Some people have asked me why I chose Malachi as our next series. Well, there was no special reason, but one thing I’ve discovered as I’ve begun preparing this series is that it’s a great book to be studying right after looking at the letters to the seven Churches in Rev 1-3. Why? Because what I’ve discovered is that many of the themes that are present in those letters are also present here. It’s as though the Old Testament and the New have both ended at the same point, with the people of God in a similar situation. Well, you can think about that as we look at Malachi 1 today and then as we move through the rest of the book over the next few weeks.
The book begins with a title: It’s an Oracle; literally a burden. This is the word of the Lord given to Malachi to pass on to Israel.
But before we read what’s in this burden that Malachi carries it might be good to understand the context. Although it’s the last book in our Old Testament it’s probably set just after the building of the Temple following the people’s return from exile. So what’s happened seems to be this: They’ve come back from Persia, they’ve rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem, then after a bit of a delay they’ve finally got around to rebuilding the Temple and now it’s all finished things are just going along like clockwork. And it’s all become a bit humdrum. Nothing exciting is happening. The Priests are doing their bit but it’s all the same, day in, day out.
I’m not sure if you’re aware of this, but when the exiles returned from Persia they set out to make sure they didn’t make the same mistakes as their predecessors. That is, they wanted to ensure that never again would they fall into the sort of idolatry that had caused God to send them into exile. So they set out to fill out the law in such a way that they could be sure that they were keeping it. This is where the Pharisees came in. They were the group who broke down the various laws into their constituent parts. So if the law said you were to tithe, they’d list all the things you had to tithe. If the law said you couldn’t work on the Sabbath they listed all the things that constituted work. And so forth. And the purpose of all this was to make sure that everything they did pleased God so God would bless them.
But now it seems that maybe it was all a waste of time. They’re not particularly blessed. Life has become just as mundane as it was when they were in exile. And every week they have to provide a sheep or a goat to the priests for the sacrifice.
So here’s what’s happening: they’re going through the motions of religious observance, but their heart isn’t really in it. Their attitude is summed up by v13: "What a weariness this is."
Do you remember the judgement of God on the Church in Ephesus, from Rev 2? "4You have forsaken your first love." And so, it seems, have the Israelites here. The return from exile was a time of great rejoicing and excitement, but now they’re back to the everyday experience of life as God’s people.
I know people who are like that today. You may be one of them. People who are a bit bored with church; people who only come because it’s expected of them; people who go through the motions but all the time are thinking about something else, perhaps wishing they could have slept in, or gone off to play golf or sit in a coffee shop and talk to their friends; people for whom the notion of gathering with God’s people each week has lost its gloss. Well if you’re one of those people this prophecy may have something to say to you.
So what does God do for these people? He sends his prophet, his messenger (which is what Malachi means by the way), to remind his people that he loves them.
Have you noticed how sometimes you need to be reminded that someone loves you? You actually need to hear the words. Do you remember the scene in Fiddler on the Roof where Tevye, the father, asks his wife Golde "Do you love me?" So she proceeds to list all the things she’s done for him day after day for the past 25 years. But what he wants is just to hear the words. So too, the Israelites need to hear the words.
But, they’re playing hard to get. In a display of passive aggressive behaviour they stubbornly refuse to understand what Malachi is telling them. In fact all through the book we find the same systematic attempt to deflect criticism or avoid responsibility by not understanding what they’re being told.
They say "How have you loved us?" Well, they should know shouldn’t they? When God says "I have loved you" their minds should have instantly recalled 1500 years of their history as a nation. And even more recent history should have confirmed it for them. Because look at his answer: "2Is not Esau Jacob’s brother? says the LORD. Yet I have loved Jacob 3but I have hated Esau; I have made his hill country a desolation and his heritage a desert for jackals. 4If Edom says, ’We are shattered but we will rebuild the ruins,’ the LORD of hosts says: They may build, but I will tear down, until they are called the wicked country, the people with whom the LORD is angry forever." So how has he loved them? By destroying their worst enemy.
The Edomites were the descendants of Esau, Jacob’s brother. So they were their cousins. But that didn’t make them friends. In fact if you read the prophecy of Obadiah you’ll discover that God had placed a curse on them because of the way they’d just stood aside while Jerusalem was being plundered and the Israelites were taken off into exile. In fact they’d done more than just look on; they’d cheered; they’d gloated over what was happening to Israel. And then when the exiles returned they’d been a constant thorn in their side. But now God has punished them. He’s virtually destroyed Edom and he promises to make sure they never manage to rebuild their nation.
So the sign that God loves them is that they’re alive and that their enemies have been overcome. We saw that in Revelation didn’t we? The sign that God loves us is that God will help us persevere until the day when he returns and takes us to be with him forever and those who oppose us will be overthrown. Even today the fact that you’re here is a sign of God’s love for you.
I wonder whether you realise that God loves you. Have you experienced his love lately? How has that happened? Let me suggest that one way, in fact the primary way, we experience God’s love day by day is through the love of his people. Listen to what God tells us through the apostle John, in his first letter. (1 John 4:11-14 NRSV) "11Beloved, since God loved us so much, we also ought to love one another. 12No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us."
Can you see what he’s saying? God can never be seen by us. We can never experience God’s presence in any material form. But God has done this wonderful thing. He’s given us his Spirit to dwell within us and then he’s put us in a church where we can show God’s love to one another. So although no-one has ever seen God, because he lives in us and his love is perfected in us, God becomes visible to those around us.
So what does that say to the presenting issue here? That is, to the idea that coming to Church might be boring or repetitive, or humdrum? Well, one thing it says is that when we gather together it’s to experience the love of God first hand. We’ll see in a moment that it’s more than that, but that’s an important component to our gathering. And not only do we gather to experience the love of God, but more importantly, we gather to express the love of God, to share that love with others.
I hope you’ve noticed this yourself, but one of the amazing things about love is that the more it’s shared, the more it grows; the more you give it to others, the more you experience it yourself. Have you noticed that? If not, perhaps you need to practice giving more love to others and see if I’m right.
But that’s all in the horizontal, in the person to person dimension. There’s a more important issue at stake in their attitude to worship. You see, God’s love demands a response. Look at v 6: "A son honors his father, and servants their master. If then I am a father, where is the honor due me? And if I am a master, where is the respect due me? says the LORD of hosts to you, O priests, who despise my name."
How do you think of God? As your father or as your master? Well, he says it doesn’t really matter as far as worship is concerned. If he’s your father then he deserves the honour that’s given to a father. You need to ignore the cultural issue here. I’m not sure fathers are given quite as much honour in our culture as they were in Israel though they should certainly be given more than they often are. But we get the point don’t we? Whether you think of God as a father or as a master he still deserves honour and respect. His love for us demands that we love him in return. But the behaviour of the Priests shows they actually despise him.
Again, they answer with a question: "How have we despised your name?" How? "7By offering polluted food on my altar." How have they polluted it? By thinking they could get away with offering sick and injured animals. After all the animal was going to be killed anyway. Why not use those ones that couldn’t be sold in the market place?
The reality of what they’re doing though is shown by his challenge: "Try presenting that to your governor; will he be pleased with you or show you favor?" They’d never try to get away with this sort of thing to a member of the ruling elite. So why try it with God, as though he’s as blind as the animals they’re sacrificing?
Well we’d never do that would we? We’d never offer God a tainted sacrifice? Well we don’t actually offer sacrifices any more do we? That’s why the table out the front is called the Lord’s Table and not the Altar. Jesus has offered the one true sacrifice, once and for all.
Yet, when we read our New Testament we do find that sacrifices are mentioned. Listen to some of those references: (Heb 13:15-16) "Through him, then, let us continually offer a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that confess his name. 16Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God."
Phil 4:18 "I am fully satisfied, now that I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent, a fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God."
Rom 12:1 "I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship."
There are still sacrifices that we’re called on to offer to God, the sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving, the sacrifice of good works, of gift giving, the sacrifice of lives that are given up for the service of God. So the question remains: are we giving God the very best? Or are we giving him the bits that we don’t really have much use for? Is our motivation purely to please God or are we making sure we get something out of it as well?
For example, when we minister to those around us are we doing it purely for the glory of God or are we doing it partly for our own glory? You know, we have a reasonably good music group here don’t we? We’re well led in our praise of God Sunday after Sunday. But what’s going through their minds as they perform? Are they thinking what a great job we’re doing this week? Are they worrying that someone might notice that they messed up that last song or that they were a little bit off key? And when you sing along with them, what are you thinking about? Are you wishing they’d sing more songs that you enjoy singing? Are you hoping to get a buzz out of it? Do you give our services a rating each week according to how enjoyable it was to be here or how pumped you were by the service?
Now all of those things are normal human responses. I was able to list all those things because I’ve done them myself from time to time. But what do you think God thinks of us when that’s the attitude we have when we come together to worship him, to praise his name? You see the question that matters isn’t was I satisfied with our service today but was God satisfied with it? Was God pleased to be here? Or was he wearied by it (2:17)?
What about when you meet in a small group Bible Study? Are you eager to study God’s word so you can know him better, or are you more interested in getting your latest news off your chest, or using the group as a sounding board for your complaints. Is your focus on God or on yourself?
And what about when you’re exercising your particular ministries in the church? Are you doing it because of the kudos it gives you? How much are you doing it because it gives you a sense of self worth? If you’re someone who exercises pastoral care of people are you getting a secret pleasure out of being a "helper," someone who’s above the sorts of trials that this person is going through? And what about those whose ministry is more menial, or less obvious. Do you wish you were doing something that people would notice? Do you look for praise and recognition from others or are you just happy to be serving God even if it’s only by washing the dishes or cleaning the floors? Or are you wearied by the need to keep on serving in that way?
Again, all of those are normal human responses. Many are also conditioned by our culturally driven hierarchy of functions in society. But can you see that if these are things you do as part of your service to God, if these are the sacrifices you offer to God day by day or week by week, then what matters is not the recognition you get from others, but the quality of effort you put in for God. What matters is that God sees you and notices. What matters is that your motivation is the glory of God. Look at v11: "For from the rising of the sun to its setting my name is great among the nations, and in every place incense is offered to my name, and a pure offering; for my name is great among the nations, says the LORD of hosts." He uses a well known psalm (113) to remind them who it is they’ve come to worship. Not a God who meets their human needs or expectations but a God who is above the heavens; far beyond human control.
When we gather together on a Sunday, or any other time for that matter, we too need to remember who it is we worship. It’s the LORD who is high above all nations, and whose glory is above the heavens. This God deserves only the best. If you’re going to offer him a sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving, or of good works, or even of money, then make sure you give the best, the first fruits; make sure the effort you put in is as great as you can manage; make sure that the focus of your offering is God’s glory, not your own.
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