Genesis 4:1-8, ''Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, "I have gotten a man with the help of the LORD." And again, she bore his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain a worker of the ground. In the course of time Cain brought to the LORD an offering of the fruit of the ground, and Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. And the LORD had regard for Abel and his offering, but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his face fell. The LORD said to Cain, "Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it." Cain spoke to Abel his brother. And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him.''
Sower, priest and worshipper will be used as synonyms. We will not restrain the meaning of priest to the officiating clergy, but to anyone who brings a sacrifice to the deity and thus, becomes a worshipper.
According to Exodus 12:37-38, those who came out of Egypt were probably about two million (the 600 thousands male Israelites, the women, the children and the foreigners who left with them). However, despite their countless sacrifices, - in line with the Levitical requirements- they all perished in the wilderness without seeing the Promised Land, the country where milk and honey flow, the country of prosperity. Why?
When Cain and Abel came to worship, “the LORD had regard for Abel and his offering, but for Cain and his offering he had no regard.” In other words, the Lord always looks at the offerer first, before looking at what he brings. Churchmen might be impressed, church members may applaud, but God cannot be fooled because He reads in the heart (1Samuel 16:7). Now, through a few selected pieces, let’s try to understand the reasons why some offerings are discarded.
“Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams.” (1Samuel 15:22, ESV)
That’s what Prophet Samuel said when king Saul was praising himself for having offered many beasts in oblation to a Lord whose orders he had just singularly transgressed. The problem was his heart. It is written: “If one turns away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer is an abomination.” (Proverbs 28:9, ESV). And I can say: ‘‘If one turns away his ear from hearing the law, even his offerings are an abomination.’’ God is not in need of our gifts, He is not looking for an offering at any cost: He wants to be revered and obeyed.
“Not for your sacrifices do I rebuke you; your burnt offerings are continually before me. I will not accept a bull from your house or goats from your folds. For every beast of the forest is mine,… and all that moves in the field is mine. "If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for the world and its fullness are mine. Do I eat the flesh of bulls or drink the blood of goats? Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving, and perform your vows to the Most High, and call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me. ” (Psalm 50:8-10,11,12,13-15, ESV)
The problem was not the sacrifices but ingratitude and failure to comply with the commitments made before the Lord. Hence, it was a heart issue. Let us be faithful and grateful and God will welcome our offerings.
“And now, O priests, this command is for you. If you will not listen, if you will not take it to heart to give honor to my name, says the LORD of hosts, then I will send the curse upon you and I will curse your blessings. Indeed, I have already cursed them, because you do not lay it to heart. Behold, I will rebuke your offspring, and spread dung on your faces, the dung of your offerings, and you shall be taken away with it. So shall you know that I have sent this command to you, that my covenant with Levi may stand, says the LORD of hosts. My covenant with him was one of life and peace, and I gave them to him. It was a covenant of fear, and he feared me. He stood in awe of my name…7 For the lips of a priest should guard knowledge, and people should seek instruction from his mouth, for he is the messenger of the LORD of hosts. But you have turned aside from the way. You have caused many to stumble by your instruction. You have corrupted the covenant of Levi, says the LORD of hosts.” (Malachi 2:1ff, ESV)
Blessing is a synonym of benediction which comes from the latin bene dicere and means a good word spoken to someone. Hence, “I will curse your blessings” or “when you give a blessing, I will turn it into a curse” (CEV) is like saying, ‘‘I will curse all good word, all your beautiful promises and all your prophecies.” And it’s terrible! Those who were supposed to have a covenant with God were violating His laws and causing naïve people to stumble with the kind of advice that they were being given. Once again, the heart was in question. Around us are many people in search of direction, people for whom we may be the only bible they will ever read and we owe it to them the truth: the Church is the support and the column of truth. If we do not comply to the terms of the alliance, if we do not do our best to glorify the name of the Lord and if we teach men to remove even the smallest commandment, it is therefore useless to bring our gifts to God: He will despise them.
“And this second thing you do. You cover the LORD's altar with tears, with weeping and groaning because he no longer regards the offering or accepts it with favor from your hand. 14 But you say, "Why does he not?" Because the LORD was witness between you and the wife of your youth, to whom you have been faithless, though she is your companion and your wife by covenant. 15 Did he not make them one, with a portion of the Spirit in their union? And what was the one God seeking? Godly offspring. So guard yourselves in your spirit, and let none of you be faithless to the wife of your youth. 16 "For the man who does not love his wife but divorces her, says the LORD, the God of Israel, covers his garment with violence, says the LORD of hosts. So guard yourselves in your spirit, and do not be faithless." 17 You have wearied the LORD with your words. But you say, "How have we wearied him?" By saying, "Everyone who does evil is good in the sight of the LORD, and he delights in them." Or by asking, "Where is the God of justice?"” (Malachi 2:13ff, ESV)
Do you know why the divorce rate is increasing among Christians? Why is there an ‘‘acute divorcitis’’ amongst servants of God? It is because divorce is no longer a sin (maybe with the exception of the Catholic Church). What used to be wrong or evil has become acceptable and at the rate in which things are going, cohabitation might soon become the norm. Notwithstanding what you may have been taught, what the society thinks and what it may seem to you, this passage as many others, reveals that God hates adultery and repudiation. I know there are some very complicated cases and true human dramas but, they do not change the fact that every divorce is first of all contrary to God’s will and then, a failure. We can sympathize with those involved but we also have to remain faithful and true to the Scriptures. If we start thinking otherwise, we might end up with the same fate. The Society might change, but God never does and what He said yesterday still stands today and will ever stand as true. That’s the reason why I emphasized so much on the importance and the authority of His Word.
Our offerings will be rejected if we live in adultery. This adultery can be natural (against our spouse), but it can also be spiritual. That’s how the Lord describes the act of going after other gods I recently came across a lady in her mid-forties who had gone to consult a native doctor or fetish priest whichever. She had been Christian for many years but couldn’t wait any longer for God to give her a husband. So she followed a friend and went there ‘to see.’ I could not believe my ears when she told me she prayed for the Lord’s protection and assistance before going there !!! Now, let’s ask a few questions. One, how did she come to believe that she could ask God to sanctify her sin? Two, how can her friend learn the truth about God (that He is Almighty and can reveal hidden things)? Three, with such a spiritual infidelity, are the heavens going to be opened for her if on the following day, she goes to church and donate a huge sum of money? The fact is, this woman had lost her confidence in the Most High and had probably been serving Him with a divided heart for some time: the heart and the heart again... This is how we self-delay or self-block the arrival of our miracles.
“Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me…3 He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, and they will bring offerings in righteousness to the LORD. 4 Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the LORD …5… I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, against the adulterers, against those who swear falsely, against those who oppress the hired worker in his wages, the widow and the fatherless, against those who thrust aside the sojourner, and do not fear me, says the LORD of hosts. 7 …Return to me, and I will return to you, says the LORD of hosts. But you say, 'How shall we return?' 8 Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me. But you say, 'How have we robbed you?' In your tithes and contributions. 9 You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me, the whole nation of you. 10 Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the LORD of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need. 11 I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it will not destroy the fruits of your soil, and your vine in the field shall not fail to bear, says the LORD of hosts. 12 Then all nations will call you blessed, for you will be a land of delight, says the LORD of hosts… 14 You have said, 'It is vain to serve God. What is the profit of our keeping his charge or of walking as in mourning before the LORD of hosts? 15 And now we call the arrogant blessed. Evildoers not only prosper but they put God to the test and they escape.'" 16 Then those who feared the LORD spoke with one another. The LORD paid attention and heard them, and a book of remembrance was written before him of those who feared the LORD and esteemed his name. 17 "They shall be mine, says the LORD of hosts, in the day when I make up my treasured possession, and I will spare them as a man spares his son who serves him. 18 Then once more you shall see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve him.” (Malachi 3:1ff, ESV)
In this example, the injustice was so flagrant that people felt that it was vain to fear and to serve God. Spouses, widows, orphans, foreigners and workers rights were being violated with impunity. Once more, God had to deal with man’s heart. Our donations will never reach their intended purpose without a real comeback to justice. We have to be fair in our actions and our words.
Although verses 8 to 11 are often used by pastors to convince their members to tithe, it is good to keep in mind that the book of Malachi first addresses clergymen and not laymen. Men of God are the ones sitting on the dock here and ALL the aforementioned things are mainly reproached to them. I only referred to these passages because according to the New Testament, every Christian is priest of God (Revelation 1:6).
“So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.” (Matthew 5:23-24, ESV)
Backbiting, hatred, jealousy and others destroy the atmosphere of miracles. Every donation given in a context of conflict remains indefinitely before the altar and will never produce the desired effects until reconciliation has taken place. Offerings must be done in a climate of love. Love that forgives and does everything to seek peace.
“But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property, and with his wife's knowledge he kept back for himself some of the proceeds and brought only a part of it and laid it at the apostles' feet. But Peter said, "Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back for yourself part of the proceeds of the land? While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal? Why is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God." When Ananias heard these words, he fell down and breathed his last. And great fear came upon all who heard of it. 6 The young men rose and wrapped him up and carried him out and buried him. 7 After an interval of about 3 hours his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. And Peter said to her, "Tell me whether you sold the land for so much." And she said, "Yes, for so much." But Peter said to her, "How is it that you have agreed together to test the Spirit of the Lord? Behold, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out." 10 Immediately she fell down at his feet and breathed her last. When the young men came in they found her dead, and they carried her out and buried her beside her husband.” (Acts 5:1-10, ESV)
In a burst of love and solidarity, the early Christians had seen fit to sell their assets to support the needy amongst them. With a lot of transparency, they would inform the Apostles of what they had decided to part with, and then they would bring the amount of the sale to them for redistribution.
One has to acknowledge the fact that they were living with the imminence of the coming of the Lord and were convinced that they would soon no longer need all those possessions. So, Barnabas sold his field. Witnessing that, Ananias and Sapphira stood in the assembly of the saints and promised to sell theirs as well and to bring back the full amount of the sale. Nothing was forced on them and they freely committed themselves, but their heart was full of deceit and greed and their offering was disqualified. They perish trying to present themselves as paragons of generosity.
One has to acknowledge the fact that they were living with the imminence of the coming of the Lord and were convinced that they would soon no longer need all those possessions. So, Barnabas sold his field. Witnessing that, Ananias and Sapphira stood in the assembly of the saints and promised to sell theirs as well and to bring back the full amount of the sale. Nothing was forced on them and they freely committed themselves, but their heart was full of deceit and greed and their offering was disqualified. They perish trying to present themselves as paragons of generosity.
Unfortunately, there are still many Ananias and Sapphira in our churches! How else would you call those who tithe in part, making the pastor believe their earnings are lower than what they really are? What else would you call those who stand to financially support a project only for people to praise their faith and generosity and who fail to keep their commitments as soon as the limelights are off? And we still wonder why the Heaven seems to be sealed! Our gifts will be rejected if we live in lie, deceit, hypocrisy and ‘m’as-tu vu.’
“And the LORD said to Moses, "How long will this people despise me? And how long will they not believe in me, in spite of all the signs that I have done among them? I will strike them with the pestilence and disinherit them… 22 none of the men who have seen my glory and my signs that I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and yet have put me to the test these ten times and have not obeyed my voice, 23 shall see the land that I swore to give to their fathers. And none of those who despised me shall see it.” (Numbers 14:11-12,22-23, ESV)
Those who came out of Egypt could taste neither the honey nor the milk of the promised land because of their profound attitude of contempt and disbelief. Yet, without faith it is impossible to please God for, he who comes to Him must believe that He exists and rewards those who seek Him. It is by faith that Abel offered a more excellent sacrifice than his brother and was approved (Hebrews 11:6,4).
Of all those who experienced the Exodus, only Joshua and Caleb – 2 out of 2 millions - treaded upon Canaan, because they had a different spirit…because they had something else in their hearts (Numbers 14:24).
The promises of God are often conditional. They are like contracts wherein He writes down what He will do if we are faithful to Him. So let us stop thinking that if we give Him 'enough', He will close His eyes on what we are and the kind of life we live. He is not after our money, we cannot buy Him and He doesn’t need our donations: “If I was hungry, I would not tell you… Do I eat bulls’ flesh?...” ("Do I shop with your offerings?"). EVERYTHING belongs to him. We are only managers that may fall out of grace at any time as the bad servant of the parable of talents (Matthew 25:28,30) or simply die as the rich landowner of Luke 12:16-20.
“I will be sanctified in them that come near me.” Let us be wise and careful. More than anything else, let us keep our hearts pure: out of them flow the springs of life and it is the only way to see God... at work in our lives (Leviticus 10:3, Proverbs 4:23, Matthew 5:8).
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