Malachi 1:14: "`Cursed is the cheat who has an acceptable male in his flock and vows to give it, but then sacrifices a blemished animal to the Lord. For I am a great king,' declares the LORD Almighty, 'and my name is to be feared among the nations.'"
It is so very important for us today to understand our relationship with God. Whereas so many people in our culture today want to view God as a passive, tolerant deity who tends to overlook any wrongdoings of His people, the reality is that God is the Sovereign King of the universe and expects that His creation submit to His Lordship.
The book of Malachi was written during a period (around 433 BC) when the people had become complacent and forsook their commitment to God as their Master. One of the ways that they demonstrated their contempt for the One True Lord was in their giving. Oh to be sure, they were quick to make promises that they would give their very best to God; however, they wouldn't follow through with what they had promised. When the time came for the people to demonstrate by their actions that they were submitted to the Lord and trusted that He would protect and provide for them, the people instead determined to keep the best of their livestock for themselves and give to God the leftovers . . . the animals that were injured, crippled, or diseased and likely would not live anyway. There wasn't much of a sacrifice to the Lord here, instead, they were just going through the motions of their religion.
Surprisingly, we find that the people had begun to believe the lie that they were not defiling the altar of the Lord with their contemptible sacrifices. They questioned God's accusation of their sacrilege by saying, "How have we defiled you?" This type of questioning response revealed a people who wanted to justify their wanton behavior. They were determined to live life their own way and did not wish to be held accountable to One greater than they were. In effect, they desired to be a god unto themselves.
One of the telling evidences that shows the thoughts of the people that led them down this path of sin is found in their views of God as recorded in 3:14. The people had believed that God had not been there for them, and they concluded that it was useless to serve the Lord. They believed that God had not blessed them for their prior faithfulness, and now they didn't want to waste their time anymore. This negative thinking began a downward spiral that would lead to their shallow form of religion that was all ceremony and no substance!
Of course, their abject denial of God did not change the reality that God was still Supreme over them. After all, He created them and commanded their respect and surrender. It was not that God was a tyrannical despot who just wanted to force them into submission. In fact, God shared at the beginning of the book of Malachi that He loved them [1:2]. Sadly, the people just would not accept the fact that God loved them and desired to pour out His blessings upon them if they would return to Him (3:7).
This is such a good word for us. We need to remember that God is the Lord and is due our best. Even in those times when we are in despair and wonder where God is, we need to continue our faithful obedience to the Lord, trusting that He is working out His purposes for His glory. We need not follow the negative thinking that God does not care or is not interested in us. He has promised that if we return to Him in a spirit of reverence and repentance, He will honor us with His presence. And we will be blessed by His communing with us.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment