Sept. 1 – Malachi 2:1-9
Sept. 1 – Malachi 2:1-9
And now, O priests, this command is for you. 2 If you will not listen, if you will not lay it to heart to give glory to my name, says the LORD of hosts, then I will send the curse on you and I will curse your blessings; indeed I have already cursed them, because you do not lay it to heart. 3 I will rebuke your offspring, and spread dung on your faces, the dung of your offerings, and I will put you out of my presence.
4 Know, then, that I have sent this command to you, that my covenant with Levi may hold, says the LORD of hosts. 5 My covenant with him was a covenant of life and well-being, which I gave him; this called for reverence, and he revered me and stood in awe of my name. 6 True instruction was in his mouth, and no wrong was found on his lips. He walked with me in integrity and uprightness, and he turned many from iniquity. 7 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. 8 But you have turned aside from the way; you have caused many to stumble by your instruction; you have corrupted the covenant of Levi, says the LORD of hosts, 9 and so I make you despised and abased before all the people, inasmuch as you have not kept my ways but have shown partiality in your instruction.
Malachi here is addressing the priests – the religious leaders directly. The priests are held up for criticism because they have not revered God – they have not given glory to God.
In the first 3 verses it seems that the priests claimed that they were worthy of respect in their own right. That is, they do not point the honour and respect they received to God who made them priests, instead the priests claimed the respect they received as something they were owed because of who they are not because of who they represented. So, God will shame them, humiliate the priests and their descendants. A humiliation they have earned, unlike the honour they claimed which they did not earn or deserve.
The second paragraph (4-9) points to the words the priests spoke – preaching, teaching, etc. They are held to account because they were not declaring God’s instruction and therefore were failing in one of the priest’s primary jobs – priests are “the messenger of the Lord of hosts.” (vs. 7) The priest was to speak God’s words, not the words the people wanted to hear, not the words the culture demanded them to speak, not the words that were necessarily easy to hear. Further, the words the priest spoke were not to show partiality (vs. 9) – that is one word for the powerful and the elite and another word for the ordinary people. No, the priest was to speak God’s words which showed no partiality. Again, because the priests’ words were causing people to leave the way of God, God was going to humiliate the priests so they would be despised by all.
To lead God’s people in a holy and humble task. To be a spokesperson for God is to be merely a channel of God’s grace and God’s words.
PRAYER:
Lord God, we pray for the pastors, ministers, priests of churches in Centre Wellington and across Canada, that they would know the joy of being your messengers, and live into the humility of being channels of your Son’s words and grace. These things we pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.