Malachi 1
1 The oracle of the word of the Lord to Israel by Malachi.
Malachi, the last Old Testament prophet, preached after Haggai, Zechariah, and Nehemiah—about 430 BC. The Temple had been rebuilt for almost a century, and the people were losing their enthusiasm for worship. Apathy and disillusionment had set in because the exciting messianic prophecies of Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Micah had not been fulfilled. Many of the sins that had brought the downfall of Jerusalem in 586 were still being practiced in Judah. Malachi confronted the hypocrites with their sins by portraying a graphic dialogue between a righteous God and his hardened people.
The Lord's Love for Israel
2 "I have loved you," says the Lord. But you say, "How have you loved us?" "Is not Esau Jacob's brother?" declares the Lord. "Yet I have loved Jacob
God's first message through Malachi was "I have always loved you." Although this message applied specifically to Israel, it stands as a beacon of hope for all people in all times. Unfortunately, many people are cynical about God's love because they use political or economic progress as a measure of God's care. Because the government was corrupt and the economy poor, the Israelites assumed that God didn't love them. So they responded to God's statement by asking how God loved them. They were using the wrong measure of God's love. Do you find yourself asking God, Do you really love me? when life isn't turning out the way you had hoped? Material blessings are not the primary indicator of God's love. In fact, they are often not an indicator at all. God loves all people because he made them; however, his eternal rewards go only to those who are faithful to him regardless of life's circumstances.
3 but Esau I have hated. I have laid waste his hill country and left his heritage to jackals of the desert." 4 If Edom says, "We are shattered but we will rebuild the ruins," the Lord of hosts says, "They may build, but I will tear down, and they will be called 'the wicked country,' and 'the people with whom the Lord is angry forever.'" 5 Your own eyes shall see this, and you shall say, "Great is the Lord beyond the border of Israel!"
God answered the people by reciting the many ways he had loved them. Because God had chosen Jacob and his descendants as the nation through whom he would bless the world, God cared for them in a special way. Ironically, they had rejected God after he had chosen them. When God says he rejected Esau, it means that God had chosen Jacob, not Esau, to be the one through whom the nation of Israel and the Messiah would come (see Romans 9:10-13). Esau had rejected his birthright and thus had rejected the blessing of being the person through whom God would make his covenant (Genesis 25:27-34; 27:34-35). God had allowed Esau's descendants to become a great nation, but this nation, Edom, later became one of Israel's chief enemies. The story of Jacob and Esau is found in Genesis 25:19-26.
The Priests' Polluted Offerings
6 "A son honors his father, and a servant his master. If then I am a father, where is my honor? And if I am a master, where is my fear? says the Lord of hosts to you, O priests, who despise my name. But you say, 'How have we despised your name?' 7 By offering polluted food upon my altar. But you say, 'How have we polluted you?' By saying that the Lord's table may be despised. 8 When you offer blind animals in sacrifice, is that not evil? And when you offer those that are lame or sick, is that not evil? Present that to your governor; will he accept you or show you favor? says the Lord of hosts.
God's law required that only perfect animals be offered to him as sacrifices, demonstrating the need for a person to give up something very valuable in exchange for being pardoned for the high cost of their sin (see, for example, Leviticus 1:3). But these priests were allowing the people to sacrifice blind, crippled, and diseased animals. God accused them of dishonoring him with these imperfect sacrifices, and he was greatly displeased. The New Testament says that our lives should be living sacrifices to God (Romans 12:1). If we give God only our leftover time, money, and energy, we repeat the same sin as these worshipers, who didn't want to bring anything valuable to God. Would you give clothes that are torn and dirty or things that are broken as gifts to those you love? What we give God reflects our true attitude toward him.
The people sacrificed to God wrongly through (1) expedience—taking the easy way out; (2) neglect—being careless in how they offered sacrifices; (3) outright disobedience—sacrificing their own way and not as God had commanded; and (4) stinginess—being as cheap as possible. Their methods of giving showed their real attitudes toward God. How about your attitude? Has expedience, neglect, disobedience, or stinginess influenced your giving?
9 And now entreat the favor of God, that he may be gracious to us. With such a gift from your hand, will he show favor to any of you? says the Lord of hosts. 10 Oh that there were one among you who would shut the doors, that you might not kindle fire on my altar in vain! I have no pleasure in you, says the Lord of hosts, and I will not accept an offering from your hand.
As intermediaries between God and the people, priests were responsible for reflecting God's attitudes and character. By accepting imperfect sacrifices, they were leading the people to believe that God accepted those sacrifices as well. But God said, "I am not pleased with you." As Christians, we are often in a position like that of these priests because we reflect God to our friends and families. What image of God's character and attitudes do they see in you? If you casually dismiss sin, you are like these priests in Malachi's day, and God is not pleased with you.
11 For from the rising of the sun to its setting my name will be great among the nations, and in every place incense will be offered to my name, and a pure offering. For my name will be great among the nations, says the Lord of hosts.
A theme that can be heard throughout the Old Testament is affirmed in this book—"[God's] name [will be] honored by people of other nations." God had a chosen people, the people of Israel, through whom he planned to save and bless the entire world. Through them, he would show the world what he was like and how people should live with God. Today God still wants to save and bless the world through all who believe in him—Jews and Gentiles. The church is now his chosen people, and our pure offering to the Lord is our new life in Christ. Are you available to God to be used in making his name honored by the nations? This mission begins in our homes and our neighborhoods, but it doesn't stop there. We must work and pray so that God's name will be honored everywhere.
12 But you profane it when you say that the Lord's table is polluted, and its fruit, that is, its food may be despised. 13 But you say, 'What a weariness this is,' and you snort at it, says the Lord of hosts. You bring what has been taken by violence or is lame or sick, and this you bring as your offering! Shall I accept that from your hand? says the Lord.
Serving the Lord was "too hard" according to these priests. Too many people think that following God is supposed to make life easy and more comfortable. They are looking for a God of convenience. But to live by God's high standards often takes hard work. He may ask us to face poverty or suffering in our service to him. But if serving God is more important to us than anything else, what we must give up is of little importance compared to what we gain—eternal life with God.
14 Cursed be the cheat who has a male in his flock, and vows it, and yet sacrifices to the Lord what is blemished. For I am a great King, says the Lord of hosts, and my name will be feared among the nations.
God charged the priests with failing to honor him (to the point of showing contempt for his name) and failing to be good spiritual examples to the people. The Temple had been rebuilt in 515 BC, and worship had been restored, but the priests were not worshiping God properly—they were not following his laws for the sacrifices. Ezra the priest had sparked a great revival around 458. By Malachi's time, however, the nation's leaders had once again fallen away from God, and they had taken the people right along with them. The proper worship of God was no longer of highest priority or done from heartfelt adoration. It had become simply a burdensome job for the priests.