Less Than the Best
The rancher was struggling with his faith in God and he was convinced that he was giving the Lord less than his best. Turning to his wife at breakfast one morning he said, “Honey, to honor the Lord I have decided to dedicate one of out two prized bulls to the Lord and therefore donate to the church all of the proceeds from the sale of the bull.”
Several days later after a violent thunderstorm swept through the ranch, the rancher walked into the ranch house downcast and depressed. His wife asked her husband what was wrong and he answered, “Honey, we won’t be able to give any money to the church because lightning struck and killed the Lords bull. But glory be, the Lord spared our bull.”
The rancher was still not giving the Lord his best, and neither were the Hebrews and their priests during the time of the prophet Malachi.
For four hundred years prior to the birth of Jesus, God had sent no prophet of any kind to speak personally for God to his chosen people. Two thousand years before Christ’s birth, God had started His holy alliance with mankind so God’s son could into the world at the appointed time. Through Abraham and his seed, Jesus, the Christ, the Anointed One, would be born and all creation would have the opportunity for eternal life through faith in Jesus.
So for sixteen hundred years, God was directly involved in the life of the nation of Israel. There were times when the nation (the people) loved and obeyed God’s moral laws and, sadly, there were many more times the nation turned its collective back on their holy benefactor. This second situation is where we find Israel when God sends Malachi for one last Godly appeal for the people to examine their hearts and all their living.
Malachi 1:6-8, 13 & 14 (the Lord speaking through Malachi), “A son honors his father, and a servant his master. If I am a father, where is the honor due me? If I am a master, where is the respect due me?” says the Lord Almighty. “It is you, O priests, who show contempt for my name.
“But you ask, ‘How have we shown contempt for your name?’
“You place defiled food on my altar.
“But you ask, ‘How have we defiled you?’
“By saying the Lord’s table is contemptible. When you bring blind animals for sacrifice, is that not wrong? When you sacrifice crippled or diseased animals, is that not wrong? Try offering them to your governor! Would he be pleased with you? Would he accept you?” says the Lord Almighty.
“And you say, ‘What a burden!’ and you sniff at it contemptuously,” says the Lord Almighty.
“When you bring injured, crippled or disease animals and offer them as sacrifices, should I accept them from your hands?” says the Lord.
“Cursed is the cheat who has an acceptable male in his flock and vows to give it, but then sacrifices a blemished animal to the Lord. For I am a great king,” says the Lord Almighty, “and my name is to be feared among the nations.”
Next time: What giving our best to God says about our hearts, considered, in the conclusion to “Less than the Best.”
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Chris Voss is a pastor at First Christian Church, 317 S. Main, Donna.