Worship of the Lord God
became “weariness” to Israel, and they “snuffed”
at it as well. Though they were to be a people who worshiped the Lord
with the best of sacrifices and offerings, they gave moldy bread and
sickly animals instead. Their contempt for worship was noticed by the
Lord, and in verse fourteen of the first chapter of Malachi, the
prophet shares the curse that is spoken against the ones who conduct
themselves in such a manner as this. We read:
But cursed be
the deceiver, which has in his flock a male, and vows, and sacrifices
unto the Lord a corrupt thing: for I am a great King, says
the LORD of hosts, and my name is dreadful among the
heathen.
The
verse begins, “But cursed be the
deceiver, which has in his flock a male, and vows, and sacrifices
unto the Lord a corrupt thing:” There
were consequences to the behaviors and attitudes of those who
worshiped the Lord with such contempt. The Lord said, “But
cursed” or “to put a curse
upon, to curse and abhor” “be the deceiver”
which is a person who is “crafty, knavish, or with guile”.
This person “has in his flock a male” which refers to a
male animal as instructed within the law, “and vows” which
is a “voluntary promise to give or do something”, “and
sacrifices unto the Lord a corrupt thing” or “slaughters or
kills a marred, spoiled, injured, ruined or rotted” animal. Rather
than being obedient to the law and offering their best animals, this
“deceiver” only pretended to offer his best sacrifices to
the Lord.
The
verse goes on to say, “for I am a great
King, says the LORD of hosts, and my name is dreadful
among the heathen.” After
cursing anyone who would attempt to deceive Him, “the
LORD of hosts” declares two
traits about Himself. First, “I am a great King”
which means He is a “distinguished and important” “King”
or ultimate ruler. Secondly, He declared, “my name is
dreadful” or “reputation,
fame and glory” is “feared, revered, and made to be
afraid” “among the heathen” or
Gentile nations of the world. God told the nation of Israel, because
of their rejection of Him, He would turn His attention toward the
Gentiles, and these “heathen” nations revered the reputation,
fame and glory of the Lord.
As
we ponder the words of the prophet Malachi, do we ever give less than
our best unto the Lord? Do we ever with pretense act as though we are
offering all we have but really we are only acting as a “deceiver”
before Him? There are consequences to our actions and activities
before the Lord just as there were to the nation of Israel. As we
read these words of Malachi hopefully we are gaining insight into
what is pleasing to the Lord and what is not. Rather than being
people who might come under a curse for contemptible worship, let us
learn from the poor example of the nation of Israel and worship the
Lord with all our might in Spirit and in truth.
Next
time we begin a new chapter and see Malachi direct his attention
toward the priests,
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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