Worthy Worship

Worthy Worship: Malachi’s Second Disputation (Malachi 1:6–2:9)

Malachi 1:6–2:9 ESV

6 “A son honors his father, and a servant his master. If then I am a father, where is my honor? And if I am a master, where is my fear? says the Lord of hosts to you, O priests, who despise my name. But you say, ‘How have we despised your name?’ 7 By offering polluted food upon my altar. But you say, ‘How have we polluted you?’ By saying that the Lord’s table may be despised. 8 When you offer blind animals in sacrifice, is that not evil? And when you offer those that are lame or sick, is that not evil? Present that to your governor; will he accept you or show you favor? says the Lord of hosts. 9 And now entreat the favor of God, that he may be gracious to us. With such a gift from your hand, will he show favor to any of you? says the Lord of hosts. 10 Oh that there were one among you who would shut the doors, that you might not kindle fire on my altar in vain! I have no pleasure in you, says the Lord of hosts, and I will not accept an offering from your hand. 11 For from the rising of the sun to its setting my name will be great among the nations, and in every place incense will be offered to my name, and a pure offering. For my name will be great among the nations, says the Lord of hosts. 12 But you profane it when you say that the Lord’s table is polluted, and its fruit, that is, its food may be despised. 13 But you say, ‘What a weariness this is,’ and you snort at it, says the Lord of hosts. You bring what has been taken by violence or is lame or sick, and this you bring as your offering! Shall I accept that from your hand? says the Lord. 14 Cursed be the cheat who has a male in his flock, and vows it, and yet sacrifices to the Lord what is blemished. For I am a great King, says the Lord of hosts, and my name will be feared among the nations. 1 “And now, O priests, this command is for you. 2 If you will not listen, if you will not take it to heart to give honor to my name, says the Lord of hosts, then I will send the curse upon you and I will curse your blessings. Indeed, I have already cursed them, because you do not lay it to heart. 3 Behold, I will rebuke your offspring, and spread dung on your faces, the dung of your offerings, and you shall be taken away with it. 4 So shall you know that I have sent this command to you, that my covenant with Levi may stand, says the Lord of hosts. 5 My covenant with him was one of life and peace, and I gave them to him. It was a covenant of fear, and he feared me. He 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 peace 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 do not keep my ways but show partiality in your instruction.”

Opening Prayer

Our gracious God, we ask now that by your Spirit, you would open our minds and hearts to receive your Word. As we come to this portion of Malachi, show us the majesty of your name, the weight of your worth, and the only path to worthy worship—through Jesus Christ, our great High Priest. In His name we pray. Amen.

Introduction

We continue our series through the Book of Malachi—a prophetic message delivered to post-exilic Israel.

God’s Covenant people returned from 70 years of exile in Babylon after the decree of Cyrus in 539 BC allowed them to return to their homeland.

They rebuilt the temple, but true covenant faithfulness was absent.

Malachi is structured around six disputations (or dialogues between God and his People)—

These disputations reveal a pattern where God makes a charge against his people, the people respond, and God then elaborates on the charge, often with a call to repentance, a promise of blessing or judgment.

God uses Malachi as his covenant prosecutor, exposing Israel’s sins, refuting their denials, and affirming His unchanging character.

The first disputation ends with a declaration of God’s love for His people.

But the second one—our text today, Malachi 1:6–2:9—confronts the corruption of worship and the failure of spiritual leadership.

The question, is God worthy of our worship?

Worth is the value that we set upon someone or something. There is extrinsic value (what we are willing to give), and the intrinsic value (The true worth of someone or something). There is often a disconnect between the two.

Art appreciation in College. Novice in Art Studies. A few years ago we went to the MoMA in NYC and noted a painting by

Mark Rothko was a 20th Century painter, best know for his color field paintings that depicted vertical block lines of color.

Intrinsic worth. A blank canvas $100.  Oil paints $1000. Labor0 $5000. total $6500. When I see the painting, I think that one of my grandchildren could have done it just as well. They might make $50 if they sold it.

Extrinsic value. His painting called violet, green and red sold for $186 million in 2014.

We cannot assess God’s intrinsic value because it is incalculable (priceless),

What is the extrinsic value or worth that you and I place on God? Reminded of the verse in

Matthew 13:45–46 ESV

45 “the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, 46 who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.

Malachi’s reminds his audience that God is invaluable, but that they disregard God’s external value.

How about you and I?

An indication as to how much God is worth to you is in the way you and I worship.

We’ll consider three truths from this passage:

1.God Demands Honor in Worship

2.God holds spiritual leaders accountable

3. Worthy Worship is only possible through Jesus Christ.

1. God Demands Honor in Worship (Malachi 1:6–14)

A. God's Honor Is Non-Negotiable

Malachi 1:6 ESV

6 “A son honors his father, and a servant his master. If then I am a father, where is my honor?…”

Honor refers to glorifying, respecting, or having high esteem for someone.

WCF SC 1. What is the chief end of man. To glorify (or honor) God and enjoy him forever.

In this passage, God appeals to basic human relationships of father to son, and servant to master to expose the absurdity of Israel’s neglect.

God is our ultimate heavenly father.

Isaiah 64:8 ESV

8 But now, O Lord, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand.

Exodus 20:12 ESV

12 “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.

The fifth commandment required Israel to honor father and mother—

If even earthly fathers and masters receive honor, how much more should the Lord of Hosts deserve the highest honor?

If I am a Father, where is the honor and glory due Me?

Malachi 1:6 ESV

6b “And if I am a master, where is my fear? says the Lord of hosts to you...”

The Scripture presents Israel as the Lord’s servant. He is to be feared.

Isaiah 49:3 ESV

3 And he said to me, “You are my servant, Israel, in whom I will be glorified.”

Therefore how could the nation that was the Lord’s servant be disrespectful to Him? “Where is my fear?”

For a covenant child, the fear of God does not mean being terrified of Him; it means a proper respect and reverence for Him, a reverence that leads to worship and obedience.

Now, there is no contradiction between the admonition to love God (implied in the first oracle, Mal. 1:2–5) and the exhortation to fear Him. Both appear together in the Torah.

Deuteronomy 6:5 ESV

5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.

Deuteronomy 6:13 ESV

13 It is the Lord your God you shall fear. Him you shall serve and by his name you shall swear.

But instead of reverence, He received contempt.

Do we honor and respect God during our time Worship on the Lord’s Day, and as we live our life Monday through Saturday?

B. Polluted Worship Reveals a Polluted Heart

Malachi 1:6–7 ESV

6b “‘How have we despised your name?’ 7 By offering polluted food upon my altar. But you say, ‘How have we polluted you?’ By saying that the Lord’s table may be despised.

Polluted means unholy. The priests and people offered defective sacrifices.

Malachi 1:13 ESV

13b You bring what has been taken by violence or is lame or sick, and this you bring as your offering! Shall I accept that from your hand? says the Lord.

God was not adding new requirements to his Covenant people, but reminding them of the original Moseic Covenant back at Mount Sinai after God redeemed them from slavery.

God’s provided specific instructions on what constituted defective sacrifices

They were warned against offering such sacrifices lest the priests thereby profane and defile God’s name

Leviticus 22:19–22 ESV

19 if it is to be accepted for you it shall be a male without blemish, of the bulls or the sheep or the goats. 20 You shall not offer anything that has a blemish, for it will not be acceptable for you. 21 And when anyone offers a sacrifice of peace offerings to the Lord to fulfill a vow or as a freewill offering from the herd or from the flock, to be accepted it must be perfect; there shall be no blemish in it. 22 Animals blind or disabled or mutilated or having a discharge or an itch or scabs you shall not offer to the Lord or give them to the Lord as a food offering on the altar.

God clearly prohibited blemished sacrifices. These were not new standards but reminders of the covenant terms. God deserved their best—yet they gave Him leftovers.

Leviticus 22:9 ESV

9 They shall therefore keep my charge, lest they bear sin for it and die thereby when they profane it: I am the Lord who sanctifies them.

They know they are wrong and their excuse:

Malachi 1:13 ESV

13a But you say, ‘What a weariness this is,’ and you snort at it, says the Lord of hosts.

They gave God what they would never dare present to a human governor.

Their offerings exposed a deep spiritual apathy: “What a weariness this is,” they complained.

One of our prize possessions is a digital Photo frame that our children gave us for Christmas. They regularly up load new photos of the grandchildren. If I accidently knocked it of the counter and the glass shattered and buy a new one for myself, but decide to the blemished frame to my boss for Christmas?

Would my boss think that I appreciated for him?

C. No Worship Is Better Than False Worship

“Oh that there were one among you who would shut the doors, that you might not kindle fire on my altar in vain!” (Mal. 1:10)

Malachi 1:10 ESV

10 Oh that there were one among you who would shut the doors, that you might not kindle fire on my altar in vain! I have no pleasure in you, says the Lord of hosts, and I will not accept an offering from your hand.

God would rather see the temple shut down than receive insincere worship. This is a sobering word: worship that doesn’t reflect God's worth is offensive to Him.

Malachi 1:14 ESV

14 Cursed be the cheat who has a male in his flock, and vows it, and yet sacrifices to the Lord what is blemished. For I am a great King, says the Lord of hosts, and my name will be feared among the nations.

Here Malachi moved from speaking of sacrifices in general to discussing the payment of vows. Making a vow to the Lord was not mandatory, but if a person did so he was required to pay it (Deut. 23:21–23). Moses (Lev. 22:17–25) gave the priests specific instructions about the kinds of sacrifices acceptable for payments of vows. The vow to give an acceptable animal and then bring a blemished animal was an evil in God’s sight.

The cheat is the person who promises to do something and fails to do it.

Certainly no one would try to cheat a king or governor, for fear of being reprimanded and punished by that authority. Nor should one try to cheat the great King, the One whose name is to be feared among the nations.

D. God's Global Glory

Malachi 1:11 ESV

11 For from the rising of the sun to its setting my name will be great among the nations, and in every place incense will be offered to my name, and a pure offering. For my name will be great among the nations, says the Lord of hosts.

This failure in Israel is not the end. God promises that His name will be honored—among all nations. This prophecy anticipates Christ’s global reign and the pure worship of the redeemed people from every tribe and tongue.

Book of Malachi itself. The prophets predicted a time when Gentiles will see the light and become worshipers of the Lord (Isa 49:5–7.

The Messiah will become King over the entire earth. Believers in all nations will worship Him (Dan. 7:13–14, Zech. 14:9, 16).

Malachi also spoke of the coming of the future day when the Lord will return and will bring about pure worship in Israel (Mal. 3:1–4).

God is not merely the God of Israel but the great King over all nations, deserving of our best.

Malachi reminds us that no worship is better than unworthy worship. We must evaluate our offerings, as they reveal our relationship with God.

2. God Holds Spiritual Leaders Accountable (Malachi 2:1–9)

A. A Sobering Warning to Priests

Malachi 2:2 ESV

2 If you will not listen, if you will not take it to heart to give honor to my name, says the Lord of hosts, then I will send the curse upon you and I will curse your blessings. Indeed, I have already cursed them, because you do not lay it to heart.

The priests had become a stumbling block. Their failure to uphold the law and guard the purity of worship brought divine judgment. God would turn their blessings into curses. Their ministries would be disqualified.

Spiritual leaders are held to a higher standard. Malachi 2:2 warns that failure to honor God’s name will lead to curses. Those who lead God’s people must uphold the purity of worship and teach the covenant faithfully.

Leviticus 10:10–11 ESV

10 You are to distinguish between the holy and the common, and between the unclean and the clean, 11 and you are to teach the people of Israel all the statutes that the Lord has spoken to them by Moses.”

James 3:1 ESV

1 Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.

B. A Graphic Picture of Judgment

Malachi 2:3 ESV

3 Behold, I will rebuke your offspring, and spread dung on your faces, the dung of your offerings, and you shall be taken away with it.

This is perhaps the most graphic image in all of Malachi.

The priests offered impure sacrifices, and now they themselves would be made unclean.

Field dressing a deer or cleaning a fish.

Since the priests had failed to guard the purity of the temple, the Lord threatened to punish them similarly. Because they (‘despised his name’; 1:6) they will be expelled, and failed to honour the Lord’s name (2:2), and in

Malachi 2:9 ESV

9 and so I make you despised and abased before all the people, inasmuch as you do not keep my ways but show partiality in your instruction.”

Exodus 29:14 ESV

14 But the flesh of the bull and its skin and its dung you shall burn with fire outside the camp; it is a sin offering.

Because they had presumed to bless the people of God as if Israel’s sacrifices had been accepted and atonement made, God would now curse their blessings (2:2).

Exodus 29:14 ESV

14 But the flesh of the bull and its skin and its dung you shall burn with fire outside the camp; it is a sin offering.

God is saying because the people publicly shamed him with dung sacrifices he's going to publicly shame them through the dung of these sacrifices.

As well as dishonoring the priests, it would make them ritually unclean so that they could not carry out their duties.

The priests would not only be insulted by having the animal dung smeared on their faces, but they would also be treated as if they themselves were dung!

C. The Example of Levi

“My covenant with him was one of life and peace… He stood in awe of my name.” (Mal. 2:5)

Malachi 2:5 ESV

5 My covenant with him was one of life and peace, and I gave them to him. It was a covenant of fear, and he feared me. He stood in awe of my name.

Leviticus 10:10–11 ESV

10 You are to distinguish between the holy and the common, and between the unclean and the clean, 11 and you are to teach the people of Israel all the statutes that the Lord has spoken to them by Moses.”

The ideal priest, the prototypical Levi, was faithful. He walked with God in righteousness.

The Covenant with Levi is one of Life and Peace

Covenant of fear and he feared me. He stood in awe of my name

True instruction (Torah) was in his mouth, and no wrong was found on his lips

He walked with me in peace and uprightness and turned many from iniquity.

But you have turned aside from the way and caused many to stumble by your instructions. You have corrupted the covenant of Levi.  So, I make you despised and abased before all the people.

His lips preserved knowledge. He turned many from sin. By contrast, the current priests had turned many to sin and corrupted the covenant.

D. A Contemporary Application

Preaching elders, Teaching elders, deacons and all who teach or lead—must take these words seriously.

God requires reverence and truth in leadership.

As Matthew Henry said, “Nothing profanes the name of God more than the misconduct of those whose business it is to do honor to it.”

3. Worthy Worship Is Only Possible Through Jesus Christ

A. Christ: The True High Priest

Jesus it the true High Priest who is greater than Levi prototype

Malachi 1:11 speaks of a time when all nations will bring acceptable offerings to God. This eschatological promise finds its fulfillment in Jesus Christ, our perfect High Priest, who offered Himself as the ultimate sacrifice.

Hebrews 7:27 ESV

27 He has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, first for his own sins and then for those of the people, since he did this once for all when he offered up himself.

Unlike the priests of Malachi’s day, Christ offered the perfect, blemish-free sacrifice—Himself. He fulfilled the entire sacrificial system as a pure and perfect sacrifice, and now intercedes for his people.

Through Him, we can draw near to God with confidence.

B. Christ Transforms Worship

Worship is not confined to Sunday. All of life—our bodies, thoughts, finances, relationships—is to be laid before God as a holy offering. Christ redefines worship not by ritual, but by devotion.

Romans 12:1 ESV

1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.

C. Christ Makes Our Worship Acceptable

Hebrews 13:15 ESV

15 Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name.

He intercedes for use ensuring that our worship is acceptable to God.

Because of Christ, even our imperfect worship is made pleasing to God. Not because we are worthy—but because He is.

Recognizing Jesus as our High Priest transforms our understanding of worship from obligation to a heartfelt response of honor.

Personal devotion, corporate worship, and community engagement.

Jesus fulfills every requirement that Levi was supposed to do.  He taught he is truth. 

Conclusion: What Is God Worth to You?

Worship is always a reflection of what we believe God is worth. The word worship comes from “worth-ship”—to declare God’s worth.

Just like Israel, we are tempted to bring God our leftovers—time, energy, resources.

But He is the great King whose name is to be feared among the nations.

Revelation 5:12 reminds us:

“Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!”

We cannot calculate His intrinsic worth—it is infinite. But we do express His extrinsic worth by how we live and worship.

his then reminds us that our worship of God is a statement of God’s worth to you the state of your worships to you.

Our worship on our own will never be worthy but through faith in Christ.   God deserves our best.

So ask yourself:

Am I giving God my best—or just what’s convenient?

Does my life proclaim that Jesus is worthy?

Let us then worship not out of obligation, but in reverence and joy—because Jesus has made our worship worthy.

Final Prayer

Lord, forgive us for every careless act of worship. Forgive us when we treat you lightly. Restore in us a holy fear and joyful love for your name. Let our lives be worthy offerings—not because of what we bring, but because of what Christ has done. May His name be great among the nations—and in our hearts. Amen.