“Ye said also, Behold, what a weariness is it! And ye have snuffed at it, saith the Lord of hosts; and ye brought that which was torn, and the lame, and the sick; thus ye brought an offering: should I accept this of your hand? saith the Lord.” — Malachi 1:13

In my early childhood, my grandmother lived just down the lane from us and as her first grandchild, I spent a lot of time at her home. I built a tree house in one of her large Black Walnut trees, played in the hay in her barn, and helped feed the cows and chickens. Best of all, I got to enjoy her cooking! It became a bit of a family joke that I would call my parents to see what was being served for dinner at our house, and then request a longer stay at Grandma’s house so I could eat with her. 

Occasionally, I wasn’t thrilled with some dish that Grandma put on the table. Grandma had a very direct response when I did not seem to want to eat what she served. She would say, “Are you going to turn your nose up at that?” It was obvious to her by my facial expression when I did not like the smell, texture, or taste of what she had served! 

This is the exact sense of the word translated “snuffed” in today’s focus verse. The Lord was chiding His people for their flagrant disregard of Him and His instructions. They essentially said, “The table of the Lord is contemptible,” or, in my grandmother’s words, they “turned their noses up” at what God had prescribed. Although God had delivered the people of Judah from Babylonian exile some years before, they had become weary of God’s instructions, much as their ancestors had become weary of the manna God sent during their journey from Egypt to the Promised Land. 

My turning up my nose at Grandma’s food (which only happened rarely) could be attributed to youthful immaturity. This attitude of snuffing by Israel was pervasive, and indicative of the people’s disregard for God’s commands. Not only were the people ignoring God’s instructions related to proper sacrifices, but the priests were failing to lead the people righteously. Our text today reveals that this indifferent attitude had infiltrated society to the extent that His plan for lifelong marriage was being rejected. And then the people wondered why God was not accepting their offerings when they came before Him to worship! 

While my parents and grandmother found it somewhat humorous when I would choose where and what I would eat, God does not take it lightly when people disobey His instructions. Rather than “snuffing” at God’s commands, may we respond with obedience, honoring God as our Heavenly Father.

BACKGROUND

Written sometime between 460 and 400 B.C., Malachi’s prophecies were directed to the priests and people of Judah and Jerusalem. While the Temple had been rebuilt many decades earlier, by Malachi’s day the people were not serving God faithfully. Nehemiah had returned to Babylon from Jerusalem in 433 B.C., reporting widespread problems which included failure to pay tithes, neglect of the Sabbath requirements, the breaking of marriage vows, the oppression of the disadvantaged, and the corruption of the priests. Malachi described these same conditions. The people were disillusioned and focused on their difficult temporal circumstances, but they refused to acknowledge it was their own sinful actions that had brought about the problems they faced. Doubt, skepticism, and a lack of gratitude toward God prevailed. Through Malachi, God pointed out that disobedience had broken the people’s relationship with Him. He summoned them to repentance and pointed ahead to the great day of the Lord when God’s people would enjoy future blessing. 

Unlike any other book of the Bible, many of Malachi’s messages were delivered in the form of a public debate. The prophet used a series of questions and answers to defend the honor and justice of God. When the people disputed God’s declarations or denied His charges against them, the prophet responded with incontestable evidence of their guilt. This makes the tone of the Book of Malachi one of the most blunt in all of Scripture. The first questions by Israel are asked and responded to in today’s text. 

The initial question and response are found in verses 2-5 of chapter 1. The people’s question was “Wherein hast thou loved us?” To respond, Malachi referred to Jacob and Esau. In these verses, “Esau” represents the nation of Edom (Esau’s descendants) and “Jacob” represents the nation of Israel (Jacob’s descendants). In verse 3, the Hebrew word translated hated has a range of meanings from “less favored” to “vehement opposition.” The use of it in context with verse 4 illustrates God’s irreparable judgment upon Edom (see the Book of Obadiah for more detail). He “laid his [Edom’s] mountains and his heritage waste” (verse 3), causing Malachi to refer to the Edomites as “the people against whom the Lord hath indignation for ever” (verse 4). In contrast, God cared for and preserved the Israelites in a special way, rescuing them from exile and restoring them to their own land. Verse 5 states, “your eyes shall see,” indicating that the evidence was right before them. 

The next questions and responses are found in Malachi 1:6 through Malachi 2:9. The questions were, “Wherein have we despised thy name?” and “Wherein have we polluted thee?” (1:6-7). In response, Malachi pointed out that they had despised God by not giving Him the honor due a father or master. The priests had despised God’s name by offering impure sacrifices in worship, breaking the very covenant for which their ancestors (the tribe of Levi) had been called into the priesthood (2:4-8). The priests had not followed God’s directions, and in addition, they had administered the Law with partiality. 

In chapter 2, verses 10-16, Malachi condemned the people because of their disobedience of God’s commands regarding marriage. Malachi asked, in essence, “If God is our Father and Creator, why do we violate His covenant?” Israel had been instructed not to intermarry with individuals from the nations around them because these people worshipped false gods. However, divorce had become common, and Jewish men were leaving their Jewish wives to marry women of the surrounding countries. In verse 13, God said the offerings and tearful worship of those who sinned in this way were pointless and would not be regarded by Him.

AMPLIFIED OUTLINE

I. Introduction (1:1)
II. Israel’s questions to God
     A. How has God loved us? (1:2-5)
          1. God states His love, Israel doubts it, and God demonstrates it (1:2-5)
              a. His choice of Jacob (1:2)
              b. His preservation of Israel (1:3-5)
     B. How have we (priests) despised God’s name? (1:6—2:9)
          1. God’s statement of being despised and Israel’s questioning reply (1:6)
          2. God’s defining answer (1:7—2:9)
              a. Their improper sacrifice (1:7-10)
              b. Their improper respect for God’s name (1:11-14)
                   (1) The Gentiles will honor God’s name (1:11)
                   (2) The priests do not honor God’s name (1:12-14)
              c. Their improper obedience (2:1-9)
                   (1) The warning to the priests: their disobedience and condemnation (2:1-3)
                   (2) The example of Levi (2:4-7)
                         (a) The purpose of the covenant (2:4)
                         (b) The practice of Levi (2:5-7)
                               [1] Fears God (2:5)
                               [2] Truthful and upright (2:6)
                               [3] Mediates (2:7)
                   (3) The present priesthood (2:8-9)
                         (a) Their practice: they turn away from God, cause others to stumble and corrupt the covenant (2:8)
                         (b) The judgment (2:9)
     C. How do we (the people) profane the covenant? (2:10-16)
          1. The question from Israel (2:10)
          2. The reply to Israel (2:11-16)
              a. The reasons for profaning the covenant (2:11-13)
                   (1) They marry foreign wives (2:11-12)
                         (a) The fact of unfaithfulness (2:11)
                         (b) The result of unfaithfulness (2:12)
                   (2) They offer unacceptable sacrifices (2:13)
              b. The reason of foreign marriages repeated (2:14-16)
                   (1) The fact (2:14)
                   (2) The counsel (2:15-16)

A CLOSER LOOK

1. What abomination did the prophet identify in Malachi 2:11?
2. The people of Malachi’s day were condemned for offering imperfect sacrifices. What might constitute an imperfect offering to God in our day?
3. What are some ways in which we can properly honor God?

CONCLUSION

Malachi rebuked the priests and people of his day for dishonoring God by offering unworthy sacrifices and failing to follow God’s commandments. May we purpose to learn from their mistakes and be careful to honor God in proper worship and complete obedience.