"But
you are profaning it, in that you say, 'The table of the Lord is defiled, and
as for its fruit, its food is to be despised.'
"You also say, 'My, how tiresome it is!' And you disdainfully sniff
at it," says the LORD of hosts, "and you bring what was taken by
robbery and what is lame or
sick; so you bring the offering! Should I receive that from your hand?"
says the LORD.
Unlike the future, Malachi confronts the Jewish people
with the reality that they were profaning the name of the Lord. In other words,
the Jewish people were dishonoring and despising God. Malachi then provides the
evidence of their dishonor of God. First, the Jewish people were dishonoring
God by readily acknowledging that their worship was polluted and contaminated
as the result of their failure to follow the very clear and detailed
instructions when it came to the Jewish sacrificial system. Yet, in spite of
that acknowledgment, the Jewish people still viewed the idea of even having to
worship God with loathing and contempt.
In verse 13, Malachi quotes the Jewish people and their
attitude toward worship: “My, how tiresome it is!” Now this word tiresome
literally means wearisome. This complaint, if communicated in the language we
use today, would have sounded something like this: “What a nuisance it is to
have to go to church this morning. There are so many things that I could and would
rather be doing then going to church. I could be on the lake, I could be
camping, in the fall I could watch football; I could be shopping, I could sleep
in; this whole church thing is just so wearisome. Church just gets old, you
know”. When Malachi uses the phrase you disdainfully sniff at it, this phrase
literally means to blow from one’s mouth contempt or disdain. “Ugh, I gotta get
up and go to church today. What a drag.”
But not only were the Jewish people dishonoring and
despising God through their words; they were also dishonoring and despising God
through their actions. Malachi reveals the reality that the Jewish people were
stealing from one another, and then were giving to God what they had stolen in
worship. In our day, it would be similar to someone robbing a Circle K and then
bringing that money to church and putting it into the offering as an act of
worship. So instead of worshipping from what was their own, the Jewish people
were worshipping from that which was another’s.
In addition, Malachi provides
the evidence that the Jewish people dishonoring and despising God through their
deception. When Malachi refers to a vow, a vow is an oath or promise that is
made to someone, in this case God. What was happening was that an individual would make a
vow to offer a male animal that was in the best condition as a burnt offering
to God according to the requirements of the Law as an act of worship. However,
after making a promise to offer God the best of their animals as an act of
thanksgiving and worship to God, the Jewish people were then attempting to
deceive God by instead offering an animal that was handicapped, sickly, or
otherwise damaged. The Jewish people recognized that an animal that was
handicapped, sickly, or otherwise damaged was far less valuable than a male
animal that was in the best condition.
So the Jewish people would promise God
their best when it came to worship, and would then attempt to deceive Him by
giving them what was the worst when it came to worship. The Jewish people
decided that God was only worthy of their leftovers and had come to the
conclusion that God could be deceived into thinking that they were offering the
best when in fact they were offering the worst.
God then asks a rhetorical question through Malachi to
reveal the reality that He was wise to their attempts at deception: “Should I
receive that from your hand?” In other words, God is asking “Do you think that
I am pleased with your deception? Do you think that I am going to look
favorably on that kind of worship”.
And it is in this section of this letter
that we see revealed for us a timeless detour that can get us off track when it
comes to our relationship with God and can result in us living a life that
dishonors God. And that timeless detour is that we take a detour when we
worship God with less than our best. This morning, the timeless reality is that
God deserves, desires, and demands our very best when it comes to our worship
of Him as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. God desires that we respond to who
He is, what He has done, and what He has promised to do out of delight, not out
of duty. God desires that we view Sunday morning worship as something we get to
do, not something we got to do.
And when we worship God by giving Him less than
our best; when we worship God out of duty; when we view worship as a tiresome
nuisance; when we are unimpressed with God and give Him what is of little value and worth, we end up taking a
detour that gets us off track in our relationship with God and that dishonors
God. Malachi reveals that reality for us as he concludes this section of his
letter:
"But cursed be the swindler who has a
male in his flock and vows it, but sacrifices a blemished animal to the Lord,
for I am a great King," says the LORD of hosts, "and My name is
feared among the nations."
Here we see Malachi reveal the reality that the person
who attempts to deceive God into thinking that they were giving Him their best
when in fact they were giving Him their worst when it came to worship provokes
a strong response from God. And that strong response was that God would inflict
such a deceitful person with a curse. God then reveals the reason for such a
strong response: “for I am a great King and My name is feared among the
nations.” Yahweh, the Lord of Hosts, the One True God, is alone large and in
charge and alone is worthy to be viewed with a reverent awe and honor.
However,
when we approach worship as though we are unimpressed with God; when we
approach worship in a way that thinks lightly of God; the result is that we
take a detour that fails to give any honor or respect to God. Because, we take
a detour when we worship God with less than our best.
So here are some questions to
consider: is worship something you get to do or something you got to do? Is
gathering together in community to worship on Sundays a duty or a delight? Do you show up Sunday morning with an expectation
that you will experience and encounter God through the music, the message, the
times of giving and prayer? Do you show up Sunday morning with an excitement
that results in a response of giving God the best of your worship? Or do you
show up Sunday morning with an apathetic attitude that gives God whatever is
left from the rest of the weekend?
Because, we take a detour when
we worship God with less than our best…
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