Financial Stewardship

Let's turn to Malachi 3, please. Malachi 3, last book of the Old Testament. Last Lord's Day we completed our study of Colossians. And I thought before we embark on a study of another book of the Bible, which will probably be 1 Thessalonians, we may not begin next week.

I'm thinking that there's something else we may address for a handful of weeks. I'm working on that now. Some guys, you know, they've got everything planned out, three months, six months, a year down the line.

I can't do that. We'll know by next Sunday what we're going to be talking about next Sunday. I say that to my fault, by the way, but that's just how it's always worked. But before we embark on the study of a new book, I thought we'd deal with this important matter of Christian financial stewardship.

And I'm hoping, I'm thinking that we can do it today, only today. And I'm somewhat reluctant, always have been reluctant, to address this matter for several reasons. I don't want to ever be perceived as self-serving.

And, of course, it's very easy to make that kind of accusation whenever this subject is brought up from the pulpit. But this is certainly not the case. In fact, I was looking over my records, and this is only the second time in 42 years I've addressed the subject.

42 years.

The first time, I was looking at my notes, and it was back in January of 2000. We dealt with four Sundays. But I looked in my notes, and I indicated then that was the first time in 25 years we had done so.

And so nobody can justly accuse us of overemphasizing this subject. But we don't do so. And so I have a purpose only to speak about these matters if and when I perceive it will be beneficial for you. And it's not that I don't teach these things.

Obviously, I do. But what I commonly have done over the years is when, like a young Christian, becomes aware of their responsibility as a steward. They come and ask questions, and I sit down, and I explain from the Scriptures, answering their questions.

I'm cognizant of the fact that the Lord is dealing with them, instructing them, and guiding them in that. And I have always found that that seems to be the best way to pastorally address these matters.

Another reason we're reluctant to address the matter is because so many Christian ministries, so-called, emphasize giving to an extreme, a central extreme, we would argue. In fact, I remember one, I won't mention his name, but he was an evangelical who used to have an hour-long program, 20 minutes music, 20 minutes preaching, 20 minutes raising money out of an hour.

That was inordinate. And I think it's very distasteful, and it's a turn-off, not just for the world, for non-Christians, but for Christians also. And I think that many non-Christians refuse to hear the claims of the gospel because they justify themselves.

All that pastor wants, all that church wants is my money. And that is simply not the case. But then there are some that react to any mention of money at all. And this is particularly true with people who do not attend church very regularly.

And so because I don't want our gospel to be dismissed or discredited for that reason, oftentimes I don't bring this matter up from the pulpit, although there's nothing wrong in doing so. In fact, it's right to do so.

And the reason we're doing so today is because, you know, the elders and deacons were urging me to do so. And so I was persuaded by them. Not that they dictate to me what we do. I can't operate that way.

I can't preach somebody else's conscience. But I'm certainly open to counsel and suggestion. And so I thought that we would address this matter of financial stewardship, and I want to begin by reading a portion of Malachi 3, verses 8 through 12.

We read this in church not too many weeks ago. Well, a man robbed God, yet you have robbed me. But you say, in what way have we robbed you? In tithes and offerings. You were cursed with a curse, for you have robbed me, even this whole nation.

Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And try me now in this, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open for you the windows of heaven, pour out for you such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it.

And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, so that he will not destroy the fruit of your ground. And nor shall the vine fail to bear fruit for you in the field, says the Lord of hosts. And all nations will call you blessed, for you will be a delightful land, says the Lord of hosts.

Malachi was the last of the writing prophets of the Old Testament. The Lord had called Malachi to declare his word to the Jews that had returned from the Babylonian exile in the late 6th century B .C.

This remnant had returned from Babylon sometime before Malachi's ministry. Malachi, may have been, was probably a contemporary of Ezra and Nehemiah. And so, although it's commonly said that the last book of the Old Testament closed around 400 B .C., perhaps a closer approximation would be between 458 and 433 B .C. is when Malachi ministered to the people of Judah.

The people to whom God sent Malachi had not experienced what the earlier prophets declared would transpire. The former prophets, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel. The people had become disillusioned, and as a result, they had defected from their covenantal commitments to their God.

Here's a good description of the ministry to which God called this prophet Malachi. This is taken from the Reformation Study Bible. Malachi spoke to a disillusioned, discouraged, and doubting people whose experience did not harmonize with their understanding of the glorious promises found in the earlier prophets.

Their vision of the coming messianic age had not yet materialized. Instead, they experienced poverty, drought, and economic adversity, and they became disillusioned with God and their faith. Malachi's word confronts a people skeptical of God's promises, and therefore indifferent in their commitment to live in the light of those promises and to worship and serve the Lord of their hearts.

Their love had grown cold, and their hearts bittered toward God. The book may therefore serve as a catechism for times of doubt and disappointment. When the professing people of God are tempted to break faith with their covenant God, the prophet's ministry is to light a lamp of faith to a disheartened people by reminding them of God's electing love and to set forth the continuing obligations of the covenant to those who truly know God.

And so, from this passage that we read in Malachi 3, verses 8 -12, we see that one of the failures of the people of God was to maintain support for the work of God through their tithes and offerings. And God, through Malachi, accused them of robbing God in their failure.

The prophet rebuked them strongly. He instructed them to correct their errant ways. He set forth the promises of God that would be realized in their lives if they repented of their sin, and they did right, and they obeyed God.

If they kept their covenantal obligations. If they were faithful in their financial stewardship. Their failure had brought difficulty upon them. They had forfeited God's blessing. They had secured God's curse upon them.

And we would have to say that this is a national curse. Because for the Christian who is truly in Christ, there is no such thing as a curse. He brings good things out of the most difficult things in life, right?

All things.

For the New Testament Christian, everything ultimately is a blessing for the Christian. For the one who is not a Christian, ultimately everything is a curse. But here they had incurred a curse nationally speaking because of their failure to keep covenantal obligations before God.

And so we have before us, therefore, a number of principles of stewardship that the Lord has set before His people as an important aspect of faith and life. However, before we consider the details of this passage, I think we need to reiterate some basic principles of stewardship that are set forth in the Word of God.

The Importance of Financial Stewardship

First of all, certainly, let's recognize the importance of financial stewardship. The Word of God places great weight on this matter. It's a topic, therefore, worthy of our consideration. And really there are a number of reasons for this.

First, it's a subject of interest and importance to everybody here, isn't it? It touches each of us in our lives. Each of us has to deal with money matters daily. Decisions respecting money take up much of our thinking and time every week.

And money issues and problems, of course, cause or may result in a great deal of tension and difficulty within the family. Always have, always will. The cost of living seems to be crushing upon most. I find it amazing.

They say there's no inflation. But it seems like, you know, a few years ago, one too many years ago, unexpected expenses, $40, $50, $60, and now it's $400, $500, $600. And they say there's no inflation.

I don't know.

Even to meet one's minimal needs is difficult. And we now live in a society that not only requires responsible people to fend for themselves, but it also imposes upon them the care of others. And granted, many of these that are cared for are in legitimate need.

But many, many are not. And certainly Christians are called upon to give liberally and assist those in need. And they are willing to do so. But in my opinion, take it for what it's worth, and I think this is biblical, the forcible confiscation of one man's goods for another's need is unjust.

It's the stripping citizens of their liberty. It is the very definition of oppression and servitude. And that's where we're going. And then secondly, the topic's suitable because it's one to which, of course, the Scriptures speak frequently.

One cannot read very far into the Bible without this subject being raised. And our Lord Jesus spoke about this matter repeatedly.

Repeatedly.

Another reason it's important, of course, the love of money has to be dealt with. Out of concern for souls. To be governed by the love of money will surely lead you away from Christ and the salvation that is in him.

We'll explain a little more fully later. Fourth, God would have his people free from the love of money and the anxiety that money matters can produce in the hearts of his people. God doesn't want you as a Christian to be tormented by these matters.

He wants you to be liberated from them. And proper stewardship is the way that God has prescribed to escape the tyranny of these concerns. Becoming a good steward of God will impart peace to the troubled heart that is consumed with money worries.

Now, thankfully, no matter what condition the world or American society may assume in the future, our Lord is the provider of his people. And so there is liberty in one's soul with his knowledge and confidence.

We don't fear the future. It may become very difficult, increasingly difficult, but we don't fear it. In fact, we'd probably see it as an opportunity for the gospel. Darker the night, the brighter the light.

Always has been. And then there are principles in the word that will help us in our stewardship. The scriptures are a sufficient guide to us in all matters of faith and practice. And this matter of our stewardship should be under the Lord Jesus Christ.

Wasn't it one of the Niebuhr brothers who declared there is no, now I'm saying Niebuhr, maybe it wasn't him, that there is no aspect of life in which the Lord does not say or declare that is mine. And for the Christian, we recognize that this is the Lord's issue, subject for which we are stewards.

And then we would argue also that God's provision in the area of money is a way to see God working powerfully in our lives. A lot of people are running to and fro because they want to see some miracle of healing take place.

But oftentimes it's the way the Lord provides for people that are quite miraculous and remarkable and a cause of great encouragement and delight when the stories are told. And then, of course, seventhly, lastly, each of us is responsible before the Lord for our financial stewardship.

It's required of stewards that they be found faithful. And you're a steward. God owns everything and he has entrusted you with it as a steward. And you're going to have to give an account one day. And so if we're to be faithful stewards, several things must be true of us.

We need right instruction from the scriptures. We may need correction of our understanding if it happens to be errant. And we may need to be challenged and reinforced in principles of stewardship because we can backslide in these areas pretty quickly, pretty easily under the pressures that we may be experiencing.

Just to add another point, this is one area in life where you can really show forth faith in God when it seems like everything is pointing the other way. You obey God and you trust God and then he wonderfully and remarkably provides.

And so I think that many times the Lord allows these difficulties to come into our lives to put us in that position. Are you going to trust and obey him? Are you going to, like the ancient people of Judah, are you going to resort to Egypt rather than the Lord?

Let's call Egypt to help us. And the prophet says, no, that's like leaning on a pointed stick. It's not going to help you and it's just going to end up jabbing you into the side. It's not going to help you.

There, of course, are problems for those who are poor stewards, the scriptures say. One common serious danger the Christian always must contend with is the sin of covetousness. That's the one that, of course, slew Paul.

Oh, man of covetousness. And what is covetousness? It's the inordinate desire to have something more than what God is determined to give us. Covetousness is a lack of contentment, either with what God has given you or what God has not given you.

Proper stewardship will preserve us from the sin of covetousness. We read in 1 Timothy 6,. Now godliness with contentment is great gain, for we brought nothing into this world. It is certain we can carry nothing out.

Having food and clothing with these, we shall be content. That seemed to be the truth that settled Job. If you're reading through the scriptures with us, we're in Job, aren't we? And after he had such a reverse in chapter 1, he confessed, Hey, I came in naked.

I'm going out naked. Blessed be the name of the Lord. Riches themselves are not to be sought after as a basis of happiness. Godliness and contentment with such things as God has provided to sustain you are what should be truly desirable.

Godliness is that state of a person in which he or she is living in communion with God. Godliness. All of life is viewed as a walk with God. And so this person thinks high thoughts of God. He meditates on spiritual matters.

It is his delight, and there is contentment in that kind of person's soul. A godly man is at peace within himself because he's at peace with God. He is content with what God has given him, and he's content with what God has not given him.

It's not to say he's not ambitious or that he is lazy. No good strives for nothing. He does indeed seek to move forward in life. But because he's godly, he recognizes that a man's life consists not in the abundance of the things which he possesses.

As our Lord taught in Luke 12, 15. And so he watches his heart, lest he become covetousness. Unless he becomes a coveting person. And that is so easily occurs. Well, in contrast to the contented man, we have in 1 Timothy 6.

A description of those who are not contented. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare. And into many foolish and harmful lusts. Which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.

For which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness. And pierce themselves through with many sorrows. Now take note that Paul was not writing of rich people. He was writing of people who longed to be rich.

There's a big difference. I've known people who possess many riches. But they have not been possessed by those riches. It has nothing to do with how much money you have in your bank account. On the other hand, I've known poor people who possess no riches.

Who themselves have been possessed by the riches they don't have. This governs them. And so this is not speaking of how much money you have. It's speaking about how much desire you have for money. Do you long to be rich?

Is that what drives you? Is the elusiveness of attaining wealth a cause of great disappointment to you? And I remember very vividly a man I was speaking to. Thankfully he came to repentance some years later.

But I remember him telling me. This was probably 12, 13 years ago. He was angry. Sitting in my office downstairs, angry. And the reason he was angry is because God made Bill Gates rich and didn't make him rich.

And he professed to be a Christian. He was discontent. Well, they know nothing about the contentment that's available for the people of God who love God. And delight in Him supremely. Because they long to be rich.

A greedy man is a troubled man. He has a complicated existence. He has temptations that others do not have. Or at least to the degree others have. Those who desire to be rich fall into temptation. Gambling is sin.

Not only is it poor stewardship of the money God has given you to care for and use according to His will, but it also reflects on the desire to gain money apart from attaining it by godly means. Of course, that's just part of our society and culture, right?

A handful of years ago I read it was 6 of residents in Massachusetts have a gambling addiction, as they defined it. Well, that was mostly promoted by the state, wasn't it, with the whole lottery thing.

He's also vulnerable to scams and deceitful people. Those who desire to be rich fall into a snare. And a snare was a way of catching animals or birds. You'd make a loop of rope, sit it on the ground or rock, and it would seize an unsuspecting animal or bird, not seeing it or recognizing it for what it is.

The bird sees the bait, doesn't see the snare, he's trapped. A man who longs to be rich is tempted to approach the snare, that a man who is content would pass by the side. I'm rather ignorant about financial matters, not as much as I used to, but I'm somewhat vulnerable to errant thinking about matters I know nothing about.

However, I would reason, I am less vulnerable to dishonest men than the one who knows all the workings of high finance, whose heart is bent on attaining wealth above all else. He is the vulnerable guy.

I don't know about you, but daily I receive appeals through my email. I got one this morning. I'm the beneficiary of the late so-and-so. This is attorney so-and-so. Send me your personal information.

It becomes very sophisticated. My client was a Christian and wants his or her wealth to be given to the Christian work. We need a responsible person to manage this. We've selected you. Contact us over and over and over again.

These things come. And a covetous person gets entrapped in these things rather easily. It's big business, isn't it?

Scams.

All over the world.

I've almost been caught a couple of times, and the Lord spared me. An incident a couple of years ago, you might recall, when I thought that I was being invited to London to give a conference, and he was clever.

I got a request one time from, I think it was Lagos, Nigeria, and I responded the way I commonly do from quoting Revelation. All liars shall have their part in the lake of fire that burns forever and ever.

And he wrote me back, Oh, please, you know, please forgive me. Pray for me. But, you know, I need this for my family. And he said basically they sit in Internet cafes in Lagos, Nigeria all day long and send out these emails all over the world.

And they work, don't they? I was reading a woman who found a date, found a boyfriend on christianmingle .com. He was from Africa, and he took her for $500 ,000. The longing to be rich is a cause of apostasy.

What is apostasy? It's when a believer in Christ sets aside his faith. And so we'd put believer in quotations. He's not a true believer. He once believed in Christ, or so he said. He stopped believing in Christ in a manner that his faith no longer has influence over his life.

And the Lord warned against the danger of apostasy in this way. Behold, a sower went forth to sow, and he sowed some among thorns, and the thorns sprung up and choked him. Disciples said, What do you mean by this?

Jesus said, He that receives seed among the thorns is he that hears the word, and the care of this world, the seedfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful. He's a lost man. It's not so much he becomes an apostate, but he becomes a hypocrite.

He hears the word, he knows the truth, he sits under the truth, but the truth does not impact his life, because he has this sin that prevents the word from possessing his soul. He's not a godly man, he's a covetous man.

He wants to possess riches, but riches have possessed him. And so there are many that claim to be Christian. They attend churches. I had a man who claims to be a Christian. I don't believe he is. Tell me the reason he attended a church, not this church, but a church in this community, is because that's where the customers are.

He had a business, and that's where the customers are. The longing for riches is a root problem. In other words, other sins spring from this one. The love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and so a greedy man will be more than a greedy man.

It's a root that brings forth fruit. Many branches on that tree. And so a greedy man will have more sins today than he had, say, a year ago. The farther he strays from God's word and ways, the worse things get.

Due to the love of money, some have strayed from the faith in their greediness and have pierced themselves through with many sorrows. And then a covetous man is a troubled man. His life is complex, intertwined with troubles, with wrong decisions and moves that brought him.

Simplicity is far from his experience. Troubles here, troubles there. Sorrows everywhere. And these problems distress him greatly. He's pierced through with many sorrows. Speaks of his inward turmoil.

And he causes others distress as well. Such ones pierce themselves through with many sorrows. Again, this is what possessed Paul. This is what made Paul a sinner in his own sight when that 10th commandment came.

All the others he thought he could keep quite well outwardly, but when it came to the 10th commandment, that spoke to the condition of his soul, his heart. Thou shalt not covet. And this is what caused him to see his need for Christ.

Just a couple quick principles about biblical stewardship. Certainly God is the owner of all things. You don't own anything. God owns all things. The earth is the Lord's and all that fold us, the world and those who dwell therein.

Not only what you own, but you yourself is owned by the Lord. And this is an unquestioned truth in the light of Holy Scripture. God owns all things. And he's free to do with those things he pleases. He may freely give all things or he may withhold all things.

This is it within his purview as the king of history. And so if we happen to acquire certain things, it's a stewardship that we have before our God. And as stewards, we must be held and recognize our accountability.

We should always acknowledge his ownership and continually feel gratefulness and express thankfulness for any and all that God has given us. And that is reflected throughout Scripture. Perhaps principally in the Psalms over and over again.

And then not only is God the owner of all things, but God is the provider of all things. And God wants his people to come to know this experientially. That he is your personal provider. As a father provides for his children, God desires to provide for his children.

And he has the ability, of course, to give his children what they need. Paul wrote, My God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. That's a glorious promise. Now, I think it's a promise that is wrongly extended to people.

Because it's rather restrictive, as we'll see in a moment. Deuteronomy 8 .18, Thou shalt remember the Lord thy God, for it is he that gives thee power to get wealth. There's another place that says he gives you the power to get wealth without a curse as well.

The devil can cause people to get wealthy too. The Lord has granted that authority to him on occasions. Isn't that what he offered the Lord Jesus? I'll give you all the kingdoms of the world. You bow down and worship me.

God wants us to trust him as provider. He wants us to express faith in him as our provider by giving to his work. Ty is an offering. We'll get back to Malachi 3 in a few minutes. And we trust him by giving him a first portion of what he's given us.

He promises that he will show himself as a provider to them that do. In fact, he challenges people to trust him to do so. This is what's declared in Malachi 3. The Lord Jesus declared in Luke 6 .38, Give, it shall be given unto you, good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, shall men give into your bosom.

The old adage, you can't outgive God, is a truism. We read again of Paul's promise to the Christians at Philippi, My God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. But we have to read that promise in context.

It's not a blanket promise to every Christian. It was a promise to the Philippians who had been faithful in supporting God's work. He said, nobody else supported me when I left Macedonia but you. You've been faithful to me.

You're a partner with me in this ministry. I assure you, you filled my need, satisfied my need. My God's going to supply your need. It's a promise to faithful stewards, not all Christians indiscriminately.

He does, God does for them that trust him with their finances, who gives faithfully to his work. He promises he'll take care of them. And then the scriptures say, the miserly soul will not be blessed of God.

Proverbs 28, 27, he that gives unto the poor shall not lack, but he that hides his eyes shall have many a curse. In Ecclesiastes, the wise man observed, there is a sore evil which I have seen under the sun, namely riches kept for the owners thereof to their hurt.

This guy's a person hoarding. He thinks his security maybe is in what he's able to acquire.

No.

In Haggai 1, it's particularly pointed here, again a post-exilic prophet, God telling his people they were not getting ahead because they had not been concerned about building the temple in Jerusalem.

Now therefore, thus says the Lord of Hosts, consider your wage, you have sown much, you bring in little. You eat, you do not have enough. You drink, you're not filled with drink. You clothe yourselves, you're not warm.

He who earns wages earns wages to put it into a bag with holes. And so the Lord tells them, consider your ways, go up to the mountains, bring wood, build the temple, that I may take pleasure in it and be glorified.

You look for much, but indeed it came to little, and when you brought it home, I blew it away. God himself brought it to nothing. Why? Because of my house is in ruins, while every one of you runs to his own house.

Therefore the heavens above you withhold the due, the earth withhold its fruit, for I called for a drought on the land and the mountains, on the grain and the new wine and oil, on whatever the ground brings forth, on men, livestock, and on all the labor of your hands.

You know, we're just getting over a drought out in the West. It still is lingering, but it seems to be getting over with for years. You know, it wasn't too many generations ago there had been a call for national fasting and prayer and national repentance, because it was recognized that God is the one who gives the rain or withholds it, as everywhere in Scripture is taught.

And so he says that, you know, that he would actually cause great hardship and difficulty financially for people if they're not faithful. This is not to say that a person who does not give cannot gain wealth, for in the world that frequently happens, doesn't it?

But I would make two points here. You will tend to find highly successful people to be generous people. I have found that. That is, unless their success was built upon wrong principles. That certainly is evident, too.

But secondly, those who are wealthy and those who are not generous are cursed by their wealth. Their wealth is not a blessing to them. It comes with a curse. And so a man may gain money apart from being generous, but a curse will come with it.

A fourth principle, God can enable you to give to the work of his kingdom. 2 Corinthians 8 and 9. Paul was writing about the church at Corinth and other churches that he dealt with, about raising funds to take a collection to Palestine to help the poor Christians there who were suffering.

And so he gave instruction. And he was urging the people in the church at Corinth to be very gracious and liberal in their contribution. And so he said in verse 6, He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly.

He who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or necessity, for God loves a cheerful giver. He's not talking here about giving to the ongoing ministry of the local church to support.

He's talking about a special offering for the needy saints in Palestine. But then he says this in verse 8, God is able to make all grace abound toward you. In other words, God is able to send you money, is what he's basically saying.

That you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work. And Christians will tell you, sometimes they don't have the money, but they purpose, they want to give to some work.

And the Lord wonderfully provides it. And it's a wonderful thing to see God at work in this way, and to experience God working through you in this way. And then there's an Old Testament verse quoted, He's dispersed abroad, he's given to the poor, his righteousness endures forever.

And so he, God, who supplies seed to the sower, bred for food, supply and multiply the seed you've sown, increase the fruits of your righteousness, while you enrich in everything for all liberality, which causes thanksgiving to us to God.

So this whole passage is dealing with grace giving. You see a need, God's burdened you about it, you want to have a part in it, well pray and ask God to provide it, and see what God does. And it's a wonderful thing to be used in that way, to see the Lord provide through you.

What about the nature of our giving? Certainly it's to be an act of faith. Do you believe God that he will and can provide? Then don't be fearful. Don't be fearful that you'll not have enough if you give to his work.

Trust him. He'll prove himself to you. Giving is an act of obedience. God commands to give. And it's an obedience born of faith. And we would argue that the Bible teaches that tithing is the beginning point of our giving.

I think this is very clear in the scriptures. Some argue against it. I didn't put it down in the notes, but one main argument they always fall upon is the proportional giving that is set forth in 1 Corinthians 16, 1 and following.

On the first day of the week, many of you gather, set aside as God has prospered him. And they say, well, New Testament teaches grace giving, Old Testament taught tithing. They make that contrast. But again, 1 Corinthians, Paul is talking about a special offering for needy saints.

It's not a principle that overrides the tithe principle, which is found throughout scripture. It's an error to say that because we're Christians, the teaching of the Old Testament has been set aside. Paul reasoned all scripture is given and is profitable for righteousness, for instruction in how to live as a Christian.

2 Timothy 3 .16. And so in order to consider this, let's now look at the passage. Forgive me, but that was in somewhat way an introduction to Malachi 3 verses 8 through 12. Let's look at this passage.

We read his words earlier. He charged the people for having robbed God. Malachi 3 .8. Well, a man robbed God. You have robbed me. And so when people are not faithful in their stewardship before God, God regards them as thieves.

That's a strong word, but that's what he's saying. They are ones who fail and refuse to acknowledge God as the owner of all things, the one to whom they owe all their due. You've robbed me. But the people who Malachi addressed did not see their duty and therefore did not see their culpability.

But you say, in what way have we robbed you? And the response, the answer, is in tithes and offerings. What is a tithe? Well, tithing is a giving of 10 of one's increase to the Lord and his worth. Tithe means 10%.

And the people of God throughout the ages have practiced this matter of tithing. The Lord revealed through Malachi the serious nature of their failure to tithe. You're cursed with a curse, for you've robbed me, even this whole nation.