What do we gain by carrying out his requirements? (Malachi 3:14)
The prophet Malachi comes on the scene as much as a century after the ministries of Haggai and Zechariah. Through him, God reminds his people how he has loved and cared for them from the beginning. And from the beginning they have rejected him: Ever since the time of your forefathers you have turned away from my decrees and have not kept them (3: 7) Rather than heartfelt gratitude for his loving kindness, Judah’s worship has deteriorated from indifference to downright resentment: What a bother (1:13).
Malachi goes on to compare the men of Jerusalem divorcing their wives with how the nation has abandoned Yahweh to chase after the daughter of a foreign god (2:11). And the prophet is not finished. Judah’s refusal to love God as they ought has given rise to injustice in the courts (2:9) and oppression of the poor (3:5).
When Malachi reprimands them for withholding that which belongs to God (their tithes), they respond, But what’s in it for us? (3:14) In their selfishness they have dismissed God’s goodness as something they had coming to them anyway by virtue of being his chosen people. At the center of their own universe, they have room in their hearts for neither their Creator nor their fellow human being. Every response is pragmatically weighed to determine what kind of return they can expect for their investment.
When’s the last time you asked, “What’s in it for me?”
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