Commentary - Malachi 1:6-14

Bird's-eye view

In this passage, the prophet Malachi, whose name means "my messenger," brings a blistering covenant lawsuit from Yahweh against the priests of post-exilic Israel. The charge is contempt. God lays out His case with a series of declarations followed by the people's feigned innocence, which in turn is answered by a detailed list of their offenses. The core issue is that their worship has become rotten. It is formal, perfunctory, and cheap. They are going through the motions, but their hearts are far from God, and the evidence is in the shoddy, leftover sacrifices they bring to His altar. God, their Father and Master, is not being honored. This is not just a matter of liturgical sloppiness; it is a profound spiritual disease. Their contempt for the altar reveals their contempt for the God of the altar. The passage climaxes with a stunning prophecy that because of Israel's priestly failure, God will raise up a new priesthood from among the Gentiles, who will offer pure worship to His name from the rising of the sun to its setting. This is a foundational text for understanding the nature of true worship and the global reach of the New Covenant.

The structure is a disputation. God makes a statement, the priests object with a self-righteous question ("How have we...?"), and God answers their question with specifics. This reveals a people who are not only sinning, but are blind to their sin. They have descended so far into cynical formalism that they can no longer even see their own corruption. It is a stark warning against the kind of religion that maintains the outward form but denies the inward power, a religion that has a price for everything and a value for nothing.

Outline

Context In Malachi

Malachi is the final book of the Old Testament, and it functions as a sort of capstone to the prophetic writings. The people have returned from exile in Babylon, the temple has been rebuilt, but the glorious revival promised by earlier prophets has not materialized. Instead, a spiritual lethargy and cynicism has set in. The people, and particularly the priests, are disillusioned and disobedient. Malachi's ministry is to confront this covenant-breaking apathy. The book is structured around six disputations where God brings a charge, the people question it, and God elaborates. This passage, beginning in verse 6, is the second of these disputations. It follows God's affirmation of His covenant love for Jacob (Israel) and His hatred for Esau (Edom) in verses 1-5. Having established His covenant faithfulness, God now turns to expose Israel's covenant unfaithfulness, starting with their spiritual leaders, the priests.

Key Issues

The Governor Test

One of the most potent arguments God uses in this passage is what we might call the "governor test." The priests were bringing blind, lame, and sick animals to sacrifice on God's altar. These were the runts, the leftovers, the animals that were commercially worthless. God's response is devastatingly simple: "Try giving that to your governor. See if he'll accept it." The point is painfully obvious. They would never dare to show such disrespect to a mere human official. Their tax payments would be with their best produce, not the moldy bits. Their attitude toward the Persian governor was one of fear and respect, driven by the knowledge of his power to make their lives difficult. But their attitude toward the God of the Universe, Yahweh of hosts, was one of casual contempt. They feared man more than they feared God.

This reveals the core of their sin. It wasn't that they had a faulty theology of sacrifice in a technical sense. It was that they had a low view of God. He was not great in their eyes. He was a cosmic nuisance to be placated with the cheapest possible gesture. This is a permanent diagnostic question for all worship. Are we offering God something that we would be embarrassed to offer a man we wished to impress? Is our singing, our praying, our giving, our attention, our preparation for worship marked by a kind of excellence that honors a great King, or is it marked by the kind of sloppiness that we reserve for things we don't really value? The governor test cuts right to the heart.

Verse by Verse Commentary

6 “ ‘A son honors his father, and a slave his master. Then if I am a father, where is My honor? And if I am a master, where is the fear of Me?’ says Yahweh of hosts to you, O priests who despise My name. But you say, ‘How have we despised Your name?’

God begins His indictment by appealing to two fundamental relationships in human society: the father-son relationship and the master-slave relationship. A son naturally honors his father, and a servant naturally fears his master. These are basic principles of order. God then applies this to Himself. He is their Father by covenant, and He is their Master, Yahweh of hosts, the Lord of armies. So where is the honor due a father? Where is the respectful fear due a master? The answer is that it is nowhere to be found. Instead, the priests, the very men tasked with upholding His honor, are the ones who despise His name. To despise His name is to treat His character, His reputation, and His authority as worthless. Their response is a classic piece of self-deception: "How have we despised your name?" They are so steeped in their sin that they are blind to it. They mistake the outward performance of their duties for genuine honor.

7 You are presenting defiled food upon My altar. But you say, ‘How have we defiled You?’ In that you say, ‘The table of Yahweh is to be despised.’

God answers their clueless question with a specific charge. The "food" is the sacrificial animals, the bread of God (Lev. 21:6). It is defiled, polluted, unclean. And again, they play dumb: "How have we defiled you?" God's response gets to the heart attitude behind the action. They consider the "table of Yahweh," the altar itself, to be a contemptible thing. It's a chore. It's a burden. It's a dirty, messy job that they have to get through. Because they despise the altar, they have no problem putting garbage on it. The outward action (defiled food) is a direct result of the inward attitude (a despised table). You cannot honor God while despising the means of approaching Him.

8 But when you present the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil? And when you present the lame and sick, is it not evil? Please, bring it near to your governor! Would he accept you? Or would he lift up your face?” says Yahweh of hosts.

God spells out what He means by "defiled food." They are offering animals that are blind, lame, and sick. This was in direct violation of the explicit commands in the Torah (Lev. 22:22; Deut. 15:21). The law required an animal "without blemish." God asks a rhetorical question: is it not evil? Of course it is. It is a calculated, knowing disobedience. Then comes the governor test, which we have already discussed. They are giving God the scraps they wouldn't dare give to a petty bureaucrat. To "lift up your face" is a Hebrew idiom for showing favor. The governor would not only reject the gift, he would be insulted by it. And yet they expect the King of the universe to be pleased with such an offering.

9 “But now, entreat God’s favor, that He may be gracious to us! With this thing which is from your hand, will He lift up any of your faces?” says Yahweh of hosts.

This verse is dripping with divine sarcasm. "Go ahead," God says, "try to pray. Try to ask for my favor and grace. But look at what is in your hand. Look at the pathetic, diseased offering you are bringing." The question is stark: "Will He lift up any of your faces?" Will God show you favor when you come to Him with open contempt in your hands? The answer is a resounding no. You cannot mock God with your sacrifices and then expect Him to hear your supplications. Corrupt worship short-circuits prayer.

10 “Oh that there were one among you who would shut the gates, that you might not light a fire on My altar in vain! I have no delight in you,” says Yahweh of hosts, “nor will I accept an offering from your hand.

This is one of the most shocking statements in the Old Testament. God's desire is not for them to "try harder" with their corrupt worship. His desire is that someone would have the courage to shut the temple doors and stop the whole charade. God would prefer no worship to insincere, hypocritical worship. Lighting a fire on His altar this way is in vain; it is useless, empty, and pointless. God takes no delight in it, and He will not accept it. This is a total rejection of their entire religious system as it was being practiced. Bad worship is not better than no worship. It is an abomination.

11 For from the rising of the sun even to its setting, My name will be great among the nations, and in every place incense is going to be presented to My name, as well as a grain offering that is clean; for My name will be great among the nations,” says Yahweh of hosts.

Here the prophecy bursts forth in breathtaking scope. The reason God can shut down the Jerusalem temple is that His plan is infinitely bigger. While the priests in Jerusalem are despising His name, God declares that His name will be great among the nations, the Gentiles. From east to west, all over the world, true worship will be offered to Him. Incense, representing prayers, and a clean grain offering, representing the pure sacrifice of lives, will ascend to Him. This is a stunning prophecy of the Great Commission and the ingathering of the Gentiles into a new covenant community. The failure of the Levitical priesthood will lead to the establishment of a global, spiritual priesthood, the Church of Jesus Christ.

12 “But you are profaning it, in that you say, ‘The table of the Lord is defiled, and as for its fruit, its food is to be despised.’

God returns from the glorious future to the sordid present. "You," He says to the priests, "are the ones profaning my name." He repeats the charge from verse 7. Their inner monologue has become their outer practice. They say the Lord's table is defiled, and so they treat it as such. They find the food that comes from it, their portion of the sacrifices, to be contemptible. This is the heart of a hireling, not a priest. They see the service of God as a dirty job with bad pay.

13 You also say, ‘Behold, how tiresome it is!’ And you disdainfully sniff at it,” says Yahweh of hosts, “and you bring what was taken by robbery and what is lame or sick; so you bring the offering! Should I accept that from your hand?” says Yahweh.

Their contempt is expressed as utter weariness. "What a burden this is!" They sniff at the altar disdainfully, like a man smelling something rotten. Their boredom and contempt then leads to outright sin. They bring animals that were stolen, or that are lame or sick. The list of unacceptable offerings grows. And again, the incredulous question from God: "Should I accept that from your hand?" The answer is self-evident.

14 “But cursed be the swindler who has a male in his flock and vows it, but sacrifices a blemished animal to the Lord, for I am a great King,” says Yahweh of hosts, “and My name is feared among the nations.”

This final verse pronounces a formal curse on the "swindler" or the "cheat." This is the man who has a perfect, unblemished male in his flock, the very animal required for a vow-offering. He publicly vows to give his best to God, gaining a reputation for piety. But when it comes time to actually bring the sacrifice, he keeps the good one for himself and substitutes a worthless, blemished animal. This is calculated, premeditated hypocrisy. It is spiritual bait-and-switch. And the reason this sin is so heinous is given in the final clauses. God is not a petty chieftain who can be duped. "For I am a great King." And His name is not just to be feared in Israel, but is feared among the nations. The priests are treating the Great King like a fool, while the pagan nations are being brought to a state of reverent fear before Him. The irony is tragic and the judgment is severe.

Application

Malachi's message to the priests is a timeless word to the church. The temptation to offer God our leftovers is a constant one. We live in a culture of convenience and distraction, and it is easy for our worship to become another consumer activity that we fit into our busy schedules. We can sing the songs without honoring the King. We can listen to the sermon without trembling at the Word. We can give our money without offering our hearts. We can come to the Lord's Table with contemptuous familiarity, forgetting the infinite price that was paid to secure our invitation.

The governor test should be applied to our lives relentlessly. Is the energy, preparation, and passion we bring to our jobs, our hobbies, or our entertainment greater than what we bring to the corporate worship of the living God? Do we offer God the best of our time, talent, and treasure, or do we give Him the scraps that are left over after we have served ourselves? Do we vow to follow Christ when things are going well, only to substitute a blemished, half-hearted obedience when discipleship becomes costly?

The good news is that the prophecy of verse 11 has been fulfilled. Because of the perfect, unblemished sacrifice of Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, a holy priesthood has been raised up from every tribe, tongue, and nation. We are that priesthood. And our task is to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ (1 Pet. 2:5). This means offering our bodies as living sacrifices, which is our true and proper worship (Rom. 12:1). The cure for the disease of Malachi's priests is not to try harder to produce better animals. The cure is to be overwhelmed by the greatness and glory of our King, and to be cleansed by the blood of the perfect sacrifice, so that we might offer Him the only thing He truly desires: our whole selves, joyfully and without reserve.