“Is everyone crazy!?” The words came from my sister-in-law as we stood in the Banana Republic at the mall, shopping for an outfit for our recently deceased sister-in-law, and the funeral home needed her clothes ASAP. I had just gotten off the phone with my husband, who had given me some additional instructions for our afternoon. We were tired, overwhelmed, and distressed as we tried valiantly to make choices in our grief. Michelle’s large, frantic eyes darted back and forth under her tousled hair, and her external expression mirrored exactly what was happening in my head. I couldn’t help myself: I burst out laughing. A guffaw, actually. And then we couldn’t stop. The world just didn’t make sense anymore.
I got that same sense of incredulity when reading through the first chapter of the book of Malachi this week. But this time is was God’s voice asking if everyone was crazy. And He’s not laughing. The nation of Israel had been warned over and over again by God’s prophets to repent and turn back to worshipping the God who created them and called them into relationship. And over and over again, they chose idols, foreign gods, and individual and societal turpitude. So God sent them into captivity. The ten northern tribes never came back, and the two southern tribes of Judah and Benjamin were forced to live in exile in Babylon for 70 years before they could return and rebuild the temple and the city of Jerusalem. One message should have been painfully clear to them: God wanted their obedience and was willing to go to great lengths to bring them back in line with His best plan for them. So imagine God’s divine disappointment to see how quickly the Israelites returned to their lax spiritual ways once the temple and worship there had been reestablished. Maybe disappointed. Maybe just hopping mad. Look at the following passage in Malachi concerning what the Israelites are hoping will pass for an acceptable sacrifice:
6 "A son honors his father, and a servant his master. If I am a father, where is the honor due me? If I am a master, where is the respect due me?" says the LORD Almighty. "It is you, O priests, who show contempt for my name.
"But you ask, 'How have we shown contempt for your name?'
7 "You place defiled food on my altar.
"But you ask, 'How have we defiled you?'
"By saying that the LORD's table is contemptible. 8 When you bring blind animals for sacrifice, is that not wrong? When you sacrifice crippled or diseased animals, is that not wrong? Try offering them to your governor! Would he be pleased with you? Would he accept you?" says the LORD Almighty.
9 "Now implore God to be gracious to us. With such offerings from your hands, will he accept you?"-says the LORD Almighty.
10 "Oh, that one of you would shut the temple doors, so that you would not light useless fires on my altar! I am not pleased with you," says the LORD Almighty, "and I will accept no offering from your hands. 11 My name will be great among the nations, from the rising to the setting of the sun. In every place incense and pure offerings will be brought to my name, because my name will be great among the nations," says the LORD Almighty.
12 "But you profane it by saying of the Lord's table, 'It is defiled,' and of its food, 'It is contemptible.' 13 And you say, 'What a burden!' and you sniff at it contemptuously," says the LORD Almighty.
"When you bring injured, crippled or diseased animals and offer them as sacrifices, should I accept them from your hands?" says the LORD. 14 "Cursed is the cheat who has an acceptable male in his flock and vows to give it, but then sacrifices a blemished animal to the Lord. For I am a great king," says the LORD Almighty, "and my name is to be feared among the nations. (Malachi 1:6-14)
They have come back from living in a foreign nation, brought there because of their sin, and when they come back to worship again in the rebuilt and glorious temple, they are bringing lame and blind sacrifices! What?! Is everyone crazy?! Apparently. What, exactly is the problem here?
First of all, it would appear that the people and the priests are colluding to offer subpar sacrificial animals to God, thereby disrespecting Him. To make His point God asks if the priests think the governor would be pleased with such an offering. (1:8) God’s standards and procedures are replete with meaning and symbolism. In the book of Leviticus (and some other places in the Old Testament) God gives very specific parameters around the kind of animal required and method of sacrifice. Every time God outlines His commands for a sacrifice the people are to bring, he states clearly that the animal is to be “without defect”. Why?
1. It requires effort to find the best. If an Israelite has sinned and needs to make atonement for that sin by a blood sacrifice, the repentance process can begin by searching his flocks or livestock for the very best animal he owned. As he searched his animals, roaming among the smells and stepping in whatever was on the ground, I would imagine the weight of his sin might begin to feel heavier. In addition, he is remembering to whom the sacrifice will go and may recall David’s words in Psalm 51:4 – “Against you, you only, have I sinned”.
2. Giving the best is more of a sacrifice than giving what’s not valuable. A young, perfect bull or ram could fetch a high price. Or provide meat for a family. Or lend credibility to your reputation. Sacrificing the best demands deep faith that my identity rests in God alone and that He will provide my livelihood, security and well-being. This is why I believe it is absolutely crucial to write the tithe check before others after the paycheck comes. I say with my first check that I believe God will provide for all the ones that follow.
3. A perfect sacrifice is a reminder of God’s perfect character and holiness. God Almighty is worthy of excellence. Our best effort. Our finest possessions. Our most noble expressions of beauty in art or music or movement. A friend of mine who works for an international ministry, in their fine arts arena, has this as her slogan: “Excellence for His Glory”. Nothing is more valuable than giving our best to a perfect, holy and sovereign Lord.
In addition, God is calling the priests to task for their devolving attitude around the sacrificial system. Instead of reverence and awe at the prospect of coming into the Presence of Jehovah, Malachi tells us that they are contemptuous (1:6, 13) and are above having to go through the motions of sacrifice, considering it a burden (1:13). How unnecessary the reminder seems for God to say, “I am a great king…and my name is to be feared among the nations”. (1:14)
God wants His leaders (priests) and the people to bring sacrifices that mean something. Sacrifices that are worth something. Sacrifices that cost us to bring them so that we are aware of the gap between God’s holiness and our sin and the price of redemption to bring us into relationship with Him. Because we are no longer under obligation to bring animal sacrifices (because Jesus’ sacrifice was perfect), our sacrifices are our lives. The standards have not been lowered; in fact, the bar has been raised. God told the Israelites in the desert, “consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am the LORD your God. Keep my decrees and follow them. I am the LORD, who makes you holy.” (Leviticus 20:7-8) To consecrate something or someone means to dedicate to a holy and specific purpose. Even under the Law of God in the Old Testament, He wanted His people to dedicate all of themselves to His purposes. Jesus reiterated this holy desire in Matthew 5:48, when He said, “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” Only in the power of Christ’s resurrection can we even hope to achieve that goal. Certainly not through ritual sacrifices and by jumping through religious hoops, hoping to please God and earn His approval.
Obedience is sacrifice when it costs something. When my son came home from a school field trip recently, he was telling me about the budget they had to work with in their randomly assigned incomes and lifestyles. He had purchased a Porsche, a nice vacation cruise, and the basics of insurance, rent, groceries, and utilities. When I asked if there was an option to give to a charity, he replied that he had given $100. But his imaginary monthly income was over $4000, so when I asked him to do the simply math of tithing, he quickly realized that he probably should have given $400. When asked why he didn’t, he replied, “there wasn’t enough left after I bought all this other stuff”. Something tells me that attitude isn’t only prevalent among 8th graders in Junior Achievement. Sacrifice to the God who created us and loves us perfectly will cost something, but the return on the investment is immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine.
May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer. (Psalm 19:14)
• Why do you go to church? Obligation? To be “fed”? Cultural or family expectations? Relationships? Networking? What difference would it make in your Sunday experience if you were more aware of going to church to worship a holy God? Make a list of some reasons He is worthy of worship and thanks. Commit to preparing your heart to worship Him by preparing your heart before church this week.
• Are there any areas of your life where you feel you may be “phoning it in” with God? Areas of spiritual complacency? A place where you know you could give more, but are hesitant? What are the reasons behind your lack of enthusiasm or willingness to engage? Fear? Laziness? Misunderstanding? Ask God to reveal any of those areas to you and commit to examine your motivations, knowing that He is not pleased with activity for its own sake, but in complete, abandoned obedience.
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