Mal 1:6-14 Wherein have we despised thy name?

- Studies

Tony Cullen
1 year ago

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Mal 1:6-14 Wherein have we despised thy name? Wherein have we polluted thee?

[Study Aired December 21, 2023]

Mal 1:6 A son honoureth his father, and a servant his master: if then I be a father, where is mine honour? and if I be a master, where is my fear? saith the LORD of hosts unto you, O priests, that despise my name. And ye say, Wherein have we despised thy name?
Mal 1:7 Ye offer polluted bread upon mine altar; and ye say, Wherein have we polluted thee? In that ye say, The table of the LORD is contemptible.
Mal 1:8 And if ye offer the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil? and if ye offer the lame and sick, is it not evil? offer it now unto thy governor; will he be pleased with thee, or accept thy person? saith the LORD of hosts.
Mal 1:9 And now, I pray you, beseech God that he will be gracious unto us: this hath been by your means: will he regard your persons? saith the LORD of hosts.
Mal 1:10 Who is there even among you that would shut the doors for nought? neither do ye kindle fire on mine altar for nought. I have no pleasure in you, saith the LORD of hosts, neither will I accept an offering at your hand.
Mal 1:11 For from the rising of the sun even unto 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, saith the LORD of hosts.
Mal 1:12 But ye have profaned it, in that ye say, The table of the LORD is polluted; and the fruit thereof, even his meat, is contemptible.
Mal 1:13 Ye said also, Behold, what a weariness is it! and ye have snuffed at it, saith the LORD of hosts; and ye brought that which was torn, and the lame, and the sick; thus ye brought an offering: should I accept this of your hand? saith the LORD.
Mal 1:14 But cursed be the deceiver, which hath in his flock a male, and voweth, and sacrificeth unto the Lord a corrupt thing: for I am a great King, saith the LORD of hosts, and my name is dreadful among the heathen.

This section of Malachi is a type and shadow event that represents the yet carnal mind of a Christian that can’t as yet whole-heartedly present their bodies a living^G2198 sacrifice that is acceptable unto Him through Christ, at least not in whole, which is what God requires, the whole of our life continuing in the truth, represented by the whole tithe being brought into the temple of God. The nation of Judah was going through the motions but their devotion to God was lacking and being exposed by the wanting display of blind, lame, and torn animals that were being offered for sacrifice (Rom 12:1-2, Eph 1:6, Mal 3:10).

Rom 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living^G2198 sacrifice, holy [process Joh 17:17], acceptable unto God (Eph 1:6), which is your reasonable service.
Rom 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable (Eph 1:6), and perfect, will of God.

Christ is the only sacrifice that is able to be presented to God as faultless, and therefore we conclude that we are accepted in the beloved (Eph 1:6), as a living sacrifice, and through Him alone do we gain access to our heavenly Father and the blessed relationship of knowing Him and his son which is what eternal life is (Joh 17:3).

We know that God sees the heart and does not look on the outward appearance of a man (1Sa 16:7, Psa 51:17), and so it has nothing to do with the amount of animal sacrifices that were being brought in, but rather at the heart of the matter was whether those sacrifices were connected with a whole-hearted, humble, contrite and sacrificial heart (Mar 12:43, Mar 12:29-33). As we will see they were not with the nation of Judah, and God’s correction upon them typifies our Father’s correction on the body of Christ who are being judged in this age, and overcoming “by little and little” by the grace through faith process we’ve been called unto (Deu 7:22, Eph 2:8) so that we can mature to the point of going without the camp with Christ to offer the best sacrifice possible through Him (Heb 13:13, Php 2:12-13) [“Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse“] .

Heb 13:13 Let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp, bearing his reproach.

Php 2:12 Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.
Php 2:13 For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.

Once we know to do good and God opens our eyes to the truth, we then need His strength and power to follow through with the conviction of what it is that He is showing us about ourselves so that we can change (Jas 4:17). This is the process that is being discussed in this section of Malachi and how God is able to start and finish that work in us through Christ, of going from thinking we are without spot (Rev 3:17) to coming to be washed by the blood of the lamb who takes away the sins of the world within us (Joh 3:16, 1Jn 2:16), the wretchedness that this sinful flesh is that must decrease, die daily, and be kept under as Christ increases in us (Heb 12:1-4, Rom 7:23-25). The purity of our life and ability to remain that way is only possible through Christ, and the greater our apprehension of who Christ is the better, as it is Christ alone who God can give us the spiritual increase through, so that we are becoming a sacrifice that is more and more pleasing unto our Father in heaven (1Co 3:6-7).

Rom 7:25 I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.

God demonstrates through very telling questions in the verses that we will look at in this section of Malachi that He knows the deceitfulness of our hearts (Jer 17:9) and how apparent it is that we understand how to honor those we see in the earth, our fathers, the servant his master, which is not wrong when we are giving honor to where honor is due (Rom 13:7-8). However, this proper honoring, of giving “tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour”, was spoken by those in Malachi’s time who were not showing the proper reverence to God himself (1Co 3:21-22, 2Co 10:12). Without that Godly perspective of seeing God as being sovereign over all of mankind and working all things according to the counsel of His own will (Eph 1:11), we are brought to a place where our sacrifices, which all belong to God and come from God, become lame and disingenuous, which is what we naturally do when we are not mature enough in Christ to do otherwise (Act 10:34-35, 1Jn 4:17, 1Jn 5:2-3, 1Co 14:37).

The lame sacrifices that are offered represent our own life that is brought to God believing in Him but not yet able to see our own blindness and need to continue in the truth that will, in time, purify the living sacrifice that we have been called to be, through our Lord and Savior (Joh 8:31-33, Joh 17:17, Joh 6:67-68).

Joh 8:31 Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;
Joh 8:32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

Joh 17:17 Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.

Joh 6:67 Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away?.
Joh 6:68 Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life.

Through Christ we can grow to become fearless to what men can do to us in this life (Rom 8:26-38), and live out the rest of our days fulfilling the will of God. He makes a way for us where there appears to be none as we “press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus” and promises to not try us beyond the measure that we can endure making a way to escape and bear the trial (1Co 10:13). This should encourage us to fight a good fight of faith as we remember that the Lord is at hand to be our helper and will never leave or forsake us in this spiritual battle we are in (Luk 12:4-5, 1Pe 4:1-2, Php 3:14, Php 2:12-13, Eph 6:12, Heb 7:26, Eph 1:18-23, Rom 8:38).

1Pe 4:1 Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin;
1Pe 4:2 That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God.

[This is the mindset that God tells us to lay hold of (1Pe 4:1-2) and to not see it as a strange thing; that this preparation of heart and the accompanying fiery trials is something to be expected and needed when presenting our bodies a living sacrifice in His service that must suffer in this life if we are going to rule with Him (1Pe 4:12, 2Ti 2:12)]

Be encouraged – The battle is the Lords

1Sa 17:47 And all this assembly shall know that the LORD saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is the LORD’S, and he will give you into our hands.

Eph 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

Eph 1:18 The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling [Col 1:27], and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,
Eph 1:19 And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power,
Eph 1:20 Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places,
Eph 1:21 Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come:
Eph 1:22 And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church,
Eph 1:23 Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.

Rom 8:38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
Rom 8:39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

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We don’t think we despise God’s name in Babylon, “Wherein have we despised thy name?“, but what we’re learning in this first verse of our study is that we do despise God’s name when we eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel (Isa 4:1), meaning we say ‘Lord, Lord’, thinking this will take away our reproach, but don’t do the things that He commands us (Luk 6:46).

Isa 4:1 And in that day seven women shall take hold of one man, saying, We will eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel: only let us be called by thy name, to take away our reproach.
Luk 6:46 And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?

If we do what is commanded of us, we demonstrate by our actions that we are a son that honours his father and a servant who honours his master (Luk 6:47-48).

Luk 6:47 Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them [Rom 2:13], I will shew you to whom he is like:
Luk 6:48 He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep [1Ti 6:12], and laid the foundation on a rock [Mat 16:18]: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock.

Mal 1:7 Ye offer polluted bread upon mine altar; and ye say, Wherein have we polluted thee? In that ye say, The table of the LORD is contemptible^H959.

contemptible H959 bâzâh baw-zaw’

A primitive root; to disesteem: – despise, disdain, contemn (-ptible), + think to scorn, vile person. Total KJV occurrences: 42

The bread is polluted because it is God’s word that is wrapped around the idol of our own hearts. Just as we don’t know how we have despised God’s name in (Mal 1:6), we also don’t know until we are corrected how we have offered polluted bread upon God’s altar. The “altar” spoken about in this verse is the cross (Mal 1:7), where we first demonstrate a zealous desire to please God, and to know Christ and him crucified (1Co 2:2), but without Christ giving us the power to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling as we live by the faith of the son of God, which is a gift of God (Gal 2:20, Eph 2:8), we will just naturally offer bread that is polluted with our own carnal hearts and minds, that don’t yet understand that we have to fill up what is behind of the afflictions of Christ for his body’s sake the church (Gal 5:16-18, Joh 6:63).

Our disdain of God’s altar is reflected in our inability to keep God’s commandments that require that we give our whole life to Him as we go from the letter that kills to living out a sacrificial life in the spirit (2Co 3:6) that loves our enemies and does good unto all men especially unto the household of faith (Luk 6:27-28, Gal 6:10). Again, if not for Christ we would have no hope in these wretched marred vessels of clay, and so we thank God that He makes a way [Rom 5:5 that empowers us (Rev 11:3, Joh 13:35) to be obedient (Heb 5:8) to God’s commands (1Jn 5:2-3)] through the Way, the Truth and the Life who is our hope of glory (obedience) within (Mar 8:35, Col 1:27).

2Co 3:6 Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.

Gal 6:10 As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.

Luk 6:27 But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you,
Luk 6:28 Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you.
Luk 6:29 And unto him that smiteth thee on the one cheek offer also the other; and him that taketh away thy cloke forbid not to take thy coat also.
Luk 6:30 Give to every man that asketh of thee; and of him that taketh away thy goods ask them not again.

Mal 1:8 And if ye offer the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil? and if ye offer the lame and sick, is it not evil? offer it now unto thy governor; will he be pleased with thee, or accept thy person? saith the LORD of hosts.
Mal 1:9 And now, I pray you, beseech God that he will be gracious unto us: this hath been by your means: will he regard your persons? saith the LORD of hosts.
Mal 1:10 Who is there even among you that would shut the doors for nought? neither do ye kindle fire on mine altar for nought. I have no pleasure in you, saith the LORD of hosts, neither will I accept an offering at your hand.

Mal 1:10 Who, moreover, is among you that shall lock the doors so you shall not light up My altar gratuitously? I have no delight in you, says Yahweh of hosts, and an approach present I will not accept from your hand.” (CLV)

Offering such offerings to God that are blind, lame and sick, reveal the spiritual condition of the person giving the offering that is blind, lame, and sick, and more than that there is a delusional spirit at play here as well, which says, “And now, I pray you, beseech God that he will be gracious unto us: this hath been by your means“, to which God asks after seeing this neither cold not zealous Laodicean spirit of service in full force (Rev 3:14-16), “will he regard your persons? saith the LORD of hosts.” The answer is clear, “I have no pleasure in you, saith the LORD of hosts, neither will I accept an offering at your hand“.

The CLV version of verse 10 explains these actions are paramount to withholding the offering, “Who, moreover, is among you that shall lock the doors so you shall not light up My altar gratuitously?“, to which God says He will not accept these offerings that are done so haphazardly, demonstrating the lack of respect to God and the defiled condition of the one giving (1Co 11:17-22). It is not a positive example of a kindled fire that Christ will work in the body of Christ (Luk 12:49-50), but rather an admonition to be whole-hearted in our service, to not neglect so great a salvation by stirring up the spirit of God within (Heb 2:3).

1Co 11:17 Now in this that I declare unto you I praise you not, that ye come together not for the better, but for the worse.
1Co 11:18 For first of all, when ye come together in the church, I hear that there be divisions among you; and I partly believe it.
1Co 11:19 For there must be also heresies among you, that they which are approved may be made manifest among you.
1Co 11:20 When ye come together therefore into one place, this is not to eat the Lord’s supper.
1Co 11:21 For in eating every one taketh before other his own supper: and one is hungry, and another is drunken.
1Co 11:22 What? have ye not houses to eat and to drink in? or despise ye the church of God, and shame them that have not? What shall I say to you? shall I praise you in this? I praise you not.

Luk 12:49 I am come to send fire on the earth; and what will I, if it be already kindled?
Luk 12:50 But I have a baptism to be baptized with; and how am I straitened till it be accomplished!

Heb 2:3 How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him;

Mal 1:11 For from the rising of the sun even unto 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, saith the LORD of hosts.
Mal 1:12 But ye have profaned it, in that ye say, The table of the LORD is polluted; and the fruit thereof, even his meat, is contemptible.

God reminds us with this verse 11 that when Christ is in us, He will be “great among the Gentiles” (Col 1:27) “from the rising of the sun even unto the going down of the same my name shall be great among the Gentiles“, and He goes on to say that all of this profaning and polluting of the table of the LORD is going to come to an end. The good news and hope we are given is certain, which is that ‘one Day’ when “in every place incense shall be offered unto my name, and a pure offering: for my name shall be great among the heathen, saith the LORD of hosts“. The world will one day learn righteousness when His judgments are in the earth as God’s elect are learning now (Isa 26:9), and no longer will “the fruit thereof, even his meat, is [be] contemptible” (Zec 14:7-9).

Col 1:27 To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:

Zec 14:7 But it shall be one day which shall be known to the LORD, not day, nor night: but it shall come to pass, that at evening time it shall be light.
Zec 14:8 And it shall be in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the former sea, and half of them toward the hinder sea: in summer and in winter shall it be.
Zec 14:9 And the LORD shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one LORD, and his name one.

Mal 1:13 Ye said also, Behold, what a weariness is it! and ye have snuffed at it, saith the LORD of hosts; and ye brought that which was torn, and the lame, and the sick; thus ye brought an offering: should I accept this of your hand? saith the LORD.

This next verse demonstrates what is at the heart of the problem as to why these lame, sick and torn offering are not going to be accepted of the LORD, “Ye said also, Behold, what a weariness^{H4972 H8513} is it! and ye have snuffed at^H5301 it“. It happens because of the lack of zeal and diligence that God has to give us to keep under ourselves in His service (1Co 9:27). That is what the weariness^{H4972 H8513}and the snuffed at^H5301words represent, which is the spirit of the slothful servant spoken of by Christ in (Mat 25:26).

Mat 25:25 And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine.
Mat 25:26 His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed:

From our earthly perspective we say ‘Lord why are you causing these people to err'(Isa 63:17, Rom 9:18-20), why must the offerings become less and less throughout the period known as the thousand year reign of the saints? The answer is always the same: so that the world can learn that only Christ can be Christ and if he has determined that you will be a peculiar and zealous people that bring forth much fruit in this life and endure until the end, then this is what will happen (Tit 2:14-15, 1Pe 2:9-10) as He shows mercy to us in that regard “as a man spareth his own son that serveth him”(Rom 9:18, Rom 11:31-33, Mal 3:17).

Tit 2:14 Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.
Tit 2:15 These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no man despise thee.

1Pe 2:9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:
1Pe 2:10 Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.

Mal 3:17 And they shall be mine, saith the LORD of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him.

These words that we read about regarding how the nation was not bringing in the whole tithe, or properly sacrificing unto God, was written for our admonition to inspire us to move with fear, knowing that only God can make the difference in our service toward Him, and so, Lord willing, we will cry out and be heard in that we feared him (Eph 2:10, Php 2:12-13, Heb 5:7)

Eph 2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

Php 2:12 Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.
Php 2:13 For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.

Heb 5:7 Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared;

Mal 1:14 But cursed be the deceiver, which hath in his flock a male, and voweth, and sacrificeth unto the Lord a corrupt thing: for I am a great King, saith the LORD of hosts, and my name is dreadful among the heathen.

When we are deceived we are cursed, and only God can take away that spiritual blindness so that we stop serving him half-heartedly and with grumbling (Php 2:2-4), which is another way of sacrificing “a corrupt thing” unto the LORD.

Php 2:2 Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.
Php 2:3 Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.
Php 2:4 Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.

When we withhold the male in the flock and replace that more valued animal that can produce the seed for more offspring and then offer to the LORD a corrupt thing, a lesser valued offering, it is akin to withholding the price of the land that Ananias and Saphira did (Act 5:1-11), and God will exact his judgement on our old man for doing this. Ananias and Saphira represent our carnal first nature that must be destroyed being deceived in not knowing how “dreadful among the heathen” God is.

“I am a great King, saith the LORD of hosts, and my name is dreadful among the heathen” is something we have to ask the LORD to keep at the forefront of our minds so that we are motivated by His commands, and not moving through this life because of fear of what men can do to our flesh, but rather being subject to one another as unto Christ and glorifying God with every situation that He is orchestrating for our growth in Him.

It takes time and much tribulation for us to get comfortable in the fire of God’s word (Act 14:22), but God promises, with our minds set on that goal of becoming more and more like Christ, that we will obtain those true riches of having His mind developed within us in this life (Luk 12:5, Eph 5:21, 1Pe 2:12, 1Pe 2:18-20).

Luk 12:5 But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him.

Eph 5:21 Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.

1Pe 2:12 Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation.

1Pe 2:18 Servants, be subject to your masters with all fear; not only to the good and gentle, but also to the froward.
1Pe 2:19 For this is thankworthy, if a man for conscience toward God endure grief, suffering wrongfully.
1Pe 2:20 For what glory is it, if, when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently? but if, when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with God.
1Pe 2:21 For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps:
1Pe 2:22 Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth: