Malachi 1 – 4
Verse 1:8 focuses on our giving:
When you offer blind animals for sacrifice, isn’t that evil? And when you present sick and lame animals, isn’t that evil? Try bringing these useless animals to your foreign governor when you need his favor; will he grant your request and lift up your face to his to dignify you? Of course not.
The offering plate comes by and we dig up the scraps that our in our wallet. If it’s a choice between a 10 or a 100 the 10 gets dropped. We all do this in one way or another, most of the time subconsciously. Now I don’t want to fall into a “Prosperity Gospel” trap and say you give and shall receive, but rather just GIVE. We are not to hoard and worship our wealth, but rather be free in giving and experiencing that joy.
Verse 1:13 expands on this more:
and when you sigh contemptuously and say, “Don’t you see how boring all these required rituals are?” You bring stolen or dirty gifts—your own lame and sick animals or animals you found torn apart by beasts in the wilderness—to the offering. Should I accept what you present?
We don’t understand the freedom given by giving. Don’t make it about a ritual of passing the plate, but rather have fun!! See how a BIG TIME lights up the eyes of a worker and that they understand God’s love along with it.
Verse 3:1 talks about a “messenger”:
Eternal One: Pay attention! I am sending My messenger,
and he will clear the road ahead for Me.
The Lord you seek will suddenly arrive at His temple.
And the Messenger of God’s covenant, your soul’s delight,
Watch, because He, too, is coming.
Who is this messenger? Verses 4:5 & 6 may have insight for us:
5 Keep watch. I am sending Elijah the prophet to you before the arrival of the great and terrible day of the Eternal One, 6 and he will return parents’ hearts to their children and children’s hearts to their parents, or else I will come and strike the land of promise with a curse of annihilation.
Is God sending Elijah or someone “like” Elijah? The people of Israel were expecting Elijah to return and therefore did not recognize John the Baptist as he stood before them. If we look at timing and God’s message we can see how many of these prophecies have come true. Hold on your seats because the next series in this weekly read is Revelations and is going to show us some difficult truths.