Malachi: A Treacherous Heart

We pick up today in Malachi 2:8.  The Lord has been challenging the priests of Israel about their sins.  Now the message begins to transition into a problem that was riddled throughout all of Israel: Treachery.  Starting with the priests, verses 8-9 use the word treachery to speak of the favoritism that the priests were showing.

Showing Favoritism In God’s Things

In the 1990’s several articles were written speaking of polls that showed the fall of the reputation of ministers.  A high percentage of the population held a low esteem of pastors.  Part of the reason for this is that people kept running into leaders and churches that showed favoritism in God’s things.  Recently a similar article came out only this time the profession on the hot-seat was journalism.  Journalists have now found themselves at the bottom of professional esteem along with ministers and lawyers.  Why?  Mostly because they have showed favoritism in how they have reported the Truth.  Now whenever a person purports to speak on behalf of truth, they are dealing with God’s territory.  Even though journalists are not operating in an official religious capacity, their insistence that they are speaking the truth puts them in an area that God not only takes seriously, but He will also defend.  Many journalists today have departed from the righteous reason to report news and have corrupted the proper ways of reporting in order to shape the opinion of the public.  This is called a treachery in verse 10.  Treachery is when we work under the cover of something good in order to do something bad.  We use the good to get people to trust us but in the end we are only interested in how it can help us, which is not good.

The priests were using the good things of God for their own purposes and God will not suffer such wickedness.  They were not walking on the path that God’s Law had prescribed to them.  They had reasoned themselves away from God Way.  Now we need to remember that God’s Way is the The Good Way.  It is the way that leads to life.  But, there is a way that seems right in the eyes of a man but the end of it is death.  These priests had left the path to life and were now on a path that led to destruction.  It didn’t look like that to them.  In fact somehow they had convinced themselves that what they were doing was the thing that would bring them what they wanted.  Ultimately we are all responsible for our own path.  But God will deal with those who are an “accessory to the crime.”  It is not an excuse, but it is inexcusable.  Thus these priests and any who do such things need to confess it and repent of it.

When it says that they had shown partiality in the law, this is a reference to Leviticus 19:15.  “You shall do no injustice in judgment.  You shall not be partial to the poor, nor honor the person of the mighty.  In righteousness you shall judge your neighbor.”  Here God is warning Israel against perverting justice whether for the poor or for the mighty.  Notice how He points out the reasons why we might do either one.  Those who pervert justice for the sake of the poor might think they are doing a good thing.  The poor are in a pitiable situation and don’t have anything in life.  So to pervert justice for them might seem almost spiritual: “fighting for the little guy.”  However, God condemns this.  No society can prosper that rewards wickedness whether from a poor person or a rich one.  Now on the other side we can be tempted to pervert justice for the mighty.  Notice here the word “honor” is used.  These mighty people are heavy weights and can do a lot for us.  Thus we are tempted to esteem them as of greater weight than the poor.  God says not to do it.  Thus we have the cultural image of the “Lady Justice” being blindfolded.  Justice is based on the facts in evidence rather than on who is standing before it.

Now we today have been shown the way by the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the teachings of His Apostles.  How much more important is it for us to pay attention to God’s heart in these matters?  If we pervert justice within the Church of Christ then we not only bring shame on God’s reputation but we also cause ourselves to be contemptible in the sight of the world.

When we adopt a “pick-and-choose” mentality with the things of God we will find that God will not accept such activity.  It is an abomination to Him.  In respect to people, we cannot allow ourselves to pick and choose who we are going to be hard on and who we are going to be easy on.  God will not stand such wicked actions.  We should uphold justice with grace with all people.  In respect to duties or teachings of Christ, we cannot allow ourselves to be partial either.  When we choose which teachings we will follow and which we will disregard, we only bring discipline and judgment from God down on our own heads.  This is a problem that is riddled throughout our society, both in the Church and outside of it.  It is abhorrent to God and is destroying us as a people.  Unless we confess that it is sin and turn away from it back towards the Good Path, then we will continue to slide towards the destruction that awaits such stiff-necked people.  May God give us the grace to see our sin and repent.

Treacherous Heart Audio

Glorifying God

Today we will move into chapter 2 of Malachi.  God continues to challenge the priests of Israel.  In chapter 1 he calls them to task for not correcting the people who brought lame, sick, and blind animals to sacrifice.  The priests not only were disobeying the Law, but they had also developed an attitude that God’s commands and the sacrificial system were tiresome.

Glorifying God

In verses 1-2 the priests are warned that if they do not give glory to God’s Name then a curse will come upon them.  So what does it mean to glorify God’s Name?

The word for “glory” comes from a root that refers to something heavy.  This is reminiscent of chapter one where the prophecy given to Malachi is called a “burden.”  To glorify God is to give Him (and His Words) a certain weight in the sense that He cannot be tossed aside lightly.  In fact God is to be glorified (treated as heavier) above all other things in this world. His Word should be too heavy to toss aside or ignore.  This is exactly what the priests have been doing.  In fact when we ignore God’s Word it is like ignoring a Mac Truck coming at you on the freeway.  It’s weight is real and you ignore it to your own peril.

Another way that we should recognize the weight of God’s Word is how seriously we take it.  If you were in line to inherit a large fortune and then were told by a lawyer that the Will had been changed and you now inherited nothing, you would want to see the document.  You would seriously read through every paragraph and line because you have so much riding on what it says.  God’s Word is even more important than that.  Yet, it is so easy at times for us to treat it as if it was just a bed time story.  If there is something in God’s Word that you don’t understand then it should bother you to the point that you study, pray, and seek for understanding.

Another thing about glorifying God’s Name is pointed out by Jesus.  He chastised the religious leaders for treating the traditions of men as more important than God’s Word.  Over time we can lose sight of what comes from the traditions of past leaders and what comes from God’s Word.  When they clash we should choose God’s Word over the top of men’s simply because God’s Word has greater Weight than men’s.  Thus we give glory to God when we obey Him over the top of men.

Remember how Paul commended the Berean’s for checking the Word to see if it backed up what Paul was saying?  This is the heart that we need to have.

The Coming Curse

God warned that a curse would follow on the heels of not glorifying Him.  Now in Deuteronomy 27-28 the blessings for obedience and the curses for disobedience were spelled out in the Law.  In fact, when Israel entered the land of Canaan they spit up into two groups on Mt. Gerazim and Mt. Ebal.  They recounted the curses and blessings.  So God is keeping His Word to which Israel agreed to be accountable.

Now it is one thing to be cursed by a witch, warlock, or shaman.  Christians need not fear these curses.  We can trust in the covering of the Son of God, Jesus.  However, when God sends a curse it cannot be avoided and there is no protection from it.  We Americans need to take this to heart because we have been tossing God and His Word aside both in the secular world and in the religious world.  We have been blessed by God to the point that we have become the greatest power in the world.  However, we will find that blessing cursed if we do not turn back to God and glorify Him.

What does such a curse look like?  Basically God begins to remove or diminish the blessings that he has given.  Their economy would plummet to the point that they would have to borrow from other nations instead of being the ones giving loans.  Their military would be defeated and they would eventually come under the subjugation of other nations.  Their population would be increasingly impacted by governmental corruption, crime, war, disease and overall generational degeneration.  In short God will face them to face the Truth of His Word.  Is any of this sounding familiar?  I believe that a curse from God has entered the land of the United States of America.  It is not an all or nothing thing.  It always comes slowly and over a long period of time so that people can repent.  Are we repenting as a people?  Quite the opposite.  We seem intent on pressing the pedal to the metal as we plunge off the cliff of rejecting God’s Word.  The curse will only become more obvious in the days, months, and years ahead.  We will be forced to face the Truth of God’s Word.

Know this: God always warns the ignorant and curses the unrepentant.  We become cursed because he removes his hand of protection and blessing.  Today we have become “willingly ignorant.”  God is faithful to warn through faithful Christians and devastating events.  Will we repent?  Each generation makes a decision as to what path they will walk: the path to blessing or the path to curses.  The path to curses always ends in destruction.  Paul warned Christians in Galatians 6:7-8, “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.  For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life.”  We cannot make a mockery of God’s Word and expect anything but corruption and destruction, period.  But if we want “life” we must listen to what His Spirit is saying.

God Desires Faithful Servants

In verses 3-7 God tells them what is going to happen to them and then reminds them of the day when he first called the sons of Levi to serve Him.  There were some who took God’s Word lightly such as the sons of Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, who were killed by God for disregarding His command.  But the rest feared the Lord and glorified His Name by obeying.  They served God in Truth and in Faith.

Now we should remember that all believers in Jesus Christ are priests unto the Lord.  In 1 Peter 2:9 it says, “But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.”  When you look at verse 6, God describes what he is looking for in a priest.

First we see that “God’s Word was in his mouth.”  Our mouth needs to be praising and speaking the Word of the Lord.  Why wouldn’t it?  Perhaps we let ourselves become enamored with other words?  Next we do not promote injustice.  God is concerned with the way that we treat one another.  It needs to be just, not as we define it, but as God defines it.  The priest of God needs to be at peace and straight with God.  There are no issues that are separating us.  Rather we are honestly seeking to serve Him with all our heart.  Next, we should “turn others back towards God.”    This is not just the job of pastors.  However, pastors should take it doubly to heart.  A priest encounters people who are walking away from God and works to encourage them back into the path towards Him.  Lastly, the priest of the Lord faithfully gives God’s message to a lost world.

O friends, how we need to recapture the true priesthood of all believers.  We are called to be the hand, voice, and Words of Jesus in the lives of our nation.  May we have a healthy fear of God that does not settle for being plundered by the enemy.  But, rather, rises up and faithfully speaks in the face of increasing notoriety.

Glorifying God Audio

Heavy Words To Loved Ones II

As we continue through the book of Malachi, we find the heavy words that God speaks to Israel through His prophet.  Today we will start in Malachi 1:6 and learn that God was not happy with the priests of His temple.  They were doing things that were not as God had commanded.  But their attitude was worse than that.  They had become tired of doing “God’s things.”  Have you ever become tired of doing what God has asked you to do?  In short, do you ever grow weary of doing the right thing?

Let’s listen in on God’s correction of the priests and learn how He might correct us.

Actions That Dishonor God

In verses 6-8 we are told that the priests were dishonoring God in their activities.  It is easy to slip into such dishonoring practices when we are working for God because He is not physically present.  Unlike a boss, a judge, the President, etc…God can take last place in our mind.  We can end up working harder to please people than we do God.

The priests main area of dishonor was that they were sacrificing unworthy animals.  The Law prescribed that the lambs, bulls, doves, goats, etc…all be perfect and without blemish.  People were bringing animals or purchasing animals that were not perfect and the priests were letting this go on.  It was as if they were more concerned about the “big” law (i.e. sacrifice an animal) than they were about all the “little” detail laws.  They kept up the form of what God said without keeping the heart of it.

Now God reminds them that in their prayers and in their public statements they refer to Him as their Father and Master.  If that were true they wouldn’t be serving in such a lackadaisical fashion.  They were in truth indifferent sons and rebellious servants.  This was dishonoring God.

The attitude of their hearts was this: “What way have we despised Your Name?”  Though they may never have said this out loud, through the prophet God is exposing their heart response to the message.  What’s the big deal?  Were doing what we have always done (business as usual)!  The way compromise works is that we make slight, little changes that don’t seem like much.  But, over time, they amount to a great difference.  Similar to the Frog in a Kettle analogy, their compromises had built up to a point to where they weren’t even convicted when their sin was pointed out.  They rather seem to be offended that they are being questioned.  Whether we are involved in church ministry or doing any duty that God gives us, such as parenting, we can grow indifferent to the task that God has given us.  Our choices can tend to become about what we want and not about what the right thing is.  What does God want us to do?

What we do for God should be taken seriously.  These priests were generally offering what the people were bringing.  So the priests are not the only people with this problem.  However, if they took their position seriously they would have corrected the people and refused to offer unworthy animals.  Because they weren’t taking the job seriously it poisoned their heart towards the job.  They began to complain about God’s stuff and looked for ways to cut corners.  This is how they were dishonoring Him. 

Ask yourself today, am I offering God defiled sacrifices in my duties for Him?  This can be in our family, or as a citizen of this country, as an employee, or as a member of the Church.  In verse 8 God lays down this challenge.   “Serve your governor like me and you might get a clue how I feel.”  If I did my taxes like I serve the Lord, what would happen during an audit?  Putting aside government corruption, God’s point is that they take feeding their Governor more seriously than they do serving Him.

Now I am going to skip ahead to verse 12 because the prophet says some more about their dishonor of God there.  Our sin causes us to grow weary with God and His ways.  Now a rebellious son can use the faults of an earthly father to justify their dishonoring actions and a rebellious employee can use the faults of his boss to justify dishonor.  Likewise a citizen can use the faults of a government to justify dishonor.  Yet, all these do not explain our desire to go our own way from God because He is perfect and without fault.  Thus we need to take serious the self-justifications that we raise both against God and against men.

They Must Change To Get God’s Grace

Now let’s go back to verses 9-10.  The prophet reminds them that they are pleading and praying for God’s grace on behalf of the nation and individuals at the same time they are dishonoring Him.  This introduces the problem of Grace versus Works.  You see that God pours out His grace upon us.  But if we take it for granted we will come to a point where he forces us to face our sin.  We can’t continue to sin and expect that God’s grace will continue unabated.  It is not that we must work in order to receive grace.  But, rather our arrogance must be rebuked.  If we are sorry and truly desire to follow God then we will do actions that reflect that.  We may not be perfect, but God knows our heart. The hearts of these priests were not repentant.  In fact they were hardened and flippant in their response back to God’s rebuke.  Praying for God’s favor when we dishonor Him by ignoring His Word will only bring discipline from the Lord.  This is true both under the Old Covenant and under the New Covenant.  We fool ourselves if we think God will continue to bless us as we pursue sinful ways.

In fact God asks whether there was anyone who would shut the doors to the Temple.  Why?  He would rather the sacrificial system (that he designed) would not happen than that it be turned into a mockery.  If Churches are going to become a place where we dishonor God by ignoring, twisting, or wrongly dividing His Word then God would rather we shut the doors to the church.  Can you imagine showing up to church and someone was boarding it up?  If the person told you that it was God’s will, you would probably point to some Scriptures about gathering together and you would be partly right.  In our sin we can focus only on the system and program.  But God is always more concerned about the heart.  If we lose the heart of what He is saying then we might as well board up our churches.  If our worship is to become a version of American Idol than God would rather we turn it off.  If our discipleship is to become the latest self-help psychology then God would rather we quit.  It only makes things worse.  He is shamed either way.  In fact many people disregard Churches today.  They do so partly because their own sin causes them to run from rebuke.  However, they partly do so because the western Church, as a whole, has not taken God and His stuff seriously.

God Will Be Great Throughout All Nations

In verses, 11, and 14b, we see the statement that no matter what God will be great among the nations.  You see the future of God’s reputation is sure.  He isn’t afraid that our dishonor will somehow hurt Him.  The truth is that our dishonor of God hurts us and the people around us.  God’s future is sure, but where will I be in the day that God raises up His honor out of the dust?  Will I participate in His greatness?  That all depends on whether I humble myself before Him and His Word.

Now historically it could be said that God has done this.  At the cross and resurrection, Jesus elevated the Name and Honor of God.  He took a remnant of Israel and sent them to the nations.  Today people everywhere honor and praise the name of the God of Israel.  Yet, today we see that the Church has followed the same pattern as Israel.  We find ourselves today after decade upon decade of moral compromise with our culture, contemptuously serving the Lord.  It is said that familiarity breeds contempt.  Thus Malachi mentions that the Name of the Lord is to be feared.  If we love Him and obey His words then we need not fear Him.  But we ought to always fear dishonoring the Lord.  First because it brings times of discipline and second because our hearts can grow so cold that even His discipline finds no leverage within it.

Yes these are heavy words, but difficult times call for such things to be said.  Let His Word find leverage in your heart today.

Heavy Word II Audio

A Heavy Word to a Loved One

We are going to begin a verse by verse walk through the book of Malachi.  This is the last book of the Old Testament and the end of the section that is called the “Minor Prophets.”  They are called minor because their written prophecies are very small compared to the “Major Prophets” like Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel.  Malachi literally means “my messenger.”  So there is some dispute as to whether the prophet’s name is Malachi or it is a reference to his prophetic role.  Note that there is no reference to a father ( e.g. Zechariah, son of Berechiah, son of Iddo; or Haggai the son of Shealtiel).

The prophecy is given to Israel during the period after their exile into Babylon and subsequent return.  So let’s begin to look at what God had to say to these people who had been judged by God and now were back in the land rebuilding.

God Reminds Us Of His Love For Us

Verse one begins by calling the Word of the Lord a burden or heavy load.  It is a picture of a camel or donkey that has been weighed down with something to carry.  Malachi received a “Word” from God that was very heavy.  Love can be a fun and light thing, but it can also be very heavy.  God and Israel had been through some very stormy waters.  And, now, the people of Israel had come to a place where they doubted God’s love for them.  Often the myopia of our own circumstances can cause us to think we have it so bad when, in reality, we have it far better than others.  Such is the case with Israel.

Malachi employs a technique where God makes a statement and then points out how Israel is questioning this.  Thus, God says, “I have loved you.”   Whether they were saying it out loud or only in their hearts, God could hear their response, “In what way have you loved us?”

As a Father, God had judged Israel’s actions as wrong.  He had disciplined them and now was restoring them.  What child doesn’t sometimes feel like their parent doesn’t love them?  All of us feel this.

We can grow insensitive to God’s love for us because we want things to be different.  We don’t have the bigger view that a parent would have, much less God.  The present realities of now cloud our ability to see God’s love.  Remember, God is not content for us just to be happy.  He wants us to be like Him.  Thus we chafe under the discipline it takes to become like God.

Next God reminds them of the difference between their nation and the nation of Edom.  As Israel was the descendants of Jacob, so Edom was the descendants of Esau.  It is not surprising to hear God say that he had loved Israel.  But it is surprising to hear God say that he has hated Esau.  What?  There are two points to make about this statement. 

First of all, in this context hate is more a comparison that God loved Israel more and didn’t choose Esau like he did them.  God’s blessings upon Israel were greater than Esau and Edom.  It is not so much about a intense dislike for someone as it is about the lack of a loving choice.  Think of it from the prospective of the jilted person.  Jacob thought he had married Rachel, but instead was given Leah.  Now Jacob did not have an intense hatred for Leah, but he wasn’t satisfied with her.  He worked another 7 years to get Rachel and then demonstrated that he “really” loved Rachel in countless ways in the decades ahead.  The Bible says that when God saw that Leah was unloved (same word translated hated here) he opened her womb.  Jacob may not have had an intense hatred of Leah like we think, but he didn’t “love” her like he did Rachel and that hurt Leah.  Similarly, God is saying that when Jacob and Esau were in the womb, God had chosen to bless Jacob above his brother.  Esau would not receive the same blessing, although he was blessed in many ways as well.  This choosing was not based on biology (same mother and father).  Nor was it based on birth order (the first would be less than the second).  Now we should be careful of confusing this with salvation.  The role and purpose that God was giving to Jacob played a part in salvation, but it was not an declaration that Esau could not be saved. 

Esau could have recognized God’s calling and chose to join with his brother, like Jonathan did.  When Saul was rejected and David chosen we see two very different spirits on display.  In refusing to accept this change, Saul pitted himself as an enemy against David and, even worse, against God.  It led to his eventual physical and spiritual destruction.  Now Jonathan on the other hand recognized the just nature of God’s judgment and chose to embrace David and thus embrace God.  Though Jonathan is killed because of Saul’s folly, no one would make the case that Jonathan was not “saved” or went into eternity with God’s mercy upon him.

Thus Esau and his descendants went on to go down the same path Saul chose,  that of a rebel and self-trust.  The emphasis here is not on what Edom had become, but on that original choosing.  Thus it might be better to see this as Jacob was loved, but (in comparison) Esau was unloved.  The calling is what is in view here.  We can fight against the calling of another or we can join with them and be blessed.

Because of their similar choices, both Edom and Israel had been defeated and destroyed.  Yet, God revealed that he would help Israel rebuild, but he would not help Edom.  In fact God states that he would pull down anything that Esau’s descendants tried to rebuild.  God was not going to bless their wickedness.

We might be quick to cry “foul” here, but recognize that in all of this the issue is not God giving one salvation and refusing to give it to another.  Both are equally able to be saved.  However, because of his calling God would restore Israel.  In fact we know that Israel would go on to a point of rebellion that would cause God to cast them out of the land again between 70 AD and 135 AD.  Both found that not matter what your calling is, only faith in God would bring salvation.

In verse 5 they are told that they would see God’s love for them and recognize that His greatness would overflow the boundaries of Israel, which it did in Jesus the Messiah.

Thus in these last days all nations have the same opportunity to hear the Heavy Word of the Lord and repent.  We, like Jonathan, can agree with God’s rejection of us and acceptance of Jesus.  We can secure for ourselves the favor of God by serving Jesus as Jonathan did David. 

Further Thoughts

It is never easy to deal with heavy things.  But they will never go away unless we face them.  God has given every individual the choice to enter into His love by following Jesus, or remain forever under His judgment.  Have you made that choice to believe on Jesus and follow him yet?  Believe me when I say that the day will come when those who have put their faith in Jesus will see his glory revealed over all the earth as he returns to take up the governance of the earth.  And, all those who have chosen against him will find themselves on the losing side of the battle.  God loves you.  Why would you die?  So, choose life today.

Heavy Word Audio