(Through the Bible) Malachi — Chuck Smith

Malachi as God’s Final Old Testament Messenger

Now let's turn to Malachi, the final word of God in the Old Testament period. God's final message before the coming of Jesus Christ. Who Malachi was, where he came from, we know nothing. Some believe that the name of Malachi is just an assumed name, not the true name of the writer.

But there is no real evidence to back up that belief. But the name Malachi, remember this morning I told you there were meanings in the names, that they just didn't name a child any name out of the dictionary.

But they look for the meaning of a name and they named the child for the meaning of the name. Malachi means my messenger. And so Malachi was God's messenger, the last messenger of the Old Testament period.

And he doesn't give any background concerning himself as some of the other minor prophets do, telling you where they came from and who their fathers were. It just is the burden of the word of the Lord to Israel by Malachi.

So that's your introduction to the book. Declaring the author and to whom the book is sent. Malachi, but the author really is the word of the Lord. The messenger Malachi and the people addressed Israel.

God’s Unfailing Love and Loving Discipline

What is God's first word of the final word? I have loved you. What a glorious thing for God to say to a person, I have loved you. Now that isn't a past tense, that is past and present. I continue to love you.

I have loved you. God's love never ceases. I have loved you, saith the Lord. But Israel in their cold spiritual condition responds, wherein have you loved us? Rather than responding in warmth to God, there is the challenge of that love.

Now many people today still are guilty of challenging God's love. And so many times a statement is begun with the words, if God loves me, then why? And often times the circumstances of my life, which seem to be very difficult or adverse, cause me at times to challenge God's love.

Now you find that today in Israel, there is a tremendous challenge to this statement by the people. If you would go over there today and proclaim to the people in Israel, God loves the people of Israel.

90 of them would say, if God loves the Jew, then how come 6 million of them were killed by Hitler? And I've had them say to me, we don't need that kind of love. But God declares, I have loved you, saith the Lord.

We think of love as some weak kind of thing that just is totally indulgent. But the Bible tells us that if you as a parent totally indulge your child, if you do not correct your child, you really aren't demonstrating love for that child, but you hate your child.

And the failure for you as a parent to discipline your child is not a sign of love, but of disregard, of hatred. God, because He loves us, disciplines us. Whom the Lord loveth, He chasteneth. But we're so used to thinking of love in the sickly, sweet, Hollywood sentimentality of the full moon and the beach in Hawaii and the guitars in the background and the waves gently coming up on the sand, you know.

And this whole kind of scene that we don't understand the nature of true love and of real love. That's Hollywood. True love is strong. Strong enough to rebuke when rebuke is necessary. Strong enough to chasten when chastening is for the best good.

And oftentimes chastening is necessary for our best good. A child left to himself will bring reproach to his parents, according to the Scriptures. Because we love our children, we chasten them. Because we're concerned in their well-being and in their safety.

We just, when they run out in the street, we just don't, you know, take a very haphazard attitude towards it. Say, oh look, he's playing in the street. Isn't that cute? But we discipline the child. We tell them the dangers of playing in the street.

We run out and we grab hold of them and we get them out of the street. And we warn them of the dangers. And if they continue and persist to go in the street, then we spank them to keep them out of the street.

Because we know the danger that exists if they walk off the curb and into the street. And because we love them and are concerned in their well-being, we take that necessary step and the strength of discipline, we stop them.

And so God, in His love for us, has that strength of love that brings discipline when we are doing those self-destructive acts. Now oftentimes it is during the discipline that we challenge the love of God.

If God loves me, then why is this happening to me? It's happening to you because He does love you and He's averting some tragedy down the road. And you should be thankful. Whom the Lord loveth, He chasteneth.

So there was the challenge. Where in does God love us? And God answers that challenge by pointing out the fact that He chose Jacob over Esau. Now they were twin brothers and Esau was the elder. And according to tradition, the blessings should have gone to Esau.

The birthright should have gone to Esau, although they were twins because he was born first. The right of the birthright was his and the blessing was his. But God reversed things. And God gave to Jacob the birthright and the blessing and the promise.

And being descendants of Jacob rather than Esau was the proof of God's love for Israel. Now both the descendants of Esau and Jacob were destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar and carried away as captives to Babylon.

However, the prophecy here is that Esau, though they are endeavoring, will not be rebuilt. Or Edom will not be rebuilt, the descendants of Esau. Though they're trying, their area is going to be wasted and desolate and they're not going to make it.

They're not going to recover, whereas God is going to recover Jacob and Israel in the land. Were they not brothers, the Lord said, and yet I loved Jacob and I hated Esau. Now, a lot of times people get hung up on this idea is God saying he hated somebody.

Actually, it is a term that means love in a lesser degree. I loved Jacob, but I loved Esau in a lesser degree. The word hated Esau is a rather difficult translation. But I laid his mountains and his heritage waste for the dragons of the wilderness.

Whereas Edom saith, we are impoverished, but we will return and build the desolate places. Thus saith the Lord of hosts, they shall build, but I will throw down. And they shall call them the border of wickedness and the people against whom the Lord hath indignation forever.

And so the Edomites were to be destroyed. God was going to cast them down, though they tried to repatriate and recover, they were unable to do so. And the Edomites were lost from history. Herod was the last of the Edomites, the King Herod's.

And from there, their ethnic identity is lost in history. The Lord said, your eyes shall see and you shall see. The Lord will be magnified from the border of Israel and the border of Edom, the border of wickedness.

Honoring God with Unblemished Offerings

It'll be desolation, but God will be magnified from the border of Israel. Now, the Lord brings out here an interesting thing. He said a son honors his father. And a servant, his master. If then I am your father, where is my honor?

And if I be a master, where is my reverence? Saith the Lord of hosts unto you. Oh, priest that despise my name and you say, wherein have we despised his name? So God says, look, a father receives honor from his son.

In fact, under the law, it says, honor your father and your mother. And the master receives reverence and respect from his slave. God is saying, look, if I'm your father, then where is the honor that you should be giving me?

If I'm your master, then why aren't you respecting or reverencing me? And then the Lord speaks out about the priesthood. And he said, oh, priest that despise my name. And they say, where have we despised your name?

And God said in that you have offered polluted bread upon my altar. And you say, where have we polluted thee? And God said in that you say the table of the Lord is contemptible. And you offer the blind for sacrifice.

Is it not evil? And if you offer the lame and the sick, is it not evil? Offer it to your governor and see how he thinks about it. God said you wouldn't offer that kind of lame, sick stuff to your governor.

And yet you offer it to me. It's amazing how many times God gets the castoffs. You know, I don't know what to do with it. I don't want to send it to the dump. Well, let's give it to the church. The castoffs.

We had the ugliest rocking chair in our church parsonage in Tucson. It was double ugly. And so we were talking with some of the members of the church about how we planned to get some new furniture in the parsonage and we were going to get rid of the rocking chair.

Oh, no, no, you can't get rid of the rocking chair. We said, why not? He said, well, that's our rocking chair. We gave it to the church. And we said, but we won't have room for it when our new furniture arrives.

We'll bring it back to your house. Oh, no, no, we don't want it. But, you know, it had some sentimental value to them. But they really didn't want it themselves. So the church becomes a storage place.

And we've got to have that dumb, ugly rocking chair in our living room because they don't know what to do with it. Giving God the castoffs. And God speaks of His disdain for it. Offering me polluted offerings.

Offering me the lambs that are sick, the lambs that are lame, the lambs that are blind, maimed, can't do anything else with them. Give them to God. Use them for sacrifice. When God in the law said that they were to offer the first fruits.

When they offered a lamb, it was to be without spot or blemish. They were to offer really unto God the sacrifices that were the best that they had. I read of a man who had an old upright piano in his home.

And he loved playing the piano. And so he went out and bought himself a beautiful Steinway. Baby grand. And he didn't know what to do with the old upright piano. And so he decided, well, I'll give it to the church.

And so he called the pastor and he said, I have a piano I want to donate to the church. And the pastor said, fine, you know. And the Lord began to speak to him. And said, you're going to give that old rickety worn out upright to me.

And you're keeping for yourself that Steinway. And God really began to nail this guy. So when the van came to pick up the piano. Guess which one went on the van? The Steinway. And he kept his old upright.

He just couldn't give to God the cast off. And yet how many times we pollute our gifts. By giving to God the cast offs. When God requires the first. And the best. Of our lives. God said, will the governor be pleased?

Will he accept the person for that sick lame sacrifice he's trying to offer? Of course not. Now I pray you. Beseech God that he will be gracious unto us. This has been. By your means. Will he regard your person, saith the Lord of hosts.

If the governor won't regard you for that. Sacrifice. Do you think that I should regard you and be pleased? Then the Lord said, who is there among you. That would shut the doors for nothing for not. Neither do you kindle a fire on my altar for not.

Now there are some who have interpreted this as a professional priesthood. In other words, they don't just give their service to God, but they want a for their service to God. However, that is not. Evidently what the Hebrew implies.

God is saying, actually, I would just as soon that someone would close the doors of the temple so that you wouldn't offer me any more of these sacrifices that are nothing. Don't bother coming. If that's all you have to offer, forget it.

I just wish that someone would close the doors of the temple so they wouldn't be offering me any more of this junk. I can do without it. Is the idea behind the Hebrew text. I have no pleasure, God says, in you.

Giving Ourselves in Response to God’s Benefits

These things don't please me. I don't have any pleasure in your junk. Neither will I accept the offering from you. Now, it should be of great concern to each of us when we consider the benefits of being a child of God.

When we consider all that God has done for us. It should be a primary concern to us, even as it was to the psalmist in Psalm 116. When he said, what shall I render unto the Lord for all of his benefits unto me?

When I think of all of the blessings and the benefits that God has bestowed upon my life. The question, what can I give to God? Well, what can I give to God that he needs? He doesn't need anything that I have.

You know what the psalmist finally came up with? He said, I will just take his cup of salvation and call upon his name. I don't know what to give to God. I'll just receive that which he wants to give to me.

I'll take the cup of salvation and I'll just call upon his name. Because you see, I really don't have anything of value that I can give to God that he really needs. I read of a mission out in New Mexico where they were ministering to the Indians out there on the reservation.

And this one old Indian came into the meeting and he was really touched. His heart was touched by God. And so when they passed the offering plate, when they came to him, he told the usher, put it down lower.

And the usher put it down with a quizzical look. And he said, lower yet. And he put it down lower yet. And he said, lower yet. And finally he put the offering plate on the floor and the old Indian stepped in it.

He said, this is all I have. Giving himself. But you know, as far as God is concerned, that's all he wants. What better gift can you give to God than just giving yourself to him? Giving God your life.

God’s Future Worship Among the Gentiles

Take the cup of salvation. Call upon the name of the Lord. Now the Lord speaks concerning the Gentiles. The priesthood has been more or less corrupted. For from the rising of the sun, even to the going down of the same, my name shall be great among the Gentiles.

And in every place, incense shall be offered unto my name and a pure offering for my name shall be great among the heathen. Say it. The Lord of hosts. So that promise, which is yet future in the kingdom age, when Jesus shall reign where air, the sun death, their successive journeys run.

When every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is the Lord to the glory of God, the father. When Psalm 2 is fulfilled and the father has said to his son, ask of me and I will give you the heathen for thine inheritance and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy dwelling place.

And when that glorious days come. From the rising of the sun, even to the going down thereof, the name of the Lord shall be great among the Gentiles. And in every place, incense shall be offered unto my name.

A pure offering. Now, we are told in the book of Revelation, chapter five, that when Jesus takes the scroll out of the right hand of him who is sitting upon the throne. That the 24 elders come forth with little golden bowls filled with incense that they offer before the throne of God.

And the Bible tells us that the incense is the prayer of the saints. Now, the offering of incense is a symbolic act. The sweet savor, the sweet savory smoke going up is a symbolic act. And we were talking Thursday night of the danger of taking the symbol and replacing the symbol or using the symbol to replace the reality.

And how this is so commonly done in religious realms. Where you take a ritual that began as a symbol and soon you place a greater emphasis upon the ritual than you do the reality. And you forget the reality and it's all your trust is just in the ritual itself.

The offering of incense was a ritual symbolic act for the prayers were to represent. Are the incense was to represent the prayers of God's people that ascends up to God as a sweet smelling savor before the Lord.

How God enjoys the prayers of his people. So in the book of Revelation, the incense, these little golden vials full of incense odors. Which are the prayers it says of the saints. So that offering of incense, the pure offering is actually the prayers that are offered up to God from around the world from the hearts of his people in every language.

Corrupt Worship and Cheerful Giving

Now, God says concerning the Gentiles, they will be offering up these sacrifices. My name shall be great. But he said you have profaned it. That is you profane the name of God. The name of the Lord in that you say the table of the Lord is polluted and the fruit thereof.

Even his meat is contemptible. Now, they had begun to take a very bad attitude towards their service to God and their worship of God. It had become a labor. It had become a burden to them. It is tragic when people are serving God out of a sense of obligation or pressure.

Or giving to God out of the sense of pressure. It to me is tragic that churches use pressure tactics to get people to make their pledges for the year. They use that old psychology of sending two or three important people from the church to your home to sit down and to discuss with you what will be your pledge for the church for this next year.

And of course you don't want to look like a skin flint. And these people are important people and you want to look good to them. And so while they are there you are more or less coerced into making a pledge that is really more than you intended to give.

But you just want to look good in the eyes of the people. But then each month as you get your little done from the church saying your pledge is due. You get angry and you write out that check and your name has a little cross on the T that indicates that I don't like this.

But I made the promise. And you are actually resenting what you give to God. And that is terrible. You'd be better off by far not to give to God at all than to actually resent what God doesn't want you to resent anything.

That's why Paul the Apostle in the New Testament said let every man as he is purposed in his own heart set aside that portion that he wants to give to God. For your giving should never be out of constraint.

It should never be through pressure. For God loves a cheerful and the word in the Greek is hilarious giver. Now whatever you can give to God hilariously give. And what you can't give to God hilariously keep.

Don't pollute. And God says you've polluted the whole thing. Why? Because of the attitude of your heart when you're giving to God. Your attitude is that it's contemptible. Oh I gotta do that again. None of my giving to God should ever create within me a contempt.

If it is then I shouldn't be doing it. God loves a cheerful hilarious giver. You said oh what a weariness it is. Oh do we have to go to church again tonight? A neat program coming on TV and I gotta go to church.

If I'm not there then they're gonna be calling me. I don't want them calling me. I can't stand to see them again. Weariness to me. Oh what a sad sad state of spiritual affairs when the things of God become worrisome.

Tragic. My wife always gets after me because even on vacation I can't stop ministering. Going to Hawaii next month for a vacation. But we'll be ministering in Honolulu for Bill Stonebreaker while we're there.

But I love it. You know it's not worrisome to me. Now she would like to be with me more. In fact she told me tonight to pray about spending more time with her. I'm praying about it. The minister's wives are many times some of the unspoken heroes of this whole warfare.

We talk about the sacrifices a minister has to make but the wife also makes many sacrifices. And I thank God for the sacrifices that Kay has made and the reflection of those sacrifices in the lives of our children.

Because I was gone so much a great part of the burden of giving to the children that security and word and love and all within the home fell upon her. She made it a point to never allow the children to come home to an empty house.

Always to be there whenever they came home from school. And we thank God for the blessed fruit that we have now. From those sacrifices that she made while we were engaged in the work of the Lord. But if serving God ever becomes weariness to you then it's time to get out.

Time to do something else. Surely you should not be inflicting yourself upon others. If you yourself have become wearied doing the work of the Lord. You say oh what weariness it is and you've snuffed at it.

And you brought that which was torn. That which was lame. That which was sick. And thus you brought an offering and should I accept it? Sayeth the Lord. But cursed be the deceiver which hath in his flock a male and vows and sacrifices under the Lord a corrupt thing.

God. Pronounces a curse upon that man. That would. Make a promise to God. And then substitute on it. Give God. Sacrifice something that was corrupted for I am a great king. Sayeth the Lord of hosts and my name is awesome among the heathen.

The Priesthood’s Covenant and Responsibility

Now he addresses himself to the priest and now he priest. This commandment is for you. And if you will not hear. And if you will not lay it to heart to give glory unto my name. Sayeth the Lord of hosts.

I will even send a curse upon you and I will curse your blessings. I have cursed them already because you do not lay it to heart. Now in order to get a real background to Malachi you need to read again the books of Ezra and Nehemiah.

Because Malachi was prophesying during the time of Ezra and Nehemiah. This was the time when the children of Israel had returned from their Babylonian captivity. And we're starting to rebuild the nation.

And we remember how they read to the people the law of the Lord. And how that the people have begun to put away their wives and began to marry the wives from the cities of Ashdod and Ammon and the Moabites.

And Malachi will come down on this pretty soon. But you get a historic background to Malachi in Nehemiah and Ezra which you should reread just to put the whole prophecy in perspective. Behold I will corrupt your seed and spread dung upon your faces even the dung of your solemn feast and one shall take you away with it.

God isn't really very gentle is he? And ye shall know that I have sent this commandment unto you that my covenant might be with Levi saith the Lord of hosts. My covenant was with him of life and peace and I gave them to him for the fear wherewith he feared me and was afraid before my name.

Now God established the covenant of the priesthood of the tribe of Levi because of the fear of the Lord. The reverence that he had towards God. The covenant was of life and of peace. God's covenant with man is that of life and peace.

God has promised to you eternal life and the peace of God which passes human understanding. These are the benefits of our covenant with God. This is the covenant that he had made with Levi because of Levi's reverence for him.

The law of truth was in his mouth. Iniquity was not found in his lips. He walked with me in peace and in fairness and did turn many away from iniquity. And of course that was the duty of the priest to walk before the Lord honestly, in righteousness, in peace.

For the priest lips should keep knowledge and they should seek the law at his mouth. For he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts. Now that really is the ministry of bringing the people the knowledge of God.

For we are the messengers of the Lord. And that's what we stand here to do to proclaim to you a message from God. And that should always be what is upon our hearts whenever we step into the pulpit. I have a message from the Lord for you.

As Paul the Apostle said, that which I have received from the Lord, I also delivered unto you. And that should always be the means of communication to the church. God through his servant proclaiming his word, his truth to his people.

But you are departed out of the way that is the priest. You have caused many to stumble at the law. You have corrupted the covenant of Levi, saith the Lord of hosts. And this can be said of so much of the apostate ministry today.

I have no respect for those ministers who deny the word of God. Who denied the authority of the word of God, who denied the authenticity of the word of God. I don't know why they're in the ministry. They've corrupted their positions.

They have turned people away from the Lord. And there are many people today who are turned away from the Lord. Because the churches and the ministers totally failed to proclaim to them the truth of the Lord.

And the church became a social center. And the ministers became the head of social organizations. And their emphasis became the social program. And their messages were sweet little nothings about birds and flowers and butterflies.

And the reviews of the latest books. But they had no message from God for the people. And the people were turned away from God because of the failure of the priest or of the ministers. You have corrupted the covenant of Levi, God said.

Therefore, have I also made you contemptible and base before all the people. Now what happened is the people turned against the priesthood. And they began to treat the priest contemptibly. And rightfully so.

It is interesting in Brazil. How that the people have turned against the ministers. Treating them with contempt. And you can't blame the people. You have to blame the ministers who were derelict in their duty of bringing the people the truth of God's word.

And of God's love. And foisting upon them some social action program. There is a place for social action. But not the church. Our place is to proclaim God's truth to the people. And it is the changed people who changed the society.

Covenant Faithfulness and Marriage

Because of that, I've made you contemptible and base. According as you have not kept my ways, but have been partial in your administering of the law. Have we not all one father? Is there not just one God who has created us?

Then why are we dealing so treacherously against our brothers? Would to God that the churches could realize that we have only one father. We are serving only one God. Why should we have all of the divisions within the church?

Why should we have this church downing that church? And all of this competition, fighting, jealousy, strife going on within the body of Christ. We should realize that there is only one God. Don't we all serve the same Lord?

God help us. If we are Baptist or Lutherans or Presbyterians or Catholics or Nazarenes or whatever. God help us to just simply be Christians. One God, one father. We are all brothers. God said how come they don't realize that?

Why is it that there is all this treachery going on between them? All the rivalry. Judah hath dealt treacherously and an abomination is committed in Israel and in Jerusalem. For Judah hath profaned the holiness of the Lord which he loved.

And hath married the daughter of a strange God. So the Lord is here speaking about this treacherous thing that was going on. In that the men of Judah who had returned to rebuild the nation. Had begun to divorce their own wives of their youth.

And they began to marry these girls from Ashdod. That is the Philistines. From Amman. That is the area of Moab. Jordan today. Leaving their wives and marrying these young girls. From these foreign nations.

Who were strangers to God and to the covenants of God. And so he speaks about the treacherous dealing these husbands. Actually in the book of Nehemiah. When Nehemiah saw what was going on. He called all the people together.

And he really laid a trip on these guys who had left the wives of their youth. And had married these young girls. And had children by them. And he said alright. This is what you've got to do. Put away every strange wife.

Every man of you. You've got to put away your strange wife and the children that were born by them. And he went among them and started pulling their beards and knocking their heads. And just really treating them rough.

And he was setting things in order. The last chapter of Nehemiah. Interesting picture of how Nehemiah was dealing very forcibly. With this thing which was such an abomination unto God. That a man would deal so treacherously with the wife of his youth.

When he became older. The Lord will cut off the man that does this. The master and the scholar. Out of the tabernacles or the tents of Jacob. And him that offereth an offering unto the Lord of hosts. And this have you done again.

Covering the altar of the Lord with tears and weeping and crying out. Inasmuch as he regards not the offering anymore. Nor receives it with good will at your hand. All of your tears and crying and everything else in the altar of God.

Doesn't alter what you have done. It does not allow God to condone what you have done. You say well why? Because the Lord is the witness between you and your wife. The wife of your youth against whom you have dealt treacherously.

Yet she is your companion. And the wife of your covenant. You made a vow. You covenanted till death. Do us part. The wife of your covenant. And did he not make the two of you one? Yet had he the residue of the spirit.

And wherefore and why one? That he might seek a godly seed. God was seeking to preserve a godly seed. For the nation Israel. In order that they might bring forth his son into the world. That's why. He commanded them not to marry outside.

Of the race. Therefore he said take heed to your spirit. Let none deal treacherously against the wife of his youth. There are people who imagine that the Bible teaches against interracial marriages. But it really does not.

Except for the Jews. And that was to preserve the godly seed. That he might bring forth the Messiah from this nation. But there is really no prohibition in the scripture as such against interracial marriages.

Again we all have one father. And we all serve one God. Culturally there may be difficulties. But scripturally I see none. For the Lord the God of Israel saith that he hates divorcing. For one covers violence with his garments saith the Lord of hosts.

Therefore take heed to your spirit that you deal not treacherously. So God sets himself against divorcing. He said I hate it. And the Lord said there is only one real cause for divorce. And that was adultery, fornication.

Judgment, the Messenger, and the Coming Messiah

Then the Lord said you have wearied the Lord with your words. Yet you say. Where did we weary him? He said when you say that everyone is good in the eyes of the Lord. You know everyone is good. There is a spark of good in everybody.

I said you weary me with your words. The innate goodness of man. Everyone is good before the Lord. There are still those today saying that. And God delights in all men. Where then is the God of judgment?

God will judge the wicked. And God is wearied by this false philosophy. Oh everyone is good. God delights in all men. The universal fatherhood of God and the universal brotherhood of man. No matter who you are, what you've done.

We're all the sons of God and everyone is good in the eyes of God. Then wherein is the God of judgment? Why does God speak so much about the judgment that is going to fall upon the wicked? Now the promise of the coming of John the Baptist as the forerunner to Jesus Christ.

Behold I will send my messenger and he shall prepare the way before me and the Lord whom ye seek shall suddenly come to his temple even the messenger of the covenant whom ye delight in. And behold he shall come saith the Lord of hosts.

But who may abide the day of his coming and who shall stand when he appears for he is like a refiner's fire and like the fuller's soap and he shall sit as a refiner and a purifier of silver and he will purify the sons of Levi and purge them as gold and silver that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness.

Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the Lord as in the days of old and in the former years. Now here we have a commingling of both the first and the second comings of Jesus Christ.

John the Baptist did come as the forerunner. Proclaim the coming of the Lord after him. There is one coming after me mightier than I. The latchet of Ushu is I'm not worthy to unloose. And when he saw Jesus he said to his disciples behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.