In our study, we will look at what happens when your heart is not truly devoted to serving the Savior. We look at the history of God's people and how the book relates to our time.
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A prophecy, the word of ADONAI to Isra'el through Mal'akhi:
Malachi, whose name means "my messenger" was the last prophet to God's people before a period of silence that lasted four hundred years. He was sent at a time when the priesthood was corrupt and detached from God. Their disobedience and insincere teaching had brought about a lack of blessing. They were concerned about the outer appearance of things but completely ignored the motivations of the heart. The "oracle" refers to the fact that the message that God gave him was a burden to him and not a happy "feel good" message. Malachi was truly saddened (as was God) by the way the priests and people were acting toward God and was sent with this message to bring conviction and repentance to their hearts. He used a conversation between God and His people to help them to examine their hearts and we can do the same thing in our hearts today.
"I love you," says ADONAI. But you ask, "How do you show us your love?" ADONAI answers, "'Esav was Ya'akov's brother. Yet I loved Ya'akov but hated 'Esav. I made his mountains desolate and gave his territory to desert jackals."
In this part of the conversation, God reminds His people that He loved them but they are looking for material blessings in the here and now instead of the blessing of being God's chosen people. God reminds them of the fact that Esau was related to Jacob and in fact was older yet it was Jacob that received the inheritance and blessing (see Genesis 25). Traditionally, it would have been the oldest son that received the blessing but God had chosen Jacob. Many people today are more concerned about material blessings than the fact that we are the chosen people of God and co-heirs with Christ of all that God has created.
Edom says, "We are beaten down now, but we will come back and rebuild the ruins." ADONAI-Tzva'ot answers, "They can build, but I will demolish. They will be called the Land of Wickedness, the people with whom ADONAI is permanently angry. You will see it and say, 'ADONAI is great, even beyond the borders of Isra'el.'"
We, like Edom (Esau), can try to build on our own apart from the will and guidance of the Lord but we are reminded here that God is in control. Though we may not understand all of God's plan, we can know the purpose and that is given at the end of this passage. The purpose in everything is to bring glory to God and even those that do not believe in Jesus will see God's glory.
"A son honors his father and a servant his master. But if I'm a father, where is the honor due me? and if I'm a master, where is the respect due me? - says ADONAI-Tzva'ot to you cohanim who despise my name. You ask, 'How are we despising your name?' By offering polluted food on my altar! Now you ask, 'How are we polluting you?' By saying that the table of ADONAI doesn't deserve respect;
In the first five verses, God has reminded His people that He loved them but now the conversation shifts to the question of if His people love Him. By asking the questions about the honor and respect due Him, God is trying to get them to see how wrong it is. When God brings the charge that they show contempt to His name, they are thinking about words and not actions. God then points to their actions and the fact that the words they say and their actions do not match. Though the priests pay lip service to God they are not obeying what God says and therefore are showing contempt to Him. The same is true today, as the actions of the one sharing the Word of God do not match what is contained in the Word. All we have to do is look at the latest news headlines for examples of this.
so that there's nothing wrong with offering a blind animal as a sacrifice, nothing wrong with offering an animal that's lame or sick. Try offering such an animal to your governor, and see if he will be pleased with you! Would he even receive you?" asks ADONAI-Tzva'ot.
God gets specific here in what the people have done to defile Him. The people did not give God their best and the priests didn't stop them and tell them the truth. They went ahead and performed the sacrifices even though they knew they were improper! Then God asks them what would happen if they tried to give these to the government in payment for taxes. It is easy for us to say that this is all the Old Testament and sacrifices do not apply to us today. But, although we are not called to give animal sacrifices, we are called to offer ourselves and our lives as a sacrifice and as our act of worship (see Romans 12:1). That means our entire life and not just a part of it for a few hours each week. We, as Christians, are all priests and therefore, after we know what we are to do, we are just like the priests that Malachi mentions if we do not give all of our lives to the Lord.
So if you pray now that God will show us favor, what your actions have accomplished is that ADONAI-Tzva'ot asks, "Will he receive any of you? Why doesn't even one of you shut the doors and thus stop this useless lighting of fires on my altar? I take no pleasure in you," says ADONAI-Tzva'ot, "and I will not receive an offering from you.
Here, God gives some simple instructions to His people to bring them back into His will. God simply tells them to beg for forgiveness and change their actions or close the temple doors. We may say that it is bad for any place of worship to close but, in this passage, God tells us the opposite. The same instructions apply to us today both individually and as groups of believers (the "churches"). If we do not want to worship the Father in spirit and in truth (see John 4:23 & 24), then we, like the people mentioned by Malachi, are bringing wounded and diseased offerings to God and He is not happy about it.
For from farthest east to farthest west my name is great among the nations. Offerings are presented to my name everywhere, pure gifts; for my name is great among the nations," says ADONAI-Tzva'ot.
El Shaddai (Lord Almighty) is the name of God that has been used and it reminds us that He is the only one who has the ability to supply the needs of His people. He created all things and therefore owns all things so He is the only One that can rightfully give anything. When God says "In every place", that tells us that it is not a building anymore and in fact, through the Holy Spirit, we are God's temple. The problem today is that many are trying to build bigger and better buildings to be a temple for the worship of God instead of building the temple in the manner that Jesus instructed (see Matthew 28:19 & 20).
"But you profane it by saying that the table of ADONAI is polluted, so that the fruit and food offered deserve contempt. You also say, 'It's all so tiresome!' and sniff scornfully at it," says ADONAI-Tzva'ot. "Then you bring animals that were taken by violence, or they are lame or sick. This is the sort of offering you bring. Am I supposed to accept this from you?" asks ADONAI. "Moreover, cursed is the deceiver who has a male animal in his flock that is damaged, but vows and sacrifices to ADONAI anyway. For I am a great king," says ADONAI-Tzva'ot, "and my name is respected among the nations.
In this passage, God gives the details of their actions and attitudes. Not only does He know the words that they say against Him but God also knows their attitudes (heart). God knows that they think it is a burden to bring the proper sacrifice and it comes from a lack of respect for His name. Then, God tells them that not only will they not be blessed (given more) but, in fact, they will be cursed (lose what they have). We may say "That was the Old Testament" but God's "name is to be feared among the nations" even today. God did not accept half-hearted sacrifices then and He does not accept them now.
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