Morning Light – January 17th, 2018 – Malachi 02: Taking Leadership to Task

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Today: [Malachi 2] Taking Leadership to Task: In chapter 2 of Malachi the prophet speaks by the spirit of God against the excesses, and failures of the priesthood that were supposed to teach the people and set the example of godliness. Does this message have any relevance in our day? According to a 2012 Gallup poll, ministers and pastors stand among the least trusted professions in America. Is there any comparator between the corrupt priesthood of Malachi’s day and church leadership today? Because of unchecked problems Malachi’s day the declaration of God is that their prayers would go unanswered. A sobering message to seek to apply to our own church culture, but needful nonetheless.
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[Mal 2:1-17 KJV] 1 And now, O ye priests, this commandment [is] for you. 2 If ye will not hear, and if ye will not lay [it] to heart, to give glory unto my name, saith the LORD of hosts, I will even send a curse upon you, and I will curse your blessings: yea, I have cursed them already, because ye do not lay [it] to heart. 3 Behold, I will corrupt your seed, and spread dung upon your faces, [even] the dung of your solemn feasts; and [one] shall take you away with it. 4 And ye shall know that I have sent this commandment unto you, that my covenant might be with Levi, saith the LORD of hosts. 5 My covenant was with him of life and peace; and I gave them to him [for] the fear wherewith he feared me, and was afraid before my name. 6 The law of truth was in his mouth, and iniquity was not found in his lips: he walked with me in peace and equity, and did turn many away from iniquity. 7 For the priest’s lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the law at his mouth: for he [is] the messenger of the LORD of hosts. 8 But ye are departed out of the way; ye have caused many to stumble at the law; ye have corrupted the covenant of Levi, saith the LORD of hosts. 9 Therefore have I also made you contemptible and base before all the people, according as ye have not kept my ways, but have been partial in the law. 10 Have we not all one father? hath not one God created us? why do we deal treacherously every man against his brother, by profaning the covenant of our fathers? 11 Judah hath dealt treacherously, and an abomination is committed in Israel and in Jerusalem; for Judah hath profaned the holiness of the LORD which he loved, and hath married the daughter of a strange god. 12 The LORD will cut off the man that doeth this, the master and the scholar, out of the tabernacles of Jacob, and him that offereth an offering unto the LORD of hosts. 13 And this have ye done again, covering the altar of the LORD with tears, with weeping, and with crying out, insomuch that he regardeth not the offering any more, or receiveth [it] with good will at your hand. 14 Yet ye say, Wherefore? Because the LORD hath been witness between thee and the wife of thy youth, against whom thou hast dealt treacherously: yet [is] she thy companion, and the wife of thy covenant. 15 And did not he make one? Yet had he the residue of the spirit. And wherefore one? That he might seek a godly seed. Therefore take heed to your spirit, and let none deal treacherously against the wife of his youth. 16 For the LORD, the God of Israel, saith that he hateth putting away: for [one] covereth violence with his garment, saith the LORD of hosts: therefore take heed to your spirit, that ye deal not treacherously. 17 Ye have wearied the LORD with your words. Yet ye say, Wherein have we wearied [him]? When ye say, Every one that doeth evil [is] good in the sight of the LORD, and he delighteth in them; or, Where [is] the God of judgment?
In chapter 1 Malachi calls out the people of Jerusalem for their lukewarmness and compromised worship. They were feigning outward piety, but were offering dead animals, lame and diseased lambs and bullocks in sacrifice to God during a time of economic downturn. The situation was so bad, the priests had ceased to eat of the sacrifice as the law commanded because the meat was often too rotted or contaminated for human consumption. In all of this the cry against God was why He was not accepting their sacrifices and blessing their lives. In chapter 2 Malachi turns his attention to the priests, who no doubt felt they were serving under duress, and feeling sorry for themselves. In verse 1 they are described as refusing to hear the commandment of God or to give Him glory. For this reason, v. 2 says that God would send a curse upon them, where even their blessings would be curse, because they did not take to heart the word of the Lord through His servant Malachi.
What was the outworking of this curse spoken of in v. 2-3? Because they would not hear, the Lord declares he would take their own feces and spread it upon their faces. Their seed would be corrupted and they would therefore be unable to conceive children. This is a very sobering passage. Because the priesthood turned a deaf ear to what God was saying, and made light of the words of the Lord things would go from bad to worse for them. This was anything but what these religious leaders wanted to hear. They, like the people felt they were victims of hard times, and that they were doing all that they could in a bad situation. It was incomprehensible to them that there were actually situations in their own lives that needed to change, or heart attitudes that needed to be reformed.
This is a very common shortcoming on the part of leaders. They serve the people, and lead others, expecting them to comply and be submissive, but leaders themselves have very marginal accountability structures to keep themselves in a place of instruction and admonition. In the church today, leadership (contrary to scriptural example) is hierarchical in nature with very few checks and balances at the top to help keep leaders spiritually healthy. This is why there are 5 levels of leadership mentioned in Eph. 4:11-12 and not just one. Throughout the New Testament local leadership is always described as plural in nature and outside ministries such as apostles and prophets invited in as checks and balances to maintain order and spiritual good health. This is almost nowhere in evidence in modern church culture, and the words of Malachi state plainly that God’s curse is on such non-biblical arrangements.
Verse 4-7 describe the covenant of priesthood that God established with the Levites in the beginning, so that they would turn many away from iniquity. The priest’s (ancient counter-parts to modern day pastors) were responsible to keep knowledge and to teach the verities of the word of God. Yet, in verse 8 they are seen as departing from the way. In the Old Testament “departing from the way” speaks of abandoning the Law of Moses. In modern day church culture, what would “departing from the way” look like? In John 14:6 Jesus said that He was the “way, the truth and the life…” If a pastor or leader departs from the way today it would represent the absence of bringing and exemplifying a Christ centered message before the people. Have you ever sat through a service at the local church and not heard the name of Jesus spoken even once? You can listen to Christian radio, or watch Christian television, and the name of Jesus is often redacted altogether from the offered programming. Many things are discussed, many themes celebrated, but in reality Christian culture often strays far from the centrality of the message of Jesus Christ and Him crucified.
For this reason, v. 9 says that God will make the leaders contemptible and base before the people, because they had not kept His ways. According to a Gallup poll taken in 2012 ministers are ranked among the 20 least trusted professions in America, along with car salesmen, ad men, and members of congress. Verse 10 of Mal. 2 declares this happens by God’s hand, because leaders show partiality in their policies, dealing treacherously with one another and have profaned the covenant of servitude they are called to by Christ. In verse 11 Malachi calls out the people as profaning the Holy city by once again intermarrying with idolaters and people immersed in pagan practices and rituals. They are described as acting in very contemptible ways, all the while (v. 12) they are covering the altar of the Lord with their tears, crying out in intercession to God, not understanding why they are not being blessed. For this reason, the Lord declares He will no more bless their offerings or oblations that they bring to Him.
Have you ever heard people question and complain, that they don’t understand why they are giving and tithing but they aren’t being blessed? They are praying and interceding, spending time petitioning God in prayer but things aren’t changing. When this happens, leaders make excuses, saying that you can never know whether God will answer or not – but God is saying His blessing and His answers are withheld for specific reasons, that we must be willing to consider if things are ever going to change.
Verse 14 goes on to get very personal, claiming that the people were dealing treacherously with the companions and spouses God had chosen for them, in favor of the “daughter of a strange god” mentioned in verse 11. Let’s touch on this a moment. How many times do we see men and woman marry out of their faith, or even marry unbelievers without any hesitation, or considering perhaps they are making a mistake, or worse committing and outright sin. The churches are filled with good men and good women, who have been single for years, crying out to God for a godly spouse, yet how many times has the woman or man God chose for them decided to marry someone else because they have made compromised choices because of wrong priorities in terms of their chosen life partner? Then the marriage goes wrong and they question God why He isn’t blessing the union, when they never should have married that person in the first place? For this reason, statisticians tell us that evangelical Christians have a higher divorce rate than professing atheists. The church no longer holds the moral high ground in defense of marriage because they have abandoned godly principles in choosing a mate, and pastors and marriage officiates are culpable in the matter because they are conducting the ceremonies and consecrating unions that should never have taken place in the first place.
In verse 17 Malachi is standing over those bowing at the altar shedding tears because of the treacherous choices they have made in life, and declares they are wearying the Lord with their words. The question comes back how this could be, and the answer is that they have by their actions declared that every person whether they do evil or not are actually good in the Lord sight, and that God delights in everyone no matter what their choices are. In other words, when church culture no longer holds to a standard, and no longer decries evil and sin in its midst, God turns His face from that people. This is a stinging indictment of the seeker sensitive church model. Since the seeker sensitive model for church growth came on the scene, the church have never in modern history been so influential yet so totally marginalized in society. The unspoken question we could ask in seeking to apply the words of Malachi to our day would be: “Do we keep on smiling and say nothing?”