A son honoureth his father, and a servant his master: if then I be a father, where is mine honour? and if I be a master, where is my fear? saith the LORD of hosts unto you, O priests, that despise my name. And ye say, Wherein have we despised thy name?
(
Malachi 1:6)
The Lord asks His priests 'Where is my honour, where is my fear?' Apparently the priests of God no longer had any fear of God. They were failing to honour Him as they should. In fact, He declares that they despised His Name.
The priests do not see it that way. They retort 'how have we despised your name?'
Ye offer polluted bread upon mine altar; and ye say, Wherein have we polluted thee? In that ye say, The table of the LORD is contemptible.
(
Malachi 1:7)
They despised the Name of God and dishonoured Him, and showed they had no fear of God, because they offer polluted bread upon His altar. And in what way was that bread polluted?
It was polluted because the priests had a low opinion of the altar - the worship - of God. They said the Lord's table was contemptible.
And if ye offer the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil? and if ye offer the lame and sick, is it not evil? offer it now unto thy governor; will he be pleased with thee, or accept thy person? saith the LORD of hosts.
(
Malachi 1:8)
If the priests offered the blind, lame, and sick, it would be evil. God had commanded that only the best would be offered upon His altar. The priests however were offering substandard sacrifices.
Their worship was substandard. And God says it was 'evil'. He asks them to try that with some human superior, some governor or ruler, would they be pleased? Of course not, and neither is God.
And now, I pray you, beseech God that he will be gracious unto us: this hath been by your means: will he regard your persons? saith the LORD of hosts. Who is there even among you that would shut the doors for nought? neither do ye kindle fire on mine altar for nought. I have no pleasure in you, saith the LORD of hosts, neither will I accept an offering at your hand. For from the rising of the sun even unto the going down of the same my name shall be great among the Gentiles; and in every place incense shall be offered unto my name, and a pure offering: for my name shall be great among the heathen, saith the LORD of hosts.
(
Malachi 1:9-11)
God, speaking through the prophet, dares them to 'beseech God' on behalf of the people, and asks a rhetorical question: Would God regard these priests and their prayer? Of course not. God has no pleasure in these wicked priests. These are people who do not fulfill their duties towards God unless there is something in it for themselves.
God says He does not accept them, nor will He accept their worship.
He further declares that He WILL have acceptable, pure worship. The nations will worship God, His name shall be great among them. Israel, ordained by God to offer worship, was failing.
So God will find Himself a people that will worship Him with a pure offering.
But ye have profaned it, in that ye say, The table of the LORD is polluted; and the fruit thereof, even his meat, is contemptible. 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 1:12-13)
The priests have profaned the Name and the worship of the true God. In what way? By their attitude towards the worship of God. They said the table of the Lord is polluted, the meat offered thereon is contemptible, it is something to be despised, it is beneath them. They held it in low esteem.
They did not esteem the worship of God. They said it was a weariness, it was just too much, it was a burden they just had to bear,
something they just had to endure out of a sense of mere duty. They brought substandard offerings, and God refuses such.
But cursed be the deceiver, which hath in his flock a male, and voweth, and sacrificeth unto the Lord a corrupt thing: for I am a great King, saith the LORD of hosts, and my name is dreadful among the heathen.
(
Malachi 1:14)
Cursed is everyone who offers a substandard offering, while reserving the best for themselves! Their offerings weren't fit for human rulers, much less the Great, Mighty, and Terrible God, the LORD of Hosts, the God of all creation!
Where is the fear of God? It is displayed in our worship. The offerings we bring, the attitude we have towards serving God (that's what worship is, service).
If we think of serving God as a burden, as a weariness, we have lost the fear of God. If we offer a substandard service to God, something we wouldn't even offer human rulers, we have despised the table of the Lord.
Do you show more respect to your boss at work, than to God when you come before Him? Do you treat friends and family with more dignity and honour than you do God? When your boss, spouse, family, or friends make an appointment to spend time with you, are you more punctual meeting them, do you make better preparations for meeting them, than you do with God? Do you prepare yourself to meet some mere mortal with more seriousness and diligence than you prepare yourself to meet the Lord in worship, in prayer?
Are you more diligent in carrying out some supervisor's instructions than you are in carrying out God's?
Do you have more respect for mortal men than you do God?
If we offer substandard worship to God, He will not accept it. We can deceive ourselves all we want, but God says clearly and unambiguously that He does not accept half-hearted obedience, half-hearted offerings, half-hearted worship.
So fear God, give Him the honour due to His name. Don't make the mistake of getting into a mindset that views worship and service as a burden, as a weariness! If we do, whatever paltry offerings we bring to God will NOT be acceptable, and we will indeed bring a curse upon ourselves!
God deserves our best. He deserves our best praise. He deserves our best prayers. He deserves our best effort. He deserves our best offering up of ourselves, our lives, everything.
After all, He bought it with His very life on Calvary. We are not our own, we are bought with a price, the blood of Jesus.
Notice, the priests were offering substandard, unacceptable offerings. The priests were responsible for inspecting whatever was brought by the people. They had a duty to make sure the offering was spotless and conformed to the instructions God had given. But because they had no fear of God, they would offer up whatever anyone brought to them.
We need to raise the standard. No more substandard worship. No more substandard service towards God. God accepts nothing less than the best we have. Neither should we.
My soul followeth hard after thee....Love one another with a pure heart fervently. 
Linear Mode
