King James Bible Study – [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. – Mark 8:34]
Date: Tuesday, September 30, 2025
Chapters: The Book of Malachi
Message: Malachi: Robbing God
Hello My Friend,
As we come to the reading of Malachi, we learn that there are several ways in which we can rob God, not only of our time, but in our giving as well. Before I officially had gotten saved and dedicated my life to Christ, I use to believe that God just sat there on His throne, overlooking humanity and just judged us accordingly. Now, while God does do that to some extent, He is not a tyrant, He is a just judge who wants a one on one relationship with each and every one of His people. God, said this, [Genesis 1:26-27 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.]
The “us” is God talking in third person, meaning He is speaking to Jesus and the Holy Spirit as He created the earth. So, think about it, if we were created in God’s image, would not God go through the same emotions and reactions that we do? Honestly, the one that was created in His image was Adam, the rest of us are created in Adam’s because of the curse that was passed down to us. However, once we learn of Christ and receive Him as our Saviour, the Holy Spirit works in us to conform us into an image of Christ, [Hebrews 13:20-21 Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, 21 Make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is wellpleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.]
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, the walls restored, and city was being restored nothing was changing. The labor was hard, but the wages were meager, the sewing was much, but the reaping was little. They began questioning God, in which God responds by sending Malachi, the last prophet to speak out about God for four hundred years. He first reminds them that He loves them.
[Malachi 1:1-5 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. 5 And your eyes shall see, and ye shall say, The LORD will be magnified from the border of Israel.]
Why did God hate Esau? While much of it has to do with him selling his birthright to Jacob for a mere bowl of soup, it goes beyond that. Esau, mocked God by giving up his birthright so easily, in fact, it showed that he despised his birthright. On top of that, he was well aware of God and yet did not follow Him, not even a little bit, his goal in life was solely to please his father to receive his inheritance, and when that failed he showed that he despised more than his birthright, he despised God, [Genesis 25:33-34 And Jacob said, Swear to me this day; and he sware unto him: and he sold his birthright unto Jacob. 34 Then Jacob gave Esau bread and pottage of lentiles; and he did eat and drink, and rose up, and went his way: thus Esau despised his birthright.]
Now that God reminded them of His love for them, He turns to the reason why they were working so hard, but receiving so little. It was not just one group of people or a few guilty, it was the entire congregation. First, He begins with the priests, these were the ones who were supposed to be laboring for Him and in return He would provide for them. They were doing the work, but it was spotty and halfhearted and therefore, God goes on to tell them why He does not accept their offering.
[Malachi 1:7-8,11,13 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. 11 For from the rising of the sun even unto the going down of the same my name shall be great among the Gentiles; and in every place incense shall be offered unto my name, and a pure offering: for my name shall be great among the heathen, saith the LORD of hosts. 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.]
This would be the first time that we learn of God revealing that the Gentiles will start worshiping Him over the Jews. You see, several things were going on here, not only were they offering halfhearted offerings, they were not pure, unblemished offerings. Also, they were not consecrating themselves or keeping themselves out of sin once they were in the temple. However, what bothered God more than anything was that they had no delight in serving Him and yet they still expected His blessings. God, does not want our leftovers and He certainly does not want us to come to Him out of obligation or some routine, He wants us to come to Him with all our heart, soul, and mind, [Mark 12:30-31 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. 31 And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.]
I am sure that they were discouraged as the less they received of their efforts the more weary they became in doing anymore work until it just became something of an obligation rather than a delight. However, that was not the best way to get God’s attention and God goes on to not only rebuke them for their lack of commitment, but bringing the congregation down with them.
[Malachi 2:1-4,7-8 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. 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. 8 But ye are departed out of the way; ye have caused many to stumble at the law; ye have corrupted the covenant of Levi, saith the LORD of hosts.]
God’s ministers, and this includes saved, born again preachers, teachers, and ministry leaders, are to set the example that their followers follow. The congregation looks to the preachers and teachers of the Church to guide them in the right direction, naturally, if they are living in sin, then the congregation will follow as well. However, the congregation is not off the hook either, they too must learn to discern right from wrong and cannot blame anyone for any sin in their lives that they are ignorant to. And now, God goes on to address Judah for their stumbling at the Law.
[Malachi 2:11-13 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.]
This is Malachi speaking at this point and he is referring to the several men who had gotten married to women who were idol worshipers and this was a big mistake because it caused them to worship them. This brings us once again to the point that we who are saved cannot marry someone who is not of the same belief as us. Unless, they are willing to convert before getting married, there will be problems, [2 Corinthians 6:16-17 And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,]
They were also guilty of something else, they were not sincere in their giving. Sadly, we too can just be going with the motions of serving God without even thinking about it in so much that it becomes routine rather than from the heart. God, will not accept any offering if it is not given wholeheartedly and here they were crying out to God and He was not listening and goes on to remind them of why.
[Malachi 2:14-15,17 Yet ye say, Wherefore? Because the LORD hath been witness between thee and the wife of thy youth, against whom thou hast dealt treacherously: yet is she thy companion, and the wife of thy covenant. 15 And did not he make one? Yet had he the residue of the spirit. And wherefore one? That he might seek a godly seed. Therefore take heed to your spirit, and let none deal treacherously against the wife of his youth. 17 Ye have wearied the LORD with your words. Yet ye say, Wherein have we wearied him? When ye say, Every one that doeth evil is good in the sight of the LORD, and he delighteth in them; or, Where is the God of judgment?]
Wow! In other words, talk is cheap. They were not only condoning those who were living in sin, they were telling them that God approved of what they were doing. Jesus, Himself said to the woman caught in adultery to sin no more, [John 8:10-11 When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee? 11 She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.]
Men and women of God should be knowledgeable in the things of God and seek to know and teach them everywhere they go. The Jews were not use to that, in fact, Ezra, was the first person to read the Law to anyone for ages. Through Malachi, God, reveals the messenger who will teach believers in the way that they should go. As you read it you will discover that this is actually Jesus speaking.
[Malachi 3:1-4 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’ sope: 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.]
The messenger of course, is none other than John, the Baptist, he would be the first prophet to speak to them about the coming of Christ in four hundred years. 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. 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 7:26-27 For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens; 27 Who needeth not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the people’s: for this he did once, when he offered up himself.]
God, never changes, what He believes and taught from the very beginning is the very same thing that He teaches today. He goes on to remind the Jews and all of us of that fact and to point out that He is being robbed.
[Malachi 3:6-10 For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed. 7 Even from the days of your fathers ye are gone away from mine ordinances, and have not kept them. Return unto me, and I will return unto you, saith the LORD of hosts. But ye said, Wherein shall we return? 8 Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings. 9 Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation. 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.]
We have surely made a mess of things, and this goes beyond robbing God financially of tithes and offerings, we have robbed Him of the very thing that He truly longs for, and that it is our fear of Him. It is like Jesus said, [Matthew 15:7-9 Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying, 8 This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. 9 But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.]
We really do need preachers and teachers who are knowledgeable of God’s Word to help us as we are reading and studying it ourselves. God’s children, those who believe in and receive Him, are the only ones able to discern His Word as He reveals it to them through the Holy Spirit, [Malachi 3:13-15 Your words have been stout against me, saith the LORD. Yet ye say, What have we spoken so much against thee? 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.]
You see, they too were discouraged because they were working hard and praying to God and still had no end to their suffering and I can understand their point as well. We all get discouraged sometimes, even when we are faithful in giving our time, tithes, and offerings to God, and we still suffer, but we cannot let that change our disposition. And I am preaching to the choir as I sit here feeling that way right now, but one thing that keeps going through my head right now is this verse, [Psalms 56:3 What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee.]
I hate where my life is right now, but I still have hope that God will see me through as right now the ball is in His court. God’s children are not just any children by the way, all mankind is a creation of God, but only those whom have His Spirit upon them are His children and their names are actually written in a book, which Malachi refers to as the book of remembrance, [Malachi 3:16-18 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.]
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, [John 3:16-18 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.]
Wow! God, makes it simple to avoid condemnation, put your faith and trust in His Son. This is not something that is new, the people of old knew this as well in some form. 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 4:1-3 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. 3 And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this, saith the LORD of hosts.]
What does the Sun of righteousness heal us from? Eternal death. Christ, who is our righteousness, heals our dead souls with life upon it through our faith in Him. He also heals our body, even if we are in pain right now, one day, we will be in pain no more, [Luke 4:18-19 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, 19 To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.]
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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