Malaquias 2
Warren Wiersbe · Citado em PreceptAustin
Malaquias 2
Wiersbe - The priests dishonored God’s name in another way: they despised the very privilege of being priests (Mal. 2:1–5). They were taking for granted the high calling God had given them and treating the temple ministry with contempt. Serving at the altar was a job, not a ministry, and they did it to please themselves, not to please and glorify the Lord. Unfortunately, that same attitude is in the church today. Malachi 2:2 "If you do not listen, and if you do not take it to heart to give honor to My name," says the LORD of hosts, "then I will send the curse upon you and I will curse your blessings; and indeed, I have cursed them already, because you are not taking it to heart .: (Not listen - : Lev 26:14-46, Dt 28:15-68, Dt 30:17,18 Ps 81:11,12 Isa 30:8-13 Jer 6:16-20, 13:17, 25:4-9, 34:17 Eze 3:7 Zec 1:3-6, 7:11-14) (Isa 42:25, 47:7, 57:11)(Give honor or glory - Jos 7:19, Jer 13:16, Lk 17:18, 1Pe 4:11, Rev 14:7, 16:9) HONORING GOD'S NAME Wiersbe sees the Key theme of Malachi as "Honoring the name of God by living godly lives." A good word in Malachi's today and our day! Let it be, by the enabling power of Thy Spirit great Jehovah. Amen. If...then - This introduces a conditional statement, which is a promise. We all love the promises of God, but need to remember that some are promises regarding which we would rather not be the "beneficiary!" (e.g., cf 2Ti 3:12-note!) Give honor to My Name - The clear implication is that when the priests obey God, they honor His great Name. Beloved, are we not His priests today in the New Covenant (cf 1Pe 2:9)? How much more should we honor His Name for we have His indwelling Spirit to give us the desire and power to obey His commandments! (cf Phil 2:12NLT-note, Phil 2:13NLT-note) Walter Kaiser - People whose life and ministry did not give glory to God’s name practiced merely the “form of godliness,” without any of its power (2 Tim. 3:5). They might profess to know God, but their works denied their words (Titus 1:16). (The Preacher’s Commentary ) Give honor - The KJV has "give glory" - This is the chief end of man according to the Westminster Catechism. Scriptures, both Old and New, repeatedly attests to this truth... Josh 7:19 Then Joshua said to Achan, “My son, I implore you, give glory to the LORD, the God of Israel, and give praise to Him; and tell me now what you have done. Do not hide it from me (See Achan's response - Josh 7:20, 21).” Jer 13:16 (Addressed to rebellious Judah soon to be demolished by the Babylonians and taken into 70 years of exile) Give glory to the LORD your God, Before He brings darkness And before your feet stumble On the dusky mountains, And while you are hoping for light He makes it into deep darkness, And turns it into gloom. Comment: Note that in the midst of impending wrath, God offers mercy. Give God the glory. Turn from your sin. Obey. Otherwise you will be punished. This principle is timeless. Luke 17:18 (Jesus in the context [Lk 17:17] of cleansing of the 10 cleansed asks) “Was no one found who turned back to give glory to God, except this foreigner ?” Comment: Here we note that giving God the thanks due His Name is a way of giving Him glory. 1Pet 4:11-note (Referring to "Spiritual Gifts" Peter declares) Whoever speaks, let him speak, as it were, the utterances of God; whoever serves, let him do so as by the strength which God supplies; so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to Whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. Comment: When the saints of God effectively and in the Spirit use the gifts of God, the result is that God is glorified. This begs the question dear saint...Do you know your spiritual gift(s)? Are you using your gifts to bring Him glory or are you using them to bring glory to yourself? Or are you not using them at all in the local body in which His Spirit has placed you? If the latter is true, your local body is less than it should be, for the use of your gift(s) is integral to the proper functioning of the Body of Christ. Rev 14:7-note and he said with a loud voice, “Fear God, and give Him glory, because the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him who made the heaven and the earth and sea and springs of waters.” Comment: The context is the proclamation of the "Eternal Gospel" (Rev 14:6). The implication then of those who "Fear God" is that they believe the Gospel. What a privilege it is that we as believers today can live in such a way as to give Him glory! Rev 16:9-note And men were scorched with fierce heat; and they blasphemed the name of God Who has the power over these plagues; and they did not repent, so as to give Him glory. Comment: Notice the importance of repentance, a doctrine which sadly many fail to proclaim as an integral component of the Gospel. Whereas those who repent and believe the eternal Gospel in Rev 14:6-7 give Him glory, those who fail to repent and believe do not give Him glory. And so we see the parallel here in Mal 2:2 where the priests do not give God the glory due His great Name, but instead like those earth dwellers (unbelievers) in the time of the Revelation, do the very antithesis...they blaspheme the Name of God! I will send the curse upon you - MacKay notes that this "is almost an exact quotation of Deuteronomy 28:20. ‘Send’ is an intensive form of the verb and so may be translated ‘hurl’ or ‘let loose’. A curse, literally ‘the curse’ (all the devastation of God’s righteous judgment) is the inevitable counterpart of the covenant blessing. It comes into force because the requirements of the covenant have been ignored." I will curse your blessings - A "divine oxymoron" - cursed blessings! This is the antithesis of what Jehovah desires most to bestow on His chosen people, but what He must do if they persist in disobedience. Walter Kaiser - The penalty for failing to hear and respond to God was strong: three times the text mentions a curse that God would bring on the priests for their disobedience and unbelief. God’s name is serious business, and nothing pollutes it more than the misconduct of those whose business is to honor it. You are not taking it to heart - Not determining to obey and honor His Name. This is the second mention of the key word heart in verse 2 (the other key word is curse). Is not the heart of all our problems, the problem of our heart! This is a fascinating verse, for in the first clause we see a prophecy and in the last clause the fulfillment of the prophecy! (See discussion of key words for the value of disciplining yourself to observe and interrogate key words in a verse, chapter or book and how in so doing, you will very often receive wonderful spiritual insights as the Spirit illuminates the text - 1Cor 2:11-13, Jn 16:13). God through Moses had clearly warned Israel not to sow seeds of disobedience, lest they reap the fruit of divine retribution... See, I have set before you today life and prosperity, and death and adversity; in that I command you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in His ways and to keep His commandments and His statutes and His judgments, that you may live and multiply, and that the LORD your God may bless you in the land where you are entering to possess it. 17 But if your heart turns away and you will not obey, but are drawn away and worship other gods and serve them, 18 I declare to you today that you shall surely perish. You shall not prolong your days in the land (Note: "The land" in most of its OT uses refers to the land God promised to give to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob) where you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess it. 19 “I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants, (Deut 30:15-19) LORD of hosts (This Name occurs 239x in OT and 24 or 10% are in small book of Malachi!) - This is an interesting choice of one of His great Names, Names they refused to honor! Richard Mayhue writes that "Jehovah–Sabaoth or LORD Almighty (‘LORD of hosts) refers to God’s command of all His creation, which ensures divine victory over every enemy (Jer 11:20)." See more discussion of Jehovah Sabaoth, LORD of hosts (of armies). Malachi 2:3 "Behold, I am going to rebuke your offspring, and I will spread refuse on your faces, the refuse of your feasts; and you will be taken away with it.: (spread: Heb. scatter, Mal 2:9 1Sa 2:29,30 1Ki 14:10 2Ki 9:36,37 Job 20:7 Ps 83:10 Jer 8:2 Na 3:6 Lk 14:35 1Co 4:13) JEHOVAH'S STINKING REBUKE NLT - "Because of you I will rebuke your descendants ; I will spread on your faces the offal from your festival sacrifices, and you will be carried off with it. NET Malachi 2:3 I am about to discipline your children and will spread offal on your faces, the very offal produced at your festivals, and you will be carried away along with it (cf where the offal was to be discarded = Ex. 29:14). GWN Malachi 2:3 "I'm going to punish your descendants. I'm going to spread excrement on your faces, the excrement from your festival sacrifices. You will be discarded with it. Behold (hinneh) -This interjection always serves to call the reader's attention to something. Jehovah is now going to announce His a rebuke to which the readers should give special attention! W A Criswell notes that - This verse begins with the first of five "behold" clauses in the book that announce something which will occur in the future (cf. Mal 2:3, 3:1; 4:1, 5). The "refuse" spoken of is the dung left behind after one of Judah's hypocritical religious feasts. Spreading it on the priests would render them unclean and, thus, unfit for priestly service. Since their lives had already rendered them unfit, this would be an appropriate punishment, although the action is surely to be understood figuratively. The law commanded that the dung of the sacrifices was to be burned outside the camp (Ex. 29:14; Lev. 4:11, 12; 16:27). As the dung was to be removed after a festival, so they were also to be removed, disqualified and rejected. Henry
Malaquias 2
Wiersbe - In short, God was saying, “You’re treating Me with disrespect, so I’ll treat you like garbage! You don’t value the priestly ministry, so why should you be in office?” Steven