Judah, Israel and Jerusalem
forsook the holiness of the Lord in their worship and began to
worship “strange” gods. Rather than seeking “The LORD of
hosts” in awe, the people, including the priests, were handling
offerings and sacrifices with contempt. In Malachi chapter two and
verse twelve we see the Lord's response to their rejection of Him and
their acceptance of strange gods where we read:
The LORD will cut off
the man that does this, the master and the scholar, out of the
tabernacles of Jacob, and him that offers an offering unto the LORD
of hosts.
The
verse begins, “The LORD will cut off the man that does this,”
Let us note first by whom this action will come, “The LORD”.
The creator of all the universe is the One who “will cut off”
which means “cut down, cut out, an eliminate” “the man that
does this” which refers to the ones who worship “strange
gods” rather than the true and holy God.
The
verse goes on to say, “the master and the scholar, out of the
tabernacles of Jacob,” After proclaiming that those who do
these things will be cut off, the Lord names specifically the ones of
whom He speaks. First, there is “the master” which
literally means “to be hot or ardent” and implies being “alert
and watchful”. “The master” was a teacher who
pontificated and watched over his students. He was to proclaim the
truth of God, and in this case he was not doing so and actually was
leading the students away from the Lord. Secondly, He named “the
scholar” which means “to answer,respond, testify, speak or
shout” and refers to the students. “The scholar” would
be one who sang, cried out or responded to the message which was
given by “the master” or teacher. In this case, both “the
master and the scholar” were in the tabernacles of Jacob and
were to be “cut off” from the practices within them.
Finally
the verse says, “and him that offers an offering unto the LORD
of hosts.” The Lord also included “him that offers an
offering” which refers to those who carried out the sacrifices
“unto the LORD of hosts”. No gift, offering, sacrifice,
tribute nor present would be sufficient to remove the treacherous
behavior exhibited by the priests and people. Because they forsook
the Lord for strange gods, not even their offerings would be
accepted.
One of
the greatest detriments man will ever face is to be “cut off”
from the Lord. Because the nation of Israel did not desire to follow
the Lord and His ways and rather sought out strange gods, their
spiritual leaders and their students were “cut off”. It
must have been horrible to know that their offerings would not be
accepted any longer, and though they needed to be forgiven for their
sins, they no longer would be. As we ponder these things, we should
remember that God Almighty in His graciousness sent His Only Begotten
Son Jesus to be the ultimate offering for our sins. Those who receive
Him by faith will never know what it means to be “cut off”
from God. However, those who reject Him, go their own ways, and seek
out and worship strange gods will find no offering, teaching,
position or sacrifice will ever satisfy the debt of sin which they
owe. May all who read these words take heed, and may he that has ears
to hear, hear the words of the Lord.
Next
time the Lord shares concerning their times at the altar,
so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until
tomorrow...there is more...
Look
for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From
Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be
Married”, and the new devotional “One Year in the Sermon on the
Mount” in all major bookstore sites, www.amazon.com ;
www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at
www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
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