Malachi 1:9,10 - Oh that you would shut the temple doors!

1:9

They knew full well how a human superior would respond to a defiled gift. So how could they expect God to show favour to Israel when they offered defiled offerings? So often we blame God for things, but it is always we who are at fault. We need to come before the Lord in true reverence and awe. If we do not then how can we imagine that we are actually coming before the Lord? We need to check our own attitudes and actions.

1:10

They would be better not to come before the Lord at all, better to shut the doors of the temple so that no one could come and offer defiled offerings. For their coming to the Lord only invoked His anger. Today we can act as if God ought to be pleased to see us, as if He has a duty to bless us. If we come with a humble heart and an attitude of faith and true worship He will indeed bless us, but if we come with a presumptuous spirit we need to beware. We come to God on His terms, and we come to see His kingdom come and His will be done.

Galatians 6:1,2 - Keep watch, lest you be tempted

6:1

In one sense they have been concerned about avoiding sin in its widest sense. They wanted to please God and misguidedly thought that getting circumcised was the way to do this. Paul has told them that while their motives might be good, the outcome would be more sin. Instead, living by the Spirit, living by faith, is the only way for us to please God and sin less. In a legalistic culture if someone is caught sinning the reaction is often to condemn them.  What are we to do in a faith culture if someone is caught in sin? The answer is that rather than condemn the brother, he is to be restored in a spirit of gentleness. and this is to be done by those who are “spiritual”, not those who are legalistic.

6:2

Rather than competing against each other, which is what legalism encourages, we are to “bear one another’s burdens”. We are to help and encourage each other. “and so fulfill the law of Christ”. Paul is not saying that this is an alternative law. Rather the Law was a whole way of life, influencing everything that was done, just see how widespread the laws are in Leviticus and the other books of the Pentateuch, even covering what to do about mildew! In Christ the whole way of life, the whole culture, is one of helping each other.

Malachi 1:6-8 - You have shown contempt

1:6

The next complaint is that the priests do not honour God properly, if at all. We are used to people complaining to God or, rather, complaining about God. In Malachi it is God’s complaints about us! In the world a son honours his father, and a slave his master. Ie we know there are situations where one person shows respect to another person. Yet with God respect was not being shown. And God is both our Father and our Lord, so He is doubly deserving of respect in these terms! And it was the priests who were the chief culprits.

1:7,8

The priests would have asked how they were failing. Often leaders are utterly deluded, and all of us involved in church leadership need to check ourselves every so often. The priests were failing by offering defiles sacrifices. The lack of respect that this was showing to God was highlighted by asking them if they would offer a broken gift to the governor (by the way, this is indicative of a post-exilic date for the book, as prior to the exile Israel was ruled by kings). We so easily treat God with less respect than we would a boss at work. Today many church leaders show scant regard for the word of God, preferring to follow the world’s so-called wisdom.

Galatians 5:24-26 - Let us not become conceited

5:24

So why will living by the Spirit, living by faith, produce this good fruit? Because if we belong to Christ we have crucified the flesh. We have said no to the flesh, we have given up on trying to live out of our own strength. So we have crucified the flesh. We are no longer relying on this corrupted part of our nature. This is why any legalistic approach to living will ultimately end in disaster. For if we follow a legalistic approach we are relying on the flesh, on our innate nature, and try as we might, we will inevitably reap the consequences of doing that.

5:25

We live by the Spirit and are to keep in step with the Spirit. Note the implication that the Spirit is a person, as we are to keep in step with Him. Note also that while we live by the Spirit we do not abdicate responsibility. Again and again people will try to make out that some aspect of Biblical teaching takes away our responsibility. The sovereignty of God is perhaps the biggest one, and Romans 9 addresses this issue. Then there is the canard that since there is complete forgiveness in Jesus we can do what we like, or it doesn’t matter what we do. Likewise, living by the Spirit, not law, does not mean that it doesn’t matter how we live, quite the opposite in fact.

5:26

“Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other”. Living by law can lead to these things: Conceitedness, provoking and envying one another. If someone is doing better than us at something, we start to envy them, instead of rejoicing in their success or progress. These things can also be a risk when living by the Spirit. We can become so pleased with ourselves that we are walking in step with the Spirit that pride starts to rise up. The flesh is a very tricky customer and we need to be on our guard at all times.

Malachi 1:2b-5 - They may build, but I will demolish

1:2b,3

“Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated”. This sort of phrase can cause us sensitive souls a problem, we don’t like the idea of God hating. However, it says what it says and is God’s word, so let’s look at it a little more closely. First of all Jacob and Esau were both sinners. Jacob was a rather devious individual, but also one who sought God. Esau was ready to sell his birthright for a single meal. God showed grace to Jacob, Esau got the judgement he deserved. At the time Jerusalem was being rebuilt, albeit slowly and still facing a multitude of problems and difficulties. Edom (the land of Esau) had helped the Babylonians when they defeated Jerusalem. Edom was now a wasteland.  So the situation was that Edom was a mess and was going to get no help from God. Israel was also something of a mess, but would receive help from God. The difference between God’s treatment of Jacob and Esau is sometimes framed as though it is a rather capricious act on God’s part. This is not the case. Edom got what she deserved, Israel received grace that she did not deserve.

1:4,5

Edom, although she was a mess, made great claims that she would rebuild her ruins. She might say this, but her words would prove to be empty, for God was against her. They would always be under God’s wrath. Israel would see this and see that God’s power extended beyond the borders of Israel. We can see a picture here that can be applied to the whole world. All have sinned, but some receive mercy, and it is entirely in God’s hands who receives mercy. Moreover, God’s power extends to the whole earth, certainly far beyond the confines of the church.

Galatians 5:19-23 - Works of the flesh, fruit of the Spirit

5:19-21

If live under the law we are living under the control our our flesh, and Paul now reminds us of what some of the results of this are. The flesh produces things like sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies and the like. We might think, but they are trying to be good, how can this happen? Just look at the Catholic church! (Other churches have their own share of scandals as well.) They have strict teaching on sexual morality, Pope francis notwithstanding, even insisting on celibacy for their priests, yet there have been the most horrific  tales of abuse and cover-ups in recent years. Living by the flesh inevitably produces the sorts of things in Paul’s list. We need a whole new way of living, a whole new life.

5:22,23

Following the fruits of the flesh we get the fruit of the Spirit. These are the qualities that are produced in a person’s life if they live by the Spirit. Now we need to note that this is not simply stating that one list is a list of bad things and the other a list of good things. One is what living by the Law, which means living by the flesh, produces. This happens not because the law is bad, quite the opposite is the case, but because we are bad! The other is what the fruit will be if we live by the Spirit. We should certainly seek to cultivate these things, but we need to do so by faith in Christ. If we seek to do it by setting rules we will come a cropper. “Against such things there is no law”. Why does Paul say this? Maybe it is because some were saying that Paul’s approach was antinomian, and Paul is saying that this is what living by the Spirit will produce, and the law does not forbid such things.

Malachi 1:1,2 - I have loved you

1:1

“A prophecy”. We often have the idea that prophecy is mainly about foretelling the future. While that is part of it, it is actually a relatively small part if we look at the prophecies in the Bible. There is a major concern with the extent to which people are living in line with God’s word, or usually, not living in line with God’s word. It is more a revelation of who God is and who we are.

1:2

A lot of Malachi is framed as a dialogue between God and the people, and with questions that they ask. These questions were almost certainly not asked directly of God by the people, but more likely murmured by them. For all of us there are times when we have questions, when we feel deeply dissatisfied with the way things are, even with God. In those times it is far better for us to take those questions, even complaints, direct to God, rather than murmuring about them.

The people were wondering how God loved them. Now we need to remember the situation. The temple had been rebuilt, but the land was far from being in a blessed state. If we base our faith in God on our circumstances we are mistaken. Circumstances do matter, but our relationship with God is far more important. We are meant to have a relationship of trust and obedience with God.