Malachi 3:10; Whose Error? The Translators', Vic Alexander's, or Ours?
What is wrong in Malachi 3:10? I have addressed this passage before, but see a hitherto missed aspect. The King James Version says, "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."
Ever hear this message preached before? Of course. It is every preacher's favorite passage, an offer by God Himself to prove Him by giving the pastor or ministry money. "Yeah, buddy. Let's prove God!"
Except according to Vic Alexander's translation from the Aramaic, God isn't saying that at all. In fact, He says quite the opposite: "All the nation brings its tithes into my stores and there is food in my house, and they test me with this, said the Almighty Lord, and I open a window for you in heaven and shower you with blessings until you say, 'this is more than enough'" (bold emphasis mine). Not that they don't, but that they DO. Not that He will, but that He DOES. Did Vic miss something here?
I don't think so. I cannot prove it either way, but I think God is frying bigger fish here than tithes and offerings. The problem as I see it is that the Jews were USING God's promises without giving Him due respect. They were EXPLOITING Him by bringing all the tithes into the storehouse. They HAD their proof of Him. But their words were: "It is vain working for the Lord" (verse 14). They held themselves to be SEPARATE from God. This harkens back to the original problem voiced in chapter 1, verse 6: "A son honors his father and a servant his Lord. If I am the Father, how are you honoring me, and if I am the Lord how are you submitting to me?"
Their Father, and OUR Father, is God. The sin He is concerned with is our not recognizing our God-the-Son-hood -- denying that we ARE the sons of God. As God is EVERYTHING, this robs God of His Godhood IN US. Not a good move. This is OUR mistake. We are bits of God becoming like the Father.
This is, admittedly, difficult to see. Like Romans 5:12, which SEEMS to say that all spiritually died because they sinned, when in fact it says all sinned because they were spiritually dead (i.e., asleep). Row hard for making sense of this stuff.
Ever hear this message preached before? Of course. It is every preacher's favorite passage, an offer by God Himself to prove Him by giving the pastor or ministry money. "Yeah, buddy. Let's prove God!"
Except according to Vic Alexander's translation from the Aramaic, God isn't saying that at all. In fact, He says quite the opposite: "All the nation brings its tithes into my stores and there is food in my house, and they test me with this, said the Almighty Lord, and I open a window for you in heaven and shower you with blessings until you say, 'this is more than enough'" (bold emphasis mine). Not that they don't, but that they DO. Not that He will, but that He DOES. Did Vic miss something here?
I don't think so. I cannot prove it either way, but I think God is frying bigger fish here than tithes and offerings. The problem as I see it is that the Jews were USING God's promises without giving Him due respect. They were EXPLOITING Him by bringing all the tithes into the storehouse. They HAD their proof of Him. But their words were: "It is vain working for the Lord" (verse 14). They held themselves to be SEPARATE from God. This harkens back to the original problem voiced in chapter 1, verse 6: "A son honors his father and a servant his Lord. If I am the Father, how are you honoring me, and if I am the Lord how are you submitting to me?"
Their Father, and OUR Father, is God. The sin He is concerned with is our not recognizing our God-the-Son-hood -- denying that we ARE the sons of God. As God is EVERYTHING, this robs God of His Godhood IN US. Not a good move. This is OUR mistake. We are bits of God becoming like the Father.
This is, admittedly, difficult to see. Like Romans 5:12, which SEEMS to say that all spiritually died because they sinned, when in fact it says all sinned because they were spiritually dead (i.e., asleep). Row hard for making sense of this stuff.
posted by Daniel C. Branham-Steele at
12:43 AM
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