Malachi chapter 1

Where does the time go? I posted last Friday, I turned around and blinked and it is already Thursday! I used to think if I had an extra hour every day and an extra day in every week, I'd get everything done. I now realise that 25/8 just wouldn't be enough - I need 48/14 to even stand a chance of getting anything done!

Anyhow, enough of that, here's chapter 1 of Malachi, a book that is full of precious gems.

Well, if ever you thought that God was just a god of the Jews, then take another look at this chapter, because it is as clear as day that God is a god of both Jews and Gentiles. In fact, here He is making the point that the worship He was getting from the Gentiles was better than that of the Jews.

The priests were offering up animals that were blind, lame, crippled and diseased. They paid no attention to the laws of Moses that spoke of giving the first of the harvest, the firstborn, the best. God doesn't want the leftovers, the scraps, the things that we know are no good and not as valuable.

Everything, absolutely everything, we have comes from God. He created the earth, the sun, moon and stars, Jesus was there speaking the world into existence as the Holy Spirit moved across the waters (which, on an aside, shows teamwork, and the benefits of working together!). If you truly believe in the God who created everything there is around us, then doesn't He deserve the best you have to offer, because without him, what do you have that will last?

He deserves the best of:

• Our time - not a few rushed minutes here and there as we go about our daily business, work, college, school, bringing up the family and so on, or a quick prayer last thing at night before we go to sleep;
• Our money - and yes, this is a controversial subject with some choosing to tithe and others not, but either way, if we are called to give money, then we should do it as an offering to God, not begrudgingly, thinking all the time of what we could have spent the money on if only we didn't have to give to such and such;
• Our efforts - whatever we do we should do it as if we are doing it for God, with a cheerful heart. So whether we are cleaning toilets, or governing the country, or just sitting at our computers, or doing the weekly shopping, we should do it as if God is right before us (which He is anyway), and do the best possible job;
• Our worship and praise - it's not a case of turning up on Sunday morning, singing a few songs whilst our minds are busy working out what we are going to be doing later in the day, in the coming week, or thinking back on what has happened, or dwelling on our problems and concerns. How can we worship God is our minds are busy elsewhere? When we are only paying lip service to the words in the hymns/songs, when we listen to the sermon but don't hear it? And what about the rest of the week? Would others know form our behaviour that we are Christians, or are we consumed by this world and all that is in it, so that there is no difference between us and a non believer?
• Our thoughts, our behaviour - God has a direct link to each one of us and can see into our hearts, our minds. He knows exactly what we are thinking, what we have done, what we are planning on doing, He knows the past, present and future. It’s not a case of moderating our thoughts like we do our behaviour, but of allowing God, through the Holy Spirit, to change us from within so that we become more like Jesus, and gradually, we will have no need to censor our thoughts, our behaviour, because it will be second nature to do as God wills. God wants the very best for us, is He is not going to do anything to us that will harm us.

But the Israelites here were doing the exact opposite of what God wanted. They were paying lip service to worship, just turning up because it was expected, or it was the time for this festival, that event. They sacrificed the animals they could spare, the runt of the litter, the damaged goods, and gave offerings of what was left over. The priests, the leaders, condoned this behaviour, allowing diseased and crippled animals to be sacrificed, yet they knew the Law and how the animals were supposed to be without blemish, without fault. Their actions led the people to believe that God was OK with all this, that he found their sacrifice, any sacrifice, pleasing. But what sacrifice is it when you give an animal that is good for nothing, or the poorest quality grain because you are keeping the best to sow?

This was in direct contrast to other nations, where God was worshipped wholeheartedly, He was given the honour and praise that is His right, and from the rising to the setting of the sun, His name was great amongst the nations. And reading this again, I don't think this is necessarily in Malachi's time either that the comparison was made between the worship of the Jews and that of the Gentiles. I think this applies just as much today as then, because God is a god of the past, present and future, and time holds no bars for Him.