Contentment: Week 5, Day 1

Book:  Money and Possessions:  The Quest for Contentment

Pages: 66-67

Scripture: Malachi 1:1-2a, 11-14

Hello, everyone!

Thanks for your grace in postponing this week's study as I took a few days to visit Patricia and her family.  We thoroughly enjoyed our time together.  The weather was perfect for viewing the peak cherry blossoms in D.C.   I'll try to get some photos posted when I can.

Now to Week 5 of our study.  I'll post in two parts: 

• Part 1;  Answers to the questions from the book
• Part 2:  An insight about a prophecy in Malachi 1

I had never done in inductive study on the Book of Malachi, so this was all new to me and so enlightening.

Who is speaking in this passage and to whom?

God is speaking to His people.  Malachi is the conduit who is writing down God's Words.

Do the people receiving the message seem content?  Explain your answer.

Not at all. 

·         They question God's love for them (verse 2).

·         They find serving Him tiresome (verse 19).

·         They no longer reverence His Name (they profane it in verse 12) in their hearts; therefore, their actions reflect their hearts (see answer to next question). 

What were they offering to God?

They offered their leftovers :-), those things that were blemished, things they didn't really want. 

As a little sidenote… we have a church in our area which has set up a "free to the public" shop where people who have goods can bring them to bless the community who doesn't have goods.  In fact, the shop is called The Blessing Shop.  When we take our "leftovers" to this shop, I try to make sure that the clothes, books, or the dishes or whatever else we're taking is not all ripped up or broken so that someone else may find those things useful.  But I always tell the kids, "We're not really offering to God here because we're giving our leftovers, the things we don't want.  I do hope these things bless someone, but this is not an offering because these things are not our best."

What was their attitude in bringing their offering to God?

They found bringing these blemished offerings tiresome.  They were doing (I'm purposefully using that word doing) the work out of duty, not out of a heart of worship.  They were not being before doing, as we have so often discussed on this list.

In light of who God is and the fact that His Law commanded that all sacrificed be perfect, how would you characterize their behavior?

Not only were they disobedient but also they were arrogant, unthankful, and immature in their understanding of Who God is.

According to verse 14, what are the consequences, if any, for promising something to God, then fulfilling that commitment in a way that is disrespectful to Him?

Cursed 'arar (779)

From Vine's: 

·         Curse is usually parallel with bless. 

·         God alone truly "curses."  It is a revelation of His justice, in support of His claim to absolute obedience. 

·         Men may claim God's "curses" by committing their grievance to God and trusting in His righteous judgment (Ps. 109:26-31).

·         "Curse" in the O.T. is summed up in the statement "Cursed be the man that obeyeth not the words of this covenant …" (Jer. 11:3)

What connection do you find between these Scriptures and how most Christians today respond to God's provision?  What about their offerings to God?  Do you find many believers who are truly content with what God has given them?  Explain your answer.

Instead of looking at other Christians, I would suggest we look inward to our own attitude towards God's provision and our offerings.

We studied contentment in Week 4 (here's the summary):

Autarkeia (841):  satisfaction with what one has, sufficient.

Summary:

To be freed from covetousness/pleonexia (4124) to contentment/autarkeia (841), we must find our sufficiency in God and, therefore, what state we are in, to be content (Ph 4:11).  When we abide and find our sufficiency in Him, we will not forget to thank Him for all He is and all He does.

"Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency [is] of God."  ~2 Cor 3:5

Do you think God is pleased with what we are giving to Him?  Why or why not?

God is only pleased with how we receive His Gift of Christ.  He has given All.  Are we receiving All He has given?  As we mature in abiding, we really won't be concerned about our giving.  Our giving will be a fruit of abiding in Christ Who is our sufficiency and our All. 

See the next post for Part 2, a prophecy in Malachi.

[Taken from the Yahoo group Truth Himself:  http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TruthHimself/ ]