COMMENTARY ON MALACHI
LESSON NUMBER 10
Mal 2:3“Behold, I will corrupt your seed, and spread dung upon your faces, even the dung of your solemn feasts; and one shall take you away with it. 4 And ye shall know that I have sent this commandment unto you, that My covenant might be with Levi, saith the LORD of hosts.” (Malachi 2:3-4)
WHAT THE LORD WILL DO SO THEY WILL KNOW
INTRODUCTION
When willing and continued sin is found among those with a formal identity with God, there is a certain abrasiveness in the way the Lord addresses them. This is a consistent Divine manner throughout Scripture. God is not represented as speaking gently with hardened sinners who have been warned and admonished frequently. Our text provides an example of the Lord speaking to Israel. John the Baptist spoke in such a way to the Pharisees and Sadducees (Matt 3:7), and Jesus to the scribes and Pharisees (Matt 23:23). Paul delivered scathing words to the Corinthians (2 Cor 11:4-20), and chided the Galatians, who were reverting to a system of law (Gal 1:6-7; 3:1-3). James also so addressed professing believers who were retrogressing (James 4:1-10). The glorified Christ spoke with great sternness to churches that were not living by faith and walking in the Spirit (Rev 2:4,14,20). The reason for this circumstance is that sin hardens the heart, sears the conscience, dulls the hearing, and corrupts the mind. Such sinners are unreasonable – that is why they have given themselves over to sin. God does not address insincere people as though they were sincere, or the carnally minded as though they were spiritually minded. Of course, neither will the Lord address the tender-hearted as though they were hard-hearted, and sensitive souls as though they were insensitive. These Divine reactions reveal the nature of God, which is drawn toward those who have a humble and contrite heart, and tremble at His word (Isa 66:2). That same nature is repulsed by those who refuse Him, disdain His law, and prefer their own will over His (Isa 1:15; Jer 11:14; Amos 5:23). It is imperative that the church, which is “the pillar and ground of the truth” (1 Tim 3:15) acquaint the people with “the living and true God” (1 Thess 1:9).
GOD WILL CORRUPT THEIR SEED
Malachi 2:3a “Behold, I will corrupt your seed . . . ”
This is the delineation of a commandment that is being addressed to the priests (2:1). It is not a commandment is to be obeyed by them, but a judgment that God has set in motion. Just as God can “command” a “blessing” (Psa 133:3), so God can command the devouring locust, cankerworm, caterpillar, and palmerworm to devour (Joel 2:25).
BEHOLD. This is the first of five clauses in the book of Malachi that begin with the word “Behold!” (2:3; 3:1 [2 times]; 4:1; 4:5). These are all prophecies of something that will take place in the future. As used in this second chapter, all of those events are commandments of God. They are not the announcement of something God has foreseen, but of things that God will do. For example, God can “command” a blessing to be upon the people (Lev 254:21). He can “command” Israel’s enemies to return to their city and burn it (Jer 34:22). He can even “command” Israel to be dispersed and sifted among the nations (Amos 9:9). The Psalmist says of this type of Divine command, “Let all the earth fear the LORD: let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him. For He spake, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast” (Psa 33:8-9). That is, the earth owes both its origin and maintenance to the commandment of the Lord.
In this text, God is speaking of something He has decreed to take place in the future. The decree, or commandment, has been made because of the corruption of the priests.
I WILL CORRUPT YOUR SEED. Other versions read, “I will rebuke your descendants,” NKJV “I am going to rebuke your offspring,” NASB “I will have your arm cut off,” BBE “I will reject your seed,” CJB “I will cast the shoulder to you,” DOUAY “I'm going to punish your descendants,” GWN “I turn my back upon you,” SEPTUAGINT “I am about to discipline your children,” NET “I will put your seed under a ban,” TNK “I am pushing away before you the seed,” YLT and “I will rebuke your seed [grain—which will prevent due harvest].” AMPLIFIED
There are three different views of this text that are reflected in the various translations. First, that “seed” refers to the children of the priests. Second, that it refers to their ministry, or productivity. Third, that it refers to the agricultural seed that was sown in the ground. While these may appear to be at sharp variance with one another, there is actually a harmony in them that allows for all three meanings. The versions emphasizing the idea of the offspring of the priests include, “your descendants,” NKJV “your offspring,” NASB and “your children.” NET Those that accent the ministry of the priests being rejected are, “your arm cut off,” BBE “cast the shoulder to you,” DOUAY and “turn my back upon you.” SEPTUAGINT The versions accenting the cursing of the agricultural seed are, “your seed [grain—which will prevent due harvest].” AMPLIFIED
First, this commandment is primarily against the priests themselves, as stated in verse one: “this commandment is for you.” The meaning is that as they have withheld from God the honor due His name, so He will void the honor provided for the priests under the Law. Because they lived from the tithes of the grain (Lev 27:30; Deut 14:22), the seed would be cursed, so that it would not yield a harvest, from which the priests were sustained. Because the priests would not be sustained in their ministry, it would eventually fade away and have no effect. The people would thus be deprived of the ministry of the priests, which was vital to their continuance. In this way, the offspring would all be corrupted, thereby fulfilling a similar prophecy given through Hosea: “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to Me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children” (Hosea 4:6).
Technically, all three meanings (offspring, ministry, and agriculture) are in this word. However, the emphasis of the text is the following generations that would suffer because of corrupt religion that was carried on by the priests. Similar curses include the Babylonian captivity (Jer 29:10), the scattering of the Jews (Ezek 11:16), and the Jews following the cursing of Jerusalem because of their rejection of Christ (Lk 19:44; Rom 11:25). In judgments like this, the people went along with the corruption of Divine ordinances, finding it convenient and pleasurable to adopt a toned-down, if not altogether corrupt, version of the commandments of the Lord. The prophet Jeremiah stated it this way: “The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means; and my people love to have it so: and what will ye do in the end thereof?” (Jer 5:31). Isaiah said of the people, “Which say to the seers, See not; and to the prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits” (Isa 30:10).
WHEN GOD JUDGES RELIGION. What is being revealed in Malachi is a Divine manner – a way God has of dealing with corrupt religion. He so judges the condition as to actually obscure the truth, so that it cannot be seen by the masses. Isaiah put it this way: “For the LORD hath poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep, and hath closed your eyes: the prophets and your rulers, the seers hath he covered” (Isa 29:10) The text goes on to say that the people, whether learned or unlearned, would not be able to understand “the book” (vs 11-12). Could it be that the spiritual obtuseness of our time is the result of a similar judgment that has fallen upon the people because religious men have dared to tamper with God’s truth? That is something to ponder!
THEY WOULD BE TAKEN AWAY
2:3b “ . . . , and spread dung upon your faces, even the dung of your solemn feasts, and one shall take you away with it.”
If the language of this verse appears offensive, it is because of the abhorrence the Lord has for defilement among the ranks of those who represent Him. The Divine response to religious corruption is very pronounced in Scripture, and is consistently denounced by Moses (Deut. 9:24; 18:20), the prophets (Jer 5:31; 14:14; Micah 3:11), John the Baptist (Matt 3:7-10), the Lord Jesus Christ (Matt 23:13-29), the apostles (Rom 3:9; 1 Tim 6:3-5; 2 Tim 3:1-5; 2 Pet 2:10-19), and other inspired writers (James 4:4). It is the solemn responsibility of everyone claiming identity with God to see to it that they are exposed to the truth (Jer 5:1; 2 Thess 2:10-11). Heaven is displeased when the people go along with corrupted religion (Isa 30:10; Jer 5:31; Mic 2:6).
DUNG SPREAD ON THEIR FACES. Other versions read, “spread refuse on,” NKJV “the offal,” NIV “put waste,” BBE “spread animal waste,” CSB “scatter upon your face,” DOUAY “spread excrement,” GWN “will strew dung,” NAB and “splatter your faces with the manure.” NLT
The picture here is that of God throwing back in their faces what they had offered to Him. Under the Law, the dung of the sacrifices was to be carried to an unclean place, or place suitable for garbage, and burned (Ex 29:14; Lev 4:11-12; 16:27). Dung was never offered to God – never! Everyplace the dung of a sacrifice is mentioned, the people were directed to remove it from the camp and burn it (Ex 29:14; Lev 4:11;8:17; 16:27; Num 19:5). This text suggests that the priests were not doing this, but were failing to remove the dung from the sacrifice. Perhaps they considered it too tedious to follow the Divine directives.
THE DUNG OF THE SOLEMN FEAST. The dung that would be spread upon the faces of the priests would not be normal dung. It would be the very dung of the pretentious sacrifices they were being offering up to God – the sacrifices of “the solemn feast,” or “festival sacrifices.” NIV These were not the daily sacrifices (Ex 29:38-42; Num 28:3). These were the sacrifices offered at especially high times, and during ordained festivals when special thanksgiving and remembrances were taking place. In other words, this was God’s reaction to the very best they offered, and the most solemn occasions during which the offerings took place – “solemn days” (Num 10:10), and “solemn feasts” (Num 15:3).
This spoke of their most exalted outward service, the time during which their religion reached its imagined peek. These were the occasions when the priests inconvenienced themselves the most, and extended themselves outwardly to do what the Lord commanded. These feasts extended beyond the boundaries of ordinary, or daily, priestly duties. Modern day parallels might be a special Easter or Christmas service.
TAKEN AWAY WITH IT. Other versions read, “and you shall be taken away with it,” NASB “and you will be carried off with it,” NIV “and will put you out of My presence,” NRSV “and you will be carted off with it,” CJB “and you shall be like unto it,” GENEVA :you will be discarded with it,” GWN “and sweep you away with it,” NJB “I will throw you on the manure pile,” NLT “you shall be carried out to its heap,” TNK and “and it hath taken you away with it.” YLT
This is a most ironic judgment. Under ideal circumstances, the sacrifice and its blood was identified with the people. Although those sacrifices were typical, yet they represented the people, who were, in a sense being offered up to God. In this case, however, the priests became associated with what God rejected – the dung of the sacrifice. When the Lord smeared it upon their faces, they became one with the dung, and were therefore carried away with it. This is a parabolic way of saying that God was rejecting them as priests. Before Him, they were nothing more than the rejected dung of the flawed sacrifices they were presenting to God.
THE PARALLEL OF OUR TIME. We must see the parallel to our time. Jesus has made clear that “the flesh profiteth nothing” (John 6:63). Paul affirmed that “no good thing” is in it (Rom 7:18). Those who serve the Lord in truth “have no confidence in the flesh” (Phil 3:3). All of the deeds proceeding from this corrupt fountain are to be “mortified,” or put to death (Rom 8:13). Flesh is to be “crucified”(Gal 5:24) – not in the sense of being offered up to God, but rather in the sense of being rejected, and not allowed to live and express itself.
When “the flesh” is found in our religion, it is like dung smeared on our faces. It voids anything and everything that is intended to be for the Lord, and He will not receive it. When men do not crucify the flesh, they become one with it, and it nullifies anything that is done in the name of the Lord. This is because the flesh, or “carnal mind,” puts one at enmity with God (Rom 8:7). When the professed church adopts the manners of the world – whatever they are – they are attempting to bring dung into the presence of the Lord. Christ has delivered us “from this present evil world” (Gal 1:4), and it is the ultimate insult to God to come into His presence toting what belongs to that world. There is an alarming promotion of this kind of religion in our time, and those faithful souls who are discontent with it are being treated as though they were merely opposed to change. Valid change, however, is always upward, and never downward. Because the flesh is a corrupt tree, its fruit is always corrupt, wherever is it found – particularly in religion.
THEN YOU WILL KNOW MY COVENANT IS WITH LEVI
2:4 “ And ye shall know that I have sent this commandment unto you, that My covenant might be with Levi, saith the LORD of hosts.”
The remarkably vivid language of this text is announcing that God has rejected the priests that are being addressed. Like the Israelites who tempted the Lord “ten times,” they will now be cut off (Num 14:22-23) – like those who provoked God to swear in His wrath, “They shall not enter into My rest” (Psa 95:11), which was the land of Canaan. That very incident is held before those who are in Christ Jesus, and yet are frolicking with the flesh by being drawn toward Law, rather than living by faith (Heb 3:11). It is a serious thing to provoke the Lord, and believers are warned not to do it (1 Cor 10:22). That context has to do with the Lord’s Table, and the inclusion of manners that really belong to this present evil world.
AND YE SHALL KNOW. When the priests have been experientially thrust from the priesthood, and no longer have any role in it, then they will know things they should have known all along. This kind of knowledge is not profitable for the people. It is knowledge that comes too late to do anything about it. Therefore, when announcing the forty years of wilderness wandering, the Lord declared that at that time “ye shall know My breach of promise” (Num 14:34). That is, they would know His “rejection,” NKJV “opposition,” NASB and “what it is like to have Me against you.” NIV That is, the very One who promised them the land of Canaan had then decreed that none of those unbelievers could possibly enter into it. Also, when Israel was given over to idolatry, the Lord declared many of them would be slain, with only a remnant remaining. He then added, “and ye shall know that I am the Lord” (Ezek 6:7).
During the fourth century, the empower Julian, a former Christian, renounced Christ, and sought to reestablish heathen religion and manners. During June, A.D. 366, Julian rushed into a fierce battle to encourage his troops. He was struck in the side with a flying spear that pierced his liver. The wound proved to be fatal, but before he died he is purported to have shouted into heaven, “Thou hast conquered, Galilean!” Then he knew how wrong he had been – but it was too late.This is something upon which those who are sluggardly in their responses and devotion to God do not reckon. They forget, if they ever knew it, that God can be provoked to anger, and sware in His wrath something that will not be called back.
MY COVENANT WITH LEVI. These priests had departed from the holy intentions of the Levitical priesthood. The priesthood was ordained for “things pertaining to God” (Heb 5:1). Solemnly they were told to “put difference between holy and unholy, and between unclean and clean” (Lev 10:10; 11:47; 20:25-26). There was no ambiguity in the stated objectives. As this will be the focus of the next verses, I will address this matter more directly in the next lesson.
These priests had concocted a religion of their own, and installed practices and manners that reflected their own preferences and desires. God Himself said of them, “Her priests have violated My law, and have profaned Mine holy things: they have put no difference between the holy and profane, neither have they showed difference between the unclean and the clean, and have hid their eyes from My sabbaths, and I am profaned among them” (Ezek 22:26).
Many years earlier, Jeremiah had described this condition as the priests bearing “rule by their means” (Jer 5:31). The Lord described a rebellious people as those who “walketh in a way that was not good, after their own thoughts” (Isa 65:2). The prophets said of wayward people, “Yea, they have chosen their own ways, and their soul delighteth in their abominations” (Isa 66:3).
The condition of the priests was not something that happened overnight. That is really not the way that spiritual decline and hardness of heart take place. It is rather the result of heading in the wrong direction – even if it is only off by a few degrees. If a person heads for Egypt, and maintains that course, regardless of the length of the journey, eventually Egypt is where they will arrive. When Paul described the state of the heathen, he declared that God had allowed them “walk in their own ways” (Acts 14:16). That is why they were off course.
When self is preferred to God, and self-will is chosen over His will, the individual begins traveling in the wrong direction. This was true for Israel in general, the priests in particular, and the professed church as well. Ultimately, all waywardness, whether seemingly small or great, is traced to what a person desires. An apostate church is described as one in which the people “after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears” (2 Tim 4:3). Peter said that “scoffers” who would come in the last days would be those “walking after their own lusts” (2 Pet 3:3). Jude referred to them in the same manner (Jude 1:16,18).
These things have been written “for our admonition” and “learning” (1 Cor 10:11; Rom 15:4). They tutor us in God’s ways – particularly how He regards and responds to corrupted and compromising religion. Men may not like to hear it, but they must be told of the Lord’s intolerance of attempting to blend the flesh and the Spirit, the ways of man and the ways of God, and the wisdom of the world with the wisdom of God. When our service to God does not accomplish what God intends, it is because men are actually attempting to climb up “another way” (John 10:11). Such attempts are known by God, and will be addressed in due time.