Malachi 1:6-14

       God rebukes the priests in Judah who have disdained His name by offering unacceptable sacrifices on the altar (Mal 1:6-14). God admonishes the priests in Judah who failed in their temple duties. The Lord opens with the comment that a good son honors his father and a good servant respects his master but God’s priests disrespect Him and “despise” His name (Mal 1:6). To despise (בָּזָה bazah) means to look down on someone or something as worthless. “They did not simply despise the Lord in the way they worshiped; the way they worshiped showed that they were despisers of the Lord.”^[1] The priests ask how they are guilty of despising the Lord, and God answers, by “presenting defiled food upon My altar” (Mal 1:7a). The sacrificial altar is also called “the table of the LORD” (Mal 1:7b), identifying it as the place where people came together, not only to sacrifice, but to eat and fellowship. In ancient Israel, the communal meal was more than a source of nutrition; it communicated a place of fellowship, trust, and respect (see Gen 18:1-8). The priests dishonored the Lord by offering blind, lame, and sick animal sacrifices (Mal 1:8), which were forbidden under the Mosaic Law (Lev 1:3; Deu 15:21). Though the priests were the ones primarily being rebuked, the offerors were also guilty, for they were the ones bringing the unacceptable sacrifices. The quality and attitude of the gift says something about the giver and her/his estimation of the recipient. The poor widow, though she only gave two coins, gave with the right attitude (Mark 12:41-44), and Mary’s gift to Jesus was precious (John 12:1-3).

• "When the people came to worship, God did not require a great deal of them in the way of offerings—tokens, really, of their herds and their crops, a handful of grain, or an animal or two for the family. But what they brought had to pass two important tests, and in many cases only they and God would know if they passed them. What they brought had to be the first and the best—the first of their flock, and the best animal they had. Anything less than this was an insult to God. To bring God an inferior gift would say that one did not think much of God, for the quality of the gift indicates the value the giver places on the one receiving the gift. That is true in a human relationship, and it certainly is true in worship."^[2]

     But God, being gracious, offers them grace if they would humble themselves (Mal 1:9). But if they would not obey Him, it would be better if one of the priests would shut the doors to the temple courtyard rather than offer improper sacrifices (Mal 1:10). God’s name is important, for it represents His divine nature, and He desires that it be honored in all places (Mal 1:11). Yet in Judah, God’s name was despised, and the table of the Lord was defiled (Mal 1:12). The priests even complained that the temple work itself was tiresome, and this led them to “bring what was taken by robbery and what is lame or sick” (Mal 1:13). God even rebukes the people, saying, “cursed be the swindler who has a male in his flock and vows it, but sacrifices a blemished animal to the Lord” (Mal 1:14). This was a disgrace, because God is a great King, and His name should be feared by all.

 

^[1] Allen P. Ross, Malachi Then and Now: An Expository Commentary Based on Detailed Exegetical Analysis (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2016), 60.

^[2] Ibid., 51.