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| Order Of Worship (Liturgy) |
MALACHI 1:6-14
(Readings: Isa.1:1-20; Eph.2:11-22; Mal.1:1-14)
The Lord Re-Claims His Worship!
The Lord has openly shown his heart for his people. The verses 1 till 5 are clear on how he regards them, despite how they have been and what they have become. In fact, it was the most wonderful picture of his electing love which came through in the verses 2 till 5! Their special place before him had nothing to do with anything they did but all with who God was. They were not picked because of any greater godliness but only because of his good pleasure!
So the Lord has shown his heart in the verses before. But now he goes on to get into his people’s heart. He will bring out what is truly in them. And what place is there better for seeing what’s on their heart than when they come in worship of him?
You and I know that. How doesn’t our coming into public worship really expose what we are before the Lord? There couldn’t be anything more appropriate than the confession of sin we begin our Sunday morning worship service with!
This is what the Lord next turns to reclaim. And he opens up into this, in the verses 6 and 7, by THE USE OF A SCRIPTURAL PROVERB. This is the first aspect to our text.
Now, what our text speaks of is something they would have all been agreeing with - particularly the priests. You see, the priests were central in the public worship then. And, so, while this applies to them all, it is especially the priests who are drawn in here.
Certainly it would have been the priests who could relate to what the Lord says in verse 6. Most of them would have had sons, and since the Law of Moses was known to them especially, they would have thoroughly endorsed this. Of course a son was meant to honour his father! It was the fifth commandment after all.
This reference to the law keeps God’s covenant requirements before his people. And the added statement regarding the honour a servant owes his master supports it. As the son had to honour his father because that was the relationship he had in the family towards him, so the servant was obliged to honour his master because he had been bought by him. Neither son nor servant has any other option than to obey.
And then the Lord brings it to bear. You see, he now asks of the priests, and the people through them, “If I am a master, where is the respect due me?”
This draws in the close relationship God has had with Israel since the Exodus. ‘Israel is my first-born son,’ he declares in Exodus 4:22.
Hosea with his graphic imagery made reference to this relationship. In Hosea chapter 11 verse 1 the prophet speaks of the Lord calling his son out of Egypt. But then in verse 2 there he pictures Israel as an ungrateful son. And wasn’t that the picture we saw in Isaiah’s first chapter? There in verse 2 we heard the complaint of God against his rebellious sons.
In the same vein as Hosea and Isaiah, Malachi identified the heart of the problem. It was that Israel had come to have no heart for the Lord. Instead of love and respect there was a resentment of who God was and what he wanted.
This is why Malachi is not concerned here with the outward details of religion but the inward motivation. This is not first of all about the offering but the offerer. Unless they are right in their heart with the Lord then no amount of offerings – no matter how pure they were – could please him. No wonder the Lord Almighty ends verse 6 stating, “It is you, O priests, who despise my name.”
It’s now we get yet another of the empty and ignorant responses. Verse 6 ends with the priests replying back, ‘How have we despised your name?’
How dumb was that? If they had any sense of the holiness of the Lord Almighty, any knowledge of his requirements for worship, this is the last thing they would dare to say. That they do, and keep on doing it, shows how much they are wrapped up in going a completely different way – the way of convenience and keeping up appearances.
Not so different to today, is it? But that is what you would expect of liberal and Pentecostal and traditional churches. Yet there are still faithful churches today. But then what was supposed to be the faithful church had itself lost the way!
Verse 7 sees the Lord continuing his accusation. When he declares that they have placed defiled food on his altar, he is confirming first of all that it was their attitude that was wrong. In a moment he will detail the specific examples that show this on the outside. But verse 7 in speaking of defiled food is telling us that what’s being offered has been defiled by those offering it.
That could be either the people and the priests, and probably both! And they defiled it by dishonouring God. They are not respecting him as they should in their thoughts, their words, and their actions.
Again we hear the empty and ignorant response. The priests reply, ‘How have we defiled you?’ To which the Lord through Malachi answers, “By saying that the Lord’s table is contemptible.”
There is some debate as to what’s meant by “the Lord’s table” here. Some have thought it refers to the tables at the gates of the inner court specifically used for slaughtering the sacrifices. But it is most likely the altar itself that is meant here. Ezekiel 44:16 speaks of the altar as the table the priests come near to minister before the Lord.
And it’s here we come to the next aspect. In verses 8 and 9 we have, secondly, THE PROBING QUESTION FROM GOD.
Here the Lord brings out what they are truly like into the open. This is where you can see they go against God. Because here it is obvious their worship of God is a charade. What they’re doing is not real, authentic, and credible. And it actually didn’t take much to spot this. Well, at least from someone who had any knowledge of what the Law said. And Malachi certainly knew about that!
Through what the prophet says at the beginning of verse 8 what was then happening in the temple is right out in the open. As he says there, “When you bring blind animals for sacrifice, is that not wrong? When you sacrifice crippled or diseased animals, is that not wrong?”
Every sacrificial animal had to be perfect – without any blemish whatsoever! Exodus 12:5 says that these animals must be without defect. And the law specifically prohibited offering any blind, lame, or sick animals. Leviticus 22 has an extensive section on this. And Deuteronomy 15:21 confirms this as it declares, “If an animal has a defect, is lame or blind, or has any serious flaw, you must not sacrifice it to the LORD your God.”
To show up how obvious it is what they are doing, Malachi draws in the example of what they would give to the governor. Remember, he is the Persian Governor they were not particularly happy about being under. But there is no way they would give him some below-par gift! They know what his reaction would be! You would be tossed out of there and lose everything in a flash!
This is a bit like the example of what you would wear when you go to visit the Queen. Indeed, anyone invited to a function to meet with her is given a clear dress code. Try wearing anything else and you won’t get anywhere near her! You’ll be locked out!
Actually, what we have here is a way you could discern those who are phony in their religion. Because what is it they give to the Lord? Is it their very best – their tithe before they pay anything else – something which is a definite sacrifice? Or is it what’s left over - some loose change – which doesn’t hurt them at all?
If they knew that from their earthly rulers they would be in trouble by not giving the very best, how could they possible think the King in Heaven wouldn’t notice? Oh, God knew alright. His prophet is spelling out the details right now!
We only need to draw this aspect a little further to see the depth of their sinfulness here. Not only was offering up perfect sacrifices obedience to the law and a matter of respect, it was also a substitution for sinners. Then it certainly had to be perfect because nothing impure could ever enter God’s presence. Hebrews 9:13 states that “the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean.”
And then there is what Hebrews 9:14 brings out about what all these sacrifices are ultimately pointing to. It says, “how much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit of God offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!”
There is only one way they can turn. The one way that is if they wanted the Lord to accept their worship. Thus the Lord cries out to them in verse 9: “Now implore God to be gracious to us.”
Malachi recognises he is caught up with the degradation also. He knows that you not only gave gifts then to acknowledge kindness received but also to secure favour for the future. Indeed, the name he gives God here – the Lord Almighty – emphasises the big gap there is between a human governor and the incomparably great Creator of the Universe.
There is an edge of sarcasm here. “With such offerings from your hands” is literally ‘from your hand was this.’ These discounting priests are themselves discounted because they aren’t truly priestly. God opens them up completely.
And now having brought out what they really are he turns, in the third place, to the verses 10 till 12. Here we come to, THE DIVINE CHALLENGE TO THE HEART.
How serious this all is we definitely see here. Verse 10 lays it on the line, “‘Oh, that one of you would shut the temple doors, so that you would not light useless fires on my altar! I am not pleased with you,’ says the LORD Almighty, ‘and I will accept no offering from your hands.’”
How dare the priests pretend what they’re doing is true worship! How dare they give false confidence to the people!
There was a discussion a conservative Christian once had with two aunties. The subject concerned women in church office, and the two women were trying to make the case for women in office. They themselves had become elders, they said, because there were no men available in their congregations to do it.
So they challenged their relative as to what he would do if he was in that situation. He wouldn’t have much choice but to be glad he had women to do it, would he?
He replied to them in a way which totally shocked them. He said, ‘You know what I would go and do – I would go to the church door and put a big lock on it! If you cannot obey God then it’s no use having a church at all!’
You see, any worship going on in such a church would only be false worship. Much as they might have all the smells and the bells – and don’t those liberals love that! – it is a stench to the Lord!
Again we have the use of the title ‘LORD Almighty’ for God. There is no closeness in the covenant when such a things happens at the heart of the people’s worship.
And, yet, in the midst of all this in verse 11, God declares that he will be praised everywhere! Despite whatever might be happening to the Church in a particular place and at a particular time, he will triumph! The Lord can and will raise up true worship and true worshippers to him from all over the world!
What a description Malachi conveys of that great host here! From “the rising of the sun to the setting of the sun,” “in very place,” and “my name will be great among the nations,” are phrases which powerfully picture this. And in this Malachi simply joins with Isaiah and Ezekiel is foreseeing the conversion of the Gentiles through the spread of the gospel.
Mind you, Malachi goes further here in describing this world-wide worship as not being dependent on the Levitical sacrifices offered in Jerusalem. Then the truly spiritual worship Jesus spoke of to the Samaritan woman in John 4 would come to fruition. There he says in verse 23, “a time is coming and has now come when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshippers the Father seeks.”
Wasn’t it Isaiah 66:21 which spoke of the Lord taking Gentiles to be priests and Levites? And isn’t this what the apostle describes in Ephesians 2 verse 4 when the ‘dividing wall of hostility’ is destroyed?
The only question is whether those who are presently called by his name, and who have been so disrespectful of his name, will be part of them. So those Malachi was first addressing in his prophecy. And this is what verse 12 confirms.
Mind you, its meaning might not seem to be what it appears to be. You might wonder how those priests could call the altar ‘defiled’ or ‘contemptible’ and ‘sniff at it contemptuously’ when they were the ones doing that. Ah, but here there’s a bit of blame shifting. ‘It’s not the workmen who are the problem – it’s the tools!’
You’ve heard that one before, haven’t you? It only goes to show how much this contrasts with verse 11. While there you have the overwhelming assurance of God’s victory everywhere, here there’s just the very mediocre service of the priests then.
‘But, but…’ they say. You catch their excuse starting at verse 12. They couldn’t help it. It was the altar. People just didn’t go for that stuff anymore. We needed to make it more accessible. These are changing times. We have to get more with it. Like the sons of Eli, they came up with a new paradigm.
Now, it wasn’t as though the priests weren’t being provided for enough. Just like those advocating for change today are more than well remunerated! The issue is that God wasn’t the issue! And so they couldn’t see they had lowered God’s standards. They failed altogether to humble themselves.
‘What’s all this talk about sin,’ their modern equivalents cry out today. ‘We need to re-focus and re-invent. There should be more adaptability – you know to draw them in.’
So what the next aspect in verses 13 and 14 declares is inevitable. For, in the fourth place, we see now THE EXPOSé BRINGING OUT THE CURSE.
For the third time the name ‘LORD Almighty’ appears. God is not happy – he is actually very, very angry! This is not about him at all anymore – in fact, anything but him!
Imagine this – God’s people turning up their noses to him! So much had they come to presume on God’s favour this is the attitude they have. This is really ‘cheap grace.’
We meet a lot of that these days, don’t we? You know, that view that ‘God will forgive me because that’s what he does.’
It’s also an attitude that shows in how people come to worship. For people to be told they can ‘come as you are’ is to do the same as offering God ‘injured, crippled or diseased animals and offer them as sacrifices.’ I mean, it’s not your best look – it’s more of a second and even third-rate look! Is it any wonder much of modern worship takes its cue from the cinema? You are there to relax and be entertained – you’re not actually there to do anything active at all. And if one church doesn’t give you the thrills and spills, well, there’s always another!
Do they honestly come to church expecting to meet God? Or is it just about being in a comfortable crowd with your mates – and, oh, God’s one of them too!
It was only when sacrifices represented penitence and faith that they had any value to God or any help to man. And while it could be argued that it was the people bringing those damaged goods who were at fault, it was the priest’s responsibility to reject them!
Verse 14 next gives a specific illustration of when this happened. It is about a voluntary offering – a pledge someone makes when in difficulty that they will present a thanksgiving for the Lord’s deliverance. The only trouble is that when the Lord does save them they don’t keep their side of the deal. The sacrifice they were told to bring in such a situation isn’t what they end up bringing. What Leviticus 22 has prescribed isn’t anything like how you would describe what they do bring!
This is why the one who does this is said to “cursed” in verse 14. “Cursed is the cheat” that verse declares. And to be cursed is no small matter.
Turning back to the Law of Moses it’s clear that those who trifled with God wouldn’t go unpunished. In fact, in Deuteronomy 28, there are 53 verses spelling out the curses for disobedience! Curses which would result in drought, feminine, infertility, disease, defeat, rape, pillaging, murder, exile, madness, oppression, depression and plagues. It would be Egypt revisited. But only this time it would be on the covenant people themselves – and in a far greater and devastating way!
Now, could all this be as a result of few below-par offerings? No – all this would be the result of failing to bow before the great King! This came from failing to respect the ruler of the whole world!
How was any of this causing God’s name to be feared among the nations? It didn’t then, and it doesn’t now!
But his name will most definitely be highly respected amongst the nations. Just think of what foreigners like Rahab, Ruth, and the fearful sailors and Ninevites who met Jonah learned. And what about what the Babylonian and Persian kings learned, as did Pharaoh before them? Yet verse 14 ends by including many, many more amongst that number.
This is about what we heard of about in verse 11. And here it is confirmed that physical Israel’s day is done. It is time for a new heart. This is the heart that has the law inside it. A time when there is a new covenant, as Jeremiah 31 describes (vv31–34).
The Lord has had enough with those who constantly didn’t have the heart for him. He should be the great King whose name, reputation, characteristics and doctrines are known and revered. And he will be! Among all the nations, no less!
Imagine, the Jews being shown up by pagans! And yet that is exactly what has happened! They who got bored by the worship service as the Lord had laid down for them.
And how about us today? Are we those who can have hours to watch a movie or go to a sports event, but get fidgety if the worship service goes on a little longer? You will rarely hear more than ten verses read out of God’s Word in many churches on the Lord’s Day and yet people have no trouble viewing the TV for hours, or reading their favourite magazine or newspaper or author!
To return to the beginning of our text, can we claim to be true sons? Are we being obedient to our Heavenly Father? Do we follow the example of our older brother, the Lord Jesus Christ?
Dear believers, let’s be true to him. In all he’s given let’s show who it is it all comes from. If he is indeed the almighty King, how are you his servant? Amen.
PRAYER:
Let’s pray…
O Mighty & Marvellous Monarch, how much haven’t we seen again what should be on our hearts as we worship you. And so we have seen what is often not on our hearts when come before you. Please forgive us all those times we have failed to truly honour you – all those times when what we brought to you was defiled.
And, now, dear Lord, stir in us by your Word and Spirit, so that we may all the more honour and adore you. May public worship that is done according to your Word never be a bore for us. Instead, make us delight always in it.
In the name of the One who perfectly showed us this way, Christ Jesus, we pray. Amen.
* As a matter of courtesy please advise Rev. Sjirk Bajema, if you plan to use this sermon in a worship service. Thank-you.
(c) Copyright 2022, Rev. Sjirk Bajema
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