Malachi 1:10 Commentary - Dr Peter Masters

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Malachi 1:10

Comments

More is said against the priests. ‘Who is there even among you, that would shut the doors for nought?’ The KJV has added the words ‘for nought’ to give the sense, and to charge the priests with doing nothing unless they get some recompense. ‘You priests’, says Malachi ‘won't do anything for nothing. You're paid for everything, and you make sure you're well paid, and well rewarded.’ Look at your own services he says: who would shut the temple doors at the end of the day at the end of a day's priestly work for nothing? You only do your work because they pay you do it, because they support you, they give you all you need. Who among you would ever make an offering, kindle a fire, start the day in the temple, unless they were getting paid for it? You must be paid, you must receive. Do you think that I am going to bless you and get nothing in return, not your love, not your service?' That is the reasoning as the priests are taken to task. The verses read a little difficultly, but that is the reasoning.

Application

There are Christian people and they are saved by the grace of God and they do love the Lord but what comes first is their own lives, they do so little for the Lord they have no avenue of service, they have no great commitment and God is saying to us too, through this Jewish situation, 'You don't do anything for nothing. Do you expect God to bless you and help you and make your life a happy life and do wonderful things for you and answer your prayers and you give him nothing? Your priorities are all wrong.'

Every now and then it somehow gets out that some prosperity preacher, or even someone who is not a prosperity preacher – a more sound preacher – is getting paid an awful lot of money. When that happens, there are always those who will rise to the defence of this overpaid preacher and say, ‘Well, he works very hard’, or ‘he does wonderful things’ – arguments like this. ‘If he were not a preacher’ – he is such a wonderful man evidently – ‘he could be CEO of some wealthy company. So he should be highly paid, and he does deserve it.’ How unscriptural all this reasoning is! God says, ‘I condemn you because you won't do anything for nothing. You will only do it to be rich, or to be very comfortable, or to be very well off.’ There are principles in the word of God. Those who are the Lord's servants are very blessed by God just to have enough, and to get by, and to live for the Lord. They don't need riches, deep reserves, expensive things. That's the rule of Scripture. So they look to him, and depend upon him and they should never be over-rewarded. This isn’t the world; this isn’t an earthly corporation. This is the people of God; this is the church.

Questions

Some versions understand the charge against the priests to be that they will not recognise the empty nature of such religious performances when carried out so carelessly, and they do not have enough zeal to prevent this mockery of true worship from continuing, by shutting the doors of the temple. Understood this way, the words ‘for nought’ are omitted.

Outline

Purpose

Introduction

Malachi 1:10 Commentary and Bible Study