Worship is a Burden (Malachi 1:1-5)
Is worship a burden? I know this seems countercultural. Worship is not a burden in the sense that it is oppressive. So, is it wrong to call worship a burden, consider what Christ said about following Him. “Take my yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls, for My yoke is easy, and My burden is light” (Matt 11:29-30). From this passage, we recognize that Christ offers a yoke, a burden to those who will take it. Just because it is said to be easy and light does not mean that it ceases to remain a burden. To follow Jesus is to keep His commands (cf. John 14:15), and that includes worship.
God’s message by Malachi was a burden on him to deliver and a burden for the people to bear. Israel had rebelled perpetually against God and His Law, refusing the conditions of the covenant God had made with their fathers. This had caused a disconnect between the people and their Creator. How much so? When God expressed His love toward them, they had the gall to say, “How have you loved us?” Malachi expressed the comparison between Jacob and Esau (Edom). One was loved and the other rejected. Why was this so? Edom had from its inception been rebellious against God. Edom was to be destroyed (see Obadiah), whereas Israel had been allowed to return to their homeland. God blessed Israel because of His promise to bless all nations by the seed of Abraham (cf. Gen 22:18). One would think this might cause Israel not to fall into the path of rebellion again and embrace the burden of the Lord. Yet, Israel became more like Edom in their practice. How so? It appears they embraced the irreverance of Edom by their offerings.
Worship Can Be Irreverent (Malachi 1:6-9)
Are we too far removed from the irreverent worship offered in the days of Malachi to understand its present pollution? Let’s consider their problems. The first element was a priesthood that despised the name of God. God questioned them by asking them to consider honor. A son honors his father, a slave his master. If God is our Father and Master, does He not deserve our reverence? As our culture has changed, we have become increasingly casual, even irreverent in our language, respect for authority, our dress, and general decorum. We cannot let this same casual attitude be our practice. We are called to worship the Lord in spirit and truth (cf. John 4:24).
The priests leading God’s people in worship were not worshiping idols, but they were defiling his altar all the same. These corrupt men failed to give the best to God and attempted to offer what was of no value to men. The reprobate priesthood was offering the blind, lame, or sick. How does God react? He asked a pointed two-part question. First, is it evil? By definition, if we do not offer what God has commanded, it is not a cultural exception or personal preference; it is evil. Second, would your governor be pleased and accept you? The answer is an obvious no! We could not imagine paying our taxes with counterfeit money. Why is that? We know the consequences: penalties, wage garnishment, jail time. Do we reverence and fear man more than God? This was the case in Israel. God’s response is almost ironic and certainly sarcastic in that He encourages them to ask for His favor with their clearly unacceptable and irreverent worship.
How Does God View Irreverence? (Malachi 1:10-14)
God looked upon the offerings that were presented before Him and was not impressed or grateful for their irreverance. He yearned even for the temple to be closed because they offered vain fires, and that which was unacceptable. This temple disaster kept growing and increasing until finally, the Jesus called the whole thing a den of robbers and would become the instrument by which Jesus would be handed over to the Gentiles to be crucified. The godless false shepherds of Israel were already in control in the days of Malachi, and that house would remain in their hands until A.D. 70, when that shell of the house of God was destroyed.
God was not dependent on a corrupt people for worship. As it had been before and would be again, the name of Jehovah would be great among the Gentiles. In all of this judgment of this chapter, there is a glimmer of hope. There is a hope beyond the corruption of Israel, beyond a temple that has become a den of robbers; there is a hope beyond the fleshly Israel with an unlawful priesthood. The hope is the new Israel, the church of Christ. A church that is composed of all of those, both Jew and Gentile, Greek and Barbarian. As Paul writes in Ephesians 2:13-22, God replaced the physical temple, with its laws and sacrifices, with a perfect building whose foundations are the prophets and the apostles and whose cornerstone is Jesus Christ.
How to Prepare to Worship With Reverence
What can we learn from Malachi 1? First, we must recognize the motivation of worship. God has loved us, and we who would worship Him love Him. Worship is a burden, but a burden of love. This is a love that overflows from our hearts, and it is expressed with our words. God is worthy of our praise. We must also recognize that idle worship is just as evil as idol worship. We cannot go through worship idly. We must offer what God desires and never that which is lame, sick, blind, and unacceptable. We must remember that we give back worship because of the abundance of grace, blessing, and help we receive from our God. His lovingkindness endures forever.
How can we practically prepare for worship? We need to prepare beforehand. On Saturday night, am I doing my best to ensure that I get adequate sleep? Do I have enough gas to get there? Do I know what I am going to wear? The more time we spend preparing with basic things, the more time in the morning we can prepare our hearts and minds to worship. Another question we ought to consider is how much I have prospered this week. Then we can adequately give thought when we set aside what we will give to the Lord (cf. 1 Cor 16:1-2; 2 Cor 9:7). We must also consider whether we are ready to give our minds to the songs we sing, and are we mindful that we are praising God while teaching and admonishing one another? Are we ready to focus on the Word and the death of Christ? Can we get rid of our distractions and give God our best? I know we can, and when we do, will God not accept us?
