Bible Study - Apathy - Honor Your Committemnts - Malachi 2 - June 10, 2012

Bible Study – Apathy – Honor Your Commitments – June 10, 2012

This is lesson two (2) in our series entitled “Apathy – Who Cares?”

Our scripture is Malachi 2:1-16.

Apathy is defined as lack of enthusiasm or energy. It is also emotional emptiness. Do you feel Spiritually pooped and emotionally drained? Are you working in your own power and strength? If so, it is time for you to come before our LORD and have a heart to heart discussion.  It is Spiritual revival time in your life. Allow the Holy Spirit to work through you as HE leads and directs your life. The Christian life is all about having and maintaining the right relationship with GOD through CHRIST.

We look around us every day and see those we live with, work with and associate with who do not honor their commitments and it discourages us. Many people have trusted their spouse to honor their vows, only to be emotionally shattered when they are broken. There are many who trust the companies or institutions they worked for to honor their commitments regarding promotion, pay raises or retirement. In many cases upper management ensures their retirement and future but fail the employees. Greed has prevailed in our society. But I am beginning to see in some of our young people a renewed sense of integrity.  It is refreshing.

We all face various commitments such as: In the Book of James, we see that those of us who teach GOD’S Word will be held to a higher standard: James 3:1:

Not many should become teachers, my •brothers, knowing that we will receive a stricter judgment,a Mt 23:8; Rm 2:20-21; 1Tm 1:7  

Teachers are responsible for knowing Spiritual truth and exposing error.  Teachers are responsible and accountable to GOD. GOD is gracious and loving. We see this in HIS effort to get the attention of the priests and in turn the attention of the worshipers in the scripture for our lesson. The priests in Jerusalem needed to wake up Spiritually and do what they knew to do. The priests were re-enforcing bad worship behavior and a behavior that GOD found disgusting and would not honor. Both the priests and the worshippers were just going through the motions of worship and honoring GOD. GOD knew their hearts and HE knows our hearts.

In last week’s study, GOD revealed problems HE had with the priests and worshippers. This lesson focuses on the priests and the worshipers not honoring their commitment to GOD and their covenants with fellow Israelites.

Let’s read Malachi 2:1-9:

Warning to the Priests 

1 “Therefore, this decree is for you priests: 2 If you don’t listen, and if you don’t take it to heart to honor My name,” says •Yahweh of •Hosts, “I will send a curse among you, and I will curse your blessings. In fact, I have already begun to curse them because you are not taking it to heart. 3 “Look, I am going to rebuke your descendants, and I will spread animal waste over your faces, the waste from your festival sacrifices, and you will be taken away with it. 4 Then you will know that I sent you this decree so My covenant with Levi may continue,” says the Lord of Hosts. 5 “My covenant with him was one of life and peace, and I gave these to him; it called for reverence, and he revered Me and stood in awe of My name. 6 True instruction was in his mouth, and nothing wrong was found on his lips. He walked with Me in peace and fairness and turned many from sin. 7 For the lips of a priest should guard knowledge, and people should seek instruction from his mouth, because he is the messenger of the Lord of Hosts. 8 “You, on the other hand, have turned from the way. You have caused many to stumble by your instruction. You have violated the covenant of Levi,” says the Lord of Hosts. 9 “So I in turn have made you despised and humiliated before all the people because you are not keeping My ways but are showing partiality in your instruction.”  

GOD issued a decree to the priests through Malachi. GOD warned them to listen and take HIS message to heart and internalize it because it was a very serious message. GOD promised if they did not take HIS message to heart and honor HIS name, HE would remove them from being priests. How GOD would accomplish this was not pretty. HE said HE would send a curse among them and in fact HE had already begun to curse them. HE would not allow their descendants to serve as priests. Usually the priesthood was a position that was inherited or passed on to a descendant. GOD told them if they did not wake up Spiritually, the succession of the priesthood from them would stop.

HE would disqualify them by smearing animal waste over their faces. Yuck!!! This would make them unclean, defiled and disqualified from serving as priests and this would prevent them from passing the priesthood to their descendants. This was likely a symbolic statement to alert them that HE knew what would terminate their service as a priest and this action would extend to their descendants.

When the animals were sacrificed, the animal waste had to be removed and carried outside the temple area to be disposed according to Leviticus 4:11-12: (My insert)

11 But the hide of the bull and all its flesh (all that was not to be sacrificed to GOD), with its head and shanks, and its entrails and dung— 12 all the rest of the bull—he must bring to a ceremonially •clean place outside the camp to the ash heap, and must burn it on a wood fire. It is to be burned at the ash heap.

GOD told the priests to either honor HIM by obeying and following HIS laws or they would be removed from the temple as waste and disposed. Such action carried the idea of permanence. GOD wanted them to know that when bad things happened to them it came from HIM. They had an opportunity to avoid being disqualified by repenting and being obedient to HIM and honoring HIM.

It was not only a message to the religious leaders then but to all religious leaders since. GOD demands that truth be presented to those seeking truth. GOD has entrusted truth to those HE calls to ministry and holds them accountable.

Christians must keep in mind that they are priests. GOD has entrusted the message of salvation through CHRIST to us and we are accountable to GOD to share the light of CHRIST as the Holy Spirit leads us. Let’s read 1 Peter 2:9:

9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for His possession, so that you may proclaim the praises of the One who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

The message of Malachi applies to Christians today because apathy toward CHRIST is to hide HIS glorious light from those in need of salvation. It is time for all Christians to wake up Spiritually and let a revival begin in each one of us. CHRIST is the hope of glory!

GOD stated that HIS expectation for the priests was captured in the “covenant with Levi.” There is a “covenant of Levi” but it was not made with Levi as a whole. In Exodus 32:28-29 we find that Levi was set apart to serve the LORD - 28 The Levites did as Moses commanded, and about 3,000 men fell dead that day among the people. 29 Afterward Moses said, “Today you have been dedicated to the Lord, since each man went against his son and his brother. Therefore you have brought a blessing on yourselves today.”

Some 1300 years after Levi lived, Jeremiah 33:19-22 recorded - 19 The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: 20 “This is what the Lord says: If you can break My covenant with the day and My covenant with the night so that day and night cease to come at their regular time, 21 then also My covenant with My servant David may be broken so that he will not have a son reigning on his throne, and the Levitical priests will not be My ministers. 22 The hosts of heaven cannot be counted; the sand of the sea cannot be measured. So, too, I will make the descendants of My servant David and the Levites who minister to Me innumerable.

These portions of scripture give us something to ponder. They reveal the continuance and permanence of the covenant, as long as there is night and day, through Levi. Since CHRIST, the light of the world, has given HIS life by the shedding of HIS blood to pay in full the sin debt, Spiritual darkness has been dispelled. CHRIST fulfilled the covenant of Levi and established a new covenant of grace for all who accept HIM as their Savior.

Bible scholars believe the covenant of Levi was the “covenant of peace” that GOD made with Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron as recorded in Numbers 25:6-13:

Phinehas Intervenes (An Israelite had married a Midianite woman. She was a pagan.)

6 An Israelite man came bringing a Midianite woman to his relatives in the sight of Moses and the whole Israelite community while they were weeping at the entrance to the tent of meeting. 7 When Phinehas son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, saw this, he got up from the assembly, took a spear in his hand, 8 followed the Israelite man into the tent, and drove it through both the Israelite man and the woman—through her belly. Then the plague on the Israelites was stopped, 9 but those who died in the plague numbered 24,000.

10 The Lord spoke to Moses, 11 “Phinehas son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, has turned back My wrath from the Israelites because he was zealous among them with My zeal, so that I did not destroy the Israelites in My zeal. 12 Therefore declare: I grant him My covenant of peace. 13 It will be a covenant of perpetual priesthood for him and his future descendants, because he was zealous for his God and made •atonement for the Israelites.

We know that GOD honors HIS covenants. GOD outlined the covenant of Levi in verses 5-7, which was to be their model to follow: “My covenant with him was one of life and peace, and I gave these to him;” it called for the priests to honor HIM according to the “covenant of Levi” because Levi:

-         Reverenced ME and he revered Me and stood in awe of My name.

-         True instruction was in his mouth, and nothing wrong was found on his lips.  

-         He walked with Me in peace and fairness and turned many from sin. For the lips of a priest should guard knowledge, and people should seek instruction from his mouth, because he is the messenger of the Lord of Hosts.

GOD stated how the priests had violated the covenant of Levi:

-         8 “You, on the other hand, have turned from the way. You have caused many to stumble by your instruction. You have violated the covenant of Levi,” says the Lord of Hosts.

Verses 8 and 9 were GOD’S statement to them regarding why the priests were going through the motions and why they were apathetic. They had lost their first love, GOD. GOD still loved them but hated what they were doing in HIS name.

-         9 “So I in turn have made you despised and humiliated before all the people because you are not keeping My ways but are showing partiality in your instruction.”

As Christians, we are priests and it is time for us to be obedient to our call to serve our Savior and LORD JESUS CHRIST. Malachi ended verse 9 with a serious charge against these priests. They were not obeying GOD’S ways plus they were showing partiality. It seems that they were catering to those with material means. This leads us to our next scripture.

Let’s read Malachi 2:10-12:

Judah’s Marital Unfaithfulness

10 Don’t all of us have one Father?r Ex 4:22-23; Isa 63:16; Hs 11:1; Mal 1:6; Jn 8:41 Didn’t one God create us?s Dt 32:6; Isa 43:1-7; 64:8 Why then do we act treacherously against one another,t Ex 21:8; Jdg 9:23; Jb 6:15; Isa 21:2; Jr 3:20 profaningu Nm 30:2; Ps 55:20; 89:34; Mal 1:12 the covenant of our fathers?v 1Kg 8:21
11 Judah has acted treacherously, and a detestablew Lv 18:22-30; Ezr 9:1-14; Neh 13:4-9 thing has been done in Israel and in Jerusalem. For Judah has profanedx Jr 16:18; Ezk 44:7 the Lord’s sanctuary,y Or profaned what is holy to the Lordz Ex 36:1-6; Zph 3:4 which He loves,a Ps 78:68-69 and has married the daughter of a foreign god.b = a woman who worshiped a foreign godc Dt 7:3-4; Ezr 9:1-2,10-14; Neh 13:23-30
12 To the man who does this, may the Lord cut offd Ex 12:19; 31:14 any descendantse One Hb ms, LXX, DSS read off one witnessing or answeringf Lit off one waking or answering; Hb obscureg Ru 4:10; 1Sa 24:21 from the tents of Jacob, even if they present an offering to the Lord of Hosts.

GOD asked two (2) questions in succession. In the first question “Don’t all of us have one Father?” Some translations capitalize the “F” in Father indicating that the reference to Father is GOD and some do not indicating that the reference is to an earthly father or ancestral father. There is general agreement that the answers to both questions ultimately refer to GOD. GOD was getting them to think back to their origin, which HE highlights in HIS second question, “Didn’t one GOD create us?” The answer to that question was “yes.” GOD was saying, Since, you all have the same Father, why do you betray or break faith with your brothers in everyday business, marriage or social matters?” What the people did was against each other as brothers coming from their common Father, GOD but in acting treacherously toward each other, they profaned GOD.

Isn’t this what happens when Christians treat each other in ways contrary to GOD’S teachings. I am not saying to embrace whatever your brother or sister in CHRIST may be doing that is contrary to GOD’S Word. If he/she strays, what can we do to help rather than hinder according to the leadership of the Holy Spirit? As a friend of mine said, “We can always pray for a brother or sister involved with sinful matters but we need to keep our eyes open.”

GOD had focused on the sins of the priests, now HE was focusing on the sins of the people in conjunction with the sins of the priests. HE focused upon the Israelites as a nation. The Israelites had divided into two nations, the northern Israel and the southern Judah. Both had been defeated and their people had been scattered. When they were allowed to return to their homeland, most came back to southern Judah because that was where Jerusalem and the temple were located. Those who had lived in the northern kingdom referred to themselves as Israelites. They were descendants of Jacob. When they returned to the southern area, Jerusalem, they all referred to themselves as Israelites but they were not treating each other the same. Judah was acting treacherously, which means to break faith or betray someone.

The Israelites, as a society sanctioned by the priests, had compromised GOD’S laws by allowing the men to divorce their Israelite wives at the drop of a hat and marry pagan women. First, GOD did not approve of divorce and second, HE did not approve of the Israelites marrying pagans.

It wasn’t that HE was against mixed-marriage but against mixed-faiths. This is still a major issue for some mixed-marriages today. Christians know the truth of salvation through a personal relationship with CHRIST. When a couple is in a mixed-faith marriage, will their children be raised in a Christian home where CHRIST is taught, served, worshiped and seen in their parent’s lives? That must be addressed and settled before marriage.

Verse 12 in the King James translation reveals an important point for us to consider. Verse 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. Notice the reference to “the master and the scholar.” This makes the religious leader, priest, pastor, teacher, Bible study leader and the student responsible for rightly dividing GOD’S Word and applying it to their lives. Christians need discernment and must not marry a non-Christian. The Christian becomes unequally yoked to the non-Christian and that equals Spiritual trouble.

Let’s read Malachi 2:13-16:

13 And this is another thing you do: you cover the Lord’s altar with tears, with weeping and groaning,h Ps 6:6-10 because He no longer respects your offerings or receives them gladly from your hands.i 1Kg 8:28-30; Isa 56:7
14 Yet you ask, “For what reason?” Because the Lord has been a witnessj Gn 31:50-53; Jdg 11:10; 1Sa 12:5 between you and the wife of your youth.k Pr 2:16-17; 5:18; Isa 54:6 You have acted treacherously against her, though she was your marriage partnerl Ecc 4:10 and your wife by covenant.m Ezk 16:8,59-62; Hs 2:16-20
15 Didn’t the one God make us with a remnant of His life-breath? And what does the One seek?n Or Did the One not make them? So their flesh and spirit belong to Him, or No one who does this even has a remnant of the Spirit in him; Hb obscure A godly •offspring. So watch yourselves carefully,o Lit So guard yourselves in your spiritp Ex 23:13; Jos 23:11 and do not act treacherously against the wife of your youth.
16 “If he hatesq Gn 29:31; Dt 21:15-17; 22:13,16; Jdg 15:2; Pr 30:23 and divorces his wife,r Dt 24:1-4” says the Lord God of Israel, “hes Or The Lord God of Israel says that He hates divorce and the one who covers his garment with injustice,”t Gn 6:11,13; Ps 73:6; Jr 22:3; Hab 1:2-3 says the Lord of Hosts. Therefore, watch yourselves carefully,u Lit Therefore, guard yourselves in your spirit and do not act treacherously.

The Israelite men were divorcing their Jewish wives and marrying younger, pagan women. GOD condemned them and as a result they wept over the altar because GOD had rebuked them. All the tears in the world without repentance does no good, as far as, GOD is concerned. A sin is a sin and to be forgiven, a person must repent, which means stop doing it, and confess his/her sin before GOD and ask for HIS forgiveness.

The Israelite men asked why? GOD confronted them with what they were doing regarding the wives of their youth. They had taken marriage vows before GOD and now they were breaking these vows to get a younger pagan wife. GOD was trying to reveal to them that their need was not for a new wife but they had Spiritual heart problems. If they would break their covenant with the wife of their youth, they would also break covenant with GOD. Their hearts were fickle and that did not reflect hearts that were committed to the worship and honor of GOD.

GOD reminded the men to watch themselves carefully because they could themselves fall into this frenzy of divorcing and marrying a younger pagan wife. This is true today. I have found that when we begin to think that we are above certain sins, it is a wakeup call to keep a close eye on ourselves, because that is when we are most vulnerable.

This part of the lesson is not to put down those who have divorced. There are solid reasons why divorce takes place. Christians divorce. But I can tell you that a number of men who have divorced the wives of their youth, wish they had them back as their wives. Divorce is very damaging, especially when children are involved. GOD hates divorce but keep in mind that HE loves the divorced person.

GOD wants the very best for HIS children. When we accept CHRIST as our Savior, through the miracle of rebirth, we are born into the family of GOD. That relationship will never change but HIS desire is for HIS children to marry fellow Christians and serve HIM together.

Honor your commitments!!! Blessings!!!