When I think of Israel and it establishment from a pillow to Malachi, I have to wonder why did a people of great promise fall away from God their redeemer and provider. Each generation must struggle with their idea of God and faith. To believe God exist is not the same as having faith in God. I might have faith that a friend will bring me at the least a loaf of bread if I am starving, but I can not hope for T-bone steak or a nice rib eye. The human condition of friend might mean the hope of relief if in a crisis, or one might find their crisis being without friends. Those that help a person going through hardship can only imagine what it is like to be in that person’s shoes unless they been there. Each generation goes through a spiritual crisis. Not every person goes through a spiritual crisis concern faith, but the group as a whole goes through the time of struggle with faith. There were always be those that will always be faithful without doubt. Yet it is the rest of the group of each generation we must be concerned with. As a man cries out I obeyed God why is this happening to me, his friends looked for fault. It does not mean your at fault when you go through a crisis, it means those around you might be struggling or without faith and you in the way of them. When you in the way your world is going to collapse too. It like a terrorist inflicting his crime on the world and not only on himself. He takes his anger to the world to only face capital punishment, homicide or suicide for his actions.

Israel was paying for their crimes against God. Our failure to follow God means our generation is in a crisis. The doubt of God or understanding how we fail God is not always clear to the non believer or unfaithful to God. Sometimes they have no clue what it all about. To say repent you heathens it not enough to cause people to fall on their knees in repentance. God either through prophets and teachers allow one to know what He requires for his direction and blessings to flow in someone life or He might just talk to you personally, like he did Abraham and Jacob. Somewhere whether it through vision dream or prophetic speech God must penetrate the heart of man to come to a place of obedience and worship of God.

The people of Malachi day asking about what have we done, Have you robbed God of your offerings? Have you robbed God of praise? Have you robbed God of being faithful to Him alone. Our idols can be reliance on someone else to the point they become like a god in our life. To trust God is hard. Yet when one turns to God and does things God’s way, He will honor that. Will one go hungry, only if those around you going through issue with God it could effect you. Can God provide in this situation, He can and does but not in every case. Those that met the conditions might ask why. Job meet the condition of benevolent work, tithe, offerings for sin and so forth, and yet he lost family, livestock and more because the devil wanted to test him. Will God deliver the righteous, He did restore Job.

Tithe was set up as a way to praise and honoring God. It was never a suppose to be a task master. God desire praise not sacrifice. God never asked for sacrifice, but He did ask for praise. Does it mean that the offering given is not bless able or received without a return blessing, of course not. Giving is a choice, but the temple is empty without tithe of money. A temple, or church cannot function without money. Religious institution cannot function without financial support. Jacob was building the temple of God with financial offering, but also building spiritual habitation with spiritual faith of honoring God. The people in Malachi day lost focus on spiritual faith and seen the chore of tithing as legalism to crooked priest. See there was also trouble in the Levitical tribe that cared for the temple. They were no longer teaching spirituality, but money.

There is a sucker born every minute and some crooked evangelist will know it because they will give money to organization that seeks money, and all they have to do is go in to a third world country for a few days and feed the people in need, or find another people to go to the poor and drum up money to help with taking little time to do it themselves except for the cameo photos. People wonder why the world is distrustful of ministries and other orgs in our country. It is the crooks that have no compassion beyond their greedy pocketbooks. A true missionary sacrifices it all. I think of Lottie Moon sacrifice during time of famine in China giving to the children of that country even her own bowl of rice. Mother Theresa is another good example of this.

The Levitical religious leaders had lost focus on the laws and creeds of God and sought only for themselves. While the people turned from the legalism and profit temples, they found themselves in the need of spiritual faith, because their life was not abundantly fulfilled. God fills a place in our hearts that can not be understood by the world. He comes and walks besides us, enabling us when our path gets rough and when our path is smooth. He protects and guides us in our daily life when we worship Him and take time to know Him through His word. God was sending His Son to straighten out the priesthood. Jesus taught in the language of the religious leaders, and the average man on the street. Calling all people to himself, not excluding anyone that would listen. He came to restore faith to the people of the reason we need a relationship with God. He came to heal the soul. How you honor God is between you and God, but tithing is a good place to begin. If money not there to tithe then God will instruct you what to give. Even the priesthood made exceptions for the poor. Jesus never taught tithing but giving all you had to God and explaining no one does that in reality.

Are you faithful serving God with worship or you ignore and robbing God of your praise? Are you honoring God with your what you have. To pillow like walk of faith with conditions to no faith is what occurred. Each generation seeking answers about this God with no understanding because the need to praise God is never told. It give God money and you be okay instead of honor God first in your life and get to know God and His Son. To have faith and to walk by His Spirit.

Dear Heavenly Father help us to have spiritual faith and to honor you through worship and praise first, then our offerings. In Jesus precious name, Amen.

Continual Scripture Study for Devotion: