An oracle: the word of the Lord to Israel by Malachi.
KJV
The burden of the word of the LORD to Israel by Malachi.
Commentary
Commentary
Thus prophet is sent first to convince and then to comfort, first to
discover sin and to reprove for that and then to promise the coming of
him who shall take away sin. And this method the blessed Spirit takes
in dealing with souls, John xvi. 8 .
He first opens the wound and then applies the healing balm. God had
provided (and one would think effectually) for the engaging of Israel
to himself by providences and ordinances; but it seems, by the
complaints here made of them, that they received the grace of God in
both these in vain.
I. They were very ungrateful to God for his favours to them, and
rendered not again according to the benefit they received, ver. 1-5 .
II. They were very careless and remiss in the observance of his
institutions; the priests especially were so, who were in a particular
manner charged with them, ver. 6-14 .
And what shall we say of those whom neither providences nor ordinances
work upon, and who affront God in those very things wherein they should
honour him?
1 The burden of the word of the L ORD to Israel by Malachi.
2 I have loved you, saith the L ORD . Yet ye say, Wherein hast
thou loved us? Was not Esau Jacob's brother? saith the L ORD :
yet I loved Jacob,
3 And I hated Esau, and laid his mountains and his heritage
waste for the dragons of the wilderness.
4 Whereas Edom saith, We are impoverished, but we will return
and build the desolate places; thus saith the L ORD of hosts, They
shall build, but I will throw down; and they shall call them, The
border of wickedness, and, The people against whom the L ORD hath
indignation for ever.
5 And your eyes shall see, and ye shall say, The L ORD will be
magnified from the border of Israel.
The prophecy of this book is entitled, The burden of the word of the
Lord ( v. 1 ),
which intimates,
1. That it was of great weight and importance; what the false prophets
said was light as the chaff, what the true prophets said was ponderous
as the wheat, Jer. xxiii. 28 .
2. That it ought to be often repeated to them and by them, as the
burden of a song.
3. That there were those to whom it was a burden and a reproach; they
were weary of it, and found themselves so aggrieved by it that they
were not able to bear it.
4. That to them it would prove a burden indeed, to sink them to the
lowest hell, unless they repented.
5. That to those who loved it and embraced it, and bade it welcome,
though it was a light burden, as our Saviour calls it
( Matt. xi. 30 ),
yet it was a burden.
This burden of the word of the Lord was sent,
1. To Israel, for to them pertained the lively oracles of prophecy as
well as those of the written word. Many prophets God had sent to
Israel, and now he will try them with one more.
2. By Malachi, by the hand of Malachi, as if it were not a
message by word of mouth, but a letter put into his hand, for the
greater certainty.
In these verses, they are charged with ingratitude, in that they were
not duly sensible of God's distinguishing goodness to them; and such a
charge as this may well be called a burden, for it is a heavy one.
I. God asserts the great kindness he had, and had often expressed, for
them
( v. 2 ): I have loved you, saith the Lord. Thus abruptly does the sermon
begin, as if God intended, whatever reproofs should be given them, to
reconcile them to his love, and to take care that they should still
have good thoughts of him. As many as I love I rebuke and
chasten. Thus kindly does the sermon begin. God will have his
people satisfied that he loves them and is ever mindful of his love.
This is the same with what he said of old to the virgin of Israel, that
he might engage her affections to himself
( Jer. xxxi. 3, 4 ): Yea I have loved thee with an everlasting love. In this one word
God sums up all his gracious dealings with them; love was the spring of
all; he loved them because he would love them ( Deut. vii. 7, 8 ),
loved them in their childhood, Hos. xi. 1 .
His delight was in them, Isa. lxii. 4 .
" I have loved you, but you have not loved me, nor made any
suitable returns for my love." Note, God's people need to be often
reminded of his love to them.
II. They question his love, and diminish the instances of it, and seem
to quarrel with him for telling them of it: Yet you say, Wherein
hast thou loved us? As God traces up all his favours to them to the
fountain, which was his love, so he traces up all their sins against
him to the fountain, which was their contempt of his love. Instead of
acknowledging his kindness, and studying what they shall render, they
scorn to own that they have been beholden to him, challenge him to
produce proofs of his love that are material, and think and speak very
slightly of the instances they have had of his kindness, as if they
were so few, so small, as not to be worth taking notice of, and no more
than what they had sufficiently made returns for, or at least than he
had sufficiently balanced with instances of his wrath. "Have we not
been wasted, impoverished, and carried captive; and wherein then hast thou loved us? " Note, God justly takes it very ill to have
his favours slighted, as not worth speaking of; and it is very absurd
for us to ask wherein he has loved us, when, which way soever we look,
we meet with the proofs and instances of his love to us.
III. He makes it out, beyond contradiction, that he has loved them,
loved them in a distinguishing way, which was in a special manner
obliging. For proof of this he shows the difference he had made, and
would still make, between Jacob and Esau, between Israelites and
Edomites. Some read their question, Wherefore hast thou loved
us? as if they did indeed own that he had loved them, but withal
insinuate that there was a reason for it--that he loved them because
their father Abraham had loved him, so that it was not a free love, but
a love of debt, to which he replies, " Was not Esau as near akin
to Abraham as you are? Was he not Jacob's own brother, his elder
brother? And therefore, if there were any right to a recompence for
Abraham's love, Esau had it, and yet I hated Esau and loved
Jacob. "
1. Let them see what a difference God had made between Jacob and Esau.
Esau was Jacob's brother, his twin-brother: " Yet I loved Jacob and I hated Esau, that is, took Jacob into covenant, and
entailed the blessing on him and his, but refused and rejected Esau."
Note, Those that are taken into covenant with God, that have the lively
oracles and the means of grace committed to them, have reason to look
upon these as tokens of his love. Jacob is loved, for he has these,
Esau hated, for he has not. The apostle quotes this
( Rom. ix. 13 ),
and compares it with what the oracle said to Rebecca concerning her
twins
( Gen. xxv. 23 ), The elder shall serve the younger, to illustrate the doctrine of
God's sovereignty in dispensing his favours; for may he not do what
he will with his own? Esau was justly hated, but Jacob freely
loved; even so, Father, because it seemed good in thy eyes, and
it is not for us to ask why or wherefore.
2. Let them see what he was now doing and would do with them, pursuant
to this original difference.
(1.) The Edomites shall be made the monuments of God's justice, and he
will be glorified in their utter destruction: For Esau have I
hated; I laid his mountains waste, the mountains of Seir,
which were his heritage. When all that part of the world was
ravaged by the Chaldean army the country of Edom was, among the rest,
laid in ruins, and became a habitation for the dragons of the
wilderness, so perfectly desolate was it; as was foretold, Isa. xxxiv. 6, 11 .
The Edomites had triumphed in Jerusalem's overthrow
( Ps. cxxxvii. 7 ),
and therefore it was just with God to put the same cup of trembling
into their hands. And, though Edom's ruins were last, yet they were
lasting, and the desolation perpetual; and in this the difference was
made between Jacob and Esau, and is made between the righteous and the
wicked, to whom otherwise all things come alike, and there seems to be
one event. Jacob's cities are laid waste, but they are rebuilt; Edom's
are laid waste, and never rebuilt. The sufferings of the righteous will
have an end and will end well; all their grievances will be redressed,
and their sorrow turned into joy; but the sufferings of the wicked will
be endless and remediless, as Edom's desolations, v. 4 .
Observe here,
[1.] The vain hopes of the Edomites, that they shall have their ruins
repaired as well as Israel, though they had no promise to build their
hope upon. They say, "It is true, we are impoverished; it is the
common chance, and there is no remedy; but we will return and build
the desolate places; we are resolved we will" (not so much as
asking God leave); " we will whether he will or no; nay, we will
do it in defiance of God's curse, and that sentence pronounced upon
Edom
( Isa. xxxiv. 10 ), From generation to generation it shall lie waste. " They build
presumptuously, as Hiel built Jericho in direct contradiction to the
word of God
( 1 Kings xvi. 34 ),
and it shall speed accordingly. Note, It is common for those whose
hearts are unhumbled under humbling providences to think to make their
part good against God himself, and to build, and plant, and flourish
again as much as ever, though God has said that they shall be
impoverished. But see,
[2.] The dashing of these hopes and the disappointment of them: They
say, We will build; but what says the Lord of hosts? For
we are sure his word shall stand, and not theirs; and he says, First, Their attempts shall be baffled: They shall build, but
I will throw down. Note, Those that walk contrary to God will find
that he will walk contrary to them; for who ever hardened his heart
against God and prospered? When the Jews had rejected Christ and
his gospel they became Edomites, and this word was fulfilled in them;
for when, in the time of the emperor Adrian, they attempted to rebuild
Jerusalem, God by earthquakes and eruptions of fire threw down what
they built, so that they were forced to quit the enterprise. Secondly, They shall be looked upon by all as abandoned to utter
ruin. All that see them shall call them the border of
wickedness, a sinful nation, incurably so, and therefore the
people against whom the Lord has indignation for ever. Since their
wickedness is such as will never be reformed, their desolations shall
be such as are never to be repaired. Against Israel God was a little
displeased ( Zech. i. 15 ),
but against Edom he has indignation, and will have for ever, for they
are the people of his curse, Isa. xxxiv. 5 .
(2.) The Israelites shall be made the monuments of his mercy, and he
will be glorified in their salvation, v. 5 .
"The Edomites shall be stigmatized as a people hated of God, but
your eyes shall see your doubts concerning his love to you for ever
silenced; for you shall say, and have cause to say, The Lord is
and will be magnified from the border of Israel, from every part
and border of the land of Israel." The border of Edom is a border of
wickedness, and therefore the Lord will have indignation against
it for ever; but the border of Israel is a border of
holiness, the border of the sanctuary ( Ps. lxxviii. 54 ),
and therefore God will make it to appear (though it may for a time lie
desolate) that he has mercy in store for it, and thence he will be
magnified; he will give his people Israel both cause, and hearts,
to praise him. When the border of Edom still remains desolate, and the
border of Israel is repaired and replenished, then it will appear that
God has loved Jacob. Note,
[1.] Those who doubt of God's love to his people shall, sooner or
later, have convincing and undeniable proofs given them of it:
" your own eyes shall see what you will not believe."
[2.] Deliverances out of trouble are to be reckoned proofs of God's
good-will to his people, though they may be suffered to fall into
trouble, Ps. xxxiv. 19 .
[3.] Distinguishing favours are very obliging. If God rear up again the
border of Israel, but leave the border of Edom in ruins, let no
Israelite ask, for shame, Wherein hast thou loved us? [4.] The dignifying of Israel is the magnifying of the God of Israel,
and, one way or other, God will have honour from his professing people.
[5.] God's goodness being his glory, when he does us good we must
proclaim him great, for that is magnifying him. It is an instance of
his goodness that he has pleasure in the prosperity of his
servants, and for this those that love his salvation say, The
Lord be magnified, Ps. xxxv. 27 .
6 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 L ORD of hosts unto you, O
priests, that despise my name. And ye say, Wherein have we
despised thy name?
7 Ye offer polluted bread upon mine altar; and ye say, Wherein
have we polluted thee? In that ye say, The table of the L ORD is contemptible.
8 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 L ORD of hosts.
9 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 L ORD of hosts.
10 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 L ORD of hosts, neither will I
accept an offering at your hand.
11 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 L ORD of hosts.
12 But ye have profaned it, in that ye say, The table of the
L ORD is polluted; and the fruit thereof, even his meat, is contemptible.
13 Ye said also, Behold, what a weariness is it! and ye have
snuffed at it, saith the L ORD 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 L ORD .
14 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 L ORD of hosts, and my name is dreadful among the heathen.
The prophet is here, by a special commission, calling the priests to
account, though they were themselves appointed judges, to call the
people to an account. Let the rulers in the house of God know that
there is one above them, who will reckon with them for their
mal-administrations. Thus saith the Lord of hosts to you, O
priests! v. 6 .
God will have a saying to unfaithful ministers; and it concerns those
who speak from God to his people to hear and heed what he says to them,
that they may save themselves in the first place, otherwise how
should they help to save those that hear them? It is a severe,
and no doubt a just reproof, that is here given to the priests, for the profanation of the holy things of God, with which they were
entrusted; and, if this was the crime of the priests, we have reason to
fear the people also were guilty of it: so that what is said to the
priests is said to all, nay, it is said to us, who,
as Christians, profess ourselves, not only the people of God, but
priests to him. Observe here,
I. What it was that God expected from them, and with what good reason
he expected it
( v. 6 ): A son honours his father, because he is his father; nature has
written this law in the hearts of children, before God wrote it at
Mount Sinai; nay, a servant, though his obligation to his master
is not natural, but by voluntary compact, yet thinks it his duty to
honour him, to be observant of his orders, and true to his interests.
Children and servants pay respect to their parents and masters; every
one cries out shame on them if they do not, and their own hearts cannot
but reproach them too; the order of families is thus kept up, and it is
their beauty and advantage. But the priests, who are God's children and
his servants, do not fear and honour him. They were fathers and masters to the people, and expected to be called so
( Judges xviii. 19, Matt. xxii. 7, 10 )
and to be reverenced and obeyed as such; but they forgot their Father
and Master in heaven, and the duty they owed to him. We may each of us
charge upon ourselves what is here charged upon the priests. Note,
1. We are every one of us to look upon God as our Father and Master,
and upon ourselves as his children and servants.
2. Our relation to God as our Father and Master strongly obliges us to
fear and honour him. If we honour and fear the fathers of our flesh,
much more the Father and Master of our spirits, Heb. xii. 9 .
3. It is a thing to be justly complained of, and lamented, that God is
so little feared and honoured even by those that own him for their
Father and Master. Where is his honour? Where is his fear?
II. What the contempt was which the priests put upon God.
1. This is that, in general, which is charged upon them:--
(1.) They despised God's name; their familiarity with it, as priests,
bred contempt of it, and served them only to gain a veneration by it
for themselves and their own name, while God's name was of small
account with them. God's name is all that whereby he has made himself
known--his word and ordinances; these they had low thoughts of, and
vilified that which it was their business to magnify; and no wonder
that when they despised it themselves they did that which made it
despicable to others, causing even the sacrifices of the Lord to be
abhorred, as Eli's sons did.
(2.) They profaned God's name, v. 12 .
They polluted it, v. 7 .
They not only made no account of sacred things, but they made an ill
use of them, and perverted them to the service of the worst and vilest
purposes--their own pride, covetousness, and luxury. There cannot be a
greater provocation to God than the profanation of his name; for it is
holy and reverend. His purity cannot be polluted by us, for he is
unspotted, but his name may be profaned; and nothing profanes it more
than the misconduct of priests, whose business it is to do honour to
it. This is the general charge exhibited against them. To this they
plead Not guilty, and challenge God to prove it upon them, and
to make good the charge, which added daring impudence to their daring
impiety: You say, Wherein have we despised thy name? ( v. 6 ),
and wherein have we polluted thee? v. 7 .
It is common with proud sinners, when they are reproved, to stand thus
upon their own justification. These priests had most horridly profaned
sacred things, and yet, like the adulterous woman, they said
that they had done no wickedness; they were so inobservant of
themselves that they remembered not or reflected not upon their own
acts, or they were so ignorant of the divine law that they thought
there was no harm in them, and that what they did could not be
construed into despising God's name, or they were so atheistical as to
imagine that though they knew their own guilt yet God did not, or they
were so scornful in their conduct towards God and his prophets that
they took a pride in bantering a serious and just reproof, and turning
it off with a jest. They either laugh at the reproof, as those that
despise it, and harden their hearts against it, or they laugh it off,
as those that resolve they will not be touched by it, or will not seem
to be so. Which way soever we take it, their defence was their offence,
and, in justifying themselves, their own tongues condemned them, and
their saying, Wherein have we despised thy name? proved them
proud and perverse. Had they asked this question with a humble desire
to be told more particularly where in they had offended, it would have
been an evidence of their repentance, and would have given hopes of
their reformation; but to ask it thus in disdain and defiance of the
word of God argues their hearts fully set in them to do evil. Note, Sinners ruin themselves by studying to baffle their own
convictions; but they will find it hard to kick against the
pricks.
2. Justly might they have been convicted and condemned upon the general
charge, and their plea thrown out as frivolous; but God will not only
overcome, but will be clear, will be justified when he judges, and
therefore he shows them very particularly wherein they had despised his
name, and what the contempt was that they cast upon him. As formerly,
when he charged them with idolatry, so now, when he charges them with
profaneness, he bids them see their way in the valley and know what they have done, Jer. ii. 23 .
(1.) They despised God's name in what they said, in the low opinion
they had of his institutions: " You say in your hearts, and
perhaps speak it out when you priests get together over your cups. out
of the hearing of the people, The table of the Lord is
contemptible "
( v. 7 ),
and again
( v. 12 ),
"You say, The table of the Lord is polluted; it is to be no more
regarded than any other table." Either the table in the temple, on
which the show-bread was placed, is that which they reflect upon (not
understanding the mystery of it, they despised it as an insignificant
thing), or rather the altar of burnt-offerings is here called the
table, for there God, and his priests, and his people, did, as it were,
feast together upon the sacrifices, in token of friendship. This they
thought was contemptible. Formerly, in the days of superstition, it
was thought contemptible in comparison with the idolatrous alters that
the heathen had, and was set aside to make room for a new-fashioned one
( 2 Kings xvi. 14, 15 );
now it is thought contemptible in comparison with their own tables, and
those of their great men: The fruit thereof, even his meat, is
contemptible. Those who served at the altar were to live upon the
altar; but they complained that they lived poorly and meanly, and that
it was not worth while to attend the service of the altar for the fruit
and meat of it, for it was very ordinary and always the same again;
they had no dainties, no varieties, no nice dishes. Nay, that part of
the sacrifices which was given to God, the blood and the fat, they
looked upon with contempt, as not worthy the multitude of laws God had
made about it; they asked, "What need is there of so much ado about
burning the fat and pouring out the blood?" Note, Those greatly profane
and pollute God's name who despise the business of religion, though it
is very honourable, as not worth taking pains in, and the advantages of
religion, though highly valuable, as not worth taking pains for. Those
who live in a careless neglect of holy ordinances, who come to them and
attend on them irreverently, and go away from them never the better and
under no concern, do in effect say, " The table of the Lord is
contemptible; there is neither virtue nor value in it, neither
credit nor comfort from it."
(2.) They despised God's name in what they did, which was of a piece
with what they said, and flowed from it; corrupt principles and notions
are roots of bitterness, which bear the gall and wormwood of corrupt
practices. They looked upon the table and altar of the Lord as
contemptible, and then,
[1.] They thought any thing would serve for a sacrifice, though ever so
coarse and mean, and were so far from bringing the best, as they ought
to have done, that they picked out the worst they had, which was fit
neither for the market nor for their own tables, and offered that at
God's altar. With every sacrifice they were to bring a meat-offering of fine flour mingled with oil; but they brought polluted
bread ( v. 7 ),
coarse bread, servants' bread, perhaps it was dry and mouldy, or made
of the refuse of the wheat, which they thought good enough to be burnt
upon the altar; for had it been better they would have said, To what
purpose is this waste? And as to the beasts they offered, though
the law was express that what was offered in sacrifice should not have
a blemish, yet they brought the blind, and the lame, and the
sick ( v. 8 ),
and again
( v. 13 ), the torn, and the lame, and the sick, that was ready to die of
itself. They looked no further than the burning of the sacrifice, and
they pleaded that it was a pity to burn it if it was good for any thing
else. The people were so far convinced of their duty that they would
bring sacrifices; they durst not wholly omit the duty, but they brought
vain oblations, mocked God, and deceived themselves, by bringing the
worst they had; and the priests, who should have taught them better,
accepted the gifts brought to the altar and offered them up there,
because, if they should refuse them, the people would bring none at
all, and then they would lose their perquisites; and therefore, having
more regard to their own profit than to God's honour, they accepted
that which they knew he would not accept. Some make v. 8 to be a continuation of what the priests profanely said v. 7 , You say to the people, If you offer the blind for sacrifice,
it is not evil; or the lame and the sick, it is not evil. Note, It
is a very evil thing, whether men think so or no, to offer the blind
and the lame, the torn and the sick, in sacrifice to God. If we worship
God ignorantly, and without understanding, we bring the blind for
sacrifice; if we do it carelessly, and without consideration, if we are
cold, and dull, and dead, in it, we bring the sick; if we rest in the
bodily exercise, and do not make heart-work of it, we bring the lame; and, if we suffer vain thoughts and distractions to lodge
within us, we bring the torn. And is not this evil? Is it not a
great affront to God and a great wrong and injury to our own souls? Do
not our books tell us, nay, do not our own hearts tell us, that this
is evil? for God, who is the best, ought to be served with the best
we have.
[2.] They would do no more of their work than what they were paid for.
The priests would offer the sacrifices that were brought to the altar,
because they had their share of them; but as for any other service of
the temple, that had not a particular fee belonging to it, they would
not stir a step, nor lend a hand, to it; and this was the general
temper of them, v. 10 .
There is not a man among the priests that would shut the doors, or kindle a fire, for nought. If he were required to do the
smallest piece of service, he would ask, how shall I be paid for it?
They would do nothing gratis, but were all for what they could
get, every one for his gain, from his quarter, Isa. lvi. 11 .
Note, Though God has given order that his servants be well paid in this
world, yet those are no acceptable servants to him who are mercenary,
and would never do the work but for the wages.
[3.] Their work was a perfect drudgery to them
( v. 13 ): You said also, Behold, what a weariness is it! Both priests and
people were of this mind, that they thought God imposed too hard a task
upon them; the people grudged the charge of providing the sacrifice and
the priests grudged the pains of offering it; they thought the feasts
of the Lord came too thick, and they were forced to attend too often,
and too long, in the courts of the Lord; the priests thought it a
severe penance imposed upon them to purify themselves as was required
when they attended the altar and ate of the holy things; they thought
the duty of their office toilsome and troublesome, and snuffed at
it as unreasonable, and bearing hard upon them; they did it, but it
was grudgingly and with reluctance. God speaks of it, in justification
of his law, that he had not made them to serve with an offering, nor
wearied them with incense, Isa. xliii. 23 . Wherein have I wearied thee? Mic. vi. 3 .
But their own wicked hearts made it a weariness; and they were, as
Doeg, detained before the Lord; they would rather have been any
where else. Note, Those are highly injurious, both to God and
themselves, who are weary of his service and worship, and snuff at
it.
III. Observe how God expostulates and reasons the case with them, for
their conviction and humiliation.
1. Would they, durst they, affront an earthly prince thus? "You offer
to God the lame and the sick; offer it now unto thy governor ( v. 8 ),
either as tribute or as a present, when thou art entreating his favour,
or in gratitude for some favour received; will he be pleased with
thee? Or, rather, will he not take himself to be affronted by it?"
Note, Those who are careless and irreverent in the duties of religious
worship should consider what a shame it is to offer that to their God
which they would scorn to offer to their governor, to be more observant
of the laws of breeding and good manners than of the laws of religion,
and more afraid of being rude than of being profane.
2. Could they imagine that such sacrifices as these would be pleasing
to God, or answer the end of sacrifices? " Should I accept this at
your hand, saith the Lord? v. 13 .
Have you any reason to think I should either not discern or not resent
the affront, that I should connive at the violation of my own laws? No
( v. 10 ); I have no pleasure in you, and therefore, I will not accept
an offering, such an offering, at your hand. " If God has no
pleasure in the person, if the person be not in a justified state, if
he be not sanctified, God will not accept the offering. God had respect
to Abel first and then to his sacrifice. Note, In order to our
acceptance with God it is not enough to do that which, for the matter
of it, is good, but we must do it from a right principle, in a right
manner, and for a right end. It was the ancient rule laid down
( Gen. iv. 7 ), If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? Now, if we be
not accepted of God, in vain do we worship him; it is all lost labour;
nay, we are all undone, for ever undone, if we come short of God's
acceptance. Those therefore make a bad bargain for themselves who, to
save charges in their religion, miss all the ends of it, and, by
thinking to go the nearest way to work, bring nothing to pass. Those
who make it the top of their ambition, as we all ought to do, whether present or absent, to be accepted of the Lord, will not
dare to bring the torn, and the lame, and the sick, for
sacrifice. 3. How could they expect to prevail with God in their intercessions for
the people when they thus affronted God in their sacrifices? So some
understand v. 9 ,
as spoken ironically, " And now if you will do the duty of
priests, and stand in the gap to turn away the judgments of God that
you see ready to pour in upon us, I pray you, beseech God that he
will be gracious to us, and to our land which is almost eaten up
with locusts and caterpillars," as appears ch. iii. 11 .
"Try now what interest you have at the throne of grace; improve it for
the removing of this plague, for it has been by your means; you
have provoked God to send it. But as you go on thus to profane his
sacred things will he regard your persons or your prayers? No,
you cannot prevail with him to command it away." For, if we regard
iniquity in our hearts, God will not hear us, either for ourselves
or for others.
4. Had God deserved this at their hands? No, he had provided
comfortably for them, and had given them such encouragement in their
work as might have engaged them to do it cheerfully and well; so some
understand v. 10 ,
" Who is there among you that shall shut a door, or kindle a fire,
for nought? No, God does not expect you should serve him for
nothing; you are well paid for it, and shall be so; not a cup of cold
water, given for the honour of God, shall lose its reward. "
Note, The consideration of our constant receivings from God, and the
present rewards of obedience in obedience, very much aggravates our
slothfulness and niggardliness in our returns of duty to God.
IV. He calls them to repentance for their profanations of his holy
name. So we may understand v. 9 ,
" Now, I pray you, beseech God that he will be gracious to us. Humble yourselves for your sin, cry mightily to God for pardon, and
make up in the faith and fervency of your prayers what has been wanting
in the worth and value of your sacrifices; for all the rebukes of
Providence we are under are by your means. " Note, Those who have
by their sins helped to kindle a fire are highly concerned by their
repentance, prayers, and the personal reformation, to help to quench
it. We must see how much God's judgments are by our means, and be
awakened thereby to be earnest with him to return in mercy; and, if we
take not this course, how can we think he should regard our
persons?
V. He declares his resolution both to secure the glory of his own name
and to reckon with those who profane it. Those who put contempt upon
God and religion, and think to run down sacred things, let them
know,
1. That they shall not gain their point. God will magnify his law and
make it honourable, though they vilify it and make it contemptible; for
( v. 11 ) from the rising of the sun to the going down of the same my
name shall be great among the Gentiles. It might be said, "If these
are not the worshippers whom God will accept, then he has no
worshippers." As if he must make the best of their service, or else he
would have no service done him; and then what will he do for his
great name? But let him alone for that; though Israel be not
faithful, be not gathered, yet God will be glorious. Though these priests provoke him to take down the ceremonial economy,
and to abolish that law of commandments, which could not make
the comers thereunto perfect, yet he will be no loser by that, at
the long run; for,
(1.) Instead of those carnal ordinances, which they profaned, a
spiritual way of worship shall be introduced and established: Incense shall be offered to God's name (which signifies prayer
and praise, Ps. cxli. 2; Rev. viii. 3 ),
instead of the blood and fat of bulls and goats. And it shall be a pure offering, refined, not only from the corruptions that were
in the priests' practice, but from the mere bodily exercise that was in
the institutions themselves, which are called carnal ordinances,
imposed till the time of reformation, Heb. ix. 10 .
When the hour came in which the true worshippers worshipped the
Father in spirit and in truth, then this incense was offered, even this pure offering. (2.) Instead of his being worshipped and served among the Jews only, a
small people in a corner of the world, he will be served and worshipped
in all places, from the rising of the sun to the going down of the
same; in every place, in every part of the world, incense shall
be offered to his name; nations shall be discipled, and shall speak
of the wonderful works of God, and have them spoken to them in their
own language. This is a plain prediction of that great revolution in
the kingdom of grace by which the Gentiles, who had been strangers
and foreigners, came to be fellow-citizens with the saints and
of the household of God, and as welcome to the throne of grace as
ever the Jews had been. It is twice said (for the thing was certain), My name shall be great among the Gentiles, whereas hitherto in
Judah only he was known, and his name was great, Ps. lxxvi. 1 .
God's name shall be declared to them, the declaration of it shall be
received and believed, and there shall be those among the Gentiles who
shall magnify and glorify the name of God better than ever the Jews had
done, even the priests themselves.
2. That they shall not go unpunished, v. 14 .
Here is the doom of those who do like these priests, for the sentence
on them is a sentence on all such. Observe,
(1.) The description of profane and careless worshippers. They are such
as vow and sacrifice to the Lord a corrupt thing when they have in their flock a male. They have of the best, wherewith to serve
and honour him, so bountiful has be been in his gifts to them, but they
put him off with the worst, and think that good enough for him, so
ungrateful are they in their returns to him. This was the fault of the
people, but the priests connived at it, and indulged them in it. We
find a distinction in the law which allowed that to be offered for a free-will offering which would not be accepted
for a vow, Lev. xxii. 23 .
But the priests would accept it, though God would not, pretending to be
more indulgent than he was, for which he will give them no thanks
another day.
(2.) The character given of such worshippers. They are deceivers; they deal falsely and fraudulently with God; they
play the hypocrite with him; they pretend to honour him, in making the
vow, but, when it comes to be performed, they put an affront upon him,
to such a degree that it would have been better not to have vowed
than to vow and thus to pay; but let not such be themselves
deceived, for God is not mocked. Those who think to put a cheat
upon God will prove, in the end, to have put a damning cheat upon their
own souls. Hypocrites are deceivers, and they will prove
self-deceivers, and so self-destroyers.
(3.) The doom passed upon them: They are cursed; they expect a
blessing, but will meet with a curse, the tokens of God's wrath,
according to the judgment written.
(4.) The reason of this doom: " For I am a great King, saith the Lord
of hosts, and therefore will reckon with those who deal with me but
as a man like themselves; my name is dreadful among the heathen, and therefore I will not bear that it should be contemptible among my
own people." The heathen paid more respect to their gods, though idols,
than the Jews did to theirs, though the only true and living God. Note,
The consideration of God's universal dominion, and the universal
acknowledgment of it, should restrain us from all irreverence in his
service.
INTRODUCTION TO MALACHI
This book, in the Hebrew copies, is called "Sepher Malachi", the Book of Malachi; in the Vulgate Latin version, "the Prophecy of Malachi"; in the Syriac and Arabic versions, "the Prophecy of the Prophet Malachi"; According to Lactantius {a}, Zechariah was the last of the prophets; but the more commonly received opinion, and the truest, is, that Malachi was the last; hence Aben Ezra calls him Myaybnh Pwo, "the end of the prophets"; and by Kimchi he is said to be, Mbv Nwrxa "the last of them"; and sometimes, by the Rabbins, Myaybnh Mtwx, "the seal of the prophets" {b}; by whom they are all sealed up, concluded, and finished. His name signifies "my angel", as is commonly said; though Hillerus {c} makes it to signify "the angel of the Lord"; hence some have thought that he was not a man, but an angel; and so the Septuagint render ykalm dyb, in the first verse Mal 1:1, "by the hand of his angel"; and others have thought that the book takes its name, not from the author of it, but from the mention that is made of the messenger or angel of the Lord, John the Baptist, in Mal 3:1 but the more prevailing opinion is, that Malachi is the name of a man, the writer of the book, about whom the Jews have been divided. Rab Nachman says Malachi was Mordecai; and that he was so called because he was second to the king. R. Joshua ben Korcha contradicts him, and affirms Malachi is Ezra; and to him agrees the Chaldee paraphrase on Mal 1:1 which says, that Malachi, his name is called Ezra the scribe; but, as Kimchi observes, Ezra is never called a prophet, as Malachi is, only a scribe; wherefore in the Talmud {d}, where this matter is debated, it is concluded thus; but the wise men say, Malachi is his name; that is, it is the proper name of a man; there was a man of this name, that wrote this prophecy; not Mordecai, nor Ezra, nor Zerubbabel, nor Nehemiah, as some have thought; but Malachi: and if the accounts of Epiphanius {e} and Isidore {f} are to be credited, this prophet was born at Sapho, in the tribe of Zebulun; and had his name from his beautiful form, and unblemished life; and that he died very young, and was buried in his own field. The time of his prophesying is not agreed on: the Jews commonly make him contemporary with Haggai and Zechariah; they say {g} that Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi, all of them prophesied in the second year of Darius; and Ganz, their chronologer {h}, places the death of these prophets together in one year; but he seems to be later than they: Haggai prophesied before the building of the temple; Zechariah about the time of it; and Malachi after it, when the temple was rebuilt, and the worship of God restored and settled; and when both priests and people were become very corrupt and degenerate, of which he complains; so that it is possible that he might live a century after the other prophets, and about four centuries before the coming of Christ, during which time prophecy ceased; though some think he lived not long before the times of Christ, which is not probable. Bishop Usher {i} makes him contemporary with Nehemiah, and places him in the year 416 B.C.; and Mr. Whiston {k} in the year 400 B.C.; Mr. Bedford {l} in the year 424 B.C.: however, this book has been always accounted authentic, and a part of the canon of the Scripture; and is confirmed by the passages cited out of it, and the references made unto it, in the New Testament, Mt 11:10. The general design of it is to reprove the Jews for their ingratitude to the Lord, their neglect and contempt of his worship, and breach of his laws; and to raise in the minds of the truly godly an expectation of the Messiah, and his forerunner, John the Baptist.
{a} De vera Sapientia, l. 4. c. 5. p. 279. {b} Nizzachon, p. 200. apud Hottinger. Thes. Phil. p. 489. {c} Onomastic. Sacr. p. 147, 359, 541. {d} T. Bab. Megillah, fol. 15. 1. {e} De Prophet. Vita & Interitu, c. 22. {f} De Vita & Morte Sanct. c. 51. {g} T. Bab. Megillah, fol. 15. 1. Seder Olam Rabba, c. 20. p. 55. {h} Ganz, Tzemach David, par. 1. fol. 18. 1. {i} Annales Vet. Test. A. M. 3589. {k} Chronological Tables, cent. 12. {l} Scripture Chronology, p. 725.
INTRODUCTION TO MALACHI 1
In this chapter the Lord declares his love to the people of , and proves it; and complains that the honour due unto him was not given him; which he demonstrates by various instances. The inscription is in Mal 1:1 showing the name and nature of the prophecy; the author of it; the people to whom it was sent; and the name of the person by whom. In Mal 1:2 the Lord affirms his love to the people of Israel, which they called in question; and proves it to be real, special, and distinguishing, by the instance of Jacob and Esau, two brothers; yet one, their ancestor, was loved, and the other hated; which latter is proved by the desolations made in his country, and by the fruitless attempts made to repair and rebuild; which was so clear a proof of the Lord's indignation against him, that the Israelites could not but see it, and would be obliged to confess it, to the glory of God, Mal 1:3 hence he passes on to observe the honour and fear that were due to him as a Father and master, which were not shown him; but, instead thereof, he was despised, and even by the priests themselves, with which they are charged, Mal 1:6 and which being objected to by them, is proved by offering polluted bread on his altar; and by polluting him, in saying his table was contemptible; and by sacrificing the blind, the lame, and the sick, unto him; things which would be justly resented, if offered to a temporal prince and governor, Mal 1:7 wherefore they are called upon by the prophet to pray to the Lord for grace and mercy for the people, seeing it was by their means (the priests) that these things were done; though it was questionable whether the Lord would have any regard to them, Mal 1:9 their sins being so dreadfully aggravated; and particularly, inasmuch as they did not serve in the temple, not so much as shut a door, or kindle a fire on the altar, for nothing, without being paid for it; hence the Lord declares he had no pleasure in them, nor would he accept their offerings; but would call the Gentiles by his grace, among whom his name would be great from one end of the earth to the other; and incense and pure offerings would be offered by them to him, Mal 1:10 and then he renews the charge against them, that they had profaned his name, by saying that his table, and the fruit thereof, were polluted, and his meat contemptible; by expressing a weariness in his worship, and a contempt of it; and by bringing the torn, the lame, and sick, as an offering to him, Mal 1:12 upon which such sacrificers are declared deceivers, and pronounced accursed, which they might assure themselves was and would be their case; since he was a great King, and his name dreadful among the Heathen, Mal 1:14.
Ver. 1. The burden of the word of the Lord,.... By which is meant the prophecy of this book, so called, not because heavy, burdensome, and distressing, either for the prophet to carry, or the people to bear; for some part of it, which respects Christ, and his forerunner, was matter of joy to the people of God; but because it was a message sent by the Lord, and carried by the prophet to the people; See Gill on "Zec 9:1" See Gill on "Zec 12:1" and this was not the word of man, but of God, a part of Scripture, by divine inspiration. The Syriac version is, "the vision of the words of the Lord": and the Arabic version, "the revelation of the word of the Lord"; and the Septuagint version, "the assumption of the word of the Lord"; it was what was revealed, made known, and delivered by the Lord to the prophet, and taken up by him, and carried to Israel, which was the general name of all the twelve tribes, when under one prince; but when the kingdom was divided, in Rehoboam's time, it was peculiar to the ten tribes, as Judah was to the two tribes of Benjamin and Judah; but after the return of these two from the Babylonish captivity, in which they were joined by some of the other tribes, it was given unto them as here:
by Malachi; or, "by the hand of Malachi" {m}; he was the instrument the Lord made use of; the person whom he sent, and by whom he delivered the following prophecy.
{m} dyb "in manu", V. L. Cocceius; "per manum", Pagninus, Montanus, Piscator.
Malachi 1:2
Ver. 2. I have loved you, saith the Lord,.... Which appeared of old, by choosing them, above all people upon the face of the earth, to be his special and peculiar people; by bestowing peculiar favours and blessings upon them, both temporal and spiritual; by continuing them a people, through a variety of changes and revolutions; and by lately bringing them out of the Babylonish captivity, restoring their land unto them, and the pure worship of God among them:
Yet ye say, wherein hast thou loved us? the Targum renders it, "and if ye should say"; and so Kimchi and Ben Melech; which intimates, that though they might not have expressed themselves in so many words, yet they seemed disposed to say so; they thought it, if they said it not; and therefore, to prevent such an objection, as well as to show their ingratitude, it is put in this form; and an instance of his love is demanded, which is very surprising, when they had so many; and shows great stupidity and unthankfulness. Abarbinel renders the words, "wherefore hast thou loved us?" that is, is there not a reason to be given for loving us? which he supposes was the love of Abraham to God; and therefore his love to them was not free, but by way of reward to Abraham's love; and consequently they were not so much obliged to him for it: to which is replied,
[was] not Esau Jacob's brother? saith the Lord; Jacob and Esau were brethren; they had one and the same father and mother, Isaac and Rebekah, and equally descended from Abraham; so that if one was loved for the sake of Abraham, as suggested, according to Abarbinel's sense, the other had an equal claim to it; they lay in the same womb together; they were twins; and if any could be thought to have the advantage by birth, Esau had it, being born first: but before they were born, and before they had done good or evil, what is afterwards said of them was in the heart of God towards them; which shows that the love of God to his people is free, sovereign, and distinguishing, Ge 25:23:
yet I loved Jacob; personally considered; not only by giving him the temporal birthright and blessing, and the advantages arising from thence; but by choosing him to everlasting life, bestowing his grace upon him, revealing Christ unto him, and making him a partaker of eternal happiness; and also his posterity, as appears by the above instances mentioned; and likewise mystically considered, for all the elect, redeemed, and called, go by the name of Jacob and Israel in Scripture frequently; for what is here said of Jacob is true of all the individuals of God's people; for which purpose the apostle refers to this passage in Ro 9:13, to prove the sovereignty and distinction of the love of God in their election and salvation: and this is indeed a clear proof that the love of God to his people is entirely free from all motives and conditions in them, being before they had done either good or evil; and therefore did not arise from any goodness in them, nor from their love to him nor from any good works done by them: the choice of persons to everlasting life, the fruit of this love, is denied to be of works, and is ascribed to grace; it passed before any were wrought; and what are done by the best of men are the effects of it; and the persons chosen or passed by were in an equal state when both were done; which appears by this instance: and by which also it is manifest that the love of God to men is distinguishing; it is not alike to all men; there is a peculiar favour he bears to own people; which is evident by the choice of some, and not others; by the redemption of them out of every kindred, tongue, people, and nation; by the effectual calling of them out of the world; by the application of the blessings of grace unto them; and by bestowing eternal life on them: and it may be further observed, that the objects of God's love have not always the knowledge of it; indeed they have no knowledge of it before conversion, which is the open time of love; and after conversion they have not always distinct and appropriating views of it; only when God is pleased to come and manifest it unto them.
Malachi 1:3
Ver. 3. And I hated Esau,.... Or, "rejected" him, as the Targum; did not love him as Jacob: this was a negative, not positive hatred; it is true of him, personally considered; not only by taking away the birthright and blessing from him, which he despised; but by denying him his special grace, leaving him in his sins, and to his lusts, so that he became a profane person; shared not in the grace of God here, and had no part in the eternal inheritance with the saints in light; and likewise it is true of his posterity, as the following instances show:
and laid his mountains and his heritage waste; which, according to Grotius, was done by Nebuchadnezzar, five years after the captivity of the Jews, in fulfilment of the prophecy of Jeremiah, Jer 49:7 but this was done by the Nabatheans {n}: Mount Seir was the famous mountain that Esau dwelt in, Ge 36:8 there might be more in his country; or this might have many tops, and therefore called "mountains"; and to this account of the waste and desolate state of this country agrees what is at present related of it, by a late traveller {o} in those parts:
"if (says he) we leave Palestine and Egypt behind us, and pursue our physical observations into the land of Edom, we shall be presented with a variety of prospects, quite different from those we have lately met with in the land of Canaan, or in the field of Zoan; for we cannot here be entertained with pastures clothed with flocks, or with valleys standing thick with corn, or with brooks of water, or fountains, or depths that spring out of valleys and hills, De 8:7 here is no place of seed, or of figs, or of vines, or pomegranates, Nu 20:5 but the whole is an "evil place", a lonesome desolate wilderness; no otherwise diversified than by plains covered with sand, and by mountains made up of naked rocks and precipices, Mal 1:3 neither is this country ever (unless sometimes at the equinoxes) refreshed with rain; but the few hardy vegetables it produces are stunted by a perpetual drought; and the nourishment which the dews contribute to them in the night, is sufficiently impaired by the powerful heat of the sun in the day:''
Though this country seems to have been originally more fruitful, and better cultivated, as may be concluded from Ge 27:39 but is become so through the judgments of God upon it:
for the dragons of the wilderness; so called to distinguish them from sea dragons, or the dragon fish; such as whales and crocodiles, which are sometimes expressed by the same word here used, Ge 1:21 and these land dragons are no other than serpents of an enormous size. In the they used to be distinguished into three sorts; such as were found in the mountains; such as were bred in caves, or in the flat country; and such as were found in fens and marshes. The first is the largest of all, and are covered with scales as resplendent as polished gold; these have a kind of beard hanging from their lower jaw; their eyebrows large, and very exactly arched; their aspect the most frightful that can be imagined; and their cry loud and shrill; their crest of a bright yellow; and a protuberance on their heads of the colour of a burning coal. Those of the flat country differ from the former in nothing but having their scales of a silver colour, and in their frequenting rivers, to which the former never come. Those that live in marshes and fens are of a dark colour, approaching to a black, move slowly, have no crest, or any rising on their heads {p}; these creatures commonly inhabit desert places. So Diodorus Siculus {q}, speaking of Ethiopia, says, it is reported that various kinds of serpents, and of an incredible size, are seen near the desert, had in places inhabited by wild beasts; and Aelianus {r} describes the dragon as dwelling in woods, and living on poisonous herbs; and preferring a desolate place to cities, and the habitations of men; and when in Scripture it is predicted of countries and cities that they shall become desolate, it is usually observed, that they shall be the dwelling places of dragons, as in
Isa 13:22 so here it is foretold that it should be the case of Edom, as it has been, and still continues to be, as appears from the above traveller {s}; who, passing through some part of this country, says of it,
"vipers, especially in the wilderness of Sin, which might be very properly called "the inheritance of dragons", were very dangerous and troublesome; not only our camels, but the Arabs who attended them, running every moment the risk of being bitten;''
so that, according to the prediction, it is now a place for such creatures. A learned Jew {t} is of opinion, that not serpents, but jackals, are here meant, which are a sort of wild howling beasts, that live abroad in desolate places; See Gill on "Mic 1:8" but whether they be the one, or the other, it makes for the same purpose, to denote what a desert place Edom would become; since it should be inhabited by such creatures to dwell in, which denotes the utter desolation made. So the Targum renders it, "into the wasteness of the desert"; or into a waste desert, where none but such sort of animals inhabit. The Septuagint and Syriac versions render it, "into the houses", or "cottages, of the desert": and now, though this was the case of Judea, that it was left desolate, yet it was but for a while; at the end of seventy years the Jews returned to their own land, and dwelt in it; but so did not the Edomites, as appears by the following words; which shows the regard God had to the posterity of Jacob, and not to the posterity of Esau.
{n} See Prideanx's Connexion, par. 2. B. 3. p. 199. {o} Dr. Shaw's Travels, p. 438. Ed. 2. {p} Harris's Voyages and Travels, vol. 1. p. 474. {q} Bibliothec. l. 3. p. 169. {r} De Animal. l. 6. c. 63. {s} Dr. Shaw Travels, p. 448. Ed. 2. {t} Tanchum apud Pocock in loc.
Malachi 1:4
Ver. 4. Whereas saith, We are impoverished,.... Or the Idumeans, as the Targum; the posterity of Esau, who acknowledge themselves greatly reduced by the desolations made in their country, cities, towns, and houses, being plundered of all their valuable things. Kimchi interprets it, if the congregation of Edom should say, though we are become poor and low, and our land is laid waste:
but we will return; being now become rich, as the Targum adds; that is, as Jarchi explains it, with the spoils of Jerusalem:
and build the desolate places: as Israel did, as Kimchi observes, when they returned from their captivity; and so the Edomites hoped to do the same:
thus saith the Lord of hosts, They shall build, but I will throw down; they attempted to build again their cities and towns, but could not succeed, God was against them:
and they shall call them; or, "they shall be called" {u}; this shall be the name they, shall go by among men, by way of proverb and reproach:
The border of wickedness; a wicked kingdom and nation, from one end to the other; this shall be said of them, as the reason of their utter and perpetual desolation:
and, The people against whom the Lord hath indignation for ever; not for seventy years only, as against the Jews, Zec 1:12, but forever; and these are now no more a people; they are utterly extinct; their name and nation are lost; there is not the least appearance of them; when the Jews, though they are scattered about in the world, yet they are still a people, and distinct from all others.
{u} Mhl warqw "et vocabuntur", V. L. Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Drusius, Grotius.
Malachi 1:5
Ver. 5. And your eyes shall see,.... The destruction of the Edomites, and their fruitless attempts to rebuild their desolate places; and the difference between them and the Israelites, who were returned to their own land, and inherited it, when they could not; and the love of God to the one, and his hatred of the other:
and ye shall say, The Lord will be magnified from the border of Israel; Aben Ezra interprets it, ye that dwelt in the border of Israel shall say, the Lord shall be magnified, or let him be magnified; let greatness and glory be ascribed to him for what he has done: or, as Kimchi, give him praise and greatness because you are dwelling in your border, and their border is desolate; and your border is called the border of Israel, but theirs the border of wickedness; and so the Targum,
"let the glory of the Lord be multiplied, because he hath enlarged the border of Israel;''
and, according to Jarchi, the sense is, he shall show his greatness from our border, to make it known that we are his people: all show and own that God had loved them more than others, and therefore they ought to have honoured and obeyed him, in which they were deficient, and so ungrateful.
Malachi 1:6
Ver. 6. A son honoureth [his] father, and a servant his master,.... Or, "will honour", or "should honour"; it is their duty to do so, both according to the laws of God and man; and so the Targum,
"lo concerning a son it is said (or commanded) that be should honour his father; and of a servant, that he should fear (or show reverence) before his master;''
see Ex 20:12:
if then I [be] a Father; as he was the Father of his divine and eternal Son; the Father of spirits, angels, and the souls of men; the Father of all men by creation; and the Father of all mercies to them in providence, as he was to Israel; and, besides, was their Father by national adoption, as he was not to other people; and to many of them stood in this relation by special adopting grace:
where [is] mine honour? there is an honour due to God on account of this relation; which should be shown by loving him, trusting in him, calling upon him, imitating and obeying him, and by making use of what he has given for his glory; he is to be honoured in heart and life, by words and actions, and with our substance. This question suggests, that he had not the honour given him, which belonged unto him:
and if I [be] a master; the word is in the plural number, and may be understood of Jehovah, Father, Son, and Spirit; though the first Person seems rather designed, who stands in this relation to Christ, as Mediator; to the angels, his ministering spirits; to the ministers of the Gospel, and to all the saints; and indeed to all men, and particularly to the Israelites; as appeared by the special laws and commands he enjoined them, and by his special government, protection, and care of them:
where [is] my fear? fear and reverence are due to the Lord from his people, considered in such a relation to them; not a slavish fear of wrath and punishment; but a godly filial fear, which is influenced by the goodness of God, and appears in a carefulness not to offend him, and by the performance of all religious worship, both private and public; and in this not only natural men, but professors of religion, and even God's own people, are wanting; yea, those that should set examples to others, as men in public office, and of a public character, as follows:
saith the Lord of hosts unto you, O priests, that despise my name; for what is before said is not only said to the people in general; but to the priests in particular, who ought to have honoured and feared the Lord; and yet they despised his name, or made it contemptible; by not paying that regard to his authority, as a Father and master, they ought; by neglecting his worship, and not taking that care of offerings and sacrifices as became them:
and ye say, Wherein have we despised thy name? as if they were entirely innocent and guiltless.
Malachi 1:7
Ver. 7. Ye offer polluted bread upon mine altar,.... Which some understand of the shewbread, mention being afterwards made of a "table", as Jerom; who observes that it was made of wheat, which the priests themselves sowed, reaped, ground, and baked, and so could take what they would out of it: as for their sowing it, it does not seem likely that they should be employed in such service, whatever may be said for their reaping; since the sheaf of the first fruits was reaped by persons deputed from the sanhedrim {w}; though of the reaping of that for the shewbread, I find no mention made; but as for grinding, sifting, kneading, and making it into loaves, and baking it, and taking it out of the oven, and putting it upon the table of shewbread, all this was the work of the priests {x}; and those of the house of Garmu {y} were appointed over that work: now, this bread might be said to be polluted, when they set upon the table such as was not made of fine wheat flour, and had not pure frankincense put upon or by each row, as the law required, Le 24:5 nor is it any material objection to this sense, that it is an altar, and not a table, on which this bread was offered; since, as the altar is called a table, Eze 41:22, as this is in a following clause, the table may be called an altar; though it may be observed, that the shewbread is never said to be offered, but to be set, or put upon the table: indeed the burning of the frankincense set by it is called an offering made by fire unto the Lord, Le 24:7 wherefore others interpret this of the daily meat offering, which went along with the daily sacrifice of the lambs, and part of which was burnt on the altar, Ex 29:40 or rather this designs sacrifice in general, sometimes called "bread", Le 3:11 and so the Targum here,
"ye offer upon my altar an abominable offering;''
such as had blemishes in them, were blind or lame, as after mentioned; and had not the requisites of a sacrifice in them; or were offered not in a right manner, or by bad men, and with a wicked mind:
and ye say, Wherein have we polluted thee? thy bread offering or altar; as if their offerings were pure, and they themselves, and their consciences pure from sin. The answer is,
In that ye say, The table of the Lord is contemptible; either the shewbread table, which yet was covered with gold, and all the vessels of it made of gold; or the altar, as in Eze 41:22 their actions spoke so loud, and declared that the table or altar of the Lord was a contemptible thing, since they cared not what was offered upon it: or the reason why it was had in contempt, as some think, was because there was not that holiness in the second temple as in the first: or, as Abarbinel and Kimchi say, because of the fat and the blood which were offered on the altar, which they esteemed contemptible things; not observing the end for which the Lord commanded them to be offered.
{w} Misn. Menachot, c. 10. sect. 3. {x} Maimon. Hilchot Tamidin, c. 5. sect. 6. {y} Misn. Shekalim, c. 5. sect. 1.
Malachi 1:8
Ver. 8. And if ye offer the blind for sacrifice, [is it] not evil?.... Certainly it is, according to the law in Le 22:22 or, as Kimchi interprets it, when they bring to you a lamb that is blind for sacrifice to offer it up, ye say, this is not evil; but it is good to offer it up, because the table is contemptible. The sense is, that, however evil this may be in itself, according to them it was good enough to be offered up upon the altar; which proves that they despised the name of the Lord, offered polluted bread or sacrifice on his altar, and had his table in contempt:
and if ye offer the lame and sick, [is it] not evil? verily it is, by the law of God, which forbids the offering of such things, Le 22:21 this was always observed, in all sacrifices under the law, that they were perfect, and without any blemish, whether of the flock, or of the herd; and this was strictly observed, even by the Heathens themselves: so Achilles, in Homer {a}, speaks of the perfect lambs and goats they offered in sacrifice; and particularly they were not to be lame, or to halt; such were reckoned choice and excellent sacrifices, which were larger and better fed than others; and which were not lame, nor diseased, nor sickly; for things future could not be known, they say, but from a sound victim {b}; for they pretended to have knowledge of them, by the entrails of the sacrifices. So Pliny {c} observes, that this is to be remarked, that calves brought to the altar on men's shoulders are not to be sacrificed; nor are the gods appeased by one that halts; in short, it is said {d}, whatever is not perfect and sound is not to be offered to them; and, besides these here mentioned in the text, there were many others, which the Jews especially observed, which rendered creatures unfit for sacrifice. Maimonides {e} reckons up no less than fifty blemishes, by reason of which the priests under the law might not offer a creature for sacrifice: no doubt but the laws of Moses concerning this matter had a respect to the pure, perfect, and spotless sacrifice of Christ, which the legal ones were typical of; and teach us this lesson, that, without a complete sacrifice, no atonement or satisfaction for sin could be made: or, it is not evil in your eyes, as Aben Ezra glosses it; which is the same as before:
offer it now unto thy governor; to Zerubbabel, who was governor of Judea at this time, Hag 1:1 for they had no king. The meaning is, offer a lamb or any other creature that is blind, sick, and lame; make a present of it to him that had the government of them; make trial this way, and see how acceptable it would be to him:
will he be pleased with thee, or accept thy person? saith the Lord of hosts; will he thank thee for it, or have any respect to thee on account of it? but, on the contrary, will he not resent it as an affront to him? and if so it would be with an earthly prince, how can it be thought that to offer the blind, lame, and sick, should be acceptable to the King of kings, and Lord of lords?
{a} Iliad. I. 1. 66. {b} Alex. ab Alex. Genial. Dier. l. 3. c. 12. {c} Nat. Hist. l. 8. c. 45. {d} Scholia in Aristoph. Acharn. Act 3. Scen. 3. p. 409. {e} Hilchot Biath Hamikdash, c. 7. sect. 1. &c.
Malachi 1:9
Ver. 9. And now, I pray you, beseech God that he will be gracious unto us,.... These are the words of the prophet to the priests; and are spoken either seriously, exhorting them to that part of their office which lay in interceding for the people that God would be gracious to them, and forgive their sins; and the rather, inasmuch as they had been the means of their sin, and accessary to it, who ought to have reproved them for bringing such offerings, and should have refused to offer them for them; or otherwise, if they did not do this, they could not expect that God would accept their persons, and their offerings: or else ironically, now you have offered such sacrifices to the Lord, as the blind, the lame, and sick, go and intercede for the people; pray that their sins may be forgiven them, and that the curse may be removed from them, and see how you will succeed:
this hath been by your means; that such sacrifices were offered up; they indulged the people in such practices, and encouraged them; the fault was theirs; or this curse, as Kimchi explains it, from Mal 1:14:
will he regard your persons? saith the Lord of hosts; can you ever imagine that God will have any respect to your persons or prayers, when you have acted so vile a part, and been the cause of so much sin and evil? no, he will not, as is asserted in the following verse Mal 1:10.
Malachi 1:10
Ver. 10. Who [is there] even among you that would shut the doors [for nought]?.... Either of the temple, as the Targum and Jarchi; for at each of the gates of the temple there were porters appointed in David's time, 1Ch 26:1 and who were paid for their service: or of the court, as Kimchi; the court of the priests where the offerings were brought. The words "for nought" are not, in the original text, at the end of this clause, but at the end of the next; and are by some referred to both; and by others restrained to the latter; and who give this as the sense of the words, "who is there", or "would there were any among you?" {f} any good man that would shut the doors of the temple, that so a man might not bring an abominable offering; intimating, that the priests or Levites however, who were porters, ought to shut the doors against such persons; and this way go Jarchi, Kimchi, and Abarbinel; to which the Chaldee paraphrase inclines; which is,
"who is there among you that will shut the door of the house of my sanctuary, that ye may not offer on mine altar an abominable sacrifice?''
but the same writers, out of an ancient book called Torath Cohanim, observe a sense that agrees with ours,
"a man says to his friend, shut this door for me, he desires nothing for it; light me this candle, he asks no reward for it; but as for you, who is there among you that will shut my doors for nought? or kindle a fire on mine altar for nought? and how much less will ye do freely those things which used to be done for reward? therefore I have no pleasure in you.''
There were four and twenty porters to open and shut the doors of the mountain of the house, or the temple, and the court of women in the daytime; six on the east side; four on the north; four on the south; at Asuppim two and two, four in all; four on the west, and two at Parbar {g}: here they attended in the daytime, to keep the place pure and peaceable; and there seems to have been one over all the rest, whose business was to see that the doors at evening were shut by them: in the Misnah {h} we are told that Ben Geber was appointed over the shutting of the gates, i.e. of the temple; and at night there were four and twenty guards also that kept watch; the priests kept guard in three places; in the room "abtines", in the room "nitsots", and in the fire room; and one and twenty Levites; five at the five gates of the mountain of the house, or the compass of the temple; four at the four corners within; five at the five gates of the court; and four at its four corners without; one at the chamber "Corban"; one at the chamber over against the vail; and another behind the most holy place; and there was one that was called the man of the mountain of the house, who every night went through every ward with torches burning before him; and he had power to beat those he found asleep in their watch, and to burn their garments {i}, to which the allusion is, Re 16:15, and these guards, as Bartenora {k} observes, were not on account of thieves and robbers, but for the honour of the house; and these, neither the one by day, nor the other by night, did their work for nought, but had a maintenance allowed them for it:
neither do ye kindle fire upon mine altar for nought: and this was done every morning, for though, as one of the Jewish writers says {l}, fire came down, from heaven, it was ordered that they should bring of common fire; and there were three piles or rows of fire made every day upon the altar; the first was a large one, on which they offered the daily sacrifice, with the rest of the offerings; the second was on the side of it, a little one, from whence they took fire in the censer to burn incense every day; the third had no other use for it but to confirm the command concerning fire; as it is said, "the fire shall ever be burning", Le 6:13 {m} and this fire was kindled to burn the sacrifices, the daily sacrifice, and other burnt offerings, for which they were paid out of the tithes, and other oblations; see 1Co 9:13 this was an aggravation of their negligence and carelessness about what offerings were brought and sacrificed; seeing they were so well taken care of, and such a sufficient maintenance provided for them; so that they did not the least piece of service in the temple but they were fully rewarded for it; even not so much as to shut a door, or kindle a fire; and therefore it is no wonder their conduct should be resented, as follows:
I have no pleasure in you, saith the Lord of hosts; neither in your persons, nor in your offerings:
neither will I accept an offering at your hand: the "minchah" or meat offering, any meat offering, particularly that which was offered morning and evening with the daily sacrifice, Ex 29:40 and it is sometimes used particularly for the evening meat offering,
2Ki 16:15 or rather, "a wheat" or "bread offering"; since this offering was made of fine flour, with oil poured upon it, and frankincense put upon that, Le 2:1 hence mention is made of "incense" in the next verse Mal 1:11; and it was either baked in an oven, or fried in a pan; and either way, when it was brought to the priest, it was burnt on the altar, and was an offering by fire to the Lord, and of a sweet savour to him, when rightly performed; and was a figure of the sacrifice of Christ, which is of a sweet smelling savour to God; and this passage respects Gospel times, as appears from the following verse Mal 1:11, when Christ's sacrifice would be offered up, and so the oblation or meat offering made to cease, Da 9:27 hence God would not accept of it any more; or else because not rightly offered, as it was not when any leaven was mixed with it, or that and honey were burnt with it; signifying it should be offered with sincerity, and without hypocrisy, and other carnal lusts; and indeed no legal sacrifices were acceptable to God but such as were offered up in the faith of Christ, and with a view to his sacrifice, without trusting to, and depending upon, the outward offering, as hypocrites and carnal persons did: wherefore to this is opposed a pure "minchah" or meat offering in the next verse Mal 1:11; which designs spiritual sacrifices, such as are now offered up under the Gospel dispensation; when offering and sacrifice of a ceremonial kind God desires not; he will have no more offered up; he takes no pleasure in them; they are not acceptable to him, being superseded by the sacrifice of his Son, they were types of; see Ps 40:6 and agreeably to which passages the words may be understood, as expressing the Lord's rejection of legal sacrifices in general among the Jews, which he would have no longer continued than till the Messiah came; by whose sufferings and death the daily sacrifice was caused to cease, Da 9:27 when sacrifices of another kind should be offered up in the Gentile world, through every part of it, as in the following verse Mal 1:11.
{f} Mkb Mg ym "utinam vestrum aliquis", Gataker, Drusius. {g} Kimchi in 1 Chron. xxvi. 1. {h} Shekalim, c. 5. sect. 1. {i} Misn. Middot, c. 1. sect. 1, 2. {k} In Misn. ib. {l} Baal Hatturim in Lev. vi. 13. {m} Maimon. Hilchot Tamidin, c. 2. sect. 4.
Malachi 1:11
Ver. 11. For from the rising of the sun even unto the going down of the same,.... From east to west, which is all habitable; not so north and south, as Kimchi observes, the extremes of which are not habitable. Abarbinel thinks that m in xrzmm is causal; and that the sense is, because of the motion of the sun in rising and setting, the Gentiles acknowledge God to be the first mover and cause of all things; and who, though they worship the host of heaven, yet ultimately direct their worship to the supreme Being, the Cause of causes; and supposes this to be a reproof of the priests, who might have learnt better even of the very Heathens; but the former is to the true sense, which declares the large extent of true spiritual worship in the Gentile world:
my name [shall be] great among the Gentiles; through the preaching of the Gospel, attended with the spirit and power of God to the conversion of many; whereby he himself is made known, and the perfections of his nature, and his several names, and particularly that of the God and Father of our Lord Jesus; who, as such, is called upon, and greatness and glory are ascribed unto him for the gift of his Son, and the mission of him into the world, to be the Saviour of Gentiles as well as of Jews:
and in every place incense [shall be] offered unto my name; some Jewish writers understand this of Israelites, the disciples of the wise men, studying in the law, and putting up their evening prayers to God, in every place where they live among the Gentiles; which are as acceptable to God as if they offered incense, and a pure offering; this way goes Jarchi, to which agrees the Targum; and this sense is given in the Talmud {n}, and other writings of theirs; but Aben Ezra, Kimchi, and Abarbinel, interpret it of the Gentiles, though in different ways, and foreign from the sense of the text; which is, that not in Jerusalem the worship of God should be as formerly, but in all places in the Gentile world, and where particularly prayer should be made to God; see Joh 4:20 comparable to incense for its fervency, fragrancy, and gratefulness, Ps 141:2:
and a pure offering; meaning either the Gentiles themselves, their souls and bodies, Isa 66:20 or their sacrifices of praise, good works, and alms deeds Heb 13:15 which, though imperfect, and not free from sin, may be said to be "pure", proceeding from a pure heart, sprinkled by the blood of Christ, and offered in a pure and spiritual manner, and through the pure incense of Christ's mediation:
for my name [shall be] great among; the heathen, saith the Lord of hosts; which is repeated for the certainty of it.
{n} T. Bab. Menachot, fol. 110. 1. Tanchuma apud Abarbinel in loc.
Malachi 1:12
Ver. 12. But ye have profaned it,.... That is, the name of the Lord, which they are said to despise, Mal 1:6 and pollute, Mal 1:7 and is a reason why they and their offerings were rejected: and that they profaned the name of the Lord appears by this,
in that ye say, The table of the Lord [is] polluted: the same with "contemptible", Mal 1:7 as Kimchi observes;
See Gill on "Mal 1:7":
and the fruit thereof, [even] his meat is contemptible; the word for fruit {o} sometimes is used for speech, the fruit of the lips,
Isa 57:19 and taken in this sense here, as it is by some, may be understood either of the word of God, which commanded such and such sacrifices to be offered up upon the altar, and was despised, so Abarbinel: or the word of the priests, who were continually saying that what was offered up on the altar was contemptible, even the food which they ate of; so Jarchi and Kimchi. "Fruit" and "meat" seem to signify one and the same thing, and design the fruit and meat of the altar; either that which belonged to the Lord, the fat and the blood, which were offered to him, and were reckoned contemptible; or that which fell to the share of the priests, which they thought mean and worthless. Cocceius interprets this of Christ the Branch of the Lord, and fruit of the earth, Isa 4:2 whose meat it was to do the will of him that sent him, and was despised and rejected by the Jews; and which was the reason of God's casting them off, and taking in the Gentiles.
{o} wbyn "et verbum ejus", Pagninus, Munster; "sermo ejus, [vel] eorum", Vatablus; so Ben Melech.
Malachi 1:13
Ver. 13. Ye said also, Behold, what a weariness [is it]?.... These are either the words of the priests, saying what a wearisome and fatiguing business the temple service was to them, for which they thought they were poorly paid; such as slaying the sacrifices; removing the ashes from the altar; putting the wood in order; kindling the fire, and laying the sacrifice on it: or of the people that brought the sacrifice, who, when they brought a lamb upon their shoulders, and laid it down, said, how weary are we with bringing it, suggesting it was so fat and fleshy; so Kimchi and Abarbinel, to which sense the Targum seems to agree; which paraphrases it,
"but if ye say, lo, what we have brought is from our labour;''
and so the Syriac version, "and ye say, this is from our labour"; and the Vulgate Latin version, "and ye say, lo, from labour"; and the Septuagint version, "and ye say, these are from affliction"; meaning that what they brought was with great toil and labour, out of great poverty, misery, and affliction:
and ye have snuffed at it, saith the Lord of hosts; or, "blown it" {p}; filled it with wind, that it might seem fat and fleshy, when it was poor and lean; so Abarbinel and Abendana: or ye have puffed, and panted, and blown, as persons weary with bringing such a heavy lamb, when it was so poor and light, that, if it was blown at, it would fall to the ground; so R. Joseph Kimchi: or ye have puffed at it, thrown it upon the ground by way of contempt; so David Kimchi: or, "ye have grieved him" {q}; the owner of the lamb, from whom they stole it; which sense is mentioned by Kimchi and Ben Melech; taking the word rendered "torn", in the next clause, for that which was "stolen". Jarchi says this is one of the eighteen words corrected by the scribes; and that instead of wtwa, "it", it should be read ytwa, "me": and the whole rendered, "and ye have grieved me"; the Lord, by bringing such sacrifices, and complaining of weariness, and by their hypocrisy and deceitfulness. Cocceius renders the words, "ye have made him to expire"; meaning the Messiah, whom the Jews put to death:
and ye have brought that which was torn, and the lame, and the sick; See Gill on "Mal 1:8" and if the first word is rendered "stolen", as it may, this offering was an abomination to the Lord,
Isa 61:8:
thus ye brought an offering; such an one as it was: or a "minchah", a meat offering, along with these abominable ones:
should I accept this of your hands? saith the Lord; which, when offered to a civil governor, would not be acceptable, Mal 1:8 and when contrary to the express law of God.
{p} wtwa Mtxphw "et efflastis illam", Montanus; "anheli isto estis", Tigurine version; "exsufflare possetis", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, "difflatis", Drusius; "sufflavistis illud", Burkius. {q} "Et contristastis illum"; so some in Vatablus.
Malachi 1:14
Ver. 14. But cursed be the deceiver,.... A cunning, crafty, subtle man, who thinks and contrives, speaks and acts, in a very artful and deceiving manner; though some derive the word from lky, "to be able"; and so the Septuagint and Arabic versions render it, "who is able"; to bring a proper offering, a perfect lamb, as it follows:
which hath in his flock a male; without spot and blemish, as the law requires:
and voweth and sacrificeth to the Lord a corrupt thing; that was a female, or had blemishes in it; for the law required what was perfect and without a blemish for a vow; what was superfluous or deficient in its parts might do for a freewill offering, but not for a vow,
Le 22:18 wherefore such a man must be accursed, and such conduct must be highly resented by the Lord; had he it not in his power to do better, it might be excusable; but then it would be better not to have vowed at all; but to vow a sacrifice to the Lord, and deal deceitfully with him, when he could have brought an offering agreeable to his vow, and to the law, this is aggravated wickedness:
for I [am] a great King, saith the Lord of hosts; the King of the whole world, the King of kings, and Lord of lords; and therefore to be honoured and reverenced suitable to his dignity and greatness:
and my name [is] dreadful among the heathen; because of his judgments executed among them; or rather because of his Gospel preached unto them; for this may be considered as a prophecy of what would be when the Gospel should be spread in the Gentile world; and therefore if they, when he was made known to them, would fear and reverence him; then the Israelites, to whom he had given such instances and proofs of his love, ought to have shown a greater regard unto him.
<ALIGN="CENTER"John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible.
All advantages, either as to outward circumstances,
or spiritual privileges, come from the free love of God, who makes
one to differ from another. All the evils sinners feel and fear, are the
just recompence of their crimes, while all their hopes and comforts
are from the unmerited mercy of the Lord. He chose his people that
they might be holy. If we love him, it is because he has first loved
us; yet we all are prone to undervalue the mercies of God, and to
excuse our own offences. WHBC 927.2
All advantages, either as to outward circumstances,
or spiritual privileges, come from the free love of God, who makes
one to differ from another. All the evils sinners feel and fear, are the
just recompence of their crimes, while all their hopes and comforts
are from the unmerited mercy of the Lord.
If we love him, it is because he has first loved
us; yet we all are prone to undervalue the mercies of God, and to
excuse our own offences. WHBC 927.2
Sources: Matthew Henry; Gill's Exposition; Matthew Henry Concise
Commentary
Commentary