Malaquias 2
David Guzik · Citado em PreceptAustin
Malaquias 2
Guzik - Sacrificed animals still had excrement in their systems, and God said this should be burned outside the sanctuary (Exodus 29:14). Here, God says He will “rub their noses in it,” so that they will have to be taken outside the sanctuary. Albert
Malaquias 2
Guzik says "The Lord hoped that this would warn the priests back to a proper respect of His covenant." Criswell - God's judgment on the priests would convince them of His intention of restoring the priesthood to faithfulness to His covenant with Levi. The nature of this covenant is elaborated in Mal 2:5-7. Disciple's Study Bible - God's intention even in chastising was to renew the solemn oath and purpose He had with Israel. Levi, the representative name for the priestly tribe which acted as mediator before God, provided the true teaching and honest interpretation of God's will for His people. Revealed teaching seeks to turn people from sin to God. The agent of God's revelation is expected to live a life of wholeness and moral uprightness. The LORD of hosts - "The quotation formula says the Lord of hosts serves to mark the conclusion of the first subsection of the paragraph 2.1–9." (A handbook on Malachi. UBS handbook series). Malachi 2:5 "My covenant with him was one of life and peace, and I gave them to him as an object of reverence; so he revered Me and stood in awe of My name.: (covenant - Nu 3:45 8:15 16:9,10 18:8-24 Nu 25:11-13 Dt 33:8-10 Ps 106:30-31 Eze 34:25 37:26) NET Malachi 2:5 "My covenant with him was designed to bring life and peace. I gave its statutes to him to fill him with awe, and he indeed revered me and stood in awe before me. My covenant - To what covenant does this refer because there is no direct mention of a covenant in the Pentateuch? Mal 2:4 refers to the covenant with Levi, so this appears to refer to Levi. John MacArthur (MacArthur Study Bible)agrees that the covenant was "The relationship of God to the priesthood (as) clearly set forth in the Levitical covenant (Nu 3:44–48; 18:8–24; Dt 33:8–11)." Others feel the specific covenant could refer to that made with Phinehas in Numbers 25... Num 25:11 “Phinehas the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, has turned away My wrath from the sons of Israel, in that he was jealous with My jealousy among them, so that I did not destroy the sons of Israel in My jealousy. 12 “Therefore say, ‘Behold, I give him My covenant of peace;13 and it shall be for him and his descendants after him, a covenant of a perpetual priesthood, because he was jealous for his God, and made atonement for the sons of Israel.’” Notice that in Mal 2:5-6 he reverts from the "you" (disobedient priests) of Mal 2:4 to "him," (obedient Levitical priest), the latter being a description of what attitudes (reverence, awe of God's Name) and actions (true instruction given, righteous, upright behavior, turning back his listeners from iniquity). Life and peace - Kaiser notes that "“Life and peace” were gifts from God to obedient persons. Repeatedly Deuteronomy and Proverbs taught that these blessings were the result of a total commitment to the commandments of God (e.g., Deut. 4:40; 6:2; 30:15–20; Pr. 3:1, 2; 4:10, 22; 6:23)." Keep in mind that Malachi's descriptions of the priests ("life and peace...reverence...stood in awe") were not the way things were but the way things should have been. The priests in Malachi's day had drifted far from the godly, God honoring moorings of their Levitical predecessors. Beloved, is drifting not our natural human tendency? The church at Ephesus is a sad example, having had Paul as their teacher for 3 years (Acts 20:31) and yet after only one generation (about 30 years later) Jesus had to rebuke them declaring "But I have this against you, that you have left (active mood = speaks of the decision of one's will and thus implies an intentional, not accidental, act) your first love." (Rev 2:4) Considering that the Church is Christ's Bride, it is fascinating that the verb Jesus chose for "left" is aphiemi, which was used His day to describe someone dismissing their wife. Here, the "wife" dismisses as it were her Husband! This begs the question dear priest of God (1Pe 2:9-note, Rev 1:6-note, Rev 5:10-note) - have you drifted from those first days when you fell in love with Jesus and you sensed His continual presence and love? The world, the flesh and the devil have a way of "dissipating" our love for Jesus. Jesus gives the remedy for a tepid love, going on to command us to Remember (present imperative -Jesus commands this to be our daily practice, our virtual lifestyle - such a supernatural attitude calls for us to jettison self-effort and humbly rely on the Holy Spirit to give us the desire and the power - see Php 2:13NLT-note) therefore from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you, and will remove your lampstand out of its place–unless you repent. (Rev 2:5-note) So he revered Me - The pious Levitical priests of the past (? Levi as the prototype). Why did he revere Jehovah? Because he understood and took to heart His statues (they were an "object of reverence") which resulted in a godly, reverential fear of God (see this pattern - God's truth in Dt 6:1, an appropriate response of reverential fear in Dt 6:2), something the priests of Malachi's day sorely lacked. John Phillips gives an excellent description... The Levites of Moses' day had a belief that behaved. With their fighting faith and the courage of their convictions, they were prepared to make short work of both apathy and apostasy. The priests of Malachi's day were lineal heirs of the Levites, but their ministry had degenerated into a well-paying job with fringe benefits and social security. Professionalism in the things of God nearly always degenerates into dead orthodoxy or faith-denying liberalism. (Exploring the Minor Prophet) Malachi 2:6 "True instruction was in his mouth and unrighteousness was not found on his lips; he walked with Me in peace and uprightness, and he turned many back from iniquity.: (Instruction: Ps 37:30 Eze 44:23,24 Ho 4:6 Mt 22:16 Mk 12:14 Lk 20:21 2Ti 2:15,16 Tit 1:7-9 Rev 14:5) (Walked - Ge 5:21-24 6:9 17:1 Lk 1:6) (turned - Jer 23:22 Da 12:3 Lk 1:16,17 Ac 26:18 1Th 1:9,10 Jas 5:19,20) NET Malachi 2:6 He taught what was true; sinful words were not found on his lips. He walked with me in peace and integrity, and he turned many people away from sin. WORD, WALK & WITNESS OF A GOD FEARING PRIEST True instruction was in his mouth - Speaking of Levi. The pattern of God's Word, a godly (obedient) walk and teaching of truth is very similar to that seen in Ezra... Ezra had set his heart to study the law of the LORD, and to practice it, and to teach His statutes and ordinances in Israel. (Ezra 7:10-note) Steven