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The Lord willing, we'll return 
to Joshua next week. Tonight, I want to look at the 
sin of careless worship. I know that we looked at Malachi 
in the not-too-distant past, so this might be a bit of review 
or refresher. It is Reformation Day-ish sort 
of material. An emphasis at the time of the 
Protestant Reformation was on worship. In fact, in his tract, 
the necessity to reform the church John Calvin's primary goal, the 
first order of business, was to strive to recover purity in 
worship. And the second goal was to make 
known the way of salvation. So worship was certainly imperative 
or crucial for the reformers, and it certainly has been the 
case throughout the history of the world. God obviously has 
mandated vis-a-vis the second commandment that he takes worship 
seriously. And here in Malachi's day, they 
were not taking worship seriously. Specifically, verses 6 to 14 
deal with the issue of worship. I'll just pick up reading, however, 
in verse 1. We'll read the chapter, and then 
we'll look at verses 6 to 14. The burden of the word of the 
Lord to Israel by Malachi. I have loved you, says the Lord. 
Yet you say, in what way have you loved us? Was not Esau Jacob's 
brother, says the Lord? Yet Jacob I have loved, but Esau 
I have hated, and laid waste his mountains and his heritage 
for the jackals of the wilderness. Even though Edom has said, we 
have been impoverished, but we will return and build the desolate 
places. Thus says the Lord of hosts, 
they may build, but I will throw down. They shall be called the 
territory of wickedness and the people against whom the Lord 
will have indignation forever. Your eyes shall see and you shall 
say, the Lord is magnified beyond the border of Israel. A son honors 
his father, and a servant his master. If then I am the father, 
where is my honor? And if I am a master, where is 
my reverence, says the Lord of hosts, to you priests who despise 
my name? Yet you say, in what way have 
we despised your name? You offered defiled food on my 
altar, but say, in what way have we defiled you? By saying, the 
table of the Lord is contemptible. And when you offer the blind 
as a sacrifice, is it not evil? And when you offer the lame and 
sick, is it not evil? Offer it then to your governor. 
Would he be pleased with you? Would he accept you favorably, 
says the Lord of hosts. But now entreat God's favor that 
he may be gracious to us. While this is being done by your 
hands, will he accept you favorably, says the Lord of hosts? Who is 
there even among you who would shut the doors so that you would 
not kindle fire on my altar in vain? I have no pleasure in you, 
says the Lord of hosts, nor will I accept an offering from your 
hands. For from the rising of the sun, even to its going down, 
my name shall be great among the Gentiles. In every place, 
incense shall be offered to my name, and a pure offering. For 
my name shall be great among the nations, says the Lord of 
hosts. But you profane it, and that 
you say, the table of the Lord is defiled, and its food is contemptible. You also say, oh, what a weariness, 
and you sneer at it, says the Lord of hosts. And you bring 
the stolen, the lame, and the sick. Thus you bring an offering. Should I accept this from your 
hand, says the Lord. But cursed be the deceiver who 
has in his flock a male and takes a vow, but sacrifices to the 
Lord what is blemished. For I am a great king, says the 
Lord of hosts. And my name is to be feared among 
the nations. Amen. Well, not only the second 
commandment legislates and mandates acceptable worship unto God, 
the end of the book of Hebrews highlights this as well. In Hebrews 
chapter 12 at verse 25, the writer brings the exhortation portion 
of the letter to an end. Chapter 13 more is closing remarks 
and exhortations. In chapter 12, verse 25, He says, 
see that you do not refuse him who speaks. For if they did not 
escape who refused him who spoke on earth, much more shall we 
not escape if we turn away from him who speaks from heaven, whose 
voice then shook the earth. But now he has promised, saying, 
yet once more I shake not only the earth, but also heaven. Now 
this yet once more indicates the removal of those things that 
are being shaken as of things that are made, that the things 
which cannot be shaken may remain. Therefore, since we are receiving 
a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace by which we 
may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear, for 
our God is a consuming fire." So the emphasis in both testaments 
on the worship of God is on purity. We are to come to the Lord in 
the manner or in the way that He ordains or He prescribes. Call this the regulative principle 
of worship. We do that which is commanded 
by God Most High. but it's not enough to simply 
go through the motions, just to sing the hymns or to pray 
or to read scripture. We need to bring the heart as 
well. And that's primarily the emphasis here in the book of 
Malachi, at least in chapter one. They were going through 
the motions. They were going to the temple. 
They were bringing sacrifice or animals to offer up. The time 
that this book was written was probably the latter half or the 
latter portion of the 5th century BC, so in about 433 to 425 is 
when Malachi wrote, prophesied to the people of Israel. So the 
second temple was rebuilt by this time, so that was in place, 
it was in order, but we see that it didn't take long for them 
to fall back into patterns that were symptomatic of their life. 
prior to the destruction of the first temple or Solomon's temple. So we see here that the nature 
or the tendency of man is while we reform for a time, we tend 
to fall back into those patterns of lawlessness and heartlessness 
and that's what the prophet here is coming to condemn. You want 
to look at three things in verses 6 to 14. First, the accusation 
by God or the complaint offered by the Lord. Secondly, the response 
of the people. And thirdly, just some facts 
or some observations concerning careless worship. We ought to 
desire careful worship, not careless worship. That is what is going 
on here in Malachi. But notice first, with reference 
to God's complaint, or the accusation offered by the Lord through the 
prophet, He speaks of them failing to honor Him. So when we come 
to the Lord in a careless manner, when we do not bring the heart, 
when we do not obey Him in terms of the prescribed manner to which 
we worship, it is a failure to honor Him. That is what is at 
stake when it comes to worship. This shouldn't just be something 
that is typical or something that was required by God in Malachi's 
day, but each and every Lord's day, every Sabbath day that we 
come together, we ought to seek to honor the Lord. He gives this 
analogy in verse 6. He says, A son honors his father, 
and a servant his master. If then I am the father, where 
is my honor? And if I am a master, where is 
my reverence? I think it's here that so often 
times we lose our way as the people of God or when it comes 
to church. Church has become a place where 
my needs have to be met. Church has become a place where 
my desires have to be fulfilled. Church has become a place where 
it is so man-centered And where it is so anthropocentric, that 
means man-centered, that God is forgotten. And the primary 
emphasis in temple worship and in church worship The primary 
emphasis on the Sabbath day is the reality that we are to honor 
the Lord God Most High. That's the point of worship. We have been saved. We've been 
called out of darkness into marvelous light, according to Peter, to 
proclaim His excellencies. That is precisely what Peter 
says in 1 Peter chapter 2. In fact, you can look there, 
just so you can see it for yourselves that I'm not making this up. 
There is a purpose for which we are saved, and it is to glorify, 
to honor, and to praise the Lord. Notice in 1 Peter 2, verse 9. He says, you are a chosen generation, 
a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people. All of 
these old covenant terms, all of these terms applied to old 
covenant Israel are herein applied to new covenant Israel, the Church 
of the Lord Jesus Christ. And notice there's a purpose 
in view. That you may proclaim the praises 
of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. 
who once were not a people, but are now the people of God, who 
had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy." So working 
around, working through this text, we're called out of darkness 
into marvelous light. We once were not a people, now 
we are the people of God. We have obtained mercy. And the 
reason why we have been given these blessings and these benefits 
is not so much so that we can just sit around and say, isn't 
it wonderful to be the elect of God? No, isn't God wonderful 
for having called us out of darkness into marvelous light? reverence 
and honor and fear and acceptable worship is what the Lord God 
calls us to with reference to salvation. The specific target 
in the Lord's complaint according to Malachi 1.6 is the priests. He says, if I am a master where 
is my reverence says the Lord of hosts to you priests who despise 
my name. The whole context here beginning 
in 1.6 all the way to 2.9 is primarily an indictment against 
the priests. The idea seems to be this, that 
when the leadership has faltered, when the priesthood is not doing 
what they're supposed to be doing, then surely the people of Israel 
are not following as they ought. In other words, if they're being 
taught wrong, they are going to engage in a false worship. But having said that, they are 
not off the hook. Jesus condemns the Pharisees 
of his day. He says, let them alone, talking 
to the disciples, they are blind leaders of the blind, and if 
the blind leads the blind, both will fall. into a ditch. So even 
though the priesthood was corrupt, that does not free the people. 
The people can't say, well it's this corrupt priesthood that 
you've stationed over us, that's why we're worshiping you without 
honor and without glory and reverence and those sorts of things. Certainly 
there was a faithful remnant even in the midst of Malachi's 
day, but the people as a whole following the priesthood was 
not revering, was not honoring, was not glorifying God. And in 
fact, what is the opposite? If you're not honoring, if you're 
not revering, if you're not fearing and glorifying, the Lord says 
here it is, to despise my name. So when we come before God and 
we don't bring the heart, or we come before God in a manner 
not prescribed by Him, when we are engaged in a self-willed 
approach to God, it is not to honor Him at that point, it is 
to despise Him. Remember what Paul says with 
reference to the Lord's Supper. He basically says, I don't know 
what you all are doing, but it is not taking the Lord's Supper. 
When you come to the house of God and you manifest disunity, 
when you manifest such a breach of the oneness of the Church 
of Christ, you're not engaged in the Lord's Supper. Even though 
you're going through the motions, even though you may be playing 
church, that is not what you are doing. So in Malachi's day, 
when they brought the sacrifice and they went to the temple, 
instead of reverence and honor, it was actually to despise the 
name of God Most High. So it's a very grave or a very 
serious issue that is being dealt with here. Worship is one of 
the primary things, it is the primary thing or one of the primary 
reasons why we've been saved. God saves us from our worship 
of idols. He turns us to Himself as the 
true and living God and we are to give ourselves wholly and 
fully unto Him. So they did not honor him. Secondly, they perverted sacrifice. You see that in verses 7 and 
8, and then again in verse 12. You offer defiled food on my 
altar. Verse 8, and when you offer the 
blind as a sacrifice, Leviticus stipulated, chapter 22, verses 
17 to 25, that defective animals were not to be offered as a sacrifice. This is a no-brainer, isn't it? Sacrifice means it hurts, doesn't 
it? If there is no pain, and I don't 
mean we're cutting ourselves or anything strange like that, 
but it's just amazing to me that we've lost what sacrifice is 
all about. Sacrifice by definition costs 
us something, whether it be time, whether it be talent, whether 
it be money, whatever it may be. Sacrifice by definition has 
to cost us something. Now, when you looked out at your 
flock on the day before the Sabbath, and you saw the mangy animals, 
you probably thought, well, I can't sell them at the marketplace, 
so I'll just give them to God. That's not a sacrifice. That 
is to despise. It is to engage in an evil act. You offer defiled food on my 
altar, and when you offer the blind as a sacrifice, God stipulated, 
God mandated that you bring the best of the animals. It is not 
your prerogative to say, well, I don't want to bring the best 
of my animals, I'd rather bring the worst of my animals. What 
we are saying then is that God is deserving of what? Not our 
best, but God is deserving of our worst. When we come rolling 
out of bed at the last minute and we've got bed head and we've 
got bad breath and We're indicating to God, you know, that's all 
you get. If I was going on a date or I was going to meet some political 
figure, I'd certainly comb my hair, I'd certainly, you know, 
drag a toothbrush across my choppers, because I don't want to offend 
that person. Why don't we think that way when 
it comes to God? In Malachi's day, the way around 
giving honor and praise to God was grabbing the worst of the 
animals. Verse 12 is an amazing thing too. Verse 12, he says, 
but you profane it in that you say the table of the Lord is 
defiled and its food is contemptible. And then in verse 13, you bring 
the stolen, the lame, and the sick, thus you bring an offering. Now, to steal a sacrifice really 
undoes the whole thing. I mean, now you've compounded 
breaking the commandments exponentially. You're not only not honoring 
God vis-a-vis the second commandment, but you're also stealing from 
some person and you're breaking the Eighth Commandment. As a 
rule, as a general rule, to steal something and then to offer it 
up as a sacrifice really guts the whole concept of sacrifice. Not only does it not cost you 
anything, but you're depriving someone else of something that 
belongs to them. When you look at this, it's kind 
of amazing to see how far that a people could fall. I mean, 
it's bad enough they pick the mangy one out of the flock, but 
then on the way to the temple, they steal one. I can't imagine 
a child saying, Dad, what are you doing? I'm stealing an animal 
so that we can sacrifice it to the Lord. There's the father 
of the year in Israel for you. I mean, that guy is just a bad 
man. But this kind of thing happens 
today. It's easy to look at Malachi 
1. 6 to 14 and say, well, I would never do that. I would never 
withhold from God. I would only ever seek to give 
Him my very best. Well, what does Paul say in Romans 
12? We are to give our bodies as 
a living sacrifice. That's our rational, our reasonable, 
our spiritual service unto the Lord. In other words, God demands 
all. It is not our prerogative to 
give Him anything less than all. So the Lord God here describes 
this activity as evil. So notice in verse 6 he says 
it is to despise his name and then here in verse 8 he says, 
is it not evil? You know how many of us see the 
evil of adultery? And we should. How many of us 
see the evil of theft? Or we see the evil of murder? Or we see the evil of lying. How many of us see the evil of 
what is probably happening in many churches on a regular basis? A worship that is not prescribed 
by God and a worship that is undergone simply in an external 
fashion. That's evil. It's wretched. It's unholy. It's ungodly and 
the Lord is upset about it with reference to the people in Malachi's 
day. Notice thirdly, by way of the 
condemnation, they are bored in worship. Verse 13, you also 
say, oh, what a weariness. The idea is, I can't be bothered 
with this. It's a real pain. It's real drudgery. It's a real chore for me to undergo 
this. Does not the Lord know my time? 
is valuable. My animals are valuable. My life 
is valuable. I can't waste it, if you will, 
spending it in the house of God, giving him those hours that he 
demands on Sunday. What a weariness. I think this 
one, of all of them, probably touches closest to home in terms 
of New Covenant Christianity. Now, I grant there can be boring 
preaching. I grant there can be boring elements 
or boring circumstances that may not be the most pleasing 
thing in the world. But when the Word of God is preached 
and songs of praise are offered up to the Lord and biblical prayers 
are rendered, that shouldn't be weariness to the people of 
God. The people of God who have been bought with precious blood, 
who have the Spirit of God do not need to be entertained. They shouldn't need to be. They 
shouldn't need to be coaxed into approaching God. They shouldn't 
need to be bribed into approaching God. They shouldn't need to be 
coddled with reference to approaching God. The blood-bought child of 
God who has the Spirit of God, when those elements of biblical 
worship are undergone, they find joy in it. It's not a weariness. It's not a drag. It's not boring. It's not something that they 
can't stand. Now, when the ungodly or the 
non-Christian rolls his eyes and says, there's no way I want 
to sit through an hour-long sermon, that's still not right. God demands 
every man hear His Word. But when the children of God 
can't think past a 10-minute sermonette, when the children 
of God can't sing a top lady hymn or a Newton hymn or a heart 
hymn without saying, oh, what a weariness, I mean, those things 
are packed. with sound theology. Sunday night 
at the quarterly meeting that I attended, it's the Southern 
California churches, the Reformed Baptist churches, the months 
that have a fifth Sunday, they have a quarterly meeting. And 
all those churches, all those people, not every single one, 
but a good deal of people gather together. We sang a Baxter hymn. I would have preferred a top 
lady hymn, but a Baxter hymn. Now, it was a pretty decent hymn. 
Nevertheless, the words were good. The words were reverent 
to the Lord. And even though I might prefer 
a top lady hymn for theological reasons, nevertheless, it was 
a good thing to be with the people of God and singing the praises 
of God. So I just don't get this mindset. 
I've heard people come to our church and say it's boring. Again, 
yeah, I'm not saying we're the most exciting group that's ever 
been, but the idea that psalms and hymns are somehow boring, 
I just don't get it. I guess because I was reared 
in a Reformed Baptist context, I don't know how droning on 15 
times about, Jesus, I love you, How that's exciting, but singing 
440 or singing a top lady or a Newton hymn, how that's unexciting. I mean, that doctrine grips the 
soul. That doctrine resonates with 
the child of God. When you sing back to God his 
great redemptive truth, there's something exhilarating that the 
soul should find in that. Or the singing of the Psalms, 
the singing of the Psalter. When we sing of the righteousness 
of God and the wickedness of sin, I mean, yeah, I guess To 
some people that doesn't seem that exciting, but to the child 
of God it really should be something that encourages our heart and 
we don't say, oh what a weariness. This is drudgery. This is a rejection 
of God. The Lord says, should I accept? and offering from your hands? 
Should I receive such things from you?" Notice God then pronounces 
judgment upon this sort of a situation. Verse 14 indicts. Verse 14 is a promise of condemnation. He says, Cursed be the deceiver 
who has in his flock a male and takes a vow, but sacrifices to 
the Lord what is blemished. You see what he says there? Cursed 
be the deceiver. You have in your flock a male, 
a fit male, one that is worthy of sacrifice. You even take a 
vow to that, and yet you end up sacrificing to the Lord what 
is blemished. God says that's not okay, that's 
not alright. It isn't acceptable that you 
bring the last or you bring the least or you bring the worst 
to the living and true God. Curse it be the deceiver. How 
is it that we have more energy for other activities? How is 
it that we have more fire in our hearts for hockey or for 
football or for basketball or for you know, knitting or whatever 
your particular, you know, enjoyment might be. I get that all the 
ladies aren't into hockey and football and basketball, but 
I don't know who would get fired up about knitting, but I think 
you follow the trail here. Or cooking. Oh, you're so delighted 
about this cake that you're making. And yet, when it comes to God, 
it really doesn't matter. I think Malachi 1, 6-14 is a 
lot more applicable to us than we sometimes realize. Is Sunday 
just attack on? Is Sunday, you know, just what 
we have to do? Or is it something that we are 
thrilled about? I mean, that's what God says. God says, cursed be the deceiver. 
who has in his flock a male and takes a vow, but sacrifices to 
the Lord what is blemished." I think a high view of church, 
a high view of corporate worship goes a long way to instill in 
us an excitement for the things of God. You've probably heard 
Kam and I quoting Psalm 87, verse 1. His foundation is in the holy 
mountains. And then verse 2, the Lord loves 
the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob. Is it 
Richard Steele that wrote that sermon? Is that the name? I don't 
think it was Richard Steele. The sermon that public worship 
is to be preferred over private worship. Pietism says it's all 
about me. Biblical Christianity says it's 
all about God. And God loves the gates of Zion 
more than all the dwellings of Jacob. There is something that 
God delights in. I mean, it's not that he's mad 
at you when you read your Bible in your closet. He loves that. 
But there is something great to God when the people of God 
gather together in corporate worship to call upon him. The 
Puritans saw this, that public worship was to be preferred over 
private. Now, by that, they didn't mean 
don't worship privately. But what they wrote against and 
what they militated against was this privatized individualism 
that the Bible really doesn't sanction. I heard a sermon recently 
or a study on the rise of pietism in America, and Pastor Ron Baines 
says that familiar maxim that has been popularized today by 
a certain preacher, God is most glorified in me when I am most 
satisfied in him. Baines asks, where's the church 
in that arrangement? Where's the corporate people 
of God? You see, there's something more 
important than us as individuals. It is the bride of Christ. It is his people. The Lord loves 
the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob. Again, 
it doesn't mean he hates the dwellings of Jacob. He hates 
you privately. He hates you. No, no, that's 
not it at all. But in terms of a comparison or a contrast, it 
is the corporate place of God. or the Church of God that the 
Lord delights in. And so God pronounces judgment 
upon them in verse 14. Cursed be the deceiver who has 
in his flock a male, takes a vow, sacrifices to the Lord what is 
blemished, and then the reason that underscores this is for 
I am a great king says the Lord of hosts, and my name is to be 
feared among the nations. That's the axiom. That's the 
given. That's the presupposition. God 
is a great king. His name is to be feared among 
the nations. That's the unalterable truth 
that we need to reconcile with. With or without us, God is going 
to be glorified and he's going to be feared. We know that he 
turns from Israel. Romans 11 indicates this very 
thing. There's a partial hardening that takes place to Israel as 
an ethnic people until the fullness of the Gentiles be brought in. Because Israel refuses, God then 
goes, or Christ calls us to go to the Gentiles. So it's truly 
a serious thing that the Lord indicts them for in this instance. Notice their response. Notice 
the response of the people. They first ask, how have we dishonored 
you? Verse 6, a son honors his father, 
and a servant his mother. If then I am the father, where 
is my honor? If I am a master, where is my reverence? Says the 
Lord of hosts to you priests who despise my name. Yet you 
say, in what way have we despised your name? It's a common way 
of dealing in the book of Malachi. God, through the prophet, indicts 
the people, and then they basically say, what are you talking about? 
What do you mean? I mean, as a general rule, if 
you're offering up blind, lame, and stolen sacrifices, you really 
shouldn't have to ask, in what way have we despised your name? 
It should be pretty evident and it should be pretty obvious. 
But precisely, sin and the deceitfulness of sin casts a shadow over the 
soul. It happens to be the case that 
our whole life is affected by this sort of a practice when 
we don't worship God accordingly. So they ask, how have we dishonored 
you? They then say, secondly, how 
have we perverted sacrifice? 7b. 7 says, you offer defiled food 
on my altar, but say, in what way have we defiled you? It's 
just amazing, isn't it? I mean, if God says through a 
prophet, look, this is wrong, Hopefully, with the Spirit of 
God in us, we'll say, you're right, Lord, please forgive me. 
This is a bad sign. When people fall into this sort 
of a rut, or fall into this sort of a practice, and the prophet 
of God, when he comes to issue the indictment of God, is met 
with this sort of a resistance. We ought to be open to reproof. We ought to be open to correction. 
We ought to be open to the faithful wounds of friends that love us 
and care for us and say, look, the path you're going in is not 
right. Don't always be prepared to say, 
what do you mean it's not right? What are you talking about? We 
want to hyper-defend ourselves at every step of the way. I always 
assume that whatever anybody has to say, it's probably a whole 
lot worse than any of us even know. That's probably a safer 
bet in most instances, not always. I'm not saying you should never 
defend yourself. But in this instance, them seeking 
to defend themselves by asking these questions is absolutely 
insane. Sin has deceived, sin has hardened, 
sin has cast a shadow over their hearts and they don't even see 
it. And of course, after saying, how have we dishonored you and 
how have we perverted sacrifice? Verse 9, they ask, how come you 
don't bless us? Isn't that amazing? But now entreat God's favor. I think this is what they said 
to the prophet so that he would call upon the Lord on their behalf 
or they would say this to the priests. But now entreat God's 
favor that he may be gracious to us. Isn't that the case? Even though we are in sin and 
in rebellion and bringing lame and defective animals to the 
Lord, we still got our hand out and say, bless me, give me, multiply 
me, make me happy. It's almost as if these things 
are simply the means to the end. And the end isn't the honor of 
God, it isn't worship of God, it isn't reverence for God, it 
is rather what can I get from God. I read, I think it was G.K. Beale or, no, it was this other 
book I've been reading, and the fellow makes this interesting 
observation. Most of the idolatry that took 
place in the Old Testament, they didn't just bow before Baal because 
he was so wonderful and so glorious and so awesome that when you're 
in his presence, you just want to worship. They bowed before 
Baal as a means Right? They were using Baal, manipulating 
the system to get what they wanted. Now, before long, that does end 
up in just this false ungodly worship. But see, the true and 
living God, just because someone says they worship Him, isn't 
necessarily the case. If He's simply a means that we 
employ to get what we want, that's really not worship. If we come 
to God saying, Lord, here's what I'm going to give you, and in 
return, I'd like for you to give me, that's not worship. We're not coming to God to manipulate 
Him. We're not coming to God on the 
Sabbath day to worship Him so that we'll have a happy Monday 
through Saturday. Now God's good and He's kind 
and He's nice and oftentimes He gives us good Mondays through 
Saturdays. But it's not because we did our 
duty or we pulled the handle and out popped the blessings. 
You see, we can turn the worship of God into something that is, 
again, very man-centered. Why do we come on Sunday? So 
that when we pray we can be healed of our maladies or we can have, 
you know, riches given to us? No. We come to worship God because 
God is worthy to be worshipped. You see, on the Sabbath, and 
with reference to worship, God is the end. He's not a means 
that we employ or utilize to get something else. You see, 
God is everything. Once we have Him, we have all. We don't use Him as somehow, 
or use Him as our slave to get what we really want. That's what 
they're doing. But now, entreat God's favor that He may be gracious 
to us. Then through the prophet, while 
this is being done by your hands, will he accept you favorably, 
says the Lord of hosts? When you bring the lame, when 
you bring the blind, when you bring the stolen, and then you 
say, bless us, Lord, are you serious? Do you actually think 
if your child came to you and spit in your face and said, oh, 
can I have five bucks? I want to go to the store and 
buy a candy bar? I hope five bucks would cover 
a candy bar. What would you say to that child? 
Oh, sure, here's five pots. You'd say, why did you spit in 
my face? Actually, you probably wouldn't even say that. That's 
what they're doing, right? They're coming, they're spitting 
in his face and saying, oh, could you bless me, Lord? Could you 
give me what I really want? See, I really don't want you. 
You're just a means to the end. I want water for my crops. I 
want gold in my safe. I want a happy wife. I want healthy 
kids. I don't want any pains. Just 
give me what I want. While this is being done by our 
hands, will He accept you favorably, says the Lord of Hosts? And then 
the Lord's response, through the prophet, verse 10, who is 
there even among you who would shut the doors so that you would 
not kindle fire on my altar in vain? You know what he's saying 
there? Is there anybody going to man up and shut the temple 
down? It'd be better to board up the temple than to go through 
this. It would be better to just seal 
the building and not let anybody in, because if you're going to 
use it for this purpose, you have misused it, you have abused 
it, and is there one among you who would shut the doors so that 
you would not kindle fire on my altar in vain? I have no pleasure 
in you, says the Lord of hosts. So then thirdly and finally, 
some facts or some observations concerning careless worship. It is, first of all, a major 
sin. It is to despise the name of 
God. It is something that he deems 
as evil. Calvin says, few think that they 
pollute God and his name when they worship him superstitiously 
or formally, as though they had to do with a child. but we see 
that God himself declares that the whole of religion is profane 
and that his name is shamefully polluted when men thus trifle 
with him." It's a very serious thing. Remember Jesus in John 
chapter 2. What does he do when he sees 
that the house of God has become a den of merchandise? No, that's 
okay. No, he drives those animals out. 
And the disciples apply Psalm 69 in this instance. Wow, the 
psalmist was writing about Jesus. Zeal for your house has consumed 
me. The disciples had a messianic 
consciousness and they see when Jesus drives out these animals. Wow, Psalm 69. We interpret that 
with reference to our Lord Jesus Christ. It is a major sin. Secondly, it is a deceptive sin. We can fall into it and not even 
realize that we have done so. Verses 6 and 7. In what way? How have we done this? How have 
we messed up? It's something that paralyzes 
the soul. Stuart says the priests knew 
these sacrificial laws by heart. You think they were oblivious 
to the book of Leviticus? I mean, come on, Leviticus was 
everything. That was the priest's manual. 
You've got to, you know, you have these manuals of church 
order. Well, the book of Leviticus was 
that for the Levitical priesthood with reference to temple worship. 
He says, the priests knew these sacrificial laws by heart as 
was required for their job. Ignorance was not the problem. 
God was not advising them of considerations that were not 
their thinking. Malachi, like all the Orthodox 
prophets, was not calling his audience to new standards, but 
back to old ones. So it is a deceptive thing. I think this is important that 
we examine our hearts. What do we think of church? What 
is the worship of God like? Is it something that we enjoy? 
Is it something that we look forward to? Is it something that 
we find delight in? Call the Sabbath what, according 
to Isaiah 58? Call it a drudgery? Call it boring? Call it a drag? Call it a headache? Call it a hardship? No, in Isaiah 
the prophet, chapter 58, call the Sabbath a delight. It's supposed 
to be a happy day. The Sabbath was made for the 
man and not man for the Sabbath. If it's drudgery, if it's terrible, 
if it's something that's absolutely mind-numbingly horrible, yes, 
it could be a bad church or it could be a bad heart and an approach 
to this whole idea of worship. Thirdly, this kind of worship 
is concerned with externals only. Again, they went to the right 
place, They brought animals. Now, these animals were certainly 
not fit for sacrifice. But if you were a casual observer 
looking down on Israel in that era, you would have at least 
seen the externals. Isn't this what Jesus does when 
he upbraids the Pharisees? He says, woe to you, scribes 
and Pharisees, hypocrites, for you pay tithe of mint and anise 
and cumin and have neglected the weightier matters of the 
law, justice and mercy and faith. You see, they've got the externals 
down so much so they're weighing out tiny seeds so that when they 
show up on the Sabbath day and they bring their tithe, they 
can measure out what they've apportioned and fulfill the external 
requirement. But all the while, they've neglected 
the weightier matters of the law, justice, mercy, and faith. 
You see, what, and then Jesus says, these you ought to have 
done, the externals even, without leaving the others undone, blind 
guides who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel. It is concerned 
with externals only. Again, Stuart says, why would 
priests accept defective animals, including, as Malachi states 
specifically, some were blind, crippled, and sick? And why would 
worshippers bring such animals, knowing that they themselves 
would be eating part of them? The answer has to be quite simply 
that aside from some of the sick ones, they all tasted the same 
and thus priests were cutting deals with worshippers to receive 
such animals with some sort of this for that arrangement. It 
indicates a more or less equal exchange or substitution of goods 
or services. He says, farmers have always 
eaten blind and lame animals, and Israelite farmers were certainly 
used to doing so. The point was that God would 
not accept them as offerings. An offering is more than just 
a meal. It is a symbol of one's dedication 
to God, a constantly repeated lesson in the nature of His holiness, 
and a means of atonement for sin. Just going through the motions 
without regard for worship of God. Fourth, we've already seen 
this, it reveals boredom with God. It reveals boredom with 
God. One more quote. This is Piper. Piper says, a failure to see 
and feel the greatness of God makes a person bored with God 
and excited about the world. Isn't that right? We worship 
what is thrilling to us. I mean, the guy bows to Baal 
because Baal makes him happy. A guy worships his gold because 
gold makes him happy. A guy worships sex because sex 
makes him happy. Guy worships crack because crack 
makes him happy. It's just the way it is. A failure 
to see and feel the greatness of God makes a person bored with 
God and excited about the world. If you don't see the greatness 
of God, then all the things that money can buy become very exciting. That's why so often in their 
polemics against idolatry, what do the prophets do? They set 
up the majesty of God. It's not just your idols are 
bad, but look at how glorious the God of Israel is. I mean, 
it shows the contrast between how bad the idol is and how good 
God is, but perhaps there is this function involved. You are 
foolish to turn to that rather than the living and true God. 
As Lewis put it, it's like a child who turns down a holiday by the 
seaside so that he can play with mud pies in the gutter. I mean, 
we'd look at that kid and say, what are you doing? You're crazy. Well, that's what 
it is when we turn to our idols. We're settling to play with mud 
pies in the gutter, then go to Hawaii or whatever place you 
like to go. He says, if you can't see the 
sun, you will be impressed with a street light. If you've never 
felt thunder and lightning, you'll be impressed with fireworks. 
And if you turn your back on the greatness and majesty of 
God, you'll fall in love with a world of shadows and short-lived 
pleasures. What a weariness this is. And 
when you become so blind that the maker of galaxies, and ruler 
of nations, and knower of all mysteries, and lover of your 
souls becomes boring, then only one thing is left, the love of 
the world. For the heart is always restless. 
It must have treasure, if not in heaven, then on the earth. 
And so when it is time to bring sheep from the flock to sacrifice, 
what do you bring? You bring the sheep with diseased 
and broken legs. or you steal a sheep to bring. 
Why? It's obvious the good sheep sell 
better and you love money more than God. That's pretty powerful 
stuff but it really does capture what's going on here in the prophet 
Malachi. It probably captures a lot of 
what's going on in terms of worship in the Church of Jesus Christ 
on a regular and ongoing basis. It's about the Lord, it's not 
about us. And then ultimately, fifthly, 
and finally This sin provokes the wrath of God. We have seen 
that in verse 14. Cursed be the deceiver, for I 
am a great king, says the Lord of hosts, and my name is to be 
feared among the nations. Well, may God spare us from a 
heartless worship, and may God put in us the spirit so that 
we'll come with joy and thanksgiving and delight on the Sabbath day 
to worship this great king. Well, let us pray. Our Father, 
we thank you for your word, and we thank you for your grace and 
mercy, and we know, Father, that we need your Spirit. The Lord 
Jesus said, apart from Him we can do nothing, and this includes 
worship. We pray that on the Lord's Day 
you would pour out your Spirit upon us, that you would give 
us zeal, that you would give us desire and a joy to be in 
the house of God, to be with the people of God, to sing the 
praises of God and to hear from you. how we bless you and how 
we praise you and how we thank you for your mercy and your kindness 
and for calling us out of darkness into marvelous light. Help us 
truly to proclaim your praises, to proclaim your excellencies. 
And we ask this in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.