COMMENTARY ON MALACHI
LESSON NUMBER 14
Mal 2:13 “The LORD will cut off the man that doeth this, the master and the scholar, out of the tabernacles of Jacob, and him that offereth an offering unto the LORD of hosts. 13 And this have ye done again, covering the altar of the LORD with tears, with weeping, and with crying out, insomuch that He regardeth not the offering any more, or receiveth it with good will at your hand.”. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (Malachi 2:12-13)
THE IMPACT OF SIN UPON GOD HIMSELF
INTRODUCTION
Because of the impact of spiritual Babylon, much of the emphasis of Scripture is hardly known at all. The fact that God’s Word is a reflection of His Person, revealing both His initiatives and His responses, is conveniently overlooked. Religious men have a proclivity toward seeking for routines and ways to serve God that do not require self-sacrifice and the forthright abandonment of sin. However, we are being exposed to the impact sin has upon God Himself – how He reacts to transgression among His people, and what He does about it. This aspect of the Divine character has not changed, for God’s essential character cannot change. Salvation has not made God more tolerant of sin, and more forbearing of the sinner. That was not the purpose of the redemption that is in Christ Jesus – to keep God from destroying sinners. It was rather to change sinners, turning them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God. As simplistic as that may appear, a different kind of Gospel is being preached these days that represents God has being able to handle sin, slothfulness, spiritual deficiency, and being assigned a secondary place in the lives of the people. This is not a mere misrepresentation, it is the call to follow another God, another Jesus, and another Gospel. If this is not the case, then we must discard the book of Malachi and affirm that this is no longer an accurate picture of the Almighty God. I am going to wax bold and affirm that misrepresentations of God are blasphemy, and are fostered by the “old serpent” himself. They take from men the sensitivity to both righteousness and wickedness, disarm the soul, and cast one into the darkness from which salvation extricates men. It is a most serious situation.
THE LORD WILL CUT OFF THE MAN THAT DOETH THIS
Malachi 2:12 “The LORD will cut off the man that doeth this, the master and the scholar, out of the tabernacles of Jacob, and him that offereth an offering unto the LORD of hosts.”
The prophet is still dealing with the inter-marriage of the people with the heathen – particularly the priests The whole situation has presented an environment in which the Lord no longer favored the people. Those who teach that what a person does has no effect upon God do well to ponder this passage with sobriety. Such teaching is so heinous that it can scarcely be described in words. It is actually blasphemy against God who expelled Adam and Eve from the Garden, destroyed the world of Noah’s day scattered the people at Babel, and caused fire and brimstone to fall from heaven, destroying the cities of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboim (Gen 19:24-25; 20:23). All of these judgments were because of what men DID. Now the Lord is speaking against Israel – the very people upon whom He set His love (Deut 7:7) – judging them for what they had DONE.
How serious is it to represent God as being able to handle men’s sins, and of being tender toward unrepentant sinners? Those who choose sin necessarily withdraw from God when they do so. Apostolic doctrine teaches us that the possibility of repentance being given to them is on a “peradventure” basis (2 Tim 2:25) – not because of any reluctance on the part of God to save those who are of a humble and contrite spirit, but because of the hardness of heart that is produced by sin. God is making Himself known in this text. Properly seen, it will underscore the extent to which He has gone to save men in Christ Jesus. It will also clarify why it is most difficult to recover those who have drifted into deep sin. It explains why those who attempt to recover them must themselves be spiritual – more like God than those they are attempting to recover. They must also approach the task with great care, lest they be tempted to sin in the very work they are attempting to do (Gal 6:1).
THE LORD WILL CUT OFF THE MAN. There is a significant difference in the way various versions present this text. Older versions state that this is something the Lord WILL do (KJV, ASV, DARBY, DOUAY, ERV, GENEVA, WYCLIFFE) Modern versions read, “May the Lord cut off . . .” The first represents a Divine determination, the second, the desire of the Prophet. Of course, in such a case, the Prophet is acquiescing to the will of the Lord, not exhibiting human preference. The former expression more precisely represents the text, which is the announcement of the Lord’s mind on the matter. It is not primarily the presentation of the mind of the Prophet. Malachi felt this way because the response belonged to the Lord Himself.
The man who will be “cut off” from the people is the one who has broken the covenant of God by marrying a heathen woman – “the man that doth this.” The meaning of the text is that although such a man may vacillate, breaking the commandment of God in preference of fulfilling his own desire, God will not cease being who He is. The God who separated Israel from the rest of the world will not maintain His closeness to them when they realign themselves with the world. Paul said it this way, “If we believe not, yet He abideth faithful: He cannot deny himself” (2 Tim 2:13). Those who make a practice of wresting the Scripture affirm that Paul meant God will remain faithful to us, even though we are unfaithful to Him. But this is not at all what he means. He means that God will not be unfaithful to Himself. He will not conduct Himself out of character, so to speak. God has revealed His attitude toward the one who draws back. He will have “no pleasure” in him (Heb 10:38; Ezek 3:20).
THE MASTER AND THE SCHOLAR. The “master” is the teacher, and the “scholar” is the student. Some versions read, “everyone who awakes and answers.” NASB That is, those who awaken one to the idea, and those who respond favorably to it. These are the leaders and the followers – the ones who led the people to believe they could offer flawed sacrifices and intermarry with the heathen, and the ones who did so. Like dry and brittle branches, both will be removed from the people of God – cut off “out of the tabernacles of Jacob.” They will no longer be identified with the people of God, which was the means through which they received the blessing of God. This Divine response parallels our Lord’s reference to cutting off unproductive branches from the “True Vine” (John 15:2,6).
HIM THAT OFFERETH AN OFFERING TO THE LORD. Even those engaged in ordained service to the Lord, should they be guilty of this sin, will be “cut off” from the people. The NIV reads, “even though he brings offerings to the LORD Almighty.” In other words, even the most solemn religious act will not offset their iniquity. Even if the man is a priest, and is offering a sacrifice to God, his willing involvement in sin nullifies what he is doing. By cutting one “out of the tabernacles of Jacob,” the person is being excluded from the environment of blessing, omitted from the sanctified realm in which Divine benefits were realized.
Contrary to human reasoning, good deeds cannot outweigh bad ones. In our time, a seemingly robust worship service will not compensate for an ungodly life. Even in this day of a “great salvation,” described as “the time accepted” (2 Cor 6:2), only faith can lay hold of the grace of God, and the same faith that takes hold of grace leads one to a holy life (Tit 2:11-12).
YOU HAVE DONE IT AGAIN!
2:13a “ And this have ye done again, covering the altar of the LORD with tears, with weeping, and with crying out . . .”
Remember, this is the Divine assessment of the people in general, and the priests in particular. This is not how the priests saw themselves. In their hearts they had replied, “Wherein hast Thou loved us? . . . Wherein have we despised Thy name?. . . Wherein have we polluted Thee?” . . . Behold, what a weariness is it?” (1:2,6,7,13).
Sin so dulls the heart that the sinner, apart from the Lord revealing it, is unable to see what he has done. Therefore the Lord says, “I will discover their secret parts” (Isa 3:17). Well did Jeremiah say, “He will discover thy sins” (Lam 4:22).
The snare of Israel, as they were led by their priests, was now their religion. With all of its punctilious ceremonies, it only aggravated their situation. The sacrifices of the wicked “are an abomination” to God (Prov 15:8). Even the prayers of such people are an “abomination” (Prov 28:9). All of their services to God are “iniquity,” even their most serious and “solemn assemblies” (Isa 1:13). God has gone on record as hating the religious activities of such people (Amos 5:21). Among other things, this confirms “worship,” as perceived by men, is not the fundamental thing. Jesus said that teaching for commandments the traditions of men makes worship “vain,” or pointless (Matt 15:9). This has some rather alarming implications.
YOU HAVE DONE THIS AGAIN. Other versions read, “this is the second thing you do,” NKJV “this is another thing you do,” NASB “this you do as well,” NRSV and “This you do with double guilt.” AMPLIFIED The thing they have “done again” is provoke the Almighty God. First, they did it by taking wives from those who worshiped a heathen god. The next verse will confirm that He is speaking about the abuse of their wives – an abuse which moved them to cry out to the Lord for mercy. The idea here is that they put away their Israelite wives in order that they might marry heathen ones. Of course, to sin, you have to cease to do what is right.
If they do not do so initially, those who sin against God will eventually also sin against His people. They come to the point where they think nothing of speaking against them, causing them sorrow, or maligning them. Whatever men may think of this practice, they ought to reason that it is a dangerous thing to speak against those whom God has received. Jesus taught that the eternal destiny of men would be determined in part by how Christ’s brethren were treated (Matt 25:32-46). This is why sowing discord among brethren is such a contemptible sin that it moves God to hate the ones who do so (Prov 6:19).
COVERING THE ALTAR WITH TEARS. There are two possible meanings of this text. First, it could be the tears of the wives who have been reproached and moved to tears because of their husband’s preference of heathen women. The Amplified Bible presents this view: “you cover the altar of the Lord with tears [shed by your unoffending wives, divorced by you that you might take heathen wives].” Second, it could be the tears of the priests themselves, who wept because their offerings were no longer honored by the Lord. The NIV presents this view: “You weep and wail because He no longer pays attention to your offerings or accepts them with pleasure from your hands” The Amplified Bible also adds this: “and with [your own] weeping and crying out because the Lord does not regard your offering any more or accept it with favor at your hand.”
First, I think it is assigning too much integrity to the priests to say that they were weeping because their sacrifices were not accepted. They are being rebuked and judged for their obtuseness and insensitivity. It is not likely that such hardened men were weeping because their sacrifices were not accepted. They were guilty of offering unacceptable sacrifices to God – lambs that were lame and sickly (1:8). They offered to God what they would never offer to the governor. Rather than being acutely aware of God’s acceptance of their offerings, they viewed the sacrifices as a burden – an exercise that was wearisome and contemptuous (1:13).
Even though we are living in the time of a better covenant and the newness of life, yet this very same attitude prevails in the professed Christian community. The brevity of gatherings, as well as their infrequency is the living out of the expression “It is a weariness.” They choose what they conceive to be the absolute minimum of exposure to the truth of God because they really consider it “contemptuous.” Oh, they would not admit this – any more than the priests of Malachi’s day were willing to admit it. Those priests wanted to know when they treated the Lord with any contempt: “Wherein have we despised Thy name? . . . Wherein have we polluted Thee? . . . Wherein have we wearied Him? . . . Wherein have we robbed Thee?” (1:6,7,17; 3:8). The all-knowing God told them they had despised Him, polluted Him, wearied Him, and robbed Him – but they were completely oblivious to those conditions. How likely is it that of themselves they were even aware their sacrifices were not acceptable, much less have poured out tears that they were. Such a view appears to me to contradict the very condition that is being soundly rebuked by the Lord.
The tears of reference were not tears they had shed, but tears they had caused. They had hurt the very people they had been ordained to help – to teach and to assist Godward.
THE LORD WILL NOT RECEIVE IT
2:13b “ . . . insomuch that He regardeth not the offering any more, or receiveth it with good will at your hand.”
INSOMUCH. Other versions read, “So,” NKJV “because,” NASB and “so that.” BBE The word “insomuch” is represented in English as being synonymous with “inasmuch.” It means “in the degree that,” or “in view of the fact that.” WEBSTER The idea is that the condition that has been flaunted in the face of God has moved Him to do what He now states. It was such a provocative situation that He was moved to do something about it – something that contradicts human notions concerning His Person. However, this is the real and unchanging God to whom we are being exposed.
REGARDETH NOT THE OFFERING. Other versions read, “does not regard,” NKJV “no longer regards,” NASB “no longer pays attention to,” NIV “He gives no more thought to the offering,” BBE and “no longer looks at the offering.” CJB
This was the impact that marrying heathen wives, and grieving the Israelite wives, had upon the God of heaven. He would not even look at the sacrifices the priests offered – sacrifices they received from the people and sanctioned – much less welcome them. They were actually a total waste of time, and the efforts put into them were completely vain.
It ought to be very apparent that teaching people that “worship” is the main thing, and leading them believe that God inhabiting the praises of Israel (Psa 22:3) means that when men praise God, He shows up, is a most dangerous doctrine. First, neither Jesus nor those who represented Him, ever reasoned in such a manner. In fact, they warned of an approach to outward worship that was vain and pointless (Mk 7:7; James 1:26; Tit 1:16). There are offerings, whether sacrifices under the Law, or deeds in this day of grace, that God does not accept. There are sacrifices with which the Lord is “well pleased” (Heb 13:14), and those with which he is not pleased (Prov 15:8; 21:27). Just as there were activities that were “acceptable” under the Law, so there are sanctified responses that are “acceptable” in Christ (Rom 12:1,2; 14:18; Eph 5:10; Phil 4:18; 1 Tim 2:2-3; 5:4; 1 Pet 2:5,20).
A spiritual framework of thought has been developed in our time that has successfully obscured the necessity of Divine acceptance. It is assumed that whatever is said to have been offered to God is acceptable. Of course, the whole point of the text before us is that this is not true. This is not how God has represented Himself to men – and God has not changed.
NOR RECEIVETH IT WITH GOOD WILL. Other versions read, “accepts it with favor from your hand,” NASB “with pleasure,” NIV “gladly,” CSB “satisfaction,” DARBY “welcome,” SEPTUAGINT and “a pleasing thing.” YLT
A sacrifice that God receives with “good will” or “favor” is one that provokes Him to bless. “Good will” speaks of a Divine initiative to benefit, and is not merely a passive attitude. Thus, when Jesus was born, the angel announced “good will toward men” (Lk 2:41). The gross mistranslations of that verse contradict the very notion of “enemies” being reconciled (Rom 5:10; Col 1:21), or those “dead in trespasses and sins” being quickened (Eph 2:1-2) – i.e. “men with whom He is pleased,” NASB “among those He favors,” NRSV and “men of good will.” AMPLIFIED
There are sacrifices that are rejected because of WHO offered them (Prov 15:8; 21:27; 28:9; Isa 1:11; Jer 6:20). Our text is a case in point. Although, according to appearance, it looked as though the priests were doing the right thing, and fulfilling the Law, heaven did not even regard or give dignity to their sacrifice. In heaven, it was not recognized as obedience, or doing what was righteous – even though men regarded those sacrifices in that manner.
The sense of this text is that the tears of the oppressed wives were more highly regarded by God than the sacrifices being made by the priests. It is the same kind of perspective that Jesus had of the poor widow who put two small coins into the Temple treasury. He said of her, “Of a truth I say unto you, that this poor widow hath cast in more than they all” (Luke 21:3). In thankfulness, she had seen God as worthy of receiving everything she had. The wives of our text had taken their sorrows to the Lord and wept before Him.
Here, the Lord’s words through Malachi confirm what is declared of Him elsewhere: “put Thou my tears into Thy bottle: are they not in Thy book?” (Psa 56:8). These wives were sowing in tears (Psa 56:8), and the Lord has heard them. Because of their tears, He has turned His attention away from the priests, refusing to accept the sacrifices they offered. He has also honored the weeping wives by turning His attention toward them.
James uses this same form of reasoning, confirming that we are being exposed to the Divine nature. He wrote to wealthy Christians who were not treating their workers in a righteous manner. “Behold, the hire of the laborers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth” (James 5:4). There is still a considerable amount of this kind of injustice within the Christian community. Some men are growing rich at the expense of those who work for them and are under their care. The cries of those so inconvenienced have entered into the ears of the Lord of hosts. He will also reject the offerings of such oppressors, just as He does in this text.