Daily devotion – Grace giving
Malachi 3: 7 Ever since the days of your ancestors, you have scorned my decrees and failed to obey them. Now return to me, and I will return to you,” says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies.
“But you ask, ‘How can we return when we have never gone away?’
8 “Should people cheat God? Yet you have cheated me!
“But you ask, ‘What do you mean? When did we ever cheat you?’
“You have cheated me of the tithes and offerings due to me. 9 You are under a curse, for your whole nation has been cheating me. 10 Bring all the tithes into the storehouse so there will be enough food in my Temple. If you do,” says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, “I will open the windows of heaven for you. I will pour out a blessing so great you won’t have enough room to take it in! Try it! Put me to the test!
What was happening with the people of Israel is that they were holding back their tithes, saying, “Things are tight this month,” which forced the priests, who were sponsored by those tithes, to go out and work in the fields. God’s ministry through the priests was being hindered because the people didn’t trust that God would meet their needs.
In that way, they robbed God, but they were actually robbing themselves because God responded to their faithlessness by shutting off the rain, which spoiled the crops.
God dared them to act boldly: 10 Bring all the tithes into the storehouse so there will be enough food in my Temple. If you do,” says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, “I will open the windows of heaven for you. I will pour out a blessing so great you won’t have enough room to take it in! Try it! Put me to the test!
While the general rule is not to put God to a foolish test, here He dares His people to believe in Him in a practical, bottom-line way.
The best way to satisfy His objections: ‘Reverse your tightfistedness and watch My open-handedness!’
God was about to be silent to Israel for 400 years, and since then, only individuals have had that promise opened up to them over the years. But this Scripture anticipates a time when all the people of Israel will put their money where their mouths are and trust Him completely.
How about you? Do you graciously and habitually give to the Church where you attend. This is not your support of a parachurch organisation or mission field, but the actual place where you feed on God’s Word.
As the old preachers used to say at the end of their preaching….., “This is the word of the Lord.”