“And now, O priests, this command is for you. If you will not listen, if you will not take it to heart to give honor to my name, says the Lᴏʀᴅ of hosts, then I will send the curse upon you and I will curse your blessings. Indeed, I have already cursed them, because you do not lay it to heart…
So shall you know that I have sent this command to you, that my covenant with Levi may stand, says the Lᴏʀᴅ of hosts. 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.
True instruction was in his mouth, and no wrong was found on his lips. He walked with me in peace and uprightness, and he turned many from iniquity. For the lips of a priest should guard knowledge, and people should seek instruction from his mouth, for he is the messenger of the Lᴏʀᴅ of hosts
Malachi closes out the era before Jesus roughly 400 years later. This is God’s last plea to Israel to be His and has both the down- and upsides of His desire and our response. We are a thousand years since Moses and the first written instructions for relationship with God and yet God’s people still do not ‘get’ it. Speaking to the priests, those expected to be most careful in attentiveness to the LORD,
“And now, O priests, this command is for you. If you will not listen, if you will not take it to heart to give honor to my name, says the Lᴏʀᴅ of hosts, then I will send the curse upon you and I will curse your blessings. Indeed, I have already cursed them, because you do not lay it to heart…”
Unfair? A thousand years of pleading for closeness and yet ‘not listening’ sums up the elite. Can you imagine God’s hope, aspiration, vision for what could be? This is not some remote, misguided desire but the LORD’s active participation for generations; God reminds,
So shall you know that I have sent this command to you, that my covenant with Levi may stand, says the Lᴏʀᴅ of hosts. 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. True instruction was in his mouth, and no wrong was found on his lips. He walked with me in peace and uprightness, and he turned many from iniquity. For the lips of a priest should guard knowledge, and people should seek instruction from his mouth, for he is the messenger of the Lᴏʀᴅ of hosts 2
God’s commitment was ‘one of life and peace’ that drew from recognition and agreement of who He is such that you were able to accurately represent Him to your people. You were able in this relationship to walk with God in peace and uprightness, turning others from their sinful ways. You were able to guard the knowledge of God and others could seek the instruction of God from your heart. You were the messenger of the LORD.
Malachi ends with the promise of another messenger yet to come. God has not given up on redemption, bringing people back into relationship with Himself. There comes another messenger preparing the Way of the LORD. Maybe the story will change with the coming of the Christ. Maybe we will become a people honoring the LORD.
All Scripture references from the Blue Letter Bible, ESV
at https://www.blueletterbible.org
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version
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