A Day of Distinction

Please turn to Malachi 3:13-18. That is on page 955 in the Pew Bibles.

We are in the home stretch of Malachi. Next week will be our last sermon. By the way, Malachi has often been used for an Advent series. It is the last book of the Old Testament, and, as we saw 2 weeks ago, it promises that the Messiah will come soon. Next week will be another advent prophecy.

Our sermon this morning concludes the pattern of (1) God’s accusation, (2) the people questioning God, and (3) the Lord explaining.

After that, we will we hear a surprising turn. There were some who did fear the Lord and responded to him.

Listen for the contrasts between those who questioned the Lord, and those who feared him.

Reading of Malachi 3:13-18

Prayer

How do you justify sin in your life?

I know that question presupposes an understanding of sin. I’m simply referring to breaking God’s commands as he has revealed in his Word.

·      Do you find yourself saying, “well, this is a small thing. It doesn’t really matter.”

·      Or, “everyone else does it, so what’s the big deal.”

·      Or “At least I’m not as bad as he or she is.”

·      Are you tempted to make the ends justify the means? You think, “well, the results will be good, so it doesn’t matter how I get there.”

·      Or maybe you are angry with God or wonder if he is even there? You think, “why does it even matter?”

·      Maybe you have been sinned against and therefore are tempted to respond likewise.

·      Or do you think that nobody will know.

·      Or do you tell yourself, “It feels right, how can it be wrong?”

How do you justify sin? Really, the more important question is, will you respond to God’s Word?

These verses give us a contrast between two responses. 1. Those who justify and continue in their sin and 2, those who repent and respond.

All throughout Malachi, we’ve seen different ways that the priests and the people have justified their sin. Often it was about their situation. They were poor and didn’t want to bring their unblemished male animal to offer at the temple or bring their required tithe. Or they didn’t love their spouse anymore, so why not get a divorce. Why not marry someone who didn’t know Yahweh if they could get ahead economically. Based on their experience, they didn’t even believe that God was just, so why did it matter what they did or didn’t do.

Verses 13-15 are the climax to their dismissal of God and how they justified their sin. The Lord said, “your words have been hard against me.” And they asked once again, “how” “How have we spoken against you?”

And the Lord responds… you have said, , “it is vain to serve God. What is the profit of keeping his charge?” They didn’t see any value in continuing to honor God. Why bother? It was so bad they didn’t even want to mourn before the Lord because of their situation. They had gotten to the place where they weren’t even sure God existed.

In verse 15, we learn they’d been saying that “the arrogant were blessed.” “Evildoers not only prosper, …but they put God to the test and they escaped.” In other words, good things were happening to bad people. Why would God allow that and leave them to flail in their situation?

You see, the people were feeling despondent. They didn’t think God cared about them. In fact, to them, God seemed to care more about their enemies. And so, they responded by not caring themselves. They didn’t care about God, and they didn’t care about his commands. They felt defeated and wondered if God was even paying attention.

Do you ever feel that way? You see other people seemingly doing well or prospering. Many of whom you don’t believe should be prospering. And you are struggling with health or with finances or in relationships or in a career. And it brings you to a place of despondency - hopelessness and asking why.

I’ve found that in those moments, I have been very susceptible to temptation. You know, you get down about something and feel discouraged and disconnected from the Lord. And then, you wonder if trying to honor God is even worth it. Just like the people were saying, it is vain… you know, it seems worthless to pursue the Lord. You then ask yourself, why not just do what I want? Why not just take matters into my own hands? And then, you do.

That’s exactly what the exiles who were back in Jerusalem were doing. They justified their sin. More and more, they rejected God. It was like a downward spiral of complacency and disillusionment that was leading them away from God. Instead of drawing closer to God, they were pulling away from him. Instead of seeking to honor him, they were dishonoring him.

And then along came Malachi, the prophet. And he spoke God’s very words to them. You have done this, and this, and this. You have questioned my justice. In your hearts and in your actions, you have walked away in defiance from my commands. You have been faithless. I think of all the accusations that the Lord has leveled against them, calling them faithless was perhaps the worst. They no longer trusted in the God who loved them, as he had just reminded them.

What would they do? Really, they were at an inflection point. They were at a fork in the road. God had just called them to return to him. The question is, would they return? Would they renounce their ways and their thoughts against the Lord and return? The Lord’s arms were open for them to come back to him. The question was, would they before it was too late?

You know, I love our church family. I love you. We love each other and we love our neighbors. And I believe that each of us honestly want to honor the Lord in our lives. I know my glasses are a little rosy. But I know that there are secret sins in this room. There are dark closets. There’s heart adultery, for sure, but statistically speaking, there’s likely actual adultery happening, too. Other sexual sin as well. There’s also a range of anger and prejudice and heart idols that turn our attention away from the Lord. Some sin we are blind to, but other sin we simply justify. It may be hidden from one another, but it is not hidden from God.

Let me ask, How have you been responding to God’s word in Malachi? It’s been pretty intense. Have you felt convicted and have you been responding to the Lord in repentance and faith? …Have you renewed yourself to pursue the Lord and his commands? Will you forsake them and turn your heart back to the Lord?

What would they do and what will you do?

And that brings us to verse 16. This is the first time, in the entire book of Malachi, that we are given a glimmer of hope.. in regard to their hearts. Verse 16 – “then those who feared the Lord spoke with one another.” It’s talking about people who with reverent awe and faith submitted themselves to the Lord. They were there.

One question that people disagree about is whether this is a totally separate group from the Israelites who had been questioning God. Or whether some of those who had been questioning God repented and returned to him. Most think that it is one or the other. But I think what is more likely is that it’s both. God has always had his remnant from among the people. But God also draws people away from their sin and back to him.

Malachi was prophesying God’s very Word. Of the thousands who had returned to Jerusalem, certainly there were some who upon hearing God’s word, repented and returned as he had called them.

We don’t know for sure, but whatever the makeup of this group, the point is that there were some who by faith reverently trusted God… and as it says, sought to serve him.

We don’t even know what their conversation was about, but we are told that whatever it was God was pleased. They had in some way affirmed God’s word and encouraged each other in that affirmation. And, they esteemed God’s name. Rather than questioning God, they exalted the Lord God.

This is God’s very Word. Will you hear and respond to it by faith? Or will you react in defiance against it? What will you do?

I want to take a brief tangent. Some of you will know this. The Protestant Reformers were very concerned NOT to bind someone’s conscience. You know, someone’s internal sense of right and wrong and truth and error. Martin Luther in his famous speech at the diet of Worms said that to go against one conscience is neither right nor safe.

When we hear that, it’s easy, I think, to mistakenly apply our culture’s understanding of conscience. We might think Luther meant that we should never tell someone that what they believe or do is right or wrong. But that is not what Luther nor John Calvin nor the other Reformers meant. They meant that only the Word of God should bind someone conscience. Luther even said in that same speech, “my conscience is bound by the Word of God.” The Roman Catholic church was trying to bind the conscience of people to believe things that were contrary to Scripture. That is what they were opposed to.

The Reformers believed that our consciences are marred by sin. Even as redeemed people, we need to submit our minds and hearts to God’s word so that our inner sense of moral right and wrong will be transformed to God’s standard.

We absolutely can and should challenge one another. When we see a brother or sister do something or believing something contrary to God’s Word, we should call it out in love. That is not wrongly binding someone’s conscience; rather, it is directing someone’s conscience to God’s Word.

Some churches and Christians today will justify lifestyles and beliefs so as not to constrain someone elses conscience. Some will say, “my conscience is clear,” as if their conscience is the final moral authority rather than Scripture. No, rather, as we each mature in our faith and in our knowledge of God’s Word, our conscience will become more and more aligned with God’s standard and THUS sensitive to the prompting of the Holy Spirit.

Our conscience should never replace what God has revealed in his Word.

I bring this up because it is a common way to justify sin today – to appeal to a “clear conscience” even when it contradicts Scripture.

Ok, back to Malachi 3 – the conscience of these people who feared the Lord were captivated by God through his Word. God had either convicted them of their sin and they repented and returned… or they has been in the minority, as a remnant, faithful to God and his Word all along. Likely, as I mentioned, both.

And because they feared the Lord, God wrote their names and their faithful works in his book. It’s called here the book of remembrance.

A common practice at that time was for kings to write down significant events and significant people. It was their history. In fact, Persian kings were meticulous at this task. They preserved their records in the royal archive. Remember, it was the Medo Persians who, at this time, ruled over the region. So, this reference to the Lord keeping a book would have been understood even beyond the Israelites.

The point is that God would not forget them. He would not forget his remnant who fixed their hearts and minds on him. Who esteemed his name. They shall be mine, he says.

By the way, there is a little tiny phrase there in verse 17 that has huge significance. It’s the phrase “in the day.” Do you see it? “In the day,” it says, “when I make up my treasured possession, I will spare them.”

It is looking forward to the judgment day. It’s looking forward to that day when God, in Christ, will fulfill his just judgment. That day will happen when Christ comes to judge. For us, we know that the final judgment will come when Jesus returns. In his first coming, Jesus came to save – he came to bring salvation. In his second coming, he will come for the final judgment.

And on the day when Christ comes to judge, God will make his people his treasured possessions. I love that description. They had feared the Lord and honored him… and God wrote their names down in his book of life.

We all have treasured possessions. If your house or apartment is on fire, what are the things that you would want to risk your life and run back in to save? Certainly, family members. Maybe a pet. Maybe your great great grandmother’s pendant. Or maybe that jersey signed by your favorite athlete or coach. I’m not telling you to run back into your house for things. Let the firemen do that.

But on that day, those who fear God and keep his commandments will be God’s treasured possession. He will save them. That phrase “treasured possession” is a reference back to Mount Saini. God had rescued his people from slavery in Egypt. He had brought them across the Red Sea. He was about to give them his commandments, and he says, and listen to this… “if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, I will make you my treasured possession among all people of the earth.”

In Malachi, at the end of verse 17, Lord says that he will “spare them as a man spares a son who serves him.”

Back when I was about 14, my sister and I wanted to surprise our parents and clean the garage. Isn’t that very nice.  However, there was still a car in the garage. So, I told my sister, ok, you get in the car. I’ll push it back, and as soon as it gets out of the garage, put it into gear. It was a manual transmission. Every time my parents parked the car, they would put it in gear, so I thought it was like a parking brake.

 So, I pushed the car out of the garage, but when my sister tried to put it in gear, it wouldn’t go. Neither of us thought about the brake pedal. Well, our driveway was sloped, so the car started to pick up speed, and I was running alongside of it, but my sister couldn’t stop it. Then the steering wheel locked up. We were both panicking. Then the car smashed into the stone wall next to our driveway.

We both thought, oh no, we’re going to get in big trouble with our dad.

But when he got home, he wasn’t angry at all. No, he was just glad we weren’t hurt. We were spared. But I can tell you, if we had been one of his employees, the story would have ended differently.

You see, a father spares a son. A father loves his children. They are his treasured possession.

God the Father has done the most amazing thing for those who fear and honor him. He has spared them from his judgment. And he’s done that by not sparing his only Son. God has rescued us from the fire of his wrath by sending his only son who endured his wrath on our behalf. And because of it, on that day, on that judgment day, God will spare his children.

To put it in terms of Jesus first and second coming. God sent his son, Jesus Christ, into the world, to be judged so that when he comes again as judge, those who fear and serve him will not be judged.

All of this has all been leading up to verse 18. On that day, there will be a distinction, it say, between the righteous and the wicked.

By the way, let me mention, this is like a two-part sermon. Malachi 4 continues explaining what will happen on that day. I’ve titled today’s sermon A Day of Distinction. Next week will be A Day of Deliverance. So, we won’t spend any more time on that coming day. But come back next week to hear about the “sun of righteousness.”

Rather, we’ll spend the rest of our time today on the distinction spoken of in verse 18. At the heart of the distinction is whether someone fears and serves God. The first words at the beginning of 18 are pretty telling. It says, “Then once more… you will see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked”

Malachi’s entire prophecy has focused on (1) how God’s people had walked away from him in disobedience. And (2) how he calls them to return to him in faithfulness in their words and actions.

Those who did not return are included in verse 18 with the wicked. Those who did return are included with the righteous. The two words used to describe the righteous are those who fear and serve the Lord. Fear in verse 16, which we already discussed, and the word serve, here in verse 18.

Let me put it this way: At the heart of serving the Lord is a heart that fears the Lord with reverence and awe.

Those two distinguishing marks cannot be separated. There is no fearing the Lord without serving him. …AND, no one truly serves the Lord without fearing him. When someone comes to fear the Lord, they will desire to honor him in their lives.

Let me put this in some New Testament terms.

·      True faith in Christ will result in the fruits of righteousness.

·      Or as James put it, faith without works is dead. Our works, meaning our obedience to God’s Word, testifies to our faith in him. Works do not lead to faith, faith leads to works.

·      Or as the Apostle Paul put it in Romans 6 “Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?”

To use theological terms. We are justified in Christ. We receive Jesus’ righteousness by faith in him which leads to sanctification in our lives. More and more through God’s Spirit, we die to sin and live to righteousness.

So, fearing and serving the Lord IS faith and works which IS trusting and obeying God. It describes the righteous.

The wicked do not fear the Lord nor honor him. They do not hear his Word. They do not return to him. Rather, they have rejected the Lord by dishonoring him in all his ways… including, of course, they ways that Malachi had prophesied. They questioned God… and to bring this back around, they justified their sin. As they said up in verse 14, “it is vain to serve God.”

In closing, we all struggle with sin, but let me ask: As you search your heart, do you fear the Lord by faith in Christ? Are you seeking, by God’s Spirit, to hear God’s Word, see your sin, and respond by serving and honoring him? If you are, then on that day, God in Christ will spare you as a father spares a son.

If that does not describe your life, then God is saying to you, “return to me.” No longer justify your sin but fear me and honor me. Come to me by faith in Christ. And when you do, the Lord says, you will be my treasured possession.

On that day, may we all be described as the righteous. Not because of our righteousness, but because of the righteousness of Christ. A righteousness that we receive by faith AND which we demonstrate by serving and honoring him.

Robbing God and Ourselves

Please turn in your Bibles to Malachi chapter 3, verses 6-12. In the Pew Bibles, you can find that on page 954

As we have gone through Malachi, we’ve seen a recurring pattern.

First, the Lord makes an accusation. Second, he quotes the people of Israel questioning him – they ask “how?” and third, the Lord explains.

·      In chapter 1. “I have loved you” “How have you loved us?” “Because I chose you”

·      Next “You have despised my name” “How have we despised you?” “You have brought polluted offerings.

·      Chapter 2 – “you have been faithless.” “how have we been faithless?” “You have been unfaithful in your marriages”

·      And last week… “you have wearied me with your words” “How have we wearied you? “you have said ‘where is the God of justice?”

This pattern has revealed two things. First, they had not been acting in faith before the Lord. And second, they were not aware of their faithless actions. They were blind to their own sin.

Our text this morning continues this pattern. But it is also unique. It opens up with a call to respond.

So, listen for that call and listen for the next example of their faithless actions.

Reading of Malachi 3:6-12

Prayer

One day over in Scotland, a poor man had been attending church… accidentally dropped a silver coin into the offering plate. It was very valuable to him. He had meant to offer a penny. When he asked for it back, the deacon refused, “sorry, in once, in forever.” Frustrated, the man responded, “at least I’ll get credit in heaven.” To which, the deacon replied, “oh no, you’ll get credit for what you meant to give.”

Just trying to break the ice here. This is our fourth sermon this year on giving. We had three of them in our 2 Corinthians study and now this one. If you have been visiting, I don’t want you to think that every couple of months you’re going to hear a sermon on giving. No, in fact, before this year I don’t think we had a single sermon on financial stewardship.

Our philosophy of preaching involves working through books of the Bible. By doing so, we are allowing God’s Word to direct our focus. That means as we go chapter by chapter, we’ll come across matters that are sensitive. Matters that we need to hear. And that includes, of course, finances and money. It just so happens that both 2 Corinthians and here in Malachi touch upon giving (and that is not why I chose them)

As you know, these are matters close to our hearts. Really, money in general is a personal topic. I can tell you that in the marriage counselling I’ve done over the years, financial conflicts have often been the thing that puts the most stress on marriages. Money can be a control mechanism. Money is often an idol. To be sure, money is not the problem. Jesus never said that money is the root of all kinds of evil. No, he said that the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil.

What we’re going to learn this morning is that your financial stewardship in regards to God’s kingdom is an important matter. It is a window into your relationship with the Lord.

We’ll consider these verses in 3 points. Repent; renew; receive.

1. Repent – verses 6 and 7, return to me.

2. Renew – verse 8 to the middle of 10. God calls them to renew their obedience to the Lord… by bringing in the full tithe.

3. Receive – the end of verse 10 through 12. When they do, God will pour down the blessings of heaven.

1. Repent

#1 – Repent. Notice that Malachi’s prophecy in this section does not begin with a focus on their tithes. Rather, it begins with a focus on their relationship with the Lord.

You see, it wasn’t that the Lord walked away from them. No. Rather, they walked away from their relationship with him. They thought that God had abandoned them. They thought he didn’t care.

That’s why the Lord begins in verse 6 with a reminder that he hasn’t changed. And notice what he emphasizes. I do not change, that is why “you… are not consumed.” God is emphasizing his lovingkindness to them. He’s reminding them of his patience and mercy toward them.

The issue was their rejection of God and his ways. And it’s not new. That is why in verse 7 God reminds them that their forefathers also turned aside from him. The returned exiles in Judah had been doing the same thing. In the previous chapters, God pointed out the various ways they had turned aside from his statues.

And so, the Lord says to them: “Return to me, and I will return to you.”

“But… but… Lord, we are back in Jerusalem. We have returned, haven’t we? After all, we are back in the city where King David reigned… we are back where the temple is, where your very presence dwells. Why are you telling us to return to you? Is it not you who have departed us?”

They didn’t understand that it had never been about being in Jerusalem. Just like their forefathers before them, it was about their relationship with God. They had walked away from God’s commands and his promises which was tantamount to walking away from him.

But the Lord is gracious and bids them return to him.

At the heart of this appeal to “return” is repentance. That is what repentance is. It’s turning away from something that is not honoring to God and returning back to him and to what honors him.

Honestly, these verses can apply to any pattern of sin in your life or my life. Yes, in a minute we’re going to get into their failure to honor the Lord with their tithes and contributions. But the pattern we are given here is THE pattern for life - repentance and renewal.

And so we should ask, what are the ways in which we have wandered from you, Lord? We ask him to reveal our sin… our pride our  lust or anger or coveting or dishonoring his name or steeling or lying or worse. And we then come to the Lord with contrite hearts. We grieve the ways in which we have broken God’s commands, all of which have damaged our relationship with him… and with those we’ve sinned against. We repent, and we then we renew ourselves to walk again in God’s ways.

And when we repent, God is merciful and loving. He will receive us when we return to him. Did you notice that second part? “Return to me, and I will return to you.”

Which brings us to the people’s first question, “But you say, ‘how shall we return?’” They didn’t know how.

2. Renew

This is the renewal part, by the way. point #2. You see, renewal is the way we return to God. Renewal of our faith. Renewal of our obedience.

But just like before, God’s people didn’t know what God was talking about. And so, in verse 8, the Lord asks, “will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me.”

I’ve been robbed twice. One time, my car window was smashed in and some things were taken. Another time, I was out of the country. I was in a crowded market, and someone bumped into me. That sort of turned me around. Someone else then bumped into me. At first, I thought it was just because of the large crowds. But a few minutes later, I looked down and the pullover windbreaker I was wearing had been cut. Someone had sliced open the front of my jacket, where there was a zippered pouch. My wallet was gone. It happened without me even knowing it.

I’m sure some of you have experienced worse. When it happens, you feel violated and unsettled. You think, what could I have done to prevent it?

Here’s the thing. Can man rob God? I mean, he knows and sees all things. He is furthermore all powerful. In his sovereignty, nothing is unknown and nothing is out of his control.

In other words, robbing God is not really possible in the sense of God being taken by surprise. So, this is a shocking accusation. The people had been robbing him, so to speak. But just like the other patterns of sin, they didn’t realize it. And so they ask. “How have we robbed you?”

The Lord responds, “in your tithes and contributions.” They had not been fulfilling their obligations. They had been holding back.

By the way, this is very similar to their polluted sacrificial offerings back at the end of chapter 1. But this accusation is broader. Notice in verse 9. “…you are robbing me, the whole nation of you.”

Let’s talk about this tithe thing. The word “tithe” comes from the Hebrew word for tenth. They were to give 10% of the fruit of their labors. That tithe was often paid in grain or other crops. And just like the sacrificial animals, they were to tithe their very best. Tithing was part of the Levitical law – those were laws related to the sacrificial system and the priest. Their tithe supported the priestly work. It was not an option, it was an obligation for them.

In a minute, we’ll come back to the question of whether tithing applies to us today. So, stay tuned.

But first, why weren’t they doing this? Why didn’t they tithe? Well, besides the drought that they were in, which we’ve discussed, their crops had been infested by some sort of “devourer.” Verse 11 mentions that. …perhaps locusts had damaged their crops.  They didn’t have much to begin with and now they were experiencing both a drought and an infestation. They didn’t tithe because they didn’t think they could afford the tithe. It’s convicting to think about that… Is that not often our excuse?

They justified not tithing but by doing so, they were in fact robbing God.

It's like when you buy a house. You know, you go to the bank, you get a mortgage. You call it “your house,” but the bank really owns it. You pay the bank every month interest and principal. But if you don’t make the payments, you are in a sense robbing the bank. They can take your house back. Not tithing was robbing God because it was all God’s in the first place. They had been entrusted with it. But they thought it was theirs to give or not. And because of all the stress of the situation, they withheld from God what was truly his.

So, here’s the big question for us: Is giving 10% something that applies to God’s people today? To ask it in another way, since tithe was part of the Levitical law, does it still apply to us?

And I believe the answer to that question is “no” and “yes.”

·      “No” in the sense that we no longer have that explicit obligation. The tithe mentioned in the books of Leviticus and Deuteronomy was to maintain the ceremonial law and to support the Levites who didn’t have a land inheritance, unlike the other tribes. The sacrificial system is no longer in effect. That is because Christ has come and has fulfilled it. Tithe was a part of that.

·      But the answer is also “yes.” The principle of tithing is still very much a part of the New Testament teaching. Jesus affirmed giving proportional to someone’s income. Also, in 1 Corinthians 16, each person is directed to set aside a portion for the collection of the saints. As we studied in 2 Corinthians earlier this year, there’s a call to give generously.  Furthermore, even though there are no more priests, we do learn that some elders in the church are to labor in teaching. In other words, supporting the work of the church and God’s kingdom is a New Testament principle. It’s just that it’s not the formal “tithe” obligation from the ceremonial law.

But, you ask, does that mean that 10% is not prescribed? Let me answer that by saying this. In the Old Testament, the tithe for the priests was not the only requirement to give. There was the Festival tithe. There was a poor tithe every third year. They were to give a first fruits offering at the earliest part of the harvest. There were others as well. Some estimate that their contributions added up to over 25% of their income.

Here’s how pastor Kevin DeYoung puts it. He said, “Whether the Old Testament requirement is a binding prescription or not, I find it hard to imagine that Western Christians who have seen the glory of God in the face of Christ and enjoy great prosperity, would want to give less than was required of the poorest Israelite.” He furthermore says this: “Statistics consistently show that Protestants give less than 3% of their income to their churches. A tithe, for most churchgoers, would be a huge step in the right direction.”

I think that is well said. Tithe is no longer mandated, but 10% is a good starting place to pray about and consider. More importantly, though… and please hear me on this… we should give joyfully and sacrificially out of hearts that love the Lord and love his kingdom.

Alright, going back to the peoples’ question. “How shall we return?” God answers in verse 10 “Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house.” He is referring to the storage rooms in the temple where the offering of crops was stored.

They were to faithfully resume their tithing despite their poverty.

You know, repentance and renewal go together. We can’t separate them. As the Scriptures say, we are to “bear fruit in keeping with repentance.” Your repentance from sin is validated by a renewed commitment to the Lord and his commands. This is not about earning salvation at all. It’s about responding to the salvation that God has given you in Christ by renewing your faith in him and your obedience to him.

3. Receive

Which brings us to number 3. Receive. We will experience God’s blessings when our lives are aligned with his commands. I’m being very intentional how I say that.

The second half of verse 10 talks about the windows of heaven being opened. It’s talking about rain. And then in verse 11, we learn that the devourer will be destroyed. You know, the plague of locusts will end. And then the soil will once again be fruitful. The harvest will be plentiful. And then in verse 12, all the nations will call them blessed.

Remember, God’s people in Malachi’s day were still under the Levitical framework. For them, there was a direct correlation between their tithing and the abundant blessing that God would give them. God was promising them that if they repented and renewed their commitment to him in their tithes, that yes, they would receive an abundance of God’s blessings.

But there’s something else here. Did you notice that the language in verses 10-12 is the language of God’s promise to Abraham? In God’s covenant with Abraham, God promised to give Abraham’s descendants an abundant land. And God promised that all the nations of the earth would be blessed through them.

In other words, the promise here was a renewal of God’s covenant promises with his people. The blessings they were promised were tied to their repentance and the renewal of their relationship with the Lord.

For us, what’s really important to understand is that the Levitical system and the covenant with Abraham have both been fulfilled in Christ. We cannot interpret these verses without understanding them through a Gospel lens. We can’t say that if we are faithful in our gifts and offerings that God will materially bless us.

No, rather, the blessings alluded to here are ultimately the blessings that we receive in Jesus Christ. He is the mediator of a new covenant. The priestly role and sacrifice itself have been fulfilled in him. Furthermore, the promise to Abraham about his seed and about all the nations of the earth being blessed are likewise fulfilled in Christ. Abraham’s true seed, Jesus, bore the curse that our unfaithfulness deserves so that the blessings promised to Abraham might come to people from all nations.

And speaking of curse, go back to verse 9. At the beginning of 9, the people were reminded of the curse of sin. Their failure to tithe and our failure to give, indeed condemn, as does any sin. But Jesus has satisfied our failure to meet these obligations and has likewise fulfilled the promise of blessing.

What I am saying is that we dare not interpret Malachi 3’s blessings to be material blessings. If we do so, we have failed to see the fulfillment of God’s promises in Christ. The blessings spoken of here, like the “land of delight” ultimately point us beyond the material things of this world. They point to a new creation – one where the curse, mentioned here, is no more… and people from all nations will worship the Lord in his very presence forever.

There are so-called preachers today who abuse this passage and who falsely promise material reward. For example, Joel Osteen said this about Malachi 3:10. He said, “Tithing is the key to financial blessings.” God wants us to have the overflowing part, he said, “but…we have to be faithful and obedient with the first part, giving.” There are so many things wrong about that. It misapplies the Levitical obligations and blessings. It completely misses the reference in these verses to God’s covenant with Abraham. Rather than focus on repentance and renewal and our relationship with the Lord, which is what this passage is about, it instead focuses on us. It is worldly and man-centered and turns money into an idol, rather than turning us from our idolatry and back to the Lord. It misses the true Gospel, the grace of God in Christ Jesus.

The message of Malachi 3 is not “give so that God will give more back to you.” No, rather it is, “give because God has already given you abundantly in Christ.”

To bring this all together, yes, we are promised blessings in verses 10 through 12. But those blessings are spiritual blessings in Christ. When we repent and renew ourselves to the Lord in obedience to him, God blesses us in abundant ways. For one, he renews our relationship with him. To use the words here… When we return to him, he will return to us. When we seek by God’s Spirit, to live in obedience to his Word, we will spiritually flourish with assurance and peace in our hearts, and perseverance in trials, and hope for the future.

And all of it comes from and through the ministry of Christ, through which we have already received abundant blessings. We do not give in order to receive Christ; we give because in Christ we have already received far more than we could ever repay.

Conclusion

So, may we not rob God. Because in doing so, we are robbing ourselves. Rather, may we renew our hearts toward him in faith and obedience. May we generously and joyfully contribute to the work of the saints. And through that repentance and renewal, may we experience the abundant blessings that God has given us in Christ Jesus.

Malachi 2:17-3:5

We are returning this morning to our study of the prophet Malachi. We’re basically half-way through. Our sermon text this morning is from 2:17 to 3:5. You can find that on page 954.

As you are turning there, I wanted to briefly remind you of what we’ve considered so far.

Chapter 1 opened up with God reminding his people of his love for them. Even though they didn’t recognize his love, yet God confirmed it. He said, “I have loved you.” They were his chosen people, not because of anything they did, but because he called them to be his.

The reason God opened up with his unconditional love is because they needed to hear some tough love.

So, Malachi’s prophecy turns to their failures.

First, he called out the people for bringing polluted offerings to the temple.

Next, he turned his attention to the priests. They were supposed to guard and teach knowledge and be a model of uprightness, but they failed.

Then, in the middle of chapter 2, God revealed their unfaithfulness in their marriages. Despite God’s faithfulness to them, they had displayed faithlessness to him.

In all of these things, God was calling them back to himself. He was calling them to repent and return to him by faith.

Which brings us to our passage this morning. We’ll see that there was an underlying problem. In their hearts, they had been questioning God’s goodness and justice. Listen for that as we now read

Stand

Reading of Malachi 2:17-3:5

Prayer

In 1968, a man filed a lawsuit against his former employer. He alleged that his former employer ruined his life. He had been unjustly fired. This began a protracted 30-year legal battle against the company. But in the end, despite all his efforts, he lost. As you can imagine, that was greatly disappointing.

So, in the late 1990s, this same man filed a new lawsuit against a new defendant.

This time his lawsuit was against God, whom he identified as “the Sovereign ruler of the universe.” The lawsuit claimed that God had taken no corrective action against… (now listen to this) his nation, his company, or his church for the extremely serious wrongs which ruined his life.

A judge declared the lawsuit frivolous, of course.

None of us here have sued God in a state or federal court, but let me ask: have you put God on trial in your heart? Have you witnessed or experienced injustice (against yourself or someone else) and subsequently questioned God’s character because of it?

I mean, if God is indeed sovereign and just, why does it appear that those who hate justice are the ones who seem to prosper? Why do those who hate the truth or who oppress and kill seem to get away with it over and over?

In our verses this morning, God addresses and responds to those very questions. And it’s deeply personal. It was deeply personal to the returned exiles in Jerusalem and it is deeply personal to us.

Look at chapter 2 verse 17. The Lord tells the people, through Malachi, that their words had “wearied him.” They had been believing and saying something over and over which God was displeased with.

Look at what they had been saying. “Everyone who does evil is good in the sight of the Lord, and he delights in them.” They had been witnessing that evil people were thriving. And they assumed that because these wicked people prospered, that God was therefore pleased with them… even delighted in them.

And then at the end of verse 17, they put God on trial. Notice the rhetorical question they asked. “Where is the God of justice?”

They were implying that even though God declared that he was just, yet his inaction against injustice meant to them that God therefore loved sin and evil.

Now, we’ve talked about the returned exiles’ plight before, but I want us to consider their situation from a different angle.

It had been at least 80 years since the people began to return to Jerusalem from exile. To be sure, there were multiple waves of people who returned, so not everyone had returned at once. But a lot of time had passed since they started returning.

And a couple positives things had happened. First, the temple had been rebuilt. And second, the walls of Jerusalem had been repaired.

And because of that, they expected at any moment, the Messiah would come. After all, this was the time in their history when it was to happen, right? God had promised in Isaiah that out of the stump of Jesse, out of king David’s line, a righteous branch would emerge.

So, when the royal lineage of David appeared dead, that was when God would raise up a humble king, the Messiah, who would restore the kingdom and bring peace.

At that time. The lineage of David was indeed a stump. The exile had happened. And so, when some of the exiles started returning and when the temple was restored and when the city walls were rebuit. There was eager anticipation that the Messiah was about to come. He would come and usher in a new kingdom of prosperity and power.

That’s what they thought. But he hadn’t come. In fact, in the 20 or so years since the walls of the city had been rebuilt, things got worse. We’ve talked about some of this before. Remember, a famine caused widespread hunger and poverty. Even though they were back in Jerusalem, the whole region was still under control of a godless nation. God’s people had few rights. They were oppressed and weak and struggled to survive.

And do you know who was thriving? The people who rejected God… who denied his laws… who lived in sin… and who oppressed God’s people. They were making out pretty well.

Do you see now why they put God on trial? Their expectations had been up here, but reality was way down here.

In a word, they were disillusioned. God had made promises. He declared that justice was part of his very nature. Yet, none of that seemed to be reality.

And we struggle with the same thing. We ask the same question: does God delight in evil and injustice? Because Lord, it sure seems that way.

Maybe you’ve lost someone you love – a spouse, a child, a parent. Or maybe you’ve been betrayed. Or maybe you’ve struggled to make ends meet. “Lord, my prayers have not been answered. My family seems to be breaking apart. Yet those who reject you seem to be the ones whom you are prospering. Are you just?”

Or let me take it to a different level. Why, Lord, have thousands of Christians been killed in Nigeria this year? Why did you allow dozens of pastors to be imprisoned in China last week? Why have you allowed evil regimes or evil organizations or evil leaders to oppress and torture and kill? Lord, where are you?

When we start to become disillusioned with God, we sometimes get angry with him. Or we sometimes become complacent in our faith or sometimes anxiety begins to burden us, or sometimes we even rebel against God.

The returned exiles were experiencing this. Their disillusionment with God even explains their actions. It doesn’t justify it. But it explains why they had been going through the motions in their worship and why they had been faithless to God and to their spouses. It explains why the priests, even, had failed to faithfully lead and teach. After all, they must have thought, if God didn’t care about them, why should they care about him?

Maybe they didn’t verbalize that, but it’s what they felt, and we sometimes do the same thing.

Well, God answers.

And he answers with a promise which includes a warning.

By the way, chapter 3 verse 1 is the very center of the Malachi. The themes before lead up to 3:1 and the rest of Malachi echoes and expands on what God declares there. So, it’s a critical verse in the entire book.

Let me read it again. “Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts.”

It was a bold re-affirmation of God’s promises. The Messiah, in fact, is coming soon! That word “behold” is used throughout Scripture to emphasize the surety of something happening. Pay attention! It’s happening. Twice in this verse. “Behold”

And did you notice that there are 2 different messengers in this verse. There’s the messenger who will prepare the way, and then there is THE messenger of the covenant. The one who will suddenly come to the temple. Malachi was prophesying about the Messiah. He will come. Christ will come. But he will be preceded by one last prophet who will prepare the way.

In October 2024, we were driving back from the airport. It was evening, so it was dark. We were on 285 northbound near interstate 20. And something very strange was happening. In the southbound lanes (you know, across the barrier), there were absolutely 0 cars driving south. It was weird. There were no headlights. We wondered if there had been an accident? Then we saw one police car after another after another. Then all of a sudden, there was a whole bunch of police cars… and following those cars were 2 or 3 large black SUVs. Turned out that the former vice president had been campaigning in Clarkston.

All those police cars were in a sense preparing the way. It’s like that similar verse in Isaiah 40 that we read earlier “A voice cries in the wilderness ‘prepare the way of the LORD;

make straight in the desert a highway for our God.’”

God would be sending a messenger who would prepare the way of the Lord.

This was a common thing back in those days. Before a king would arrive for a special event, an envoy would often precede them. There would be an announcement about the coming arrival of the king. The people would then prepare for his arrival.

This prophecy about the first messenger has been fulfilled in John the Baptist. In fact, the first half of Malachi 3:1 about the messenger preparing the way is quoted three times in the New Testament declaring that John the Baptist is that messenger who has come. John came to preach that the Messiah was coming. John was preparing the way. He announced that the Christ was coming and indeed had come.

And that first messenger pointed the way to the second messenger – the Messiah, the Lord himself. He will come to the temple.

By the way, I want to make side comment here.

Most prophecies of the Messiah in the Old Testament have a more near-term fulfillment and a long-term fulfillment. The near-term is usually about a king or a crisis resolved by a redeemer of some kind, and the long-term fulfillment is in Christ.

But this prophecy is different. Malachi gives no near-term historical events. In fact, the near-term historical event is the coming of the messenger and the Messiah. The prophecy in 3:1 directly points to Jesus’ coming. There is no interim fulfillment. His is coming soon, this was saying.

Now, you may be thinking, ok, but for them it was still 400 years before Jesus would come. And that is true. And that is something that we and all God’s people have struggled with throughout history. God’s timing is not our timing. A day is like a thousand years and a thousand years is like a day to the Lord. That is part of our angst and anxiety when it comes to not experiencing his promises or the delay of his judgment. We want to see immediate judgment and we want an immediate fulfillment of God’s promises. But God’s timing is not our timing.

They needed to hold on to this promise and believe.

By the way, this prophecy about the Messiah is part of the answer to the people’s complaint. God, have you forgotten us? Will you not fulfill your promise? Because it sure feels like evil is winning out and your people will fade into oblivion. But God’s answer: Behold, he is coming! Turn your disillusionment into delight! Fix your eyes on the one who is to come.

And for us, Christ has come. God has come into the world. That does not mean that this life will be free of trials and heartaches and pain and persecution. No. But God gives us things that are far greater than health and stability. He gives us himself. He gives us peace in our hearts. He gives us hope beyond all the suffering and trials. His promise has come true, and his promise will come true. They could count on the promise of Jesus’ first coming… and we can count on it for his second coming. He has and will come again.

To be sure, these verses are not all positive. No, there’s also a warning. Besides the promise, Malachi’s prophecy warns them about their standing before God. Look at verse 2. “But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears?”

They had been questioning his justice, but he turns the question back on them. Can you endure my justice? Will you be able to stand in my presence?

Because, as it says next, “For he is like a refiner's fire and like fullers' soap.” And it goes on to describe that they will be purified like silver and gold.

Unrefined precious metal is placed in a crucible of some kind where it can be refined. A crucible is something that can endure high temperatures. Silver, for example, is heated to about 1800 deg. Fahrenheit. The silver then melts and all the impurities burn off.

That’s pretty hot. But did you know that the temperature at the very center of the sun is 27 Million degrees Fahrenheit. But if you think that is hot, in France, they are building a nuclear fusion power plant. That plant is not dividing atoms, no, it’s combing atoms or rather atomic nuclei. That reaction will generate temperatures up to 270 Million degrees. 10 times the temperature of the sun’s core… here on earth. 10 times. Maybe France will melt.

But nothing compares to the refining fire of Christ. The light of his righteousness and holiness is so hot that nothing will be able to endure the intensity of his refining.

That is why the question is there in verse 2. Who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand? The answer is, no one will be able to endure the refining fire of his just judgment. Or I should say, no one in his or her own righteousness.

God is THE great refiner. No evil. No unrighteousness. No idolatry... No sin at all will be able to endure the day of his coming. All sin will be exposed and dealt with.

Look at verse 5. When the refiner comes… it says here that the Lord will come near to you for judgment. And then verse 5 lists several things that he will judge. Those who practice sorcery; adulterers; those who swear falsely; those who oppress… who oppress workers and widows and the fatherless. And he will judge those who thrust aside the sojourner.

That list is a representative list of those who had been breaking God’s law. God will judge sin and unrighteousness.

Remember how they had been questioning God’s justice. Well, verse 5 answers their skepticism. Not only will God fulfill his promise of the Messiah, but God will execute his judgment. Justice will prevail.

But remember, we still have a problem. Who can endure this judgement?

Well, there’s only one group of people who are not subject to God’s judgment. Look again at verse 5. After listing the types of people who will be judged, he describes their heart. Do you see it there? They are the ones who do NOT fear the Lord. They will be judged.

Who then are NOT judged? Well, it is those who fear him.

We come across that phrase often. Fearing God. It is not cowering before him. No, fearing the Lord is a faith-filled awe of his glory and power which leads to salvation.

Those who fear the Lord will not suffer on the day of his judgment. In Malachi’s day, it was those who looked forward by faith to Christ who was to come. For us, it’s believing by faith in Christ who has come. And not only that he will or has come, but also that Christ is the great refiner.

The other analogy here is the fuller’s soap. That soap was the most intense, most penetrating soap of the time. It was the bleach of the day. They used it used to whiten garments, especially wool.

So, the Messiah was promised not only to come but to also refine and cleanse.

This is what Christ has done. He has cleaned us. And he has and is refining us.

He can do this because he himself endured the crucible of God’s judgment for us. In other words, the reason those who fear God by faith are not consumed by the fire of his justice IS BECAUSE Jesus endured the refiners fire for us. The flames of God’s wrath fell on Jesus in our place. And when we fear him, he will refine us. He will burn off our sin and cleanse us from our unrighteousness.

So, where is the God of justice? The answer is: he has come and he has displayed the ultimate justice by enduring the judgment we deserve.

As we come to a close, let me note a couple of other encouraging promises in these verses. Right after Malachi prophesies in verse 3 that the Messiah will sit as the refiner of silver, he says two things.

·      First, that he will purify the sons of Levi. Remember, those are the priests, whom he had excoriated at the beginning of chapter 2. They had failed in their duty. Even they will be purified.

·      And then in verse 4 he says that all the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the Lord. Instead of polluted offerings, their offerings would be pleasing.

Do you see what he is saying? Christ, who is to come, will reverse their trajectory. The refiner will take their disillusioned complacency which has caused them to lose faith in God, and he will restore their faith and make them pleasing in his sight.

And God has done that for us in Christ. Through the cleansing blood of the Son of God, we have been made righteous and are pleasing in his sight.

So, as we see or experience injustice and as we see evil prosper, may we not put God on trial… may we not lose heart nor blame him… but rather, may we know that God will judge all evil and unrighteousness. And may we know that the judgment we deserve has been endured by the great Refiner, Christ, through whom we can stand in his presence.

Malachi 2:10-16

We are continuing in the book of Malachi. This morning we’ll be covering chapter 2 verses10-16. Please turn there. You can find it on page 954 in the pew Bible.

This is our fourth of eight sermons in Malachi. It’s a short book. It only has 4 chapters, but as you have seen already, it packs a punch.

Malachi’s prophecy began with a reminder of God’s electing love for Israel. But then God turns to the ways in which they have been unfaithful in response.

The overall theme of the book is God’s faithfulness and Israel’s unfaithfulness.

And we will see that clearly in our text this morning. The people were demonstrating a lack of faith in God because of unfaithfulness in their marriages.

Reading of Malachi 2:10-16

Prayer

There is one relationship in life that is more important than any other. This relationship requires dedication. It’s a relationship built on forgiveness. It’s one where if you are not seeking to honor the one with whom you are in this relationship with, then you will struggle. Your path will be filled with difficulty. This relationship is that important.

I’m talking about your relationship with the Lord.

Some of you probably thought that I was going to say, “your relationship with your spouse.” Right? After all, a marriage relationship is critically important. But your relationship with the Lord is more important.

It’s tempting to see our text this morning as only applying to marriage. After all, it has plenty to say about marriage, and we’re going to get there. However, this passage is ultimately about your faith in the creator God. So, whether you are married or not, you are directed to draw near to the Lord by faith.

I don’t know if you noticed it, but the word “faithless” is used here 5 times. Look at verse 10. After asking a couple of rhetorical questions, which we’ll get to, it says, “why then are we faithless to one another.” Then immediately in verse 11. “Judah has been faithless.” Judah was the southern kingdom which was exiled, some of whom had returned. So in other words, God was calling them faithless. Now go down to verse 14. In the middle there it says, “…the Lord was witness between you and the wife of your youth, to whom you have been faithless.” That is repeated at the end of 15. “Let none of you be faithless to the wife of your youth.” In those instances, it is faithless to their spouse. And finally, this passage ends with this, “so guard yourselves in your spirit, and do not be faithless.”

So, faithless. Their faithless actions and faithlessness in their marriages, displayed a faithlessness before God.

To give a little structure this morning, we’ll consider this in 4 points.

1. Faithless before a Faithful God (2:10–11a)

2. Faithless with a Faithless Bride (2:11b–12)

3. Faithless to a Faithful Bride (2:13–16)

4. Faithful despite a Faithless Bride

Those may be hard to remember, but they are printed there on page 4.

1. Faithless before a Faithful God (2:10–11a)

So again, #1, Faithless before a faithful God. Verse 10 and the first half of verse 11 begin by emphasizing their covenant relationship with God and therefore with one another.

The two questions there in 10 direct them to God. Malachi asks “Have we not all one Father? Has not one God created us?”

They already know the answer. Yes, he is God their Father. Yes, they are his children. And yes, he is their creator. Those questions are to remind them of who God is;  who they are; and the centrality of his relationship with them. You see, before God speaks into the tangled mess of their marriage relationships, he first directs them to himself.

He also directs them to one another.

That is because their faithless actions not only reflected their faithlessness before God. But it also reflected on their faithlessness with one another. In other words, because they were in a covenant relationship with God together, anyone who broke that covenant with God, was being faithlessness toward one another. And anyone breaking the covenant with one another, was being faithless before God.

By the way, we are going to get very practical in just a couple of minutes. But before we get there, it’s critical to first understand why breaking the covenant was an act of faithlessness.

It says that by their actions, they were “profaning the covenant.” That’s  a strong statement

Let me say a couple things about it:

·      The reference to covenant here includes the promises that God made to Noah, Abraham, Moses, and David. God established a relationship with them as his people. He called them to be his. He gave them his law. He promised them a kingdom and that they would be a people as numerous as the sands of the sea. They were set apart by the God of all creation. It was a beautiful thing.

·      But they “profaned” the covenant relationship. They profaned it because they were dishonoring God by violating the relationship that he had established with them. They had been breaking his commands. Rather than acting in faith, some had been rejecting the covenant promises that God had given them. So, it was serious. That’s why it says in 11 that they had been faithless. They had been faithless to God and faithless to one another.

Now, I want to say one more thing before we get to the heart of this passage about marriage. In the middle of verse 11 it says that they profaned the “sanctuary of the Lord.” At the heart of the word translated “sanctuary” is the word set apart. Some believe this is a reference to God’s covenant people. They were profaning one another. And I think that’s right. It goes along with two things. First, verse 10 had just said that they were faithless to one another. And second, immediately after saying they had profaned the sanctuary, it says, “which he loves.” Remember from the opening verses of chapter 1. God loves his people.

In summary, their sin broke faith with God and with one another.

Sometimes we don’t think about that. Our sin is not only a sin against God it is sin against the covenant community. No matter our sin, it affects the community, sometimes in a more direct way, which we will see here, or sometimes indirectly. Either way, it was breaking fellowship with God and with one another.

Ok, then, but what was it? What sin had they committed which was an abomination to God and which was faithless to one another?

Well, they had been violating God’s sacred establishment of covenant marriage. They were violating it in two ways: First, many had been marrying people outside of the covenant. And second, many had been unlawfully divorcing their spouses.

2. Faithless with a Faithless Bride (2:11b–12)

Which brings us to points 2 and 3 about those two things. About unholy marriage and unlawful divorce.

Point 2 is this: Faithless with a Faithless Bride. They were being covenantally unfaithful because they were marrying outside of the faith. Right there at the end of 11. They had “married the daughter of a foreign God.” Verse 12 points the finger at some men who were doing this

When the exiles were in Babylon, all around them were not just Babylonians but also other nations that Babylon had conquered and brought to Babylon. The temptation was to intermarry with those outside of God’s covenant people. But even when they were back in Jerusalem, there were now people from other kingdoms. Part of the temptation was marrying into the people group who was in control in order to improve their plight. Now, whether it was just an attraction to someone outside of the covenant community or whether it was for economic gain, either way, it was an abomination, as God says.

And let me be very clear. This is not about race. There is nothing in the Bible that prohibits marriage between people from different ethnic backgrounds or people groups. Rather, this is about marrying outside of God’s covenant community. That is very clear at the end of verse 11, “the daughter of a foreign God.” Plus, we have several examples of women who were originally outside of God’s covenant community, but who became part of the covenant, and then married an Israelite. Think of Ruth. Ruth was a Moabite woman who was joined the covenant community and then married Boaz. Rahab is another example. She was a Cannanite, whom God spared from the destruction of Jericho because of her faith. She married Salmon.

The admonition for us is to only marry someone who shares our faith in Christ.

Let me take a moment to speak to those of you who are not married – young and old. Not everyone is called to be married. The apostle Paul wasn’t married, and he makes it clear that there are blessings to being single. But many of you have the desire to be married. Younger kids, I want to make sure you are listening as well. Marriage may be far from your mind right now. You may be thinking “eww, marriage.”  But that will likely change. So, listen as well.

If you decide to get married, the most important thing is to marry someone who shares your faith in Christ. It’s God’s command to marry in the Lord.

The world says that love is not a choice. It says that when love finds you, no matter with whom, you cannot say “no.”

But don’t buy the lie. Don’t mix up attraction with love. Love is a choice. Yes, you should be attracted to someone you want to marry, but that person needs to share your faith and commitment to your Lord and Savior. There is no such thing as missionary dating. Do you hear me? You are playing with fire if you are dating someone who you think you can win over to Christ. It’s the Holy Spirit job to change someone’s heart. Don’t go there.

The most important relationship you have is with the Lord and if you can’t share that with your spouse, it is difficult and comes with consequences.

I know several godly people who are married to unbelievers, and they would confirm that struggle. Sometimes that happens because one spouse comes to faith in Christ after getting married. Praise the Lord. If that happens, the struggle is still there. If you are in that situation, stay married. As the Scriptures say, so that you may win over your spouse.

But sometimes someone young in his or her faith marries an unbeliever. It’s only later that the person realizes the sin of it and how difficult it is. God forgives and he helps. If that is you, stay married and continue to pray for your unbelieving spouse to believe. And we will pray along with you.

But for those of you who are not married, I plead with you, if you marry, marry a Godly man or woman who loves the Lord and his Word. Not just someone who says they are a Christian, but someone who demonstrates their faith and Love for the Lord.

These verses are saying that marrying outside of God’s covenant community demonstrates faithlessness. The consequences are difficult.

3. Faithless to a Faithful Bride (2:13–16)

Which brings us to the other thing that they were doing. Many were unlawfully divorcing their spouses.

This is point 3. Faithless to a Faithful Bride. As we already saw, twice it mentions unfaithfulness to the wife of their youth. These men had made a covenant commitment to these women, yet they were walking away from their marriages. We’re not told, but perhaps some of them were the ones who then married outside of the covenant community.

Before I go on, I want to be sensitive to the burdens and pain in this room from past marriages. Some of you have endured difficult marriages that have failed. Perhaps your marriage failed because of your own sin or perhaps your spouse’s or perhaps both of you. Whatever the situation, it’s hard and there’s often relational fallout beyond the breaking of that marriage covenant. But I want you to know that God is merciful and forgiving. As you look back and either recognize your own complicity or you feel the hurt of being sinned against, know that God forgives and ministers his grace.

To be sure, God’s mercy and forgiveness is never to be a justification for an unbiblical divorce. The Scriptures are clear about divorce. Jesus spoke of divorce being permissible when sexual infidelity has occurred. Elsewhere abandonment is included. I would include abuse as a form of abandonment. These grievous sins are the only grounds for divorce.

What was happening in Jerusalem is that marriages were being annulled because a spouse no longer cared to be married. And because of it, God no longer heard them or received their offerings, verse 13. They were weeping because of God not receiving them. It was not a godly grief that led to repentance, but rather just a groaning because of the consequences.

In verse 14, they ask, “why has he not?” Why does God no longer accept us?

By the way, this is the Malachi pattern, remember. They were reaping the consequences of their sin but didn’t acknowledge their sin. And so the hammer drops again. Two weeks ago the hammer dropped on their polluted offerings. Last week it dropped on the corrupt priests. And here, it’s back to the people, some of whom were faithless by divorcing their spouses without warrant.

But they had made a covenant with their spouse. The Lord was a witness to that covenant commitment. And look at verse 15. “Did he [that is, God] not make them one, with a portion of the Spirit in their union?” They were united to one another in marriage. It’s a reference back to Genesis 1. God was actively present in bringing about that oneness. So by abandoning their marriage, they were abandoning God. And not only that, they were abandoning God’s call for them to raise their children to know the Lord. As the middle of 15 says, God desires “Godly offspring.” It would be a downward spiral of faithless future generations.

Now, not every husband or wife was walking away from their marriage. But even some who were still married were considering divorce.

We know that because it says, “guard yourself in your spirit and let none of you BE faithless.” The verse before said some of them “have been faithless.” In other words, for the ones who were still in their covenant marriage, they were to guard their hearts and minds against going down the path of divorce. And, actually, did you notice that the phrase, “guard yourself in your spirit” is used twice. Once in verse 15 and second in verse 16.

Ok, let me now speak to those who are married. Some of your marriages are struggling. And I probably only know the half of it. Every marriage has its ups and downs, but some marriages have acute struggles for a variety of reasons. And it is hard. What is supposed to be the most intimate relationship on earth, is sometimes fraught with tension and mistrust and heartache because of current sin or past sin... which can lead to more sin and cause more tension and more mistrust and more heartache.

If that is you, I want to say two things:

1. As it says here, “guard yourself in your spirit.” Do not let yourself wander to thoughts of divorce. Don’t let go of the covenant that you made to your spouse. Pursue your spouse again. Recommit yourself to your marriage. There’s a warning here of faithlessness if you pursue unbiblical divorce. So, guard your thoughts and your heart.

2. Number 2. There is help and there is hope. There is not a single elder here unwilling to help if your marriage is struggling. Please reach out. I will meet with you and pray with you, multiple times if necessary. We can also find help outside of our church if you would be more comfortable with that. But please reach out. If you do not think your marriage needs help, but your spouse does, let me encourage you to honor and listen to your spouse. Set aside whatever is preventing you from getting help.

And do not lose hope. We serve a God who is in the business of forgiving and reconciling. The forgiveness and reconciliation that he gives you, individually, is the basis for forgiveness and reconciliation in you marriage.

4. Faithful despite a Faithless Bride

Which is a nice transition to point 4. Faithful despite a Faithless Bride

I’m not talking about a marriage between a man and a woman here. I am talking about the marriage between Christ and his church. Despite the unfaithfulness of God’s people, his bride, God has remained faithful.

The marriage paradigm is the pattern that God uses all throughout Scripture to convey his faithfulness despite our unfaithfulness.

And this goes all the way back to the garden of Eden. When Adam and Eve sinned against God, when they ate of the forbidden fruit, their sin was spiritual adultery. They had been in a covenant relationship with God. He promised them life, but they turned against his promise of blessing and instead ate that which was forbidden.

That spiritual adultery theme continues throughout the Scriptures. God’s people were betrothed to God, but they forsook his name and committed spiritual adultery against him by going after other so-called gods from the surrounding nations.

But as we read in Hosea 2 earlier in the service, despite the people’s unfaithfulness, God promised that he would be faithful. He promised to be their husband who would protect and lead them in righteousness and justice. They would once again be called his people and they would call him their God. This is the pattern over and over in the Old Testament. The people forgot the Lord. They acted in adulterous ways like the people here in Jerusalem. Yet God was merciful… and just like here, he called them back to himself.

And the climax of this marriage paradigm in Scripture… is found in Christ. He not only sought his bride, the church, but as we read earlier in Ephesians 5, he died for her. There is no greater love. He sanctifies and cleanses her. By giving his church his righteousness, Christ presents her pure and spotless. SO not only is he faithful despite her unfaithfulness, he makes her faithful.

And he nourishes and cherishes her and leads her. And all of that will come to full fruition when he returns for the consummation of the great spiritual wedding. He will usher his people, his bride, into the wedding supper of the Lamb forever.

Beloved, this is the reason that marriage is sacred. Marriage on earth is patterned after the union between God and his people. It is why a Christian should only marry a Christian. It is why God hates divorce. It is why those who are married should fight for their marriage and not against it. It is why in a marriage relationship you should love and forgive just as Christ loved you and forgave you. It is why a husband has been called to be the spiritual leader in his marriage and home. It is a sacrificial leading. Again, as Ephesians 5 said, husbands love your wives as Christ loved the church and died for her.

The people in Jerusalem didn’t have this full picture, yet. They didn’t yet know of what was to come. But as we will find out in these next 2 chapters, God is going to lift the curtain and give them a glimpse of what was soon to come for them. In the meantime, they were to return in faith to God by returning in faithfulness to their covenant marriages.

For those who desire one day to be married, seek Godly spouses by faith in Christ. And for those who are married, pursue and love our spouses because God has pursued and loved you. For all of us, may we see the beauty and wonder of our bridegroom, Christ. And because of his love and faithfulness to us, may we seek to be faithful in return to him.

Please turn in your Bibles to Malachi chapter 2. Our sermon text is verses 1-9. That can be found on page 953 in the pew Bible.

Last week, we learned that the people had been bringing polluted offerings to the temple. They were supposed to bring unblemished offerings for the sacrifices. Instead, they brought lame and sick and blind animals. By doing so, they were dishonoring the Lord.

I usually don’t spend a lot of time on sermon titles. But last week’s title and this week’s title are connected. Last week’s title was The Polluted Offerings and the Pure Offering. This week, it’s The Polluted Priests and the Perfect Priest. That is because last week’s passage and this week’s passage are connected. The problem was not only that the people were bringing impure offerings. The problem was also that the priests were allowing it. And not just allowing it, supporting it and failing to lead the people in God’s way and will.

Let’s now come to God’s Word

Reading of Malachi 2:1-9

Prayer

In 1794, a young man was ordained to pastoral ministry in Berlin. He was brilliant and eloquent. This man had studied theology and philosophy at a Protestant university named after the great Martin Luther.

As a young pastor, he witnessed the younger generation in Germany walking away from the church. That greatly grieved him, as it should. But, to win them back, he developed a new kind of theology which he hoped would make Christianity more attractive to modern minds.

He began to teach that the essence of faith was not trusting in God’s revealed truth, but feeling God’s presence within. The Bible, he said, was not divine revelation itself, but a record of human experiences with the divine. Repentance gave way to sentiment, and the cross of Christ became a symbol rather than a saving act.

His name was Frederich Schliermacher. Sadly, his sermons and teaching spread across Germany. Even worse, after he became a professor at the University of Berlin, his influence spread to all of Europe and into America.

In the last two centuries, Schleiermacher’s beliefs have led thousands of churches and millions of Christians astray. Few men in modern history have done more to undermine the Gospel while claiming to defend it.

I bring this up as an example of what Malachi 2:1-9 warns against. The priests were supposed to lead the people. They were the ones who were to direct the people to the Lord and were to faithfully teach his truth. But they failed.

Look down at verse 7. I know we are jumping ahead. But this is an important verse about the role of priests. It says, “For the lips of a priest should guard knowledge, and people should seek instruction from his mouth, for he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts.” The priests were not only to oversee the temple and sacrificial system, but they were to faithfully teach God’s truth. By the way, that is different from a prophet. A prophet was given new revelation from God. A priest was to teach what God had already reveled. Does that make sense?

Well, as you know, we do not have priests today. No, the priestly function in the Old Testament has been fulfilled in Christ. That is why there are no priests in the New Testament. There are no more animal offerings, because, as a reminder from last week, Jesus offered himself for us as the ultimate offering for sin.

However, there are some parallels between priests and pastors… or priests and teachers of God’s Word. Both are to direct people to God, and both are to faithfully teach his Word and live out his ways. So, a big part of the application of these verses today is about preachers and teachers. And as you will see, the stakes are high.

Now, you may be tempted at this point to check out. Maybe you are thinking, “I’m not called to teach the Bible, so this doesn’t really apply to me.” Well, I want to say a couple things.

·      First, one of the passages we read earlier in the service was from 1 Peter 2. In 1 Peter 2:9, God’s people are called a royal priesthood. Maybe you’ve heard the phrase, “priesthood of all believers.” In some ways, we are all to teach and model God’s Word. You may not have a formal teaching role in the church, but you may be called to disciple others at some point in your life. Or if you are married, you have a responsibility to lead or participate in leading your family.

·      Second, this passage teaches us to know what to look for in a Godly leader in the church. In the Old Testament times, the priests were descendants of Levi, one of Jacob’s 12 sons. However, in the New Testament, elders and pastors in the church are appointed by the church. So, we have a responsibility to seek Godly men to lead.

I’m just saying that these verses apply to everyone in the church.

Which brings us to Malachi 2.

We’re going to look at three things: #1. The Curse. #2. The Corruption. And #3. The Covenant.

1. The Curse

So, number 1. The Curse.

Briefly look at verse 1. It says, “And now, O priests, this command is for you.” It’s referring to the command in chapter 1 to bring pure offerings. Last week, our focus was on the people bringing their offerings. But the bigger problem was that the priests were letting them. The priests were not rejecting the offerings that the people were bringing. They were not reminding the people of God’s command to bring unblemished offerings. Furthermore, the priests were taking the people’s polluted offering, and they were the ones sacrificing them on God’s altar – polluting God’s altar.

Also from last week, we saw that the end of chapter 1 was all about honoring the Lord. The people were dishonoring him by bringing inappropriate offerings. But it was the priests who were leading the people to dishonor God.

That is why, in chapter 2, verse 2, God warns them. He says, “If you will not listen, if you will not… give honor to my name… then I will send the curse upon you.”

That word “curse” is used three times here. God is warning of their damnation if they do not repent. “IF you will not listen or… honor me, THEN I will send the curse upon you.”

Well, what was the curse? Three things would happen.

·      Number 1 – God would curse their blessing. In fact, verse 2 says that he has already cursed their blessing. The priests blessing was their blessing on God’s people. Quite often at the end of our worship, Coleman or I will use the Aaronic blessing from Numbers 6. You probably know it well, “may the Lord bless you and keep you, may the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you. May the Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace.” Aaron was the first High Priest – he was from the tribe of Levi. And he and the priests were to bless the people. Well, God had taken away their blessing. In fact, he had turned their blessing into a curse. Instead of blessing the people… through their words and actions, they were cursing the people. That's very sad.

·      Number 2 – The Lord also says that he would “rebuke their offspring” – their seed. This is about the Levitical line. You see, these priests were priests because their fathers were priests. Their fathers were priests because their father’s fathers were priests. The priests in Malachi 2 were part of the priestly succession going all the way back to Levi. God was saying that their particular branch of the Levitical line would end with each of them. It was a devastating warning for them.

·      And Number 3 – this one was the worst… and most graphic. Middle of verse 3.  “I will spread dung on your faces.” It’s referring to the contents of the entrails of the offerings. When the people brought the offerings, the priests prepared the offering. They would remove the inner digestive system. You know, intestines and such. Those things were to be carried off and burned outside the temple area. It was all unclean. God was saying that the priest’s acts were so shameful that God metaphorically would spread the unclean intestinal dung on their faces. They were to be carried off like the innards to be burned. It’s a stinging warning they would be cursed like the dung.

Add those three things together and it is a pretty condemning curse upon them.

#2. The Corruption

Which brings us to point #2, The Corruption.

We’re going to move down to the second half of our passage next. We’ll come back to the middle section in a minute. We’ve already looked at verse 7 which is about their responsibility to teach. But now look at verse 8.

It begins, “you have turned aside from the way.” The priests own lives did not display the godliness and wisdom of God. They were not living out God’s commands. And that makes sense, doesn’t it. It stands to reason that if they were not directing the people to fulfill God’s commands then they themselves were not doing it.

Not in every case, but often a pastor who begins to teach false doctrine or who does not direct his people in righteousness, has himself fallen from the way.

And the result of turning aside is found in the second half of verse 8. “You have caused many to stumble by your instruction.”

I want you to think of the gravity of what they were doing. The priests were leading people to destruction. That is why the curse, as we just considered, was so condemning! Their sin not only impacted them, it impacted many.

A friend once said to me, “you know, all sin is the same before God.” He was trying to argue that his sexual sin was the same as telling a white lie. But that is not true. Yes, each and every sin deserves God’s judgment. Our sin, no matter what it is, condemns us before our holy God. No matter our sin, we need Christ. That is all true. However, there are degrees of severity with sin. It is not the same to think of murdering someone in your heart as it is to actually murder someone. Some sin, like actual murder, is more heinous. Some sin is more grievous in God’s eyes. All sin deserves God’s judgment, but some sin is more severe.

And one of the worst sins in all of Scripture is when the leaders of God’s people abuse the sheep or lead them astray. Malachi 2 here is just one of several Old Testament judgements against godless and morally corrupt leaders. Ezekiel 34, Isaiah 56, Jeremiah 23, and Zechariah 10 all speak of God’s condemnation of the “corrupt” and “worthless” so-called “shepherds” and “watchmen” of Israel. Think of Jesus anger against the Pharisees. Or in James chapter 3, verse 1, it says “Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.” Now, if you’re a math or science or English teacher, the Lord is not necessarily talking about you. Rather, his greater judgment will be upon teachers in the church.

That is why the hammer is so heavy here in Malachi 2. They, themselves, had fallen from the way and they were leading people astray.

You need to fire me… the moment I begin to teach false doctrine. If I ever start teaching things contrary to the Gospel of Jesus Christ or in direct contradiction to the Word of God, I should no longer be allowed to be a minster. I think you know this, I’m talking about tier one things that are very clear in Scripture. Things that we share with the Bible-believing Protestant world.

For example, that salvation is found in Christ alone. There is no other way. Jesus death on the cross satisfied the wrath of God, for those who believe in him. We receive Jesus’ righteous when we come to him by faith and in repentance. And furthermore, that the Bible is the very Word of God. It testifies to its own authority. You should boot me out if I ever undermine essential doctrines like those.

You also need to fire me… the moment I commit a sin that undermines my responsibilities… like abuse or infidelity or a pattern of ongoing sin that is not being delt with or of which I will not repent. Obviously, like any elder, I sin and need the grace of God. However, just like the priests of old, a leader in the church should model faith and repentance.

3. The Covenant

Which brings us to that very point. #3 The Covenant

In the middle verses here, verses 4-6, we are given the picture of what a priest should be like!

By the way, you’ll see the word “Covenant” used several times in these verse. When I first saw that, I thought it was referring to the Covenant of Grace. You know the covenant that God had established with his people. The Covenant of Grace includes the covenant with Noah, Abraham, Moses, and David. They all, in different ways, are part of the Covenant promises fulfilled in Christ. After all, verse 7 speaks of life and peace and reverent fear. Those are all benefits of God’s Covenant with his people.

However, I realized that the word Covenant here is actually referring to the specific responsibility that God had given to Levi and his descendants. Verses 4, 5, and 8, specifically refer to God’s “covenant with Levi.” To be sure, the priestly order and responsibilities given to Levi directed God’s people to the Messiah, so it’s not unrelated. But it’s different.

By the way, there’s not a single passage in the Old Testament which describes the covenant with Levi. However, we are given their priestly responsibilities in the book of Leviticus. That is why it is named Leviticus, of course. Also, we read from Deuteronomy 33 this morning which speaks of God’s blessing upon Levi and his descendants. They were to keep the covenant; they were to observe and teach the word. The Levites were also to administer the offerings on the altar, and they were to protect the people from false teachers.

And now look at the end of verse 5 into verse 6. “…he feared me.” As we talked about before, that’s a reverent worship-filled fear of the Lord. “He stood in awe of my name. [verse 6] True instruction was in his mouth, and no wrong was found on his lips. He walked with me in peace and uprightness, and he turned many from iniquity.” That description is the opposite of the priests of Malachi 2. It’s the model.

The priests were to give honor to God’s name. They were to teach the truth of God’s Word. Furthermore, walk with God in uprightness. And instead of leading people astray, they were to turn many people from sin.

This is God’s call for teachers and pastors in the church.

I read a really good book last year. It’s titled, Pastor as Leader. The author, John Currie, is a professor at Westminster Theological Seminary. He teaches and trains future pastors. The whole book is about the character and responsibilities of a pastor. The book is very rich and it’s full of Scripture.

Currie summarizes a pastor’s role this way: “for the glory of God, a man of God, appointed by the Son of God and empowered by the Spirit of God, proclaims the word of God so that the people of God are equipped to move forward into the purposes of God together.” That’s helpful, isn’t it? Let me read that again… [repeat]

That really captures the heart of Malachi 2:5-6.

This is the kind of pastor that each and every church needs. A man who seeks God’s glory and not his own. A man who leads his sheep in God’s Word through his Spirit, and who cares for and loves them in Christ.

I’ll say, it’s both sobering and inspiring to me. It’s sobering because I know my own weaknesses and propensity for sin. I know I’ve failed at these responsibilities many times and perhaps even at times have hurt you without even knowing. I feel inadequate.

But it’s also inspiring because God doesn’t call without equipping. He doesn’t leave pastors to their own strength. No, God gives clear guidance to the role and responsibilities of a shepherd. His Word clearly reveals his salvation and clearly reveals his truth and his way. God furthermore gives his Holy Spirit to lead in righteousness and truth. And God provides earthly accountability in the process.

And there’s one more related thing. Look again at verse 6. “True instruction was in his mouth, and no wrong was found on his lips. He walked with me in peace and uprightness, and he turned many from iniquity.”

Who is this referring to? Is it referring to Levi? Well, Levi failed in many ways – he was vengeful and a murderer.

What about Aaron, one of Levi’s descendants? He was Moses’s brother and the first High Priest. Is verse 6 referring to him? Well, don’t forget that it was Aaron who led the people to melt their gold and create the idolatrous golden calf. He, at first, led many people astray.

Verse 6 certainly doesn’t describe Aaron’s sons, who brought unauthorized fire and experienced God’s immediate judgment.

In Numbers 25 we are given the example of Aaron’s grandson, Phinehas. He was identified as a faithful Levite who fought against unrighteousness. Perhaps verse 6 alludes to him.

But in the end, there is only one who meets this description. He is the one in whom all the Levitical requirements are fulfilled. He is the perfect High Priest. Every single word he spoke was true instruction. Absolutely no wrong was found on his lips. He followed the way of God, keeping all the commandments of God. He not only walked in peace, as verse 6 describes, he bought and brought peace with God - peace beyond measure. And last, he turned many from iniquity. And the word “many” is a vast understatements. He had led billions in the way of truth and righteousness.

Beloved, this is your Savior Jesus. In him is truth and righteousness, and through him is the only way to God.

May each and every one of us as a priesthood of believers look to him for he is the way, the truth, and the life.

 And may every single pastor and teacher point to him as the great shepherd who laid down his life for his sheep… and may they point to his Word.

And may we each follow his lead and model for he is the perfect priest.

Malachi 1:6-14

The Polluted Offerings and the Pure Offering

We are in the second week of a new sermon series. We’re studying Malachi. It’s the last book in the Old Testament.

Malachi was prophesying to the returned exiles in Jerusalem…. at some point in the mid-400’s BC. However, even though many had returned, the situation was pretty dire. That is why the Lord reminded the people in verses 1-5 that he loved them. He had chosen them to be his people. They had been questioning God’s love and thy needed that reaffirmation.

Which brings us to verses 6-14 of chapter 1. You can find that on page 953.

As you are turning there, let me note that at this point in history, the temple had already been rebuilt – likely a few decades earlier. That meant that the sacrificial system had resumed. People would bring their offerings to the temple, you know, different kinds of animal offerings, and the priests would take them and sacrifice them, presenting them to the Lord.

As we come to our text this morning, you will hear that all was not right with the offerings.

Stand

Reading of Malachi 1:6-14

Prayer – revealed your righteousness. Truth. Like the people of old, failed. HS. Conviction. Ways in which we do not glorify you in our lives and worship.

A few years ago, a woman found a Butterball turkey at the bottom of her freezer. She had forgotten about it and after checking the date on it, realized it had been there for 26 years.

She wondered if it was still good to use, so she called the Butterball support line. They said that as long as her freezer had stayed below freezing for the entire time, the turkey would be fine to eat. However, the support agent said, it likely has lost all its flavor.

To which the woman responded, “if that’s the case, I’ll just give it to my church.”

I know that’s just an anecdotal story, but it does illustrate how we often today de-prioritize the things of the Lord including his church and worship and our personal and family Scripture reading and prayer. But as God has called us to in his Word, we’re to honor him with our first fruits, or like Mary Magdelene, to anoint Jesus’ feet with the finest of perfumes, or like in the sacrificial system, to present to him our unblemished offering, not our leftovers.

But what does it mean to offer to the Lord our finest and why does it matter? I hope to answer those questions this morning.

Introduction

Before we get into our text, I do want to note that the book of Malachi is pretty intense. We are going to see in every section how God confronts the people and the priests with their sin - their corruption, their idolatry, their immorality, their faithlessness, their selfishness, and their lawlessness. God hates it. He hates our sin. His judgment is real, which we will also see over and over. Which brings up a question you may be asking, “ok, well, how does that fit with last week’s message that God loves them? That his love for them and us is unconditional? Yet he is angry at their sin?”

Let me answer that this way: God’s unconditional love does not give us license to live unconditionally. 2x. In other words, we are not free to do whatever we want just because God love us. God’s standard and law do not go away when you receive God’s love in Christ.

To be sure, pursuing God and his commandments are not a prerequisite to receive his love. No, God’s love is unmerited meaning we do not earn it by our works or keeping his law in any way. No, we receive it on the basis of Christ’s work. But that does not mean that after receiving his love in Christ, we are free to pursue our own desires and will. No, God calls us to submit to him, to pursue his righteousness, to honor him in our lives. That is very important as we study Malachi. God continually calls out their sin because he loves his people. He wants them (and us) to reflect that love by honoring him.

Honoring and Fearing the Lord

Which brings us to our text. In fact, this whole passage is about honoring the Lord. It is about our hearts reverently fearing him.

Honestly, I didn’t see that initially. The first couple of times I read it, I only saw the failure of the people to do the thing. You know, they were failing to follow the law. They did not offer the best sacrifices, as they were required. Therefore, I thought that the primary reason the Lord was angry was because their offerings were polluted. Now, it’s true that their offerings were unacceptable. But the Lord was angry because they were not honoring him. Their polluted offerings were just a symptom of hearts that did not fear or honor God.

That’s the thrust of this passage. It’s right there in the beginning, the middle, and the end.

·      First, look at verse 6. God questioned why they had not been honoring him and fearing him? He said to them, “where is my honor? … where is my fear?” He was asking, “why have you not been giving me the reverent awe and worship that I deserve as the God of the universe?” Instead, they were despising his name. That’s what it says. They were dishonoring him.

·      Next, jump now to verse 11, in the middle. It says, “For from the rising of the sun to its setting my name will be great among the nations.” Even if you do not honor me, my name will be honored throughout all the earth.

·      Now look at verse 14. Our passage ends with that same reaffirmation. It begins, “Cursed be the cheat who has a male in his flock, and vows it, and yet sacrifices to the Lord what is blemished.” Why? Listen to the reason. “For I am a great King, says the Lord of hosts, and my name will be feared among the nations.”

You see, their polluted offerings revealed hearts that did not honor and fear the Lord. God is the great king over all the earth, over all of creation. Yet they were despising and dishonoring his name.

And do you know what? They did not even realize it. Or, they denied it. Look at the end of verse 6. “But you say, How have we despised your name?”

Side comment here - I’ve read Malachi several times now, and there’s something I’ve been convicted about. The people did not realize their sin nor the depth of their sin. In every section, like this one, God tells them their sin and every single time, he quotes them question him. Like here “How have we despised your name?” And verse 7 “How have we polluted you?” They didn’t see it.

I’ve been asking myself, what sin am I blind to in my life? Is there pride or selfishness or some heart idolatry or some area where I am dishonoring God? Every single one of us in this room is blind to some sin. Now, there are many sins in our lives which we know about and struggle with. But there’s also sin that we do not recognize, or we suppress. Will you pray that the Lord reveals that sin, that unconfessed sin? And will you listen to him when he does? May the Lord reveal our sin and refine us.

Ok, back to our passage, the returned exiles did not know they were dishonoring God. But it was bad. They were polluting God’s altar. Their relationship with the Lord revolved around the temple sacrifices. God had commanded them to bring animal offerings of different kinds for different sin on different occasions. The priests were to take the people’s offerings and then sacrifice them to the Lord on the large altar just outside of the temple. Those offerings symbolized the need for atonement for their sin. That is why, as we read earlier in Leviticus 22, they were to bring an unblemished male… the very best and purest of their flock.

But, as we read in Malachi 1, they failed to do that and they therefore despised the Lord’s name. By the way, the priests were especially guilty here. More on that next week.

Now, let’s enter back into their situation for a moment. Remember from last week, even though they were in Jerusalem and the surrounding areas, they were subjected to a foreign kingdom. That came with heavy taxation. It came with some opposition at the local leve. Much of their forefather’s land had been taken over by this godless people. On top of it all, they were enduring a famine. Every day, they struggled to survive.

Now, imagine that you lived there and that you had 5 goats. You had to care for and feed them. There wasn’t, you know, kudzu everywhere for them to eat. The younger females would produce milk, and you could use and sell the milk. The healthy males were especially valuable – and they could be sold if needed. Your goats were important for your daily sustenance.

Well, the time has come for one of the annual sacrifices. You are to bring one of your 5 goats to offer to the Lord. And out of the five, three of them are female. You couldn’t offer them. Of the two left, one is a healthy male and the other male has a bad rash and is sterile – it’s unable to reproduce.

So, which goat would you bring? I know it’s hypothetical, but put yourself in their shoes. Their unblemished male goat was their prized possession. Offering it would put themselves at risk. So, what did they do? Well, they brought their weakest or sickliest animal to the temple to be offered.

As very 8 tells us, they brought their blind, or lame, or sick animal to present to God Almighty. But it gets even worse. Look at verse 13. It’s the parallel verse in the second half. We learn that they didn’t even want to bring any sacrifice! The people were saying, “what a weariness this is” and as it says, they snorted at it, you know, like a horse unwilling to move.

It furthermore says some even took animals by force for the offering. In other words, they stole and offered what was not even theirs to the Lord. IN all these ways they profaned God’s altar.

I think we can certainly understand their temptation. But they were dishonoring the creator God of the universe who had commanded them to offer their best…. He’s the one who breathed life into them, who called them to be his people, who rules and reigns over all things, who promised them eternity with him. He is the great God who saved Noah and his family, who covenanted with Abraham their forefather, who revealed himself to Moses, and promised through David a kingdom that would never end.

And look at the second half of verse 8. God points out that they would never bring such a gift to an earthly governor. The Lord asks, “will he accept you or show you favor?” Of course they would not bring a sickly goat to an earthly ruler as a gift – it would greatly dishonor him.

Yet that was the very thing that they were doing to the “Lord of Hosts.” Did you notice that description of the Lord multiple times here – seven times. The Lord of hosts. The Lord of the heavenly armies, king of kings, who has and will subject all earthly rulers under his sovereign reign. Yet they had defamed his great and awesome name.

Their worship… because that’s what this is – their offering to the Lord… their worship was complacent. They were simply going through the motions. They didn’t care about God. After all, as we learned in verses 2-5, they weren’t even sure he loved them.

Friends, in difficult times, it is easy to slip into a similar pattern. God can become just an afterthought. Instead of giving him our whole heart and mind and body and strength, he’s often at the bottom of our list.

Instead of giving back to him the first fruits of the talents he’s given us, or the first fruits of the resources which we steward; or our most precious resource – our time; instead of honoring him with those things, we direct them to ourselves. We keep our unblemished offering and we offer him our polluted offering.

What about Sunday morning worship? Are you bodily present here but your mind is wandering to things of work, or yesterday’s football game, or your upcoming vacation? Do you let your mind wander to those things including your difficult situations and struggles? Are you going through the motions, but your heart is far from the Lord?

If you were in the presence of the governor of Georgia, would not your attention be fully on him? I think it would. Yet, when you come into the presence of the Lord of the universe, is your attention on other things and not worship directed to the one who created you and who loves you and who invited you into his very presence?

And what about those Sundays that you are not here? Are you travelling because flights are the cheapest on Sunday mornings? Are you at the beach and make excuses that because you are in God’s beautiful creation that you don’t need to worship with God’s people? I’m not saying that we shouldn’t enjoy travel, but God desires us to be worshipping together with his people. If you are out of town, find a Bible preaching church where you can worship the Lord with other believers in the splendor of his holiness. Find a church where you can exalt his name and where his Word is declared, where you can give him glory in your hearts and praise him with others lifting your voices together to the one who is worthy.

You see, in all of these ways, and many more, we are complacent in our worship of God. I’m talking about both our gathered worship and also how we are to worship God in all of life.

And then there is verse 10. It’s like the nail in the coffin. “Oh that there were one among you who would shut the doors, that you might not kindle fire on my altar in vain!” In other words, it would be better if someone barred you from bringing your sacrifice to the temple. It would be better not to bring any sacrifice than the vain polluted offering that reveals your wayward heart and which despises my name. Or as the Lord put it in Revelation 3, writing to the church in Laodicea, “Because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.”

The Lord is not mincing his words here. They had profaned God’s mercy and holiness. God would have been just to consume them with the fire of his eternal judgment.

Yet, he didn’t.

These verses called them to forsake their vain, polluted, and heartless worship. God desired his name to be honored. He was calling them to return to him… to repent… to once again come to him in reverent holy fear. Instead of bringing their polluted offering, they were to once again bring a pure, unblemished offering.

There was an even deeper reason why their polluted offerings were profaning the name of Lord. Yes, they were breaking God’s commandments. And yes, their offerings revealed hearts that were complacent. But even more so, they were disregarding the Messiah. They were defaming Christ, who had yet come.

You see, all of the sacrificial offerings were set in place in anticipation of a Messiah, of a deliverer, who would come and who would be the perfect sacrifice. He would be the unblemished perfect offering. The sacrificial offerings in the old covenant demonstrated the need for a pure offering to once and for all atone for their sins.

And so, by offering their sick and blind and stolen offerings, they were rejecting God’s promise that he would send a pure, righteous Savior who would be offered in their place for their sin. It was a matter of faith. Their difficult situation did not relieve them from trusting in the future promise that a Messiah would come and would be the pure offering.

This is what verse 11 is alluding to. God’s name will be great in all nations. As it says, “in every place incense will be offered to my name, and a pure offering.” To translate that, incense was the sweet aroma which signified the prayers of God’s people. Psalm 141 speaks of our prayer being an incense before God. And in both Revelation 5 and 8, the incense in the golden bowls were the prayers of the saints which would rise to the very throne room of God.

The Lord was saying to them, a time will come when throughout all nations, prayers would be offered to the Lord, and a pure offering would be made.

And that time has come. Jesus has come and he has offered up himself as the pure offering. His sacrifice has fulfilled all the sacrificial offerings of old. But more importantly, he has satisfied the debt of our sin before our holy God.

And so why do we seek to honor God in our hearts when we worship? Why do we seek to be obedient to his commands to worship him well? Why do we set aside this particular day to gather together and praise the Lord? Two answers:

·      First, because when we do, with hearts tuned to him and his mercy, we honor our Lord. We bring great fame to Jesus our Savior. Our prayers are received in his name as a holy aroma to our God. God is both honored in our lives and his glory and name is displayed for all to see.

·      Second, we seek to worship him well because he is the pure offering. As John the Baptist said, Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. We worship him with grateful hearts because of his mercy and forgiveness. Our worship is a testimony of true faith in him. He enables our worship. He is the center of our worship. And we will be worshiping in his presence forever.

Even in those days of trials and pain and temptations and grief (especially those days), come before your great God and your Savior, honoring and fearing his great name.

So, leave your 26 year-old Butterball turkeys at home. Give him the first fruits of your time, your talents, your resources. They are all from him, anyway. Furthermore, plan your trips around the Lord’s day and worship with God’s people, in person together.

And when you come to worship, focus your hearts and minds on him. And do all of this because of God’s great name and because Christ, our Savior, has offered himself, for you. Amen.

Malachi 1:1-5 - From Doubting God’s Love to Declaring God’s Love

We’re beginning a new sermon series this morning. We’ll be in the Book of Malachi for the next couple of months. You can find Malachi chapter 1 on page 953 in the Pew Bibles.

Malachi is the last book of the Old Testament, so if you can find the book of Matthew, turn left a couple of pages.

We’ll begin with verses 1-5.

One note before I read. In these verses, you will hear of a reference to Edom. The Edomites were the descendants of Esau. That will be some helpful context.

Reading of Malachi 1:1-5

Prayer

When I was in high school and college, I spent a few summers working at a Christian camp.

Well, one particular summer, one of my fellow counsellors had a very difficult camper.

This kid was, I think, only in 1st grade. And he was rambunctious. He was mean to the other campers. He struggled to follow rules. He didn’t want to participate in activities.

In those moments, his counsellor would get down on one knee to his level, and try gently instruct him. During dangerous activities, like archery, his counsellor would often have to hold his hand, to keep him safe. Of course, the other boys in his cabin would get angry at him. Their counsellor would always intervene and remind them all to speak kind words to one another.

Well, one afternoon, things escalated. The counsellor tried to calm his camper down, but the boy lost it and started screaming. Literally, the whole camp could hear it. They were in the middle of a big group activity, so his counsellor had to gently carry him away.

As this young boy was being carried away, he kept screaming over and over, “I hate you.” “I hate you.” To which his counsellor calmly responded over and over, “I love you.” “I love you.” Their back and forth slowly faded as they passed out of sight.

The camper, of course, didn’t understand that his counsellor did love him. He didn’t know what love really looked like in that situation. To this boy, it didn’t appear to be love at all.

Maybe some of you who are parents have experienced something similar.

Well, as we get to Malachi chapter 1, God’s people, likewise, were questioning God’s love. It didn’t feel like God loved them. But he did. And in response, God mercifully reminds them of his love.

Most of us here today have at one point or another cried out to God. We’ve questioned whether he was even there or if he was loving. Maybe that is what you are feeling today.

My hope and prayer that you will leave here with a renewed or new sense of God’s love for you.

Introduction

As we get into the book of Malachi, let me first mention some background things.

Malachi is one of 12 books called minor prophets. They are called “minor” not because they are less important but because they are shorter. We don’t actually know much about the prophet Malachi other than that his name means “messenger.” He was a messenger from God.

As we will find out next week, he lived in Jerusalem. And based on the themes in the book and its position in the Old Testament cannon, Malachi prophesied sometime during the middle of the 400s BC. He very likely overlapped with Ezra and Nehemiah. At that time, some of the exiles had returned from Babylon to Jerusalem, and the temple had been rebuilt.

The last thing to point out is the word “oracle” right there in verse 1. It’s used throughout the Old Testament when a prophets were given a particularly burdensome word from God. Oracle, in fact, means burden – you know, like a heavy load that an animal would carry on its back and the weariness or distress that it would bring.

When the word “oracle” is used to describe a prophetic utterance, it is conveying the weight of that prophecy. As we work our way through Malachi, we are going to see the weight of this prophecy. Over and over, God very clearly calls for repentance from grievous sin, and God warns them if they do not return to him.

However, before all of that, God begins with a reminder of his love. And that is what verses 2-5 are about.

If you turn to page 4 of your bulletin, you can see where we are headed.

·      First, God’s Love Doubted. Verse 2.

·      Second, God’s Love Defended, the end of verse 2 through verse 4

·      And third, God’s Love Declared, 5

So, God’s love doubted, defended, and declared.

1. God’s Love Doubted

We see right there in verse 2 that the people doubted God’s love for them.

 “I have loved you,” says the Lord, but you say, “how have you loved us?”

By the way, this is the pattern throughout Malachi. God quotes the people questioning him, and then he answers. It’s the organizing framework for the book.

How have you loved us, Lord? It sure doesn’t feel like you do.

This was a difficult time in Jerusalem. We don’t often think of it that way because, after all, the people were back in Jerusalem. The temple had been rebuilt. However, socially and economically, it was a very unstable time.

Yes, the Persian kings had supported the return and rebuild, but that did not mean prosperity. No, the people experienced a lot of trouble and opposition. Taxes were high. Jobs were scarce. They were in the middle of a famine. The people had to mortgage their fields and vineyards and houses just to survive. Some even forced their sons and daughter into slavery. We know those things from Nehemiah 5. All of it weighed heavily on them.

And think about their expectations. God had promised through Isaiah and Jeremiah a return from exile back to Jerusalem. The people had in their minds the glory of the former unified kingdom – you know, prosperity and peace. They pictured Solomon’s temple restored to its original beauty and splendor. I’m sure some even pictured a return of the national power that Judah and Israel had once had.

But their expectations came crashing down with the reality of their situation. They couldn’t lift their eyes to see beyond each day… because of the difficulty that each day brought. It was not peace and prosperity, it was survival mode.

And in their minds, who was at fault? God. And so, they were asking, how have you loved us, Lord? Where have you been?

Have you or are you asking that?

Lord, do you love me? It sure doesn’t feel like it. I can’t find a job or it’s hard to financially survive each day. Or I’ve lost a parent or a spouse or a sibling or a child. Or even harder at times, my relationship with my son or daughter is estranged, or I’ve endured the pain of divorce. Or my health is deteriorating more each day, Or I struggle with chronic pain or a debilitating disease. Or my loved one is.  I feel all alone. Or I’ve been a victim of abuse or false accusations.

Lord, where are you? Do you really love me?

Maybe someone told you this well-known phrases once: “God has a wonderful plan for your life.” Have you heard that before? It is one of the most unhelpful statements in evangelicalism. I’m not saying that it is not partially true. Stay tuned for that.

But becoming a Christian does not mean that you will experience peace and prosperity in this life. To be sure, being a Christian does come with many blessings on earth. Blessings in relationship and community with one another in the church. Blessings of worship and prayer, and many others things. But if we expect that our days on earth will be filled with temporal success or health or relational flourishing, we will become deeply disappointed. And it may cause us to question God’s love.

I want you to note something in verse 2. Before the Lord quotes their questioning of his love, he begins by affirming that he does love them.

“I have loved you.” By the way, that word “love” is not the word “hesed.” You know, God covenant lovingkindness. Rather, that word for “love” is the word “ahab.” It is a word for love that focuses on a loving relationship. It’s God’s love for them as his people whom he chose to be his people.

In fact, the verb form indicates that God’s love for them has been accomplished and it is definitive. It’s like saying, I *did, I do, and I will * love you. There are no ifs, ands, or buts about it. God has, does, and will love his people.

What I want to say to wrap up this first point is that in those times of doubting God’s love... in those times when you are burdened by your suffering… or when you are wondering where the Lord is, God calls you to first remember that the Lord does love you.

But rather than just leave it there, the Lord goes on to defend his love. He explains the source of his love.

2. God’s Love Defended

That brings us to #2. God’s Love Defended.

In the second half of verse 2, the Lord returns their question with a question himself. He asks, “Is not Esau Jacob’s brother?” And then reminds them of his love for Jacob and his hatred for Esau. The Israelites are Jacob’s descendants.

Now, the reason that God reminds them about Jacob and Esau is because Jacob and Esau demonstrated both God’s unmerited love as well as his just anger.

Back in Genesis 25 and following, we learn about Jacob and Esau. They were both sons of Isaac. Twins, in fact. Esau was born first, so Esau was to have the privileges of being the firstborn, authority in the family, the blessing of Isaac, and a large share of the inheritance.

But if you remember, Jacob took advantage of Esau. When Esau was famished, Esau sold his birthright to Jacob for a bowl of stew. And then Jacob lied to and tricked their father into blessing him instead of Esau.

Even though Jacob did not deserve it, God chose him and chose his descendants to be his people. Esau and his descendants, on the other hand, were rejected. You see, neither deserved God’s love, yet God chose Jacob. Jacob and his descendants were the ones who received God’s promise.

But, back to Malachi, there was the problem. To the people in Jerusalem (you know, the returned exiles), it sure felt like God loved Esau’s descendants and not Jacob’s. As I mentioned earlier, the Edomites were the descendants of Esau.

In fact, in some way, they partnered with or supported Babylon in the destruction of Jerusalem a hundred years earlier. We’re not told how, but we’re told elsewhere that Edom rejoiced in Jerusalem’s destruction. The prophet Ezekiel even mentions that Edom took vengeance against Judah. So, it’s possible Esau’s descendants even participated in Babylon’s destruction of Jerusalem.

Let me make a side note here. There is some evidence that after the Babylonian exile, another nation overthrew Edom and the Edomites were forced to move. There is also evidence that at this time Edom began rebuilding just south of Judah. If that is true, it certainly explains verses 3 and 4. They were displaced by jackals, as it says, but they began to rebuild.

I’m telling you all this because in these verses, God is both affirming his love for his people… and he is letting them know that even though Edom appears to be prospering again, it will be short-lived and their destruction would be eternal.

In contrast, the suffering that God people were experiencing would be short-lived but their prosperity would be eternal. Why? Because God chose them to be his people. He loved them with an undeserved and unconditional love.

Beloved in Christ. There are or will be times in your life when it seems like the enemies of faith are overcoming you. I’m talking about sin, death, and the devil. You will have moments when you are questioning God’s love because you don’t see a path forward. Your pain, suffering, grief, loneliness, or disappointments may overwhelm you at times.

But if God has given you the gift of faith in Christ, you are one of God’s chosen descendants of Jacob – his spiritual descendant. And God loves you. Does God have a wonderful plan for your life? Yes, because all his and your enemies will be defeated and one day, you will be rejoicing for eternity in his presence.

Do you see what I am saying. This passage, for them and for us, is ultimately fulfilled in the unmerited love of God in Jesus Christ. God chose all his people to be his people, not because of any self-worthiness. No. Just like with Jacob, despite our sin, God chose us to be his people. He called us in him before the foundation of the world. And God’s judgment against Edom is the judgment that Jesus bore on the cross for his people.

What I am saying, is that in those moments of despair and doubt. Remember not only that God loves you, but remember that he has called you to be his through Christ. And one day, God will defeat once and for all the very burdens that are weighing you down.

Just a week and a half ago, I was at an event where a missionary shared about a very difficult time. He and his wife were serving in Rwanda back during the difficult civil war there. It was tragic. Neighbors turned on neighbors. In a single day, a million people were killed. In one incident, a group or Christians fled to their church building. Their pursuers broke in and slaughtered every single one of them. As you can imagine, seeing all of it overwhelmed this missionary and his wife.

But then it became more difficult. Because, soon after that, his wife went into premature labor while there. Their son was delivered but the hospital didn’t have the expertise or medical equipment to save him. He died after only 5 days of life. This missionary described the deep struggle that he and his wife went through. They questioned God’s love and goodness in all of it.

They searched for answers.

He then recounted how Job demanded God for answers. And how God answered Job back and asked, “where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?”

And then this missionary said this: “Job never got answers, but he got presence. And in that presence, he worshipped.” That really struck me. God does not promise that we will not suffer in this life. But he does promise that he loves us and will be with us… and one day he will defeat his and our enemies forever.

This missionary closed by sharing how they were drawn back to Jesus and God’s love for them in him.

3. God’s Love Declared

Which brings us to point number 3. God’s love declared.

For the exiles who had returned to Jerusalem, both their worldview and their perception of God was small.

Remember, God had promised them many things. He had promised a Messianic king. He had promised a restoration of a kingdom beyond what could be imagined. He promised to defeat their enemies. And that was part of their struggle. None of it seemed to be coming to pass. In fact, for them, it seemed to be getting worse rather than better.

They forgot God’s love and his promises, and they lost hope.

What they needed was not only a reminder that they were God’s chosen people whom he loved. They needed a reminder of his future promises. Verse 5 says “Your own eyes shall see this, and you shall say, ‘Great is the Lord beyond the border of Israel!’”

Most prophecies in the Bible have a more immediate fulfillment but also a future redemptive fulfillment. For the immediate, there is some historical record that the Edomites were soon overcome by both Greek and then Roman conquests.

But I think verse 5 is really meant to draw their attention to the future. To point them to a coming king who will be victorious, not only in Israel, but as verse 5 says, beyond its borders.

It’s like God was saying to them through Malachi, “Yes, I love you, but I also want you to lift your eyes up from your suffering to see what I will do! It will be far greater than you can imagine. Not only will the enemies of faith be destroyed, but you will see the greatness of my salvation to the world”

As you may have figured out, it was still about 450 years before Jesus’ birth. God was not saying that those particular people in Jerusalem would see the ultimate fulfillment of this verse. Perhaps they would see Edom overcome. But remember, the Lord was speaking to Israel. It is through them that that Savior would come. This is the last period in their history before Jesus came. And when he came, he would bring salvation not only to Israel, but his electing love would greatly expand beyond the border of Israel to the world.

Beloved in Christ, you and I are part of this promise. We are here today worshiping our God who has saved us because God has and is fulfilling this promise to Israel. Christ has come and His Gospel is going forth in mighty ways throughout the earth.

This is part of God’s reminder to us when we are doubting his love. Yes, we can rest in the fact that we are God’s people. We have his love in Christ. But in times of suffering and disappointment and grief and despair, we can lift our eyes up to see what God is doing all around us and around the word. It is truly amazing. And by seeing what God is doing, believing what he will do, we can and should then declare his love to the world.

As verse 5 puts it, “you shall say, ‘Great is the Lord beyond the border of Israel!’”

From doubting God’s love to declaring God’s love.

Conclusion

As we close, let me briefly say that these opening verses are the foundation to the rest of Malachi. We’re going to see over and over the sin of the people, the sin of the priests, and the Lord’s call for them to repent and return to him.

Malachi begins where they needed to begin… it begins where we need to begin. Knowing and believing in God’s saving and electing love in Christ.

So, in our doubt and discouragement and pain, may we know and believe in God’s undeserved love for us in Christ – he has chosen us in him. May we lift our eyes to see what he is doing, and may we declare the greatness of our God in all of it. Amen.