Malachi – Part 2 of 5

God’s Boundless Blessing

Malachi 1:11 – For from the rising of the sun to its setting my name will be great among the nations, and in every place incense will be offered to my name, and a pure offering.

The priests taught the people the ways of the Lord from the Torah. They were taught the law and how it applied to everyday life as well as the laws concerning offerings at the temple.

When anyone of the house of Israel presents a burnt offering to the Lord, it shall be a male without blemish, of the bulls or the sheep or the goats. You shall not offer anything that has a blemish, for it will not be acceptable for you. (Lev22:18-20)

It was the responsibility of the priests to ensure that nothing impure was burnt on the alter. From chapter 1 v 6 through chapter 2 v 9, the Lord rebukes the priests for their unfaithfulness in this command. He says, “A son honors his father. If then I am a father, where is my honor? O priests, who despise my name.” The Lord once again predicts the response of ‘How have we despised your name?’ The answer is clear, “When you offer blind animals… when you offer those that are lame or sick…” The Lord goes on to ask, with such a gift from your hand, should I show you any favour? In fact, God was so displeased and offended with their offerings that he would rather they just shut the doors of the temple, “that you might not kindle fire on my altar in vain!”

What is it we are offering the Lord? Do we sacrifice time to spend in his presence or do we give him what is left over at the end of the day? Do we sacrifice money for his work or give him our spare change? Do we give of our gifts and talents generously? Do we worship him in spirit and in truth? The Lord wants genuine worship and a pure offering from genuine worshippers; what he gives in return are boundless blessings. We should want to give him our very best for that is what he deserves; anything less than that is not acceptable.

We serve the great I AM and we have been made pure by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. The Lord wants each of us to offer our lives on the altar – all that we are and all that we have – for when we do, his endless favour is poured out upon us.