Malachi 2:1-9

God’s dissatisfaction becomes immediately apparent at the beginning of this section of Scripture we are studying today. The priests were to live exemplary lives which honored God’s character and His reputation - just as we are. Our lives reflect what we believe to be true in our hearts. Indeed, the heart comes to light through our actions. We may fool people for a while, but eventually the true heart will show forth. Further, God desires for His children to do His will from the heart – not out of slavish compulsion. Paul tells us in Ephesians when referring to slaves – which in reality we all are:

5 Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ. 6 Obey them not only to win their favor when their eye is on you, but like slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart. 7 Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men, 8 because you know that the Lord will reward everyone for whatever good he does, whether he is slave or free. Ephesians 6:5-8 (NIV) 

God states in these first two verses of Malachi that the priests – and subsequently God’s people – because like people like priests - did not set their hearts to honor His great Name. This conveys the concept of determining a course of action based on information they had previously received. We are held accountable to flesh out or act on what we have received and know to be true from God’s Word. We are not left ignorant of His ways. To be sure, we hold His revealed will in our hands and He will never go against it. Taking something to heart is not merely hearing from God rather it is putting into practice what we hear.

God directs the priests to meditate on His Words to them. We are directed to do that as well. There is no excuse for being bored with Christ. He is most glorious, dynamic and exciting in all the universe. There is nothing dull or drab about Him. He is the Creator, the One Whom angels worship, and the Author and Finisher of the faith. There is great sin in snubbing Him with our time, talents and money. Their actions reflected their estimation of Christ just as ours do. We would all do well to remember, remember, remember what He has done for us as His call is to us all. 

Read: I Will Meditate On You In The Morning – Marshall Segal (1)   

9 How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your word.
10 I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands. 11 I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you. 12 Praise be to you, O LORD; teach me your decrees. 13 With my lips I recount all the laws that come from your mouth. 14 I rejoice in following your statutes as one rejoices in great riches. 15 I meditate on your precepts and consider your ways. 16 I delight in your decrees; I will not neglect your word. Psalm 119:9-16 (NIV)

35 Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. Mark 1:35 (NIV) 

God warns the priests if they do not take to heart to honor His Name they will suffer the consequences, their blessings would be cursed. In order to honor the Name of God, they must realize again that God’s Name is ever so worthy to be praised – this is true for us a well. The priests had divulged their warped understanding of God’s nature by offering polluted and inadequate sacrifices. God both deserves and desires our very best – indeed our very lives. Paul tells us:

19 Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 (NIV)

The priests, who were chosen by God, were supposed to honor God’s Name yet were disgracing it. As God’s children they were not honoring their Father. They were called to be God’s servants yet they showed no respect for their Master. We must guard against misrepresenting God. Our God is gracious and He is to be held in reverence.  

Writing on those who profess faith yet live hypocritical lives, Greg Morse writes on: “Sinner, Saints, or Hypocrites – The Lies We Spread About Grace (2)

God is to be respected, worshipped and adored by His children. Our failure to praise Him and our praise of men instead is yet another way in which we despise God’s Name. This is a condemnation of our contemporary church.  
We need to emulate the heart of King David when he stated in Psalm 8:

3 When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, 4 what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? 5 You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. 6 You made him ruler over the works of your hands; you put everything under his feet: 7 all flocks and herds, and the beasts of the field, 8 the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas. 9 O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!  Psalm 8:3-9 (NIV) 

Indeed, God tells us Himself in Isaiah 40:

25 “To whom will you compare me? Or who is my equal?” says the Holy One. 26 “Lift your eyes and look to the heavens: Who created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one, and calls them each by name. Because of his great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing. 27 Why do you say, O Jacob, and complain, O Israel, ‘My way is hidden from the LORD; my cause is disregarded by my God’? 28 Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. 29 He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. 30 Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; 31 but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. Isaiah 40:25-31 (NIV) 

Because of their actions, God was going to exchange their blessings for destructions. God is emphatically telling the priesthood that He is serious. Their progeny would suffer the consequences of the current generation’s actions, and they will only have themselves to blame as covenant transgressors. We get to choose to sin and God chooses the consequences. Not only would the priest’s offspring experience the wrath of God’s judgment, the priests themselves would be humiliated by the Lord. I am reminded of David’s consequences with Bathsheba – which BTW Nathan was the confronting prophet to David (I couldn’t remember last week!!!):

7 Then Nathan said to David, “You are the man! This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. 8 I gave your master’s house to you, and your master’s wives into your arms. I gave you the house of Israel and Judah. And if all this had been too little, I would have given you even more. 9 Why did you despise the word of the LORD by doing what is evil in his eyes? You struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and took his wife to be your own. You killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. 10 Now, therefore, the sword will never depart from your house, because you despised me and took the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your own.’ 11 This is what the LORD says: ‘Out of your own household I am going to bring calamity upon you. Before your very eyes I will take your wives and give them to one who is close to you, and he will lie with your wives in broad daylight. 12 You did it in secret, but I will do this thing in broad daylight before all Israel.’ 13 Then David said to Nathan, ‘I have sinned against the LORD.’ Nathan replied, ‘The LORD has taken away your sin. You are not going to die. 14 But because by doing this you have made the enemies of the LORD show utter contempt, the son born to you will die.’” 2 Samuel 12:7-14 (NIV)

Though David would be restored to fellowship with his God, the impact of his sin remained and would continue to work its sorrow in the nation as well as in the king’s life.

Just as there are always blessings in obedience there are consequences to sin. Nothing is so disheartening than to see our sins fleshed out in our children’s lives. We are to be breaking those despicable bents in our own lives to prevent from inflicting them upon our children.

God was preparing to take these priests and spread dung on their faces for their actions. They would be humiliated by the Lord demonstrating how He perceived their disobedience. In that day, no greater contamination and disgrace could be imagined. How repulsive God finds their glib handling of His commands. By rubbing feces on their faces, a visual sign was given to them of what He thought of their worthless sacrifices. The refuse from the sacrifices was to be taken outside the camp and burned, but God would use it here to demonstrate His true feelings on their actions by wiping their noses in it, bringing them much disgrace and embarrassing them by adorning their bodies with impurities for all to see.

“Nothing is so deadening to the Divine as a habitual dealing with the outside of spiritual things.” George McDonald

What the priests were doing wasn’t ministry; it was only ritual, empty religious formality that disgusted the Lord. In effect God was telling them that, apart from thoroughgoing repentance, they would be put in the place of separation from God and made fuel for the flames of a lost eternity. As we have stated before, God does not look at sin lightly – nor does He merely wink at it or shrug His shoulders. It cost Him the life of His Son. And He does not want us to wallow in it! We would do well to remember this. I am reminded of what Paul penned in Romans:

18 The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, 19 since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 20 For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities--his eternal power and divine nature--have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse. 21 For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles. 24 Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. 25  They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator--who is forever praised. Amen. 26 Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. 27  In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion. 28 Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done. 29 They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, 30  slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; 31  they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless. 32  Although they know God's righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them. Romans 1:18-32 (NIV)

The Law silences us, leaving us unable to defend ourselves against the charges of sin in the sight of a Holy God. It was given to convince men of their guilt before a Holy God. We all need Jesus. We all desperately fall short of the glory of God. There is no one righteous, not even one.

21 “I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!”  Galatians 2:21 (NIV) 

It is God’s desire for none to perish but all to come to repentance yet sadly, some will not turn to Him and be saved.  

Spurgeon – Morning and Evening September 28 Page 544 (3)

God next reminds them of his covenant He had lovingly made with Levi, whose descendants were the line through which the priesthood would come. As lineal heirs of Levi, God was to be their inheritance and their portion and what an Inheritance and Portion He was and is! Yet, He apparently was not sufficient for them as their ministry had degenerated into a well-paying job with fringe benefits and social security. Professionalism in the things of God nearly always degenerates into dead orthodoxy or faith-denying liberalism.

Levi, from which these priests came, we are told was inspired by the fear of the living God and as a result God gave him a threefold ministry: he was an example to all by his words, his walk and his witness. It is no wonder the Scriptures state:

7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline. Proverbs 1:7 (NIV)

The essence of true knowledge is fearing God. Apart from Him a person is ignorant of spiritual things. 

First, Levi was an example by his words in that “True instruction was in his mouth.” He upheld the inerrancy, inspiration, and infallibility of the Word of God. Scripture states of Scripture:

16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 (NIV) 

30As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the LORD is flawless. He is a shield for all who take refuge in him. Psalm 18:30 (NIV) 

89 Your word, O LORD, is eternal; it stands firm in the heavens. Psalm 119:89 (NIV) 

Levi was an example by his walk in that he walked with God in “peace and uprightness”. His conduct was such that he enjoyed the constant smile of God’s approval and the conscious sweetness of His presence. “Uprightness” meaning level. It is used figuratively to signify justice, honesty, righteousness, and uprightness. It is the Lord who declares justice and this was thoroughly understood in a theocratic society. We would do well to remember we too are to live our lives for an audience of One – pleasing God over man with our actions if the choice is presented. Remember Peter’s words in Acts:

18 Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. 19 But Peter and John replied, “Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God's sight to obey you rather than God.
20 For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.”  Acts 4:18-20 (NIV)

Lastly, Levi was an example by his witness in that he “turned many from sin”. He did away with apostasy, put the fear of God into the rank and file, defended the faith and encouraged those who wanted to live for God. On this side of the cross, we are told 1 John:

3 We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. 4 The man who says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 5 But if anyone obeys his word, God’s love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him: 6 Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did. 1 John 2:3-6 (NIV) 

Mighty BIG shoes for us to fill – only possible through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Perfection will never be attained until we are home with Him but we are to be ever vigilant in ridding sin from our lives. We are to quickly repent and be restored.  

In Surprised By Joy, C.S. Lewis paints a vivid description of what he found when he examined his own heart: “A zoo of lusts, a bedlam of ambitions, a nursery of fears and a harem of fondled hatreds.”  

John Piper tells us what he did in his own life by putting the crosshairs on his besetting sins and making war on old enemies dwelling within. We so often simply protect ourselves from and deal with what we deem to be the “Big Sins,” when in reality any sin can rob us from the fullness of the Spirit within and keep us from the abundance of joy and peace God desires for His children to have. Remember, little foxes can ruin a vineyard. He approached this scrutiny of his own heart by taking some much-needed time off. Following his heart examination this is what he discovered residing within:  

Read - What I Learned Abut My Sins At Sixty-Four (4)
     
Again John tells us:

5 This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. 6 If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. 8 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives. 1 John 1:5-10 (NIV)
We are to be broken over our sins not braggadocios. King David shows us by his words in Psalms 51:

15 O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise. 16 You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. 17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. Psalm 51:15-17 (NIV)

“The lowest degree of grace is superior to the noblest development of unregenerate nature. Where the Holy Spirit implants divine life in the soul, there is a precious deposit that none of the refinements of education can equal. The thief on the cross excels Caesar on his throne; Lazarus among the dogs is better than Cicero among the senators; and the most unlettered Christian is in the sight of God superior to Plato. Life is the badge of nobility in the realm of spiritual things, and men without it are only coarser or finer specimens of the same lifeless material, needing to be made alive, for they are dead in trespasses and sins.” Charles H. Spurgeon 

Levi had walked with God in peace and uprightness and had turned many from sin. When people walk in God’s ways and are satisfied with His portion it is very wooing to others. This begs the question for us as well – is He sufficient to be our Portion? Or are we like the Levites who appear dissatisfied with God? Our murmurings and complaining’s will point to our dissatisfactions. Yet, in Christ, we are never lacking. He alone truly satisfies the human heart. As we allow the Holy Spirit to fill every crevice of our hearts we will not be found needy nor wanting.  

These priests, like us, so often sought to find their sufficiency in the created rather than in the Creator. God desires to be number One in our lives and when He is all other people and things seem to line up perfectly in proper order under the top. That is what He so desires for us - a life of “life and peace”. This is exactly what God said His covenant to Levi. “Life” denoting fresh, running water; livelihood, effervescent, refreshment; sustain life and live prosperously. “Peace” meaning absence of strife; it essentially denotes a satisfied condition, a state of peacefulness, a sense a well-being, unharmed or unhurt. 

The reverence and awe God called for was conspicuously missing in the lives of the priests and people in Malachi’s day. The word translated “reverence” or “fear” in some translations is placed alongside “stood in awe”. The latter meaning to be shattered or to be dismayed. We may picture the meaning as being broken into pieces, either physically, emotionally, or spiritually. When there is no reverential fear and awe of the Lord there you will discover mayhem. It reminds me of Jesus’ Words in Luke:

17 Jesus looked directly at them and asked, “Then what is the meaning of that which is written: ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone’? 18 Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, but he on whom it falls will be crushed.” Luke 20:17-18 (NIV) 

God breaks us in order to make us. After our salvation, His goal is to conform us into the image of His Son. His choice tool is often suffering.  Who looks up when they think they have it all together?  

These priests were supposed to have true instruction in their mouths and preserve God’s knowledge because they were the Lord’s messengers to the people. The true servant of God preaches the Scriptures unapologetically. He does not alter the message to tickle the ears of the people and does not shrink back from doctrinal truths. Yet, like the skeptical theologians who today destroy the faith of eager young seminary students, and like the Bible-denying ministers who from their pulpits destroy the souls of millions, these godless religious professionals of Malachi’s day evoked the displeasure of God. It’s a terrible thing to be in the crosshairs of the wrath of God.  

We know from history where the kind of Bible teaching in Malachi’s day led. A cumbersome system of rabbinical interpretation and tradition evolved and took root. To the written and inspired Word of God, the rabbis added what they called the oral law, which in essence consisted of their manmade traditions. By the time of Christ it was well developed. It was a vast and still growing encyclopedic accumulation of sense and nonsense, truth and trash, legitimate commentary and worthless tradition. Attacking the oral law cost Christ His life. Their interpretive theories were as far removed from genuine Old Testament Judaism as modern liberal theology is from New Testament Christianity.     

So how do we apply what we have learned in this section of Malachi to our own lives? We see that leaders are held to a higher standard than those being led. And all Christians are leaders in some aspect of our lives, whether it be as mothers and fathers, teachers, coaches, or mentors – we are a kingdom of priests. Further, I believe that every one of us repeatedly high treason against the Lord through disrespect in our actions and attitudes. If we really think about our lives, we, like the priests, have wandered in our character, commitment, and communication with the Lord. Instead of being vehicles of consecration, we have become facilitators of contamination.

The irony of the passage is that God appointed the priests for the purpose of purifying the people and protecting the temple, but they were the source of pollution. The ones who were called to live a life of purity before the Lord were the ones who were actually destroying the nation. Perversion originated with and was propagated through them. They were toxic and defiled everything and everybody they touched. A false minister is an awful weapon in the hands of Satan. Like King Solomon stated:

18 Wisdom is better than weapons of war, but one sinner destroys much good. Ecclesiastes 9:18 (NIV)

Remember, “It’s really up to you as to how you will run the race of life. You decide whether you’re going to be a world changer or whether the world is going to change you. World changers don’t march lockstep with current culture. World changers follow Christ and affect their surroundings more than their surroundings affect them. World changers are thermostats, not thermometers. They control the temperature. They set the pace. They think for themselves. Show me someone who reads the Bible, does what God tells him or her to do, and follows Jesus, and I’ll show you a rebel in today’s culture. That is what a world changer is. If you have fallen, if you have stumbled, get up and start running again. God gives second chances. You can still finish the race.” Greg Laurie  

These are Beth’s personal notes, due to this fact sources are not often stated.