Holy Scriptures and Israel

Guest (Male): Shalom. Holy Scriptures and Israel is a ministry designed to share with the Jewish people the good news of the Lord Jesus, Yeshua the Messiah, and to instruct Christians on the Jewish roots of their faith. And now, teaching God's word from a Hebrew Messianic perspective, here is Gideon Levytam.

Gideon Levytam: The study of the book of Malachi, chapter one. In other words, what God is saying in verse 8 is that the priests have offered that which was unacceptable to God. He had already instructed them earlier in the book of Leviticus that anything that has any defect in it—any animal—these are animals that are unacceptable to Him.

Just a few weeks ago, we celebrated Pesach, Passover. You remember the instruction in Exodus chapter 12: your lamb shall be without blemish. Why? Why? Because it speaks to Him about the Messiah, Yeshua, who was the sinless one, the undefiled one, separate from sinners. But to give God the blind, the lame, and the sick—what is unacceptable—is that not polluting the name of the Lord and His altar?

The heart of God is grieved as He has to say this to His own people. What happened is they really despised the table of the Lord from which He feeds, and it is actually the altar of the Lord where the animals were slain and placed there on the altar. That becomes the table of the Lord. But what can He feed on? Animals which did not typify His anointed one, the Mashiach, the Messiah of Israel, the savior of this world.

You see this? What God is saying to Israel: "A son honors his father, and a servant honors his master. And if then I be a father, where is my honor? And if I be a master, where is my reverence?" Look what you offer me: the blind, the lame, and the sick. That which was polluted, that which was despised, is that which the Lord does not receive. It is unacceptable before Him.

One could continue on in his religious activity to offer all these supposedly sacrifices, and God says, "I despise it. I don't receive it at all." The ritual was there, but there was not that which pleased the Lord. You notice there is a verse that I want to read in Ezekiel. If you turn to Ezekiel chapter 41, verse 22. Ezekiel speaks about the future day when the temple of the Lord will be rebuilt and the Messiah will reign and rule.

In chapter 41, he says in verse 22, speaking about the altar: "The altar of wood was three cubits high, and the length thereof was two cubits; and the corners thereof, and the length thereof, and the walls thereof were of wood: and he said unto me, 'This is the table that is before the Lord.'" The altar becomes the table that is before the Lord. So the Lord is grieved when He is speaking to the priests of Israel who are asking Him, "How did we despise You?" The Lord tells them in verse 8, "You give me the sacrifices which are unacceptable to me: blind, lame, and sick."

Iver, as it says here, choleh—this is the sick one that he's speaking about here. Contemptible. They have really despised the table of the Lord. In verse 8, He is pointing this out. But now notice what He tells them in verse 8b. He says, "Okay, you're giving to me these sacrifices of the blind and the lame and the sick. Now offer this to your own master or to your own governor. Let's see if he will accept it from you." Notice in verse 8b, He says, "Offer it now unto thy governor."

The word "governor" comes from the Persian name Pechah. Pechah is the name of the governor in Persian, Parsit. Pechah was the title of the Persian governors who were ruling over the restored Israel in the time of Malachi. He says, "Give it to your governor. Will he be pleased with this? Or accept your person?" says the Lord of hosts. He says to them, "Okay, you're offering it to me and I'm not accepting it. Let's see if you're going to give it to your governor. Let's see if he's going to accept it."

We have the decency not to give to the governor that which is blind and lame and sick. Can you imagine you're going to go give a gift to someone and say, "Hey, listen, I want to give you a gift. Here's a blind animal as a gift." Or, "I'm going to give you a lame one. Here, take it, I want to give it to you as a gift." What would he say? Well, the answer is, of course, he will not receive it. "Keep it for yourself," the governor will say. God is challenging the people of Israel, specifically the priesthood, in a time like that.

When you really think about this, what are we to offer to the Lord as believers? When it comes to time, how much time do we give to the Lord? When it comes to the natural gifts that we have, how much do we use our natural ability for the glory of the Lord Yeshua the Messiah? Or are we going to say to Him, "Listen, I like to go to a church meeting once in a while. Don't bother me the rest of the time. When I have convenient time, I'll come to spend some time with You, but don't bother me because I'm busy at the moment."

This is the way we are, isn't it? We give God just a little bit of time to be religious. But the rest of the time, "God, don't bother me. I'm busy. I have my own things, my own life, my own affairs, my own things that I have to do. Don't bother me." God gave us talents; He gave us various abilities. We can offer to the Lord so much, and it's not necessarily money. So much we can offer to the Lord in order for Him to use us to be a blessing to the people of God.

Look at the condition of the church, the assembly today. It is very similar to what our own forefathers in Israel were in the time of Malachi. There is time for pleasure, there's a time for business, but very, very little time for God and for the Lord Yeshua the Messiah. That's what God is appealing to Israel for and what He is appealing to us today. Because whatsoever things were written aforetime, they were written for our learning; the apostle Paul said that.

Just like our forefathers, Israel of old—especially the leaders of Israel—were challenged by the Lord Himself, you and I are challenged today. God doesn't need you to give the leftover to Him. He wants our hearts. He wants our energy. He wants our time. He wants us to spend time with Him and to give Him that which is precious, so that He can use it for a blessing to others. The apostle Paul said in 1 Corinthians chapter 10, "For whatsoever you do, do it to the glory of God."

In Colossians chapter 3 as well, he is encouraging the people of God to do that which will give God honor and glory and will bring blessing to the people of God. The psalmist of Israel said this likewise, Psalm 116. Look what David said years ago in Psalm 116. He asked the question, "What shall I render unto the Lord for all his benefits towards me?" Psalm 116 and verse 12. David gave an answer. He says, "I will take up the cup of salvation and call upon the name of the Lord. I will pay my vows unto the Lord now in the presence of all his people."

What shall I render unto the Lord for all what He has done for us? There must be a response. And it shouldn't be the blind, the lame, and the sick. It should be that which will be a blessing and give joy that will speak of the Messiah to the heart of God. So the Lord now appeals to them in verse 9. Malachi chapter 1 and verse 9. The Lord appeals to the priests to beseech God for grace.

And as it says here, He says, "And now, I pray you, beseech God that he will be gracious unto us: this hath been by your means: will he regard your person?" says the Lord of hosts. In other words, He says, "Look, it's in your own hands. You're the one that has done this. You have offered the blind, the lame, and the sick. It is in your hand, but turn to the Lord and ask Him for mercy to forgive you. He may forgive you if you will change your ways."

But you see what we read in the next verse, after He mentions this in verse 10. When they continued in their own ways, the Lord says in verse 10, "Who is there even among you that would shut the doors for naught?" He says, "I prefer that you would shut the doors of the temple. Don't come in. I don't need your sacrifices." Someone around here must shut the door and not let them come in because what they offer is the blind, the lame, and the sick.

"I wish," He says, "there would be someone who would just shut the door and not allow them even to come in to offer those sacrifices. Neither do ye kindle fire on mine altar for naught. I have no pleasure in you," says the Lord of hosts, "neither will I accept an offering at your hand." Can you imagine when God comes to a point where He says, "That's it. That's it. I don't need anything from you. I don't want anything from you because you don't give me any pleasure."

"You don't give me your energy, your time, or your gifts that you are able to use for the people of God. Instead of using them, what are you doing? You're giving me all that which is blind and lame and sick. Somebody please shut the door. Don't let them come into my altar, into my temple, to offer anything for me because there is no use for me." God is saying this to our forefathers, the people of Israel.

You remember, beloved brothers and sisters, the Lord Yeshua the Messiah, who is in glory in heaven, said to the apostle John, Yochanan, when he was speaking about the church of Laodicea. He said to them in Revelation chapter 3, "These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God. I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew thee out of my mouth."

"Because thou sayest, 'I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing'; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked." That's what the Lord Jesus, Yeshua the Messiah, said and He's saying even today to the professing church in the last days in which we are living. He said to them, "I will spew you out of my mouth because of the spiritual state in which we find ourselves today in these last days of the assembly age."

To the priests of Israel, He said to them, "Someone please shut the door. I don't want them to come to kindle a fire on my altar. I have no pleasure in you, number one. Number two, I will not accept your offering." Not only am I not accepting you, but I have no pleasure in your offering. Neither you, because of your condition, nor your offering, because of what you are offering. It is sad that the heart of God is so grieved to say this to the spiritual leaders of those days.

And now notice, in verses 11 to verse 14—the last portion of Malachi chapter 1. Not only did the priests offer unacceptable sacrifices, but the priests also dishonored the name of God, the name of the Lord, the name of Jehovah. In verses 11, 12, 13, and 14, I just want to mention those points for us all. Notice in verse 11, God is speaking through the prophet Malachi about the future day that the whole world will honor the name of God.

"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." In verse 11, He is taking them to the future day. And He's saying one day, this name that is despised by you now, the nations of the world will honor my name. My name shall be great among the Goyim, the Gentiles.

In every place where incense will be offered, "my name shall be great among the heathen." The two names, Gentile and heathen, come from the same Hebrew word, Goyim. The unregenerate people of the world, one day in the future, in the second coming of the Messiah, from place to place, from shore to shore, from the rising of the sun even to the going down of the sun, the name of the Lord will be honored and reverenced among the nations of the world.

And if it will be so in the future day in the Messianic kingdom, should not that reverence happen now by the people of God? That's what He's saying to the priests. It will happen in a future day in the Messianic kingdom; shouldn't it happen now by you, priests of Israel, who are representing me among the nations of the world? But then in verse 12, the priests, in contrast, profaned the name of the Lord.

As it says in verse 12, "But ye have profaned it." You profane my name in that you said, "the table of the Lord is polluted; and the fruit thereof, even the meat, is contemptible." In other words, it is despised; that's what they said. It is not important. The name of the Lord is not important. The table of the Lord and the sacrifices are not important. Giving Him that which is right is not important, they were saying.

They profaned the name of the Lord in the manner whereby they treated the sacrificial system, which should have represented the coming Messiah who is sinless, undefiled, and separate from sinners. But they said that the table of the Lord is polluted and the fruit thereof, even the bread thereof, is despised, contemptible. What a sad declaration the Lord is speaking about the spiritual leaders of those days.

And He continues now in verse 13. Notice now in verse 13, the service for the Lord becomes a weariness in the eyes of the priests. Oh, it's very tiresome. "I'm so tired of doing the service of God." Notice verse 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."

In other words, even in serving the Lord, it became tiresome. "Oh, I have to do it again. I gotta go again to the altar and offer a sacrifice. I gotta go again to the temple." Isn't it like us, brothers and sisters? "I gotta go to a meeting once again. I gotta read my Bible again. Oh, I'm so tired of it. Oh, I gotta go on my knees to pray again?" It becomes tiresome. That is not because it is wrong; it's because our hearts are wrong.

It's because we and the priests—the spiritual leaders and the people of God—somehow get so discouraged and tired, and it becomes weariness. In Hebrew, it says matla'ah, like something I can't carry on with; I'm tired of doing that. And what happens? You become religious, but there is no reality in it. No heart in it. No joy in it. Religion without reality. Having a form of godliness but without the power thereof.

That's what it is that the Lord is charging the spiritual leaders with. In other words, what happened here, He says that it became weariness, but also they snuffed at it. Now, the word for snuffed is hephachtem. You turn it upside down—what it should have been, you turn it away. You kind of blow on it, and it's not anymore what it should have been.

Do you know how many people in the world today who live in places where there is opposition to the gospel would have loved to go to a meeting where they can sing and read the Word of God and hear a message about Yeshua the Messiah? They would love to do so, but they can't because of the fear of the government or the fear of their enemies. Or maybe they have a long distance where it's far away to go. Many of them walk for hundreds of hours just to get to a place where gathered saints meet together around the Lord Yeshua the Messiah.

But when the heart is not there, it becomes a religion mundane. They are weary of that, tired of it. They snuffed at this. And they bring only that which is torn and lame and sick. God gave us the best. He gave us the darling of His bosom. He couldn't give anymore. He gave His only begotten Son. He couldn't give anymore. Jesus the Messiah said, "I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me" and to finish His work.

Every sacrifice that our forefathers placed on the altar spoke of Him. Paul said, "the son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me." That's the one that God feeds on. And that's the one that He wants His people to feed on. He is the bread of life. He is the food that God delights in. And so the conclusion, beloved brothers and sisters, here of Malachi chapter 1, verse 14.

God curses the one that offers corrupt sacrifice. Notice that He says in verse 14, "But cursed be the deceiver, which hath in his flock a male, and voweth, and sacrificeth unto the Lord a corrupt thing." God despises it. It says here that the Hebrew word for curse is arur. And the Hebrew word for deceiver is nochel. We cannot deceive God. Unfortunately, we fail God, but we cannot deceive God.

And then He says in verse 14 at the end, "For I am a great King, saith the Lord of hosts, and my name is dreadful among the heathen"—the Goyim, the Gentile world. "I am a great King," He says. And as a King, His name will be honored by all the nations of the world one day in the future in the Messianic kingdom. The Lord will be magnified from the borders of Israel, as we read in verse 5 of this chapter.

God is a great King and He deserves to receive the honor that we need to give Him because we belong to Him. Israel belonged to Him. The assembly belongs to Yeshua the Messiah, and He deserves to receive from us a response. Do we do so in the right way all the time? The truth of the matter is no. We need to pray that the Lord will stir up our hearts and will help us to give Him the portion that belongs to Him.

Our time, our energies, our gifts, our abilities—all that which He can use for His own honor and glory and for the blessing of the people of God. May He help us to do so. And when we fail, brothers and sisters, we are to confess it before Him, to admit it to Him, and ask Him to stir us up and to raise us up so we can continue to follow after Him. May the Lord bless His word. Can we say Amen to that?

Guest (Male): You have been listening to the Holy Scriptures and Israel with Gideon Levytam. Gideon teaches God's word from a Hebrew Messianic perspective. For more information about this ministry, write to Holy Scriptures and Israel, Box 1411, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, L0S 1J0, or visit our website at holyscripturesandisrael.com.

You are also invited to Gideon's weekly Bible teaching on Fridays at 11:00 AM and 7:00 PM and Saturdays at 1:00 PM at Willowdale Christian Assembly Hall, 28 Martin Ross Avenue in Toronto. Holy Scriptures and Israel is made possible by your prayers and financial support. If you would like to support the program, visit holyscripturesandisrael.com. God bless you. Shalom, shalom.