Cq – Malachi: The Pollution of the Priesthood Malachi 1:1 to 2:17

Malachi: The Pollution of the Priesthood
Malachi 1:1 to 2:17

Malachi: the pollution of the priesthood DIG: How did ADONAI show His love to Isra’el? What happened to that love? Who is the target of God’s probing questions (Malachi 1:6-8)? What was wrong with their offerings? Why is Ha’Shem so harsh with the priests? What did they do to deserve it? What did the LORD’s covenant with Levi require (Malachi 2:1-7; Numbers 3:12-13, 25:10-13). How had the priests altered God’s ministry position for them? What had been the effect of their actions on others? How had Judah broken faith? With whom? What did that have to do with the creation and covenant? What sin was separating them from God? Why does YHVH hate divorce? What are we urged to do?

REFLECT: When have you asked the LORD to prove His love for you? What was His response? How might your attitude or actions honor or dishonor God? Are His commandments a burden to you or a joy? Has anyone ever stumbled in their faith due to what you did or didn’t do? Explain. How often are your prayers unanswered due to unconfessed sin or a wrong heart attitude toward ADONAI or others? How could you “take heed to your spirit, and not break faith” (Malachi 2:16)? In what situations are you most on guard? Most vulnerable? Who can you help this week?

Malachi ministered during the days of Nehemiah (to see link click Bt – The Third Return), about twenty-five years after Ezra’s reforms in 457 BC (see Bl – Ezra’s Reforms), and about twelve years after the dedication ceremony of the walls in 445 BC (see Cl – The Dedication of the Walls of Jerusalem). It is therefore amazing that the state of the priesthood could have deteriorated in such a short period of time. But deteriorate it did. The moral and spiritual conditions in Malachi were similar to those encountered by Ezra and Nehemiah. These included marriages to unbelievers (Malachi 2:10-11; Ezra 9:1-2; Nehemiah 13:1-2, 23-28), lack of the people’s support for the Levites (Malachi 3:10; Nehemiah 13:10), and oppression of the poor (Malachi 3:5; Nehemiah 5:4-5).²⁹⁵ Nehemiah would have to return from Babylon in 432 BC (Nehemiah 13:6-7) to institute his final reforms (see Cr – Nehemiah’s Final Reforms). As a result, Malachi’s message was, for the most part, rebuke and condemnation. The spirit of the priesthood in his day would later develop into the sects of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

A prophecy, the word of ADONAI to Isra’el through Mal’akhi:

Jacob chosen, Esau not chosen: “I love you,” says ADONAI (Malachi 1:1 CJB). One is reminded of Hosea 11:1, 3-4, 8-9, and God’s tender words in Isaiah 43:4. But His love for Isra’el occurred before her existence; He loved her in that He sovereignly and graciously chose her (elected her) to be His own possession. This was clearly revealed at the time He gave the covenant at Mount Sinai (Deuteronomy 4:37-40, 7:9-15). Acknowledging YHVH’s love for her, Isra’el should have responded by loving and obeying Him (Deuteronomy 6:4-9).

The judgment of Edom: But the Israelites asked: How do you show us Your love? By questioning God’s claim, Isra’el was betraying His faithfulness to His covenant. Her failure to believe His Word caused her to fall into sin. ADONAI answered: “Esav was Ya‘akov’s brother. Yet I loved [chosen] Ya‘akov but hated [not chosen] Esav. I made his mountains desolate and gave his territory to desert jackals.” Edom says: We are beaten down now, but we will come back and rebuild the ruins. ADONAI-Tzva’ot, or the LORD of heaven’s angelic armies, answers: They can build, but I will demolish. They will be called the Land of Wickedness (Obediah 8-14), the people with whom ADONAI is permanently angry. Isra’el’s borders were borders of blessing. On the one side was Isra’el whom God loved and chose to set apart. On the other side was Edom who God had not chosen. Rather, Edom would be destroyed by Him in His wrath (see the commentary on Isaiah Gi – Edom’s Streams Will Be Turned into Pitch). Isra’el, seeing God’s sovereign dealings with Edom, should have had a better understanding not only of God’s love for her, but also of His greatness over all the earth: ADONAI is great, even beyond the borders of Isra’el (Malachi 1:2-5 CJB).

The pollution of the sacrifices: Malachi spoke of proper relationships in society, relationships Isra’el should have insisted on. A son honors his father and a servant his master. The question that follows compares her relationship with the LORD. So God’s question was sharply presented. But if I’m a father, where is the honor (Hebrew: kabod can also mean glory) due me? and if I’m a Master, where is the respect due me? says ADONAI -Tzva’ot to you cohanim who despise my Name. This charge is doubly sad because after the return from the Babylonian captivity, the priests were responsible to teach the people God’s covenant and turn their hearts to Him (Ezra 6:16-22; Nehemiah 9:38 to 10:39). If the priests had failed to honor YHVH, what could be expected of the people? However, the priests were seemingly, and surprisingly, totally unaware that they had despised His Name. You ask: How are we despising your name? By offering polluted food on my altar! Now you ask: How are we polluting you? The priests had specific instructions on what constituted defiled sacrifices (Leviticus 22:17-30). They were warned against offering such sacrifices or they would defile God’s Name (Leviticus 22:2 and 32). Yet, they were guilty of that very sin. By saying that the table of ADONAI doesn’t deserve respect; so that there’s nothing wrong with offering a blind animal as a sacrifice, nothing wrong with offering an animal that’s lame or sick. Try offering such an animal to your governor, and see if he will be pleased with you! Would he even receive you?” asks ADONAI-Tzva’ot. So if you pray now that God will show us favor, what your actions have accomplished is that ADONAI-Tzva’ot asks: Will He receive any of you? “Why doesn’t even one of you shut the doors and thus stop this useless lighting of fires on my altar? I take no pleasure in you,” says ADONAI-Tzva’ot, “and I will not receive an offering from you (Malachi 1:6-10 CJB). To emphasize His point, God said the whole Temple sacrificial service might as well be shut down. It was useless.

For from farthest east to farthest west my Name will be great among the nations. Offerings are presented to my name everywhere, pure gifts; for my Name will be great among the Gentile nations,” says ADONAI-Tzva’ot (Malachi 1:11 CJB). The prophets predicted a time when Gentiles will see the light and become worshipers of ADONAI (Isaiah 45:22-25, 49:5-7, 59:19). The Messiah will become King for a thousand years over the entire earth (see the commentary on Revelation Fh – The Dispensation of the Messianic Kingdom). Believers in all the Gentile nations will worship Him (Isaiah 11:3-4; Daniel 7:13-14, 27-28; Zephaniah 2:11, 3:8-11; Zechariah 14:9 and 16). Malachi also spoke of the day in the far eschatological future when the Lord will return and bring about pure offerings in Isra’el (3:1-4).

After speaking of the pure offerings in the Messianic Kingdom, Malachi referred once again to the immediate condition of the priests of his day. But you profane it by saying that the table of ADONAI is polluted, so that the fruit and food offered deserve contempt. They didn’t care enough to set things right. Being involved in offering the sacrifices on the bronze altar was just a burden. You also say, “It’s all so tiresome!” and sniff scornfully at it, says ADONAI-Tzva’ot. Then you bring animals that were taken by violence, or they are lame or sick. This is the sort of offering you bring. Am I supposed to accept this from you? asks ADONAI.  Moreover, cursed is the deceiver who has a male animal in his flock that is damaged, but vows and sacrifices to ADONAI anyway. For I am a great King, says Adonai-Tzva’ot, and my Name is respected among the nations (Malachi 1:12-14 CJB). Certainly no one would try to cheat a king for fear of being punished. Nor should one try to cheat the Great King, the One whose Name is respected among the nations. Therefore, Malachi ends Chapter One by emphasizing God’s supreme authority.

The pollution of the priesthood: After giving and substantiating the charge against the priests, Malachi gave them a command. Now, cohanim, this command is for you. If you won’t listen, if you won’t pay attention to honoring my name,” says ADONAI-Tzva’ot, “then I will send the curse on you (Deuteronomy 27:15-26 and 28:15-68); I will turn your blessings into curses. Yes, I will curse them, because you pay no attention. I will reject your seed; I will throw dung in your faces making you unclean, the dung from your festival offerings; and much like the waste material of the sacrifices is discarded, you will likewise be carted off with it. Then you will know that I sent you this command to affirm my covenant with Levi,” says ADONAI-Tzva’ot. My covenant with him, and his descendants the priests, was one of life and peace, and I gave him these things. This seems to recall how Phinehas’ zeal for YHVH turned away God’s wrath from the people (Numbers 25:11). It was also one of fear, and he feared me; he was in awe of my name. The true instruction [Torah] was in his mouth, and no dishonesty was found on his lips; he walked with me in peace and uprightness and turned many away from sin. The priests were to teach the Torah (Deuteronomy 33:10). A Cohen’s lips should safeguard knowledge, and people should seek Torah from his mouth, because he is the messenger of ADONAI-Tzva’ot. However, since they were not giving true instruction, they were rebuked by the prophet whose very name, ironically, means My messenger. But you turned away from the path, you caused many to fail in the Torah. Saying that defiled sacrifices were acceptable had corrupted the covenant of Levi, says ADONAI-Tzva’ot. Therefore, I have in turn made you contemptible and vile before all the people, because you did not keep my ways but were partial in applying the Torah (Malachi 2:1-9 CJB).

Judah unfaithful: Don’t we all have the same Father? Didn’t one God create us all?
Isra’el was like God’s firstborn son (Exodus 4:22; Hosea 11:1). The fact that YHVH had created Isra’el to be a distinct people on the earth (Amos 3:2) formed the background for the problem Malachi would now discuss. Then why do we break faith (Hebrew: bagad, meaning to act unfaithfully with respect to a prior agreement or covenant) with each other, profaning the covenant of our ancestors (Malachi 2:10 CJB)? In addition to corrupting the covenant of Levi by offering defiled sacrifices (Malachi 1:6-10 CJB) and neglecting to provide true instruction from the Torah (Malachi 2:1-9 CJB), they had broken the faith with each other. The consequence, or symptom, of their sin of breaking faith with each other is presented first (Malachi 2:11-13 CJB), then the sin is stated second (Malachi 2:14-16 CJB).

The consequence of their sin was marrying unbelievers (see Cr – Nehemiah’s Final Reforms: Nehemiah’s handling Jews marrying unbelievers). Y’hudah has broken faith; an abomination has been committed in Isra’el and Yerushalayim. For Y’hudah has defiled the holy sanctuary of ADONAI, which he loves, by marrying the daughter of a foreign god. If a man does this and presents an offering to ADONAI-Tzva’ot, may ADONAI cut him off from the tents of Ya‘akov, whether initiator or follower. This meant that the man would die or that his line would cease and he would have no descendants in Isra’el. Here is something else you do: because of your sin of marrying unbelieving wives, you cover ADONAI’s altar with tears, with weeping and sighing, because God no longer looks at the offering or receives your gift with favor (Malachi 2:11-13 CJB).

Then the actual sin is stated. Once again Malachi stressed the Israelites’ spiritual sensitivity. Since they, surprisingly, couldn’t imagine what the problem was, the prophet had to spell it out for them. Nevertheless, you ask, “Why is this?” Because ADONAI is witness between you and the wife of your youth that you have broken faith with her though she is your companion, your wife by covenant. And hasn’t He made [them] one [flesh] in order to have spiritual blood-relatives? For what the one [flesh] seeks is a seed from God. Therefore, take heed to your spirit, and don’t break faith with the wife of your youth. “For I hate divorce,” says ADONAI the God of Isra’el, “and him who covers his clothing (symbolizing marriage as in Ruth 3:9 and Ezeki’el 16:8) with violence,” says ADONAI-Tzva’ot. “Therefore protect to your spirit, and don’t break faith” (Malachi 2:14-16 CJB). The Israelites were not to break faith with one another by divorcing their Jewish wives and marrying unbelievers. That defiled the covenant promise Ha’Shem made with Isra’el. By protecting their spirits they would be acting in agreement with God’s purpose and would help preserve the unity of the nation as well as their individual marriages.

The Day of Judgment: Though the people had changed in their views on God’s justice, YHVH Himself had not changed: For I am ADONAI. I do not change (3:6a). Because He does not change, neither do His covenant promises. Therefore, Isra’el’s faith and hope should have been stabilized. However, she was acting and talking as if she had no God to believe in or hope for. As a result, ironically, even though God does not change or grow weary (Isaiah 40:28), Malachi said: You have wearied ADONAI with your words (Malachi 2:17a CJB).

Once again, the people were portrayed as being oblivious to their sin. Yet you ask, “How have we wearied Him?” YHVH responded: By saying that anyone who does wrong is good from ADONAI’s perspective, and that He is delighted with them (Malachi 2:17b CJB). The prosperity of the wicked is an age-old problem and discussed in at least five biblical writers (Job 21:7-26, 24:1-17; Psalm 73:1-14; Ecclesiastes 8:14; Jeremiah 12:1-4; Habakkuk 1). Though answers to this problem are not given in these passages, in each case questions about God’s justice are removed by a far eschatological assurance: Ha’Shem will come in judgement and punish the wicked (Job 24:22-24, 27:13-23; Psalm 73:16-20; Ecclesiastes 8:12-13; Jeremiah 12:7-17; Habakkuk 2:3 and 3:2-19), and establish the righteous of the TaNaKh in His Messianic Kingdom forever.

Amazingly, the priests in Malachi’s day had failed to learn such hope from the Scriptures. They questioned God’s justice by saying that He delights in evil people and by asking, “Where is the God of justice” (Malachi 2:17c CJB). Yet they were the guilty ones; they were the ones who were unfaithful to Him. Here also, Ha’Shem responded by referring to His future judgment (Malachi 3:1-5). However, unlike the answers by the righteous biblical writers mentioned above, the judgment which Malachi referred to was to be against the hypocritical questionnaires as well.²⁹⁶