Lenten Devotional Guide

Thirty-Ninth Day:

"I, Yahweh All-Powerful, have something to say to you priests. Children respect their fathers, and servants respect their masters. I am your father and your master, so why don't you respect me? You priests have insulted me, and now you ask, 'How did we insult you?' You embarrass me by offering worthless food on my altar. Then you ask, 'How have we embarrassed you?' You have done it by saying, 'What's so great about Yahweh's altar?' But isn't it wrong to offer animals that are blind, crippled, or sick? Just try giving those animals to your governor. That certainly wouldn't please him or make him want to help you. I am Yahweh God All-Powerful, and you had better try to please me. You have sinned. Now see if I will have mercy on any of you." Malachi 1:6-9

Malachi noticed that God was being treated differently than the governing officials. The priests acted as though God cared little for the quality of sacrifices and offerings presented. They acted as though God were blind, incapable of action, or simply did not care for the quality of their service and the offerings they brought to the altar.

They knew their rulers would consider the kind of gifts brought to the palace a reflection of the respect, dignity, and quality of allegiance offered by those who brought them. When it came to bringing offerings to God, they did not consider the quality of their sacrifices to matter.

Malachi makes an interesting point about our treating God differently than we treat our rules. In one sense, perhaps it is more accurate to say we treat them the same. We are loath to pay our taxes, yet we pay them to avoid fines or imprisonment. As we do not fear retribution from God, we slip on our tithes and offerings. We race past the speed limit signs on the highway, slowing down when we see a patrol car. We follow God's directions when they are convenient, or when we fear getting caught.

If the offering specified is a goat of sheep that is to be burned and not eaten, why not take the sick or crippled one, instead of the healthiest in the flock? A life was a life, was a life, wasn't it? The blood of each was no different! Prune the herd by sacrificing the lesser animals and there would be healthier animals to sacrifice in the future! It just made sense! Sense, that is, if we forget the rest of the message.

The sacrifices and offerings to God were expressions of trust in God's faithfulness. No king would accept a half-hearted allegiance. No king would be expected to approve a gift from a herd's culls. Expecting God to be pleased was expecting God not to exist. It was expecting God to have no bearing on providing for one's welfare, no impact on the direction of one's life. It was to ignore God and keep him at bay.

The same is still true with regard for our tithes and offerings to God. God's requirement that we return a tenth of all we receive has not changed. Well, it has in one regard, only. That is that in Christ Jesus we are called to give God our all, not just a portion. Tithes and offerings are a confession of trust in God's provision. God expects no less than our earthly creditors, though God's offers much more in reply. Do we respect God at least as much as the bill that comes in the mail?

All we have belongs to God. Determine where the use of your resources may fail to display trust in God's care and provision.

"Lord, remind me that my life is in your hands. Help me respect you in my giving and service."

—©2009 Christopher B. Harbin

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