Malachi 1 - 1.22.24

Scripture

‭‭Malachi‬ ‭1‬:‭14‬ ‭NLT

“Cursed is the cheat who promises to give a fine ram from his flock but then sacrifices a defective one to the Lord. For I am a great king,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, “and my name is feared among the nations!“

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Observation

In this passage, God is speaking to the people of Israel through His prophet Malachi. God is furious with Israel for treating His Holy Altar with contempt.

”“You have shown contempt by offering defiled sacrifices on my altar. “Then you ask, ‘How have we defiled the sacrifices?’ “You defile them by saying the altar of the Lord deserves no respect. When you give blind animals as sacrifices, isn’t that wrong? And isn’t it wrong to offer animals that are crippled and diseased? Try giving gifts like that to your governor, and see how pleased he is!” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.“-‭‭Malachi‬ ‭1‬:‭7‬-‭8‬ ‭‬‬

At the end of the day, God has blessed Israel throughout the generations with so much. God is a Holy God, who deserves their respect. God deserves better than they are offering. God deserves their best.

Application

I should give God my best because He gave me His best…JESUS!

If you look deeper into this passage, I believe it was more of an attitude thing than a animal sacrifice thing here with the people of Israel. They began losing their focus of just how Holy and Mighty God is. They began taking Him for granted, going through the motions with their worship and sacrifice for Him. God Almighty deserves better than that. He demands our respect! He deserves our best.

Now before we get on Israel’s case for treating God this way, we may want to look in the mirror first. Now we may not offer animal sacrifices to God nowadays, but there are other ways we could cheat and dishonor God with our “sacrifices”. We could do it with our time, money, and talents God has given us.

I still remember like it was yesterday when my dad would tell my sisters and I things like: “You’re willing to give your waiter a 20% tip, but you can’t even give God 10%.” Or “You have time to watch all those shows on television, but you don’t have time to spend with God.” Or my favorite one, “You are able to get to work on time, but you can’t even make it to church on time.” (Ouch! 😖)

Looking back at my life, my dad had a point. (I wonder if he got that message from reading this passage😆). With ALL the things God has blessed me with, God deserves my utmost respect. He deserves ALL the glory, honor, and praise. He deserves my full and undivided worship. After all, God gave me His best when He sent His One and only Son, Jesus to die on the cross for my sins. It’s only right that I give Him my best.

Prayer

God, please forgive me for whenever I may take You for granted, or for whenever I may treat You in contempt. You have blessed me with so much in life. Thank You most of all for giving me Jesus. It’s because of Jesus that I’m able to have access to a Holy, loving, and awesome God like You. I pray that You give me a joyful attitude that allows me to give you my all in everything I do. May I give you my best with my finances, my ministry, my talents and gifts, and my time. May You get all the glory and honor. In Jesus name I pray, Amen. 🙏🏽

-Moses Gaddi