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BACKGROUND
Some background. Malachi lives and preaches about 100 years after the Jews have returned from their Babylonian exile probably sometime around 430 BC. At this point the temple and the walls of Jerusalem have been rebuilt, as we studied last week in Haggai and Zechariah. But sadly, things aren’t going super well amongst the people, spiritually speaking. They’ve grown apathetic and indifferent in their worship. Like we’ve seen so many times before in the Old Testament, the Children of Israel have begun to allow the culture and idolatry of the people around them to influence and corrupt them. They’ve lost the excitement and enthusiasm for rebuilding their nation and faith that we saw last week. The temple is falling into disrepair, the offerings and sacrifices the people are making leave much to be desired, and even the priests are neglecting their duties and setting a bad example. The teachings of Malachi address these issues.
The word Malachi itself means “My messenger” in Hebrew, so some scholars wonder if that was really the proper name of the prophet, or more of a title for the individual who wrote the book.
We don’t know much about Malachi himself other than that he lived around the same time as Ezra and Nehemiah. But one thing we do know is that he’s a very significant voice from the Old Testament to us in the latter-days because he’s often quoted in latter-day scripture. Moroni quotes Malachi in his initial messages to the young Joseph Smith in 1823. And Jesus quotes the entirety of Malachi chapters 3 and 4 to the Nephites, showing that he felt that the people in the new world also needed to hear Malachi’s teachings since Lehi and Nephi left Jerusalem long before Malachi ever lived. And there a number of sections in the Doctrine and Covenants that are based on Malachi’s teachings (See Doctrine and Covenants 2, 110, 128, and 138).
THE “FINAL” BOOK
ICEBREAKER
For an icebreaker, I like to begin by handing out to my students a bit of an Old Testament Final, which is fitting since this is the final book of the Old Testament. A final is a comprehensive examination given at the conclusion of a class that covers the material for the entire course of study. It’s meant to review what you’ve learned in the class. Now there’s only fifteen questions here because this is just an introductory activity. You don’t want it to take up the entire class period. So give them a few minutes to take it and then quickly correct the answers. But how much do YOU remember about our study of the Old Testament? Let’s see.
1. How many books are there in the Old Testament?
a. 27
b. 29
c. 32
d. 39
2. What language was the Old Testament written in?
a. Greek
b. Hebrew
c. Latin
d. Arabic
3. What relation was Jacob to Abraham?
a. Son
b. Brother
c. Father
d. Grandson
4. Which tribe of Israel looked after the temple and its sacrifices?
a. Ephraim
b. Gad
c. Levi
d. Asher
5. Which of the following was not a judge?
a. Naaman
b. Gideon
c. Deborah
d. Jephthah
6. Israel split into two kingdoms after the reign of King Solomon, with Israel in the North. What was the name of the Southern Kingdom?
a. Judah
b. Edom
c. Samaria
d. Philistia
7. What Persian King allowed the Jews to return to Jerusalem to rebuild it?
a. Darius
b. Artaxerxes
c. Cyrus
d. Nebuchadnezzar
8. Which of these books is not classed as a book of history?
a. Ezra
b. Psalms
c. Judges
d. Ruth
9. How many “minor” prophets are there?
a. 7
b. 9
c. 12
d. 16
10. What is the first of the Ten Commandments?
a. Thou shalt remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy
b. Thou shalt have no other gods before me
c. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image
d. Thou shalt not kill
11. Which of the following was considered a righteous king?
a. Ahab
b. Manasseh
c. Zimri
d. Hezekiah
12. Who helped to oversee the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem after the Babylonian exile?
a. Nehemiah
b. Jeremiah
c. Zephaniah
d. Uzziah
13. What did God change Jacob’s name to?
a. Amos
b. Shalom
c. Segullah
d. Israel
14. How many Old Testament Books are named after women?
a. 1
b. 2
c. 3
d. 4
15. Who succeeded Moses as leader of the Israelites?
a. Elisha
b. Gideon
c. Samson
d. Joshua
TRANSITION
Hopefully, that served as just a bit of a review of some of the factual things we’ve learned about the Old Testament this year. But the real value of the Old Testament lies in what it has taught us spiritually. The most relevant questions we can ask ourselves are: Has my study of the Old Testament changed me in any way? Is my testimony stronger? Has my relationship with God and Christ improved? Those kinds of questions are what make Malachi such a great final book to study in the Old Testament. It’s a book that encourages us to look inward and evaluate how we’re doing, spiritually. It’s a book full of questions—relevant questions. So we’re going to walk through the book of Malachi together and generate a different kind of final. A personal final. A final that challenges us to look inward at our own commitment as disciples of Jehovah, or Christ.
SEARCH
As I said earlier, Malachi addresses the apathy and apparent indifference of the Children of Israel. They’re waning in their commitment to God and his laws. So Malachi is going to give them some tough love in the hopes that he can rekindle their enthusiasm for their religion. That’s why this is such a good book for us, because we too may find ourselves slipping into the same kind of problem over time. I mean, do we ever begin to tire of living the gospel. Has the routine of prayer, church attendance, scripture study, and obedience ever begun to seem tedious or wearisome to us? If so, I believe the book of Malachi can help. One of the general characteristics or patterns we’ll see in this book is God making a bit of an accusation against the people or a rebuke. But then the people will disagree with God and get defensive and say something like, “Wherein have we done that?” or “We don’t think we have that problem.” And then God responds to their denial by giving his evidence. We see that specific pattern come up six times in Malachi. Keep an eye out for those and let’s use that back-and-forth dialogue to create some questions for ourselves to consider. I’d like to focus on 10—though we could add more. We’ll fill in this thinking map as we go with the questions that we discover.
1. 1:2
2. 1:6-14
3. 1:13
4. 2:2-3
5. 2:4-8
6. 2:9
7. 2:14-16
8. 3:8-12
9. 2:17, 3:13-18, 4:1-2
10. 4:5-6
Question #1 Malachi 1:2
1:2
I have loved you, saith the Lord. Yet ye say, Wherein hast thou loved us? Was not Esau Jacob's brother? saith the Lord: yet I loved Jacob,
Right off the bat we get an example of that back-and-forth dialogue I was referring to. God begins with a very direct statement. I have loved you. But the response of the people reveals the problem—their attitude towards him. They ask, “Wherein hast thou loved us? They don’t feel like the Lord loves them. And perhaps they’re pointing to all the difficult things that they’ve faced as God’s people throughout their history. The wars, the persecution, the famines, and most recently in their history, the exile and scattering of their nation. So they’re like, “Oh yeah! You love us. Why have we gone through so much pain and difficulty then? And we can stop right there and ask ourselves if we’ve ever felt that way. Have we ever been tempted to think that? And the Lord’s answer here is a bit harder to interpret, but he says, Was not Esau Jacob’s brother? Saith the Lord: yet I loved Jacob. And I know in the next verse he says that he “hated” Esau, but that’s a bad translation, easy to misinterpret. All he’s saying is that he favored them and chose Jacob and his seed to be his covenant people. That’s how I’ve shown you my love. You haven’t had to live without the guidance and help of my commandments and covenants and law. You’ve had the truth of God with you and prophets and promises and a purpose. Is that not evidence enough of my love for you? Yes, I know that you’ve experienced hardships and difficulties as my people (usually because of your own wickedness and idolatry, under his breath) but that doesn’t mean I don’t love you. I can’t protect you from all pain and suffering. But I’ve been with you since the beginning. You’ve been chosen and been given much by way of truth and guidance. And is that not true of us as well? As members of the Church, we’ve been given the incredible blessing of having the FULNESS of the gospel, the true priesthood of God, the guidance of living prophets, and a deep understanding of the plan of salvation. Isn’t that proof enough of God’s love? Regardless of the problems we face?
Our question then: Do I recognize or refute God’s love for me?
Question #2 Malachi 1:6-14
This is a big one, a major complaint God has of his people.
1:6-14
6 A son honoureth his father, and a servant his master: if then I be a father, where is mine honour? and if I be a master, where is my fear? saith the Lord of hosts unto you, O priests, that despise my name. And ye say, Wherein have we despised thy name?
7 Ye offer polluted bread upon mine altar; and ye say, Wherein have we polluted thee? In that ye say, The table of the Lord is contemptible.
8 And if ye offer the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil? and if ye offer the lame and sick, is it not evil? offer it now unto thy governor; will he be pleased with thee, or accept thy person? saith the Lord of hosts.
What’s the accusation here? The Lord says that they despise Him. And they object, “Wherein have we despised thee?” God’s answer. In your offerings. In the kinds of things you’re giving me. And what kinds of offerings are they giving him. You could just go through all those verses and mark all the descriptive words and phrases the Lord uses to describe their offerings. In verse 7 we learn the bread that they offer is polluted. Polluted means contaminated, impure, or defiled. So moldy bread? Stale? Another word form that verse: contemptible. They offer the blind, the lame, and the sick. Verse 12. They have profaned his table. To profane something is to treat it with irreverence or disrespect. The fruit and meat they offer is contemptible. In verse 13 they offer things that are torn (injured), lame, sick, and from verse 14 that which is corrupt. Do you get the idea here? They’re making offerings, but they’re giving God their worst. We know from the law of Moses that they were to offer that which was without blemish. If these sacrifices represented Christ, it needed to be their best. But instead they’re bringing their sick animals, their injured lambs, their rotting fruit, and spoiled meat. And God’s saying, “I have no pleasure in you,” “neither will I accept an offering at your hand.” I mean, just imagine how you would feel if somebody brought you a gift like that. Here’s a broken watch or some used dirty clothes, happy birthday. Here’s a rotten banana or a dying dog, merry Christmas. And God’s like, “You want me to be happy with what you’re giving me.” And in verse 8, the Lord makes an excellent point. It gives us a really good test for determining if our offerings are acceptable to God. He says: “Offer it now unto thy governor; will he be pleased with thee, or accept thy person?” Do you get what he’s saying there? If you were to give that kind of offering to your boss, would he be pleased with it? Would he be happy with that gift? Oh wow, a lamb with three eyes and a broken leg, how thoughtful of you. They would never imagine giving such a thing to their employer. You’d probably be fired. So “Do you see why I’m not happy with your offerings?” In verse 6, he says that a son honoreth his father and a servant his master, but if I’m your father, where is my honor, and if I’m your master, where is my “respect”? You are treating me as less than a father, as less than your master. So, do we treat our heavenly Father and Master better or worse than our earthly fathers and masters?
So let’s apply that same line of reasoning to some of the offerings that God asks of us. We might ask:
If I did my job, like I did my church calling, would I be promoted, or fired?
If I did my school study, like I did my scripture study, would I pass or fail?
If I paid my taxes, like I paid my tithing, would I be approved or arrested?
If I gave my family members gifts, like I gave of myself in my church duties, would they be pleased or disappointed?
If I spoke to my spouse or children or friends, like I speak to God in my prayers, would my relationship with them be strengthened or weakened?
If I treated my customers, like I treated my ministering families, would they stick with me?
Those kinds of questions can serve as a good measuring stick of our devotion. God deserves better. He’s a king, for heaven’s sakes. That’s his point in verse 11. “My name is great. Don’t I deserve a little better than your diseased, sick, and lame animals? At least as good as what you would give to our earthly masters and fathers?”
So the question for us might be? Are my offerings to God contemptible or commendable? Pure or polluted?
Question #3 Malachi 1:13
1:13
There’s another phrase within those verses that I feel merits its own question. It partially explains WHY their sacrifices are inadequate. It’s their attitude towards them. What’s the attitude that leads to lackluster service and offerings? They say what a weariness is it! Exclamation point. They see worship as weariness. Just another thing to do. Oh man, church today, sigh. Do we have to study our scriptures right now? I don’t want a church calling, I’ve already got too much to do. And they have snuffed at it, or as the footnote suggests “belittled it.” Sheesh, why should I go to the temple? What does that ever do for me? Ah, I don’t need to listen to general conference, I’m taking that weekend off. Who understands the scriptures anyway? What do these ancient books have to do with me? Do we ever start to feel that way? Do we ever just get tired of religious things and see church worship as tedium, or something we just do out of sense of social pressure?
A question to ask ourselves then: Is my worship weariness or wonderful? Do I view it as tedious or terrific?
Question #4 Malachi 2:2-3
What’s the problem they’re having here?
2 If ye will not hear, and if ye will not lay it to heart, to give glory unto my name, saith the Lord of hosts, I will even send a curse upon you, and I will curse your blessings: yea, I have cursed them already, because ye do not lay it to heart.
3 Behold, I will corrupt your seed, and spread dung upon your faces, even the dung of your solemn feasts; and one shall take you away with it.
What’s the problem? They haven’t laid these things to heart. They ARE doing the outward things, they’re making the offerings, they’re observing the feasts, and the sabbaths, but there’s no sincerity in their worship. They’re doing the works with their hands, but not with their hearts. Doing the right things for the wrong reasons means very little to our Father in Heaven. And I know that verse 3 is a bit scatological and kind of a grotesque visual, but the point is well made. I might put it this way, and please forgive my slight impropriety here—If I give crappy sacrifices, I can expect crappy blessings. What you give is what you get.
Our question then: Have I laid my offerings to heart or just my hands?
Question #5 Malachi 2:4-8
You’ll notice at the beginning of chapter 2 that this message is directed specifically to the priests of the church—the spiritual leaders of the people. And here we get this wonderful contrast between the kind of leaders that they should be with the kind that they currently are. Contrast verses 5-7 with verse 8. What should a church leader be? A true leader respects God (:5). The law of truth is in their mouths? (:6) There’s no iniquity in their lips. They walk with God in peace and equity (:6) and help to turn many away from iniquity (:6). They seek to communicate knowledge and the laws of God (:7). They are messengers of the Lord of Hosts (:7). On the other hand. What are these leaders doing? They are not in “the way” themselves. Instead of turning away people from iniquity, they are causing them to stumble on their way back to God (:8). And they have corrupted the covenant (:8). Their actions are actually making the people worse. Their bad example, their indifference, their lack of knowledge is getting in the way of the people’s progress.
So the way I would word our test question here would be like this: Am I a signpost to Christ, or a stumblingblock? Do my actions as a leader, or parent, or missionary, or member of the Church help people down the straight and narrow path, and make them better? Or am I a stumblingblock to their progress and lead them astray by my bad example or apathy?
Question #6 Malachi 2:10
2:10
10 Have we not all one father? hath not one God created us? why do we deal treacherously every man against his brother, by profaning the covenant of our fathers?
Great point, Malachi. Don’t we all have the same father? Aren’t we all really brothers and sisters in this world? Why do we deal treacherously with others then? Why so much conflict, dishonesty, and hatred in our world then? Our “personal final” question here them? Am I treacherous or true to my fellow man?
Do I love my neighbor as myself? Do I do unto others as I would have them do unto me?
Question #7 Malachi 2:14-16
What’s the problem here?
2:14-16
14 Yet ye say, Wherefore? Because the Lord hath been witness between thee and the wife of thy youth, against whom thou hast dealt treacherously: yet is she thy companion, and the wife of thy covenant.
15 And did not he make one? Yet had he the residue of the spirit. And wherefore one? That he might seek a godly seed. Therefore take heed to your spirit, and let none deal treacherously against the wife of his youth.
16 For the Lord, the God of Israel, saith that he hateth putting away: for one covereth violence with his garment, saith the Lord of hosts: therefore take heed to your spirit, that ye deal not treacherously.
You can actually view this problem in two ways—as symbolic or literal. And Malachi intends it in both ways. Because the Israelites have both problems. We’ve seen prophets use the metaphor of marriage to describe Israel’s relationship with god. And here, they’re allowing idolatry to creep back into their worship. So they’re committing spiritual adultery, or in this case, they are choosing to divorce God. That’s what “putting away” in verse 16 means. Leaving Him for another god. But they’re also literally having this issue with their actual wives. The Israelite men are divorcing their wives frivolously to seek relationships with other women. They’re abandoning the wives of their youth to satisfy their lusts with others. Now we’re not talking about valid reasons for divorce here, but a casual attitude towards the institution of marriage in general. The, “Aw, we’ll just get divorced if things get challenging, or if we eventually get tired of each other and want to find someone new.” The Lord “hateth” that kind of disloyalty and disregard for that sacred commitment. He calls it “treachery”. Shouldn’t our marriages mean more than that? And I really love the different words and phrases that Malachi uses to describe the kind of relationship they should be seeking with their spouses. I see three of them. What are they in verse 14?
The wife (or the husband) of thy youth. Do you remember the way you felt for them when you first fell in love? Have you allowed yourself to forget that feeling? Have you let it fall into disrepair?
Thy companion. Your friend, your partner, your fellow traveler along the path of life.
The wife (or husband) of thy covenant. This is someone you’ve made promises to—commitments. This is meant to be an eternal relationship, not a temporary one.
So our question could be: Am I treating my spouse with truthfulness or treachery?
And we can apply that whether we’re married or not. Is the way we’re living now being true to our future spouses. Or we can view that question in terms of the symbolic relationship we have with God. Are we true to Him? Or are we flirting with the world?
Question #8 Malachi 3:8-12
These are among the most frequently referenced verses in the entire book of Malachi and arguably the best place in the scriptures to teach the law of tithing. Therefore, later in this video, we’re going to go much deeper into these verses and do the full lesson treatment on that principle. But for our purposes here, let’s summarize this section by just jumping right to the personal question we might create from it. That question could just simply be: Am I a full or faltering tithe payer? But we’ll come back to those verses a little bit later.
Question #9 Malachi 2:17/3:13-18/4:1-2
This is a big one, as you can see. We have quite a few references here.
First, what is the problem with the people’s attitude here? Can you put it in your own words?
2:17 says:
17 Ye have wearied the Lord with your words. Yet ye say, Wherein have we wearied him? When ye say, Every one that doeth evil is good in the sight of the Lord, and he delighteth in them; or, Where is the God of judgment?
And then 3:13-15
13 Your words have been stout against me, saith the Lord. Yet ye say, What have we spoken so much against thee?
14 Ye have said, It is vain to serve God: and what profit is it that we have kept his ordinance, and that we have walked mournfully before the Lord of hosts?
15 And now we call the proud happy; yea, they that work wickedness are set up; yea, they that tempt God are even delivered.
What’s the problem? They’re wondering if righteousness is really worth it. Sometimes we look around and it seems like the wicked or worldly seem to be doing just fine. They seem successful, or prosperous, maybe even happy? And then, the righteous can sometimes seem to struggle, or fall on hard times, or be persecuted and mocked. Why is that? Or, the righteous seem to expend a lot of effort and sacrifice to do what’s right, and they don’t always appear to be rewarded. While the dishonest, the greedy, and the prideful find success and leisure. So the question we may ponder sometimes is “Is it worth it to be good?” Is “wickedness never was happiness” really a true principle?
The Lord’s response to this attitude is found in 3:16-18, and then continued into to Chapter 4:1-2. What’s the Lord’s answer to their objection?
16 Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another: and the Lord hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon his name.
17 And they shall be mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him.
18 Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not.
And 4:1-2
For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.
2 But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall.
What’s the answer then to “is it worth it to be good?” The answer is: “Wait and see.” The Lord says, “It may seem that way at times. Life may seem unfair now—that the wicked are set up while the righteous suffer, but I’m keeping track of all that. I’m writing it all down in my book of remembrance. I’m keeping tabs on all those who respect and love me. And one day I’m going to gather up my elect, my jewels (love that, we’re precious to him) And I will spare them. AND THEN, in the future, they will see the difference between the righteous and the wicked. Justice will be served. The righteous will rejoice in the Sun, S-U-N of righteousness, but it’s capitalized, meaning, it’s also referring to the Son, S-O-N of righteousness that arises with healing in HIS wings. And the wicked shall mourn. The wages of sin will turn out, in the end, to be a pittance. So just bide your time. Your perspective about what pays and what doesn’t will change. Reminds me of one of my favorite C.S. Lewis quotes that I know I’ve shared before:
“Son,'he said,' ye cannot in your present state understand eternity...That is what mortals misunderstand. They say of some temporal suffering, "No future bliss can make up for it," not knowing that Heaven, once attained, will work backwards and turn even that agony into a glory. And of some sinful pleasure they say "Let me have but this and I'll take the consequences": little dreaming how damnation will spread back and back into their past and contaminate the pleasure of the sin. Both processes begin even before death. The good man's past begins to change so that his forgiven sins and remembered sorrows take on the quality of Heaven: the bad man's past already conforms to his badness and is filled only with dreariness. And that is why when the sun rises here (in heaven) and the twilight turns to blackness down there (in hell),the Blessed will say "We have never lived anywhere except in Heaven, : and the Lost, "We were always in Hell." And both will speak truly.”
― C.S. Lewis, The Great Divorce
So the question becomes: Can I still be good in a world where it SEEMS that worldliness and evil prosper, and goodness doesn’t pay?
Question #10 Malachi 4:5-6
These final verses of the Old Testament are obviously quite important to us as members of the latter-day Church of Jesus Christ. You find this prophecy in every single one of the standard works. Even the itty-bitty Pearl of Great Price has it. So I know that we’ve covered the meaning of these verses a few times in lessons from the past. Probably most thoroughly in Doctrine and Covenants Section 2 last year. And I’d say that that’s probably the best place to study it since the wording and translation are a little clearer with a little help from Doctrine and Covenants 128 as well. And so if you want a really in-depth treatment of the meaning and significance of these verses, or if you as a teacher decide that you wish to place a fair amount of time and focus on this idea, allow me to refer you to my Doctrine and Covenants 2 and 128 videos from last year. I’ll put a link to them right up here in the top corner and then down in the video description below. Those, I believe, will give you a lot of good ideas on how to cover and help your students understand and apply this prophecy.
But allow me to give you the shortened version here—just a brief review of the principle. Before the Second Coming or “the great and dreadful day of the Lord”, Malachi prophesied that Elijah would return. That return took place on April 3, 1836, in the Kirtland temple in Ohio. Elijah appeared to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery and restored the priesthood keys that hold the sealing power, making the work for the dead possible. The restoration of those keys would have the effect of turning the hearts of the children towards their fathers. Now let’s turn to Joseph’s explanation of this prophecy in 128:18. After quoting these verses from Malachi 4 he said:
“It is sufficient to know, in this case, that the earth will be smitten with a curse unless there is a welding link of some kind or other between the fathers and the children, upon some subject or other—and behold what is that subject? It is the baptism for the dead. For we without them cannot be made perfect; neither can they without us be made perfect. Neither can they nor we be made perfect without those who have died in the gospel also; for it is necessary in the ushering in of the dispensation of the fulness of times, which dispensation is now beginning to usher in, that a whole and complete and perfect union, and welding together of dispensations, and keys, and powers, and glories should take place, and be revealed from the days of Adam even to the present time.”
So, therefore. What is the last question on our final for us to consider? Am I involved or inactive in the work for the dead? Has my heart turned to my fathers?
LIKEN THE SCRIPTURES
So there we have it—all 10 questions. Therefore, it’s time to take the final for ourselves. We’ve got the questions, but now we need to furnish them with some answers. And only you can answer them. So I encourage you to take some time and ponder each and every question Malachi asks us to consider. As you review them, I invite you to open your hearts and minds to the promptings of the Holy Ghost. Do you feel urged or inspired to make any changes in your life? If so, what do you plan to do, to act on those promptings.
As a teacher, I would give my students a good 5-10 minutes to silently ponder and reflect on the questions and perhaps even write down some of their thoughts and ideas.
CONCLUSION
And how did YOU do? Perhaps taking the Malachi final every now and then might help us all to stay more committed and steadfast on the path that leads to eternal life. I believe that as we act on the promptings we receive to improve and change, that we will see God’s hand in our lives. Now before we go, there is one more question that I would like to add to our Malachi final from those final verses. We know that one of the sets of “fathers” being spoken of in verse 6 refers to the patriarchal fathers . . . Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. As Doctrine and Covenants 2 puts it “and he shall plant in the hearts of the children the promises made to THE fathers, and (THEN) the hearts of the children shall turn to THEIR fathers.” That’s a great way of looking back at our study of the Old Testament this year.
All throughout 2022, we’ve been watching God lead, teach, and correct his covenant children. From Moses to Malachi. And you’ll remember that God made a promise to Abraham all the way back in Genesis that as long as his posterity was faithful, and committed to sharing his truth with the world, that He would promise them priesthood, posterity, and purpose. And we’ve seen, over and over again, that when the people obeyed God, honored their covenants, and trusted in the Lord, that they were blessed, they saw miracles, they prospered. Conversely, we also saw that when they neglected their covenants and turned to the gods and idols of the world, they were condemned, conquered, and scattered. Have we learned that lesson ourselves this year? Have the promises made to THE fathers been planted in our hearts as we’ve studied. Have our hearts been turned to THEM? We’ve learned from the patience of Abraham, the meekness of Moses, the optimism of Joseph of Egypt, the loyalty of Ruth, the courage of Esther and Daniel, the trust of Gideon, the devotion of Elijah, the diligence of Nehemiah, the determination of Jeremiah, the eloquence of Isaiah, and lessons from many, many others. Have they changed you? And most importantly, have you come to know Christ better? Because he is ALL over the Old Testament. We’ve learned much of his character and his commission as Messiah. This year we’ve seen Him in Spirit, which prepares us beautifully to see him in body next year. You might remember the quote I shared at the beginning of the year from Joseph Smith regarding the Old Testament. He said: “God’s own handwriting” is in this “sacred volume” and “he who reads it oftenest will like it best”. (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, sel. Joseph Fielding Smith (1976), 56.) Well, I hope that you liked it this year. More than that, I hope you’ve fallen in love with it! I pray that it will be a volume of scripture that you come back to again and again with excitement and anticipation. I promise that it will enlighten and enrich you every time you dig deep into its pages.
THE GREAT SEPARATOR
ICEBREAKER
Well that’s probably what I would focus on if I only had one day to teach Malachi. But if you have more time, I would encourage you to spend some time focused just on Malachi 3:1-12. I told you earlier that we would come back to these verses for a deeper dig on the great principle they teach us. And I’d like to introduce that principle with a quote—something said by President Joseph F. Smith. He said:
“By this principle the loyalty of the people of this Church shall be put to the test. By this principle it shall be known who is for the kingdom of God and who is against it. By this principle it shall be seen whose hearts are set on doing the will of God and keeping his commandments, thereby sanctifying the land of Zion unto God, and who are opposed to this principle and have cut themselves off from the blessings of Zion. There is a great deal of importance connected with this principle, for by it, it shall be known whether we are faithful or unfaithful.
Joseph F. Smith, "Gospel Doctrine, 225"
Here’s my question then. What is the principle that he’s talking about here? Is it temple attendance? Scripture study? Honesty? Humility? No. If you need a hint, you could go to Malachi 3:8 and what’s the principle? Tithing. Tithing is the principle President Smith is referring to. Tithing is what I would call a litmus test commandment. It’s not that it’s the most important commandment that we can keep, but, like Joseph F. Smith says, it’s an indicator of where your heart is at. It separates those who are really devoted to the building up of Zion, from the partially committed. That’s why I call it “the great separator.”
TRANSITION
Now I find it interesting that Joseph F. Smith said that this principle would be a separating one, because that’s exactly the same perspective that Malachi takes. Malachi begins by speaking of the Second Coming, and he asks a question in verse 2-3.
2 But who may abide the day of his coming, and who shall stand
when he appeareth? For he is like a refiner's fire, and like
fuller's soap.
3 And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; and he
shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver,
that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness.
So the initial question Malachi poses here is: “Who is going to survive the second coming? Who will abide it?” Because when he comes, only the pure will remain. The Second Coming will separate and purge the silver and gold from the dross. Tithing, apparently, is a part of that separating, purging process.
That truth is clearly taught in D&C 64:23
23 Behold, now it is called today until the coming of the Son of Man, and verily it is a day of sacrifice, and a day for the tithing of my people; for he that is tithed shall not be burned at his coming.
Because of this verse, I’ve heard some jokingly refer to tithing as fire insurance. And though I do think it provides us with spiritual protection, I feel that tithing is so much more than that. It’s not something we do because we fear some future painful calamity. In fact, I often refer to tithing as the Greatest Deal ever offered man.
SEARCH
To begin. A question. What does Malachi compare not paying your tithing to in 3:8-9?
There it says:
8 Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say:
Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings.
9 Ye are cursed with a curse, for ye have robbed me, even this
whole nation.
So not paying your tithing is like robbing God. Now I can imagine somebody taking offense at that and saying “Hey now, If I don’t pay my tithing, you could accuse me of not being supportive or that I’m unwilling to sacrifice, but robbing God? How is that robbing him? That’s my money, from my paycheck, that I earned, so I’m not robbing anybody.” How would you answer somebody that said that?
The answer is in D&C 104:14-15.
14 I, the Lord, stretched out the heavens, and built the earth, my very handiwork; and all things therein are mine.
15 And it is my purpose to provide for my saints, for all things are mine.
So the answer to that argument is that all things really do belong to God. This is a very important starting point for our discussion on tithing, because if you don’t believe this truth, none of the rest of the points are going to work for you. This is the foundation principle. All things come from God. So I would say to that person. Who blessed you with a healthy body that makes it possible for you to work? Who sent you to the type of situation in life where you could get an education which made it possible for you to get your job? Who blessed you with your mind that allows you to work the way you do and earn what you do? Or King Benjamin’s suggestion: Who gave you your life, and is lending you breath from day to day and moment to moment? Who created the world and its abundance? Really, when it comes down to it. All things are God’s. He’s just allowing us to use them and be stewards of them. Now until you come to that realization, paying your tithing will always be difficult. And you can see why right? If I look at it as God’s money, he is only asking for 10% of what is his, and he is graciously offering you 90% of what’s his. If I look at my paycheck as his, then I can easily say: “Oh, you want 10% of your money, well, sure, I can give you what’s already yours. And I can hold on to 90%. Wow! That’s very gracious of you.
Sometimes for fun, to make this point, I ask if anybody has any cash on them. Usually someone does. And I ask if I can see it. They give it to me and then I turn to another person in the class and hand them the money and say: Here, here you go. It’s yours. And then I say: See, look how easy that was to give away somebody else’s money. That wasn’t hard for me at all. I can give away your money all day long and it doesn’t affect me. But if it’s my money. Well, that’s a bit harder to do. So start there. All things are God’s, and all he asks is 10% of what’s already his.
Now back to Malachi 3. In verse 10, Malachi is going to tell us what God uses that 10% for. I mean, do we send that money to God, put it in a rocket ship and send it off to Kolob? No, what’s God going to do with money. Is there some big money bin in Salt Lake where they just hold onto it until the millennium and God can collect his due? No. What does the beginning of verse 10 tell us the purpose of tithing is?
It’s so that “there may be meat in my house”. What does that mean? It’s so that God can have a way to run and maintain his house, or his church. in a temporal world, even the church has temporal needs. So what is tithing money used for? To maintain the church. To build chapels and temples, and then continuously maintain those buildings. To pay the electric bills, and the heating and cooling systems, and landscaping to keep the grounds beautiful and conducive to the Spirit. To print hymnbooks and lesson materials. To provide religious education to the youth. To run church programs. And then I like to ask this. We say we are paying tithing to God, but really, who uses the churches and temples? Who uses the hymnbooks and lesson manuals. Who benefits from religious education and other church programs? We do! God doesn’t take those things for himself. He gives it right back! Just in a different form. This is looking like a pretty amazing deal, isn’t it!
And then, it doesn’t stop there. Then he says, “You know what. Since you are so willing to sacrifice and give up 10% of what actually belongs to me, I’m going to bless you for that. I’m going to give back more than you gave. Now I ask my students to look for all the blessings God promises to those who will offer their tithes in verses 10-12. I see at least four.
He will open the windows of heaven and pour out a blessing that there shall not be room enough to receive it. I love that imagery. I picture that above everyone’s home there is a horizontal window directly above it. And when we offer our tithing, God calls out to the angels, “Open the windows of heaven for the Jones family!” And the angels pull the lever, and, whoosh the windows drop open and out pours the blessings. And you’re like. “AHHHH, I’m drowning in blessings!” There will not be room enough to receive it. Now that can mean temporal blessings and prosperity, but I don’t really think that’s the spirit of it. When most of us hear the word “blessings”, I think our minds immediately go to temporal blessings. I’m so blessed, because I have a home, and a job, and food to eat, and clothing to wear. But I think that’s a pretty limited view of blessings. More importantly, blessings include truth, personal guidance and revelation, happiness, gospel knowledge, comfort, confidence, protection from evil, weaknesses turning into strengths, and on and on, these are the real and most important blessings of life. Gordon B. Hinckley once said: "I do not say that if you pay an honest tithing, you will realize your dream of a fine house, a Rolls Royce, and a condominium in Hawaii. The Lord will open the windows of heaven according to our need, and not according to our greed. If we are paying tithing to get rich, we are doing it for the wrong reasons.” I believe that faithful paying of our tithing will provide us with temporal blessings, but more importantly, it will increase our spiritual blessings. They will be poured out upon us.
A second blessing in verse 11. I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes. In this case, I don’t believe the devourer is Satan. Ok. I think it’s another power. If you read the rest of the verse, I think there’s a clue. He shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the fields. I think the devourer, is time. Time will not devour your goods. He will rebuke it. Not destroy it. I think God will still work within the realm of reasonable reality. But I think it could mean that things will last longer for you. You will get more use out of them. Your clothing, your investments, your material possessions. I had an Uncle who owned a truck that he used for his business. He put 400,000 miles on it without any major repairs needing to be done. Other than routine maintenance costs, that truck just lasted and lasted and lasted. God rebuked the devourer of time. He called it his tithing truck, because he sincerely believed that God was blessing him in that way because of his commitment to tithing. My parents washer and dryer lasted for 25 years before it needed to be replaced. They attributed that blessing to tithing. I have seen that in my life too. We have things that have lasted well beyond what was expected. Now I’m not suggesting that if you pay your tithing, you won’t ever have repairs or unforeseen costs or financial issues in your life. I just believe that those kinds of things will be less, will be fewer, if you faithfully make that sacrifice. The devourer will be rebuked or held back for your benefit. We may not even realize the blessings that we’re being given because we just can’t know what would have happened otherwise. What accidents didn’t happen, what things didn’t break down, what pitfalls were avoided. I think it would be cool to someday have revealed to us these “invisible blessings”. To understand and know what would have happened had we not made the sacrifice.
In verse 12, all nations shall call you blessed. We’ll stand out. Our commitment will be recognized and admired by others. Who knows, people from outside the church may say “Wow, look at those members of the Church of Jesus Christ. Did you know they pay 10% of everything they make to their church? Now that’s dedication. Maybe there’s something to them and their gospel”. Perhaps it becomes a great missionary tool.
And finally, “Ye shall be a delightsome land” . Another blessing for tithing. Happiness. God will give you a more delightsome life. Not a trouble free one, but a happy one. I believe this is true. And that has given me a delightsome life.
Well, I hope that these verses have brought you to the conclusion that I’ve come to about tithing. That it is actually the greatest deal that we have ever been offered in life. When you look at it this way, it’s hard to even consider tithing to be a sacrifice. While teaching , If you feel your class is still not quite grasping these concepts, you could try this little object lesson that I’ve used to great effect. I go out and buy 10 oranges and place them in a bucket. I tell my class to imagine the following scenario. You’re walking down the street and a friend walks up to you and says, hey, I want to make a deal with you. And you say, OK, what is it? I have this bucket of 10 oranges, and I want to know if you want them. You say sure, but what’s the catch? And your friend says, well, I’ll give them to you, BUT, (and you’re like, oh, here it comes) I only ask that you give one of them back to me. And you look questioningly at them and say, “You mean, I can have the other 9 and you just want me to give 1 back?” And they say, “yep, that’s it. Deal, or no deal.” And you say: “OK, deal.” They hand you the bucket, and you pluck one of them out and say, “Here you go.” Now that’s our first tithing principle right. All things are God's, and he blesses us with all of that, because all things are his, and all he asks is for 10%. But as you are going to walk away, your friend stops you and says, hang on, (and now your like, oh yeah, now comes the catch). And he runs around the corner, and with that orange that you gave him, he peels and juices it and comes back with a giant glass of orange juice and says, I want you to have this with the orange you gave me, and he hands you the orange juice. See, that’s our second principle of tithing. He gives it right back to us, but in a different form, the blessings of his church. Now you’re about to walk away with your bucket of 9 oranges in one hand, and your glass of orange juice in the other, when he stops you again and says “hang on, one more thing. I’m so impressed that you would be willing to make that kind of deal with me. I’m so grateful for sacrifice in giving up the one orange, you know I’d like to do for you. And he whistles, and you hear a truck backing up. Beep, beep, beep, and PSSSHHHH, the bed of the truck starts to lift and out pours a giant pile of more oranges, burying you in them. So much that you don’t have room enough to receive them. You look at your friend who has a giant smile on his face and says, “pleasure doing business with you” and he turns and walks away. If that kind of thing happened to you, wouldn’t you say that that was a pretty good deal? Yeah. The greatest kind of deal you’ve probably ever made. That’s tithing right. He will pour out the blessings of heaven from his windows when we are willing to make that special offering.
TRUTH
If I faithfully pay my tithing, God will open the windows of heaven and pour out his blessings upon me and my household.
LIKEN THE SCRIPTURES
Questions you might ask:
Which of the four blessings have you seen come into your life through tithing?
Have you ever had an experience with tithing that increased your faith in it as a true principle?
CONCLUSION
I love the law of tithing. I am so convinced of its power in my life that I wouldn’t dare stop making that offering. I don’t think I could afford it. I don’t have any of those amazing stories where I had to choose between paying my bills or paying my tithing, and then I paid it, and a check out of nowhere appeared. Those kinds of things do happen at times and are wonderful manifestations of these principles. But here’s my experience with tithing. This I know, I’ve always paid it, and I have never known a day of want in my life. God has blessed me immeasurably. Spiritually and temporally. Spiritually more than temporally, but certainly the windows of heaven have poured out their abundance upon me and my family. I believe that the Lord will do the same for you through a commitment to this greatest of deals. In the Lord’s refining and separating process before the Second Coming, may we be found on the gold and silver side of things, and not the dross. Let’s make tithing an integral part of our discipleship.
OVERALL CONCLUSION
And that my friends is the Old Testament. We did it! What a phenomenal book of scripture. I hope you’ve loved this experience as much as I have. I said at the beginning of the year that the Old Testament is my favorite standard work to teach, and that has held true this year. I want to thank all of you for sticking with me to the end. I know it’s not the easiest book of scripture to understand but it is so rewarding when you put the effort into getting the most out of it. I hope you studied it more deeply this year than you ever have before.
I’d like to leave you with my personal witness of the power of the Old Testament. I know that the Old Testament is true. I believe in its power to change our lives and bring us closer to God and his son Jesus Christ.
