The book of Malachi is an eloquent, timeless commentary on
the nature of spiritual backsliding among God’s people. The Holy Spirit has
preserved this book for this reason. He reminds us that one of our great
temptations is to grow lukewarm in the things of God. The book began with an
affirmation of the love of God for His backslidden people in 1:1-5. Why the effort to send ‘His
messenger’[1]
if God did not love His people enough
to speak to them and to warn them of the consequences of continuing in their lukewarmness?
God, being who He is – the holy God,
whose hatred for sin is synonymous with His character, begins His word through
Malachi with a strong rebuke of Israel’s priests. Israel’s backsliding begins
with her spiritual leadership. Hosea comments, “And it shall be like people, like priests”(Hosea 4:9; Isa. 24:2). At least three failures of the priests are
outlined in 1:6-14:
·
1:7,8
A CORRUPT MINISTRY: Offering defiled sacrifices on God's altar. The
offering of blind, lame, sick animals
was forbidden by the law of Moses (Lev.22:18-25;Deut. 15:21)
·
1: 8 & 9
PROMOTING OF THOUGHTLESS WORSHIP
·
1:12,13
HOLDING THE PRIESTLY OFFICE IN
CONTEMPT. The priests despised the work
God gave them to do. They found their work wearisome. They dishonoured God.
As we hear these words we need to remember that this is not
only a commentary on the state of Old Testament religion. It also is a
commentary for the NT church[2].
1:10 could just as well be applied
to the modern church. Many places that call themselves churches would serve the
cause of Christ better by closing their doors. They confuse people. They
scatter God’s people. They speak peace where there is no peace. They dress the
wounds of God’s people lightly (Jer.8:11).
They withhold the Word of the Lord (Jer.
8:7; Hosea 4:6). They exchange the
truth of God for a lie (Rom. 1:25).
As we hear these words it is also important to remember that the
NT church is no longer served by a priesthood. Jesus alone is our great High
priest (Hebr. 7:15-28).The church is
a holy priesthood (1 Pet.2:9).
Pastors, elders, overseers are a part of the church and gifts given by the Holy
Spirit to the church. As such they have no priestly function in the sense of
offering sacrifices on behalf of the people. They are shepherds of God’s flock
and co- workers with God’s flock. And as
such they are accountable (James 3:1; 1 Pet.5:2,3)
OUTLINE
1.
2: 1-3 A warning to unfaithful ministers
2.
2:4-7 Marks of a faithful minister
3.
2:8 -9 The devastating consequences of an unfaithful
ministry
4.
2:10 – 16 The effects
of an unfaithful ministry upon the nation
1. 2: 1-3
A Warning To Unfaithful Ministers
We have already seen in 1:6-14
that the backsliding of Israel has to do with her spiritual leaders – the
priests. Chapter 2 continues with this theme. It is a call of repentance to the
OT priests. This call is accompanied by a stern warning and even a curse. The
priests did not listen to God. They did not honour His Name (2:2). And so God would turn their
blessings into curses. To understand the biblical concept of curse (which in
the OT is usually found in parallel with blessing e.g. Gen. 12:3; Deut. 28) we find that only God truly curses, and
in that sense it is a revelation of His justice in response to any disobedience
of His revealed will. In this case the holy, righteous God will not suffer the unfaithfulness
of the priests. God is not mocked and 2:3 is enough commentary on this
matter: “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.”
Unfaithful church leaders are under God’s curse, and they will be shown up for
what they are, and God will judge them. We will find the
legacy and the sad effects that
unfaithful leaders leave when we get to 2:8.
2. 2:4-7 Marks Of A Faithful Minister[3]
Here we find a portrait of the ideal OT priest. Here we look back to Levi, the father of the
tribe of priests in Israel. At least 4 marks of a true
minister emerge:
a.
2:5 A proper relationship with God
based on true fear and reverence. They manifested a holy seriousness and a deep reverence for
God, and the things of God. He knows God. More than anything else God's
ministers need to cultivate this knowledge and attitude. How many churches look
at this, when calling a pastor? There is an enormous responsibility resting on
the shoulders of those that are called by God to the spiritual leadership of
the church. Theirs is the duty to convey a sense of the greatness of God to
the people for whose souls they care.
b.
2:6a A commitment to the truth of
God's Word. “True instruction was in his mouth and no
wrong was found on his lips.” A good minister is a servant of the Word of God. He does not
enter the pulpit to entertain his people. He is a messenger boy of the Most
High God. His work is to feed the flock of
God with true instruction.
c.
2:6b. A true minister walks with God in peace and uprightness. A true minister walks in a harmonious fellowship
with His God - consistently so! He practises what he preaches. It is always a
mark of a false teacher that he does not practise what he preaches. A true minister reveals a spiritual
consistency in his life. He practises the presence of God. He leaves his people
with a sense of God.
d.
2:6c He
turns many from iniquity. He helps people to turn from sin. False, ungodly leaders
tempt their people. They turn their people to sin. The great work of a godly
leader is to influence people towards God and away from sin. Shepherds, elders
must not be afraid to talk to people about their sins. They are not appointed
simply to keep peace in the church. They are appointed to the end that the Lord
Jesus might truly have a godly flock which walks the narrow road to heaven.
Don't be offended when your pastor sometimes wounds you by confronting you with
the sin to which you are clinging. “Faithful
are the wounds of a friend; profuse are the kisses of an enemy.” (Prov.
27:6).
e.
2:7 “The lips of a
priest should guard knowledge, and people should seek instruction from his
mouth, for he is the messenger of the Lord”. Sermons are not a mere
transfer of information. They are not a lecture. They speak with prophetic authority.
They declare the Word of God. They are divine ‘logic on fire’ (Martyn Lloyd
Jones). This is the Holy Spirit using a spiritually gifted messenger to speak
God’s truth to God’s people. And therefore people are helped by his
instruction. His is the voice of divine reason. It is the voice of home. It is
the voice of the Good Shepherd (John 10:3,16).
Listen to Martin Luther’s commentary on this verse:
“Certainly God could with His
Spirit instruct and justify those whom He would, but it has pleased His wisdom
more to instruct and save those who believe through the foolishness of
preaching. The Word is the channel through which the Holy Spirit is given. This
is a passage against those who hold the spoken Word in contempt. The lips are
the public reservoirs of the church. In them alone is kept the Word of God. You
see, unless the Word is preached publicly, it slips away. The more it is
preached, the more firmly it is retained. Reading it is not as profitable as
hearing it, for the live voice teaches, exhorts, defends, and resists the
spirit of error. Satan does not care a hoot for the written Word of God, but He
flees at the speaking of the Word. You see, this penetrates hearts and leads
back those who stray.”[4]
3. 2:8 -9
The Devastating Consequences Of An Unfaithful Ministry
a. They have turned aside from the way. They
have lost touch with the living God.
b. They have caused many to stumble by their
instruction.
c. They have corrupted the covenant of
Levi – this amounts to false teaching
d. They have shown partiality in their
instruction. (see James2:1)
4. 2:10
– 16 The Effects Of An Unfaithful Ministry Upon The Nation
God, through Malachi now turns His attention to the people as
a whole. The effect of an unfaithful ministry is seen in these verses. 2:10-16 raises the issue of what happens
when God's people become faithless, when they break faith with each other and with
God? Against this background, the
prophet asks the 3 questions found in Malachi
2:10
a. Have we not all one Father? i.e. are we not His children by adoption? Has God not chosen
us out of all the nations of the world? Are we not His covenant people?
b. Has not one God created (Hebr. ba'ra ) us? Israel was a special act of God's creation
(cf. Deut. 7:6 - 8)
c. Why then are we faithless, profaning the covenant of our fathers?
GOOD QUESTIONS!
If all these things are true (and
they are), then how is it possible that Israel has fallen into
this state of spiritual backsliding? What has happened? The answer is given in 2:11: “Judah has been
faithless… Judah has profaned the sanctuary of the LORD… Judah has married the
daughter of a foreign god”. Judah has committed spiritual adultery in many
ways…
Now follow the logic with me. When we
lose touch with the living God, (Questions 1 &2) it is a small step from losing touch with
God’s covenant people (Question 3). We lose touch with our covenant relationship with God,
and we lose touch with the profoundest of all human relationships - marriage. And so Judah has slidden into a real mess.
1.
People who backslide from their relationship with God, loose a sense of God.
2. People also backslide in their relationship with God's people - the
church. By losing touch with the living God, we easily break faith, dealing
falsely with one another. When we deal falsely with one another we violate the
unity of God's people.
3. People lose a sense of the most important of all relationships by which
the human race is effectively propagated: Marriage.
4.
First of all: compromised marriage.
They were now marrying daughters that were serving foreign gods (2:11). This was forbidden in Deut.
7:1-4. In the NT 1
Cor. 7:39 encourages
Christians to be married only in the Lord (cf. 2 Cor. 6:14).
5. Divorce! One of the greatest curses in our society – the breaking of the marriage covenant – see 2:13-16. Here we find Israel in a bad way. They practise easy divorce. This again is a serious problem, because the Word of the Lord regards marriage as a covenant, which in its essence is unbreakable. See the seriousness of this expressed in 2:15 “Did he not make them one with a portion of the Spirit in their union?” God is the witness of this union when vows were made. Marriage is a sacred institution. One of the reasons why it is a scared thing is because, by this means, godly offspring is produced for the glory of God - in the context of a God fearing marriage! And therefore God hates divorce. It contradicts and destroys his good plan for this world. The root of divorce proceeds from spiritual barrenness!
6.
They subsequently found that their
prayers were not answered (2:13). They
have finally lost touch with the living God.
“…So Guard Yourselves In Your Spirit” (2:15,16)
How do you do that?
1.
Take care of your heart
2.
Stay under a faithful ministry;
seek true instruction; hold yourself accountable
3.
Fear God, shun sin.
4.
Do not be faithless to others
5.
Seek a godly partner for marriage
6.
Keep your marriage covenant and do not divorce.
7.
Know that divorce proceeds from a barren spirit
8.
Let nothing hinder your prayers
[1]
The meaning of Malachi’s name is “my messenger”
[2] 2 Timothy 3:16,17 : “All Scripture is breathed out by God and
profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in
righteousness, 17 that the man of God
may be complete, equipped for every good work.”
[3] I
am using this term in the sense of ‘leitourgos’ – a man who performs a public
duty – a public servant
[4] Luther's
Works, Volume 18 (Lectures on Minor Prophets)
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