A Stern Rebuke: God Calls Out the Priesthood’s Disrespect

Having powerfully affirmed His enduring love for the nation of Israel in the opening verses of Malachi, the Lord now sharply shifts His focus. In the second message of the book, found in Malachi 1:6-9, God turns His gaze upon the very heart of Israel’s spiritual life: its priesthood. The accusation is clear and direct: disrespect.

Malachi 1:6 opens with a foundational truth: “‘A son honors his father, and a servant his master.’” This universal principle of respect is then applied pointedly: “‘Then if I am a father, where is My honor? And if I am a master, where is My respect?’ says the Lord of armies to you, the priests who despise My name!” Just as the people questioned God’s love, the priests, with astonishing audacity, retort, “How have we despised Your name?”

The Priests Offer Defiled Sacrifices

God’s answer to their self-justifying question is immediate and damning: “You are presenting defiled food upon My altar.” Their further query, “How have we defiled You?”, reveals the depth of their spiritual blindness. God clarifies: “In that you say, ‘The table of the Lord is to be despised.’”

The defilement was not merely accidental; it stemmed from an internal attitude of contempt. This contempt manifested in the quality of their offerings. Malachi 1:8 states, “And when you present a blind animal for sacrifice, is it not evil? Or when you present a lame or sick animal, is it not evil?” The absurdity of their actions is highlighted by a rhetorical challenge: “So offer it to your governor! Would he be pleased with you, or would he receive you kindly?” says the Lord of armies. Even a human authority figure would reject such paltry offerings, yet they dared to present them to the Almighty God.

The Old Testament law, particularly in Leviticus 22:20-25 and Deuteronomy 15:21, clearly stipulated that sacrifices offered to God must be unblemished and whole. The priests, as custodians of the Mosaic Law, were well aware of these requirements. Their deliberate disregard was a direct affront to God’s holiness and His rightful due.

For us today, the principle remains. While we no longer offer animal sacrifices, God’s “priests” now include ministers of the Word and indeed, every believer who belongs to the house of God (1 Peter 2:5, 9). The New Testament calls us to offer “living sacrifices,” our very bodies, holy and acceptable to God, which is our “spiritual worship” (Romans 12:1). If we are to give our best to any noble person, how much more should we offer our best – our sincere worship, our devoted service, our faithful obedience – to God, our Master and Father?

Remarkably, despite their egregious disrespect, the priests still had the audacity to seek God’s favor (Malachi 1:9). God’s response is cutting: “With such an offering on your part, will He receive any of you kindly?” It is a stark reminder that we cannot expect God’s blessings when we withhold from Him what is rightfully His. Indeed, God would rather have someone “close the doors” of the temple than endure such hypocritical and contemptuous service (Malachi 1:10). This echoes the sentiment in Isaiah 1:11-15, where God expresses weariness with empty rituals devoid of genuine reverence.

The Priests Serve with Weariness

Beyond defiled sacrifices, the priests were also guilty of serving God with a sense of weariness and contempt. God, in Malachi 1:11, reveals His ultimate purpose: to make His name great among the Gentiles, with “incense” (prayers) and “pure offering” being offered to Him everywhere. This was God’s original plan, beginning with Israel as His chosen vessel. Yet, the very people entrusted with this sacred duty, the priests, were “weary of keeping the altar of God” (Malachi 1:12-13).

Their weariness manifested in tangible ways: they complained about the burdensome nature of serving God, offering animals that were “stolen, lame, and sick,” while keeping the best of their livestock for themselves (Malachi 1:13). This act of withholding the unblemished, the prime portion due to God, was not merely an oversight; it was an act of deception and robbery. Malachi 1:14 warns that such selfish withholding brings a curse upon what they keep for themselves, if the least is what they offer to God.

The Priests Live Outside of the Levitical Covenant

The climax of God’s rebuke comes in Malachi 2:1-9, where He declares His intention to make the priests “contemptible and base.” He curses their blessings (Malachi 2:2) and threatens to spread “refuse on their faces,” rendering them unqualified to serve Him (Malachi 2:3).

This severe judgment highlights a profound betrayal: the priests had deviated from the very essence of the Levitical covenant. God reaffirms His commitment to uphold His covenant with Levi (Malachi 2:5-7), reminding them of the ideal life of a Levite, exemplified by their ancestor. The tribe of Levi was set apart for a life of service (Numbers 3:44-48, 18:8-24), with specific duties and responsibilities. Deuteronomy 33:8-11 outlines the characteristics of a faithful Levite:

• Reverence: “he feared Me and was reverent before Me.”
• Knowledge of God’s Word: “the law of truth was in his mouth.”
• Godly Character: “he walked with Me in peace and equity.”
• Preservation and Promotion of God’s Word: “his mouth keeps knowledge, and people seek the law from his mouth.”

The priests in Malachi’s day had clearly abandoned these foundational principles. Their service was a mere outward show, devoid of the inner motivation, reverence, and godly character that God demands.

Conclusion

The message to the priests of Israel in Malachi’s time resonates deeply with believers today. As Christ’s priests and “living stones” in His spiritual house, we are called to a higher form of priestly work. The Old Testament priesthood provides a powerful pattern for our duties and responsibilities.

We cannot feign genuine sacrifice before God; He sees the motivation of our hearts. Our attitude, our reverence, and our godly character are the true determinants of the quality of our worship and service. Just as God expected the Levites to embody specific virtues, so too does He expect His modern-day priests to be:

• Reverent to God!
• Knowledgeable in God’s Word!
• Godly in character!
• Helping in the preservation and promotion of God’s Word!

May we strive to be the priests God desires, offering Him not defiled or weary service, but the pure, unblemished sacrifice of lives lived in genuine love, honor, and obedience.