Malachi 1:1 “The burden of the word of the LORD to Israel by Malachi.”

I have often found myself reading in the Old Testament and seeing great parallels between the Children of Israel and The New Testament American believers. This is a burden that has been on me for over 20 years and at times I feel like a voice that many refuse to hear. I have often wondered why American Christians have become so weak, uncommitted, and full of rebellion. After all, this is the country that is responsible for sending thousands of missionaries all around the world to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This is the country that backed up the sending of those missionaries with literally billions of dollars over the last hundred or more years. Great missionary movements were birthed in the hearts of Americans and they put their money where their mouths were. Jesus made a profound statement in the following passage;

Luke 12:34 “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”

Here we see that Jesus makes a direct connection to one’s finances as a barometer to test where their true love is found. Jesus knew that a man or woman will put his/her money where their heart is fixed. For many years the hearts of the vast majority of true believers was in the kingdom of God and they desired to see its expansion. So they gave, and gave. In fact the percentage of those Christians who tithed during the Great depression was vastly higher than the percentage during the height of the economic boom in 2006. It is reported that of people who say that they read their bible, pray, and attend Church services every week, only 12% actually tithe. If we take Jesus at His Word, and that we must, then 88% of people who go to church, pray, and read their bibles, simply do not have their hearts in the church since their treasure is somewhere else. Again, based on the words of Christ, there can be no other conclusion!

Now I know some Christians have conveniently convinced themselves that they “don’t have to tithe.” They say; “that’s the Law, and we are not under the law.” That mind set completely misses the point and the purposes of God. Are we really to believe that just because we are not condemned by the law, we should not care at all about anything in the law? Would that same Christian say; “I am not under the law so I think I will go steal some money?” Would that Christian apply that thinking and be ok with their spouse committing adultery and then using as their defense; “I am not under the law?” We are saved by grace but we do not throw away the principles of the Old Covenant. First of all, the tithe was a principle long before the Law of Moses (Gen 14:20, Gen 28:22). Also, let’s not forget what Jesus said about the tithe in the following passage;

Matthew 23:23 “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.”

Jesus rebuked the Pharisees for their lack of proper judgment, mercy, and faith. He then makes it clear that they should continue to tithe by saying; “and not to leave the other undone.”

Secondly, do we honestly believe that God would not have us be ones who desire to support the Church that He established and gave authority to? Are we really to believe that we, who have experienced the indwelling Holy Spirit, have tasted of that which our Old Covenant fathers prophesied of, and have had the privilege of sharing with others, are somehow to be less inclined to give than the Old Testament Saints? I think not! If anything, as ones who are members of the New Covenant, our desire should be to be bigger givers. In the days of Malachi the prophet we see parallels to the heart attitudes that prevail in most American Churches today:

1. First we see the following attitude of an unthankful heart;

Malachi 1:2 “I have loved you, saith the LORD. Yet ye say, Wherein hast thou loved us? Was not Esau Jacob’s brother? saith the LORD: yet I loved Jacob”

The people of God in Malachi’s day did not fully understand and appreciate the love that God had shown them and so Malachi reveals their hearts by saying “yet you say, wherewith hast thou loved us?”

2. They gave polluted bread offerings;

Malachi 1:7 “Ye offer polluted bread upon mine altar; and ye say, Wherein have we polluted thee? In that ye say, The table of the LORD is contemptible”

The idea here being that they grudgingly gave bread offerings and that is what made the offerings polluted. They did not give of a cheerful heart with thanksgiving.

3. They gave lame and blind Lamb offerings;

Malachi 1:8 “And if ye offer the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil? and if ye offer the lame and sick, is it not evil? offer it now unto thy governor; will he be pleased with thee, or accept thy person? saith the LORD of hosts”

They gave to God what they never would have given to their natural governor. This showed that they had a form of religion for religion’s sake and yet their hearts were far from God as evidenced by their contemptible offerings.

4. They liked to act as though they were committed to the house of the Lord by vowing to give their best, but when it came time to give they did not bring the best they had, but rather the worse;

Malachi 1:14 “But cursed be the deceiver, which hath in his flock a male, and voweth, and sacrificeth unto the Lord a corrupt thing: for I am a great King, saith the LORD of hosts, and my name is dreadful among the heathen”

5. Their ministers also were contemptible in their actions;

Malachi 2:1-2 “And now, O ye priests, this commandment is for you. If ye will not hear, and if ye will not lay it to heart, to give glory unto my name, saith the LORD of hosts, I will even send a curse upon you, and I will curse your blessings: yea, I have cursed them already, because ye do not lay it to heart”

6. Divorce was rampant, and the marrying of believers to unbelievers as well;

Malachi 2:11 “Judah hath dealt treacherously, and an abomination is committed in Israel and in Jerusalem; for Judah hath profaned the holiness of the LORD which he loved, and hath married the daughter of a strange god”

Malachi 2:14 “Yet ye say, Wherefore? Because the LORD hath been witness between thee and the wife of thy youth, against whom thou hast dealt treacherously: yet is she thy companion, and the wife of thy covenant”

7. They robbed God of what belonged to Him and would not even acknowledge what they were doing;

Malachi 3:8 “Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings”

The problems that God outlines in the book of Malachi are summed up in;

1. Neglect by the ministers of God in doing proper service to the Lord according to His commands. The Priests had become defiled.
2. The general lack of concern for God’s Word and intense lack of commitment by the people of God.
3. The breaking of the marriage covenant, and the mixing of believers and non believers in marriage. This was and is still forbidden.

There can be no doubt that the American modern Church looks is pictured in many ways by this description. The American church has become about;

1. Comfort.
2. Ear tickling.
3. What’s in it for me?
4. What do I get?

People in the American church can’t be bothered to get up on Sunday and go to church. They can’t be troubled to miss a football game on TV. They can’t be expected to make the gathering of believers a priority since they may have a better offer than being in then gathering of the believers. Most American Christians see Church as making them the center of attention. When a preacher dares to call them out on their complacency, they answer with excuses, self justification, or they leave due to their obstinate, stiff necked and rebellious hearts. When I received Jesus as my Savior and learned the bible, no one had to beg me to go to church. We need the heart of David on this matter:

Psalms 122:1-9 <<A Song of degrees of David.>> “I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the LORD. Our feet shall stand within thy gates, O Jerusalem. Jerusalem is builded as a city that is compact together: Whither the tribes go up, the tribes of the LORD, unto the testimony of Israel, to give thanks unto the name of the LORD. For there are set thrones of judgment, the thrones of the house of David. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee. Peace be within thy walls, and prosperity within thy palaces. For my brethren and companions’ sakes, I will now say, Peace be within thee. Because of the house of the LORD our God I will seek thy good”

How much more should we who have the indwelling Spirit of God desire to gather together to worship and hear the Word of the Lord preached?

Truly there are parallels between the days of Malachi and these days in America. If the American church is to revive it will not be through slick marketing, emergent heretical mystical teaching, attempts by preachers to please everyone, or fad church growth books. Revival will only come through repentance by the people of God as they turn from this present day slumber to the fire that started the New Testament in Acts Chapter two. The only way to stop these parallels is if there is a restoration of the true desire to receive the power of the Holy Ghost, and to preach it and live it. Consider these telling passages of Scripture’s warning;

1 Timothy 4:1 “Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils”

2 Timothy 3:1-4 “This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God”

Wake up American Church. Shake the dust, clean out the webs of deception, and ask yourself where your heart is? God is calling all or us to come back again to our first love;

Revelation 2:4-5 “Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent”

If you have an ear you will hear what the Spirit is saying to you now. I trust you will hear and obey for the glory of God.