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Tithes
and Offerings
Obey
Me - Prove Me - Trust Me
Saith
our Lord
"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" Malachi 3:10.
Today
there is much talk of financial
security. The Biblical formula in
our text, given to Israel, but
applied to all, begins with a
scathing indictment. "Will a
man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me.
But ye say, Wherein have we robbed
thee? In tithes and offerings"
(v.8). What a terrible thing, to rob
God. The result of their thievery,
in God's eyes: "Ye are cursed
with a curse" (v.9), such that
their financial state was much worse
than it would have been had they
been obedient. This teaching and
promise has not been
rescinded.
"Upon
the first day of the week let every
one of you lay by him in store, as
God hath prospered him, that there
be no gatherings when I
come." I Corinthians
16:2.
"Give,
and it shall be given unto you; good
measure, pressed down, and shaken
together, and running over, shall
men give into your bosom. For with
the same measure that ye mete withal
it shall be measured to you
again." Luke 6:38. etc..
God's
charge to us as given in our text is
in three steps. First, we are told
to obey; i.e., "bring ye."
This cannot be considered an option.
Secondly, God proposes a test.
"Prove me," He says, give
and see if He lives up to His
promises. Thirdly, trust His promise
to meet our needs.
Note
that His promise is also threefold.
It abundantly covers present needs,
for He promises to "pour you
out a blessing" un-measurable
in quality or quantity. Likewise it
covers the threat of future loss.
"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" (v.11). Most
precious is His promise to reward
obedience and trust with a special
relationship: "All nations
shall call you blessed: for ye shall
be a delightsome land" (v.12).
Thus
we see that with less than 100% of
our income at our disposal, we will
have greater financial security than
if we had kept it all to ourselves,
thereby robbing God. JDM
INSTITUTE
FOR CREATION RESEARCH
www.icr.org
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