Malachi 1 Commentary
“Great is the Lord—even beyond the borders of Israel!” Or,” My name will be great among the nations.” Or, “I am a great king, and my name is to be feared among the nations.” Chapter 1 is known for these short but powerful statements about the nature and character of the LORD God Almighty.
See how the last voice of the prophets underlines the word ‘nations’! Yes, it’s Jerusalem’s priests and the people who are in the dock for their many profanities. Yet these timelessly important statements seem to have a universal scope. The time when the LORD deals with His entire creation isn’t far.
Jacob is loved; Esau is hated. This is interesting! Blind love; blind hatred, so it appears. But wait a minute! Read the second section. Israel is rejected because of her unacceptable worship practices at the temple of the LORD.
Read the account of Jacob and Esau. See how Esau’s poor decisions help seal his fate. See how the LORD pleads with Israel to avoid the same fate!
You aren’t special. Your good position means nothing if you still want to offer lame and blind animals at the temple of the LORD. Isn’t this chapter speaking to the saint on the need to examine himself against the higher standards of the LORD at the temple?
The Christian walk isn’t one until the saint looks at the quality of the sacrifice on the altar.
“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.” Verse 14. You can do the right thing. You have an option to do what is right and land yourself a blessing. Esau’s many poor decisions mean a curse hangs on his head. It is all down to decision-making. How we should pray that the Spirit helps us on this journey!
Malachi has importance as a book after the exile. Zerubbabel’s temple is up and fully functional. Actually dysfunctional. What a far cry from our expectations! Nearly all the prophets spoke glowingly of this time. In fact, Haggai even claimed that the glory of Zerubbabel’s temple would outweigh the glory of the former house – Solomon’s temple.
And here we are! Lame animals! Blind Animals! Then we know the story continues. The long-awaited reign of Immanuel or the Son with the government on His shoulders isn’t Malachi’s time. We must wait until the first pages of Matthew! We are only a couple of days away!
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