Abstract:
The biblical concept of stewardship has been subjected to some misunderstanding. Each
time the word stewardship is mentioned, the meaning that easily comes to mind is that of
money. One of the means through which Christians express their appreciation to God is
through dedicated and trustworthy stewardship. In the book of Malachi the focus on the tithe
in particularly in the fifth disputation oracle (3:6–12) is closely associated with the issue of
disrespect for the Lord. The people’s perspective with respect to and use of their wealth and/
or personal effects was simply a symptom of the viability of their covenant relationship with
Yahweh. An acknowledgement of Yahweh’s ultimate ownership and/or proprietorship over
all things, his generosity and faithfulness in juxtaposition to the deceitfulness of the people as
demonstrated by Malachi serves as enough motivation for total Christian stewardship. This
article highlights the economic reality of Yehud during Malachi’s day, the intricacies of the
prophet’s accusations of hypocrisy concerning the tithe, and in an attempt to be dispassionate
as well as careful, the article concludes by emphasising some underlying principles with
regard to Christian stewardship which will serve as a reminder to Christians about their
ethical responsibility.
Description:
The article is based on research conducted by B.O.B. (University
of Pretoria) for his PhD thesis. A.G. (University of Pretoria),
co-author of the article, acted as supervisor for the thesis.
