Tag: Malachi 1

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When God Wants to Quit Church

Links for today’s readings:

Jun 2  Read: Malachi 1 Listen: (2:47) Read: Luke 24 Listen: (6:16)

Scripture Focus: Malachi 1.10-11

10 “Oh, that one of you would shut the temple doors, so that you would not light useless fires on my altar! I am not pleased with you,” says the Lord Almighty, “and I will accept no offering from your hands. 11 My name will be great among the nations, from where the sun rises to where it sets. In every place incense and pure offerings will be brought to me, because my name will be great among the nations,” says the Lord Almighty.

Reflection: When God Wants to Quit Church

By John Tillman

Imagine facing dangerous obstacles and making huge sacrifices to build a church where none exists. Then, when it is up and running, God says, “Lock the doors. Stop coming.”

That’s the opening chapter of Malachi.

It was a moving and inspiring moment when the rebuilt and rededicated temple was functioning again. (Ezra 6.15-18) But soon after temple worship resumed, God wanted to close the temple doors.

What happens when even God doesn’t want to attend worship? What makes God quit church?

Despite all they did to build the building, the people became indifferent and apathetic and treated the temple, and by extension God, with contempt.

One example of contempt, which Malachi highlighted, was sacrificing unacceptable and valueless animals. A main element of temple worship was eating sacrifices in the Lord’s presence, which also provided food for the priests. Israel brought animals so flawed and sickly, no one could, or wanted to, eat them!

That wasn’t all. Malachi went on to condemn witchcraft, adultery, lies, defrauding workers, oppressing the vulnerable, and depriving immigrants and foreigners of justice (Mal 3.5).

The people’s sacrifices broke faith with God and the temple and their actions in the community broke faith with those God loves and protects. They selfishly kept the best of everything for themselves, leaving the vulnerable desperate and the temple defiled. God will quit or close churches with contempt for the vulnerable.

Often (especially when promoting church attendance and involvement), leaders say something similar to, “Just like you can’t love me and hate my wife, you can’t love Jesus and hate his bride, the church.” This well-intentioned, but flawed analogy fails to account for our responsibility to tell the truth about the conduct of a friend’s wife and the conduct of particular churches. If a friend or family member’s spouse is abusive, an addict, cruel, corrupt, or manipulative, love obligates you to address those problems, not pretend they don’t exist.

If you love Jesus, you should love the church as Jesus does, sacrificing and serving her. This part of the analogy is accurate. But when churches operate in wicked or abusive ways, they don’t get a pass. God tells the truth about his temple and Jesus tells the truth about his churches. Love compels us to tell the truth, not ignore it.

Build churches God wants to keep open, remembering that honest critique is not betrayal but love and love rejoices at repentance.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Greeting

Out of Zion, perfect in its beauty, God reveals himself in glory.
Let the heavens declare the rightness of his cause; for God himself is judge. — Psalm 50.2,6

– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Summertime by Phyllis Tickle.

Read more: All Roads Lead to Jerusalem

We must face our Jerusalem…What shall we say, “Deliver us from this hour?” No. We must say, as Jesus did, “Father, glorify your name!”

All Roads Lead to Jerusalem
Read more: Examine Your Sacrifices

We are still called to works of sacrifice…feed the hungry…welcome the stranger…visit the sick and the prisoner.

Examine Your Sacrifices
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Examine Your Sacrifices

Links for today’s readings:

Read: Leviticus 22 Listen: (4:41) Read: Acts 18 Listen: (4:06)

Links for this weekend’s readings:

Read: Leviticus 23 Listen: (6:31) Read: Acts 19 Listen: (5:47)
Read: Leviticus 24 Listen: (2:58) Read: Acts 20 Listen: (5:22)

Scripture Focus: Leviticus 22.17-20

17 The Lord said to Moses, 18 “Speak to Aaron and his sons and to all the Israelites and say to them: ‘If any of you—whether an Israelite or a foreigner residing in Israel—presents a gift for a burnt offering to the Lord, either to fulfill a vow or as a freewill offering, 19 you must present a male without defect from the cattle, sheep or goats in order that it may be accepted on your behalf. 20 Do not bring anything with a defect, because it will not be accepted on your behalf.

Malachi 1.8, 14

8 When you offer blind animals for sacrifice, is that not wrong? When you sacrifice lame 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.

14 “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.

Reflection: Examine Your Sacrifices

By John Tillman

Where does food come from? We know the answer is “farms,” yet the first image in our head is probably a grocery store.

Most people in modern societies, whether we live in cities or the countryside, are socially and geographically disconnected from our food sources. Few have ever grown and harvested our own crops or raised or butchered our own animals. This isn’t bad or good—it’s just different than biblical societies. This agricultural disconnection distances us from some aspects of the sacrificial system.

We might cringe at the perceived cruelty of animal sacrifices but fail to blink at the financial cost. When a family sacrificed an animal they weren’t sacrificing a pet. They sacrificed all the things the animal could give them over its life. They sacrificed the labor the animal could perform, the goods it could be traded for, the offspring it could reproduce, in addition to most of the food it could provide.

Leviticus 22 stressed that animals for sacrifices must be “without defect,” to head off a financial temptation to keep the best animals for breeding, working the land, or market, sacrificing to the Lord less valuable stock. You wouldn’t want to breed the runts, the deformed, or the sickly animals. Yet, God forbids using sacrifices to cull the weak. He demands their best.

Israel struggled with this. Malachi condemned the priests and people of his day. They brought God offerings so deformed and diseased that no human wanted to eat them. (Malachi 1.12-14) God challenged the people to offer food like this to human rulers and endure their reaction.

Just as the Israelites were prone to give to God lame, blind, diseased, or deformed animals, we are prone to give up to God things we didn’t want anyway and keep for ourselves what we find most valuable.

Our salvation is secured by the sacrifice of Jesus the “spotless lamb.” But we are still called to many works of sacrifice. Jesus asks us to take up our cross and lay down our lives. He asks us to feed the hungry, hydrate the thirsty, welcome the stranger, clothe the naked, and visit the sick and the prisoner. (Matthew 25.34-40)

If a human leader had assigned these tasks, would the state of our world indicate acceptable job performance? Are our sacrifices and efforts at these tasks (our orthopraxy) lame, blind, or weak like a diseased lamb?

Examine your sacrifices. Give your best.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Call to Prayer

I cry out to you, O Lord; I say, “You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living.” — Psalm 142.5

– Divine Hours prayers from The Divine Hours: Prayers for Springtime by Phyllis Tickle.

Read more: Holidays are Tabernacles

At home or in pursuit of a new community, taking periodic days to focus on our relationship with God will help us gain a sense of identity

Holidays are Tabernacles
Read more: Pleasing Sacrifices

We have been called to imitate our self-sacrificing savior, Jesus, by giving of ourselves to do good for the benefit of others.

Pleasing Sacrifices

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From Esau to Jacob—Readers’ Choice

Readers’ Choice Month:
This September, The Park Forum is looking back on readers’ selections of our most meaningful and helpful devotionals from the past 12 months. Thank you for your readership. This month is all about hearing from you. Submit a Readers’ Choice post today.

Today’s post was originally published, on June 2, 2022, based on Malachi 1.2-3, Matthew 12.48-50, and Romans 5.8
It was selected by reader, Barbara: 
“This was one of my favorites.”

Scripture Focus: Malachi 1.2-3
2 “I have loved you,” says the Lord. 
“But you ask, ‘How have you loved us?’ 
“Was not Esau Jacob’s brother?” declares the Lord. “Yet I have loved Jacob, 3 but Esau I have hated, and I have turned his hill country into a wasteland and left his inheritance to the desert jackals.”

Matthew 12.48-50
48 He replied to him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” 49 Pointing to his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers. 50 For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.” 

Romans 5.8
…God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Reflection: From Esau to Jacob—Readers’ Choice
By John Tillman

“Esau I have hated.”

We may wonder: Does God randomly hate people? Am I one of those arbitrarily hated by God?

It is normal to struggle with difficult passages, especially those that have been misused. For example, some passages in Malachi 1, including this one, have been twisted to support slavery. Those who did this surrendered to culture and profit and selfishness, all the while proclaiming themselves wise, biblical, and superior. May we not make similar mistakes.

It’s impossible in a 400-word devotional to unpack a difficult passage like this. I won’t attempt it. Let us simply meditate on a few details from scripture.

  1. “Esau” doesn’t mean the individual. God is using these names as collective nouns to speak to the descendants of these brothers, not the brothers themselves. We don’t do this much in our culture. The closest thing we might understand is using the name of a country’s leader to refer to actions of that nation. For example, “Volodymyr Zelensky” meaning Ukraine, or “Xi Jinping” meaning China.
  2. God’s “hatred” isn’t arbitrary. It refers to justice for Edom’s actions—what they collectively did and continued to do. Esau, the individual, while reconciled to his brother, enjoyed God’s blessing. His descendants continually opposed Israel throughout their history and came to represent, poetically, all people opposed to God and God’s people.
  3. God’s “hatred” is not absolute. Edomites are not arbitrarily cursed or hated throughout history or in totality. In many places, God implies hope for Edom. He shows he cares for them, gives them their own land, and commands that no Israelite should despise an Edomite. (Deuteronomy 2.1-8, 12; 23.7)
  4. This statement’s purpose is to show love, not hatred. God speaks poetically to reassure his people. He points to justice done on their behalf, which proves his love. To Micah’s readers, this justice was the downfall of “The Wicked Land” (Malachi 1.4) that harmed them.

We can be assured of God’s love and justice. We are not innocent. Yet, we are not hated. We are loved. This is demonstrated in Christ as God turns “Esaus” into “Jacobs.”

God loved us when we were like Esau—sinners, rebels, and persecutors. (Romans 5.8) All of us have been children of Esau, but by God’s grace, we can become children of Jacob and brothers and sisters of Christ (Matthew 12.50). Through Jesus, we cry “Abba, father,” (Romans 8.15; Galatians 4.6; Mark 14.36) for “Jacob, have I loved.” (Malachi 1.2)

Divine Hours Prayer: The Refrain for the Morning Lessons
It is not the healthy who need a doctor but the sick…And indeed I did not come to call the virtuous, but sinners. — Matthew 9.12-13

– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Summertime by Phyllis Tickle.

Today’s Readings
Jeremiah 27(Listen -3:52)
1 Corinthians 4(Listen – 3:15)

This Weekend’s Readings
Jeremiah 28(Listen -3:05), 1 Corinthians 5(Listen – 1:58)
Jeremiah 29(Listen -5:44), 1 Corinthians 6(Listen – 3:03)
Jeremiah 30-31(Listen 11:21), 1 Corinthians 7(Listen – 6:09)

Read more about Running to Forgive
In this moment, in a limited way, Esau demonstrates the welcome of the gospel. The wronged party shows undeserved mercy.

Running to Forgive

Readers’ Choice is Here!
There’s still room for your recommended posts from the last 12 months. Which ones did you share with a friend?

Readers’ Choice 2025
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From Esau To Jacob

Scripture Focus: Malachi 1.2-3
2 “I have loved you,” says the Lord. 
“But you ask, ‘How have you loved us?’ 
“Was not Esau Jacob’s brother?” declares the Lord. “Yet I have loved Jacob, 3 but Esau I have hated, and I have turned his hill country into a wasteland and left his inheritance to the desert jackals.”

Matthew 12.48-50
48 He replied to him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” 49 Pointing to his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers. 50 For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.” 

Romans 5.8
…God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Reflection: From Esau To Jacob
By John Tillman

“Esau I have hated.”

We may wonder: Does God randomly hate people? Am I one of those arbitrarily hated by God?

It is normal to struggle with difficult passages, especially those that have been misused. For example, some passages in Malachi 1, including this one, have been twisted to support slavery. Those who did this surrendered to culture and profit and selfishness, all the while proclaiming themselves wise, biblical, and superior. May we not make similar mistakes.

It’s impossible in a 400-word devotional to unpack a difficult passage like this. I won’t attempt it. Let us simply meditate on a few details from scripture.

  1. “Esau” doesn’t mean the individual. God is using these names as collective nouns to speak to the descendants of these brothers, not the brothers themselves. We don’t do this much in our culture. The closest thing we might understand is using the name of a country’s leader to refer to actions of that nation. For example, “Volodymyr Zelensky” meaning Ukraine, or “Xi Jinping” meaning China.
  2. God’s “hatred” isn’t arbitrary. It refers to justice for Edom’s actions—what they collectively did and continued to do. Esau, the individual, while reconciled to his brother, enjoyed God’s blessing. His descendants continually opposed Israel throughout their history and came to represent, poetically, all people opposed to God and God’s people.
  3. God’s “hatred” is not absolute. Edomites are not arbitrarily cursed or hated throughout history or in totality. In many places, God implies hope for Edom. He shows he cares for them, gives them their own land, and commands that no Israelite should despise an Edomite. (Deuteronomy 2.1-8, 12; 23.7)
  4. This statement’s purpose is to show love, not hatred. God speaks poetically to reassure his people. He points to justice done on their behalf, which proves his love. To Micah’s readers, this justice was the downfall of “The Wicked Land” (Malachi 1.4) that harmed them.

We can be assured of God’s love and justice. We are not innocent. Yet, we are not hated. We are loved. This is demonstrated in Christ as God turns “Esaus” into “Jacobs.”

God loved us when we were like Esau—sinners, rebels, and persecutors. (Romans 5.8) All of us have been children of Esau, but by God’s grace, we can become children of Jacob and brothers and sisters of Christ (Matthew 12.50). Through Jesus, we cry “Abba, father,” (Romans 8.15; Galatians 4.6; Mark 14.36) for “Jacob, have I loved.” (Malachi 1.2)

Divine Hours Prayer: The Refrain for the Morning Lessons
I will walk in the presence of the Lord in the land of the living. — Psalm 116.8

Today’s Readings
Malachi 1 (Listen – 2:47)
Matthew 12 (Listen – 6:41)

Read more about Identity Lost, Identity Gained
God, our father, longs to bless us…No one who comes to him will need cry, “Do you have only one blessing, my father?”

Identity Lost, Identity Gained

Read more about Running to Forgive
In this moment, in a limited way, Esau demonstrates the welcome of the gospel. The wronged party shows undeserved mercy.

Running to Forgive
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How He Loves Us—Epiphany

Scripture Focus: Malachi 1.2
2 “I have loved you,” says the Lord. 
“But you ask, ‘How have you loved us?’ 

Reflection: How He Loves Us—Epiphany
By John Tillman

It is notable that the word of the Lord from Malachi begins with a declaration of God’s love for Israel. God declares his love because he knows his people have doubts.

Malachi ministered about 100 years after the first exiles returned to Israel and about 430 years before the birth of Jesus. The temple had been rebuilt by Ezra. Jerusalem’s wall had been rebuilt by Nehemiah. But, after a brief period of exuberant celebration, the people’s dedication to God was still a crumbling mess. 

Unlike the exodus from Egypt, the return from Babylon was not a sudden, dramatic exit. It was slower, political, methodical. God worked in the second exodus by softening, rather than hardening the hearts of kings. There were no plagues, no pillars of fire or cloud, no miraculous deliverance through the sea. 

Israel was slowly learning again how to be the people of God. They had experienced generations of oppression and suffering caused by the sins of their fathers and mothers. Now, like the former Egyptian slaves in the desert, they doubted the love of God. They showed contempt for the sacrifices of God. They showed selfishness in both worship practices and social policy. Doubting God’s love, they showed little love for him in return and little love for the poor and needy around them.

We, too, have passed through many traumas this year. Our exodus from many of 2020’s traumas is incomplete. The COVID-19 vaccine has been called a “medical miracle,” but we still haven’t crossed the Red Sea, out of danger, much less the Jordan, into a land of promise. We languish in the in-between—in the desert of deferred hopes.

Malachi’s audience was about to enter a different kind of desert—a desert of silence. Malachi’s message would be the last prophetic message or vision until Gabriel appeared to Zechariah to announce the birth of John the Baptist, followed by the birth of Jesus.

Jesus is the ultimate declaration of God’s love and, in Christmastide and Epiphany, we celebrate this love’s manifestation. May God’s love made known to us be made manifest in us and through us.

As we exit this year, let us dispel our doubt of God’s love so that we may dispense the love of God to others.
Let us ensure ourselves of God’s generosity so that a spirit of generosity may inspire our giving of both tangible and intangible gifts.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Request for Presence
Set a watch before my mouth, O Lord, and guard the door of my lips; let not my heart incline to any evil thing.
Let me not be occupied in wickedness with evildoers, nor eat of their choice foods.
Let the righteous smite me in friendly rebuke; let not the oil of the unrighteous anoint my head. — Psalm 141.3-5

– Divine Hours prayers from The Divine Hours: Prayers for Autumn and Wintertime by Phyllis Tickle

Today’s Readings
Malachi 1 (Listen – 2:47) 
John 18 (Listen – 5:16)

Read more about End of Year Giving and Supporting our work
If you have not donated this year (or ever), please prayerfully consider joining our donors, with either a one-time or monthly donation.

Supporting our Work

Read more about In a World of Trouble, Peace :: A Guided Prayer
As Advent moves into the twelve days of Christmas, we participate in the revealing, the epiphany, the manifestation of Christ.

In a World of Trouble, Peace :: A Guided Prayer
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