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6 Descendants of Jacob, I am the Lord All-Powerful, and I never change. That's why you haven't been wiped out, 7even though you have ignored and disobeyed my laws ever since the time of your ancestors. But if you return to me, I will return to you.
And yet you ask, “How can we return?”
8You people are robbing me, your God. And, here you are, asking, “How are we robbing you?”
You are robbing me of the offerings and of the ten percent that belongs to me. 9That's why your whole nation is under a curse. 10 I am the Lord All-Powerful, and I challenge you to put me to the test. Bring the entire ten percent into the storehouse, so there will be food in my house. Then I will open the windows of heaven and flood you with blessing after blessing. 11I will also stop locusts from destroying your crops and keeping your vineyards from producing. 12Everyone of every nation will talk about how I have blessed you and about your wonderful land. I, the Lord All-Powerful, have spoken!
13You have said horrible things about me, and yet you ask, “What have we said?”
14Here is what you have said: “It's foolish to serve the Lord God All-Powerful. What do we get for obeying God and from going around looking sad? 15See how happy those arrogant people are. Everyone who does wrong is successful, and when they put God to the test, they always get away with it.”
Faithfulness Is Rewarded
16All those who truly respected the Lord and honored his name started discussing these things, and when God saw what was happening, he had their names written as a reminder in his book.
17Then the Lord All-Powerful said:
You people are precious to me, and when I come to bring justice, I will protect you, just as parents protect an obedient child. 18Then everyone will once again see the difference between those who obey me by doing right and those who reject me by doing wrong.
Reflect
The story so far has been to highlight the unfaithfulness of the people of God. The prophet has provided plenty of evidence of their spiritual lethargy and the failure of their leaders to provide godly leadership. This section provides even more evidence of this.
But in contrast stands the unwavering faithful commitment of God to his people. That is why they have not been wiped out. God’s judgment fell on them in times past and led to the exile. Now returned, they seem to have forgotten that lesson. But God has already reminded them of his love and that love reaches out to them in mercy. God’s heart cry is that if they return to him, he will return to them.
God’s heart is to bless his people. He calls on them to meet their obligations in bringing the full amount of their offerings. Because they don’t, they remove the opportunity of God to bless them – bless them so much that their harvest will be overflowing and their storehouses will be unable to cope with the abundance.
We see the tender heartedness of God towards his people. He tells them they are precious to him. When justice comes, he will protect those who do right compared with those who do wrong.
Some say it is foolish to serve God, and those who do wrong get away with it. But God acknowledges and records the names of those who faithfully serve him.
Passages like this force us to rethink our image of God. We see his love, his tenderness, his faithfulness, his commitment to his covenant people. When God agrees to something, he keeps his word. What do these verses say to you about who God is, about his nature, and about his faithfulness?
Respond
God, Who loves us with an everlasting love, may we love you in return so that others might come to know your love too. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Stephen Roy
Stephen is the President of Emmanuel Bible College in Kitchener, ON. A former urban planner, he grew up in Scotland and came to Canada in his mid-20s. He took theological training and has been involved in Christian higher education helping prepare the next generation of Godly leaders for the church and wider community. Stephen is involved with a number of ministry related boards and is married with two adult children.