Perhaps you too have heard the argument that God was addressing priests when he wrote the book of Malachi. And it is true, even though such people use that as justification for not honoring God with their finances. Observe I did not say anything about tithes, just how to honor God with the blessings He daily loads us with. But those who are against tithes claim that God wrote the book of Malachi for priests. And I say that He absolutely did.
You can just see the anti-tithe groups jumping for joy at that last statement. In no unequivocal terms, God was writing to the priests when He caused the Prophet Malachi to pen his book. With that said, I imagine the rest of us can go and do our thing, right? In the area of marriage and divorce, we could simply do as we please, right? Because that is also in this book of Malachi for priests, you know.
Let’s see what else is there. In the opening segment, God talks of how He had loved us everlastingly. But I guess that love has nothing to do with you since this is Malachi for priests alone. Next, God seems to be talking to some people He calls sons. But since this is Malachi for priests, I guess that excludes you too. You don’t belong there and are therefore not God’s son and that’s no problem.
Wrong Teaching By Priests
And where God complains about bringing lame and blind animals to sacrifice, was that for priests also? Of course not, since it is the people who bring the damaged animals to a God they despise. If you bring torn currency notes to the church, what is the priest or pastor supposed to do? The priests simply help them to sacrifice those animals for the offering. Now, don’t get me wrong. In this Malachi for priests, the priests were guilty and God was very angry with them.
But their guilt had nothing to do with offering defiled animals or tithing. That is on you and me for bringing soiled currencies or stuff that does not cost us. It is on us that we are not more like King David. He refused to offer anything that did not really cost him. I have been in a congregation where they raised six million US dollars in one week. Why? Because their pastor did not teach church but focused on God.
They consequently knew enough of God to know that He is a great King. And that his name is to be feared among the nations. But your pastors who focus on giving and service fail to let you into an important secret. God said he has appointed us to be priests and kings unto Himself. In this Malachi for priests, God’s accusation was not about tithing. Rather, God was accusing the priests of their failure to teach the church about God.
Instead, they were teaching the people of God about the church. God Himself said so, “For the lips of a priest should keep knowledge, and people should seek the law from his mouth. For he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts.” Unfortunately, many pastors are messengers, not of the Lord but of the church. That is what God was angry with the priests about, not paying of tithes.
The Same Is True Today
Have you noticed how, when some pastors preach, they always seem to end on your service to the church? Do you see how they equate the love of God to the love of the church? As in, if you don’t come to church, it means you don’t love the Lord. They always link their sermons to what you can do to contribute to the growth of the church. That is what it means to teach church.
There is a particular pastor who always seems to find a way of talking about giving, regardless of the scripture. These priests were like that and God was angry with them in this book we regard as Malachi for priests. Because they abandoned the teaching about God to focus their teaching on the church, the people grew ignorant. In the second chapter, God specifically addressed His command to those priests for failing to honor him. What a priest must do to honor God is to tell God’s people about God’s goodness and greatness.
But what do we observe in the church today? What a poor man does and gets scolded for, the rich man does and the pastor smiles indulgently. Where is the honor of God in that? Such a pastor is guilty because he is placing the rich man above God. This is an attitude that causes the congregation to become careless and sloppy in their approach to God.
That was the real guilt of the priests and pastors in our so-called Malachi for priests. They did not behave and teach in such a way that the people would fear and honor God. Consequently, they treated God shabbily both in reverencing and giving, even in putting away their wives.
Malachi For Priests Is About More Than Tithes
What about the people, the church members? We are guilty of cherry-picking, choosing what to obey, and discarding the rest of the bible. Allow me to confess that, as I studied the book of Malachi, I found myself having to confess to some things. Not in relation to tithes or such things but for example, allowing all church members to have a go at the pulpit. My thinking was to train up all as Ephesians commanded. But after I saw the need for the honor of God in Malachi, I had to repent.
But not only as a pastor but also as a believer. All who claim that God wrote Malachi for priests, please take note of that last phrase. In this dispensation, whenever you read a commandment God makes to priests, insert your name. Because, as we noted earlier, God said he has appointed us to be priests and kings unto Himself. I trust you know you are a priest and a king, aka royal priesthood, a peculiar people. Amen.
In any case, when it comes to tithing, God left the priests and addressed the entire nation. We give the last word to God, our Maker: “Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me! But you say, ‘In what way have we robbed You?’ In tithes and offerings. You are cursed with a curse, for you have robbed Me, even this whole nation (emphasis mine).
You be the judge.
Maranatha!
