There are two versions of a Russian saying: “Here you are, poor wretch (that is, beggar): take what is no use to us,” and “Here You are, God...” Both versions speak of the same thing: the widespread reluctance of seemingly devout people to sacrifice anything truly valuable to God, for alms given to a beggar are also a gift to God. The Bible bears witness that this tradition of “piety” has existed for many centuries.

Yet the genuineness of faith is tested not only by the steadfastness of martyrs, but much more often by the little things of everyday life. Our spontaneous reaction to them reveals our true condition more reliably than our response to momentous events, for which many people try to prepare well in advance, long before they draw near. But, as another saying puts it, it is not the sea that drowns us, but a puddle...

God gave us, for us, in expiation for our sins the best of what He had- Himself. And we are not even capable to trust Him. We generally don’t like to give something, not to talk of the best. Moreover we completely forget that this same "best" is given to us by God, it belongs to Him. So, returning it to God we lose nothing, but if we don’t return, then we are thieves. "sacrificeth unto the LORD a corrupt thing" - it is about us. Indeed, when we try to return to God, when do we ourselves give Him? He created us pure and beautiful, but we are completely different. But he can clean and forgive us, it will just be enough to sincerely ask Him for that.

What means being the people of God? The answer of the Torah and the prophets is obvious: it means keeping the covenant concluded with God and to live as the Torah prescribes, to live before God: because the people of God is first of all people sanctified by God's presence, this presence, thanks to which appeared on the earth hallowed by God and given to the people by Him at the beginning the Tabernacle, and then the Temple. Well then it turns out that to be the people of God is first of all an immense responsibility: responsibility for the sanctuary, for the Torah, for the Revelation.

But, as we see, at the after captivity era, when preached Malachi, some (and maybe many) began to think that to be people of God is a privilege, that it gives before God certain rights, that God must be indulgent to His people, forgiving him many for the faithfulness that kept to Him the remnant, who really kept faith in Babylon at the time of the captivity. Moreover, Malachi preached already not to the first generation of the repatriates who came back from Babylon after the decree of Cyrus the Great, but to their descendants, who, maybe were proud of their faithfulness to God, but did not know captivity.

However they felt themselves heirs of those who were faithful to God in Babylon, and were convinced that they are now on a certain special account to God, neglecting even sometimes the prescriptions of the Torah, in particular, when it was about the sacrifice: according to the words of the prophet, it cost them for example nothing to bring in sacrifice a blind or lame animal, although such a sacrifice was directly forbidden by the Torah. Perhaps these presumptuous descendants of the heroes of faith who remained faithful to God during the captivity, thought that God needed them not less, than they needed Him: because probably, they reasoned, in the end God returned their fathers on the land formerly promised to Abraham, thus He did not find another people, with whom He would have been able to replace those He had elected formerly.

And if that was the case, then He is probably going to continue to be indulgent to them, and to their children: because in any case He doesn’t have another people, and the Temple where they offer Him sacrifices is only one on earth. But God through His prophet reminds that the entire earth belongs to Him, and that there are in every nation those who adore Him, although not belonging to the people chosen by Him. And that is why the people of God have no special right before God, but only responsibility, which shouldn’t be forgotten.