TOPIC: ABOMINABLE SACRIFICE
TEXT: Malachi 1:6-14(NKJV)
1:6. ” 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?’
1:7. “[You] offer defiled food on My altar. But say, ‘In what way have we defiled You?’ By saying, ‘The table of the LORD is contemptible.’
1:8. 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.
1:9. “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.
1:10. “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.
1:11. 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.
1:12. “But you profane it, In that you say, ‘The table of the LORD is defiled; And its fruit, its food, [is] contemptible.’
1:13. 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.
1:14. “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.
STUDY:
The Lord we serve is holy and so should be honored, reverenced and approached with the highest level of awe. As such, his name should not be profaned. In our passage today, we see the priests of the Lord -his representatives-being charged with sacrilege and disregard for the holy things. They offered abominable sacrifices on the table (altar) of God-an abomination to both God and his people! They offered animals that were torn, lame, sick, or maimed (v.13), and this was a violation of God’s prescription concerning offerings on his altar (Lev.22:17-22).
Today, many of our altars are polluted with different forms of abominable sacrifices. Many priests, who should be custodians of the altar, are ‘Strangers in the Sanctuary’ because they have no salvation experience and their hands are soiled with blood through sinful living and a disregard for God. Again, many songs we sing and prayers we offer today are nothing but abominable sacrifices. Beloved, remember that when we offer polluted sacrifices to God, terrible consequences will always follow as seen in the case of Nadab and Abihu who offered strange fire before the Lord (Lev.10). We must also learn from Cain whose offering was rejected because it was faulty, unlike that of Abel that was accepted. Our offering will be acceptable if we first offer our bodies unto God as a living sacrifice.
PRAYER:
Lord, I offer my body a living sacrifice, let me be acceptable in your sight and help me to live to please you, Amen!
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