Malachi 1v6-14

Oh that one of you would shut the doors

The question I want us to consider this morning is this: when would God come

to us at St James church and say: it would be better for you to shut the doors.

It would be better for St James church to shut down. Stop running your

meetings. Stop offering your services. Oh that one of you would shut the doors

of the church.

And you might recognize those words from the passage that Sim read for us in

Malachi. Malachi chapter 1 verse 10. This is probably the most striking thing

God says in our passage this morning. Chapter 1 verse 10. “Oh, that one of you

would shut the temple doors, so that you would not light useless fires on my

altar.”

Now notice here: God isn’t just saying: “your worship of me is useless. You

might as well not be doing it. You wasting your time.”

God’s saying more than just that. Listen to the emotion in His voice. “Oh that

one of you would shut the temple doors”

You hear the longing there? And so this isn’t just a waste of time. This is

something positively offensive in God’s sight. He longs for it to stop.

Why would He want that?

There’s a saying that goes like this: “poor service is better than no service.” (x2)

And that’s often true. Poor service is sometimes better than no service.

But not according to God in this passage.

The temple in Jerusalem has been rebuilt after the exile. Temple worship has

recommenced. And you can imagine the Israelites saying to themselves: at

least now there’s some worship in the temple. It might not be perfect

worship. But better poor worship than no worship.

Well God says, “no!”

“Oh that one of you would shut the temple doors, so that you would not light

useless fires on my altar.”

According to God, no worship would be better than the kind of worship at that

time.

And so this morning I want us to consider for ourselves. What could possibly

drive God to say something that?

I mean the temple was God’s idea. It was His initiative. It was for the worship

of His Name. It lay at the heart of His purposes and plans for His people. How

could He long for its doors to be shut?

And I wanna ask the same question for us today. We don’t have a physical

temple where we gather to worship God.

According to the New Testament, God doesn’t dwell in a physical building.

Instead He dwells in His people by His Spirit. And especially in the gathering of

His people as the church.

And so this is my question for us this morning: when would God come to a

gathering of God’s people like St James. A church like us and say: It would be

better for you to stop. Your worship of me is useless. I wish that you would

shut the doors and stop.

And this is the question for us as individuals : when would God come to you as

an individual and say: stop your religious activity. Stop going to church and

doing all the religious activities. Stop pretending to be a Christian. Its useless. It

would be better for you to stop.

And so that’s our key question this morning. “Oh, that one of you would shut

the temple doors?” What could possibly drive God to say that?

We continuing our series in the book of Malachi, which as I summarized last

week is a call to tremble at God’s greatness.

And as I also said last week, this book consists of 6 debates or arguments

between God and Israel. God makes a statement. Israel responds. And then

God comes back at them.

And the first debate was about God’s love. Verses 1-5. The unconditional,

undeserved, electing love of God, that He chose Jacob rather than Esau.

And if the first debate was focused on God and His love, then the second

debate is focused on Israel and her response. Israel is not giving God the

honour He deserves. She is treating God with contempt. And you can see that

in God’s opening statement in verse 6. Its an accusation. Verse 6

“A son honours his father, and a servant his master. If I am a father, where is

the honour due to me? If I am a master, where is the respect due to me?” says

the LORD Almighty. “It is you, Oh Priests, who show contempt for my name.”

Now there’s a danger that this statement might be completely meaningless in

our culture today.

You see, we live in an anti-authoritarian culture. Today there many fathers who

are not honoured by their children. There many masters or bosses who are not

respected by their employees. That’s the culture in which we live.

And so we might miss what Malachi’s saying here.

If I ask you: how do you feel when you consider the fatherhood of God?

I think almost all of us would say: I feel comforted. I feel secure. I feel loved.

When I think of God as my Father.

And that’s a right emotional response. There’s no greater comfort and security

in this world than to know God as your father. But there’s another emotional

response that should also be evoked when we consider God as our Father. And

it’s the one we see in verse 6.

Verse 6 doesn’t say: “a son is comforted by his father.”

Or

“If I am a father, you shouldn’t feel afraid.”

“My fatherhood should drive out your fear.”

That’s not what verse 6 says.

Verse 6 says: “a son honours his father, and a servant his master. If I am a

father, where is the honour due to me? If I am a master, where is the respect

due to me?” The word for respect is literally “fear”.

“Where is my fear?”

Alongside the comfort and the security of knowing God as your father, there

should also be a fear. A sense of honour and reverence and awe.

Israel have lost that sense of fear.

And here’s a surprize for you. Who would you expect to be the main culprits?

Maybe the drunkards on the streets. or the prosititutes or the criminals.

Well not according to verse 6. According to verse 6 its the religious leaders

who are the primary culprits. “Its you, oh priests, who show contempt for my

Name.”

The priests were the religious ones. Serving in the temple. Their whole lives

devoted to God.

And yet they are the ones showing contempt for His Name?

And so this is a warning for us. I mean we the religious ones right? Sitting here

in church on a Sunday morning.

Here’s the warning: Its possible to be very active in religious activity. But you

might still be showing contempt for His Name. In fact you might be more guilty

of offending God’s Name than the person outside with no concern for religion.

You see, we back where we were at the beginning.

Religious activity that’s offensive to God. “Oh that one of you would shut the

temple doors!”

It is possible to serve someone or to do something for someone or to give

someone a gift in such a way, that it would be better if you hadn’t done it. It

comes across as more of an insult than a gift

This last Thursday was my wife’s birthday.

So Imagine I decide to buy her a bunch of flowers. But I don’t buy her a nice

bunch in the colour that she likes. Instead I buy her the cheapest bunch I can

find. Plain colours. The flowers already old and withering.

And when I give it to her. I don’t do it warmly with a smile and a hug: I just say:

“here you are Jenna. I know this is my duty. I have to buy you flowers on your

birthday.”

What will Jenna say? She’ll say: “you know I wish you hadn’t even bothered.”

‘No flowers wouldv been better than that.

Well just like a miserable old bunch of flowers for your spouse, the worship of

these priests is an offence to God.

Look at the end of verse 6.

“How have we shown contempt for your name?” they ask. And God replies.

verse 7.

“You place defiled food on my altar.”

Now God’s law is very clear about the kind of sacrifice He desires.

Leviticus 22 verse 18 made it clear.

“When anyone brings from the herd or flock a fellowship offering to the LORD

to fulfil a special vow or as a freewill offering, it must be without defect or

blemish to be acceptable. Do not offer to the LORD the blind, the injured or the

maimed, or anything with warts or festering sores. Do not place any of these

on the altar as an offering made to the LORD by fire.”

And so God’s law was clear. The sacrifice had to be blameless. Without

blemish. Nothing but the best is good enough for God.

But now look at Malachi 1 verse 8. Notice what the priests are bringing.

When you bring blind animals for sacrifice is that not wrong? When you

sacrifice crippled or diseased animals, is that not wrong?

Look at the end of verse 13.

“When you bring injured, crippled or diseased animals and offer them as

sacrifices, should I accept them from your hands?” says the LORD.

And so you see this is blatant disobedience to God’s law.

But before we point all our fingers at these priests, let’s just consider our own

lives. Aren’t we often guilty of doing the same thing? You see we also are

called to offer sacrifices to God.

Listen to Romans 12 verse 1.

“therefore, I urge you brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as

living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God – this is your spiritual act of worship.”

You see, we don’t sacrifice animals today.

Jesus is the perfect sacrifice. The ultimate Lamb of God Who was sacrificed for

our sins. But in response to His sacrifice for us, we are called to sacrifice our

whole lives for Him.

And so the principle of Leviticus still stands. Nothing but the best for God

And so we might be like these priests: offering God less than the best. The

defiled parts of our lives. The rubbish. The things that don’t cost us anything.

Some people. When they give money in church. They prefer to put it in an

envelope before placing it in the collection bag. So that not everyone can see

how much they giving. It’s a good principle. Don’t let others see what you

giving. Do it in secret. But I heard about a church recently. And after the

service the preacher walked past the men counting money. Opening the

envelopes taking out the money. But the one envelope. There was nothing

there. It was completely empty. And so he stopped and asked the men: does

that happen very often? And they replied: every Sunday.

Well I don’t know if we’ve ever had empty envelopes in our collection bags at

St James. But are our lives like empty envelopes. We want to put on the

appearance of serving God. But beneath the surface, there’s nothing there.

There’s nothing that we actually giving up. There’s no costly sacrifice coming

from our faith.

Just think about that for a moment: when last did your Christian service

actually cost you something?

Or are you always just giving God the rubbish? The leftovers?

So we’ll give Him the leftover money. After uv decorated your house. After uv

bought the latest gadget. After you’ve paid your dstv subscription? Then we’ll

consider how we can use the rest of our money for God.

Or our leftover time? So you’ll attend church or Bible study. But only if it

doesn’t clash with our work Or our studies or our social commitments.

There’s a lady who used to cut my hair here in PE. And she claimed to be a

Christian. And she was telling me why she likes the Anglican church down the

road. The service starts at 8 o clock. So it doesn’t take up much of the day. And

she can then get on with what she really wants to do.

Is God just getting our leftovers?

But now you might still be asking: surely the leftovers are still better than

nothing: why is God so concerned to get the best?

And so that’s what I want us to think about for the rest of our time this

morning. Why is careless worship such an insult to God?

I want us to see three things. Firstly its an insult to His supremacy. Secondly, its

an insult to His sufficiency. Thirdly its an insult to His sacrifice.

So firstly, its an insult to His supremacy.

Now at that time Israel was under Persian rule. And so the Persians appointed

one of their governors to go and live in Israel and to rule the land. And so this

governor was a powerful man. The supreme ruler in Israel.

Well in verse 8 God asks Israel to compare her treatment of Him with her

treatment of her governor.

“When you bring blind animals for sacrifice, is that not wrong? When you

sacrifice crippled or diseased animals, is that not wrong? Try offering them to

your governor! Would he be pleased with you? Would he accept you?” says

the LORD Almighty.

In today’s terms, imagine you were given the privilege of hosting Barak Obama

for a meal. What kind of hospitality would he receive?

Would you welcome him in your pyjamas and your slippers?

Would you seat him at a table with a dirty table cloth?

Would you offer him your leftover coke that’s gone flat?

Would you feed him with soggy salad and stale bread?

Of course not. That’d be a scandal.

If the supreme ruler of the world comes to your house, you offer him your

best. Your best dress. Your best seat. Your best food.

Nothing but the best is fitting for the supreme ruler of the world.

And so just consider your treatment of God. How does it compare to how you

treat your parents or your headmaster or your professor or your boss? Do you

show Him less respect than them?

Imagine someone watching your life. What would it say to them about your

view of God? would thye see that God is your supreme ruler?

Secondly, careless worship is an insult to His sufficiency.

Last week a man rang our door bell. And he was a beggar. And he asked me for

any old clothes that I might have.

And so I went and I looked. And I didn’t choose my best clothes. My new

clothes. No I looked for my clothes that were old. The ones that were faded or

stretched or torn. Those are the ones I gave to the beggar. And he was grateful

for them. Because he was in need.

But there’s no ways I’d take those same clothes and wrap them up and give

them as a birthday present to my brother. He’s had enough hand-me-downs

from his older brother. He wouldn’t appreciate a present like that.

Well when we offer God careless worship we are treating Him like a beggar. As

if He is so needy, He’ll happily accept the leftovers of our lives.

But of course God is completely sufficient without us. He doesn’t need us to

accomplish His plans. He doesn’t need us to get His glory.

And you can see that in verse 11. Notice the reason God tells Israel to shut the

doors of the temple. Verse 11. For my Name will be great among the nations,

from the rising to the setting of the sun. In every place incense and pure

offerings will be brought to my Name, because my Name will be great among

the nations.”

You see this is God’s unchangeable purpose. His Name will be great. Ultimately

He will receive universal honour. Whether we choose to honour Him or not.

And so in the words of Lee Gatiss: This reminds us not to think too highly of ourselves – God doesn’t need us to get the glory he deserves. If you can’t be bothered to serve God with your whole life and whole heart, then don’t bother! since he will be worshipped as a great king by multitudes of others who can be bothered to give him their very best.”

careless worship is an insult to God’s sufficiency.

And then thirdly, its an insult to His sacrifice.

You need to understand: When the priests offered sacrifices in the temple, it

wasn’t primarily about the people giving gifts to God. Before that, it was about

God providing for His people. You see, these sacrifices were the God-given

means for the people to find forgiveness.

And one of the ways God emphasized this point. was by commanding the

people to eat the sacrifices that they offered. You see, when you eat

something it’s a wonderful picture of dependence on that thing. You receive it.

You digest it. It gives you life and strength. And so God commanded the people

to eat the sacrifices. As 1 Corinthians 10v 18 says:

“Consider the people of Israel: do not those who eat the sacrifices participate

in the altar.”

And so that’s why the sacrifices in our passage are described as food. I wonder

if you noticed that? Chapter 1 verse 7. “You place defiled food on my altar.”

Verse 12. “But you profane it by saying of the LORD’s table, “It is defiled,” and

of its food, “It is contemptible.”

The Lord’s table here refers to the altar. The food refers to the sacrifice.

And so when the Israelites came to the temple and offered their sacrifices and

ate the meat. They were meant to picture themselves seated at the LORD’s

table. Being served by Him. Feasting on His food. The food of forgiveness and

acceptance from God. What a privilege! What a feast!

But now the people’s appetites are being dampened. And it’s because of what

the priests are dishing up.

I had a friend when I was at varsity who was quite eccentric. And the one time

she invited a few guests over for a meal. And she served them what looked like

a chicken. But only after her guests had finished eating did she tell them that it

was actually a guinea fowl. And it wasn’t a guinea fowl that she had bought or

slaughtered herself. It was one she’d found knocked over next to the road.

And so it was good that she only told her guests that afterwards. Otherwise

they wouldn’t have enjoyed that meal.

But can you imagine going to the temple and eating a diseased animal or

animal that had an infection or an injury? Its not the most appetising prospect.

But this is what the Priests are dishing up. They’ve turned the feast of God into

a burden.

Look at verse 12 again.

“But you profane it by saying of the LORD’s table, “It is defiled,” and of its food,

“it is contemptible.” And you say, “what a burden!” and you sniff at it

contemptuously,” says the LORD Almighty.

But I think we do a similar thing when we offer God careless worship today.

These animal sacrifices were a picture pointing forward to Jesus.

Our sacrifices are a picture pointing back.

And so what kind of picture are we painting? Are we making the gospel seem

like unsavoury meal? Like a burden?

Or are we demonstrating what a privilege it is to be saved. That Christianity’s

more about what God has done for us than about what we must do for Him. Is

our service of God a drawcard for people to want to feast on Christ?

And so these are the things that make God want to say STOP!

Oh that one of you would shut the temple doors!

Its when we offer God less than the best. And in that way we insult His

supremacy. The supreme ruler of the world.

We insult His sufficiency. He will be great in the nations

And we insult His sacrifice. It’s a great privilege to feast at His table.

And so let me just close now with one word of hope. I want you to see we’ve

got a better hope than Malachi.

When Malachi writes these words to the priests, he isn’t just writing it for their

sake, to warn them so that they might be saved. He’s also writing it for his own

sake and for the sake of the whole nation of Israel. And you can see that in

verse 9. Notice, in verse 9 he doesn’t say: “Now implore God to be gracious to

you.”As if its only them who need grace.

No he says: “Now implore God to be gracious to us.” In other words, the whole

nation needs God’s grace because of the behaviour of these priests.

Remember the priests are responsible for representing the nation to God. And

they not doing a very good job.

And so Malachi fears for the whole nation: He says “implore God to be

gracious to us.”

But he doesn’t hold much hope.

“With such sacrifices from your hands, will He accept you?”

Well we have a much better hope. Because we have a much better priest. For

us verse 9 goes like this: “Now implore God to be gracious to us. With the

offering of Christ on your behalf, He will accept you.”

If uv been convicted of your sins this morning. don’t despair. Trust in Jesus.

And cry out for grace.

And so this is the true answer to the question we raised at the beginning.

When will God want us to shut our doors? Well it’ll be when we stop trusting

in Jesus. When rely on our own religious activity. As if that can make us

acceptable to God.

Our religious deeds are like filthy rags in God’s sight. They an offence to Him.

Stop relying on them. Trust only on the blood of Christ.

Implore God to be gracious to us. With the offering for Christ on your behalf,

you will be accepted.

Lets pray