An old friend called last night. He was stuck, and needed someone to talk to. His heart had been shattered, and he said he was holding on to the last piece. He had been mistreated by others, and to be fair, he had sinned against them. I mostly listened, and tried to empathise with him. He was stuck so deep that he probably wouldn't make it all the way out in this lifetime. But he could make a good start, and experience freedom and joy, if he received Jesus' forgiveness and returned to the Lord.

In God's fifth speech, He tells Judah they have a decision to make. They could continue spinning their wheels deeper into the mud, or they could return to Him. They ask, ″How are we to return?″ (Malachi 3:7). God says they should keep His decrees, and they could start with bringing the ″tithes and offerings″ He had commanded (v. 8).

God doesn't need their money; He wants them. By giving their offerings, they are giving themselves to the Lord. Jesus says, ″For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also″ (Matthew 6:21). Our heart follows our treasure. We give money to what we love. By withholding their wealth, the stingy Israelites rob God and declare they only care about themselves (Malachi 3:9).

God dares Judah to test Him. ″Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse . . . and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it″ (v. 10). God had made a covenant with Israel, in which He promised to bless the nation in every material way when they obeyed and to curse them if they disobeyed (see Deuteronomy 28). He urges them to keep their end of the covenant, and see if He doesn't keep His. ″Then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land″ (Malachi 3:12).

This promise does not apply directly to us today. We have a new covenant, in which God has promised to ″meet all [our] needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus″ (Philippians 4:19). Not all our greeds, but all our needs. Our offerings are an expression of our faith. We trust God to take care of us. Our offerings are an expression of our gratitude. We delight to give back to the One who gave himself for us. It's easy to tell whether our hearts have returned to the Lord Almighty. Follow the money. That's where ″your heart will be also″ (Matthew 6:21).