3:7
So on the one hand we have the unchangeableness of God, which includes His absolute commitment to His covenant. On the other hand we have the unrelenting sinfulness of Israel. The tragedy of Israel, and indeed the tragedy of all mankind, is that if she had obeyed the Lord’s statutes she would have enjoyed peace and prosperity, as would the whole human race. But she did not. Even so, the Lord calls on her to return to Him. Israel replies how should they return? Are they asking because they think they are already doing pretty well, or because they genuinely don’t know?
3:8
The aspect that is presented to them here is that of tithes and offerings. The tithes were supposed to support the Levites. The offerings may refer to the tithe of a tithe that the Levites were meant to present to the Lord. In not presenting the tithes to the Lord the people were robbing God. There is much debate about whether tithing is still applicable today, and questions like whether it should be on net or gross income. Such debates usually miss the point, and such questions are usually a symptom of a wrong attitude. Our God is a giving God, and we should be a giving people. If we do not give then we are not being Christlike, and ultimately we are missing out. We may be “missing out” financially, but most importantly we are missing out on being like God. We were created to give.
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