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An
Exhort On Malachi,
"Wherein hast thou loved us?" |
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| Posted:
Jan 24 2003, 06:45 AM |
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Life
is a struggle. A war between the flesh and the spirit
as the apostle Peter reminds us in 1Peter 2:11.
The Jewish captives, who returned after their long
exile in Babylon to re-establish their ancient nation,
found this to be so. Vibrant with hopeful anticipation,
they set their faces towards Jerusalem; But only
a short time later a spirit of dull depression settled
over the community. The zeal and energy that had
rebuilt and dedicated their sacred temple was now
in the past. The city of Jerusalem and the temple
had been restored, but the initial enthusiasm had
worn off. Following a period of revival after Nehemiah,
the people and priests were backsliding and had
become mechanical in their observance of the Law.
And, although lax in their worship and delinquent
in their tithing, they could not understand why
Yahweh was dissatisfied with them.
Their laziness and undutifulness mounted. Seasons
of drought and famine depleted their seasons of
abundance, until all their dreams of prosperity
died. Why? Because spiritually they were dead. Even
though the returned exiles had cleaned up their
city and reorganized the government of the nation
and revive their worship, their faith was lifeless,
and their worship useless. They were the salt of
the earth but had lost their savor and were fit
only to be "cast out." (Luke 14:34-35).
In an effort to awaken them to their grave condition
and rekindle their faith, Yahweh sent out a man
of courage and conviction. Malachi rebuked the people
for their neglect of the true worship and called
them to repentance using a question and answer format,
and throughout his book their are no fewer than
23 questions. At the time Yahweh sent Malachi, the
nation was desperately in need of help. Among the
priests, a mere ritual had replaced true worship,
while the people were largely skeptical, irreligious
and selfish. It was an age of humanism materialism
and comfort. How easily ritual replaces righteousness,
and skepticism overpowers belief, even among those
who profess the faith of Christ today. Because we
sometimes cannot see the promises of God being fulfilled
as we think they should, we too can begin to wonder,
doubt, and murmur.
Israel grew impatient. And in their impatience they
forgot that it was their own negligence, and their
lack of loyalty that was withholding Yahweh's
blessings from them. The book of Malachi opens with
an assurance of Yahweh's continued love for
Israel despite their waywardness and ingratitude.
In their misery and dire need they thought that
Yahweh had forsaken them, and in an effort to convince
them of Yahweh's love, the prophet compares
them to their neighbour nation Edom. If things were
bad for Israel, they were worse in Edom. Since these
nations are closely related, it might be thought
that they would share the same fate; the divine
judgment on Israel triumphed in restoration whereas
Edom lived in desolation.
Let us read together Malachi 1:2-5.
"I have loved you, saith the LORD. Yet ye say,
Wherein hast thou loved us? Was not Esau Jacob's
brother? saith the LORD: yet I loved Jacob, And
I hated Esau, and laid his mountains and his heritage
waste for the dragons of the wilderness. Whereas
Edom saith, We are impoverished, but we will return
and build the desolate places; thus saith the LORD
of hosts, They shall build, but I will throw down;
and they shall call them, The border of wickedness,
and, The people against whom the LORD hath indignation
forever. And your eyes shall see, and ye shall say,
The LORD will be magnified from the border of Israel."
In rebuking the nations ingratitude, the prophet
points out Yahweh's goodness. Yahweh had made
them his special choice, not because He was obligated
to choose them, but because He loved them. He had
extended to them a rare and undeserved privilege.
But now they could not remember any of His goodness.
How strongly inclined is human nature to complain!
Israel's attitude was "give us proof of your
love"! They had forgotten past blessings and
had no vision of the future. When we feel overburdened
with care, trouble or sorrow, how easily we lose
faith and begin to complain! Like Israel, we
tend to forget what God is doing for us, and that
His power reaches far beyond the borders of our
sphere into the world around us. Do we remember
how richly He has revealed His love for us? Do we
respond in the same way as Israel in the days of
Malachi? Do we doubt His love? Do we fail to see
the evidence of his love? And more importantly,
do we reject His love by failing to recognize it?
Take note of the words the apostle John wrote in
1 John 4:10.
"Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that
he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation
for our sins."
* He loved us before we even existed. If we only
take the time to count our blessings each day, we
can continue to see His love. Malachi boldly reproved
the moral delinquencies of both priests and people.
First he aroused the priests from their complacency
by attacking their supposed pieties and revealing
the irreverence of their worship. Their sanctimonious
rituals were like empty shells, which God does not
appreciate. Their pious posture was a deceptive
pose by which God is not fooled. The title "Yahweh
Sabaoth” appears in verse 4. This militant name
of Deity occurs 24 times in the book of Malachi
and these Jews felt His judgment against them, as
will the whole world very soon. Therefore we should
remember that this is the One with whom we have
to deal, and hearken to the appealing words of Malachi,
who recorded that "they that feared Yahweh spake
often to one another and Yahweh hearkened and heard
it and a book of remembrance was written before
Him for them that feared Yahweh, and that thought
upon His Name". Why is Malachi's first condemnation
directed to the priests? Because, "like priests
like people" the priests were singled out as the
root cause of Israel's iniquity, because they
should have kept knowledge. But the people also
had a responsibility to demand faithful priests.
Hosea declared in Hosea 4:9 these words:
"And there shall be, like people, like priest: and
I will punish them for their ways, and reward them
their doings."
*They despised Yahweh's name through ignorance
and lack of faith and we need to remember that it
is possible for us to "disesteem" Yahweh even while
going through an outward form of worship. Israel
was a servant as well as a son. A servant must revere
his master in a visible way, by doing his will.
The sins of the priests were great because they're
calling was high. They were the moral barometers
by which the spiritual weather of their time was
shown, and while each individual was responsible
for his or her own conduct, the priest was accountable
because of his greater responsibility. The priests
were slovenly, because they had a lack of true knowledge,
the word of God had no effect upon them; they had
no faith; there was no remembrance of past blessing;
no vision of future glory. Do we demonstrate the
same quality of indifference? Do we manifest a lack
of dedication to the affairs of Yahweh? A certain
"indifference" and "mechanical ritual" toward our
obligations in our Fathers service. Malachi did
not condemn Israel's disrespect toward their
faulty religious system because the "system" was
faulty, but because it was a symptom and an outward
sign of their inward spiritual failure. A man who
would deliberately offer the worst animal in his
flock on God's altar, and a priest who would
accept such an offering were obviously not right
with Yahweh in their hearts.
"Offer it now unto thy governor; will he be pleased
with thee, or except thy person? saith Yahweh Sabaoth"
in Malachi 1 verse 8. Of course not! Yet the
people and priests expected the most High God of
Heaven to accept such an offering, and, as if to
add insult to injury, they became indignant at the
thought they were offending. Yet, they offered greater
respect for a fleshly governor whom they could see
with their own eyes, than for Yahweh who they could
not see. They lacked faith and vision; they knew
God only in theory but not in heart. We can ask
ourselves the question, "do we act this way?" Would
we give an appliance to a brother or sister knowing
that it was damaged and faulty? Would we give clothing
to a brother or sister in need knowing there was
holes in it, as being good enough? Of course not;
yet what type of service do we give Yahweh? Do we
give our best? We need to remember that we are a
chosen people, a kingdom of priests, God's holy
nation. 1 Pet 2:9. We are responsible and held accountable
for the example we set, but toward our brethren
and sisters and to our children as well. If it is
within our heart to truly set out to imitate the
example of the Lord, then we must put away the flesh.
Our self-scented, selfish ways, our natural deceitfulness
and jealousies, must be put off. Yahweh not only
deserves but the demands the very best from us when
it comes to His service, His worship and His people.
He does not want secondhand service offered in our
spare time.
Were the people shocked by Malachi's indictment?
It did not seem that they were alarmed, but they
were certainly jolted by his audacity in so rebuking
them. Their spirituality had become so desensitized
by their empty formalism that they could scarcely
understand the meaning of his words."Wherein have
we despised thy Name?" "Wherein have we polluted
thee?" As if they're meaningless motions would
receive Yahweh's recognition, they couldn't
even humble themselves to seek His forgiveness!
We need to ask ourselves today: how concerned am
I about the quality of my sacrifice to God? Is it
the very best I can give? Or am I keeping the best
of my time for myself? Let us remember the words
of the Psalmist if we turn to Psalm 51:17:
"The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken
and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise."
* Remember the faithful remnant that remained in
the midst of the apostasy in Israel. "They that
feared Yahweh spake often to one another and Yahweh
hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance
was written before Him for them that feared Yahweh
and that thought upon His name". They separated
from their lax contemporaries and enjoined true
fellowship together.
Malachi continued with the indictment in chapter
1 verse 10, which is better rendered in the RSV:
"Oh that there were one among you who would shut
the doors, that you might not kindle fire upon my
altar in vain." Yahweh will have complete service
or none at all! Better a temple with its doors
closed and fires dead than a people with hearts
cold and with no inner life.
After delivering Yahweh's indictment, the prophet
issues a warning: Yahweh will send judgment. Those
priests who had set the bad example of indifference
and meaningless service must reform or suffer punishment.
They made God contemptible in the eyes of the people;
and now He will make them contemptible. Let's
read Malachi chapter 2 versus 1 to 2:
"And now, O ye priests, this commandment is for
you. If ye will not hear, and if ye will not lay
it to heart, to give glory unto my name, saith the
LORD of hosts, I will even send a curse upon you,
and I will curse your blessings: yea, I have cursed
them already, because ye do not lay it to heart."
* But there was more than just unfaithfulness in
the people. "Ye have wearied Yahweh with your words,"
said the prophet. "Yet ye say, wherein have we wearied
Him? When ye say, "everyone that doeth evil is good
in the sight of Yahweh, and He delighteth in them."
Ch 2:17. Yahweh was tired of forbearing with the
people in these important, fundamental matters.
He desired to see in them, as He does in us, actions
that result from pure motives, not simply words
of justification. But these Israelites neither recognized
nor confessed their own sins. Finally, they asked,
"where is the God of judgment?" This was a vital
question, and the rest of the book is devoted to
answering it. They remained blind to their own true
state! Yahweh answers in chapters 3 and 4, which
judgments would be revealed, and that only the faithful
would be delivered and vindicated. This is the warning
from Yahweh through Malachi down to us. If we do
not apply the words from Malachi then his exhortation
is lost. Those of us who have maintained an appearance
of acceptable service in the eyes of our brethren
and sisters will lose our false image when all sham
and hypocrisy will be disclosed under the ever seeing
eyes of Yahweh. But if we take heed to the prophet's
words and implement them, the exhortation becomes
useful, and instead of dwelling on past mistakes
we will remember our high calling and the sacrifice
of our High Priest whom we gather to remember as
the ideal, the perfect, and that pattern for us
to follow.
Like Malachi, we are living in an age of skepticism
and indifference. In the minds of the world God
is mocked, forgotten, or dead. But, whatever people
may do or think we know that God is ever working,
and both He and the ecclesia demand our very best
in our commitment toward our ecclesial appointments,
in self-sacrifice and blameless character.
In conclusion brothers and sisters. It is very easy
to forget the seriousness of the issue of our dedication
to God. It is so easy in the environment in which
we live of entertainment and self-indulgence in
which the world persists we should pursue; to loose
the zeal and conviction needed to better our service
to our Master. We live each day knowing that Christ
is going to return, to judge us according to our
works. But as he remains away, the thought of his
return seems to slowly drift into the back of our
minds, and it may not seem so real as time passes,
and this is a serious trap we can fall into. The
imminence of his return must always be kept at the
forefront of our minds, and as we awake to a new
day we should approach it with the attitude that
this day could very well be THE day, and that we
should try to dedicate it our Heavenly Father as
best we can in willing service. So let us serve
God so that we may be a useful, active part of His
eternal purpose, this is man's greatest privilege
and should be our greatest joy. |
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