The other day I was studying a passage from the Book of Malachi with some of my friends. We were in Malachi 1. As we discussed the chapter, we were led to the question “What type of offering do we bring to God each day?” Let’s begin in verse 6:
A son honors his father and a servant his master. Then if I am a father, where is My honor? And if I am a master, where is My respect? says the Lord of hosts to you, O priests who despise My name. But you say, How have we despised Your name? You are presenting defiled food upon My altar. But you say, How have we defiled You? In that you say, The table of the Lord is to be despised. But when you present the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil? And when you present the lame and sick, is it not evil? Why not offer it to your governor? Would he be pleased with you? Or would he receive you kindly? says the Lord of hosts. (Malachi 1:6-8 NASB)
Many scholars believe that the prophet Malachi was the last prophet in the Old Testament. For 400+ years after Malachi, there seemed to be complete silence amongst the prophets until John the Baptist came preparing the way for Jesus Christ. The context of Malachi is that a remnant had returned to the Promised Land from captivity in Babylon. The temple had been rebuilt (see Ezra), and the wall had been completed (see Nehemiah). From a rational viewpoint, it seemed like things should be going well. Israel was back in the land with its temple (representing the very presence of the Lord) and the wall (representing protection). However, in our verses above, we see that God is not being respected. The priests, the very representatives of God, were bringing blind, lame, and sick sacrifices to God. If you remember, God required the best of the flock for His offerings, not the worst. God was not pleased with the priests’ offering, and He was letting it be known through His prophet, Malachi. The priests ultimately had a problem with their hearts!
Thankfully, because of the blood of Jesus Christ, we, as believers, are no longer under a sacrificial system. We do not have to offer sheep, goats, bulls, grain, etc. However, we are called to be living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God (see Romans 12:1). I stress the word “living”. We offer ourselves to God, so to speak. Our lives should not be about us, but it should be about Him! As the beginning of verse 11 says, “For from the rising of the sun even to its setting, My name will be great among the nations.” So, the question that has to be asked by each one of us is, “What type of offering do you bring to God each day?” You see, the love of God, the grace of God, the mercy of God, should motivate us to be living sacrifices to Him. The first part of Romans 12:1 says “in the view of God’s mercy.” We should always be looking back to the cross! We are only forgiven because Jesus made the ultimate sacrifice on our behalf. Because of what He did for us on the cross, it should motivate us to bring our best “sacrifice”.
Back to Malachi beginning in verse 9:
But now will you not entreat God’s favor, that He may be gracious to us? With such an offering on your part, will He receive any of you kindly? says the Lord of hosts. Oh that there were one among you who would shut the gates, that you might not uselessly kindle fire on My altar! I am not pleased with you, says the Lord of hosts, nor will I accept an offering from you. (Malachi 1:9,10 NASB)
Yikes! God basically communicates that the priests were offering unacceptable offerings and were expecting God to answer their prayers. However, He said He will not! God pleads that there would be one priest who would stand up against this wickedness taking place!
I wonder what God thinks of our “living sacrifices” each day. I wonder if He may not be answering our prayers because of our broken offerings. If you are struggling to be a living sacrifice, maybe you should be reflecting on God’s mercy in your life – that though you deserved death, He gave you life! Fall back on the grace of God and may we be a living sacrifice today as we approach the throne room of grace with confidence.