Malachi 2:1-9

Transcript

GR 49
2/23/1975
MALACHI 2:1-9
GIL RUGH

Malachi the last book of the Old Testament in the second chapter. I'd like to begin reading with the first verse as you follow along in your bible. Malachi chapter 2 verse 1, ''And now, this commandment is for you, 0 priests. If you do not listen, and if you do no take it to heart to give honor to My name,' says the Lord of hosts, 'then I will send a curse upon you and I will curse your blessings; and indeed, I have cursed them already, because you are taking it to heart.' 'Behold, I am going to rebuke your offspring, and I will spread refuse on your faces, the refuse of your feasts; and you will be taken away with it. Then you will know that I have sent this commandment to you, and that My covenant may continue with Levi,' says the Lord of Hosts. My covenant with him was one of life and peace, and I gave them to him as an object of reverence; so he revered Me, and stood in awe of My name. True instruction was in his mouth, and unrighteousness was not found on his lips; he walked with Me in peace and uprightness, and he turned many back from iniquity. For the lips of a priest should preserve knowledge, and men should seek instruction from his mouth; for he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts. But as for you, you have turned aside from the way; you have caused many to stumble by the instruction; you have corrupted the covenant of Levi,' says the Lord of Hosts. 'So I also have made you despised and abased before all the people, just as you are not keeping My ways, but are showing partiality in the
instruction.’ (we’ll take the offering at the end and
we’ll be all set. . . . )

Malachi and in the second chapter. Malachi chapter 2. As I mentioned before, one of the difficulties in studying the prophets from week to week is that their message is so severe. The characteristics of the prophet’s message is condemnation and judgment. And so to study through their letters and messages to the people, week after week after week, we begin to get overwhelmed with that constant condemning tone. There are rays of hope that come through. The prophecies of the victories that God will accomplish ultimately but the overwhelming portion seems to be given over to condemnation and judgment for disobedience and this is as we would've expected because the presence of a prophet in Israel is always a sign of spiritual decay and decline. And whenever you read of the prophets and their ministry, it's not a glorious sign for the nation Israel. But it is an indication that the nation Israel is in a state of spiritual decline and decay as God has sent a special messenger with a special message. The spiritual decay and decline brings judgment their message is one of condemnation and judgment.

And there's always the option given that if you will turn to Jehovah, if you will turn from your sins, then the judgment can be abated or withheld. But the nation Israel was consistent in their rejecting their message of the prophets and thus are undergoing the judgment.

We finished the first chapter last week. A chapter that began with god's declaration of His love for Israel. Now I think that this is important that we keep this in mind when you’re talking about messages o£ judgment. Because we're talking about messages of judgment from a God on a people who God dearly loved. And He has proven and demonstrated His love for them. His love for them will ultimately result in their enjoying the benefits of the kingdom He will establish. But because they have been disobedient, they are chastened by Him.

The book of Malachi dealing with the matter of worship. This is where the spiritual decay manifested itself because their attitude toward God is revealed in the way they worshiped Him. And that’s just going in the external but in their attitude first and then the external carry in our attitude. And they went through the ritual but they didn't go through the ritual the way God had prescribed it. And they didn't do it the way God had prescribed it because their attitude toward God was not as it should be.

We noted verse 10, and I draw your attention to it again in chapter 1, where God desires to worship the sheep altogether. And then He talks about their attitude in the whole thing in verse 13, ''How tiresome it is.’’ Wearisome. They viewed it as a wearisome task to worship the Lord. And so it follows through that in their worship they tried to get by with as little task with themselves personally as possible. And the two go hand in hand .

The crucial thing is not whether a person attends a public worship service. The crucial things is not whether they are involved in teaching Sunday school or witnessing, or any of a number of things. But it is crucial that are involvement and activity is an indication of our attitude. And it tells what my priorities are. And if I am trying to get by with as little cost to myself as possible, use Him in worshiping God, I’m saying in effect saying, 'it’s wearisome to me. It’s tiresome.’ And that’s what Israel state.

Now as we come to chapter 2, we’re still dealing with the priests primarily. What he has said at the end of chapter one would apply to whole nation, but the priest had been singled out as the leaders. In verse 6 of chapter 1, he began this address to the priests where he says: 'Where is my respect says the Lord of Hosts to you 0 priest who despise My name?’

Now in chapter 2 verse 1 he picks up, ''And now this commandment is for you, O priests. The religious leaders of the day. Now it’s important that you realize that what he ways to the religious leaders is pertinent to everyone. Because we’re going to pick up in verse 10 and find out that the deteriorated situation with the priests and spiritual leaders has affected everyone. And family life in Israel has begun to d is intergrate because of the worship situation. They have departed from the word of God and that is just not a theological problem. As we will see next week--we pick up with verse 10 in chapter 2 and we’ll find out that family life in Israel has begun to deteriorate and fall apart and God says some of the harshes things to that situation of the decayed family in Israel.

But it not that you start with the spiritual leaders. It is important that we see the balance. The spiritual leaders bear great responsibility for their, not only leading the people according to truth, but leading them away from truth. But it does not in any way excuse the people who follow them. Because at the end of this chapter we’ll see that God speaks just as strongly, just as harshly to the people generally as He does to the priests. The people don't have any excuse---my family is deteriorated because the one who was to be my spiritual leader led my astray. So God judges the spiritual leader then He judges the individual involved. Why? Because the individuals has the word of God. They should have known that they were being led astray and not followed. They followed because they were just as sinful in their attitude as were the priests.

The priests were the religious leaders of the day. They often distinguished the prophets with God's spokesman to the people, the priests was the people's spokesman to God. And that may be a helpful distinction generally, but basically the priest function went beyond that. The priest did represent the people of God. They went into the presence of God of behalf of the people. But they were also the spokesmans of God to the people. They were the ones who taught and instructed the people in the law--the word of God. Prophets only come on the scene when the priests are not doing their job. And that GOd brings in a special individual with a special message to try and correct the situation. The priest were in a broad sense the spiritual leaders.

And in that we can see parallels to our day. Priests as such, as a particular class of people, are non-existent today.
The New Testament makes clear: Peter writes about it; John writes about it in the book of the Revelation that every believer now is a priest. Now are are made a kingdom of priests before God. So the order of priesthood no longer exist today. Because everyone who is a believer in Jesus Christ is a priest. Has access into the very presence of God because we have the high priest, Jesus Christ, in the book of Hebrews who labors this point. But as religious leaders, the thrust would be the same.

Alright. This commandment is for you, 0 priests. And the commandment is what it said in verses 2 and 3. A warning about the coming judgment and curse. And it’s put in such a way, even though it starts out conditionally, ''If you do not listen, and if you do not take it to heart,*’ and while it's put conditonally, the force of how he goes on, indicates that they won't and aren't listening. They won't take it to heart. Again characteristic of the prophetic message. You preach but the people will not respond, but you tell them anyway. And then I'll judge them for lack of their response. '' 'If you do not listen and if you do not take it to heart to give honor to my name,' says the Lord of hosts, 'then I will send a curse upon you, and I curse your blessings; and indeed, I have cursed them already, because you are not taking it to heart.' ' '

So God is not just satisfied to let worship go on deteriorating and just give up. And that's great! I mean God could just say, 'Very well and I'll wipe out the nation Israel and it's all over.' But as he'll mention further down He has entered into a covenant with Israel. And that covenant obligates Him to bring Israel through to His desired goal in spite of themselves. But a word of warning! If you don't change then I'm going to curse you. Judgment is going to come and there is no way, to my understanding, that a person can read the Old Testament and still come up with the ideas that any man's worship system is fine. That God will be satisfied with whatever a man does. Where a God in love who does not judge. And so much of it is judgment. And here you have a Holy Righteous God talking about cursing people. ''I will send a curse upon you, I will curse your blessings and indeed I already have.*'

And the blessings here, could refer to a number of things. The book of Numbers talk about the priests being in the position of giving blessings to the people because they are God's representative. But now instead of it being a blessing, it's a curse because they are no longer speaking from God and on the basis of God's word and so instead of it being a blessing for the people it's a curse. Because it results in judgment from God. And then just a little more specific in a moment. And you note how God knows--you are not taking it to heart. I've already curse them.

The curse has already begun because I know you. And you are not taking it to heart. You will not listen. You know the priest were no different than you and I are. You know, we can be involved in sin, involved in disobedience and sit under the
word continually and just allow it to bounce off. Because I don’t want to respond in that area. So I no longer hear it. That's why the danger of the person who sits week after week after week and have developed the ability to tune out a certain area of their life. They're no longer hearing it.
And God speaks, and God speaks and His word is spoken, given out again and again and again. They never hear it! Because they've chosen not to hear it.

You know sometimes visitors have come, if you're a visitor you might be surprise because of what a nice person has said about me, but (the people laugh) but I am not gracious to the other preachers in town. And that's true. And I'm going to be ungracious this morning because of what the word says. And I don't know if I have ever said anything this strong as verse 3. When God talks about the curse, and a total despising of a group, I think verse 3 gives it as strongly as possibly, ''because I'm going to rebuke your offspring,'' or your seed literally. And it could refer to the seed that would be planted in the ground, the harvest that the priest benefited from the people would be cut off. And also their physical seed. There is going to be a decline.

''I will spread refuse on your faces, the refuse of your feasts; and you will be taken away with it.'1 Now that's a strong statement. And it almost sounds vulgar. Now, some early writers had a problem with this, because of an early translation of the Old Testament, would arrange this verse altogether. And quite not say what it does say. Even the new American standard
Bible has in the margin, if you'll note along verse 3, refuse or vomit, sorry that's not the word. The word is 'dung', 'manure' a waste. The waste of the animal. God says I'm going to rub it on your faces. And then when I'm all done I'm going to carry you off to the dung pile because that's what I think of you.
The dung in you, equivalent, so we'll dump you on the pile.
Now that is not very kind. We might say in one sense—well we
say, 'that's vulgar.' I mean, how can you say that?
(people laugh) Well I didn't, God did. If I said it, you'd probably think I ought to be, you know, look for another church. But God said it. So this gives some indication how God feels about false religious leaders. You know, we've developed a tolerance today because we think we're being gracious. Well at least you be polite and kind. And if I walked up to one of the liberal pastors in town, I think dung should be rubbed in your face and you get hauled off to the pile, the people would think, he didn't have any upbringing. What's wrong with him. And yet it's not being gracious. To be tolerant where God is not being tolerant. And He is totally intolerant of false religious leaders. And it's hard to express in words that we can understand how great is His hate of false religion and false religious leaders.

I take it, this gives God's opinion of them. they are not good men doing their best. They're not trying hard, and we're not all doing it a little differently, but all going to the same place. These are men who God has no respect for at all. He's going to manifest His total lack of respect by the way they are going to be treated. This is part of His judgment. You want to
know what I think of You? This is how you're going to be treated and that's how I think of you.

We studied what Peter wrote about them being similar to unreasoning animals in the spiritual realm. His comparison is quite the same only not quite as severe. Again God is speaking to the issue of religious leaders. And what is He's saying. ''And these will have dung spread on their faces, the refuse of your feasts.'' Feast worship calling the feasts of worship to me, well I'll tell you what I think of them. And the dung from these feast will be on your face; and you will be carried away with it--with the dung. In other words the waste and the priests will be carried away together because deals them both the same. He despises them totally. And I take it that God's attitude towards religious leaders has not change. And perhaps that is one of the problems that has developed from not preaching more of the prophetic message of the Old Testament. We've be come tolerant were God is not tolerant. And that is not an option or a privilege that I have. I am to be just as tolerant and gracious as God is and no more. And I am not going beyond God's graciousness when I'm gracious to those He is not gracious to. And there is no tolerance for false religious leaders. It doesn't matter than they live in 1975 and occupy some of the large churches of our city and our land. That doesn't change their character one bit. They are still involved in leading people away from the word of God and worship Him contrary to what His word says-- and God's attitude toward them has not changed. It's not getting better. It's not growing tolerant over these 2500 years since Malachi prophesized. They are more guilty because they are to have more understanding because they have more light. Alright, verse 3, perhaps that enough on that. You can go back and read it yourself. You ought to let it sink in. It helps develop your attitude a little bit in spiritual things.

Verse 4, ''Then you will know that I have sent this commandment to you, that My covenant may continue with Levi,' says the Lord of hosts.'' So this judgment is coming but even the severity of it has a good purpose. It is going to reveal the fact that My covenant will continue with Israel. That I have spoken. So judgment even serves a good purpose of preserving that covenant with Levi. And if God would let them go without chastening it would be an indication that He would have nothing to do with them.

Same way with Hebrews says about us, 'If you're not disciplined in chastened, your not a child. And the same with Israel. And became of the covenant, God has sent this commandment, in order that His covenant might continue with Levi. Either the covenant has to be broken off or judgment has to be meeted out. But the covenant cannot be broken off. Because God has obligated Himself. Levi is the head of the family from which Aaron descends and the Levitical priesthood. A covenant as such is not recorded in the Old Testament.

There are specific statements and instructions given to Levi for His priesthood, but a formal covenant is not
recorded. But then the statement and instructions
given, we go into the basis say there was a covenant (?) and Levitical priesthood was established by God as the scripture does make clear. And the book of Hebrews talks about Levi as the representative of the one priesthood. So My covenant with Levi would then entail his being the spokesman to God's people.

Verse 5, ''My covenant with him was one of life and peace, and I gave them to him as an object of reverence; so he revered Me, and stood in awe of My name.1' So the covenant is for life and peace. Again it wasn't for God's benefit. God didn't get any benefit in entering in an agreement with Levi, but it was for Levi's benefit and his descendants. It was for Life and Peace and His word, His covenant was to be revered. And Levi did as Did Aaron. They revered him and stood in awe of my name. Again you note there their conduct Is an indication of how they viewed God. They revered God and say their conduct conforms to what God has said but a person who claims to revere God, to love God, but does not function accord with His word—Is a liar. Because if you really love God and revere God, then you follow through in doing what God has said.

Don't try to talk pure people who really love God, wanting to be pleasing to Him but are worshiping according to a different system. God says they don't love Him. If they loved Him, If they honored Him, if they revered Him, they would do it His way. And that's what is happening here.

''True instruction'' in verse 6, ''was in his mouth, and unrighteousness was not found on his lips; he walked with Me in
peace and uprightness, and he turned many back from iniquity.''
So in verse 4-6 talk about Levi and he functioned as he
should've. True instruction was found in his mouth. Unrighteousness was not found on his lips. The two would
contradict one another. Truth and unrighteousness they couldn't
go together. But Levi gave truthful instructions. He walked
with Me in peace and unrighteousness and you can't divide the two. And that's why the family situation is going to be shown to be deteriorating. You cannot depart from the truth of God and not have every single area of your life affected. It's not just some sterile theology that's interesting to learn on Sunday morning. But it is God speaking and what He says is to pervade my life, become a part of me, My life and conduct is to become conformed to it and that affects every area of my life. It's not possible to section off my life and certain parts of it will be affected by the word and certain parts will not. So as soon as you move away from the word of God then we've moved toward inquiry and that will manifest itself in our practice.

The responsibility of a priest in verse 7. ''For the lips of priest should preserve knowledge, and men should seek instruction from his mouth; for he is the messenger of the Lord of Hosts. But as for you, you have turned aside from the way; you have caused many to stumble by the instruction; you have corrupted the covenant of Levi,' says the Lord of hosts.'' So the responsibility of religious leaders: preserve knowledge. Teach men what God has said. Men should seek instruction from his mouth who is the messenger of the Lord of Hosts. In other words the priests as the religious leader, was to be God's spokesman. So there's no lee way given that a religious leader to give his opinion on subject. He is to give God's opinion and give instructions from God's word.

Now the priests of Malachi's day, '‘But as for you, you have turned aside from the way;'' They have ceased to give instruction from the Law from God and ''thus they cause many to stumble by the law, or by instruction'' In other words they continue to give instruction, the problem is they no longer giving the instructions that God has given. The result being that people are caused to stumble. And so you can see why a false religion is worse than no religion. False worship worse than no worship, because false worship leads people further away from God; causes them to be more in conflict with Him. So it's better not to have any. And that's why verse 10 of chapter was spoken. Better to shut down the worship system. It would be better for the city of Lincoln if every single church and religious group who do not believe and preach the word of God shut its door and nobody every went to his church again. Be better if they were home on Sunday morning watching television. Better for their children not to be brought up being conformed to a false religious system. It would be better to be a home watching television or the cartoons. It wouldn't be as damaging and it would make it easier for us to reach them with the message of truth.

Now this situation. It’s hard. We look back 2500 hundred
years and say, 'well My that's terrible.' We need to keep in
mind that the situation is if anything worst today. We feel we
turn over to Jesus day 400 years after Malachi the situation
hasn't changed. The Pharisee and the Sadducees who are the
religious leaders, Jesus said are the most vile. Now here God said He was going to rub dung in their face. Jesus says, you're
like an open grave, 'You smell so bad I can't stand it.' And
I've never been around a decaying rotting body but you hear
sometimes on the news of how terrible it is in certain
catastrophe and Jesus says that's just how you smell to me, I can hardly stand it. Again you note how polite and kind He was. Yet when, you know, with people of standing you do your best to put on good airs. You be polite and kind. So the next time you meet that reverend Dr. Monsignor, whoever, you shake his hand and then you say, ''There you smell like an open grave. I can hardly stand it.' What would he think? It would help to draw the line, wouldn't it. Not that were all in the same thing together, 'the Lord bless you and the Lord bless me and on we go.' That's not the way it is at all.

Look down to II Timothy in the New Testament. II Timothy chapter 3 and the chapter opens, ''But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For men being lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips,'' on down to verse 5, ''Holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power;* ' Now holding to a form of godliness but they've denied it's power.

Back up to Romans, you can keep your finger in Timothy for a moment, Romans were the other use of this word, 'form' is used in a similar type context. In Romans chapter 2 picking up with verse 17. ''But if you bear the name, 'Jew,' and rely upon the Law, and boast in God, and know His will, and approve the things that are essential, being instructed out of the Law, and are confident that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, a corrector of the foolish, a teacher of the immature, having in the Law the embodiment of knowledge and of the truth, you therefore, who teach another, do you not teach yourself? You who preach that one should not steal, do you steal? You who say that one should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you robe temples?'' The corrupt there in verse 20, of the foolish, a teacher of the immature having in the Law the embodiment of knowledge and of the truth. And here we are dealing with people who are functioning on the same type of level as chapter 3 of II Timothy. Those who have a form of godliness. Here these are a form of godliness and of knowledge and yet it's not a reality in their life. And I think that's important to remember. You don't look at a life and say it has a pattern or a form of godliness and that is satisfactory. It has to be real. And it's not real in these individuals.

Look over in II Peter chapter 2. Just a few passages here as we close this morning. II Peter chapter 2 and in verse 1. Talking about false prophets the emphasis ends up to be the same with religious leaders here. ''But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even 'denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themse1ves.* 1

Verse 12 is the verse I referred to earlier where, ''But these, like unreasoning animals born as creatures of instinct to be captured and killed, reviling where they have no knowledge, will in the destruction of those creatures also be destroyed.’’ Here these false teachers are compared to animals. So they deserve the same kind of destruction and treatment.

Look down then in this chapter to verse 17, Still talking about these teachers, false teachers that will be in the church. ''These are like springs without water, and mists driven by a storm, for whom the black darkness (or the blackness of darkness) has been reserved.’’ Springs without water, mists driven by a storm. That is they promise something but they never give. It looks like a spring but there is no water. Looks like a mist, the clouds coming to give rain, but they’re blown away. And you look at these false teachers and it looks like they may have the truth, it looks like they may be able to tell you about God, but they are empty. They have a form but no substance, ''For speaking out arrogant words of vanity they entice by fleshly desires, by sensuality, those who barely escape from the ones who live error, promising them freedom while they themselves are slaves of corruption; for by what a man is overcome, by this he is enslaved. For if after they have escaped the defilements of the world by the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and are overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first. For it would be better for them not have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn away from the holy commandment delivered to them.'' Now we're not talking about a person losing his salvation here. We're talking about false teachers that never did trust Jesus Christ but they have the truth and thus they are greatly responsible before God. It had been better if they had known and had turned away and have corrupted it and are still doing.

Now it's interesting in noting a pattern that seems to follow in Israel and carries over to our day. First to have the truth. And the truth has impended impact upon their life. My life has been conformed to the word of God and the truth is a living vital reality for me. Israel desires is to lead these men in certain covenants with God and stages in their life as a nation; very enthusiastic about what God has said and about conforming to His word and that's is what is to happen to us. We're to be conformed and transformed.

Then they go to a second step where they have the truth, they have the word of God so it begins to make less and less of impact upon their life and conduct. I find myself with a corruption fact about the knowledge word but my life is not greatly altered or changed by the knowledge and facts that I have. I come on Sunday morning in it's doors but the rest of the week I live my life basically unaffected by the facts of the word of God.

That leads to a third step. And the third step is, well the truth there, but it is no longer a part of the life at all. And it's just an external form of godliness but there's no substance at all. And it's very easy for us to pass through these stages as a church body. You don't lose your salvation, I'm aware, but we begin so excited about God's word, especially as new Christians. What a zeal for what God has done and accomplished for us, a desire to get into the word as much as possible and seeing are life change in accord with the word. As times goes by, what happens? We begin to cool a little bit. And pretty soon we are less concerned about how my life is being conformed to the image of His glory. I'm less concerned about my life being patterned according to the word of God. I have the facts. I can spit them out to you, rapid fire, but life does not bear testimony to the reality of those facts any longer.

The next step is that we raise a generation who don't know the facts first-hand at all. The truth is not a part of their life at all. And they have a form of godliness, yes they'll come and sit in this auditorium. They'll still stand at the right time and sing, sit down and go out, but they'll have no vital relationship with God at all. That is where Israel is in Malachi. These priests, they know nothing of a personal relationship with God. They’ve got all the facts: the Pharisees, the Sadducees in Jesus day they had all the facts. They prided themselves in the knowledge of the law and knew nothing first-hand about a personal relationship with God. They had a form of godliness but they denied the power.

The important thing is that you know where you are and I know where I am. Now one of the things as we become defensive. Someone speaks to us about our life, an area of our life, and I become defensive because I wonder what right do they have to talk about my life. They have every right! Because by claiming to be a believer in Jesus Christ, I'm claiming to be one who’s life is being conformed to the word of God and if that is not happening, then I need some firm Christians to speak to me about it. So when I become defensive, it's an indication I already know it, I just don't want to be conformed in that area. So don't bother me about it.

You know then we cross a line and it's hard to tell. How do you know for sure that you really are a child of God at all? The thing that concerns me as we grow larger as a church it's easier to get lost in the crowd here. To come and go through the form of ritual worship, have a form of godliness but never experience the reality. You come to Indian Hills Community Church week after week after week, month after month, year after year and die and never have come to know Jesus Christ, personally! You cease to hear the word of God. The danger of being constantly exposed but you assume, 'Of course I am. Look at me, I do everything that everyone else does.' Is the word of God a reality in your life? Is there evidence of it? If there is not you don't have any basis, 'to say, well I believe Christ, what nerve do you have to question my life.' Well the bible says if you really believe in Him your life will be changed.

John wrote in his first epistle in the third chapter that those than live in sin are not his children at all. If sin is a characteristic of your life, you don't belong to Him. You have the truth, maybe, as fact you have a form of godliness but you don't have the reality at all.

James talks about this when he says, 'faith without works is dead, period!' Faith without works is dead. That the faith you have in Jesus Christ has not transformed your life and your character then you don't have saving faith in Jesus Christ. You need to stop and be honest with yourself. It would be tragic not if you fooled me for fifty years, it would be tragic if you fooled yourself for 50 years. You can't fool God. He knows if it's real. He knows if it's happened. When did it happen for you. When did you realize for the first time you were a sinner and Jesus Christ died for you? But on that basis of that knowledge placed your faith in Him. What change in your life has there been since that time. Has there been any? Maybe you had an emotional experience. Maybe you learned enough from being around Christians to give the right answers. God hasn't been fooled. You need to back up and get it right with Him so that you can offer a worship that is acceptable to Him.

....Look at the closing verse of Malachi just in this section, chapter 2 verse 9. So it points up two errors of the

religious leaders. Verse 9, ''For I also have made you despised and abased before all the people, just as you are not keeping My ways, but are showing partiality in the instruction.’ ’

First error that they had, the failure to walk with God. You are not keeping my ways. That was their first error. The second goes along with that. You are showing partiality in law or in the instruction. Note the desire to carry the favor of men, to please men. You become men-pleasers. It goes hand in hand and cease to walk with God, they become more concerned about pleasing men and less concerned about pleasing God. So are seminaries around this country still turn out great oracles. Still turn out smooth public speakers. Why? They’ve ceased to walk with God, but they haven’t lost the interest of pleasing men. And the religious leaders of Malachi’s day had gotten bound up in that. They ceased to walk with God adapted a goal of pleasing men. What’s your goal? What’s my goal? No we just need to look at them and say 'well that’s terrible.’ Well, what is my goal? To walk with Him? To be the person He wants me to be regardless of other people. Now the pressure is there to conform. I want other people to like me. I have favor with other people. I want other people to be pleased with me. And the God of graciousness and kindness, I begin to what I know will pleases them. I begin to preach sermons and know that people will want to hear because then they will be pleased with me. I begin to alter my priorities, no longer to please God regardless of the people. But there ought to be a balance. Surely I can please God and still please the people. I need to concentrate on pleasing God that the people please If not
I need to be. Let's pray together.

Father we thank you for your word for even the hard things found in the word. Lord we thank you for this section which speaks rather pointedly to the matter of religious leaders. Father, I pray that you'll make us sensitive to this issue in order that we might be careful about who we receive instructions from. Father who has an influence in our lives. Lord, pray that we will be satisfied only with your word. Lord those who teach and preach your word. Lord pray for ourselves individually. Lord we realize that we're not above the priests, the religious leaders, nor do we realize that the same sinful desires are present in our lives. Lord the desire to resist you, Lord the danger of falling into a form of godliness, but denying the power. Lord pray that in our lives the word might be a reality. That daily we might be conformed to the word. That we might be submitting to the spirit and allowing changes to be made. Father pray especially this morning for those who come to Indian Hill week after week and yet have never personally come to know you as personal savior. Father pray that this morning for the first time, they might stop and take stock of themselves. To be honest with themselves and be honest with You. To see themselves as You see them for the first time. Lord pray that they might respond to your love as shown in Jesus Christ. That they might simply place their faith in Him as personal savior and might know what it is to have a personal relationship with a God who loves them. We pray in Jesus name, Amen.