Useless Fires10/14/2024 ![]() Malachi 1:10 ~ “Oh that there were one among you who would shut the doors, that you might not kindle fire on my altar in vain! I have no pleasure in you, says the LORD of hosts, and I will not accept an offering from your hand.” In the days of Malachi the prophet, the worship of the LORD had degenerated into mere rote tradition and empty obligation. The priests who were to be the leaders of worship for the nation of Israel despised the name of God (see Malachi 1:6). They took to their duties with nothing more than a perfunctory disposition to the requirements set down by the LORD. These descendants of Levi did not hold to the same awe and fear held by their predecessor. Malachi 2:5 speaks of Levi, “My covenant with him was one of life and peace, and I gave them to him. It was a covenant of fear, and he feared me. He stood in awe of my name.” Yet, in the company of the priests during the days of Malachi, there was none who truly feared the LORD nor revered His name. They had fallen as described in Isaiah 29:13, “And the LORD said: ‘Because this people draw near with their mouth and honor me with their lips, while their hearts are far from me.’” As we consider our text today, we read that God desired that there would be, “one among you who would shut the doors.” Who would this “one” be? Who would have the courage to stand and proclaim that the fires on the altar are useless, that there is no true worship happening in the temple? God had called for just one—a solitary soul who feared the LORD more than he feared the temple priests. Jeremiah 5:31 states, “the prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests rule at their direction; my people love to have it so, but what will you do when the end comes?” If those who proclaim God’s word, and those who uphold God’s law, and the people themselves who say they are God’s people have no interest in God, who would there be to “shut the doors?” My dear friends, four hundred years after this, One would come and demand God’s honor in His temple—that One is Jesus. John 2:15 reads, “And making a whip of cords, he drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and oxen. And he poured out the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables.” We continue in our text today and read God’s rebuke, “that you might not kindle fire on my altar in vain!” The fire was for the sacrifice, the burnt offering given by the people in faithfulness to the LORD. How could the people expect that the sacrifice representing the atonement for sin was acceptable to God when it was offered with such faithless disregard for the Almighty? The fires of the altar were useless because the sacrifice was worthless. God’s rebuke continues with this chastisement, “I have no pleasure in you, says the LORD of hosts, and I will not accept an offering from your hand.” We are instructed to find out what pleases the LORD. Ephesians 5:10 says, “and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord.” What a devastating expression from God to man when He declares that He has no pleasure in us. There may be some who argue that because the time of sacrifice is past, that the LORD Jesus is the final sacrifice and His death on the cross was fully accepted by the Father on behalf of all who believe, then there is no need to concern ourselves with God’s approval. And thus, they may look upon this text and wonder if it has any bearing on our lives as Christians. Beloved, I would offer to you that it does. For in our text today we read of God’s displeasure with false and selfish worship. And there are many today who take it upon themselves to decide what is pleasing to the LORD. My friends, we do not have the luxury of determining what is acceptable to God. We must come back to His word and be guided by Him in our worship. I fear there are many places that God would say, “shut the doors.” Half-hearted service to Christ the King is a useless fire. Jesus proclaimed in Luke 9:23, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” This is what true devotion to Christ looks like. It is self-denial, not self-approval. It is the daily dying to self not living for self. And it is to follow in obedience the LORD not follow the path that is most convenient. The priests in the days of Malachi were lighting useless fires. Let us, instead, kindle a blaze of devotion to Christ that will burn away all pretense and bring glory and honor to His name. In His Grace, Pastor Michael
0 Comments
Your comment will be posted after it is approved.
Leave a Reply.From the Mountains to the SeaEvery step we take on this journey called life ought to be used for greater understanding. I've lived from the mountains to the sea, and this blog is my personal thoughts and observations with a desire for Biblical understanding. Welcome. Featured BookArchives
December 2024
Categories
All
|
|
© COPYRIGHT 2023. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
|