Polluted Offerings
And a servant his master.
bIf then I am the Father,
Where is My honor?
And if I am a Master,
Where is My reverence?
Says the Lord of hosts
To you priests who despise My name.
cYet you say, ‘In what way have we despised Your name?’
But say,
‘In what way have we defiled You?’
By saying,
b‘The table of the Lord is1 contemptible.’
Is it not evil?
And when you offer the lame and sick,
Is it not evil?
Offer it then to your governor!
Would he be pleased with you?
Would he baccept you favorably?”
Says the Lord of hosts.
That He may be gracious to us.
aWhile this is being done by your hands,
Will He accept you favorably?”
Says the Lord of hosts.
aSo that you would not kindle fire on My altar in vain?
I have no pleasure in you,”
Says the Lord of hosts,
b“Nor will I accept an offering from your hands.
| << Malachi 1:6 | Malachi 1:8 >> |
Articles, Bible studies, and sermons that contain Malachi 1:7:
Malachi 1:7-8
What we are talking about here is: disrespectful service those closest to the sacred things were performing, before God. Do you begin to see the tie-in with us? Is there anybody on earth that is closer to God in serving Him than His own people, than His own sons and daughters? We'd better be careful that we are not defiling the Sabbath—treating it as common, and giving Him disrespectful service.
The answer is not given, but the answer is obvious: No, he would not accept that.
Can you see the halfhearted service, the halfhearted obedience, the profaning that was going on here? Not directly regarding the Sabbath, but in principle it was involved in here. The sacrifices that were coming to God were being done in a way that was not acceptable to Him.
There is no indication that what these people were doing was deliberate, that it was not a reasoned conclusion that it should be done this way. They didn't really (let's say) want to worship God this way. It wasn't in their heart to do it! But it was nonetheless being done that way. They were treating God as though He and the things of the altar—the service of the altar, and the sacrifice of the altar—were less important than other things. So, the way they did the ritual showed that—in their hearts—they considered it a secondary matter. Other things were squeezing out what should have been their first priority.
Malachi 1:6-14
These verses very clearly spell out that God is not at all pleased when His people defile the very special relationship He has established with them by means of careless, corrupted, polluted, defective, unacceptable offerings that do not meet His standards. Again I ask you: Do you honestly think that Joshua would ignore those instructions?
Articles
Countdown to Pentecost 2001
The Offerings of Leviticus (Part Four): The Peace Offering
Who Fulfills the Azazel Goat—Satan or Christ? (Part One)
Essays
Sermons
Knowing Christ (Part 3)
Wavesheaf Requirements and Joshua 5
Worship and Culture (Part 1)
Taking Your Priestly Responsibilities Seriously!
Taking Your Priestly Responsibilities Seriously!
One Nation Under God (Part 2)
Malachi's Appeal to Backsliders (Part One)
Offerings (Part Four)
Offerings (Part Five)
Letters to Seven Churches (Part Six): Sardis
The Doctrine of Israel (Part Five): A Remnant of Judah
| << Malachi 1:6 | Malachi 1:8 >> |
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