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Exegetical Summary
When God’s Priests compromise their charge and fail to honor God by walking in truth and teaching the people the Word of God, the people suffer and the priests blessings of peace and life are removed.
Please open your bibles to Malachi chapter 2. We will be continuing to look at God’s rebuke of the priests at the end of the new testament.
I encourage you to bring a bible each week and read from it.
Stand with me as we read Malachi Chapter 2 verses 1-9.
Malachi 2:1–9 (CSB)
1 “Therefore, this decree is for you priests: 2 If you don’t listen, and if you don’t take it to heart to honor my name,” says the Lord of Armies, “I will send a curse among you, and I will curse your blessings.
In fact, I have already begun to curse them because you are not taking it to heart.
3 “Look, I am going to rebuke your descendants, and I will spread animal waste over your faces, the waste from your festival sacrifices, and you will be taken away with it.
4 Then you will know that I sent you this decree, so that my covenant with Levi may continue,” says the Lord of Armies.
5 “My covenant with him was one of life and peace, and I gave these to him; it called for reverence, and he revered me and stood in awe of my name.
6 True instruction was in his mouth, and nothing wrong was found on his lips.
He walked with me in peace and integrity and turned many from iniquity.
7 For the lips of a priest should guard knowledge, and people should desire instruction from his mouth, because he is the messenger of the Lord of Armies.
8 “You, on the other hand, have turned from the way.
You have caused many to stumble by your instruction.
You have violated the covenant of Levi,” says the Lord of Armies.
9 “So I in turn have made you despised and humiliated before all the people because you are not keeping my ways but are showing partiality in your instruction.”
So far God has been focused on the priests of Isreal and their current state of business.
God continues rebuking the priests in the 1st half of chapter 2 and will transition to the people for the 2nd half of the chapter.
Today’s scripture will separated into three different parts.
Chapter 2 will begin with a decree that comes as a result of the charges in chapter 1.
The priests were God’s chosen messengers to the people of Israel and the second section will be God’s reminder to the priests of their role in the community of Israel.
The third section will be God’s judgment on the priests due to these charges.
Malachi 2:1-4 God’s Decree
Malachi 2:1–2 (CSB)
1 “Therefore, this decree is for you priests: 2 If you don’t listen, and if you don’t take it to heart to honor my name,” says the Lord of Armies, “I will send a curse among you, and I will curse your blessings.
In fact, I have already begun to curse them because you are not taking it to heart.
In chapter 1 God rebuked them for defiling his alter.
They were allowing people to bring lame, blind, and damaged animals to the temple to be sacrificed to God.
This was in direct violation of the commands that were given to the priests at the beginning of their service.
They had taken God’s holy alter and had made it a common place to get rid of unwanted animals.
Even though they were performing the actions that the old testament required they were not doing them in a way that brought God glory.
They had taken God out of his own method of worship and it had become a nuisance for them and so they compromised on the requirements of the law.
They modified the requirements to the wants of the people and had in the process defiled God’s alter.
Because of this he presents a decree or a verbal proclamation to them.
If you don’t listen, if you don’t hear, if you don’t take to heart to honor my name.
Then I will send a curse among you.
He says he will curse their blessing.
He even says that he has already started to curse the blessing.
Blessing is something that brings prosperity of life.
These can be spiritual, physical, and material.
They could be from special work of God like prophets, or strength for a task to everyday provision though material needs being met.
The priests were blessed with a special task and life for God.
They were the only ones that had the charge to lead the people in the burning of incense (or Prayer), lead the people in Worship, teach the truth of God’s Word and bring it to the people.
They ate from the offerings, they could announce the forgiveness of sin, and were respected by the Israel community.
They were set aside to this great honor and blessing to do this work and carry this responsibility for God.
God is saying the he will and has already started to remove this blessing from them.
This special work will be taken away and we see in the New Testament it given to those of the Way that follow Jesus as a priesthood of believers.
They have come to a point that:
They do not listen or take to heart that they are to honor God and bring glory to his name.
He continues to describe the curse as:
Malachi 2:3–4 (CSB)
3 “Look, I am going to rebuke your descendants, and I will spread animal waste over your faces, the waste from your festival sacrifices, and you will be taken away with it.
4 Then you will know that I sent you this decree, so that my covenant with Levi may continue,” says the Lord of Armies.
God is telling them that not only will this curse to remove the blessing apply to them but it will remove the blessing from their offspring as well.
How will it apply to their children?
We have to look at the next section.
He says he will spread, waste on their faces.
The word waste can be translated as refuse, dung, or offal.
This is one of those verses that people look at and go, “God is really going to wipe animal dung on their face”?
Do we read this literally?
Yes.
We read it literally as hyperbole.
Hyperbole is an exaggeration that is not to be take literally but is used to make a point.
So what dose this mean then?
When animals were sacrificed there were certain parts that were unclean and would not be part of the offering.
This, offal or waste, would be removed and taken outside the temple to be burned.
It wasn’t part of the worship of God.
He is making the point that God will do the equivalent of wiping waste on them, he will make them unclean and unworthy to be priests in the temple of God.
The priests are no longer worthy to fulfill the role of priest they were only worthy to be taken out with the waste of the temple.
This is a direct statement that you are fired from this task.
As a manager, I have had to fire people who have not been doing well in their jobs.
The responses can be different.
Some people see it coming.
I had one gentleman state that if you gave me a chance I would have turned it around.
He looked at the ceiling and then said, nope, you are right my heart isn’t in it.
Some are completely blindsided because they think they are doing great but their output just doesn’t meet expectations.
This would have been the response of the priests.
they thought they were doing well but God just told them otherwise.
They will see their ministry removed and this is how they will know Malachi is telling the truth.
What principles do we gain from this:
God will remove priests that do not bring honor or glory to his name.
Priests who do not honor God will have blessings removed by God.
This rebuke was not only presented by Malachi.
Hosea 4:6 (CSB)
6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.
Because you have rejected knowledge, I will reject you from serving as my priest.
Since you have forgotten the law of your God, I will also forget your sons.
God then reminds them of what is supposed to be happening.
Malachi 2:5-7 God’s Reminder To His Messengers
Malachi 2:5–7 (CSB)
5 “My covenant with him was one of life and peace, and I gave these to him; it called for reverence, and he revered me and stood in awe of my name.
6 True instruction was in his mouth, and nothing wrong was found on his lips.
He walked with me in peace and integrity and turned many from iniquity.
7 For the lips of a priest should guard knowledge, and people should desire instruction from his mouth, because he is the messenger of the Lord of Armies.
There isn’t a specific covenant described in scripture for the Levitical priests when the priests were established but their role was defined in Leviticus 8 and 9.
This relationship created a covenant with the priests and God.
When God says “with Levi” he is talking about the tribe of Levi not the man himself.
God describes the covenant that was established.
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