Sermon post...and some more thoughts about Malachi

"Disobedience."  I think this is the word of God to the post exile Israelites back in the land of Israel and specifically the city of Jerusalem.  God was calling them out for their disobedience of direct commands from Him.  These were not obscure, fine print regulations requiring that you check the box saying you agree and allowing you to go on to the next page.  On the contrary, these were commands tied to the 10 commandments given on Mt. Sinai by God's very finger; instructions from the covenant made to Abraham; and dealing with God's creation and definition of marriage.  These were things listed in the table of contents and bullet pointed out so that the readers would not miss them.

The first mention of disobedience is in regards to worship.  The Israelites were bringing less than required and therefore disobeying God's explicit orders about an approved sacrifice.  We don't sacrifice animals anyone because Christ became the perfect and final sacrifice but our devotion to Him has not been eliminated but rather elevated as we become "living sacrifices."  We live wholly for the sake of the One who gave all.  How many times have we given less than our all back to Him?

The second mention of disobedience is in regards to God's word.  The priests were saying one thing but doing another.  Instead of turning people from sin, they were causing people to stumble.  The words of their mouths and lips were not backed up by a walk that honored God.  They became despised by these actions by God and the people because they gave less than full obedience to God's word as being messengers of Yahweh.  How have the ministers of our day given less than the whole counsel of God to the congregations of God's family?  

The third mention of disobedience is in regards to the marriage covenant God created for us.  It suffered from the disobedience of having no other gods before Him.  The Israelites were disobeying God's direct command not to marry the foreigners who worshiped false gods.  Those false gods became their main gods.  The only holy relationship that God gave them was cast aside for an unholy one that would never bring the blessings of God upon them.  This action made the marriage covenant less and taking people to the point of believing God was okay with it.  We seem to have stopped looking for holy relationships where both are dedicated wholly to the Lord for His glory and have settled for the lesser gods of instant pleasure and selfish ambition.

It is not hard to see that Malachi speaks to our day.  The worship of self, the rewriting of God's word, and the redefining of God's order has created a church lacking God's power to evangelize and disciple the next generation.  The Great Commission to make disciples of all nations has been switched out for the Great Compromise satisfying our comfort over the commandment of  total commitment to our God.

I am definitely being challenged by this final book of the Old Testament.

Adam