Mal 2:1-9 | KingComments | STEP | In Malachi 1, the indifference and hypocrisy of the priests and the people are presented to them. It is more about religious life. In Malachi 2 it is about the lack of understanding of God’s thoughts, which is evident in social life. We find three covenants here: 1. the covenant with Levi ( ), 2. the covenant with the people ( ) and 3. the marriage covenant ( ). The priests, people who should know God’s will par excellence and who should teach the people, are addressed directly ( ). A commandment comes to them. What the commandment means is written in . The priests are not left in the uncertainty of the consequences if they persist in their unfaithfulness ( ). They must not only listen, but also take it to heart. Then they will have a contrite heart, confess their sins and really give honor to God’s Name. If they do not do so, He, “the LORD of hosts”, sends the curse among them (cf. ). He will take all their blessings away from them and turn them into a curse. The land will no longer yield food, but weeds. The peaceful society will become a torment by mutual irritation and intolerance. Family life will be disrupted. Instead of love there will be hatred and suspicion. It is not only a prediction, but God has already brought it among them because they are not focused on Him with their hearts. And it will all get much worse if they don’t listen to His call. The word “offspring” ( ) is literally “seed” and refers both to children and to the sown, which must grow on the land as a blessing and of which again tenths can be given. God will rebuke that. They will not experience any joy in what comes after them, not in children and not in harvest. He will make them feel His displeasure in the clearest way possible. God expresses His contempt for them here in powerful language. He will treat them as they treat Him. He will spread refuse on their faces, the refuse of their feasts. The sacrifices they bring at those feasts are an abomination to Him. He sees these sacrifices in their entirety as refuse. Those sacrifices are not a soothing aroma for Him, but they stink, they cause disgust in Him. They may think they are celebrating the feasts of the LORD, but He speaks here of “your feasts”. Under the cover of a feast for the LORD they have made their own feasts. Thus later the Passover of the LORD degenerates into a Passover called “the feast of the Jews” ( ). God will smear them with the refuse of their feasts. Except that it makes them stink, they will also look repulsive. This extremely deep defamation they have inflicted on themselves will stick to them when they will be taken away to a dung heap, so that there will be nothing left of them in the temple (cf. ). This is how God cleans His house of the refuse.

‏ Malachi 2:1-9

Introduction

In Malachi 1, the indifference and hypocrisy of the priests and the people are presented to them. It is more about religious life. In Malachi 2 it is about the lack of understanding of God’s thoughts, which is evident in social life.

We find three covenants here:

1. the covenant with Levi (Mal 2:1-9),

2. the covenant with the people (Mal 2:10-12) and

3. the marriage covenant (Mal 2:13-16).

The Commandment to the Priests

The priests, people who should know God’s will par excellence and who should teach the people, are addressed directly (Mal 2:1). A commandment comes to them. What the commandment means is written in Mal 2:2-3.

The priests are not left in the uncertainty of the consequences if they persist in their unfaithfulness (Mal 2:2). They must not only listen, but also take it to heart. Then they will have a contrite heart, confess their sins and really give honor to God’s Name. If they do not do so, He, “the LORD of hosts”, sends the curse among them (cf. Deu 28:20).

He will take all their blessings away from them and turn them into a curse. The land will no longer yield food, but weeds. The peaceful society will become a torment by mutual irritation and intolerance. Family life will be disrupted. Instead of love there will be hatred and suspicion. It is not only a prediction, but God has already brought it among them because they are not focused on Him with their hearts. And it will all get much worse if they don’t listen to His call.

The word “offspring” (Mal 2:3) is literally “seed” and refers both to children and to the sown, which must grow on the land as a blessing and of which again tenths can be given. God will rebuke that. They will not experience any joy in what comes after them, not in children and not in harvest.

He will make them feel His displeasure in the clearest way possible. God expresses His contempt for them here in powerful language. He will treat them as they treat Him. He will spread refuse on their faces, the refuse of their feasts. The sacrifices they bring at those feasts are an abomination to Him. He sees these sacrifices in their entirety as refuse. Those sacrifices are not a soothing aroma for Him, but they stink, they cause disgust in Him.

They may think they are celebrating the feasts of the LORD, but He speaks here of “your feasts”. Under the cover of a feast for the LORD they have made their own feasts. Thus later the Passover of the LORD degenerates into a Passover called “the feast of the Jews” (Jn 6:4).

God will smear them with the refuse of their feasts. Except that it makes them stink, they will also look repulsive. This extremely deep defamation they have inflicted on themselves will stick to them when they will be taken away to a dung heap, so that there will be nothing left of them in the temple (cf. 1Kgs 14:10). This is how God cleans His house of the refuse.

The Covenant With Levi

When the judgment comes upon them, the priests will know that the LORD has done it and also why He has done it (Mal 2:4). It will then be too late to repent. Thus all who are judged forever will know that God judges them and also why He does it.

God acts in faithfulness to His covenant with Levi. God’s covenant with Levi shows the contrast between the faithless priests and their ancestor Levi, with whom the LORD made a priestly covenant (Num 25:12-13; Deu 33:8-11). The covenant with Levi is a reminder of the faithfulness Levi showed when the whole people were unfaithful. The unfaithfulness of the priests stands out against the background of Levi’s faithfulness. A deviation, the unfaithfulness of the priests, is most seen by presenting the original, the faithfulness of Levi (Exo 32:25-29).

Life, Peace and Reverence

In His covenant with Levi, the LORD guaranteed him life and peace (Num 25:12-13). Life and peace are a summary of the blessing of the covenant. The order cannot be reversed. There must first be life, then peace can come. Without or before there is life, there can be no peace. Life is not only a long life, but also a life under the grace of God. The result is peace. Peace is not only the absence of struggle and war, it is also the beneficial atmosphere of harmony with God.

God gave both to Levi for the purpose of revering Him. And so did Levi. He has been aware of the holiness of God’s Name. The presence of that Name has made a great impression on him. This awareness is completely lacking among the priests to whom Malachi addresses here.

Instruction and Life

The tribe of Levi was trustworthy in the instruction he gave in the law (Mal 2:6; 2Chr 17:7-9; Neh 8:8-9). He did instruct the law impartial and without personal gain, to the strict standard of truth. There was no unrighteousness in what he taught the people from the law. This is an important condition for anyone who today teaches from God’s Word. That teaching must be true and without unrighteousness because it must respond to God Himself.

The Word of God is absolutely true. A teacher who teaches from God’s Word must be that as well (cf. Tit 1:9). In God's Word every unrighteousness is absent. In what a teacher explains about God’s Word it must also be so. He should not proclaim half-truths.

In addition to the words, the walk is also important. If the teacher’s lifestyle does not match his teaching, his teaching is not reliable. Levi walked “in peace and uprightness” with God. Not only did he walk after God, but he walked with Him. This goes a little further than following Him. In walking with Him is the aspect of intimacy and fellowship (Gen 5:22 ; Gen 6:9).

The result of this healthy instruction, supported by a dignified walk, is that many turn back from iniquity (cf. 1Tim 4:16). What a great blessing comes from believers who know, love and live according to God’s Word. We see this in a wonderful way in the Lord Jesus to Whom these features only apply completely. He is the perfect example in everything. By His knowledge He has justified the many, which means instructed the many in righteousness. The basis for this is His work on the cross, where He bore the iniquities of those many (Isa 53:11).

Malachi emphasizes what should characterize the priest. His lips must preserve knowledge (Mal 2:7). He must be someone “who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth” (2Tim 2:15). To such a person, the people can go if they want to know something from the law, God’s Word. He does not want to be the favorite teacher, someone who has a predilection for certain parts of the truth and who appeases people. The real ‘Levite’ gives the Holy Scripture in its entirety the place that God gives it as the complete guide for His people and food for the heart. The preservation of knowledge is done to teach that knowledge to God’s people. And the transfer of knowledge is meant to make the members of God’s people effectual doers of the Word.

The position of Levite – and of the teacher of God’s Word – is a great responsibility: “He is the messenger of the LORD of hosts.” A messenger or ambassador represents someone and carries out an assignment on behalf of that other person. He is expected to pass on the message of the one he represents unchanged and unabridged. This should make everyone who teaches from God’s Word realize that he is not allowed to interpret God’s Word as he likes. It will give a holy reverence and a constant prayer not to pass on or explain anything other than what is according to the purpose of the Holy Spirit.

Turned Aside and Despised

The word “but” indicates that there is now a contrast with the previous one (Mal 2:8). How far did the priests in the days of Malachi deviate from the example of their ancestors? While they have to tell the people the good, so that they go the right way, the way of life, they lead the people on the wrong path, the path of death. They are the opposite of the faithful Levites who have turned many back from their iniquities (Mal 2:6), for they have caused many of the people to stumble in the law through their instruction. They know the law, but do not live up to it themselves.

Their wrong example is followed by many of the people who also have no desire for the LORD who is the center of God’s law. Being occupied with God’s Word always has to happen from a living relationship with Him. If that relationship is not there, turning aside is the result. By this they have nullified the covenant with Levi (cf. Neh 13:29).

The application to today is not difficult to make. There are pastors in all parts of Christianity who have deviated from the clear teaching of the Bible. Such people do not teach what God says in His Word, but speak what people like to hear. Preaching in church services becomes social and political talk. Conscience is not addressed. When talking about righteousness, it is not about God’s righteousness and sin, but about a just distribution of wealth.

God’s rights are no longer taken into account at all. There is no fear of Him anymore. Thus, the people of the church are taken away from God and many stumble to end up in hell, if God does not forbid it. How great is the responsibility of everyone who, with God’s Word in hand, tells others what life is really about.

Because of their nullification of the covenant with Levi, God has made them despicable (Mal 2:9). He has taken away their prestige among the people and abased them. People who want to be popular and adapt God’s Word to people’s tastes will lose the respect they think they will get. God points out that they do not respect His ways. They do not walk the path He indicates in His Word.

This is evidenced by their behavior. They behave completely different from God and thus give a completely wrong picture of Him. God mentions the example that they regard the person in their teaching of the law. When making decisions in lawsuits they look at the benefit they can get from a case. Such a thing is completely lacking in God. With Him there is no regard for the person (Rom 2:11; Eph 6:9; 1Pet 1:17). He has also forbidden it in the law (Lev 19:15; Deu 1:17). Partiality is not allowed to play any role with us as well (1Tim 5:21).