A Very Old Challenge

InTENtional for 10 is a brand new challenge from Covenant’s leadership: embrace ten of Jesus’ life disciplines for ten weeks. Sounds new and creative doesn’t it?

This kind of “try it, you’ll like it” strategy is actually as old as the Old Testament. Check out the book of Malachi for one such example.

“Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me. But you ask, ‘How do we rob you?’ In tithes and offerings. You are under a curse—the whole nation of you—because you are robbing me. Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the LORD Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.”

Almost twenty-five hundred years ago, the prophet Malachi ministered in around the city of Jerusalem during very tough times. After years of captivity in a foreign land, a number of Israelites had returned to their cherished land. As this book recounts, their world was in shambles. There was no clear understanding of God’s priorities for they had conformed to the standards of the countries around them. Complacency and injustice ruled the day.

In the midst of that context, God had a powerful word to the people; a challenge to align their lives to the godly laws that Moses had taught. As His messenger, Malachi details six separate instructions including the one quoted above.

Instead of honoring the teaching of the law in Numbers 18 on tithing, the Jews of Malachi’s day were withholding a portion of the tithe from the “house of God.” Accordingly, God accuses them of robbing His house of its capacity to fully care for those that needed spiritual and practical help.

So God issues a clear challenge: “Test me in this and see if I do not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have enough room for it.” In other words, be obedient, tithe and see what happens.

Covenant’s leaders are echoing the same challenge to you today. Try it. Test God. Make changes in your lifestyle to accommodate this kingdom mindset. Honor God with the tithe—10% of your income—for 10 weeks and see what happens.

It may be an old challenge, but its relevance is as new as when it was first issued.

Confident in His Faithfulness,
Charlie