Malachi Chapter 3 Has Nothing To Do With The False Prosperity Doctrine – Nothing Whatever (In The Jude Series) Series

MALACHI CHAPTER 3 HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THE FALSE PROSPERITY DOCTRINE – NOTHING WHATEVER

This message has been placed in the JUDE series because Balaam is very much to the fore. Balaam was a focus in Jude’s letter. The preachers who subscribe to the “health and wealth” teaching otherwise known as the prosperity doctrine, love this chapter in Malachi but they are totally wrong in the exegesis. It is not a chapter to rake in money from ill-informed people. False teachers, following the way of Balaam, resort to Chapter 3 to lead people into a desire for greed and then scam money from them. We shall carefully examine the appropriate verses.

{{Malachi 3:7 “From the days of your fathers you have turned aside from My statutes, and have not kept them. Return to Me, and I will return to you,” says the LORD of hosts,” but you say, ‘How shall we return?’

Mal 3:8 Will a man rob God? Yet you are robbing Me, but you say, ‘How have we robbed You?’ “In tithes and offerings.”

Mal 3:9 You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing Me, the whole nation of you.

Mal 3:10 “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and test Me now in this,” says the LORD of hosts, “if I will not open for you the windows of heaven, and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows.

Mal 3:11 Then I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it may not destroy the fruits of the ground; nor will your vine in the field cast its grapes,” says the LORD of hosts,

Mal 3:12 “and all the nations will call you blessed, for you shall be a delightful land,” says the LORD of hosts.”}}

TOTALLY JEWISH – NOT GENTILES OR CHURCH

The first critical point to notice is the audience God addresses, and we go to verse 12 for that – {{“and all the nations will call YOU blessed, for YOU shall be a delightful land,” says the LORD of hosts.”}}

The pronoun “you” is used twice and refers to the nation of Israel. It is Israel that the nations call blessed, and it is Israel that is the delightful land. It is NOT Christians or the Church. Replacement theology is that horrible doctrine that takes scripture specifically for Israel, and changes it to the Church. God hates it.

Malachi was the last book of the Old Testament to be written, about 90 years after the Jews returned from the Babylonian captivity, and he ministered to the Jews, the grandchildren of those who had returned. This is a favourite passage of those holding to the error of the prosperity doctrine, and it is necessary to examine it. At the outset, what must be understood, is that this writing comes from the Old Testament prophets who never did write to, or for the Church, for it had not been formed and they had no concept of the Church whatsoever. Everything written in Malachi applies to the Jews unless specifically, a direct reference is made to one of the surrounding nations. This book is Jewish and its concepts are Jewish. Only travesty will apply it to the Church.

It is utterly wrong to take the teachings and promises here and interpret them as belonging to the Church. What is written must be understood in terms of promises to Israel, and Israel under the Law. Now, having said that we will look carefully at these verses we have just read.

In VERSE 7, God speaks to the nation to remind the people of Malachi’s generation, that from their fathers’ time they have not kept God’s statutes (and those relate to Israel). The sorry state of the nation was caused by departure from God’s laws and expressed will, so the onus was on the people to return to God. God was compassionate and so He always desired the nation’s return, but it could only come in repentance and contrition. Then the question was posed, “How shall we return?” The answer comes in the next verse.

VERSE 8 is where God says the nation has robbed Him in tithes and offerings. I will say it again, over and over, the blessings for the Christian are in the heavenly places, but the blessings for Israel are contained in the land. Israel is God’s earthly people, and their blessings are realised in the land. The Church, on the other hand, is God’s heavenly people and our blessings are contained in the heavenlies. When Israel obeyed God, they were blessed materially (in the land). When they sinned against God and departed from Him, the land withheld its produce and they entered famine and hardship. This was always the close connection between the nation and its Lord. When they walked with God, the land produced, and they returned the tenth part to God, and God blessed them consequently. The Old Testament contains the record of this. We will look at five passages as support – (Read each one and notice the blessings that pertain to Israel – ALL IN THE LAND.