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- God’s Challenge to us – Part 1
God's Challenge to us - Part 1
“For I the LORD do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed. … 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. Malachi 3:6, 10
When God issued this challenge, he referred to himself as the:
- Lord of Hosts (Mal 3:10)
- Lord who does not change (For I the Lord do not change, Mal 3:6)
Both titles are special and important to consider. The title “Lord of Hosts” first appears in 1 Samuel 1 where Elkanah, a godly man, is recorded as travelling each year to worship the “Lord of Hosts” (1 Sam 1:3). Here and subsequently the name “Lord of Hosts” identifies God as the only one worthy of worship. In Malachi, where this title appears 24 times, we are further taught that God rewards those who worship him in spirit and truth and curses anything less (Mal 2:3, 3:9).
Also in 1 Samuel 1, the first record of someone addressing God by the name “Lord of Hosts” (Hannah) is given. It is significant that this was at a point in her life when she was distraught and almost totally overcome with sadness. Weeping bitterly, she turned to God calling him “Lord of Hosts” (1 Sam 1:11). Hannah, in using this title (in the spirit), appeals to the only one who cares as well as has the power to change her situation. This displays for us another wonderful dimension of the name “Lord of Hosts” – we have a Father in Heaven, who loves us and answers our prayers, no matter how small or great they are.
The statement “For I the Lord (Jehovah) do not change” is equally amazing. There are two parts to it, “Jehovah” – the one who “always was”, “currently is” and “will forever be” reminding us, that our God is not weakened nor wearied by time (Ps 121:3) for he (in the form of his Son) is the Alpha and Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and ending (Rev 22:13).
The second part “do not change” reminds us that he still has divine and inexhaustible compassion for those who own him as their saviour – just as he had for Hannah. Hence we, like Hannah, can cry unto him as our Abba Father knowing we have received the spirit of adoption, not one of fear (Rom 8:15).
When we consider these two titles, how can we not put him to the test?
God’s Challenge in Context
“For I the LORD do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed. 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?’ Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me. But you say, ‘How have we robbed you?’ In your tithes and contributions. You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me, the whole nation of you. 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. 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. Then all nations will call you blessed, for you will be a land of delight, says the LORD of hosts.
