Who was Malachi talking to?

>>> Who was Malachi talking to? Who was Malachi condemning for stealing the tithes and being a "God robber?" What is the proper context of the Book of Malachi?

Let's let Malachi tell us himself, which he does very clearly...

>> Chapter One;

> Malachi 1:1 - "The burden of the word of the Lord TO ISRAEL by Malachi."

> Malachi 1:6b - "saith the Lord of hosts unto YOU, O PRIESTS, that despise my name."

> Malachi 1:10b - "I have no pleasure IN YOU, saith the Lord of hosts, neither will I accept an offering at YOUR HAND."

> Malachi - 1:11-12 - "For from the rising of the sun even unto the going down of the same my name shall be great among the Gentiles; and in every place incense shall be offered unto my name, and a pure offering: for my name shall be great among the heathen, saith the Lord of hosts. But YE (YOU) have profaned it, in that YE (YOU) say, The table of the Lord is polluted; and the fruit thereof, even his meat, is contemptible."

>> Chapter Two;

> Malachi 2:1 - "And now, O YE PRIESTS, this commandment IS FOR YOU."

> Malachi 2:2-4 - "If YE (YOU) 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 (YOU) do not lay it to heart. 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. And YE (YOU) shall know that I have sent this commandment UNTO YOU, that my covenant might be WITH LEVI, saith the Lord of hosts."

> Malachi 2:7-9 - "For the PRIEST'S lips should keep knowledge, and THEY should seek the law at his mouth: for he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts. But YE (YOU) are departed out of the way; YE (YOU) have caused many to stumble at the law; YE (YOU) have corrupted the covenant of LEVI, saith the Lord of hosts. Therefore have I also made YOU contemptible and base before all the people, according as YE (YOU) have not kept my ways, but have been partial in THE LAW."

> Malachi 2:11-12 - "JUDAH hath dealt treacherously, and an abomination is committed in ISRAEL and in JERUSALEM; for JUDAH hath profaned the holiness of the Lord which he loved, and hath married the daughter of a strange god. The Lord will cut off the man that doeth this, the master and the scholar, out of the tabernacles of JACOB, and him that offereth an offering unto the Lord of hosts."

> Malachi 2;16-17 - "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. Ye have wearied the Lord with your words. Yet YE (YOU) 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?"

>> Chapter Three;

> Malachi 3:3-4 - "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. Then shall the offering of JUDAH and JERUSALEM be pleasant unto the Lord, as in the days of old, and as in former years."

> Malachi 3:8-9 - "Will a man rob God? Yet YE (YOU) have robbed me. But YE (YOU) say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings. YE (YOU) are *cursed with a curse: for YE (YOU) have robbed me, even THIS whole nation."

(*Note: where in the New Testament is it stated that God will for any reason curse His own children? No where.)

> Malachi 3:10-11 - "Bring YE all the tithes into the STOREHOUSE, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it. And I will rebuke the devourer for YOUR SAKES, and he shall not destroy the fruits of *YOUR GROUND; neither shall YOUR vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the Lord of hosts."

(*Note: "YOUR GROUND" ...in proper context; The Promise Land; not New Zealand or Mexico, or a New Testament church building, etc.)

> Malachi 3:12 - "And all nations shall call YOU blessed: for ye shall be a delightsome *LAND, saith the Lord of hosts."

(*Note: LAND; The Promise Land; Israel, not Japan or Korea, etc.)

>> Who was Malachi talking to? CLEARLY the people and Nation of Israel; NOT New Testament Christians in regards to tithing. It is also important to note that Malachi's command to tithe, and rebuke for not doing so, is not quoted in the New Testament, never used by any Apostle to instruct tithing for Christians, and not followed by the early church (i.e., the Book of Acts).

Malachi, over and over again, makes it VERY clear as to who he is directly addressing.

Does this mean that we shouldn't read the Book of Malachi because it is not directly talking to us as New Testament Believers instructing us to tithe? No, it doesn't; but we must be careful to understand what scripture is talking directly to us, and what scripture is talking indirectly to us. Unless, of course, you have read the story of Noah building an Ark and have decided to build one yourself?

>> Remember; text taken out of context is a pretext to deceptive text. Let the Bible interpret the Bible.

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