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Malachi Chapter
One
New King James Version (NKJV)
INTRODUCTION TO MALACHI 1
In
this chapter the Lord declares his love to the people of Israel, and proves it;
and complains that the honour due unto him was not given him; which he
demonstrates by various instances. The inscription is in Malachi 1:1 showing
the name and nature of the prophecy; the author of it; the people to whom it
was sent; and the name of the person by whom. In Malachi 1:2 the
Lord affirms his love to the people of Israel, which they called in question;
and proves it to be real, special, and distinguishing, by the instance of Jacob
and Esau, two brothers; yet one, their ancestor, was loved, and the other
hated; which latter is proved by the desolations made in his country, and by
the fruitless attempts made to repair and rebuild; which was so clear a proof
of the Lord's indignation against him, that the Israelites could not but see
it, and would be obliged to confess it, to the glory of God, Malachi 1:3 hence
he passes on to observe the honour and fear that were due to him as a Father
and master, which were not shown him; but, instead thereof, he was despised,
and even by the priests themselves, with which they are charged, Malachi 1:6 and which
being objected to by them, is proved by offering polluted bread on his altar;
and by polluting him, in saying his table was contemptible; and by sacrificing
the blind, the lame, and the sick, unto him; things which would be justly
resented, if offered to a temporal prince and governor, Malachi 1:7
wherefore they are called upon by the prophet to pray to the Lord for grace and
mercy for the people, seeing it was by their means (the priests) that these
things were done; though it was questionable whether the Lord would have any
regard to them, Malachi 1:9 their
sins being so dreadfully aggravated; and particularly, inasmuch as they did not
serve in the temple, not so much as shut a door, or kindle a fire on the altar,
for nothing, without being paid for it; hence the Lord declares he had no
pleasure in them, nor would he accept their offerings; but would call the
Gentiles by his grace, among whom his name would be great from one end of the
earth to the other; and incense and pure offerings would be offered by them to
him, Malachi 1:10 and
then he renews the charge against them, that they had profaned his name, by
saying that his table, and the fruit thereof, were polluted, and his meat
contemptible; by expressing a weariness in his worship, and a contempt of it;
and by bringing the torn, the lame, and sick, as an offering to him, Malachi 1:12 upon
which such sacrificers are declared deceivers, and pronounced accursed, which
they might assure themselves was and would be their case; since he was a great
King, and his name dreadful among the Heathen, Malachi 1:14.
Malachi 1:1 The burden[a] of the
word of the Lord to Israel by Malachi.
YLT
1The burden of a word of
Jehovah unto Israel by the hand of Malachi:
The burden of the word of
the Lord,.... By which is meant the prophecy of this book, so called, not
because heavy, burdensome, and distressing, either for the prophet to carry, or
the people to bear; for some part of it, which respects Christ, and his
forerunner, was matter of joy to the people of God; but because it was a
message sent by the Lord, and carried by the prophet to the people; See Gill on
Zechariah 9:1, Zechariah 12:1 and
this was not the word of man, but of God, a part of Scripture, by divine
inspiration. The Syriac version is, "the vision of the words of the
Lord": and the Arabic version, "the revelation of the word of the
Lord"; and the Septuagint version, "the assumption of the word of the
Lord"; it was what was revealed, made known, and delivered by the Lord to
the prophet, and taken up by him, and carried to Israel, which was the general
name of all the twelve tribes, when under one prince; but when the kingdom was
divided, in Rehoboam's time, it was peculiar to the ten tribes, as Judah was to
the two tribes of Benjamin and Judah; but after the return of these two from
the Babylonish captivity, in which they were joined by some of the other
tribes, it was given unto them as here:
by Malachi; or, "by the hand of Malachi"F13ביד "in manu", V. L. Cocceius; "per
manum", Pagninus, Montanus, Piscator. ; he was the instrument the Lord
made use of; the person whom he sent, and by whom he delivered the following
prophecy.
Malachi 1:2 2 “I
have loved you,” says the Lord. “Yet you say, ‘In what way have
You loved us?’ Was not Esau Jacob’s brother?” Says the Lord. “Yet Jacob I have loved;
YLT
2I have loved you, said
Jehovah, And ye have said, `In what hast Thou loved us?'
I have loved you, saith
the Lord,.... Which appeared of old, by choosing them, above all people
upon the face of the earth, to be his special and peculiar people; by bestowing
peculiar favours and blessings upon them, both temporal and spiritual; by
continuing them a people, through a variety of changes and revolutions; and by
lately bringing them out of the Babylonish captivity, restoring their land unto
them, and the pure worship of God among them:
Yet ye say, wherein hast thou loved us? the Targum
renders it, "and if ye should say"; and so Kimchi and Ben Melech;
which intimates, that though they might not have expressed themselves in so
many words, yet they seemed disposed to say so; they thought it, if they said
it not; and therefore, to prevent such an objection, as well as to show their
ingratitude, it is put in this form; and an instance of his love is demanded,
which is very surprising, when they had so many; and shows great stupidity and
unthankfulness. Abarbinel renders the words, "wherefore hast thou loved
us?" that is, is there not a reason to be given for loving us? which he
supposes was the love of Abraham to God; and therefore his love to them was not
free, but by way of reward to Abraham's love; and consequently they were not so
much obliged to him for it: to which is replied,
was not Esau Jacob's brother?
saith the Lord; Jacob and Esau were brethren; they had one and the same father
and mother, Isaac and Rebekah, and equally descended from Abraham; so that if
one was loved for the sake of Abraham, as suggested, according to Abarbinel's
sense, the other had an equal claim to it; they lay in the same womb together;
they were twins; and if any could be thought to have the advantage by birth,
Esau had it, being born first: but before they were born, and before they had
done good or evil, what is afterwards said of them was in the heart of God
towards them; which shows that the love of God to his people is free,
sovereign, and distinguishing, Genesis 25:23,
yet I loved Jacob; personally considered; not only by giving
him the temporal birthright and blessing, and the advantages arising from
thence; but by choosing him to everlasting life, bestowing his grace upon him,
revealing Christ unto him, and making him a partaker of eternal happiness; and
also his posterity, as appears by the above instances mentioned; and likewise
mystically considered, for all the elect, redeemed, and called, go by the name
of Jacob and Israel in Scripture frequently; for what is here said of Jacob is
true of all the individuals of God's people; for which purpose the apostle
refers to this passage in Romans 9:13, to
prove the sovereignty and distinction of the love of God in their election and
salvation: and this is indeed a clear proof that the love of God to his people
is entirely free from all motives and conditions in them, being before they had
done either good or evil; and therefore did not arise from any goodness in
them, nor from their love to him nor from any good works done by them: the
choice of persons to everlasting life, the fruit of this love, is denied to be
of works, and is ascribed to grace; it passed before any were wrought; and what
are done by the best of men are the effects of it; and the persons chosen or
passed by were in an equal state when both were done; which appears by this
instance: and by which also it is manifest that the love of God to men is
distinguishing; it is not alike to all men; there is a peculiar favour he bears
to own people; which is evident by the choice of some, and not others; by the
redemption of them out of every kindred, tongue, people, and nation; by the
effectual calling of them out of the world; by the application of the blessings
of grace unto them; and by bestowing eternal life on them: and it may be
further observed, that the objects of God's love have not always the knowledge
of it; indeed they have no knowledge of it before conversion, which is the open
time of love; and after conversion they have not always distinct and
appropriating views of it; only when God is pleased to come and manifest it
unto them.
Malachi 1:3 3 But
Esau I have hated, And laid waste his mountains and his heritage For the
jackals of the wilderness.”
YLT
3Is not Esau Jacob's
brother? -- an affirmation of Jehovah, And I love Jacob, and Esau I have hated,
And I make his mountains a desolation, And his inheritance for dragons of a
wilderness.
And I hated Esau,.... Or,
"rejected" him, as the Targum; did not love him as Jacob: this was a
negative, not positive hatred; it is true of him, personally considered; not
only by taking away the birthright and blessing from him, which he despised;
but by denying him his special grace, leaving him in his sins, and to his
lusts, so that he became a profane person; shared not in the grace of God here,
and had no part in the eternal inheritance with the saints in light; and
likewise it is true of his posterity, as the following instances show:
and laid his mountains and his heritage waste; which,
according to Grotius, was done by Nebuchadnezzar, five years after the
captivity of the Jews, in fulfilment of the prophecy of Jeremiah, Jeremiah 49:7 but
this was done by the NabatheansF14See Prideanx's Connexion, par. 2.
B. 3. p. 199. : Mount Seir was the famous mountain that Esau dwelt in, Genesis 36:8 there
might be more in his country; or this might have many tops, and therefore
called "mountains"; and to this account of the waste and desolate
state of this country agrees what is at present related of it, by a late
travellerF15Dr. Shaw's Travels, p. 438. Ed. 2. in those parts:
"if
(says he) we leave Palestine and Egypt behind us, and pursue our physical
observations into the land of Edom, we shall be presented with a variety of
prospects, quite different from those we have lately met with in the land of
Canaan, or in the field of Zoan; for we cannot here be entertained with
pastures clothed with flocks, or with valleys standing thick with corn, or with
brooks of water, or fountains, or depths that spring out of valleys and hills, Deuteronomy 8:7
here is no place of seed, or of figs, or of vines, or pomegranates, Numbers 20:5 but
the whole is an "evil place", a lonesome desolate wilderness; no
otherwise diversified than by plains covered with sand, and by mountains made
up of naked rocks and precipices, Malachi 1:3 neither
is this country ever (unless sometimes at the equinoxes) refreshed with rain;
but the few hardy vegetables it produces are stunted by a perpetual drought;
and the nourishment which the dews contribute to them in the night, is
sufficiently impaired by the powerful heat of the sun in the day:'
Though
this country seems to have been originally more fruitful, and better
cultivated, as may be concluded from Genesis 27:39 but
is become so through the judgments of God upon it:
for the dragons of the wilderness; so called to distinguish
them from sea dragons, or the dragon fish; such as whales and crocodiles, which
are sometimes expressed by the same word here used, Genesis 1:21 and
these land dragons are no other than serpents of an enormous size. In the
Indies they used to be distinguished into three sorts; such as were found in
the mountains; such as were bred in caves, or in the flat country; and such as
were found in fens and marshes. The first is the largest of all, and are covered
with scales as resplendent as polished gold; these have a kind of beard hanging
from their lower jaw; their eyebrows large, and very exactly arched; their
aspect the most frightful that can be imagined; and their cry loud and shrill;
their crest of a bright yellow; and a protuberance on their heads of the colour
of a burning coal. Those of the flat country differ from the former in nothing
but having their scales of a silver colour, and in their frequenting rivers, to
which the former never come. Those that live in marshes and fens are of a dark
colour, approaching to a black, move slowly, have no crest, or any rising on
their headsF16Harris's Voyages and Travels, vol. 1. p. 474. ; these
creatures commonly inhabit desert places. So Diodorus SiculusF17Bibliothec.
l. 3. p. 169. , speaking of Ethiopia, says, it is reported that various kinds
of serpents, and of an incredible size, are seen near the desert, had in places
inhabited by wild beasts; and AelianusF18De Animal. l. 6. c. 63.
describes the dragon as dwelling in woods, and living on poisonous herbs; and
preferring a desolate place to cities, and the habitations of men; and when in
Scripture it is predicted of countries and cities that they shall become
desolate, it is usually observed, that they shall be the dwelling places of
dragons, as in Isaiah 13:22 so
here it is foretold that it should be the case of Edom, as it has been, and
still continues to be, as appears from the above travellerF19Dr.
Shaw Travels, p. 448. Ed. 2. ; who, passing through some part of this country,
says of it,
"vipers,
especially in the wilderness of Sin, which might be very properly called
"the inheritance of dragons", were very dangerous and troublesome;
not only our camels, but the Arabs who attended them, running every moment the
risk of being bitten;'
so
that, according to the prediction, it is now a place for such creatures. A
learned JewF20Tanchum apud Pocock in loc. is of opinion, that not
serpents, but jackals, are here meant, which are a sort of wild howling beasts,
that live abroad in desolate places; See Gill on Micah 1:8 but
whether they be the one, or the other, it makes for the same purpose, to denote
what a desert place Edom would become; since it should be inhabited by such
creatures to dwell in, which denotes the utter desolation made. So the Targum
renders it, "into the wasteness of the desert"; or into a waste
desert, where none but such sort of animals inhabit. The Septuagint and Syriac
versions render it, "into the houses", or "cottages, of the
desert": and now, though this was the case of Judea, that it was left
desolate, yet it was but for a while; at the end of seventy years the Jews
returned to their own land, and dwelt in it; but so did not the Edomites, as
appears by the following words; which shows the regard God had to the posterity
of Jacob, and not to the posterity of Esau.
Malachi 1:4 4 Even
though Edom has said, “We have been impoverished, But we will return and build
the desolate places,” Thus says the Lord of hosts: “They
may build, but I will throw down; They shall be called the Territory of
Wickedness, And the people against whom the Lord will have
indignation forever.
YLT
4Because Edom saith, `We
have been made poor, And we turn back and we build the wastes,' Thus said
Jehovah of Hosts: They do build, and I do destroy, And [men] have called to
them, `O region of wickedness,' `O people whom Jehovah defied to the age.'
Whereas Edom saith, We are
impoverished,.... Or the Idumeans, as the Targum; the posterity of Esau, who
acknowledge themselves greatly reduced by the desolations made in their
country, cities, towns, and houses, being plundered of all their valuable
things. Kimchi interprets it, if the congregation of Edom should say, though we
are become poor and low, and our land is laid waste:
but we will return; being now become rich, as the Targum adds;
that is, as Jarchi explains it, with the spoils of Jerusalem:
and build the desolate places: as Israel did, as Kimchi
observes, when they returned from their captivity; and so the Edomites hoped to
do the same:
thus saith the Lord of hosts, They shall build, but I will throw
down; they attempted to build again their cities and towns, but could
not succeed, God was against them:
and they shall call them; or, "they shall be
called"F21וקראו להם
"et vocabuntur", V. L. Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Drusius,
Grotius. ; this shall be the name they, shall go by among men, by way of
proverb and reproach:
The border of wickedness; a wicked kingdom and
nation, from one end to the other; this shall be said of them, as the reason of
their utter and perpetual desolation:
and, The people against whom the Lord hath indignation for ever; not for
seventy years only, as against the Jews, Zechariah 1:12, but
forever; and these are now no more a people; they are utterly extinct; their
name and nation are lost; there is not the least appearance of them; when the
Jews, though they are scattered about in the world, yet they are still a
people, and distinct from all others.
Malachi 1:5 5 Your
eyes shall see, And you shall say, ‘The Lord is
magnified beyond the border of Israel.’
YLT
5And your eyes do see, and
ye say, `Magnified is Jehovah beyond the border of Israel,
And your eyes shall see,.... The
destruction of the Edomites, and their fruitless attempts to rebuild their
desolate places; and the difference between them and the Israelites, who were
returned to their own land, and inherited it, when they could not; and the love
of God to the one, and his hatred of the other:
and ye shall say, The Lord will be magnified from the border of
Israel; Aben Ezra interprets it, ye that dwelt in the border of Israel
shall say, the Lord shall be magnified, or let him be magnified; let greatness
and glory be ascribed to him for what he has done: or, as Kimchi, give him
praise and greatness because you are dwelling in your border, and their border
is desolate; and your border is called the border of Israel, but theirs the
border of wickedness; and so the Targum,
"let
the glory of the Lord be multiplied, because he hath enlarged the border of
Israel;'
and,
according to Jarchi, the sense is, he shall show his greatness from our border,
to make it known that we are his people: all show and own that God had loved
them more than others, and therefore they ought to have honoured and obeyed
him, in which they were deficient, and so ungrateful.
Malachi 1:6 6 “A
son honors his father, And a servant his master. If then I am the
Father, Where is My honor? And if I am a Master, Where is
My reverence? Says the Lord of hosts To you priests who
despise My name. Yet you say, ‘In what way have we despised Your name?’
YLT
6A son honoureth a father,
and a servant his master. And if I [am] a father, where [is] Mine honour? And
if I [am] a master, where [is] My fear? Said Jehovah of Hosts to you, O
priests, despising My name! And ye have said: `In what have we despised Thy
name?'
A son honoureth his
father, and a servant his master,.... Or, "will
honour", or "should honour"; it is their duty to do so, both
according to the laws of God and man; and so the Targum,
"lo
concerning a son it is said (or commanded) that be should honour his father;
and of a servant, that he should fear (or show reverence) before his master;'
see
Exodus 20:12,
if then I be a Father; as he was the Father of
his divine and eternal Son; the Father of spirits, angels, and the souls of
men; the Father of all men by creation; and the Father of all mercies to them
in providence, as he was to Israel; and, besides, was their Father by national
adoption, as he was not to other people; and to many of them stood in this
relation by special adopting grace:
where is mine honour? there is an honour due
to God on account of this relation; which should be shown by loving him,
trusting in him, calling upon him, imitating and obeying him, and by making use
of what he has given for his glory; he is to be honoured in heart and life, by
words and actions, and with our substance. This question suggests, that he had
not the honour given him, which belonged unto him:
and if I be a master; the word is in the
plural number, and may be understood of Jehovah, Father, Son, and Spirit;
though the first Person seems rather designed, who stands in this relation to
Christ, as Mediator; to the angels, his ministering spirits; to the ministers
of the Gospel, and to all the saints; and indeed to all men, and particularly
to the Israelites; as appeared by the special laws and commands he enjoined
them, and by his special government, protection, and care of them:
where is my fear? fear and reverence are
due to the Lord from his people, considered in such a relation to them; not a
slavish fear of wrath and punishment; but a godly filial fear, which is
influenced by the goodness of God, and appears in a carefulness not to offend
him, and by the performance of all religious worship, both private and public;
and in this not only natural men, but professors of religion, and even God's own
people, are wanting; yea, those that should set examples to others, as men in
public office, and of a public character, as follows:
saith the Lord of hosts unto you, O priests, that despise my name; for what is
before said is not only said to the people in general; but to the priests in
particular, who ought to have honoured and feared the Lord; and yet they
despised his name, or made it contemptible; by not paying that regard to his
authority, as a Father and master, they ought; by neglecting his worship, and
not taking that care of offerings and sacrifices as became them:
and ye say, Wherein have we despised thy name? as if they
were entirely innocent and guiltless.
Malachi 1:7 7 “You
offer defiled food on My altar, But say, ‘In what way have we defiled You?’ By
saying, ‘The table of the Lord is contemptible.’
YLT
7Ye are bringing nigh on
Mine altar polluted bread, And ye have said: `In what have we polluted Thee?'
In your saying: `The table of Jehovah -- it [is] despicable,'
Ye offer polluted bread
upon mine altar,.... Which some understand of the shewbread, mention being
afterwards made of a "table", as Jerom; who observes that it was made
of wheat, which the priests themselves sowed, reaped, ground, and baked, and so
could take what they would out of it: as for their sowing it, it does not seem
likely that they should be employed in such service, whatever may be said for
their reaping; since the sheaf of the first fruits was reaped by persons
deputed from the sanhedrimF23Misn. Menachot, c. 10. sect. 3. ;
though of the reaping of that for the shewbread, I find no mention made; but as
for grinding, sifting, kneading, and making it into loaves, and baking it, and
taking it out of the oven, and putting it upon the table of shewbread, all this
was the work of the priestsF24Maimon. Hilchot Tamidin, c. 5. sect.
6. ; and those of the house of GarmuF25Misn. Shekalim, c. 5. sect.
1. were appointed over that work: now, this bread might be said to be polluted,
when they set upon the table such as was not made of fine wheat flour, and had
not pure frankincense put upon or by each row, as the law required, Leviticus 24:5 nor
is it any material objection to this sense, that it is an altar, and not a
table, on which this bread was offered; since, as the altar is called a table, Ezekiel 41:22, as
this is in a following clause, the table may be called an altar; though it may
be observed, that the shewbread is never said to be offered, but to be set, or
put upon the table: indeed the burning of the frankincense set by it is called
an offering made by fire unto the Lord, Leviticus 24:7
wherefore others interpret this of the daily meat offering, which went along
with the daily sacrifice of the lambs, and part of which was burnt on the altar,
Exodus 29:40 or
rather this designs sacrifice in general, sometimes called "bread", Leviticus 3:11 and
so the Targum here,
"ye
offer upon my altar an abominable offering;'
such
as had blemishes in them, were blind or lame, as after mentioned; and had not
the requisites of a sacrifice in them; or were offered not in a right manner,
or by bad men, and with a wicked mind:
and ye say, Wherein have we polluted thee? thy bread
offering or altar; as if their offerings were pure, and they themselves, and
their consciences pure from sin. The answer is,
In that ye say, The table of the Lord is contemptible; either the
shewbread table, which yet was covered with gold, and all the vessels of it
made of gold; or the altar, as in Ezekiel 41:22 their
actions spoke so loud, and declared that the table or altar of the Lord was a
contemptible thing, since they cared not what was offered upon it: or the
reason why it was had in contempt, as some think, was because there was not
that holiness in the second temple as in the first: or, as Abarbinel and Kimchi
say, because of the fat and the blood which were offered on the altar, which
they esteemed contemptible things; not observing the end for which the Lord
commanded them to be offered.
Malachi 1:8 8 And
when you offer the blind as a sacrifice, Is it not evil? And when you
offer the lame and sick, Is it not evil? Offer it then to your governor!
Would he be pleased with you? Would he accept you favorably?” Says the Lord of hosts.
YLT
8And when ye bring nigh the
blind for sacrifice, `There is no evil,' And when ye bring nigh the lame and
sick, `There is no evil;' Bring it near, I pray thee, to thy governor -- Doth
he accept thee? or doth he lift up thy face? Said Jehovah of Hosts.
And if ye offer the blind
for sacrifice, is it not evil?.... Certainly it is,
according to the law in Leviticus 22:22 or,
as Kimchi interprets it, when they bring to you a lamb that is blind for
sacrifice to offer it up, ye say, this is not evil; but it is good to offer it
up, because the table is contemptible. The sense is, that, however evil this
may be in itself, according to them it was good enough to be offered up upon
the altar; which proves that they despised the name of the Lord, offered
polluted bread or sacrifice on his altar, and had his table in contempt:
and if ye offer the lame and sick, is it not evil? verily it is,
by the law of God, which forbids the offering of such things, Leviticus 22:21
this was always observed, in all sacrifices under the law, that they were
perfect, and without any blemish, whether of the flock, or of the herd; and
this was strictly observed, even by the Heathens themselves: so Achilles, in
HomerF1Iliad. I. 1. 66. , speaks of the perfect lambs and goats they
offered in sacrifice; and particularly they were not to be lame, or to halt; such
were reckoned choice and excellent sacrifices, which were larger and better fed
than others; and which were not lame, nor diseased, nor sickly; for things
future could not be known, they say, but from a sound victimF2Alex.
ab Alex. Genial. Dier. l. 3. c. 12. ; for they pretended to have knowledge of
them, by the entrails of the sacrifices. So PlinyF3Nat. Hist. l. 8.
c. 45. observes, that this is to be remarked, that calves brought to the altar
on men's shoulders are not to be sacrificed; nor are the gods appeased by one
that halts; in short, it is saidF4Scholia in Aristoph. Acharn. Act
3. Scen. 3. p. 409. , whatever is not perfect and sound is not to be offered to
them; and, besides these here mentioned in the text, there were many others,
which the Jews especially observed, which rendered creatures unfit for
sacrifice. MaimonidesF5Hilchot Biath Hamikdash, c. 7. sect. 1.
&c. reckons up no less than fifty blemishes, by reason of which the priests
under the law might not offer a creature for sacrifice: no doubt but the laws
of Moses concerning this matter had a respect to the pure, perfect, and
spotless sacrifice of Christ, which the legal ones were typical of; and teach
us this lesson, that, without a complete sacrifice, no atonement or
satisfaction for sin could be made: or, it is not evil in your eyes, as Aben
Ezra glosses it; which is the same as before:
offer it now unto thy governor; to Zerubbabel, who was
governor of Judea at this time, Haggai 1:1 for they
had no king. The meaning is, offer a lamb or any other creature that is blind,
sick, and lame; make a present of it to him that had the government of them;
make trial this way, and see how acceptable it would be to him:
will he be pleased with thee, or accept thy person? saith the Lord
of hosts; will he thank thee for it, or have any respect to thee on
account of it? but, on the contrary, will he not resent it as an affront to
him? and if so it would be with an earthly prince, how can it be thought that
to offer the blind, lame, and sick, should be acceptable to the King of kings,
and Lord of lords?
Malachi 1:9 9 “But
now entreat God’s favor, That He may be gracious to us. While this is
being done by your hands, Will He accept you favorably?” Says the Lord of hosts.
YLT
9And now, appease, I pray
thee, the face of God, And He doth favour us; From your own hand hath this
been, Doth He accept of you appearances? Said Jehovah of Hosts.
And now, I pray you, beseech
God that he will be gracious unto us,.... These are the words
of the prophet to the priests; and are spoken either seriously, exhorting them
to that part of their office which lay in interceding for the people that God
would be gracious to them, and forgive their sins; and the rather, inasmuch as
they had been the means of their sin, and accessary to it, who ought to have
reproved them for bringing such offerings, and should have refused to offer
them for them; or otherwise, if they did not do this, they could not expect
that God would accept their persons, and their offerings: or else ironically,
now you have offered such sacrifices to the Lord, as the blind, the lame, and
sick, go and intercede for the people; pray that their sins may be forgiven them,
and that the curse may be removed from them, and see how you will succeed:
this hath been by your means; that such sacrifices
were offered up; they indulged the people in such practices, and encouraged
them; the fault was theirs; or this curse, as Kimchi explains it, from Malachi 1:14,
will he regard your persons? saith the Lord of hosts; can you ever
imagine that God will have any respect to your persons or prayers, when you
have acted so vile a part, and been the cause of so much sin and evil? no, he
will not, as is asserted in the following verse Malachi 1:10.
Malachi 1:10 10 “Who
is there even among you who would shut the doors, So that you would not
kindle fire on My altar in vain? I have no pleasure in you,” Says the Lord of hosts, “Nor will I accept an offering from your hands.
YLT
10Who [is] even among you,
And he shutteth the two-leaved doors? Yea, ye do not kindle Mine altar for
nought, I have no pleasure in you, said Jehovah of Hosts, And a present I do
not accept of your hand.
Who is there even
among you that would shut the doors for nought?.... Either of
the temple, as the Targum and Jarchi; for at each of the gates of the temple
there were porters appointed in David's time, 1 Chronicles 26:1
and who were paid for their service: or of the court, as Kimchi; the court of
the priests where the offerings were brought. The words "for nought"
are not, in the original text, at the end of this clause, but at the end of the
next; and are by some referred to both; and by others restrained to the latter;
and who give this as the sense of the words, "who is there", or
"would there were any among you?"F6מי
גם בכם "utinam vestrum
aliquis", Gataker, Drusius. any good man that would shut the doors of the
temple, that so a man might not bring an abominable offering; intimating, that
the priests or Levites however, who were porters, ought to shut the doors
against such persons; and this way go Jarchi, Kimchi, and Abarbinel; to which
the Chaldee paraphrase inclines; which is,
"who
is there among you that will shut the door of the house of my sanctuary, that
ye may not offer on mine altar an abominable sacrifice?'
but
the same writers, out of an ancient book called Torath Cohanim, observe a sense
that agrees with ours,
"a
man says to his friend, shut this door for me, he desires nothing for it; light
me this candle, he asks no reward for it; but as for you, who is there among
you that will shut my doors for nought? or kindle a fire on mine altar for
nought? and how much less will ye do freely those things which used to be done
for reward? therefore I have no pleasure in you.'
There
were four and twenty porters to open and shut the doors of the mountain of the
house, or the temple, and the court of women in the daytime; six on the east
side; four on the north; four on the south; at Asuppim two and two, four in
all; four on the west, and two at ParbarF7Kimchi in 1 Chron. xxvi.
1. : here they attended in the daytime, to keep the place pure and peaceable;
and there seems to have been one over all the rest, whose business was to see
that the doors at evening were shut by them: in the MisnahF8Shekalim,
c. 5. sect. 1. we are told that Ben Geber was appointed over the shutting of
the gates, i.e. of the temple; and at night there were four and twenty guards
also that kept watch; the priests kept guard in three places; in the room
"abtines", in the room "nitsots", and in the fire room; and
one and twenty Levites; five at the five gates of the mountain of the house, or
the compass of the temple; four at the four corners within; five at the five
gates of the court; and four at its four corners without; one at the chamber
"Corban"; one at the chamber over against the vail; and another
behind the most holy place; and there was one that was called the man of the
mountain of the house, who every night went through every ward with torches
burning before him; and he had power to beat those he found asleep in their
watch, and to burn their garmentsF9Misn. Middot, c. 1. sect. 1, 2. ,
to which the allusion is, Revelation 16:15,
and these guards, as BartenoraF11In Misn. ib. observes, were not on
account of thieves and robbers, but for the honour of the house; and these,
neither the one by day, nor the other by night, did their work for nought, but
had a maintenance allowed them for it:
neither do ye kindle fire upon mine altar for nought: and this was
done every morning, for though, as one of the Jewish writers saysF12Baal
Hatturim in Lev. vi. 13. , fire came down, from heaven, it was ordered that
they should bring of common fire; and there were three piles or rows of fire
made every day upon the altar; the first was a large one, on which they offered
the daily sacrifice, with the rest of the offerings; the second was on the side
of it, a little one, from whence they took fire in the censer to burn incense
every day; the third had no other use for it but to confirm the command
concerning fire; as it is said, "the fire shall ever be burning", Leviticus 6:13 F13Maimon.
Hilchot Tamidin, c. 2. sect. 4. and this fire was kindled to burn the
sacrifices, the daily sacrifice, and other burnt offerings, for which they were
paid out of the tithes, and other oblations; see 1 Corinthians 9:13
this was an aggravation of their negligence and carelessness about what
offerings were brought and sacrificed; seeing they were so well taken care of,
and such a sufficient maintenance provided for them; so that they did not the
least piece of service in the temple but they were fully rewarded for it; even
not so much as to shut a door, or kindle a fire; and therefore it is no wonder
their conduct should be resented, as follows:
I have no pleasure in you, saith the Lord of hosts; neither in
your persons, nor in your offerings:
neither will I accept an offering at your hand: the
"minchah" or meat offering, any meat offering, particularly that
which was offered morning and evening with the daily sacrifice, Exodus 29:40 and it
is sometimes used particularly for the evening meat offering, 2 Kings 16:15 or
rather, "a wheat" or "bread offering"; since this offering
was made of fine flour, with oil poured upon it, and frankincense put upon
that, Leviticus 2:1 hence
mention is made of "incense" in the next verse Malachi 1:11; and
it was either baked in an oven, or fried in a pan; and either way, when it was
brought to the priest, it was burnt on the altar, and was an offering by fire
to the Lord, and of a sweet savour to him, when rightly performed; and was a
figure of the sacrifice of Christ, which is of a sweet smelling savour to God;
and this passage respects Gospel times, as appears from the following verse Malachi 1:11, when
Christ's sacrifice would be offered up, and so the oblation or meat offering
made to cease, Daniel 9:27 hence
God would not accept of it any more; or else because not rightly offered, as it
was not when any leaven was mixed with it, or that and honey were burnt with
it; signifying it should be offered with sincerity, and without hypocrisy, and
other carnal lusts; and indeed no legal sacrifices were acceptable to God but
such as were offered up in the faith of Christ, and with a view to his
sacrifice, without trusting to, and depending upon, the outward offering, as
hypocrites and carnal persons did: wherefore to this is opposed a pure
"minchah" or meat offering in the next verse Malachi 1:11; which
designs spiritual sacrifices, such as are now offered up under the Gospel
dispensation; when offering and sacrifice of a ceremonial kind God desires not;
he will have no more offered up; he takes no pleasure in them; they are not
acceptable to him, being superseded by the sacrifice of his Son, they were
types of; see Psalm 40:6 and
agreeably to which passages the words may be understood, as expressing the
Lord's rejection of legal sacrifices in general among the Jews, which he would
have no longer continued than till the Messiah came; by whose sufferings and
death the daily sacrifice was caused to cease, Daniel 9:27 when
sacrifices of another kind should be offered up in the Gentile world, through
every part of it, as in the following verse Malachi 1:11.
Malachi 1:11 11 For
from the rising of the sun, even to its going down, My name shall be
great among the Gentiles; In every place incense shall be offered to My
name, And a pure offering; For My name shall be great among the nations,” Says
the Lord of hosts.
YLT
11For, from the rising of the
sun to its going in, Great [is] My name among nations, And in every place
perfume is brought nigh to My name, and a pure present, For great [is] My name
among nations, Said Jehovah of Hosts.
For from the rising of the
sun even unto the going down of the same,.... From east to west,
which is all habitable; not so north and south, as Kimchi observes, the
extremes of which are not habitable. Abarbinel thinks that מ
in ממזרח is causal; and that the sense is, because of
the motion of the sun in rising and setting, the Gentiles acknowledge God to be
the first mover and cause of all things; and who, though they worship the host
of heaven, yet ultimately direct their worship to the supreme Being, the Cause
of causes; and supposes this to be a reproof of the priests, who might have
learnt better even of the very Heathens; but the former is to the true sense,
which declares the large extent of true spiritual worship in the Gentile world:
my name shall be great among the Gentiles; through the
preaching of the Gospel, attended with the spirit and power of God to the
conversion of many; whereby he himself is made known, and the perfections of
his nature, and his several names, and particularly that of the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus; who, as such, is called upon, and greatness and glory are
ascribed unto him for the gift of his Son, and the mission of him into the
world, to be the Saviour of Gentiles as well as of Jews:
and in every place incense shall be offered unto my name; some Jewish
writers understand this of Israelites, the disciples of the wise men, studying
in the law, and putting up their evening prayers to God, in every place where
they live among the Gentiles; which are as acceptable to God as if they offered
incense, and a pure offering; this way goes Jarchi, to which agrees the Targum;
and this sense is given in the TalmudF14T. Bab. Menachot, fol. 110.
1. Tanchuma apud Abarbinel in loc. , and other writings of theirs; but Aben
Ezra, Kimchi, and Abarbinel, interpret it of the Gentiles, though in different
ways, and foreign from the sense of the text; which is, that not in Jerusalem
the worship of God should be as formerly, but in all places in the Gentile
world, and where particularly prayer should be made to God; see John 4:20
comparable to incense for its fervency, fragrancy, and gratefulness, Psalm 141:2,
and a pure offering; meaning either the
Gentiles themselves, their souls and bodies, Isaiah 66:20 or
their sacrifices of praise, good works, and alms deeds Hebrews 13:15
which, though imperfect, and not free from sin, may be said to be
"pure", proceeding from a pure heart, sprinkled by the blood of
Christ, and offered in a pure and spiritual manner, and through the pure
incense of Christ's mediation:
for my name shall be great among; the heathen, saith the
Lord of hosts; which is repeated for the certainty of it.
Malachi 1:12 12 “But
you profane it, In that you say, ‘The table of the Lord[b] is
defiled; And its fruit, its food, is
contemptible.’
YLT
12And ye are polluting it in
your saying, `The table of Jehovah -- it is polluted, As to its fruit --
despicable is its food.'
But ye have profaned it,.... That is,
the name of the Lord, which they are said to despise, Malachi 1:6 and
pollute, Malachi 1:7 and is
a reason why they and their offerings were rejected: and that they profaned the
name of the Lord appears by this,
in that ye say, The table of the Lord is polluted: the same with
"contemptible", Malachi 1:7 as
Kimchi observes; See Gill on Malachi 1:7,
and the fruit thereof, even his meat is contemptible; the word for
fruitF15ניבו "et verbum ejus",
Pagninus, Munster; "sermo ejus, vel eorum", Vatablus; so Ben
Melech. sometimes is used for speech, the fruit of the lips, Isaiah 57:19 and
taken in this sense here, as it is by some, may be understood either of the
word of God, which commanded such and such sacrifices to be offered up upon the
altar, and was despised, so Abarbinel: or the word of the priests, who were
continually saying that what was offered up on the altar was contemptible, even
the food which they ate of; so Jarchi and Kimchi. "Fruit" and
"meat" seem to signify one and the same thing, and design the fruit
and meat of the altar; either that which belonged to the Lord, the fat and the
blood, which were offered to him, and were reckoned contemptible; or that which
fell to the share of the priests, which they thought mean and worthless.
Cocceius interprets this of Christ the Branch of the Lord, and fruit of the
earth, Isaiah 4:2 whose
meat it was to do the will of him that sent him, and was despised and rejected
by the Jews; and which was the reason of God's casting them off, and taking in
the Gentiles.
Malachi 1:13 13 You
also say, ‘Oh, what a weariness!’ And you sneer at it,” Says the Lord of hosts. “And you bring the stolen, the lame, and the sick; Thus
you bring an offering! Should I accept this from your hand?” Says the Lord.
YLT
13And ye have said, `Lo, what
a weariness,' And ye have puffed at it, said Jehovah of Hosts, And ye have
brought in plunder, And the lame and the sick, And ye have brought in the
present! Do I accept it from your hand? said Jehovah.
Ye said also, Behold, what
a weariness is it?.... These are either the words of the priests, saying what a
wearisome and fatiguing business the temple service was to them, for which they
thought they were poorly paid; such as slaying the sacrifices; removing the
ashes from the altar; putting the wood in order; kindling the fire, and laying
the sacrifice on it: or of the people that brought the sacrifice, who, when
they brought a lamb upon their shoulders, and laid it down, said, how weary are
we with bringing it, suggesting it was so fat and fleshy; so Kimchi and
Abarbinel, to which sense the Targum seems to agree; which paraphrases it,
"but
if ye say, lo, what we have brought is from our labour;'
and
so the Syriac version, "and ye say, this is from our labour"; and the
Vulgate Latin version, "and ye say, lo, from labour"; and the
Septuagint version, "and ye say, these are from affliction"; meaning
that what they brought was with great toil and labour, out of great poverty,
misery, and affliction:
and ye have snuffed at it, saith the Lord of hosts; or,
"blown it"F16והפח־תאם אותו "et efflastis illam", Montanus; "anheli
isto estis", Tigurine version; "exsufflare possetis", Junius
& Tremellius, Piscator, "difflatis", Drusius; "sufflavistis
illud", Burkius. ; filled it with wind, that it might seem fat and fleshy,
when it was poor and lean; so Abarbinel and Abendana: or ye have puffed, and
panted, and blown, as persons weary with bringing such a heavy lamb, when it
was so poor and light, that, if it was blown at, it would fall to the ground;
so R. Joseph Kimchi: or ye have puffed at it, thrown it upon the ground by way
of contempt; so David Kimchi: or, "ye have grieved him"F17"Et
contristastis illum"; so some in Vatablus. ; the owner of the lamb, from
whom they stole it; which sense is mentioned by Kimchi and Ben Melech; taking
the word rendered "torn", in the next clause, for that which was
"stolen". Jarchi says this is one of the eighteen words corrected by
the scribes; and that instead of אותו,
"it", it should be read אותי,
"me": and the whole rendered, "and ye have grieved me"; the
Lord, by bringing such sacrifices, and complaining of weariness, and by their
hypocrisy and deceitfulness. Cocceius renders the words, "ye have made him
to expire"; meaning the Messiah, whom the Jews put to death:
and ye have brought that which was torn, and the lame, and the
sick; See Gill on Malachi 1:8 and if
the first word is rendered "stolen", as it may, this offering was an
abomination to the Lord, Isaiah 61:8,
thus ye brought an offering; such an one as it was:
or a "minchah", a meat offering, along with these abominable ones:
should I accept this of your hands? saith the Lord; which, when
offered to a civil governor, would not be acceptable, Malachi 1:8 and
when contrary to the express law of God.
Malachi 1:14 14 “But
cursed be the deceiver Who has in his flock a male, And takes a vow, But
sacrifices to the Lord what is blemished— For I am a great King,” Says
the Lord of hosts, “And My name is to be feared among the nations.
YLT
14And cursed [is] a deceiver,
who hath in his drove a male, And is vowing, and is sacrificing a marred thing
to the Lord, For a great king [am] I, said Jehovah of Hosts, And My name [is]
revered among nations!
But cursed be the deceiver,.... A
cunning, crafty, subtle man, who thinks and contrives, speaks and acts, in a
very artful and deceiving manner; though some derive the word from יכל, "to be able"; and so the Septuagint and
Arabic versions render it, "who is able"; to bring a proper offering,
a perfect lamb, as it follows:
which hath in his flock a male; without spot and
blemish, as the law requires:
and voweth and sacrificeth to the Lord a corrupt thing; that was a
female, or had blemishes in it; for the law required what was perfect and
without a blemish for a vow; what was superfluous or deficient in its parts
might do for a freewill offering, but not for a vow, Leviticus 22:18
wherefore such a man must be accursed, and such conduct must be highly resented
by the Lord; had he it not in his power to do better, it might be excusable;
but then it would be better not to have vowed at all; but to vow a sacrifice to
the Lord, and deal deceitfully with him, when he could have brought an offering
agreeable to his vow, and to the law, this is aggravated wickedness:
for I am a great King, saith the Lord of hosts; the King of
the whole world, the King of kings, and Lord of lords; and therefore to be honoured
and reverenced suitable to his dignity and greatness:
and my name is dreadful among the heathen; because of
his judgments executed among them; or rather because of his Gospel preached
unto them; for this may be considered as a prophecy of what would be when the
Gospel should be spread in the Gentile world; and therefore if they, when he
was made known to them, would fear and reverence him; then the Israelites, to
whom he had given such instances and proofs of his love, ought to have shown a
greater regard unto him.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》
New King James
Version (NKJV)