Once Sacrifice For All

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King James Bible Study[Mark 8:34  And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.]

Date: Friday, September 30, 2022
Chapters: THE BOOK OF MALACHI
Study: Once Sacrifice For All

Hello My Friend,

Well, the hurricane has come and gone, there is still water on many of the roads so I am not home yet. Also, the main road that leads to my street has a giant sink hole, and the front part of the carport next to my house has caved in, barely missing my moms car. Praise God, nothing else was damaged and we have power. Now, comes the insurance claims, clean up, and trying to get back to normal life. Well, a new normal. Do you know what I discovered these past few days? God, sends messages with storms. Not only messages of judgment, but messages of hope, messages of where our priorities lie, and messages of reconciliation, [1 Peter 3:12-15  For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil.  13  And who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good?  14  But and if ye suffer for righteousness’ sake, happy are ye: and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled;  15  But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:]

The Book of Malachi contains four chapters, the author is Malachi, and it was written to Israel. The timeline for these events took place approximately between 440BC and 410BC. The purpose of the book was to call Israel to repentance and return to righteousness in order to restore the nation, with great emphasis on the Levites. What we are to learn from the book is that God only accepts the sacrifices (offerings) of those who love Him wholeheartedly, [Malachi 3:10  Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.]

When the Jews returned to Jerusalem from Babylon they did not expect it to be in ruin, and even though the temple had been rebuilt, and restored nothing was changing. They began questioning God, in which God responds, [Malachi 1:1-4  The burden of the word of the LORD to Israel by Malachi.  2  I have loved you, saith the LORD. Yet ye say, Wherein hast thou loved us? Was not Esau Jacob’s brother? saith the LORD: yet I loved Jacob,  3  And I hated Esau, and laid his mountains and his heritage waste for the dragons of the wilderness.  4  Whereas Edom saith, We are impoverished, but we will return and build the desolate places; thus saith the LORD of hosts, They shall build, but I will throw down; and they shall call them, The border of wickedness, and, The people against whom the LORD hath indignation for ever.]

[Wherein hast thou loved us?] The world will always question the love of God, with all the evil in the world. I always say that God is not the one who creates evil, man is. You see, these people were complaining that God’s Law was too harsh, they despised them and whenever they did follow the Law, it was halfheartedly, yet they still wanted His blessings upon their lives. Well, God, goes on to tell them why He rejected their sacrifices.

[Malachi 1:78,10,13-14  Ye offer polluted bread upon mine altar; and ye say, Wherein have we polluted thee? In that ye say, The table of the LORD is contemptible.  8  And if ye offer the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil? and if ye offer the lame and sick, is it not evil? offer it now unto thy governor; will he be pleased with thee, or accept thy person? saith the LORD of hosts.  10  Who is there even among you that would shut the doors for nought? neither do ye kindle fire on mine altar for nought. I have no pleasure in you, saith the LORD of hosts, neither will I accept an offering at your hand. 13  Ye said also, Behold, what a weariness is it! and ye have snuffed at it, saith the LORD of hosts; and ye brought that which was torn, and the lame, and the sick; thus ye brought an offering: should I accept this of your hand? saith the LORD.  14  But cursed be the deceiver, which hath in his flock a male, and voweth, and sacrificeth unto the Lord a corrupt thing: for I am a great King, saith the LORD of hosts, and my name is dreadful among the heathen.]

[and my name is dreadful among the heathen.] Do you think the wicked are not afraid of God? Or that Satan is not afraid of God? Oh, they are and they they tremble, which is why they act the way they do, [James 2:19  Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.]

[The table of the LORD is contemptible.] [Contemptible; Disobedience of the rules and orders of a court, which is a punishable offense. The state of being despised; in a Scriptural sense, shame, and disgrace.] Sound familiar? It seems that the Church is doing the same thing today. God, does not expect us to be perfect in a sense that we think that we need to supersede Jesus. First of all, that is impossible, He just wants us to follow His example. Our soul is perfect in Christ, the body becomes perfected as we walk with Christ, [John 17:23  I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.]

You see, two things were going on here, not only was the congregation offering their halfhearted offerings, the priest’s were not consecrating themselves or keeping themselves out of sin, and still accepting the sacrifices. Now, not only were the laymen complaining about God, so were the priests, and this is God answer.

[Malachi 2:1-7  And now, O ye priests, this commandment is for you.  2  If ye will not hear, and if ye will not lay it to heart, to give glory unto my name, saith the LORD of hosts, I will even send a curse upon you, and I will curse your blessings: yea, I have cursed them already, because ye do not lay it to heart.  3  Behold, I will corrupt your seed, and spread dung upon your faces, even the dung of your solemn feasts; and one shall take you away with it.  4  And ye shall know that I have sent this commandment unto you, that my covenant might be with Levi, saith the LORD of hosts.  5  My covenant was with him of life and peace; and I gave them to him for the fear wherewith he feared me, and was afraid before my name.  6  The law of truth was in his mouth, and iniquity was not found in his lips: he walked with me in peace and equity, and did turn many away from iniquity.  7  For the priest’s lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the law at his mouth: for he is the messenger of the LORD of hosts.]

[for he is the messenger of the LORD of hosts.] Those who serve God in and out of His church are messengers of Christ, if they are not saved, or have any kind of doubt about God, it will reflect off into the congregation. Men and women of God should be knowledgeable in the things of God., especially the Gospel, and seek to know and teach them everywhere they go.

[Malachi 2:10-13  Have we not all one father? hath not one God created us? why do we deal treacherously every man against his brother, by profaning the covenant of our fathers?  11  Judah hath dealt treacherously, and an abomination is committed in Israel and in Jerusalem; for Judah hath profaned the holiness of the LORD which he loved, and hath married the daughter of a strange god.  12  The LORD will cut off the man that doeth this, the master and the scholar, out of the tabernacles of Jacob, and him that offereth an offering unto the LORD of hosts.  13  And this have ye done again, covering the altar of the LORD with tears, with weeping, and with crying out, insomuch that he regardeth not the offering any more, or receiveth it with good will at your hand.]

[insomuch that he regardeth not the offering any more,] This is worse than the person who goes to church, pays tithes, volunteers, becomes part of a church, but never receives Christ as their Saviour, [2 Peter 2:20  For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning.]

The Jews enjoyed all the same privileges and advantages, there were many of very different characters, some very good and others very bad, some plainly appeared to be the children of God and others discovered to be the children of the devil himself. Those who are God’s are written in His book, not from any righteousness of their own, but of their faith. Through Malachi, God, foretells of reveals the messenger He will send before He sends His Son. As you read it you will discover that this is actually Jesus speaking.

[Malachi 3:1-5  Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts.  2  But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner’s fire, and like fullers’ soap:  3  And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the LORD an offering in righteousness.  4  Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the LORD, as in the days of old, and as in former years.]

[I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me:], This is John, the Baptist, and he would be the first prophet to speak to them about the coming of Christ in four hundred years, [Matthew 11:10-11  For this is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.  11  Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.]

[and he shall purify the sons of Levi,] God, also used John to purify the Levites of their sin, and I believe this went all the way back to Aaron and the golden calf. You see, God, had specifically chosen the Levites for the work of His ministry, of whom John was born of, but only sanctified high priest’s were permitted to present the sacrifices of the people to God. This opened the door for Jesus, who descended here in the flesh through Judah to be able to not only present the offering as the high priest, but be the offering as well.

[Hebrews 5:1,4-5,8-10  For every high priest taken from among men is ordained for men in things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins: 4  And no man taketh this honour unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron.  5  So also Christ glorified not himself to be made an high priest; but he that said unto him, Thou art my Son, to day have I begotten thee. 8  Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered;  9  And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him;  10  Called of God an high priest after the order of Melchisedec.]

God never changes, what He believes and taught from the very beginning is the very same thing that He teaches us today. God’s children, those who believe in and receive Him, actually have their names written in a book, which God refers to as the book of remembrance.

[Malachi 3:6,14-18  For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.  14  Ye have said, It is vain to serve God: and what profit is it that we have kept his ordinance, and that we have walked mournfully before the LORD of hosts?  15  And now we call the proud happy; yea, they that work wickedness are set up; yea, they that tempt God are even delivered.  16  Then they that feared the LORD spake often one to another: and the LORD hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the LORD, and that thought upon his name.  17  And they shall be mine, saith the LORD of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him. 18  Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not.]

[in that day when I make up my jewels;] More precious to God than any jewels on the earth are the souls of man, which is why He made one way for all who truly want Him in their lives to be saved, [Hebrews 10:10,14  By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. 14  For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.]

Through Malachi, God reminds them of the day that all the earth will be gone and why the only ones to survive will be His jewels, [Malachi 4:1-2,5-6  For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.  2  But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall. 5  Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD:  6  And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.]

[I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day] This is also speaking of John the Baptist, he had a particular message, the coming of Christ. Many of the Jews questioned if Jesus was in fact Elijah, even Jesus asked His disciples who they thought He was, but those who truly believe will know who Christ is, and will accept Him without a doubt, [Matthew 16:14-17  And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets.  15  He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?  16  And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.  17  And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.]

Today’s Prayer: God, Thank You for giving us the one perfect sacrifice that will redeem our souls forever. We can live in such a way that our limitations define us and guide us in all that we think, do, and say to the point that we do not give You our very best. Lord, we recognize the true freedom that comes when You accomplish Your will in our lives as when we humbly serve You with the very best of our abilities. The constraints we place on ourselves can be lifted by the power of Your Holy Spirit as we wholeheartedly devote ourselves to You and Your service. When we give You our very best, that is when You give us Yours. I ask these things in Your name, Jesus. Amen.

God Bless You, I am praying for you,

Christina

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