in 750Bc., both the Northern Kingdom of Israel had been destroyed and its people taken into captivity, and then in 597BC the Southern Kingdom of Israel, where the capital was Jerusalem, had also been destroyed, its people taken as slaves to Babylon – Modern day Iraq – and there – by the waters of Babylon, they were again a captive people. However, after forty years, Cyrus the King allowed them to return to Jerusalem and they rebuilt the city walls, started rebuilding the city, and then some years later rebuilt the Temple. By now a new generation had come along who had not known the previous temple and its beauty and significance. Temple worship was re-established and the Levites and the Priest again began to offer the sacrifices required for their worship. However, times were hard, the people were poor, and the hoped for blessings for better times hadn’t come as soon as expected. Hope was dying! What was delaying the promised prosperity? It was in this period, about 520-500BC that God gives a message to Malachi for the people of Jerusalem. In the space of just four chapters Malachi gives 1/ a Reassurance of God’s love; 2/ he gives a Rebuke to the Priests; 3/ he gives a promise of a Restoration of Blessing, should they honour the Lord, and 4/ he gives a Reminder of Judgment. Without spending a lot of time in detail, the main thrust of Malachi’s message, which is particularly appropriate for us today, on this Stewardship Sunday, is the matter of our Response to God. And in this matter God is not well pleased! Something is seriously wrong! The whole four chapters of Malachi’s prophecy are really about this. Firstly, Malachi rebukes the priests, because, quite simply, they had been trying to pull the wool over God’s eyes. Rather than offering the best to God – they were offering second rate inferior sacrifices. In Mal 1:6a –God says “You despise me, and yet you ask ‘How have we despised you?’ This is how - - by offering worthless food on my altar. Then you ask ‘How have we failed to respect you?’ I will tell you- by showing contempt for my altar. 8. When you bring a blind or sick or lame animal to sacrifice to me, do you think there’s nothing wrong with that? Try giving an animal like that to the governor? Would he be pleased with you or grant you any favours?” The obvious answer, Malachi here assumed, is quite clearly No! the governor wouldn’t be pleased! Rather than choosing the best from the flocks as a sacrifice, they chose to offer the worst of the flocks that was of least value and of no use to anyone else – they probably couldn’t even sell it at the local market. Rather than the best of the bread and cereal and fruit offerings, they offered what was unfit for humans and thought it would be pleasing to God. And they had the audacity to think God wouldn’t notice! Now having rebuked the priests for their contempt of God, Malachi, secondly notes that the people themselves aren’t much better. When they come to bring their tithes and offerings to the Temple, they short-change God. They are no better than the corrupt priests! Malachi makes it quite clear that it is no wonder that times are hard and that they haven’t seen the prosperity that God promised -! It was because they were not honouring God with the full amount of the required tithe. God’s commandment to the people of Israel was that they were to bring a tithe - that is 1/10th – the first of everything - as their offering to God, and it would be for the upkeep of the Temple and for the payment of the Priests and Levites. This is how the nation, spiritually, would be provided for. But when times are hard the temptation is to with-hold from giving, isn’t it? We have all had to face that reality, I’m sure. We think it will be easier when we have earned just a bit more. But the trouble is, most of the time we never get round to keeping out good intentions. But what does God say? He says to His people – vs8. “Is it right for a person to cheat God? Of course not!- yet you are cheating me? “How?” you ask ‘In the matter of your tithes and offerings. A curse is on all of you because the whole nation is cheating me.” Those are strong words, aren’t they! That, says God, was why the nation was still, after 40-50 years, struggling to get back on its feet! It had been disobeying Gods commandment. It had not been making the response to God that it should. So what does God say? Well, here is one of the very few verses in the Bible in which God invites His people to put Him to the test, to take Him at his word and check Him out. Vs10. God says - “Bring the full amount of your tithes to the Temple so that there will be plenty of food there. Put me to the test and you will see that I will open the windows of heaven and pour out on you in abundance all kinds of good things…. Vs12. – then the people of all nations will call you happy because your land will be a good place to live in.” The people’s response to God is to be one of obedience, faithfulness and generosity, and God will then see to it that they don’t go without. Malachi’s words are still relevant for us today! Do we honour God with our first or with our last? Do we offer to Him our best, or our second best? Do we give Him a tithe or a tip? In the gospel we heard this morning (Luke 6:27-38) Jesus was speaking about loving our enemies and about forgiveness, and about not being judgmental or condemning- remember that? – and in every case he reminds us that what we give is what we will receive. But then, almost as an afterthought, as if to hammer it home, he extends the topic to the matter of our giving. And he probably had the words of Micah in mind here where Micah gives that wonderful picture of the windows of heaven being opened and God pouring out his blessings.—for Jesus then says - . – (NRSV)(Lk6;38) “Give, and it shall be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be poured into your lap; for the measure you give will be the measure you get back.” I believe there is a spiritual and moral law associated with giving – and the law is that however much we give, we will receive accordingly. Malachi challenges us still today in this matter of our Response to God. What is your response in this matter of tithes and offerings? God invites us to test Him, and to Trust Him. |
