Malachi 1: the first chapter of the last book of the O. T.
Malachi 1: The last book of the Old Testament, Malachi, contains at least two of the most significant prophecies in all of God’s story. Significant because, in the book, we read of clear signs, or events, that are prophesied. Rather than vague allusions to events in the heavens, increasing numbers of earthquakes, or famines, we read about clear signs. And those “signs” can help the reader “know the season” of the Lord’s return.
Our Lord instructed believers to know the seasons and gave warnings regarding deception in the last days.
Jesus told his disciples to look for signs. So we should look for signs. If you have read Malachi, you may be aware of the signs I am referring to. If not, stay tuned.
Now–when I say signs, I mean clear and unambiguous signs. As Bible prophecy students, we need to stop chasing after eclipses, earthquakes, hurricanes, and locust plagues. Those aren’t the signs we are to look for. Jesus said as much in his often-studied Olivet Discourse.
In this post, I won’t go in-depth regarding the foolish suggestions found in Darwin’s theory of evolution. But in that theory, God’s truth is thrown out and replaced with sheer stupidity. In that theory, as most people know, it has been suggested that the earth is billions of years old. Anyone who disagrees with that theory is shouted down, canceled, and/or shamed into silence. Again, I’m not going to unpack that topic any further in this post. I only bring it up to make a simple point about mathematics.
The math doesn’t add up!
If you have read your Bible, and I assume you have, some simple math gets in the way of Darwin’s theory. The biblical record takes us back to the first man and woman. If you take the time to do the math, Darwin’s idea of billions of years has a conflict with the truth of God’s Word. Your biology teacher told you billions of years. But the Bible only gave us approximately 6,000.
We haven’t passed the 6,000-year mark as many people have thought. But we’re closing in on it.
The second and probably more important prophetic sign in the book of Malachi is about to unfold. Are you looking for it? You should be.
Okay, let’s take a look at chapter one.
But, before we do, don’t skip this overview video from the great folks at “The Bible Project.”
Malachi 1:1 God’s messenger
The oracle of the word of the LORD to Israel through Malachi.
This is God’s burden, message, or prophetic utterance. It is not from the messenger but from the Lord Himself. And that is what distinguishes a true prophet of God from a phony prophet. The message was delivered approximately 400 years before the arrival of the Jewish Messiah.
Israel and the world had waited ever since the events found in Genesis 3:15.
This period of Israel’s history is often referred to as the four hundred years of silence. That’s because, at that time, the messages from the prophets had ceased. Or at least, in the written form. But, as the time of Christ’s birth drew near, the prophetic messages began to reemerge.
The name ‘Malachi’ is interpreted as ‘messenger.’ Because of that, some have speculated that this book was written by an angelic being.
Nope. Angels are messengers of God. As are Christians. The same was true of God’s prophets during the time of Israel’s trouble-filled existence.
As we can see from history, those 400 years of silence were not used well. The Jewish people didn’t listen or change their ways. But, the long-standing stubbornness of the Jewish people serves as a history lesson for all of humanity. We’re all like the Jews. We stubbornly refuse the wisdom and mercies of God.
Malachi 1:2 A love and hate relationship
“I have loved you,” says the LORD. But you say, “How have You loved us?” “Was not Esau Jacob’s brother?” declares the LORD. “Yet I have loved Jacob.”
Yah·weh declared to Israel. I loved you. But for Israel, they wanted more. Isn’t that so much like human nature? Yah·weh did love the Jews, and he showed his love in many powerful ways. But the selfish ways of the human spirit often get in the way.
Prove it to us, again and again, the Israelites demanded. And don’t we do the same thing today? We mimic the Jewish people and their ways of rebellion. We rise every morning with miraculous bodies that function beautifully and in ways, most of us don’t understand. But we grumble if our backs are sore from hard work. The earth keeps spinning, and gravity continues to hold things together. But if the Lord sends some rain to water the fields, we complain because we just washed our cars.
Humans! You can’t live with them and…wait for it… you can’t live with them.
Oh, I guess I repeated myself. 🙂
In this verse, we are faced with a challenging statement from the Lord. To be honest, much of the Bible presents us with challenging statements. So embrace the challenge, and seek to understand.
Yah·weh says he hates Esau and loves Jacob. But let’s always remember the words of Jesus. See his words below, as recorded in Luke.
Luke 14:26
“If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters-yes, even their own life-such a person cannot be my disciple.”
This has everything to do with priorities. Jesus didn’t want anyone to hate their parents. But he did want every individual to get their priorities correct. That’s something that all of us struggle with. To varying degrees of course.
Yah·weh has no issues with getting his priorities straight. Esau put his own selfish desires before God. Jacob, though he was an extremely flawed individual, clung tightly to God. So Yah·weh loved Jacob for that reason. Yah·weh didn’t love Jacob more because he was a better person than his brother. In spite of his flawed character, Jacob wrestled with God and begged the Lord to help him.
Malachi 1:3 The hated rebel
“But I have hated Esau, and I have made his mountains a desolation and appointed his inheritance for the jackals of the wilderness.”
The Apostle Paul quoted the words of Malachi in his beautiful explanation of God’s story of grace Romans 9:13. If you don’t understand this and other passages. Don’t worry. The greatest theologians have struggled with these and similar passages. The confusion and arguing continue to this day. We should all take solace in the fact that we stand equal to the greatest biblical scholars. They didn’t and still don’t fully understand these issues, and neither do we. But, as so often is the case, there’s a small and big picture point of view to every scriptural challenge.
What was Yah·weh doing with those two brothers? How did each of them respond to the Lord? That’s the small picture point of view. In the big picture, Jacob represents the nation of Israel. And Esau represents everyone else outside of that ethnic group. That’s me. That’s probably you. Esau chose to be an outsider in God’s plan. But he didn’t have to. He made that choice.
The sacrifice of Jesus, the Jewish Messiah, provided the outsider with a way to receive God’s love. And the Jewish people made a stunning decision when their Messiah arrived. They rejected him. In fact, they asked the Romans to kill him. But, and this is remarkable, God sent them into a two-thousand-year exile, but he still loves them. In the end, they will repent.
Genesis 25:23
“And He declared to her: “Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you will be separated; one people will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger.”
Malachi 1:4 God will tear it down
“Though Edom says, “We have been beaten down, but we will return and build up the ruins.” Thus says the LORD of hosts, “They may build, but I will tear down. And men will call them the wicked territory, and the people toward whom the LORD is indignant forever.”
Edom, a close neighbor of the young nation of Israelites, hated the Jewish people. They often vowed to destroy them. Well, the rebellious Jews were God’s people. So, not Edom nor any nation is allowed to destroy the Jewish people. The Lord says it will never happen. Though, through the centuries, many have tried. It is the enemies of God’s people who will not survive when the final chapter is written.
Jeremiah 49:20
“Therefore hear the plans that the LORD has drawn up against Edom and the strategies He has devised against the people of Teman: Surely the little ones of the flock will be dragged away. Certainly, their pasture will be made desolate because of them.”
Malachi 1:5 You will see
“Your eyes will see this and you will say, “The LORD be magnified beyond the border of Israel!”
For too long, the Jewish people have longed for the time when their enemies will be under the crushing foot of the Lord. Time and time again, the rebellious ways of the Jews have only prolonged their own suffering. But that’s typical of human nature. The woeful state of the Jewish people is a living example of how foolish we all are. On our best days, we are still self-centered and prideful. It is wrong to point fingers at the Jews and say, “How foolish they were, to reject their God.” We all do the same in various ways.
There is none righteous, no, not one.
But, to God’s glory, He will finish the story. God’s glory will be shown to all the world. Even the stubborn Israelites will turn around and accept their rejected Messiah.
Micah 5:4
“He will stand and shepherd His flock in the strength of the LORD, in the majestic name of the LORD His God. And they will dwell securely, for then His greatness will extend to the ends of the earth.”
Malachi 1:6 Show your respect to Yah·weh
“‘A son honors his father, and a servant his master. Then if I am a father, where is My honor? And if I am a master, where is My respect?’ says the LORD of hosts to you, O priests who despise My name. But you say, ‘How have we despised Your name?”
Hypocrisy. That is what we see here. Religious hypocrisy. Priests and religious zealots have long ago learned to trick their followers. But they cannot fool God. Pick a religion, it is the same with all of them. The leaders put on a show of piousness. And their followers are too often fooled into thinking they’re pious and faithful.
The Lord sees through it all. The greater punishment will be given to leaders who pretend to “honor” God and yet are liars and deceivers.
Luke 6:46
Why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ but not do what I say?
Malachi 1:7 Defiled worship
“You are presenting defiled food upon My altar. But you say, ‘How have we defiled You?’ In that, you say, ‘The table of the LORD is to be despised.”
This was an easy trick that was used by the priests. The Lord was clear regarding the condition of the sacrifices. The best animals, spotless, we to be offered to the Lord. But the priests were in charge. They could present any mangy mutt they had available. No one would be able to confirm whether or not the burning carcass on the altar was truly undefiled.
But the Lord was never fooled. The sacrifices offered on the Lord’s altar were “defiled food.” The priests didn’t take God’s Word seriously. They had done so time and time again. And, since there were never any lightning strikes from heaven to confirm God’s wrath, they assumed they could continue without Him ever noticing.
Wrong!
Matthew 7:21
“Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.”
Malachi 1:8 Corrupt sacrifices
“But when you present the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil? And when you present the lame and sick, is it not evil? Why not offer it to your governor? Would he be pleased with you? Or would he receive you kindly?” says the LORD of hosts.”
The Lord, calls out the hypocrite priests. “Why not offer it to your governor?” Oh, that had to leave a mark. They knew what they were doing. But nobody was able to call them out, except the Lord. He knew and never misses what goes on. He sees all of us. It is foolish for any of us to think we can get away with our sins. It’s best to admit our own sinful ways, and repent.
This practice had gone on for centuries. It had essentially become a national pastime to present defiled sacrifices on God’s altar. Yah·weh called it evil. The priests may have considered it a good joke they were concealing from the people. But the joke was on them. They didn’t get away with it.
Too often, we think we can fool people and fulfill our “religious duty.” We put on a nice face for Sunday church. We put in some money as the offering plate goes by. We say amen and sing our songs. People think we are faithful to God. But it’s a show. A phony sacrifice. Or, in many cases, a defiled and evil sacrifice. For the priests, it was worse. For the average man and woman, we are often just repeating what we’ve seen the priests do. We put on a show to look righteous for an hour and a half every week. Then we carry on as normal.
Let us not follow poor examples. Offer your best to the Lord.
Leviticus 21:6
“They must be holy to their God and not profane the name of their God. Because they present to the LORD the offerings made by fire, the food of their God, they must be holy.”
Leviticus 22:22
“You are not to present to the LORD any animal that is blind, injured, or maimed, or anything with a running sore, a festering rash, or a scab; you must not put any of these on the altar as an offering made by fire to the LORD.”
Malachi 1:9 Will Yah·weh still listen to you?
“But now will you not entreat God’s favor, that He may be gracious to us? With such an offering on your part, will He receive any of you kindly?” says the LORD of hosts.”
And now the Lord shows the dark irony of the whole matter. Will the priests, after offering these defiled sacrifices, follow it up with pleas to the Lord? Will they ask for God’s favor, expecting Him to honor their requests? On what grounds should they expect the Lord to grant any request from them?
Yah·weh is not obligated to answer any prayers. Certainly not those presented after making defiled offerings. But the priests did “entreat God’s favor.” They did it often, and with a great show of righteous fervor, no doubt. Those prayers may as well have bounced off stone clouds that blocked access to the heavens. And the stone hearts of the priests were lifeless. Unknowing that their prayers never found the ear of Yah·weh.
Acts 19:15,16
“And the evil spirit answered and said Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye?”
Malachi 1:10 Rejected offerings. Shut it down
“Oh that there were one among you who would shut the gates, that you might not uselessly kindle fire on My altar! I am not pleased with you,” says the LORD of hosts, “nor will I accept an offering from you.”
Shut this whole thing down! The Lord seems to ask for one priest to have the courage to shut the worthless system down. God would rather have true worship in the households of individuals than to see the grand show and spectacle of the defiled and unholy ceremony. To Him, it was an abomination. It was a stench in His nostrils. And let’s not forget the context. That is always important. This is the last book of the Old Testament. The temple on the mount was partially restored. The people had recently returned from exile in Babylon.
They should have been properly chastised after the Lord’s discipline. But no. They were continuing the defiled offerings and phony acts of worship. This was coming from the priesthood. How were the common citizens of God’s chosen nation supposed to act if the priesthood was so corrupt?
No more offerings. I will not accept them.
Isaiah 1:11
“What good to Me is your multitude of sacrifices?” says the LORD. “I am full from the burnt offerings of rams and the fat of well-fed cattle; I take no delight in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats.”
Isaiah 1:13
“Bring your worthless offerings no more; your incense is detestable to Me–your New Moons, Sabbaths, and convocations. I cannot endure iniquity in a solemn assembly.”
Mal. 1:11 The rising and setting sun
“For from the rising of the sun even to its setting, My name will be great among the nations, and in every place, incense is going to be offered to My name, and a grain offering that is pure; for My name will be great among the nations,” says the LORD of hosts.”
This fabulous verse foreshadows the work of God in the Gentile nations. The great name of the Lord will be worshipped in holy offerings around the world. This vain and evil sacrifice that the Jewish priests were putting on would fade away. The Gentiles, a people who did not know Him, would turn to Him and give him a pure sacrifice of praise and worship.
But, for those who seem to think God is finished with the Jewish people. You are wrong. Very much so. And those who think it is God’s will to reject and hate them, your worship of God is suspect. Surely your understanding of the scriptures is very poor. And sadly, in this late stage of history, the hatred of the Jewish people grows stronger.
There is a purpose in God’s story for that hatred. As Pharoah’s heart hardened against Moses and the Israelites. Similar events will unfold in the last days before the return of Christ. And when He returns, the Jews will weep in sorrow and joy as they finally recognize their Messiah.
Matthew 8:11
“I say to you that many will come from the east and the west to share the banquet with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.”
Mal. 1:12 Filthy sacrifices
“But you are profaning it, in that you say, ‘The table of the Lord is defiled, and as for its fruit, its food is to be despised.”
The Gentile nations will honor the Name of the Lord. On the other hand, the Jewish priests lead the Israelites in unholy worship. In Christian doctrine, when we hear the phrase “table of the Lord,” we often think of the communion service. That is a memorial of the ultimate sacrifice that the Lord paid on the cross. We remember His sacrifice and give thanks and praise for it because it provided a way for us to enter into fellowship with the Lord.
In contrast to the Christian idea of the “table of the Lord,” for the Jewish priests, it referred to something else. It referred to the sacrifice and priestly allotment. Every priest was allowed to take a portion of the sacrifices. It was food for them. Remember, the Levitical priesthood didn’t own land in Israel. They were given the honor of living in the Lord’s house and serving Him night and day. And they were fed from the Lord’s table.
But they detested it. They thought they deserved better. Grumbled and moaned, expecting more for their work in God’s house. They showed themselves to be unworthy of the calling of God.
Malachi 1:7
“By presenting defiled food on My altar. But you ask, ‘How have we defiled You?’ By saying that the table of the LORD is contemptible.”
Mal. 1:13 Disdainfully worshipping Yah·weh
“You also say, ‘My, how tiresome it is!’ And you disdainfully sniff at it,” says the LORD of hosts, “and you bring what was taken by robbery and what is lame or sick; so you bring the offering! Should I receive that from your hand?” says the LORD.”
Their hearts were dead toward the Lord. They mechanically went through the motions of the ceremonies and rituals. It had become a dead tradition to them. In some cases, the offerings were stolen from people. There was very little effort given to ensuring that the animals were qualified to be presented for the Lord’s offering. Sick and lame animals were taken as “good enough.” This was a defiling abomination to the Lord’s clear directives.
Deuteronomy 15:21
“And if there be any blemish therein, as if it be lame, or blind, or have any ill blemish, thou shalt not sacrifice it unto the LORD thy God.”
Mal. 1:14 Yah·weh sees your false worship
“But cursed be the swindler who has a male in his flock and vows it, but sacrifices a blemished animal to the Lord, for I am a great King,” says the LORD of hosts, “and My name is feared among the nations.”
After 70 years of shame and captivity, the Jewish people were allowed to return to their Promised Land. And this disgusting display of abominable worship was how they honored the Lord for restoring them to the land.
But this was all within the Lord’s plan. As you know, the Messiah had yet to arrive. At the time that this little book was being written, baby Jesus was about 400 years out from his arrival. The Lord always has things under perfect control.
Don’t sweat the small things or even the big things. The Lord has it all handled. These times that Malachi witnessed would give way to a perfect sacrifice. The chosen Lamb of God was soon to arrive.
You must not present anything with a defect, because it will not be accepted on your behalf.
Israel hath sinned, and they have also transgressed my covenant which I commanded them: for they have even taken of the accursed thing, and have also stolen, and dissembled also, and they have put it even among their own stuff…
White Stone Watcher
Hello readers,
I have served as a children and youth pastor for over three decades. It was a great honor and pleasure to serve the Lord in that way. It has been my prayer, that many of them will learn of Jesus’ love and decide to commit their lives to follow Him.
I wrote the fiction story, ‘White Stone Watcher’ for them and their parents. In the story, we see a young man, and his best friend, Amanda. They face the normal challenges that today’s kids face at school. But with one huge difference.
Their challenge is twelve feet tall to be exact with an enormous set of six wings. Just like the prophet Isaiah saw in the throne room of God. He is a Watcher, an angelic being who is still invisible to Amanda. The messenger from God is about to lead both on a spiritual journey. They find they cannot escape the unseen war that rages all around them. They will become key players that God will use in the battle between the Sons of Darkness and the Children of Light.
I invite you to pray about a youth that might enjoy and benefit from this story. As the world grows darker, our youth must become aware that the Lord is calling them to join the Children of Light in the fight for what is righteous. We are all involved, whether we realize it or not. If they will not go to church, maybe they will read a book about someone just like them facing challenges at school.
God is calling them.
Praying for the youth, and a great awakening.
Pastor Doug
Let me know what you think.