CHAPTER 3

1 Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts. 2 But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner's fire, and like fullers' soap: 3 And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the LORD an offering in righteousness. 4 Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the LORD, as in the days of old, and as in former years. 5 And I will come near to you to judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against false swearers, and against those that oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and that turn aside the stranger from his right, and fear not me, saith the LORD of hosts. 6 For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.

Isn't it amazing how God uses time, circumstances and people to put together His Word? We are nearing the New Testament, where in Matthew 3, John the Baptist comes to "prepare the way" before the Lord Himself. John is the "messenger," Jesus is the LORD! Jesus is "..the Lord...Whom ye deligth in:.." He is the personal image of the Living God. He is the fulfillment of all Old Testament prophecy of "MESSIAH." He came first to pay the ransom for men's souls in His own blood. He came to propitiate the anger of God toward sinners and offer them eternal life through His atonement.

And He shall come AGAIN to completely redeem all those who have surrendered to Him. And when He comes that 2nd time, "who shall stand when He appeareth?" Two imageries of His coming are given.

First, He is LIKE "a refiner's fire,..."
A lady in the church asked the pastor to explain that. He said, "You can imagine, if you will, the silversmith cooking the silver in a vat. He heats it to high temperature, then filters out the dross." The lady asked, "How does he know when the silver is pure?" The pastor answered, "When he sees his IMAGE in it!"

Second, He is LIKE "a fullers' soap...."
The fuller was a professional cleaner and used vegetable alkaline soap. Sometimes the smell was offensive, but the result was clean garments. Christ's blood may be offensive to our sinfulness, but it is required for genuine cleansing!

Only after we are cleansed can anything we do be "pleasant unto the LORD..." The only way we can be cleansed is to surrender to Christ for His refining and cleansing.

Christ will come again. When He does, He'll perform the test to see if people are cleansed. Those who are cleansed will be accepted in His sight. Those who are not will receive just "judgment" for their refusal of Him as Lord.

He is the LORD! He does NOT change! His test for salvation has always and will always be the same. The test is "Have you SURRENDERED to Christ as LORD?"

7 Even from the days of your fathers ye are gone away from mine ordinances, and have not kept them. Return unto me, and I will return unto you, saith the LORD of hosts. But ye said, Wherein shall we return? 8 Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings. 9 Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation. 10 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. 11 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, saith the LORD of hosts. 12 And all nations shall call you blessed: for ye shall be a delightsome land, saith the LORD of hosts.

Our Lord's complaint here is that the people had "gone away from mine ordinances, and have not kept them." First, let us understand that as continual sinners we are constantly "gone away" from God's Word. The key to a right relationship with God is "repentance." If we come to Him confessing our sins and turning from them, then the joy of a right relationship with Him returns - AND - He promises blessings. How often shall we repent? DAILY!

However, notice what the leaders of the people said, "Wherein shall we return?" In other words, they would not acknowledge that they had gone astray. Failure to confess sin leads to hardened hearts. These had failed to come to God in confession of sin, and now they didn't even recognize their sins!

Since this was the case, God reminded them of a specific matter - their GIVING!

Failure to act in appropriate stewardship is intentional defrauding of God!!

Now this brings up quite a discussion. So let us FIRST look at tithing as it was explained by God to His redeemed people. I will try to be brief and only enter a few references for discussion. Leviticus 27:30-33 and Deuteronomy 14:22-29

If you read the above referenced passages of Scripture you should have noticed a few things:
God expected tithes of ALL their increases,
if they wanted to keep any increase, they were to find the market price, add 1/5 and give that, if distance was a problem, they could turn the increase into money and bring it, it was by this tithe that the Levites lived, the temple was supported, and outreach synagogues were formed, and, by the way, the Levites were to tithe that which they received also!
But take special note that stewardship includes MORE than tithes! The Hebrew word for "tithe" is It includes sacrificial giving! You see, in verse 8, God did not only find fault with their tithing, but also with their GIVING: "...tithes and offerings."

The Hebrew word ma'asrah is the word translated tithes in our text. That word refers to tenths, plural. Yes. PLURAL! A tenth of earnings, a tenth of fruit and seed from the land, and a tenth of cattle. Some say these were applied by: a tenth to be given to the Levites, a tenth to be consumed in Jersualem, and a tenth to be laid up for the "poor" of the land. But any way you slice it, it was THREE-tenths!

And not only were they supposed to TITHE, but also to make OFFERINGS. There were burnt offerings, meal offerings, peace offerings, sin offerings and other special offerings. These offerings were to be made showing continued adoration and love for God.

So. Whaddyathink? Is giving ONE-tenth to God enough? No. That's the point of beginning. It's the thing you teach children. Then as they grow, they understand more of the love of God and will desire to give more. How do you SETTLE on what to GIVE God? I think Paul gives us great insight on this in 2 Cor 9:7,

Pray. Consider what you have that is ALL given of God. Consider what God would have you give back to Him in tithes AND offerings. Then make that the first line of your budget!

The family was on the way home after church. Mom said, "Did you see that hat Mrs. Jones had on?"
Dad said, "Yes. And did you see the way she scowled when the preacher talked about gossiping?" Little sister said, "And did you see how Jr. Barnes pulled Betty's hair during service?" The little boy, remembering the offering time, said, "Well, Dad. All in all, it was a pretty good show for a buck, huh?"

There are tremendous blessings in store for those who act in a GIVING manner out of love and faith toward our Lord. Look at verses 10-12!!

You can NOT outgive God! His "windows of heaven" have more blessings than you can contain! And that is all the more reason why we should repent from our $1 attitude and concentrate on giving out of love!!

But even if blessings do not flow like rivers upon your heartfelt giving, see what God says next!

13 Your words have been stout against me, saith the LORD. Yet ye say, What have we spoken so much against thee? 14 Ye have said, It is vain to serve God: and what profit is it that we have kept his ordinance, and that we have walked mournfully before the LORD of hosts? 15 And now we call the proud happy; yea, they that work wickedness are set up; yea, they that tempt God are even delivered.

Here is another specific instance in which the people needed to repent: WORDS!

Christians should give what they give out of heartfelt adoration and love for God, not out of seeking blessings. To give only seeking what God will give is to put Him on a dollar and cents basis!

Perhaps what the Israelites were NOT saying was what resounded so loudly in God's ears!! They were NOT saying that they loved Him and would give regardless of blessings.

By NOT giving, they were also (verse 14) making a spiritual statement: "It is vain to serve God!"

Their only view was material gain! And if material gain didn't come by giving, they began to actually worship the PROUD who flaunted material gain!

Hmmmm....seems there is a trend similar to that in America today! Men care more about material gain than they do about giving to God out of love and adoration. If all Christians gave out of a sense of love and adoration for God, churches would have more than enough for use in evangelism and ministry.

16 Then they that feared the LORD spake often one to another: and the LORD hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the LORD, and that thought upon his name. 17 And they shall be mine, saith the LORD of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him. 18 Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not.

Still, in the midst of the people, were those who were faithful! Those who "feared" God and worshipped Him with reverence and awe, were written down in God's record books.

Yes! God keeps records! See
Exodus 32:32
Psalm 56:8
Luke 10:20
Revelation 20:12
Revelation 21:27

The words "...in that day" refer to when God brings final judgment upon all men. At that time, God will bring justice to all men. Those who have refused to believe Him, will have the eternal judgment of hell. However, those who have surrendered to Him, will be made as "jewels" (very precious) to God and shall become His eternal possession in heaven.

ALL blessings are not received here on earth! God reserves many for heaven!

History has, however, proven that only stubborn obstinence can believe that God makes no difference in meting out blessings.

And one day, God will certainly show who has served Him and who has not!!

PLEASE CONTINUE WITH US IN BIBLE STUDY TOMORROW.