GOD’S LOVE - AND OUR RESPONSE
Some people are never happier than when they’re having an argument - especially over religion! The people that Malachi was addressing fell into that category. The prophet had found it necessary to take issue with the people of Israel. He’d been inspired by the Spirit to pronounce a word from their God, "I have loved you." Any reasonable person would think, "Now who could take exception with that?" But it happened. The people of Israel were so out of sorts with themselves and their relationship with God that they immediately queried that true and wonderful statement - "I have loved you." "How have you loved us?" (1:2), they countered.
The book of Malachi falls conveniently at the end of the Old Testament and so its name, if not its message, is well known! The prophecy was spoken against the background of a decline in Israel’s history, both national and spiritual. It was several generations on from when the nation had its freedom restored after a long exile in Babylon. The Jews had returned to their homeland full of enthusiasm. After some setbacks they had finally rebuilt the city of Jerusalem and most important, the temple. But then a new generation had arisen who knew nothing of the renewal of spiritual life that had come to the nation on returning from exile. There had been a marked deterioration in the conduct of the priesthood. Widespread apathy and cold formalism now marred their religious life.
But God hadn’t given up on his covenant people. It was to meet this depressing situation that he sent the prophet Malachi to minister to the nation. Sadly, the people’s appetite to hear a word from the Lord was so small that they were reluctant to accept the statement that Malachi made in God’s name. "’I have loved you’, says the Lord. But you ask, ’How have you loved us?’" The impertinence of the question is astounding!
The people may have thought they were just rebuffing Malachi, a fellow Jew, but really they were demonstrating their utter disbelief in God - and they thought they could get away with it! I read of a student who made a similar mistake. He was in the college chapel and, looking at the order of service, groaned aloud. The middle-aged lady next to him asked what was the matter. The student replied, "It’s the preacher. He’s my director of studies. I have to go to his lectures and he’s the dullest man alive, utterly boring." "Oh," said the woman, "Do you know who I am?" The student looked at her and said he didn’t. "Well," said the woman, "I’m the preacher’s wife!" The student said faintly, "And do you know who I am?" "No," said the professor’s wife. "Hallelujah," said the student!
The young man got away with his indiscretion but the people of Israel weren’t so fortunate. They were dealing with God. Over the years the people of Israel had allowed indifference and carelessness in their relationship with God to build up a kind of insulation to the word of the Lord. Is there a lesson for us here? Sunday by Sunday we hear his message, but are we listening to his voice or does it pass harmlessly over our heads, hardly noticed and totally disregarded? Like the people of Israel it’s possible for us to become "Gospel hardened" with the result that God’s word has little or no effect on us.
Drastic action was now called for. God chose a courageous man to deliver a stern message. The name "Malachi" simply means "messenger" and certainly he was a man with a message. It can’t have been easy for Malachi to stand before such a people and systematically reveal their shortcomings and show their insincerity and disloyalty to God. Was it ignorance? Surely not, because there’d been a succession of faithful prophets delivering God’s message. It was more likely indifference or even an outright show of independence from their covenant responsibilities. When the people were confronted with the truth they refused to accept it and challenged Malachi’s statement. They retorted, "In what way have we committed these alleged wrongs?" Malachi charged them with having:
DESPISED GOD’S NAME
"How have we despised your name?" (1:6). It was to the priests of Israel that this word was specifically addressed. How did they, how could they, and how can we, despise God’s name? It’s a question of honouring God for whom he is. Jehovah is described in Scripture as the Father of Israel. This speaks of a very precious relationship but it carries responsibilities and obligations. Israel wanted the benefits - freedom and prosperity - but wouldn’t accept their part of the relationship. They felt they were a cut above the surrounding nations and proud that Jehovah was their Father but were unwilling to recognise his lordship. If he was their Father, where was the respect due to him? It was conspicuously absent. The relationship was all one-sided. We have to ask ourselves, "How do we measure up on this scale?"
Malachi points the finger at the people’s leaders. Those who are in positions of responsibility have to be all the more careful in word and deed that they don’t mislead those who look up to them. There’s nothing that the newspapers like more than to expose the actions of a Christian who has fallen short of the expected standard. It seems that the reporting of a crime is all the more newsworthy if committed by a "born again" Christian! Those who love the Lord are watched. Inconsistency is noticed and brings the Lord’s name into disrepute.
"Why do you call me, ’Lord, Lord’ and do not do what I say?" (Luke 6:46), said Jesus to those who professed to be his followers. The priests’ failure was condemned because of the effect it had on the people of Israel. They had failed to teach reverence and naturally the people they led concluded that no reverence was due. One thing led to another, and not only had the people of Israel Despised God’s Name, they also:
DESECRATED GOD’S ALTAR
How had they done this? "You place defiled food on my altar" (1:7). The priests reacted indignantly to the charge that they had desecrated God’s altar. "How could this be true?" they inquired. With great patience Malachi explained that they had failed to follow the regulations for offerings and sacrifices given to Moses by Jehovah. They had polluted God’s altar. It was a principle that if a sacrifice was to be acceptable to God, it must be perfect. The offering must be unblemished and free from any defect. Yet the priests were evidently accepting and offering sacrifices below the divine standard. Their approach to worship was casual and undemanding. Well, we may argue, that was the priesthood of the Old Testament. But wait, a holy standard of worship is laid upon all believers in Jesus. The apostle Peter writes to the church: "You … are being built into a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ" (I Peter 2:5). What has this to say to us in our approach to worship?
The sad fact was that the priests of Israel were treating God with contempt. It was a case of "anything goes". They were content to offer the blemished, the blind and the broken - and this was quite unacceptable to God. They had lost the sense of what worship meant. They had forgotten that Jehovah measured the value of the offering by its worth to the person bringing it. Jesus made this clear when he said that the widow who threw two mites into the temple treasury had given more than all the wealthy who had merely given out of their abundance, when she had given her all (Mark 12:41-44).
Malachi, with great irony, invites the priests to offer the blemished animals to the Persian governor. Would he be delighted with the rubbish they were offering to God? Yet they offered to God what they wouldn’t dare offer to an earthly ruler. The lesson to apply to ourselves is obvious. How dare we offer God our cast-offs in terms of time, talent and ability? That’s what the priests of Malachi’s day did. How dare they ask, "In what way have we Defiled God’s Altar?" This was in addition to the earlier charge that they had Despised God’s Name.
The people began to feel distinctly uncomfortable and it was time for the prophet to appeal to them to return to the relationship they once had with Jehovah. "’Return to me and I will return to you’ says the Lord Almighty." The people seemed unsure of how they could do so, and they asked Malachi, "How are we to return?" (3:7,8). If they thought there was an easy way to return to God’s favour, some formula that would be painless and yet would satisfy God, they were in for a surprise. For there was yet another charge to be levelled at them which went to the heart of their relationship with God. Malachi told them that they had:
DEFRAUDED GOD’S TREASURY
"’Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me.’" That was God’s verdict. "How did we rob you?" The people were surprised, perhaps even indignant. Robbing God, what a thing to suggest! "Yes, it’s true" replied Malachi, "you have robbed (God) … in tithes and offerings." They were stingy and shabby in their thinking and giving. In the Law of Moses the tithe was God’s as of absolute right. It was the first charge on their income, and was paid to the Levites for their maintenance. This tribe had been called to special priestly duties and God, in his providential care, had decreed that the Levites should be supported by the tithes of the other tribes. Of course, if the system broke down, the priests would have to withdraw from their service in order to cultivate their fields, to the neglect of spiritual leadership and teaching. For those who remained at their posts, the result would be hardship, together with the widows and orphans who were to be provided for in this early form of welfare.
God’s purpose for his people is an ordered society, in whatever era we look, whether in his earlier revelation of himself through the priests and prophets of Israel or in the church of Christ. It requires all the members of his Kingdom to play their part. Money is a vital cog in the wheel, not just because it pays the upkeep of the ministry and its expenses, but it’s a touchstone of our obedience to God’s commands. A person’s attitude to his or her possessions is often a stumbling block to discipleship. The Rich Young Ruler who badly wanted eternal life would have been a devoted follower of Jesus but for the love that he had for his money.
Some might argue that in the Christian era the requirements of the Law of Moses no longer apply, but this betrays an attitude that is alien to the grace of God towards us. How could giving to God under Grace be less than it was under the Law? Of course, the welfare state takes care of those in need and these costs are met out of our taxes, but the prime cost of supporting the ministry of the church and expenses in maintaining buildings and equipment still exists.
The apostle John tells us that "God’s commands are not burdensome" (1 John 5:3). In fact, to obey God in generous, obedient giving pays dividends if it’s done as part of our willing, joyful worship of God. There’s an old proverb: "God gives us the ingredients for our daily bread but expects us to do the baking." He wants us to give back to him our skills (however inadequate) and our resources (however limited) for him to use in his Kingdom.
When you go out for a meal served as a buffet you’re given the invitation to serve yourself, perhaps a salad. There’s quite a range of dishes to choose from according to your taste. This is fine for eating but it doesn’t work in Christian terms. One of the reasons why there’s spiritual poverty is that believers have taken the "salad bar" approach to Scripture. Can we really pick the teachings we’re comfortable with and ignore the rest? The answer, of course, is "no". When we take the "salad bar" approach to Scripture to justify our own prejudices or personal comfort, the result is a stunted spiritual life.
God is sovereign. We have no leverage to get him to act as we would want him to. There’s no question of bargaining with God on our terms. Listen to this story illustrating the error of trying to blackmail God into giving us our own way. A small boy was writing a letter to God about the Christmas presents he badly wanted. "I’ve been good for six months now," he wrote. But after a moment’s reflection he crossed out "six months" and wrote "three". After a pause that was crossed out and he put "two weeks". There was another pause and that was crossed out too. He got up from the table and went over to the little crib scene that had the figures of Mary and Joseph. He picked up the figure of Mary and went back to his writing and started again: "Dear God, if ever you want to see your mother again…!" We have no hold over God, but we do have his promise spoken by Malachi to those who obey his word: "’Test me in this,’ says the Lord Almighty, ’and see if I will not open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it’" (3:10).
Malachi’s prophecy began with the most important statement that God ever made to the people of Judah, "I have loved you." It certainly wasn’t because of their merits (Deut 7:7,8; 9:5-7). They were part of a small nation state, a stubborn and rebellious race. But God’s love was sovereign. He loved them because he loved them and for no other reason. They were chosen as part of his great plan of salvation for the people of planet Earth. All of us are included in his love.
"I have loved you" - these are the words that God is still saying. In view of what he’s done for us in Christ we’ve no right to be asking, as did the shameless people of Judah, "How have you loved us?" Those of you with long memories may recall the well-known words of President Kennedy’s Inauguration Speech: "Ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country." Similarly, we should be asking ourselves, "How are we responding to that overwhelming, unmerited love?" There will then be:
No fear of Despising God’s Name by failing to give him the reverence that is his due,
No danger of Desecrating God’s Altar by offering less than our very best in his service, and
No desire of Defrauding God’s Treasury by withholding what is his due from the resources entrusted to us.
"I have loved you" - may his love be our inspiration.
