Moving forward in the book of Malachi, in chapter 1 we
saw the set up,
what was going on in Israel and why.
In chapter 2, we see more of the same, God, through
Malachi is outlining
why He can’t or isn’t blessing them.
But before we go on, a word on how we want to move
forward. Most of
the commentaries researched for this were found to be very
technical and
accurate in their history, well crossed referenced, and provide
some
excellent insights into scripture. What we often find missing though is a
very human element lacking the emotional nuances of the situation or
relationship between God and His people. They tend to be spiritually,
practically,
and factually oriented, focusing more on facts, performance,
rights and wrongs,
in other words the outward. And scripture can indeed
appear that way. But we
also know that God is emotional, very relational
and loving; and as we will soon read, changes not. Knowing
this,
even though the Bible can be very cut and dry about its
subject
matter, there must be these emotional and relational sides
of God present.
It
is these attributes
of God that we believe
are the driving forces
behind The
Malachi
Blessing in particular
and what we choose
to emphasize. Not that
any
other facet of
teaching is invalid or
unnecessary, they are
very important; we
just believe that it’s a healthy emotional inward
foundation that sets up the
rest. That it’s the inner emotional man that
truly matters, especially to God. God
simply wants the inner man to line up
with his actions. So when we read the Bible, although it's not always
directly mentioned, we need to remember that it’s
always God dealing
with His people, and God and people are emotional beings whether
we
want to recognize it or not. Emotions are a very powerful and motivating
force, often driving us even when we are not aware of them, it’s clear
they
certainly motivate God. There are those who staunchly oppose this
point of view believing that Christianity, actions, and behavior are all
a matter of choice or act of the will; some even teach to do away with
emotions altogether because “all they do is get you in trouble”.
The result of this teaching and thinking is they can completely miss
the person. And as long as they can get a person to
“act right”,
they’ve done their job. However, a person can “act right” and not
mean
any of it. Ever know anyone like this? We believe that God wants us
to
figure this out. He shouldn’t have to tell us everything. He wants us
to use
our God-given brain to put the pieces together. So as we continue
studying The
Malachi Blessing together, keep in mind that God is not
only concerned about
restoring the tithes and offerings (outward), but,
as stated before, His
relationship with His people (us) and how they/we
FEEL (emotionally) about
Him (inward), lining everything up. He’s not only
interested in our behaviors and actions, getting us to “act right”; He wants
our motives (inner man) to BE
right. Who wants to be in an emotionless
relationship anyway? Even if all the “right
stuff” were being done in a
relationship of yours with no emotion behind it, would
you want that?
Neither does God! After all, in verse 2 of chapter 1, God says
“I
have loved you”, a very obvious emotional declaration.
That’s how He chose to
open this whole thing up . . . . . .
. . . . He led with His emotions.
So, that being said, let’s see what chapter 2 brings
. . .
Malachi
2
Corrupt Priests to Be Disciplined
Verses 1-4 “And now, O priests, this commandment
is for you.
2 If you do not listen, and take it to heart to bring glory to
My name,” says the Lord,
“then, I will send a curse upon you
and I will curse your blessings; and
yes, I have already cursed them,
because you are not taking it to
heart. 3 Watch, I am going to rebuke
your descendants, and spread
refuse on your faces, the refuse
of your feasts; and you will be taken
away with it. 4 Then, you will know
that I have sent this commandment to you,
so that My covenant
with Levi may continue,” says the Lord. - Is God serious or what?!
He
means business and He's angry! Here, He’s calling on His priests,
now He’s calling on His
leaders of the church. God really really wants
to bless His people, but He can’t
in its current condition, it pains Him
greatly to have to say and do these
things. But, believe it or not,
it’s still His love for us that demands it. Verse
2 - “glory
to My Name”
is a reference to the ordinances/statutes, in that when we listen,
obey, and follow His ways we glorify, honor, and worship Him
(Deut 26:10,
16-18, 28:58, 30:20). The opposite is to profane
His Name (Lev 22:2). The curses are for not following the
ordinances. Verse 3 - The
reference to the spreading of refuse
of the feasts on faces, is again a
reference to the statute which
says that the animal is to be cleansed of all
feces indicating that this
was not done (Lev 4:11-12, 16:27). Also notice the
word “feasts”
used here; the sacrifices, tithes, and offerings were all to be
feasted
on by the people in Israel one way or another (Num 18:8-14, Deut 12:27,
14:22-28, 15:19-20, 26:10-14). Verse 4 - “covenant with Levi
may
continue” = contract with the priests, which, of course,
are responsible for
the keeping the sacrifices and offerings,
God wants His ordinances intact
(forever) (Num 18:8, 11, 19
Deut 12:27-28). Question
- What does forever mean?
We would strongly suggest listening, and taking to
heart,
anything God has to say! He goes on . . .
Verses 5-7 “My covenant was with him, it was one
of life and peace,
and I gave them to him that he might fear Me; so he feared
Me
and stood in awe of My name. 6 True guidance and instruction
was in his
mouth, and unrighteousness was not on his lips.
He walked with Me in peace
and uprightness, and turned many
from iniquity. 7 For the lips of a priest
should preserve knowledge,
and men should seek instruction and truth
from him; for he is
the messenger of the Lord. - God is remembering and missing
His relationship with
Levi! Can you hear it? What was and how
it should be. He wants the same
with leaders today.
Read it again and listen for the emotion. All of verse 5
describes
“the covenant” or agreement “with him” (Levi/priesthood), blessings
“of life and peace” (Deut 26:12-15, 19, 28:1-14, 30:8-9), purpose –
“that he
might fear Me” (Deut 14:22-23), “stood in awe of My name”
= to honor and
reverence God and His statutes (Deut 28:58).
Verse 6 – “guidance
and instruction was in his mouth”
= Levi taught the law and statutes correctly,
and “turned many
from iniquity” = kept people from making (deadly) mistakes.
Verse 7 – priests/leaders should protect, and keep from harm,
knowledge of the
statutes so they are not forgotten and distribute
them as a messenger and
representative of God with lots of care
and reverence.
Verses 8-9 “But as for you, you have turned from
the way; you have
caused many to stumble by your instruction and
leadership; you have
corrupted the covenant of Levi. 9 So I also have made
you despised
and abased before all the people, because you are not keeping
My ways
but are showing partiality in the instruction of the law.” says
the Lord.
– Can you hear the change in God’s tone when He says “But as for you”?
The leadership has caused, and is responsible for, people to stumble.
It is one
thing to be guilty of . . . . . not-the-best choices (sin) in one’s
personal
life. It is another thing completely to guide, lead, and teach
others to do the
same; even out of ignorance. Verse 8 – “you have
turned from the
way” = you have turned away from My statutes
and from Me. Turning away from His
statutes is the same as turning
away from Him. Leadership needs to take their
calling even more
seriously because they can be misleading the church and not
have
any idea what they’re doing. “you have corrupted the covenant of Levi”
=
you have broken My agreement with the priesthood”. Again, God is
indicating the
priesthood because of their responsibility to keep the law.
Verse 9 is all
about consequences for not keeping His ways (Deut 28:15-68).
Treachery in the Family
Verse 10 Do we not all have but one
father? Has not one God
created us? Why do we deal so treacherously with
one another,
each against his brother so as to profane the covenant of
our
fathers? – Why do we do the things we do? Don’t we know
what’s important?
What’s the big picture? When we treat each
other badly we dishonor our covenant with God.
Also, when
there is strife in the family, it negatively affects (defiles) our
tithes
and offerings (Matt 5:24).
Verses 11-12 Judah has dealt treacherously,
and an abomination
has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem. For Judah
has
profaned the Lord’s sanctuary which He loves; he has married
the
daughter of a foreign god. 12 May the Lord cut
off from
the tents of Jacob any man who does this, being awake and aware,
yet
who presents an offering to the Lord of
hosts. – God, through
Malachi, continues to describe and elaborate on the
condition of
Israel. Can you see how important this is to Him? He’s talking
about marriage here, but not just the marriages of His people,
He wants us to
make the connection between us and Him.
Are we dealing treacherously with our
spouses/Him? Are we
profaning the sanctuary in any way? Are we married to a
foreign god? Then He says, may the man who commits this
treachery and
abomination knowingly, but cut off. We believe
this is two-fold. 1 – it is
clearly for the leadership/priests
(as indicated in the first verse) who should
know the law
and statutes; and 2 – for future leaders and us who after
reading
this will also be held accountable. Are we as an
individual or as a
group/family doing something we know
is wrong and still doing it?
Verse 13 “And this is another thing you do: you
cover
the altar of the Lord with
tears, and with weeping and
groaning, so He no longer regards the offering
anymore
nor can it be accepted with favor from your hand.”
– This is a key
verse because the statute states that an
offering must be offered with thanksgiving
and rejoicing,
not in mourning (Deut 26:10-14); otherwise it is considered
defiled and cannot be accepted as we see here. The tears
and groaning can be
coming from the priests and the people
because of the absence of God’s
blessing, and/or the weeping
is caused by all the broken marriages throughout
the land.
Verse 14 “Yet you say, ‘For what reason?’
Because the Lord
has
seen what’s been going on between you and the wife of
your youth, against
whom you have dealt treacherously, though
she is your companion and your
wife by covenant.” – The priests,
once again, ask a very sarcastic question
“why are You doing
this (to us)?” There certainly doesn’t seem to be any
sincerity
in their tone. The short answer, because the Lord (El Roi)
sees
(everything). The Lord is watching and paying attention.
He sees how you have treated your wife, the wife of your youth,
your
commitment, yourself (Matt 19:6, Eph 5:31, 33a, 1 Pe 3:7)
treacherously.
Treacherously def – marked by betrayal of trust,
fidelity, confidence –
faithless, deceptive, unreliable; need we
say more?
Verses 15-16 But did He not make them one,
having a remnant
of the Spirit? And why one? He seeks godly offspring. Therefore
take heed to your spirit, and may none of you deal treacherously
with the wife
of his youth. 16 For I hate divorce,” says the Lord,
the God of Israel, “for it covers
one’s garment with violence. So take
heed to your spirit, that you do not deal
treacherously.” – He starts
with the importance of unity, one flesh, both for
them/us in marriage
and in our relationship with Him. Work on it, protect it,
defend it.
Then He addresses the opposite, I hate divorce, I hate separation,
I
am willing to fight for My relationship(s), I want you to be this way too.
Verse 17 You have tired the Lord with your words. Yet you say,
“How have we tired Him?” In that you say, “Everyone who commits
evil is good in
the sight of the Lord, and
He is pleased in them,” or,
“Where is the God of justice?” – Here we
go again, “how have we
tired Him? He’s pleased with people who do evil anyway!
And He
won’t do anything even if He’s not! God is not just; we sacrifice, bring
offerings and still no blessing! He is just as pleased with those that don’t.
So
it really doesn’t matter what we do!” Talk about contempt! This is
what they
were saying to God by what they were doing, this is also
what they were saying
to God by what they were NOT doing. Let us
not weary the Lord,
let us not put on God what isn't there or assume
that nothing will happen because
nothing is; they thought it was because
He didn't care or wasn't there, we
might think because we’re now under
grace and not law. May we not be this
naive, God is righteous, God is just,
in reward as well as punishment. This
whole verse is all very subtly about
the law, statutes, and offerings.
Conclusion to chapter 2 –
1 – Listen and take to heart what God has to
say, especially our leadership,
similar to chapter 1. Let us not be of hardened
heart, but open and
receiving, knowing that there are consequences for not and
blessing
if we do. Heeding what God has to say gives Him honor and confirms
His
place as Lord.
2 – We show ourselves honorable by keeping our
covenant with Him.
While it is true that we under a new covenant, we still have
a
responsibility to establish the law which includes many of His
ordinances and
statutes (Rom 3:31). Even Jesus said He came NOT
to abolish the law but
to fulfill it (Matt 5:17-20); if He lives in
and through us then this is our
mission too.
3 – The priests/leaders of that time lacked
guidance, instruction, and
did not preserve knowledge. May our leaders,
teachers, evangelists,
and especially pastors today take their positions and
callings even more
seriously, may they learn from their counterparts, and may
we all as
today’s priesthood do our part as well (1 Peter 2:9). We all need
to
realize that turning away from His ordinances and statutes
is like turning away
from Him.
4 – Keep the big picture. Let us learn to take a
step back and remember
what’s really important.
5 – Strong relationships, especially marriages.
This is so near and dear
to the Lord’s heart because He loves His bride (that’s
you) and will do
anything to preserve and protect this precious relationship
and wants us
to feel the same way.
6 – El Roi, the Lord sees (everything) . . . . .
‘nuf said.
7 – Let us never put on God
what’s not there or assume that because
nothing is happening that nothing will,
good or bad. They thought
that because God wasn’t doing anything (blessing or
punishment)
that He didn't care or wasn't there. We might think there are no
apparent consequences because we are under grace and not law
(Rom 6:14-15) or
no apparent blessing assuming they are yet future
or God is simply not choosing
to; when there may be another reason
for a lack of blessing, we need to be
introspective, asking (Phil 2:12),
and humble (Rom 12:3).
As we can see the references to the ordinance of the
tithes and offerings are numerous. Most of which are missed by the church today
and its leadership but a priest of that time would recognize them immediately.
Malachi is practically cryptic to us because of this, thus we fail to bring the
lessons forward. Even with verses like 7, 8, 10, 12, 13, 14 of chapter 1, which
are all very clear and straight forward, we either read them and just don’t
make the connection to the tithes and offerings understanding that the
sacrifices, offerings, and tithes all fall under the same ordinance, or we see
clearly what the text is saying about the alter, sacrifices, tithes, and
offerings, make the connection, and still don’t quite recognize the importance.
Today we seem to treat these passages as just something THEY were doing or not
doing, as a warning to us against dead religion and interpret it to say that we
need to simply take God more seriously and do what He tells US to do. Which is
right, we do; but that’s incomplete. There is more here! While there is a definite spiritual interpretation and
application for us in these passages, there is also a practical one. And while
they are connected and related, they are also not the same. Which is why God
needed to write Malachi chapter 3, to clarify exactly what He meant; and even
with chapter 3 in the book, for nearly 2000 years we still haven’t quite gotten
it!
Now it gets good!
Let’s go look at chapter 3 . . .
The Malachi Blessing, Operation: Restore the Tithe,
TheMalachiBlessing@gmail.com
TheMalachiBlessing.blogspot.com
6 And he will turn the hearts of
the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest
I come and strike the earth with a curse.” – Verse 4, Are we getting it? Verse
5, Literally, He will send the spirit of Elijah (John the Baptist/others) to
turn the hearts of the people back to Him to set things right. Verse 6,
Relationship, relationship, relationship! He reestablishes the family,
literally and spiritually. He literally turns fathers back to their children
and vice versa. He turns spiritual fathers (leaders/Levites) back to their
children (the people), and finally our hearts back to Him. In order to turn
hearts toward each other, they must at first be turned away..jpg)
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