Over the past few decades one of the great foreign policy quests of every President of the United States has been to bring peace to the Middle East, which is mainly due to Israel's presence. And yet, this quest, has been the "Holy Grail" of every presidency. Not one president has been to attain peace in or for Israel. It doesn't matter their politics, their party, their methods, their fervor, not one has ever obtained any type of peace with Israel.
But there is a greater peace that Israel seeks, and has not yet found, and that is peace with God. In fact, the name Israel actually means "Wrestles with God." It would seem that Israel is doom to be in a perpetual struggle with God and man. But this wasn't always the case. God had set up with Israel various covenants that was to assure their peace with Him, and yet at every turn practically, Israel sought ways to void the contracts of peace that God made with them.
That included the priests in Malachi's day. God had set up a contract of peace for the people of Israel and part of that contract of peace came by way of the priests, an indirect covenant with the priests. But soon after the exile the priests voided this contract by their actions.
This morning we are going to take a look at what this covenant meant for the priests, how the priests responded to this covenant and how we as believers can easily fall into the same trap, the same snare that the priests have fallen into. And yet we will see how easy it is to get out of such a trap.
The Discipline
Last week we left off with Malachi excoriating the priests for their disobedience and their discipline that would, and had already started, coming upon them. And it was a discipline. It was not punishment. It was discipline because God was indeed trying to teach them a lesson. He was not trying to hurt them for hurting's sake. He was not simply trying to get back at them for hurting Him so He would hurt them. He was not simply wanting to inflict pain on the priests for no reason. There was a lesson to be learned, and like most of us, the priests needed a lesson in the University of Hard Knocks. They had to learn the hard way. The lesson is to be hard enough that it brings us to our knees knowing there is no other place to be.
Back in the early 90s DC Talk, a Contemporary Christian band came out with this song, that I simply loved, probably because it described my life. It was entitled "The Hard Way." And the makeup of the chorus was, "Some people have to learn the hard way. I guess I'm the kind of guy who has to find out for myself. I had to learn the hard way, Father. I'm on my knees and I'm crying for help." That is the point in God's discipline. It is there to teach us what we are too stubborn to realize without the pain.
What lesson was it that the priests were too stubborn to realize? Verse 4 tells us. "So shall you know that I have sent this command to you, that my covenant with Levi may stand, says the LORD of hosts," (Malachi 2.4, ESV). God sent them this command of bringing honor to His name, and if not then the warning of cursing, in order for His covenant with Levi to continue! That's huge. I am disciplining you so that the covenant that I made so long ago to your ancestor, Levi, can continue. If I don't step in now, then this contract, this covenant is over. It's ruined if I don't remind you and teach you a lesson! This discipline comes for the sole purpose of bringing back from the brink. It is coming to pull you back from the edge of the cliff.
God knows the steps of the priesthood and they are walking straight off the cliff. His love for them is great enough that He is willing to tackle them to keep them from walking over the edge. Yes, there's pain in the tackling. They will get bruises and scrapes. Some may have a broken arm or a dislocated shoulder. But they will all wake up to what they were doing. But if they refuse to wake up to God's discipline, then God's wrath will be upon them. He will allow them to walk right off that cliff, if they fight against Him for too long. That is what Paul wrote in Romans 1.
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.
Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.
For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.
And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them, (Romans 1.18-32, ESV).
Again, sometimes the worst thing that can happen to us is that God gives us what we want. There are people who want and lust and crave and desire and fight for and struggle for things that are ungodly and things that are unfit and these things finally are given them. And what is not realized is that when it is given it is not a blessing, but a curse. It is judgment. The phase of discipline is past, now they are being punished. For the true child of God, he or she, will accept the discipline of their Father, and turn away from the cliff. But the one who is simply pretending will refuse the discipline of the Lord, fight against consistently and ultimately walk off the cliff. That happened in the apostle John's day, of which He wrote,
Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.
Children, it is the last hour, and as you have heard that antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have come. Therefore we know that it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us, (1 John 2.15-19, ESV).
The very things desires of this world that people are after have in fact become the antichrists, those things which oppose Christ. And there were some in John's day, and in Malachi's day, as in our day, who seek the very things of this world, and have such a passion for them, that they turn away from Christ and their God, and run passionately for those very lusts, and though they were tackled many times, they continued to get up and run, running right off the cliff.
Let us learn the lesson that God is teaching. Let us wake up and turn from the lusts of our flesh, and eyes. Let us wake up and turn from the cliff, returning to the covenant that has been made with us!
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