Malachi. The Disaster of Failing Priests
When God’s people were in a sorry state God raised up a man who had the courage to address the problems. How men such as Malachi are needed today, he expressed God’s deep concern about the state of his people. Worship was cheap (1:6-16) and not bothered about. Marriages were casual, people happily married outside the faith and divorce was common (2:10-16). People were not giving much to support the Lord’s causes (3:6-12). Few were concerned for the honour of God in the rest of the world (1:5, 1:11x2, 1:14, 3:12), world-wide mission was not a concern.
“You have said, ‘It is futile to serve God. What do we gain by carrying out his requirements and going about like mourners before the Lord Almighty? But now we call the arrogant blessed. Certainly evildoers prosper, and even when they put God to the test, they get away with it.’” Malachi 3:14-15
The problems sound very similar to those in many countries and in many churches today. A reason for this was the poor leadership and teaching by the priests and Malachi addressed this problem. The main role of a priest is to keep reminding people that God must not be trifled with and that persistent rejection will result in God’s judgment.
Malachi was probably written between 433 BC and 424 BC when Nehemiah was alive. Nehemiah had first come to Jerusalem in 445 BC to rebuild the walls but had returned to Persia in 433 BC. He later returned to Israel (around 424 BC, see Nehemiah 13:6) to deal with the sins Malachi described.
When Alexandre Solzhenitsyn was young, he became a communist, a believer in the ideals of Marxism and an atheist. After serving in the Russian army during the Second World War he was arrested by SMERSH, the Russian secret police, simply because he had been captured by the Germans. He was subsequently imprisoned in the Gulag for 8 years. It was there, in spite of all its horrors, that he came to realise that there were real values that matter and that there really is a God who had created this world. He became a Christian and subsequently an outspoken critic of communism. He was later expelled from Russia for his criticisms of Stalin and he moved to live in the United States of America. He wrote some remarkable books such as ‘The Gulag Archipelago’ that have sold in the millions. He analysed much of what has gone wrong in Russia since the revolution and said,
“Over half a century ago, while I was still a child, I recall hearing a number of old people offer the following explanation for the great disasters that had befallen Russia. ‘Men have forgotten God, that’s why all this has happened.’
But if I were asked today to formulate as concisely as possible the main cause of the ruinous revolution that swallowed up some 60 million of our people, I could not put it more accurately than to repeat,
‘Men have forgotten God, that’s why all this has happened.’”
He subsequently analysed the problems facing countries in the west and came to precisely the same conclusion,
“Men have forgotten God.”
To forget God, to leave him out of our lives, is indeed the most catastrophic mistake a person can make. We do this because were are self-centred and foolish.
It was Albert Einstein who said,
“Two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity; and I’m not sure about the universe.”
God is largely irrelevant to most people today. Even some of those, who say they believe in him, live during the week as practical atheists. What a catastrophe!
Malachi teaches that much of the responsibility for this decline lies with the leaders and especially the priests.
Who are God’s priests today?
In the New Testament all Christians are called priests because we now have direct access to God and we all act as God’s representatives in our society. We all share with others the message of the God that is now revealed in Scripture.
“You also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” 1 Peter 2:5
“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light.” 1 Peter 2:9
“And has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve His God and Father—to Him be glory and power forever and ever! Amen.” Revelation 1:6
“You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth.” Revelation 5:10
In Malachi’s time the priests were far from honourable. Many were in it for themselves and as usual this resulted in their society being, in practice, godless though they still held to some formal religion. They offered second-rate sacrifices of animals thinking that God would not notice (Malachi 1:9), they had forgotten that God sees everything. They thought that doing what God had said was a tiresome burden (Malachi 1:12-13)
Malachi specifically addresses the leaders of the people as being responsible for what was happening in society as a whole.
Since the time of Jesus all Christians are described as being priests and ambassadors for Christ so we should all understand that this message is relevant to each of us altghough there is a special challenge for a church leader.
In Malachi 2:1-9, the characteristics that God wanted to see in his priests are contrasted with those that were present at that time.
The Godly priest
1. He must live for the honour of God
“And now, you priests, this warning is for you. If you do not listen, and if you do not resolve to honour my name,” says the Lord Almighty, “I will send a curse on you, and I will curse your blessings. Yes, I have already cursed them, because you have not resolved to honour me.” Malachi 2:1-2
All priests must determine not to be hypocrites but resolve to be all that God desires. We are to honour his name by the way we live and by what we say. Our first business in life as ministers of His Word is to take his truth and apply it to ourselves. We can then to speak of what we have personally experienced - people will then see that we have an integrity about us.
If God’s priests fail to live God’s way, his blessing will be removed, not just from that individual but also from those they are meant to lead.
“And you will know that I have sent you this warning so that my covenant with Levi may continue,” says the Lord Almighty.” Malachi 2:4
2. He is to teach God’s Word
This is a priest’s prime responsibility, to make sure everyone knows what God has to say,
“For the lips of a priest ought to preserve knowledge, because he is the messenger of the Lord Almighty and . . .” Malachi 2:7
The only way to preserve knowledge is to pass it on the others. If people fail to do this the truth will die out in one generation. All priests are now prophets whose role is not ‘foretelling’ the future but ‘forth-telling’ the message of God, given in the Bible. We will wear the real garments of the priesthood—humility and godly fear. When these conditions are fulfilled the effect will be that ‘. . . people seek instruction from his mouth’
3. He must be confident about the message
Confidence that what we are saying is true is essential if we are to be believed. So we need to be certain that our message is from God:
“You shall know that I have sent this word unto you" Malachi 2:4
He can say with Jesus:
“Very truly I tell you, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony.” John 3:11
There was no uncertainty in Jesus.
4. He will show a peace and joy
The man of God will receive from God the gift of life and peace.
“Life and peace, I gave them to him” Malachi 2:5
What joy God’s people experience as we live for him. We have been forgiven, accepted by God into his Kingdom and given his Holy Spirit to empower us to serve him. What a privilege this is. Nehemiah could say to God’s people when they were facing trials:
“Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” Nehemiah 8:10
5. He will pass on God’s truth
The greatest need of our societies that have forgotten God is to listen to what God says. God’s word is truth, consequently:
“. . . the law of truth in his mouth". Malachi 2:6
When the love of God is in his heart, and the law of grace is in his mouth, a person is equipped by God to be a herald of the Gospel. This may be on a private level or in the public arena but for certain, life, peace and truth, are a great trinity in Christian experience.
6. He lives in the presence of God
The secret of having an effective ministry is to walk closely with God. A permanent change in an individuals life or in a societies life will only occur if there is a real work of God. If a leader is not walking closely with God in their private life it is not surprising if that person in ineffective
“He walked with me in peace and uprightness” Malachi 2:6
Jesus said to his disciples as they were about to go out into his world as his apostles:
“Lo, I am with you always.” Matthew 28:20
“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” John 15:5
For fruitfulness, the presence of God in a leader’s life is as necessary as oxygen in the air is for life.
7. He is an effective evangelist
“He . . . turned many from sin.” Malachi 2:6
The purpose of a priest is not simply to be loved by all around but to bring people back to Christ and to encourage them to remain in Christ. Jesus defined sin a being a rejection of himself. He, the Son of God must be at the centre of all. The Holy Spirit usually works through God’s people. This is what the Spirit does:
“When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: about sin, because people do not believe in me; about righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; and about judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned.” John 16:8-11
The Christian’s life revolves around Jesus. He longs to see Jesus honoured. If people around him are not turning to Christ something is wrong. This message is for ‘the nations’.
The Worldly Priest
Unfortunately, even though the Lord had been so clear about how he wished his priests to live, some failed through their own wilfulness. The same happened to King Saul who at one time joined God’s prophets but then turned his back on God’s ways. What an epitaph Saul was given by David:
“A gazelle lies slain on your heights, Israel. How the mighty have fallen!” 2 Samuel 1:19
There have been so many examples of Christian leaders who have turned their backs on Jesus just as Judas Iscariot did, either by rejecting biblical teachings, or falling into moral failure. Charles Templeton (1915–2001) was well-known evangelist and contemporary of Billy Graham. who became an agnostic, and publicly rejected the Lord Jesus. This is what the Lord says about such people through Malachi, ‘How the mighty have fallen.”
1. He departed from the truth
“But you have turned from the way and by your teaching have caused many to stumble.” Malachi 2:8
To leave God’s way means we go outside the sphere of His purpose and blessing. It is easy to depart from His way when our thoughts begin to wander after selfish interests. But note that it not only the priest who loses, he causes many others to drift from God and his way with disastrous consequences
2. He denied the Word of God
“You have violated the covenant with Levi,” says the Lord Almighty” Malachi 2:8
Such people nullify the Word of God by false or selective interpretation. The Christian gospel is all about the grace of God who forgives and empowers all those who return to him in repentance. We corrupt the Gospel by either making salvation conditional upon human merit, or by saying that the grace of God makes it permissible to continue in sin. Moral failure is often the root cause of rejection of Christ, repentance and allowing Jesus to be Lord of our lives is fundamental to the Christian life.
“What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?” Romans 6:1
What a tragedy it is to hear clergymen say, at the funeral of someone who has shown no interest in living for God’ ‘They have now gone to a better place.’ That is not what the Bible teaches.
3. The disastrous consequences of backsliding
There are many great benefits in being one of God’s chosen people and to reject this honour will have disastrous consequences:
“If you do not listen, and if you do not resolve to honour my name,” says the Lord Almighty, “I will send a curse on you, and I will curse your blessings. Yes, I have already cursed them, because you have not resolved to honour me.” Malachi 2:2
Can there ever be a worse fate than to be cursed by God and have his blessings removed from someone? Any good that has been done will be reversed. His life becomes barren and unfruitful, like the branch separated from the vine.
This cursing will even affect his descendants. Malachi describes in vivd terms what this rejection will mean:
“Because of you I will rebuke your descendants; I will smear on your faces the dung from your festival sacrifices, and you will be carried off with it.” Malachi 2:2
We naturally love our children and grandchildren and want the best for them but the Lord is saying that their welfare will be forfeited if we do not continue to put God first. Any priest’s rejection of God’s rule will cause others to turn away from the Lord.
“But you have turned from the way and by your teaching have caused many to stumble; you have violated the covenant with Levi,” says the Lord Almighty.” Malachi 2:8
How many there are who have drifted from Christ and his gospel because of failures in professing Christians, especially if they are preachers. Iniquity in the Christian’s life is always a stumbling-block. No wonder Jesus said to his disciples:
“If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them if a large millstone were hung around their neck and they were thrown into the sea.” Mark 9:42
A fallen priest, who has been selective over which part of God’s word he likes, will be despised in people’s eyes. Even non-Christians admire integrity:
“So I have caused you to be despised and humiliated before all the people, because you have not followed my ways but have shown partiality in matters of the law.” Malachi 2:9
It is a very high calling to be a Christian and even more so to be one of the leaders of God’s people. To drift away from Christ and from the authority of Scripture is a lethal move:
“We must pay the most careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away. For since the message spoken through angels was binding, and every violation and disobedience received its just punishment, how shall we escape if we ignore so great a salvation? This salvation, which was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard him.” Hebrews 2:1-3
Paul felt he was highly privileged to be a leader of God’s people and for this reason he determined to ensure that he kept walking God’s way:
“No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.” 1 Corinthians 9:27
The demise of Demas
Demas was once a trusted companion of the Apostle Paul. His story is a warning about the temptations of worldliness and how someone can be drawn away from the faith, even after being actively involved in Christian ministry.
Demas is mentioned twice in the New Testament, alongside people such as Luke, Mark, and Aristarchus as a man who was working with Paul in spreading the gospel (Colossians 4:14 and Philemon 1:24). Demas was close to the apostle Paul, and at some point, was considered a faithful labourer for Christ. Yet, in what was probably Paul’s last letter, we read:
“ . . . for Demas, because he loved this world, has deserted me and has gone to Thessalonica.” 2 Timothy 4:10
Demas had deserted Paul and the gospel. Any person who moves away from accepting Apostolic authority as given in Scripture moves from the gospel of god. The phrase “because he loved this world” suggests that Demas was drawn away from the ministry by the attractions of this present world: materialism, pleasure, and comfort.
Demas, like Judas and the failed priests in Malachi’s time all serve as a warning about the danger of prioritising worldly desires over faith in Christ. This applies to all Christians but those who take on leadership roles do have added responsibilities.
James
In the Book of James, the Apostle addresses the responsibilities of those who teach and lead, particularly in James 3:1-2, where he offers a warning and guidance about the role of teachers within the Christian community.
“Not many of you should become teachers, my fellow believers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly. We all stumble in many ways. Anyone who is never at fault in what they say is perfect, able to keep their whole body in check.” James 3:1-2
A Bible teacher clearly has a very important role but James warns that not many should become teachers because they will be held to a higher standard. Teaching is a serious responsibility because teachers influence the beliefs and behaviour of others. Teachers and leaders in the church will face stricter judgment from God because their words and actions can either build up or mislead others. Thus, they must be mindful and responsible in how they teach. James stresses that the tongue is a very powerful weapon that can either be used for good or for harm
“Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless.” James 1:26
Why would anyone become a church leader?
In the light of these dangers and warnings why should people consider becoming Christian leaders? The answer is simple, certain people have been given gifts by God to help and lead others. A major one of these is the longing to see the Lord Jesus honoured in our society and in his churches. Those who have the necessary gifting and who have this longing to see Jesus honoured should surely want to take on these responsibilities.
The Heidelberg Catechism is a Protestant teaching tool written in 1563 to instruct believers in Christian doctrine through a series of questions and answers. It is one of the most influential catechisms and is widely used in Reformed churches worldwide. It gives a beautiful, humbling answer to help us understand what matters most in life:
Q. What is your only comfort in life and death?
A. That I am not my own, but belong—body and soul, in life and in death—to my faithful Saviour Jesus Christ . . .
This is a powerful reminder that real peace and joy doesn’t come from asserting our own rights, but from surrendering ourselves to the Lordship of Christ - mind, soul and body.
BVP
