Summary
God’s people did not believe God loved them, and it affected the way they worshipped. They had listened to God’s command to rebuilt his temple, but they could not see the covenant blessings they expected in response. Religion turned to ritual, corruption was rife, justice was absent, God’s people were still ruled by outsiders.
God sent the prophet Malachi to encourage God’s people to renewed trust, repentance of their sins, and promising the arrival of Jesus, the Messiah. After reminding of God’s unchanging covenant love for all of his chosen people, God turns his attention to the cold hearts and empty worship of his people. In verses 6 to 14 of chapter 1, God rebukes the empty worship coming from a cold heart, promises future pure worship, and announces a curse on empty worship.
Our passage explained
v1-10
Malachi’s second message to God’s people begins with a rebuke of empty worship. God’s people had questioned God’s covenant love (v.2), and this questioning had brought cold hearts. As a result, while servants may honour their masters and sons their fathers, the priests showed no respect for God by offering polluted animals as sacrifices (vv.6-7) when he is deserving of far greater honour.
Offering animals which were ceremonially unclean and unacceptable, such as “blind animals in sacrifice” or “those that are lame or sick” (v.8) was a direct violation of God’s Ceremonial Laws, and reflected unbelief in what the various sacrifices pointed forward to: Jesus’ perfect unblemished sacrifice. So like a ruler rejecting the second-best offerings of his subjects, God rejected their sacrifices and showed no favour to those who did not trust him (vv.8-9).
The polluted, heartless offerings were so offensive to God that he stunningly cries out “oh that there were one among you who would shut the doors, that you might not kindle fire on my altar in vain!” (v.10). It would be better if the temple was closed, the altar fires extinguished, and sacrifices ceased. The wrong sacrifices offered by those with cold hearts, even if offered in the right place, are not acceptable to God.
v11-14
In direct contrast to the cold hearts and empty worship of Malachi’s day, God promises a future pure worship pleasing to him. In verse 11 he states “from the rising of the sun to its setting my name will be great among the nations”; a phrase which refers to a future time of judgment and restoration of true order under God’s holy reign (eg, Psalm 50:1, Isaiah 59:19).
In this future time of God’s victory and triumph over his enemies, “in every place incense will be offered to my name, and a pure offering” (v.11). The gentile nations who then pursued idols would turn to God and worship him in an acceptable way. This will happen because God’s “name will be great among the nations” (v.11).
Since in the future time of God’s victory and triumph pure worship will come from all the nations, God announces a curse on their empty worship. God returns to his complaint at the unacceptable offerings made by God’s people, and points out that the people make matters worse by claiming “‘What a weariness this is,’ and you snort at it” (v.13). Worshipping God? How inconvenient. Why would God answer people who approach him like that?
To those who worship with empty hearts, who promise God their best if he comes to their aid but offer up something lesser, God says “Cursed be the cheat” (v.14). God will not accept those who try and deceive him, because he is “a great King… and my name will be feared among the nations.”
Our passage applied
This passage is an important reminder to check our motives and our attitudes in coming to worship God. If we are acting out of tradition but with cold hearts – singing the lyrics with our mouths but not our hearts, and scrolling through Facebook during the sermon – we cannot expect God to hear our prayers. God wants us to worship him in spirit and in truth (John 4:21-24) as our true Father and master, not out of routine.
It also reminds us to think about where we place our giving to God in service, time, devotion, and money. Is it done from a cheerful heart (2 Cor 9:7) or with a sense of reluctance? on the scale of “what a pain” to “what a delight” where do we place these opportunities? In truth, for all of us, we ought to pray that God helps us to see greater delight and opportunities to spend time with him in prayer, and in devotion of “our best” for his glory.
But as we acknowledge our failure we can also rejoice in the promise central to this passage, in verse 11. Right now God is gathering us, a kingdom of priests, to offer pure sacrifices to him. The weaknesses of “our best” are purified by the righteousness of Christ swapped to us for our sin. And the Holy Spirit has given us warm hearts to offer worship in spirit and truth, which God desires.
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