EXAMINING OUR WORSHIP TO GOD
We hope today’s message was encouraging and helpful. These notes are meant to help you remember and reflect on the message, help you go deeper into study on the subject, or to be used for a Bible/sermon group study. Enjoy!
Main Scripture: MALACHI 1:6-14 NLT
If you’re going through this discussion with a community group this week consider taking the time to read or paraphrase through some of the provided scripture to catch everyone up!
Notes:
Worship is expressing worth and value to God in various forms.
We express the value and worth of an object by caring for and securing it. We express value and worth in what we give our time, attention, and affection. Some people may say you worship a sport, a car, an artist, a band, etc. In our scripture today, God reveals the people's quality of worship as if He holds little to no value or worth to the people He has always loved. God directed this confrontation, particularly to the priests because it was their responsibility to preserve and ensure all sacrifices and worship were worthy offerings to God. Sadly, the priests did not maintain the reverent standard and the community followed their example. This scripture will confront us today to evaluate our quality of worship to God. Do we love God above all else? Does it show in the quality of our worship and service to him? Does our lifestyle during the week and on Sunday say, I love, I honor, I worship God? I said last week that we need to be humble. I’m asking that we not get defensive but seriously allow the Word of God to shine in our hearts to expose and correct us for our good and God’s glory.
Malachi 1:6-14 NLT
V.6-7 The quality of their worship exposed
The quality of their worship showed contempt for God’s name or despised His name: Contempt meaning showed less worth, denigration, depreciation, and disrespect.
The name of God in the Bible means the revealed character of God and the presence of God…When the Lord appeared to Moses, he proclaimed his name…‘The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for the thousandth generation …’ So to despise God’s name is to despise who God is, to despise the self-revelation of God, the character of God. And to despise God’s name is also to despise the presence of God, since God ‘makes his name dwell’ in the temple. Adam, P. (2013). The Message of Malachi: “I Have Loved You,” Says the Lord (A. Motyer & D. Tidball, Eds.; p. 51). Inter-Varsity Press.
Sacrifices were meant to be of the highest quality, the best animals, and the finest produce, appropriate for the God to whom they were offered. An animal sacrifice was to be without blemish or defect, and grain offerings were to be ‘choice’ grain… “You shall not offer anything that has a blemish, for it will not be acceptable in your behalf … Anything blind, or injured, or maimed, or having a discharge or an itch or scabs—these you shall not offer to the Lord or put any of them on the altar as offerings by fire to the Lord” (Lev. 22:20,22). How bizarre to offer a sacrifice to cover sin, when the sacrifice itself was blind or crippled! Other sacrifices were expressions of thanksgiving to God or dedication to God. How bizarre to offer a sacrifice that was meant to express dedication or thanksgiving, but was diseased! These blind, crippled, and diseased sacrifices revealed much about the worshippers who offered them, and even more about the priests who accepted them. It was not a matter of, ‘Only the best will do for God’, but rather, ‘Give God the worst’...they did not have the nerve to stop offering sacrifices, but offered second-rate sacrifices, going through the motions of serving God, when their hearts, lips and lives were far away from God. -Peter Adam Adam, P. (2013). The Message of Malachi: “I Have Loved You,” Says the Lord (A. Motyer & D. Tidball, Eds.; pp. 52–53). Inter-Varsity Press.
V.8-10 God’s response to their unworthy worship
Malachi uses a common-sense argument to wake them up to the reality of what they are doing by challenging them to bring these same quality offerings to their Persian governor and see how well that goes over…Their actions had told on their hearts.
The governor’s “table” was a lavishly prepared banquet (cf. Neh. 5:17) including “offerings” from the people. Certainly, the governor (peḥâh, a Persian title) would not have been pleased with the meat of blind, crippled, or diseased animals; in fact he would not have accepted it. How much more absurd it was to expect the favor of the Lord Almighty (cf. Mal. 1:4) with such offerings. Blaising, C. A. (1985). Malachi. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 1, p. 1578). Victor Books.
God was not pleased and rejected their worship and preferred they not offer anything at all. The priests and the people convinced themselves that something was better than nothing, but they were giving God their leftovers and the bare minimum, keeping the best for themselves.
V.10 God wanted to be in fellowship with His people so to prefer the temple doors be closed so no worship is offered at all reveals how offensive their worship was to God. But this speaks to God’s desire for genuine love and worship. God provided the means to be in fellowship with Him in the first place. The purpose of the temple and sacrifices were all given by God so they could enjoy Him and His favor…
When God instructed Moses to build a tabernacle He said…Have the people of Israel build me a holy sanctuary so I can live among them (Ex 25:8). Adam, P. (2013). The Message of Malachi: “I Have Loved You,” Says the Lord (A. Motyer & D. Tidball, Eds.; p. 62). Inter-Varsity Press.
Gordon Wenham comments on sacrifices: ‘The aim of these rituals is to make possible God’s continued presence among his people’, just as these rituals also made it possible for the people to stand before their God. Adam, P. (2013). The Message of Malachi: “I Have Loved You,” Says the Lord (A. Motyer & D. Tidball, Eds.; p. 52). Inter-Varsity Press.
They were misusing the very means that God had graciously put in place to make it possible for them to be in his presence, namely, the temple and the sacrifices. For temple worship and the offering of sacrifices were not human efforts to win God’s favour, but gifts of God’s grace, to enable his people to come before him with their sins forgiven, to express their thanksgiving, commitment and praise. The temple, the priests and the sacrifices were all provided by God, they were all his gracious gifts. Adam, P. (2013). The Message of Malachi: “I Have Loved You,” Says the Lord (A. Motyer & D. Tidball, Eds.; p. 64). Inter-Varsity Press.
V. 11 God will receive worthy worship around the world
Most scholars believe this points to a future fulfillment where gentiles will honor and worship God with pure hearts, in Spirit, and truth (through faith in Christ). However, I also believe this could be something like Acts 17:23. People were worshipping God with an innate drive but did not know His true name but worshipped God as creator (Scholar NT Wright also believes this is a possibility too).
V.12-14 God repeats His dispute with the people
Malachi repeated the charges but does specify another example of how bad their offering was…they resorted to bringing sacrifices that had been mutilated by violence, or a wild animal. One theologian called these “roadkill” sacrifices.
V.13 First among the unworthy sacrifices Malachi lists what has been taken by violence (Heb. gāzûl), that is, caught and mutilated by a wild animal. Mauled animals were considered unfit for human consumption, and were to be thrown to the dogs (Exod. 22:31). To offer them to God was an open insult. Baldwin, J. G. (1972). Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi: An Introduction and Commentary (Vol. 28, pp. 250–251). InterVarsity Press.
To make matters worse they were making promises to offer the best animal only to offer a defective one. This was their lack of devotion and reverence for the King of Kings.
God does not hold back from confronting so there will be correction to their current course. There is a time for this and church leaders and the church body need to accept it as love. Parents, there are times for this, where confrontation and correction are warranted, children you need to accept this as love.
Application:
Jesus is our eternal priest and worthy sacrifice making us worthy of fellowship with God
Hebrews 7:23-25 There were many priests under the old system, for death prevented them from remaining in office. 24 But because Jesus lives forever, his priesthood lasts forever. 25 Therefore he is able, once and forever, to save those who come to God through him. He lives forever to intercede with God on their behalf.
Hebrews 10:19-22 And so, dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heaven’s Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus. 20 By his death, Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place. 21 And since we have a great High Priest who rules over God’s house, 22 let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him. For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water.
Jesus is the eternal priest and perfect sacrifice who sufficiently mediates and intercedes for our salvation, forever. Jesus is the worthy, perfect sacrifice, accepted by God to atone (cover) our sins. God was justified in saying shut the doors so they will not offer such contemptible sacrifices but in God’s mercy, He gives us Christ and calls us to draw near to Him (James 4:4-10). Therefore, we can humbly and confidently come to God knowing He forgives us and dwells in us through the Holy Spirit. This is received by faith.
Worshipping God is a lifestyle. Worship today is not confined to a temple or sacrifices (neither was it then) Worshipping God is not confined to church or church services because we are now the temple of God, saved and sanctified to worship God. Here are some examples of a lifestyle of worship. Ask yourself how you are doing in these areas and if your life is expressing worth to and honor to God…
Holy Living
Romans 12:1 “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.”
As you already know we don’t bring our best rams or lambs to sacrifice at a temple, Jesus fulfilled that for us. Now, we offer our bodies, our lives, as living sacrifices.
We are the temple of God where the Holy Spirit dwells so be Holy (1 Peter 2)
Praise in worship and professing our allegiance to God in evangelism
Hebrews 13:14-15 For this world is not our permanent home; we are looking forward to a home yet to come. 15 Therefore, let us offer through Jesus a continual sacrifice of praise to God, proclaiming our allegiance to his name.
Showing mercy and help to those in need
Hebrews 13:16 And don’t forget to do good and to share with those in need. These are the sacrifices that please God.
Enthusiasm and Quality in your work
Colossians 3:23-24 Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. 24 Remember that the Lord will give you an inheritance as your reward, and that the Master you are serving is Christ.
Colossians 3:17 And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father.
The quality of the time given to God compared to what we give to other things.
Tithes and Offerings to the Lord
Philippians 4:18 At the moment I have all I need—and more! I am generously supplied with the gifts you sent me with Epaphroditus. They are a sweet-smelling sacrifice that is acceptable and pleasing to God.
Our thought life
Psalm 19:14 May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer.
God deserves our best worship, not our leftovers
Every aspect of our lives should honor and glorify God. Are we intentionally giving God our best? Or do we say well He’s a gracious God, he understands…That’s why we should strive to give God our best because He has shown us great mercy…
Worship on Sunday
When we come to church we have the opportunity to worship God when we sing, pray, take communion, serve, fellowship, give our tithes and offerings, listen to the Word of God, and leave with the conviction to GO be disciples of Christ. The question is are we being sincere? Are we reverent? Are we present and engaged? Do we come to give God honor and learn from Him? Do we come to learn so we can apply? Do we come to encourage one another?
God deserves our punctuality. God deserves our undivided attention. God deserves our thanksgiving and praise. God deserves our trust in giving. Does deserves our serving. God deserves our examination and repentance…
Discussion:
What is one thing from the message that resonated with you?
How do you enjoy expressing your worship of God?
What are some examples of giving God our leftovers in worship (during the week or at church)?
How do we properly embrace the “come as we are” but also “be intentional in our worship at church?”
What additional notes did you make during the sermon?
What can we pray for regarding the sermon? Do you have any prayer needs?
The most important decision you will ever make!
If you’re ready to trust in Jesus for salvation and eternal life we encourage you to process this decision with a strong believer and when you’re ready say a simple prayer like this from your heart: Dear God, I acknowledge and admit I have sinned. I see my need for Jesus Christ. I believe in Jesus as my Lord and Savior. I believe I am forgiven and cleansed of my sin by His death. I also believe I have eternal life because of His resurrection from the dead. I repent, I turn away from my old ways and I choose to live my life to worship you and follow Jesus, Amen!
We would love to know if you decided to accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior. Let us know here.
Pray Together
We hope you found this AFTER THE SERMON discussion helpful for your walk with Jesus. We pray you can find ways to apply it this week!