Malachi 1

A Healthy Fear

I want to pass on to you this morning a little story I heard on the radio the other day. Together with a bit of good advice.

Apparently there’s a young woman in hospital recovering after a nasty incident with a large spider. Which as I recall was a Tarantula.

The story is, she was face to face with this huge Tarantula, and it apparently sprayed some of its web making liquid straight into her eyes. And she was rushed to hospital in absolute agony.

Now you could call that just bad luck. But it wasn’t. Because as it turns out, the reason she was so close to this large spider was that she was determined to OVERCOME HER FEAR. Her FEAR OF SPIDERS.

So to overcome her fear, she CONFRONTED IT. Face to face. The SPIDER WON.

Now the bit of good advice is this. And the guy on the radio said it after he’d reported the story. He said, you know, I WOULD HAVE THOUGHT BEING AFRAID OF SPIDERS is pretty logical. I mean, maybe if you’ve got an ILLOGICAL FEAR then the thing to do is confront it. And overcome it. Like FEAR OF FLYING. Or FEAR OF OPEN SPACES. Those phobias you hear about. But SOME FEARS are just COMMON SENSE.

And it’s true, isn’t it. Fear of spiders. Fine. Stay away. And I actually trained my kids when they were little to be AFRAID OF ROADS. So they’d stay off them. AFRAID OF STICKING THINGS IN POWER POINTS. It’s a good fear, isn’t it. I still have it. And a healthy fear of spiders as well. I saw one yesterday crawling up under the front of the car. Then a few minutes later I was driving, and a thread from my shirt brushed over the back of my hand. Let me tell you, I almost ran off the road.

It’s only logical, isn’t it, that some things be held in suitable AWE. Don’t go picking up Tarantulas.

Now every now and then we need to be reminded, don’t we, that GOD HIMSELF should be held in FEAR AND AWE. Because when we forget that, we’re heading for trouble. Every now and then we need to look up at the night sky and be reminded that the right response to the God who made the universe; the right response to the God of ETERNITY; the right response to the God who designed the Atom, the God who designed the Galaxy – is to TREMBLE BEFORE HIM.

We’re going to take a look at the Old Testament book of Malachi over these next couple of weeks. It’s the very last book in the Old Testament, and it’s a book addressed to the people of Israel who have come back from the exile in Babylon; they’ve rebuilt their city and their temple. And they’ve settled into a comfortable RUT.

And they need to be reminded, maybe like you do, that the God they serve isn’t interested in THEIR SECOND BEST. The God they serve is not to be TOYED WITH. He’s to be held in reverence and awe.

Verse 14, at the end of chapter 1. The last sentence sums it up. "For I am a GREAT KING," says the Lord Almighty, "and my name is to be FEARED AMONG THE NATIONS."

Hear his name and quake at the knees.

The Israelites are doing just the opposite. And Malachi the prophet confronts them with the REALITIES about their relationship with their GREAT KING. Who they’re taking for granted.

Now let me say in advance what I want to say at the end. And that is, the way you hold God in awe, the way FEAR GOD – it’s not to go hide in a cupboard. It’s to actually TREAT HIM AS THE KING HE IS. Rather than take him for granted. And I want to ask you, ARE YOU DOING THAT?

THE MESSAGE

But before we get to US, let’s take a look at Israel. The problem is, says Malachi right at the start, they’ve forgotten the most fundamantal fact of all. They’re trying to run their religion without the sparkplugs. You’ll see it in verse 2. The one thing they’ve overlooked. It’s meant to be the starting point in their relationship with God. And ours too. And yet they’ve ignored it. Verse 2. "I HAVE LOVED YOU," says the Lord. That’s the starting point.

See, it’s the great thing, isn’t it? That God who is a GREAT KING – he actually chooses to LOVE HIS PEOPLE.

Malachi traces it all the way back to Jacob, their ancestor. God chose him, rather than his brother Esau. Jacob. And his descendants after him. They were going to be the LINE OF BLESSING. He chose the family line of Abraham. Through his son Isaac. And Jacob. And they were going to be his SPECIAL PEOPLE like nobody else on earth.

Now let this sink in. That the CREATOR OF THE UNIVERSE. It’s HIM. Who’s taken the initiative. Who choses this family; that grows into a nation. GOD HAS LOVED THEM. And in spite of their unfaitfulness, in spite of their failures, he’s kept loving them. All the way along.

The starting point for Malachi is the starting point for us. "I have loved you," says the Lord. I CHOSE YOU. I loved you so much I sent my son. Who DIED FOR YOU. And you are my own special people.

That’s the point that God makes in verses 2 to 5. Compare yourselves to your neighbours, says God. And you’ll see the difference. I’VE LOVED YOU. The Great King who they’re meant to hold in reverence. And awe. He says I HAVE LOVED YOU.

ISRAEL’S RESPONSE

Now how do you respond? How do you respond to A GREAT KING. Who has CHOSEN YOU. And loved you? What’s their RESPONSE, these Israelites? Have they loved him in return? Have they honoured him? Have they shown any GRATITUDE?

Exactly the OPPOSITE. And you can see that from verses 6 to 12. First of all, in verse 6. It’s God speaking. And here’s the problem. Follow it and you’ll see it.

"A son honours his father, and a servant his master. If I am a Father, where’s the honour due to me. If I am a master, where is the RESPECT due to me?, says the Lord almighty."

No honour. Not even the respect you’d show your father. Or your boss. And you know who the guilty ones are? You know who’s most at fault? Here’s a scarey thought. It’s their RELIGIOUS LEADERS. The PRIESTS. That’s what he goes on to say. The end of verse 6. "It is YOU, O priests, who despise my name." You religious experts, you professors of piety, it’s YOU. You who’ve got it all wrong.

Now you can just about imagine the protests, can’t you. "Wait a minute, you can’t say that. When did WE ever do anything wrong? We go to work at the temple. We sacrifice animals on the altar like we’re meant to. We go through the liturgies and the rituals - just like we’re meant to. Don’t go pointing the finger at us. How have we despised your name?"

Well, it’s a clear enough answer in the next few verses. And it’s all to do with their sacrifices. And particularly, what their sacrifices SAY about their attitude to GOD.

Now there were different types of sacrifices in the Old Testament laws. There were THANK OFFERINGS. Where you’d bring an offering to show your thankfulness to God. And there were GUILT offerings. Where you’d bring an animal along to the temple, and you’d lay your hands on it as a symbolic way of laying your SINS on it, and then you’d kill it. Very strong symbolism, showing that you recognised the SERIOUSNESS of SIN; and that SIN DESERVED TO BE PUNISHED. And as you did it, you’d humbly ask God to forgive you. And accept the death of the sacrifice in your place.

And with all the sacrifices, there was one simple requirement. One simple rule. The animal you brought, the lamb or the goat, had to be perfect,; your sacrifice had to be spotless and unblemished. The best of the best. The pick of the herd. You had to bring the very best you had. Because you’re dealing here with the maker of the universe. Who has LOVED YOU.

Well, you can see what’s happening, can’t you? Look at verse 8. And again in verse 13. They’re doing exactly the opposite. Instead of bringing their best, they’re bringing the rejects. They’re dishing God up the leftovers. The blind, crippled, mangy, scrawny diseased ones they didn’t want anyway. And they’re saying, yep, these’ll do for God. Here’s one on it’s last legs. We might as well use it for the sacrifice - it’s as good as dead anyway.

My dad used to have a pig farm. And I remember most litters of piglets would have one that was the RUNT. One that you could just tell wasn’t going to make it. Most times, they’d live a few weeks, they wouldn’t grow much; they’d be sickly looking. And most times, dad would just end up knocking them on the head with a hammer. Not worth feeding. Not worth keeping.

That’s the one they were offering to God. As a sacrifice of thanksgiving. As a mark of how sorry they were for their sins. As a mark of their RESPECT. And AWE.

Think about it for a minute, says Malachi. Think about who you’re dealing with. I mean, would you DARE give a gift like that to your governor? You wouldn’t DREAM of it. Look at the second half of verse 8. He says "Try offering them to your governor! Would he be pleased with you? Would he accept you?" I mean, if you did, he’d probably have your head! It’s an insult. Because when you give of your worst instead of giving of your best, it’s saying something, isn’t it? It’s saying YOU JUST COULDN’T CARE LESS.

And that’s the message that’s coming through loud and clear from the Israelites. They just couldn’t care less. They’re going through the motions with their sacrifices and rituals; but all along, they’re just treating God with contempt.

Now let me ask you. How are you treating God? We don’t make sacrifices anymore. Because Jesus has come. And given HIMSELF. As the perfect sacrifice for our sins. But the new testament says IN OUR GRATITUDE FOR THAT, we ought to make ourselves LIVING SACRIFICES. Committed to GODLINESS. Committed to SERVICE. How are you going with that? Would you dish up the same level of commitment to the Governor. Or your boss at work? Are you giving God your best? Or just what’s left over at the bottom of the barrel?

Maybe what YOU’RE DOING – is actually insulting God. Going through the motions of being a Christian, turning up here to church, maybe even struggling along to bible study during the week– but when it comes to your life, giving him the scaps.

That’s what Israel’s doing. Going up to the temple. Making their sacrifices. The cogs of religion are turning just fine. But you know what? God says to they might as well close down. Shut the doors. Give up the play-acting. Because they’re just offending him over and over again.

He says it in verse 10. "Oh that one of you would SHUT THE TEMPLE DOORS, so that you wouldn’t light useless fires on my altar! I’m not pleased with you, says the Lord Almighty - I’d say that’s putting it mildly. "And I will accept NO OFFERING FROM YOUR HANDS."

You know, the Israelites somehow had the idea that dealing with sin was cheap. They were glib. They were casual. Malachi says they "Sniffed with contempt." No big deal. What’s all the fuss? Just sacrifice something that doesn’t really cost anything. A sick sheep. A crippled goat.

The problem was, they just had no idea. No idea of the HOLINESS of GOD. Instead of fearing him, they were toying with him. And most of all, they had no idea of the REAL COST of dealing with sin. Which you catch a glimpse of in Jesus, don’t you? Because there, once and for all, God did what we COULDN’T DO. What we WOULDN’T DO.

Can you see that God’s HOLINESS is so awesome; and our sinfulness is so desperate – that the only way to deal with the problem was for God to provide the most perfect sacrifice of all. The most costly thing sacrifice he could possibly make. By sending his SON. Perfect. Sinless. And giving him up to humiliation and disgrace. And death on a cross.

The sacrifice to end all sacrifices. Not just for the sins of Israel. But for the sins of the world. Which means the passage we’re looking at this morning is talking to YOU AND ME AS WELL. Start back in verse 2.

"I have loved you, says the Lord." But you ask, "How have you loved us."

Try this for an answer. "God demonstrates his love for us in this... that while we were sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5 verse 12.

Or this. "For God so loved the world, he gave his only son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have everlasting life." John 3:16.

That’s how much God loves us. So we need to be careful we don’t make the same sort of mistakes as Israel. Going through the motions of being Christians. Without our hearts in it. Going through the motions of coming to church week by week. But when honouring God’s going to cost you; you back off. Treating him sort of as a hobby. A diversion. Rather than the awesome King of the Universe. Who loves you.

And let me says it again. You don’t give the KING second best! He says it in verse 14. "Cursed is the cheat who has an acceptable male in his flock and vows to give it, but then sacrifices a blemished animal to the Lord. FOR I AM A GREAT KING, says the Lord Almighty, and my name is to be feared among the nations."

Let me remind you, serving God is not just a hobby. And it’s not just a habit. And maybe as a church we need to hear that. It seems to me we’re at the part of the year where it gets sort of hard to keep going. Church again? Bible study again. And all sorts of other things start to look somehow more important. Can’t come today, cause this is the day I mow the lawns. Can’t come today; got other plans. Baking a cake.

Here’s the question. God the GREAT KING… has LOVED YOU. How are you going to respond? Are you GOING TO GIVE HIM OF YOUR BEST? Or just what’s left over at the end? Are you going to give him your best TIME? And your best ENERGY? And your best RESOURCES? Or the leftovers?

Because, you see, there are some fears that you’re not MEANT to overcome. And this is one of them. God says, I AM A GREAT KING. And my name is to be FEARED AMONG THE NATIONS.

Fear God. Hold him in the sort of awe that goes right to the heart. And honour him with your best. In a way that goes right to the heart. Cause one things for sure - if we’re just going to play-act, if we’re just going to be satisfied to go through the motions of religion, God says, don’t bother - you might as well shut the doors!