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.
ISRAEL’S BLESSINGS ARE IN THE LAND – THE CHURCH’S BLESSINGS ARE IN THE HEAVENLIES
{{Leviticus 25:18 “You shall thus observe My statutes, and keep My judgments, so as to carry them out, that you may live securely on the land. Lev 25:19 Then the land will yield its produce, so that you can eat your fill and live securely on it.”}}
{{Leviticus 27:30 “Thus all the tithe of the land, of the seed of the land, or of the fruit of the tree, is the LORD’S. It is holy to the LORD.”}}
{{Deuteronomy 7:12 “Then it shall come about, because you listen to these judgments and keep and do them, that the LORD your God will keep with you His covenant and His loving-kindness which He swore to your forefathers. Deut 7:13 He will love you and bless you and multiply you. He will also bless the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground, your grain and your new wine and your oil, the increase of your herd and the young of your flock in the land which He swore to your forefathers to give you. Deut 7:14 You shall be blessed above all peoples.”}}
{{Deuteronomy 28:10 “All the peoples of the earth shall see that you are called by the name of the LORD and they shall be afraid of you. Deut 28:11 The LORD will make you abound in prosperity, in the offspring of your body and in the offspring of your beast and in the produce of your ground, in the land which the LORD swore to your fathers to give you. Deut 28:12 The LORD will open for you His good storehouse so the heavens will give rain to your land in its season, and will bless all the work of your hand. You shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow. Deut. 28:13 The LORD shall make you the head and not the tail, and you shall only be above, and not be underneath, if you will listen to the commandments of the LORD your God, which I charge you today to observe them carefully.”}}
{{Deuteronomy 30:15 “See, I have set before you today, life and prosperity, and death and adversity, Deut 30:16 in that I command you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in His ways and to keep His commandments and His statutes and His judgments, that you may live and multiply, and that the LORD your God may bless you in the land where you are entering to possess it.”}}
Those passages are consistent. Never once in those 5 passages, is any hint made to heaven or heavenly people. All is focussed in the land of Israel. In VERSE 9 of Malachi, the people are undergoing the curse of God and not blessing in the land, because they have turned to sin and evil. God is not in the proper place in the nation. VERSE 10 is our key verse, and the most often quoted one, by prosperity teachers. They are wrong, very wrong, as this verse is used by the gospel pimps for their profit. This is for Israel as Deuteronomy 28 teaches clearly. VERSES 11 and 12 continue the blessings of the land theme.
LET US LOOK AT CHRISTIANS AS THE CONTRAST TO ISRAEL
These false teachers following Balaam, tell the people the more they give, the more God will bless them, even to the paying off of all debts and healing their illnesses. The more you give (to these gospel pimps) the more God will give to you. That is from hell. We could only imagine what Jude would have called them.
Concerning Christians, we are never promised riches or material blessings in this world. What we are promised are blessings, but in this context – {{Ephesians 1 v 3 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.”}} We are rich beyond comparison and our treasures are in heaven. The treasures of the spiritual life are love, joy, peace and all the rest. The greatest treasure in the whole of existence is abiding in our souls – the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, who is our Saviour. The Holy Spirit abides in us, and He is the promise or down payment of the glory to come.
We have riches beyond compare in spite of what this physical life may throw at us. Faith is what holds on to these great treasures. Now, does that mean, that Christian are meant to be rich in this life, and that God will miraculously cancel out debts we may have, as these false teachers promise? The Word of Faith preachers proclaim that. What it means is, “Feed THEIR concept of god, money, by giving to them, and God will pour out treasures from his storehouses to you.” The more you “feed” to these gospel charlatans, the more you will get back. Their god is their belly.
What is saddest of all is the impact the prosperity teaching has on poorer nations. In the book “Strange Fire” by John Macarthur, on Page 59 he said, {{“Over 90% of Pentecostals and Charismatics in Nigeria, South Africa, India, and the Philippines, believe that God will grant material prosperity to all believers who have enough faith, and in every country, significantly more Pentecostals than other Christians believe this.”}} That is a wicked thing to give false hope to people. Many are giving what they can’t afford in the hope of obtaining riches, and when they don’t get it, then these wicked false teachers tell the people they don’t have enough faith. In three days Benny Hinn spoke to 7.3 million people in a poor area of India who gave from their poverty hoping to have material blessing because Hinn promised it. It is vile. It is detestable. He is a thief and a robber.
ARE CHRISTIANS MEANT TO BE AUTOMATICALLY FINANCIALLY PROSPEROUS?
IF it was God’s way to have His people financially prosperous, then the following verses would not apply -
This is Paul writing to the Corinthians and to the Galatians – {{1Corinthians 16:1 “Now concerning the collection for the saints, do also as I directed the churches of Galatia. 1Cor 16:2 On the first day of every week let each one of you put aside and save, as he may prosper, that no collections be made when I come, 1Cor 16:3 and when I arrive, whomever you may approve, I shall send them with letters to carry your gift to Jerusalem. . . .” Galatians 2:10 They only asked us to remember the poor - the very thing I also was eager to do.”}} (explain that one with reference to the conference in Jerusalem). In Jerusalem, there were many very poor Christians and they would have been rejected by society. The Gentile churches were gracious to help these poor saints and took up offerings for them. These poor believers would not have existed, if God had planned for all Christians to be prosperous and follow the greedy error of Balaam.
{{Romans 15:25 “but now, I am going to Jerusalem serving the saints, Rom 15:26 for Macedonia and Achaia have been pleased to make a contribution for the poor among the saints in Jerusalem. Rom 15:27 Yes, they were pleased to do so, and they are indebted to them for if the Gentiles have shared in their spiritual things, they are indebted to minister to them also in material things.”}} Here we have Paul himself carrying these offerings for the poor and destitute Christians in Jerusalem, collected from the Christians of the Grecian regions. The reason for this endeavour is quite interesting and Paul tells us. Paul says that we owe the Jews a debt, in effect, because from them came the spiritual blessings that spread to the Gentiles and brought us eternal salvation, so, in return, the Gentiles have this debt to look after the Jewish Christians materially. That is why these collections were taken in support of their fellow believers among the Jews suffering poverty.
EXAMPLES TO REPUDIATE THE FALSE PROSPERITY DOCTRINE
We now come to a passage that spells disaster for these false prophets and their prosperity doctrine. Paul is the Apostle without equal when we look at his achievements and his contribution to the New Testament Canon of scripture, but how did this man live, and what was the great prosperity given to him by God? Let us see this in our next passage.
{{1Corinthians 4:10 “We are fools for Christ’s sake, but you are prudent in Christ. We are weak, but you are strong. You are distinguished, but we are without honour. 1Cor 4:11 To this present hour we are both hungry and thirsty, and are poorly clothed, and are roughly treated, and are homeless, 1Cor 4:12 and we toil, working with our own hands. When we are reviled, we bless. When we are persecuted, we endure.”}}
The real servants of God had very little. Elijah had his mantle. John the Baptist had a camel hair garment, and dined on locusts and wild honey. Jesus had not a place to lay His head. Paul was poorly clothed and was often hungry. In fact, it seems to be the rule, almost, that the great men of faith, the true men of God, had very little and knew nothing of material prosperity. That stands in great contrast to these prosperity cheats who have personal jets, very expensive suits, gold rings and jewelry, great mansions, etc. It is a disgusting shame and these men, these Balaams, will perish with their money stolen from desperate Christians.
There is an important passage in Hebrews to highlight the poverty and hardship of God’s servants, and I quote – talking about the great heroes of faith – {{Hebrews 11:36 “and others experienced mockings and scourgings, yes, also chains and imprisonment. Heb 11:37 They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were tempted, they were put to death with the sword. They went about in sheepskins, in goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, ill-treated Heb 11:38 (men of whom the world was not worthy), wandering in deserts and mountains and caves and holes in the ground.”}} It was the devil who offered Jesus great riches and the ownership of the world’s kingdoms if He would bow down to him. The promise, even the demand, of material riches comes from Satan, and Balaam’s agents will promote it with all their might. Kenneth Copeland, Toufik Benedictus Hinn, Ceflo Dollar, and Joel Olsteen, (only a few) will promise the buying of riches from Satan - the more you give, the more you get back. A man may gain the whole world and lose his own soul. These “get rich” schemes painted with a Christian covering, are from hell itself.
One more passage to consider – {{Philippians 4:10 “I rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that now at last you have revived your concern for me. Indeed, you were concerned before but you lacked opportunity - Phil 4:11 not that I speak from want for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am.”}} Paul was blessed in his need by a gift from the Philippians but he said a fundamental truth for Christians – “be content in whatever circumstance you are in.” That makes the greed of the prosperity doctrine to be so evil.
We have been looking at principles in the bible for the Christian and riches. The vile doctrine, more exactly, for the demand of prosperity as if you order God around to make you prosperous, is a hellish doctrine. We have seen that the greatest of God’s people were not prosperous in this world’s understanding, but very rich towards God. We have seen that there are many poor saints. Now we come to a passage in Corinthians that needs understanding, for it may seem to contradict what we have been looking at. Let us consider it verse by verse –
THE TEACHING ON CHRISTIAN GIVING
{{2Corinthians 9:6 “Now this I say, he who sows sparingly shall also reap sparingly and he who sows bountifully shall also reap bountifully.”}} This is a rural image that the farmer knows all too well. If a man plants one acre of grain he will reap from one acre alone. If he plants 10 000 acres he will reap from that 10 000 acres. Sow sparingly; reap sparingly. Sow bountifully; reap bountifully. If you sow time in the bible, the bible will reap great blessings for you. I believe that those who minister to others, will themselves be ministered unto. If this fellowship canvassed a few streets around this hall with leaflets, then we may reap from that sparing sowing, but if we canvassed the whole suburb, we may reap abundantly from that abundant sowing. God is no man’s debtor. Some want to apply this verse to money but I don’t think you can do that.
{{2Corinthians 9:7 “Let each one do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion for God loves a cheerful giver.”}} This verse teaches that men and women are led in their thinking (in their hearts) to do something for the Lord, and that, then, must be done willingly NOT out of compulsion or pressure from preachers, for that results in doing it grudgingly, and it is worthless. I feel passing an offering plate or bag, is pressure on a person to give. That is wrong. Paul speaks of setting aside in 1Corinthians16:2. God loves a cheerful giver and too many want to apply this to money alone. It does apply to money, but not to money alone. However, it is much, much wider than that. It extends to time in doing the Lord’s things, in preparing this hall for the Sunday meeting, in transporting Christians to and from meetings; in giving your time for the study of the bible and in attending bible studies, and in giving your time for meeting together for fellowship, and visiting needy Christians. It is sad that many preachers limit this verse to money.
{{2Corinthians 9:8 “And God is able to make all grace abound to you, that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed.”}} God’s grace may abound to you to provide you sufficiency, and He may bless you with earthly riches and abundance, even more than you require for your own needs. The verse is saying that the abundance you may have can be used to do good deeds. Some have the misconception that a Christian should not be rich, but the bible does not support that. It certainly does not support the demonic prosperity doctrine. Two of the richest men of the time, ministered to the Lord in his death and burial. The spices brought by Nicodemus were worth a fortune, but they came from his abundance.
2Corinthians 9:9 “as it is written, “He scattered abroad. He gave to the poor. His righteousness abides forever.” 2Cor 9:10 Now He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food, will supply and multiply your seed for sowing, and increase the harvest of your righteousness.”}} Please do not miss the ending of this verse – “the harvest of your righteousness”. What the verse clearly says is that God is in control and it is He who supplies and multiplies. God has supplied each one of us with seed to sow – it is your gift and abilities that you must plant and nurture – but He will give the increase to you if you are faithful in working for Him, and in the end, your righteousness will shine forth, and in a coming day it will glorify the Saviour when we all meet Him. Be you holy as I am holy. That is what the Lord wants. He wants faithfulness in sowing and harvesting.
{{2Corinthians 9:11 “You will be enriched in everything for all liberality, which through us is producing thanksgiving to God.”}} Liberality includes the gift of money to the Lord’s work, but it is wrong to confine it to that as many preachers do. It is much wider than that and the word “liberality” includes openness, kindness, big-heartedness, and giving oneself to the task. The Corinthians will be enriched to be abundant and generous in their lives. Do you remember the rich, young ruler who came to the Lord asking how to attain eternal life, and the Lord told him to keep the commandments? Then we have this – {{Matthew 19:20 “The young man said to Him, “All these things I have kept. What am I still lacking?” Matt 19:21 Jesus said to him, “If you wish to be complete, go and sell your possessions and give to the poor and you shall have treasure in heaven, and come, follow Me.”}} What the Lord was doing here was putting His finger on the man’s problem, and that was his love of money. Then He spoke about treasure in heaven. That is our riches. We don’t build fortunes here but we must build up treasure in heaven. That is why the prosperity doctrine is so demonic. It magnifies earthly riches and not the heavenly treasure.
For anyone tempted to go down the path of the prosperity teaching, please consider the points raised here. It is a false gospel in every way.
ronaldf@aapt.net.au
