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Malachi 2:1-9
In today's text, God is saying that He will destroy the life and peace of Israel because the Levitical priests abandoned their right faith. Just as doctors were responsible for the lives of their patients, so the priests were responsible for the life and peace of Israel.
priest's mission
Israel is a people living in the presence of God. God lived among the Israelites and blessed them, and He wanted to bless the whole world through them. The problem, however, is that there is no time when man does not sin and there is no time when he does not think evil thoughts. Therefore, living with God was like living in an active volcano that could explode anytime. Nevertheless, they were able to survive because there was a priest.
What was the priest's sin? If we look closely at verse 2, he points out three things about the sins of the priests. One is not listening. Another is that they did not take the word to heart. Even though they heard those words, they ignored it. To put it simply, it's letting go. They don't glorify God because they don't care.
The priest needs two attitudes. The first is to fear God. The second is to have pity on the sinner.
In verse 2 God says He will take from them the ability to turn curses into blessings. Believers have privileges. It is the privilege that the blessing actually comes when we bless others, and the privilege that God's grace actually comes upon them when we pray while bearing the sins of others.
what the priest asks
What is the proper mission of a priest? Look at verses 6-7. Priests are experts. What are you an expert on? He is an expert on the truth of God. Only one story should come out of their mouths. There should be no talk about how to make money, how to study well, how to manage health, and how to succeed. Only the story of the law of truth should come out. A priest must walk with God “in peace and in honesty.”
What does verse 9 say? The priests of Judah were “prejudiced” to the people. For example, the attitude toward sinners with money and sinners without money was different. Even though they committed the same sin, they treated sinners with money kindly, and sinners without money harshly. What does this mean? They did not know how precious their mission was.
Why does Malachi emphasize the role of the priest so much? Because they are the last lifeline of the people of Judah. Of the anointed offices, the priest is the only one left after Malachi. From Malachi until John the Baptist appeared, Judas went into a long-term unconscious state for about 400 years. Even if the fire of hope is extinguished for them like vegetative humans, if the priest's prayer is still alive, there is hope for Judah to come back to life.
Why does the church exist? Why do we exist? Even though we too often fall, it is to lift others up, and even though we are imperfect, we too can stand before God, bear with the sins of the world, and dwell in grace. God has appointed priests to do that. If the priests compromise with sin, they have no reason to exist anymore.
Did you fall today? Get up again. Knowing our weakness, our Jesus came. I pray that you and I will fulfill the mission of priests so that God can come among us with grace by wearing the white clothes that the Lord has given us instead of our crumpled clothes and praying.