The Lord was not pleased,
according to the prophet Malachi, with the contempt for offerings and
sacrifices from the priests and people of the nation of Israel, nor
was He pleased with the way they dealt with their wives
treacherously. They wearied Him with their words by calling evil
things good and believing that the Lord somehow accepted evil deeds.
Their question was, “Where is the God of judgment?”, and in
chapter three we have seen the forerunner and the refining, purifying
and purging Messiah introduced as the answer to their question. In
verse four of the same chapter, Malachi records the results after the
priests of Levi are cleansed. We read:
Then shall the offering
of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the LORD, as in the days of
old, and as in former years.
The
verse begins, “Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be
pleasant unto the LORD,” Once the purifying was completed, and
once the purging and refining were accomplished, “then shall the
offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant” which means “sweet
and pleasing” and infers “intermingling” “unto the Lord”.
The intimacy the Lord desires to have with His people will be
established in the order in which it should be.
The
verse goes on to say, “as in the days of old, and as in former
years.” The Lord makes reference to “the days of old”
which refers to “antiquity or long ago”. He adds, “as in
former years” which refers to “in front, before, ancient or
olden times”. The inference is that there was a time when the
nation of Israel and the people worshiped the Lord in a manner which
was pleasing to Him. We can almost imagine the Lord reminiscing to a
time when they worshiped Him with pure hearts and minds, and He
demonstrates through His words the desire to enjoy intimacy with
Israel in this manner.
Worship
of the Lord is a time of intimacy with Him. Whether we are singing,
praying, lifting our hands or taking care of our earthly deeds, we
are constantly able to worship the Lord. As we consider the Lord's
purifying of the priests so He could enjoy “pleasant”
worship with Him, perhaps we should consider asking Him to do the
same for us. There might be a time in the past where worship of the
Lord was enjoyable, rich and incredibly intimate, and we need to be
refreshed in our time with Him. Let our offering be as pleasant as
purified“Judah and Jerusalem”, and may the Lord teach us
to worship Him in a manner that is well pleasing unto Him.
Next
time we see the swift judgment of the Lord against those live
contrary to His ways,
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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