In the book of Malachi, the Lord speaks out against Israel, and listed some of the offences of the people, even the priests themselves. It is therefore important for us to examine what they did wrong, and not follow in their footsteps. There are three big areas of offences, amongst more, that God spoke of.

1. Blemished Sacrifices - Riling God

The first thing that God spoke about was regarding the sacrifices offered unto Him, which were blemished. In Leviticus, God gave specific instructions regarding what kind of animal or grain to offer, slaughter or burn, and it always involved healthy firstfruits. However, the Israelites were not obeying God’s command.

There were many offerings the Israelites could offer – burnt offering, grain offering, fellowship offering, sin offering, guilt offering – each with a different purpose. God was angry with their lack of sincerity in not giving their best, and not taking His commands seriously. God goes on further in His rebuke.

The fires on the altar represented prayer, and God directly tells them that they light useless fires, which meant that their prayers were without use or purpose.

Therefore, we need to take heed. What kind of sacrifices are we offering up to God? Looking at the various offerings, it in fact speaks of the relationship with God, be it to please Him, fellowship with Him, or make atonement for sin and guilt, it is in relation to how we relate to God. The fire on the altar represents prayer, so we need to ask ourselves what exactly we are putting into the relationship with our Lord. Is our sacrifice blemished? The issue at hand would be time largely. Perhaps we don’t spend enough time with God. Perhaps we don’t spend quality time with God, only going to Him using the leftover time of the day, and not the prime. Perhaps we only go to God to ask for things, than to ask about Him.

2. Building in Selfishness - Robbing God

The next big thing that angered God was in the area of tithing.

The Israelites were withholding their tithes from God, and to God it was so serious that He said that they were robbing Him. The Israelites were building their own lives and wealth out of their own greed or selfishness, or perhaps it was to keep more for themselves to have security. Either way, it speaks of a lack of trust and faith in God for provision, and the Lord even invited them to test Him in this area.

We therefore also need to examine our motives, and financial stewardship. We need to question if we have robbed God in any way, denying Him what is rightfully His in His command for us to tithe that ten percent. We need to move beyond what our physical eyes can see and what our mind tells us that we need for security.

3. Blaspheming in Speech - Resenting God

This is a striking point to note, because it is rarely mentioned in the same way elsewhere in the bible. God speaks out against the people and in verse 13 of chapter 3, God accuses the Israelites of saying harsh things against Him. In fact, the same issue was mentioned earlier at the end of chapter 2 as well.

At the start of chapter 3, God states His plan of action, which is judgment for the wicked. Subsequently in chapter 3, God repeats the grievance, and the mention of judgment in verses 17 to 18.

This is an important warning to take note of, because it is such an easy trap for anyone to fall into. We look at the people around us, and we naturally compare. We also take note of the faith of the people around us, and we draw some seemingly natural conclusions. We see the successful, the rich, the prosperous, and we notice the fact that they aren’t Christians. We have classmates like that, colleagues like that, and bosses like that. We wonder to ourselves sometimes why people who live their lives lost, wicked, or despicably managed to do so well, as compared to ourselves. In harboring and entertaining such a thought, we in fact have blasphemed God, because it is a notion of resentment.

It is such a dangerous trap because we do two wrong things at one time. The first is to judge others, which God warns us about in Matthew. We have no right to look at someone else and judge how wicked they are and decide that they ought to have no right to be well off. Judging others bring judgment unto ourselves. The next wrong thing is that we are insinuating that God is not just, that He does not oppose the wicked but instead let them be, or worse still, allow them to prosper. Then we start to wonder whether all that we do for God is worth it, or whether God is reciprocating our efforts. God has promised judgment in His own time for the wicked, so who are we to interfere?

We need to be wary of the mistakes of the past that the Israelites made. They were only being human, and we have the potential to err similarly, and therefore it is crucial for us to be aware of the pitfalls.

Further Reflections