Prince of PEACE is JESUS CHRIST

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The Fruit of the HOLY SPIRIT

Podcast Episode: The Fruit of the HOLY SPIRIT – PEACE #2

“But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: LOVE, JOY, PEACE, PATIENCE, KINDNESS, GOODNESS, FAITHFULNESS, GENTLENESS, AND SELF-CONTROL. There is no law against these things.” [Galatians 5:22-23 NLT]

We need to understand that love is the first characteristic of the fruit of the Holy Spirit. It is well placed at the head of the list, for it permeates all the rest of the attributes. Somehow, if we live a life of love, the other virtues will attend us all the days of our lives. Love is the key that unlocks the entire fruit basket of Galatians 5:22-23, as well as permeating 1 Corinthians 13.

Melchizedek Blesses Abram

In Genesis 14:17-20 NLT says, “17 After Abram returned from his victory over Kedorlaomer and all his allies, the king of Sodom went out to meet him in the valley of Shaveh (that is, the King’s Valley). 18 And Melchizedek, the king of Salem and a priest of God Most High, brought Abram some bread and wine. 19 Melchizedek blessed Abram with this blessing: “Blessed be Abram by God Most High,
Creator of heaven and earth. 20  And blessed be God Most High, who has defeated your enemies for you.”

Genesis 14 tells of an early invasion of Palestine by a coalition of four Mesopotamian kings who invaded the plain of the Jordan, subjugating the five cities there, including Sodom (Genesis 14:1-3). Lot, Abraham’s nephew, was among those taken captive. But God is sovereign over the nations, and Lot was saved because of his relationship to Abraham (cf. Genesis 12:3). In future generations when the nation of Israel was attacked and her people taken captive by Assyria and Babylon, nations also from Mesopotamia, she would find that her preservation as a nation was assured in much the same way – because of her relationship to Abraham.

When Abraham returned from defeating the four kings, he was met by Melchizedek, the king of “Salem” (Genesis 14:18). “Salem” is believed to be an early name for Jerusalem. Melchizedek was not just a king; he was also a priest of the Most High God (cf. Psalm 110:4; Hebrews 5:5-10; 7:1-10).

In Hebrews 5:5-10 NLT says, “5 That is why Christ did not honor Himself by assuming He could become High Priest. No, He was chosen by God, who said to Him, “You are my Son. Today I have become your Father.” 6 And in another passage God said to Him, “You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.” 7 While Jesus was here on earth, He offered prayers and pleadings, with a loud cry and tears, to the one who could rescue Him from death. And God heard His prayers because of His deep reverence for God. 8 Even though Jesus was God’s Son, He learned obedience from the things He suffered. 9 In this way, God qualified Him as a perfect High Priest, and He became the source of eternal salvation for all those who obey Him. 10 And God designated Him to be a High Priest in the order of Melchizedek.”

As the Old Testament high priests did not take upon themselves the honor but were honored by God’s selection, our Lord Jesus Christ did not exalt Himself to become High Priest. Our Lord Jesus Christ also was chosen by God, as demonstrated by the quotation from Psalm 2:7, “You are my Son. Today I have become your Father.” Our Lord Jesus Christ became the High Priest and perfectly fulfilled the requirements.

Although our Lord Jesus Christ fulfilled the above requirements for becoming the perfect High Priest, He did not have one significant requirement: He was not born into the tribe of Levi and had not descended from Aaron. Our Lord Jesus Christ was of the tribe of Judah (see Genesis 49:10; Matthew 2:6; Revelation 5:5). Only Levites could be priests, and only descendants of Aaron could be high priests in the Jewish system. The book of Hebrews, however, tells how our Lord Jesus Christ’s priesthood was greater than the Aaronic priesthood by quoting Psalm 110:4: “You are a priest forever in the line of Melchizedek.” These words, coming from the inspired psalmist David predicted that the Messiah would come from a line of priests not traced back to Aaron. This theme is discussed extensively in Hebrews Chapter 7. The priests in the line of Aaron were not priests forever. Our Lord Jesus Christ, however, is a priest forever. In addition, Aaron’s descendants were priests but not kings. Israel’s kings could not serve the functions of the priests (those who tried faced dire consequences, such as Saul in 1 Samuel 13:8-14 and Uzziah in 1 Chronicles 26:16-21).

High priests had to be human (and thus able to sympathize with those they represented), and they had to be called by God. Our Lord Jesus Christ fulfilled both of these requirements (Hebrews 4:15; 5:5-6). Our Lord Jesus Christ’s humanity allowed Him to sympathize with us. To show this, the writer reminded the readers of how, while our Lord Jesus Christ was here on earth, He agonized as He prepared to face death (Luke 22:41-44). Although our Lord Jesus Christ cried out to God, asking to be delivered, He was prepared to suffer humiliation, separation from His Father, and death in order to do God’s will. He offered prayers and pleadings, with a loud cry and tears. He knew He had been sent to die, but in His humanity, He faced great fear and sorrow over what He knew would happen. In His humanity, He did not want to die, but He submitted Himself to the Father’s will and God heard His prayers. Our Lord Jesus Christ suffered extreme agony and death in submission to God. But His prayer was answered in that He was saved from the power of death. He overcame death through His resurrection.

In the kingdoms of any ancient regime, no prince suffers; the crown prince especially is pampered and prepared for kingship. But our Lord Jesus Christ, even though He was God’s Son . . . learned obedience from the things He suffered. The bewildering lesson of this verse is that God Himself, born of human parentage, actually learned something in the suffering He underwent. Was the all-knowing God in need of learning? Our Lord Jesus Christ learned about the human condition. That knowledge brought more empathy than intelligence, more personal identification than measurable data.

Like our Lord Jesus Christ, we as Born-Again Christian believers often learn obedience through our suffering (see Hebrews 12:2-11). This example from our Lord Jesus Christ encouraged the readers to remain firm and not drift away from the faith in times of suffering. Just as our Lord Jesus Christ was perfected through His suffering, so Christians will be, too.

Our Lord Jesus Christ, the author of our salvation was qualified as a perfect High Priest through suffering. The word “perfect” does not refer to our Lord Jesus Christ’s sinless state; our Lord Jesus Christ was already perfect before He faced suffering. His perfection was put to the test and came out with flying colors. Because humans experience suffering and death, our Lord Jesus Christ became fully human and experienced these parts of humanity as well. By sharing our experience of suffering, our Lord Jesus Christ shared our human experience completely. Because our Lord Jesus Christ lived, died, and rose again, He became the source of eternal salvation for all those who obey Him. These last words warned those who would turn away from our Lord Jesus Christ and turn back to an inferior system. Salvation comes only to those who obey as our Lord Jesus Christ obeyed – with complete submission to God and His will, even in the face of suffering.

Going back to the theme in Hebrews 5:6, our Lord Jesus Christ was designated . . . to be a High Priest in the line of Melchizedek. All priests in Aaron’s family line needed mediation for their own sins. All human priests died and were succeeded by others. But our Lord Jesus Christ was fundamentally different. Our Lord Jesus Christ did not need mediation for personal moral flaws. Our Lord Jesus Christ died, but rose again to die no more. No one succeeded our Lord Jesus Christ; He is a priest forever. He is both human and divine, made perfect through suffering, able to understand our weaknesses. That’s quite unlike the Aaronic priesthood, so the writer compares our Lord Jesus Christ’s priesthood with “the line of Melchizedek.”

Our Lord Jesus Christ the high priest – the constantly interceding priest – is our hope. He continues interceding when we think we’ve grown too busy to pray. Always at His post, our Lord Jesus Christ prays for us. Life becomes manageable – not always, because we have been faithful, but because our Lord Jesus Christ is our high priest – our always interceding priest – our priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.

Have we any turmoil in our lives? Let us let them go. Are we afraid that our personality is so flawed that God might never really accept us? Rejoice! We have a continually interceding priest, our Lord Jesus Christ the Righteous. He won peace for us on a bloody hill. And even as He died, He secured our right to immediate access to the Father. Best of all, His sacrifice was so sufficient that we never need fear that any of our sins can prevent our entrance into heaven, nor can our moral weaknesses bar us from His eternal peace. Amen!

Again, our Lord Jesus Christ suffered extreme agony and death in submission to God. But His prayer was answered in that He was saved from the power of death. He overcame death through His resurrection. Happy “RESURRECTION DAY!” He has risen and alive!

True Wisdom Comes From God

In James 3:16-18 NLT says, “16 For wherever there is jealousy and selfish ambition, there you will find disorder and evil of every kind. 17 But the wisdom from above is first of all pure. It is also peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and good deeds. It shows no favoritism and is always sincere. 18 And those who are peacemakers will plant seeds of peace and reap a harvest of righteousness.”

People filled with jealousy and selfish ambition think they must be first in everything. They cannot stand to see anyone else in the limelight, or have anyone else cast a shadow on what they do. This leads to desires and strategies for revenge that can lead to disaster. By contrast, the following seven characteristics of heavenly wisdom are strung together like pearls. They are what wisdom is and produces.

The wisdom that comes from heaven is . . . pure. To be fruitful for God, we must have moral and spiritual integrity. It is also peace loving. This is peace that goes beyond inner peace; it is opposed to strife. It is peace between people, and between people and God. It must be peace that affects the community. We as Born-Again Christians must not only prefer peace, but we should also seek to spread it. Amen!

It is gentle at all times. This is the opposite of self-seeking. It does not demand its own right. To be gentle is to make allowances for others, to temper justice with mercy. It is the kind of treatment that we would like to receive from others.

This wisdom is also willing to yield to others. Heavenly wisdom is reasonable, flexible – willing to listen and to change. Just as good soldiers willingly follow orders from their superiors, people with heavenly wisdom willingly follow God’s orders and respond to His correction.

This wisdom is also full of mercy and good deeds. God’s wisdom is full of God’s gracious forgiveness. And His agape love leads to practical action, helping and serving others. We should be willing to forgive even when the problems we are facing are someone else’s fault.

God’s wisdom shows no partiality, meaning single-minded and free from prejudice toward people and without double-mindedness toward God (James 1:5-8). It is always sincere, meaning “unhypocritical.” God’s wisdom makes people genuine. Amen!

Finally, in 2 Corinthians 5:18 that all Christians have been called to a ministry of reconciliation.

The fellowship churches in every generation is hungry for people who will honor their calling to make peace. How do we become peacemakers who sow in peace and reap a harvest of righteousness? One of the most exciting aspects of our lives in Christ is that we called to evangelize with a ministry of peace. The world is a troubled place, and most lives have never heard the right prescription for peace. Our Lord Jesus Christ is that medicine, and we are the apothecaries (or one who prepares) of peace.

The church in every generation is hungry for people who will honor their calling to make peace. Our purpose in the world and the home fellowship churches is to publish peace. The home fellowship church is made up of individuals in every home with differing viewpoints and ideas. In virtually every congregation, there are enough divisive, troublesome, or disruptive individual differences to blow the body apart were it not for the moderating qualities of those who are called to peace.

Melchizedek is Greater Than Abraham

In Hebrews 7:1-3 NLT says, “1 This Melchizedek was king of the city of Salem and also a priest of God Most High. When Abraham was returning home after winning a great battle against the kings, Melchizedek met him and blessed him. 2 Then Abraham took a tenth of all he had captured in battle and gave it to Melchizedek. The name Melchizedek means “king of justice,” and king of Salem means King of Peace.” 3 There is no record of His father or mother or any of His ancestors – no beginning or end to His life. He remains a priest forever, resembling the Son of God.”

The description of Melchizedek comes from Genesis 14:18-20. He seems to have been an extraordinary man who served His people in both the offices of king and priest. Salem may later have become the city of Jerusalem. The appellation God Most High means that Melchizedek worshiped the one true God.

This passage refers to the time when Abraham was returning home after winning a great battle against many kings. Four kings in Abraham’s region had united and had conquered Sodom and other neighboring cities (Genesis 14:1-11). Abraham’s nephew Lot and his family lived in Sodom. When Abraham heard that Lot and his family had been captured, Abraham mobilized 318 men for battle. With a surprise attack, Abraham and his tiny band of men liberated Lot and the others who had been captured (Genesis 14:12-16).

After defeating the four kings, Abraham became the greatest power in the land, and Melchizedek met him and blessed him. Then Abraham took a tenth of all he had won in the battle and gave it to Melchizedek because Melchizedek was a priest of God Most High. By giving the tithe to Melchizedek, Abraham was giving the gift to God’s representative. Although these two men were strangers to each other, they shared a most important characteristic: Both worshiped and served the one God who made heaven and earth. This was a great moment of triumph for Abraham. He had just defeated an army and had freed a large group of captives. If he had any doubt in his mind about who had gained the victory, Melchizedek set the record straight (Genesis 14:20). Abraham recognized that he and this man worshiped the same God.

The original readers of Hebrews would have known that Melchizedek was greater than Abraham because He was able to receive tithes and give a blessing (see Hebrews 7:7). This argument may not carry the same logical forcefulness for readers today as it did then, but these early Jewish believers understood the argument.

One of the reasons why Melchizedek is so significant is that His name means “King of Justice” (the suffix of his name, “chizedek,” means justice.) He is also the “King of Peace” because Salem means “peace.” (“Salem” can be translated peace.) In Melchizedek’s name and position, justice and peace come together. Therefore, Melchizedek represents the same character traits as the Messiah, our Lord Jesus Christ, who revealed God’s justice and peace.

Who was Melchizedek? Through the years, many have believed that He was Christ Himself appearing in human form to Abraham – technically called a “Christophany” (an appearance of our Lord Jesus Christ in the Old Testament). This seems unlikely because Melchizedek is said to resemble Jesus Christ (Hebrews 7:3). Ancient Jewish interpretation said he was an angelic being, but there is no evidence in Genesis, Psalm 110:4, or Hebrews to support this theory. The best interpretation is that Melchizedek was a non-Jewish, historical priest-king who lived in ancient times and was a symbol and type of our Lord Jesus Christ.

To bolster the argument, the author of Hebrews used what is not said in Genesis 14 as much or more as what is said. The Bible does not provide a genealogy for Melchizedek nor a record of His death. While the Bible does not supply details of Melchizedek’s life, most likely Melchizedek was a human king and priest who really did have parents, and thus was born and eventually died. Jewish theology and typology, however, is built only on what the Bible text says. Because in the Bible text there is no record of his father or mother or any of his ancestors, it is as though he didn’t have any. Because the text records no beginning or end to his life, it is as though Melchizedek never was born or died. The contrast is being made between Melchizedek and Aaron’s priestly line, which depended entirely on genealogy. Priests in Aaron’s family succeeded upon the death of the prior priest, making the date of death extremely important. None of the apparatus of the Aaronic priesthood (Exodus 39) applied to Melchizedek, except God’s appointment. In this way, Melchizedek foreshadows our Lord Jesus Christ, God’s special emissary.

With no record of beginning or end, Mel- chizedek remains a priest forever, resembling the Son of God (see also Psalm 110:4). Hebrews doesn’t say that our Lord Jesus Christ resembled Melchizedek, but that Melchizedek resembled our Lord Jesus Christ. Melchizedek was a real man, a servant of God, whose history is recorded in the book of Genesis in such a way as to make him resemble (to be like or exhibit similarity or likeness to) the one who would come and fulfill completely the offices of priest and king, and who would truly be a priest forever.

Well, maybe there is a person (spouse, prayer partner, relative, loved one, and/or best friend) that resemble our Lord Jesus Christ in our lives. If there are things in our lives that bring turmoil to the setting, let’s ask Him to clear away the busy noise of our self-important agenda so that we can meet in peace. But how do we get rid of that busy inner noise that produces restlessness in our hearts? This is difficult indeed. All of our lives, from the time we are first able to think, we talk to ourselves inside our minds. We live all our lives in this never-ending stream of conversation. Our minds are chatty, never stopping to rest. We talk, talk, and talk inside ourselves.

This unending stream of mental commentary needs to come to a halt if our Lord Jesus Christ is ever to commune with us. Let me suggest focusing on Christ Himself until we call the noise to silence. Then we can press on to learn the art of listening prayer.

At this point, peace is born in our lives. Into this new calm, that we establish by silencing our busy minds, our Lord Jesus Christ makes His entry and is ours. He is ours for fellowship and ours for instruction. He is ours for friendship and commission. He is ours for the moderated life, ours for the life of peace. Amen!

The Day of Our Lord is Coming

In 2 Peter 3:14 NLT says, “14 And so, dear friends, while you are waiting for these things to happen, make every effort to be found living peaceful lives that are pure and blameless in His sight.”

Because we as Born-Again Christian believers can trust God’s promise to bring us into a new earth, and because we are waiting for these things to happen, we ought to live a pure and blameless life. To say it another way, only this powerful hope could entice us to live righteously. God’s Kingdom will be characterized by peace with God; therefore, Born-Again believers ought to practice peace with God now, in preparation for living in the Kingdom. We should not become lazy and complacent just because our Lord Jesus Christ has not yet returned. Instead, we should live in eager expectation of His coming. What would you like to be doing when our Lord Jesus Christ returns? That is how you should be living each day. Abide in God’s Words and continuously, insistently, and persistently pray (see James 5:13-16).

We are to create peace for others by living in it ourselves. Let me encourage y’all to make every effort to be “spotless, blameless and at peace.” How would such a personal resolve improve our service to others? Such a resolution, if carried out, would keep people open to the ministry God has called us to perform.

Christians who live in inner conflict do not attract converts. Our own private battles often keep us from even seeing those around us who are in need. Indeed, we must call these inner wars to peace before we can see either our Lord Jesus Christ or our world.            

The truth is that people who are at peace make excellent ministers. Peacemakers have no personal agenda. They have no desire to use other people to further their own goals. Peacemakers create an attitude (see Philippians 4:8), a mood, and an atmosphere that makes other people unafraid. In fact, the very appearance of a peacemaker into anyone’s company says, “Don’t be afraid. Forget your anxieties. Let’s sit down, talk, and pray together.” Amen!

Planning Peace, Pray and Stop Worrying

In Proverbs 12:20 NLT says, “Deceit fills hearts that are plotting evil; joy fills hearts that are planning peace!

Evil plotting is implemented by methods consistent with the goal (deceitful). The end of the peacemaker is joy. There is indeed “deceit in the hearts of those who plot evil.” But there is also joy in the hearts of “those who promote peace.” Peace brings joy.

There is joy in the hearts of those who promote peace. Our personal quiet time in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ, and our Savior ought to be approached, enjoyed and concluded on a note of quiet and untroubled love.

Worrying in the presence of God is not prayer. Certainly, worrying in His presence cannot promote real peace in the Christian’s life.

I can only imagine when the Japanese surrendered in the Pacific, too. The Asians, Filipinos, and others were rejoicing, too. Peace brings joy!

That very year was the year that most people came to faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. People learned – even as a nine-year-old child – that peace quieted the human hearts on quite another level. My Dad can relate to those experiences because that was in his time. The final year of the war had been terrible ordeal for him. He hated the Japanese. I kept in reminding him that they are our friends now until he went with our Lord few years ago. People had suffered much that year as they watched their mother agonizing over the news from all the U.S. fronts. Until now, we are experiencing it in these wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, and elsewhere. My sister was married to service member and my son John just came from Iraq. and together with his younger brother Chris came from Afghanistan. I can feel the pain of those parents and loved ones whose sons and daughters in the U.S. Armed Forces lost their lives in these wars. God bless their families.

So when our Lord Jesus Christ entered our lives, peace calmed our childish heart and joy – a welcome reprieve after so many joyless years – were ours and has remained ours to this day. Amen! Hallelujah!

Prayer is the key that unlocks and reveals faith. Effective prayer needs both an attitude of complete dependence and the action of asking. Prayer demonstrates complete reliance on God. Thus, there is no substitute for prayer, especially in situations that seem impossible.

So, let our hearts and minds in tune with God, in the power of God, the Holy Spirit. Let’s continuously and persistently pray for God’s perfect will be done. We as Born-Again Christians have been tried and cleansed, we have moved freely into a relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ that is more powerful than it was before our trials. We are at home in the presence and fellowship of God, for we are heirs with our Lord Jesus Christ, more like Him that we could ever have dreamed possible. So, let’s continuously and persistently pray for God’s perfect will be done. Amen!

The principle is that no one has anything of value to bring to God in order to deserve salvation, mercy, justification, or even a second glance from God. The proud will be humbled, but the humble will be honored. Acceptance before God cannot be achieved by good deeds, piety, or any amount of self-proclaimed righteousness.

Let’s never get over the effect of God’s saving transformation on people’s lives. People who were lost in sin, filled with anger and bitterness, give up their hatred and become approachable as we have studied and learned last time. That is, of course, why we minister to others. Those of us who minister are not people to whom (fruit of the Holy Spirit) love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control comes naturally. We are people who have been remodeled by grace. We thankfully leave our old natures far behind as we embrace joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control, the agape love of God, and in our treatment of others. Amen!

Sunday by Sunday as we come to worship, let me encourage our brothers- and sisters-in-Christ, and I want my readers and listeners to be both strong in the faith and sensitive to others’ needs. Because all, we as Born-Again Christian believers are strong in certain areas and weak in others, we constantly need to monitor the effects of our behavior on others.

In these PEACE Series of Podcast, we learned the following PURPOSES of this fruit of the HOLY SPIRIT:

• To have a truce with God to end our alienation from Him
• To know that our Lord Jesus Christ is the Prince of Peace
• To know and understand that in His presence we can have the evidence of confidence
•  Learn to understand and accept the higher will of God
• Learn to spend time alone with the companionship of Christ
• To know and understand the reign of the Holy Spirit

On every Podcast, I always have three (3) questions we can answer from only these two (2) Sources: The Bible and Guidance of the Holy Spirit. The following are:

First is about our > Observation: What do these passages or Scriptures say to you?

Second is about our own > Interpretation: What do these passages or Scriptures mean to you?

Third is about how we can apply > Application: How do the meaning of these passages or Scriptures apply to you or to your situation?

If you are not sure that you are Born-Again Christian believer or you have relatives, loved ones, friends, neighbors, and people in your circle of influence, please take a look and/or guide them to one of our ministries, “An Invitation To Meet Our Lord Jesus Christ” at https://homefellowshipchurches.org/an-invitation-to-meet-our-lord-jesus-christ/

Let’s give an opportunity for the lost souls to experience on being Born-Again Christian as explained by our Lord Jesus Christ in the book of John 3:13 in the New Testament of the Bible.

It is as simple as A, B, & C > Admit, Believe, & Confess. All Born-Again Christian believers prayed this simple prayer we called “Sinner’s Prayer”

“Father God, I come to in the name of Jesus Christ. I acknowledge and admit that I am a sinner and I need a Savior. I believe and have faith in Jesus Christ who was born of Virgin Mary, died on the Cross for the penalty of my sins, and rose again that I may have the eternal life. I confess and declare Jesus Christ as my personal Savior and Lord of my life. Comfort, guide, and help me Holy Spirit to live and grow in my spiritual life according to Your Words, purpose, and perfect will of God, in my Lord Jesus Christ name, Amen!”

If you prayed this, “Sinner’s Prayer” sincerely in your heart, you are Born-Again Christian believer.

If you are not sure that you are Born-Again Christian believer and/or knows someone (relatives, loved ones, friends, neighbors, or in your circle of influence), please take a look of one of our ministries, “An Invitation To Meet Our Lord Jesus Christ” at https://homefellowshipchurches.org/an-invitation-to-meet-our-lord-jesus-christ/

Now, let me pray for all of you:

Father God, we come into your presence in our Lord Jesus Christ name, and in the power of the Holy Spirit. Thank you Lord Jesus Christ for Your agape love and forgiveness you have done on the Cross of Calvary, and continue to intercede for us in prayer. Thank you Holy Spirit as our Helper and Comforter. Thank you for the wisdom, knowledge, understanding, courage and strength. We cling, yield, plug-in and tune-in to you Holy Spirit to help us understand God’s Words, obey them, receive Your divine revelation, know the Truth that sets us free, and apply them in our lives, in our Lord Jesus Christ name, Amen!”

Let’s praise and worship God in Spirit and in Truth. Give all thanks to God for all answered prayers.

Please send your > Praise Reports (answered prayers) and New Prayer Requests via email to: TrinityBlessings@homefellowshipchurches.org. God bless you all and our families!

A Call to Repentance and Be Blessed

In Malachi 3:7-15 AMPC says, “7 Ever since the days of your ancestors, you have scorned my decrees and failed to obey them. Now return to me, and I will return to you,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. “But you ask, ‘How can we return when we have never gone away?’ 8 “Should people cheat God? Yet you have cheated me! “But you ask, ‘What do you mean? When did we ever cheat you?’ “You have cheated me of the tithes and offerings due to me. 9 You are under a curse, for your whole nation has been cheating me. 10 Bring all the tithes (the whole tenth of your income) into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house, and prove Me now by it”, says the Lord of hosts, “if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.” [Malachi 2:2.] 11 “And I will rebuke the devourer (insects and plagues) for your sakes and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground, neither shall your vine drop its fruits before the time in the field,” says the Lord of hosts. 12 “And all nations shall call you happy and blessed, for you shall be a land of delight”, says the Lord of hosts.

If the people would obey God, giving as they should, God would flood His people with blessings. There would be an overabundance of God’s blessing if He was given what He requested.

Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse – See 2 Chronicles 31:11; cf. 1 Chronicles 26:20; Nehemiah 10:38; 13:5, 12. If the temple storehouses were empty, it was the people’s fault. God had already blessed them with enough to give a little back to Him.

Instead of destroying our crops (blessings), God would make them come in greater abundance than we had ever imagined possible (Amos 4:9; Haggai 2:19; Zechariah 8:12). The devourer – probably referring to locusts, though the word here is general in meaning (Baldwin). In the Near East, locust swarms are known for their ability to damage huge tracts of agricultural land (see note on Joel 1:4).

A delightsome land – All of the blessings promised to Jacob would come to pass if the people would obey God (Deuteronomy 33:29; Zechariah 8:13). Their land would be a delight to all who saw it (Daniel 8:9).

The problem in Malachi 3:7-12 was the people’s departure from God as reflected by their neglect of tithes and offerings. Two annual tithes were required according to Israelite law – one for the Levites (Leviticus 27:30; Numbers 18:21), and one to be used in worship at the annual feasts in Jerusalem (Deuteronomy 14:22). A tithe was required every three years to provide for the needs of the poor (Deuteronomy 14:28-29). There is debate as to whether this tithe for the poor was in addition to or served as a substitute for the tithe used in worship.

The New Testament pattern for tithing is proportionate giving – a person is to give “in relation to what you have earned” (1 Corinthians 16:2). Certainly a tithe should be given proportionate to one’s wealth, but not all proportionate giving is a tithe.

The anticipation of blessing for obedience to God’s command to tithe was based on the Mosaic covenant, which promised blessings for obedience and curses for disobedience (Malachi 3:10; cf. Deuteronomy 28:15-68). Generally, God will meet the needs of His own people (Psalm 34:9-10; Philippians 4:19), but that is not an unconditional guarantee. There certainly were and are exceptions. Yet, where God chooses not to provide physically, He gives sufficient grace to go without (2 Corinthians 12:9).

The problem in Malachi 3:14-15 was that the people were guilty of arrogant words against God. They were saying, “There is no prophet who is serving God,” and “God is not concerned about justice.” God responded by showing that He did distinguish between the wicked and the righteous. The righteous would be blessed, and the wicked would be judged.