Join me tonight if you would
in the book of Malachi and we're in chapter 2 tonight Malachi chapter 2 and I would
like to read this entire chapter of the 17 verses and then spend
a little time in the first part of this second chapter of the
book of Malachi. And now, O ye priests, this commandment
is for you. 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, and
because ye do not lay it to heart, because, 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. And ye
shall know that I have sent this commandment unto you, that my
covenant made with Levi saith the Lord of hosts. My covenant
was with him in life and peace, and I gave them to him for the
fear wherewith he feared me and was afraid before my name. 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. For the priest's
lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the law at his
mouth. And he is the messenger of the
Lord of hosts. 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. Therefore have I also made you
contemptible and base before all the people, according as
ye have not kept my ways, but have been partial in the law. Have we not all one father? Have
not one God created us? Why do you deal treacherously
every man against his brother by profaning the covenant of
your fathers? 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. The Lord will
cut off the man that doeth this. the Master and the Scholar, out
of the tabernacles of Jacob, and him that offered an offering
unto the Lord of hosts. And this have ye done again,
covering the altar of the Lord with tears, with weeping, and
with crying out, insomuch that he regarded not the offering
any more, or receiveth it with good will at your hand. Yet he
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. 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
hath take heed to your spirit, And let none deal treacherously
against the wife of your youth. For the Lord, the God of Israel,
saith that he hateth putting away for one covenant violence
with his garment, saith the Lord of hosts. Therefore take heed
to your spirit, and ye deal not treacherously. Ye have wearied
the Lord with your words. Yet ye say, wherein hath 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? This first verse here
that we're going to look at particularly tonight, O and now, O ye priests,
this commandment is for you. Every priest in the Old Testament
was to be really nothing more than a picture of the Great High
Priest. Even Aaron. was really nothing
more than a picture of the great High Priest, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Every other priest, even Aaron himself, could act no higher
than he was as a human, and he was only as good a type of Jehovah's
High Priest. And as I read through here, and
there's a lot of language that we're not familiar with today,
but as I read through here, these priests in Malachi's day had
forgotten that they were pictures. And they were trying to take
upon themselves a position. They wanted to be a director.
And they weren't even a good director. But they were offering
sacrifices that had a great deal of wrong about them. In the book
of Hebrews chapter 7, we have some words written with regard
to our great high priest, the Lord Jesus. Hebrews chapter 11,
beginning with verse 19, and we have some thoughts here with
regard to Melchizedek. King of Salem, and as he is a,
I read about Melchizedek, and I can see nothing more or nothing
less than this is a pre-incarnate picture of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Hebrews chapter 7, verse 19, the scriptures say, for the law
made nothing perfect, but the bringing in of a better hope
did, by the which we draw nigh unto God. And inasmuch as not
without an oath, he was made priest. For those priests were
made without an oath. But this, with an oath by him
that said unto him, the Lord swear and will not repent, thou
art a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. By so much
was Jesus made a surety of a better testament. And they truly were
many priests. because they were not suffered
to continue by reason of death. But this man, because he continueth
ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood. Wherefore, he is able also to
save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing
he ever liveth to make intercession for them. For such a high priest
became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners,
and made higher than the heavens, 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. For the law maketh men high priests
which have infirmity, but the word of the oath which was since
the law maketh the son who is consecrated forevermore. So this great high priest that
we read about here and many other places, particularly in the book
of Hebrews and in the New Testament, we find that this great high
priest was the high priest over the church. And all of those
priests, even those who were priests over their family, in
a sense, Abel was a priest over his family. He was of the tribe
of Jacob. He was showing what a priest
is. He was not taking upon himself any glory, but he was depending
upon a substitute to take care of him. And he didn't try to
promote himself. And we find Abraham and Moses
and Noah and these folks down through the ages before the giving
of the law, these were really priests over their families.
And yet they were pictures, they were types, they were shadows
of the great high priest, the Lord Jesus. And as long as they
kept that view of it, They were safe. The apostle Paul took that
view about himself. He was a wonderful preacher.
Many could say, that's the man that brought me the gospel. We
read about many in the New Testament. But Paul, when he reflected on
himself, he said, I am undone. Oh, wretched man that I am. But
he pointed people, just like the priests of the Old Testament,
they were to point people to the true high priest by their
pictures, their types, and their shadows. They were not to get
a following around themselves. Now, it appears at the time of
Malachi, there was a bunch of priests that were trying to get
a gathering around themselves. And they were much like preachers
that we find during the New Testament time. One of those is found over
in the book of 3rd John, Diotrephes. He tried to get a gathering around
himself, just exactly opposite of the person who wrote that
book, John. And John the Baptist in particular
said, behold, the Lamb of God, go follow him. And they left. So these folks were A real priest
was interested in pointing people to the true high priest, and
they were only pictures, they were only types, they were only
shadows. Their clothing would wear out, they would wear out,
their office would wear out. But the great high priest, his
righteousness never wears thin. His time never is out, and his
position as a great high priest, he's a priest forever after the
order of Melchizedek. Now, these priests, if they had
been true priests, would never have gotten a letter or a message
or a sermon from Malachi like these opening words. It says,
and now, O ye priests, this commandment is for you. And it goes down
through here and tells us. Now, it's interesting that these
priests were very careful even when performing the sacrifices.
There was things that could make them instantly unclean. And one of them is brought out
here in this passage of scripture. He says, I'm gonna put dung on
your face. Now, not necessarily God doing that, but as they performed
their work, they would have been instantly unclean if they had
cut one of the parts of that animal that was not supposed
to be cut. They would have disqualified
themselves immediately from offering that sacrifice. They would be
unclean. They would be of necessity, need
to be washed. So God says, you're going to
have this all over you because you're really unclean. Now a
true priest would not need these instructions. For we find, turn
with me to the book of John chapter six, John chapter six. It would be interesting to keep
track of how many times The speakers that have been in different services
here, our own men and visiting speakers, have gone to John 6
for a verse of Scripture. There is so much here. In John
6, verse 45, it is written in the prophets. John chapter six and verse 45,
it is written in the prophets that they shall be all taught
of God. Every man therefore that hath
heard and hath learned of the Father cometh unto me. The Lord
Jesus Christ shares with us something that was written in the prophets
and is quite evident among all of God's people. And that is
when God regenerates a person, They are taught of God. And they
don't need these instructions that if you don't straighten
up, I am going to break you. As he's going to share with these
priests that are in the days, they hadn't heard anything. The
gospel had never meant anything to them. They had never been
regenerated. They would not be in this position
if they had have been. And God would not have had his
minister, his prophet, bringing this message to them if they
had had a true change of heart that God had given them. Now,
over the book of Isaiah, keeping that thought that we read here,
that in the prophets it's written, they'll be taught of God. He
will not have to beat them with the law. They will be taught
of God, and he will be gracious to them, and he will open up
their hearts to understand the word, that it's the word of God.
And they'll never be in disagreement about the word, and they'll never
find it offensive. And they will not be offering
plagued sacrifices, and then pretending it's okay. Well, here
in the book of Jeremiah, excuse me, Isaiah chapter 2 and verse
3, the prophet says, There's a day coming, and this day has
been since the very beginning because Abel had instructions. He may have had physical instructions
from his parents, but the real instructions that he received
was from God by faith. And we've heard so often about
this, if a person has faith, true faith, that is they're relying
completely and entirely upon the blood and righteousness of
Christ for their salvation. That was what Abel is telling
us. By faith, he offered a more acceptable sacrifice. Well, in
verse three of chapter two of the book of Isaiah, and many
people shall go and say, come ye and let us go up to the mountain
of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, and he will
teach us his ways. Now, the God of Jacob, that really
gets us right back to chapter one of the book of Malachi. Jacob
have I loved, the God of Jacob. He instructs Jacob, and here
we have, and they will teach us his ways. And we will walk
in his paths, for out of Zion shall go forth the law and the
word of the Lord from Jerusalem. So there is a capacity that in
regeneration, God instructs his folks and he doesn't have to
sin. Obey the commandment. He instructs
us by his grace. And in chapter 54 of the book
of Isaiah, these priests that were there having a great deal
of trouble and not performing their duty and offering strange
sacrifices, accepting strange sacrifices from the people, those
that were blind and halt and maimed. God comes down and says,
I have a commandment for you. Well, we hear from the word of
God that God when he deals with us in his grace, the instruction
is from God and it is life changing instruction. And it is instruction
that will satisfy the heart and instruction that will want to
please Almighty God. In Isaiah 54 and verse 13, We read, and all thy children
shall be taught of the Lord, and great shall be the peace
of thy children. God has some way of teaching
his children that we don't have even with our own children. He has the ability of dealing
with them spiritually. And they have the indwelling
of the spirit, God's spirit within us, Christ in us. He's able to
teach us and teach us in such a capacity that we're satisfied
with what he teaches us. It's not offensive, it's not
harsh, it's not any of those things. A number of places are
found in the Old Testament that fulfills that verse in John chapter
6. In the prophets it says, They will all be taught of God. What a statement that God would
take the time to instruct the church, but he does that through
his spirit. He continues to do that through
his spirit. In the book of 1 Thessalonians is a verse of scripture that
I have hanging so I can read it every time I'm sitting in
my study. 1 Thessalonians chapter 4. 1 Thessalonians chapter 4. And there in verse 9, it says, but as touching brotherly
love, ye need not that I write unto you. I find that very interesting. That takes care of almost three
quarters of the preaching I ever heard in religion. As touching brotherly love, ye
need not that I write unto you, for ye yourselves are taught
of God to love one another. What a statement that God teaches
everyone in his body to love one another as we love Christ. Now once in a while, our flesh
gets out, but the Spirit of God has taught us to love every believer. Now, there's a word used in that
verse in the book of Malachi. Chapter two, Malachi chapter
two. It's the great big word called
commandment. Brother, Tim James was one of the speakers
back at 13th Street this time we were there. He said he was
invited to a friend's church known for a long time to speak. He stepped into the pulpit and
right behind him is the Ten Commandments. He says, I decided I wasn't going
to say anything. But finally, in the message,
it was going, the Lord was blessing, he turned around and he says,
you ought to write rest in peace on the Ten Commandments because
they're done away with in Christ. He satisfied them all. They're
not a guide for us. Christ is our guide. Well, he
said, I may never be asked to go back. but rest in peace. Well, right here in this passage
of scripture, in chapter two, verse one, it says, this commandment
is for you. You know, commandments are really
for lost folks. Because they have to be herded.
They cannot be led. There is a verse, the first time,
I am intrigued. Most of the time when I'm studying
and I find a word, I want to go back and find out where is
that word used other places. I want to go back and find out
where it's used the first time. Let me go find it. And it's so easy
anymore. You don't have to have a degree
in Hebrew or Greek. All you need is a pad and a download
of some Bible program that uses strongs. And you click on it,
and then you look up that number, and it lists all of those places
that word is used. Well, I was just absolutely astonished. I don't think I've ever read
this verse of scripture before. And I know I have, because I've
read the book of Genesis. So would you turn with me back
to the book of Genesis chapter 26? Genesis chapter 26. There is much said in the book
of Genesis about our brother Abraham. There's so much written
about him here and so much is pulled forward into the New Testament
by the writers of the New Testament, by the Apostle Paul, so much
written about Abraham. as an example of those who have
faith in Christ and that they are clean and pure before Him,
even though they would be the first to say, O wretched man
that I am, positionally, we find, as all the saints, there's not
going to be one charge held against us. Here in the book of Genesis,
chapter 26, And in verse one, it says, and there was a famine
in the land, besides the first famine, which was in the days
of Abraham. And Isaac went unto Abimelech,
king of the Philistines, unto Gerar. And the Lord appeared
unto him, and said, Go not down into Egypt. Dwell in the land
which I shall tell thee of. Sojourn in this land, and I will
be with thee, and will bless thee. For unto thee and unto
thy seed I will give all these countries, and I will perform
the oath which I swear unto Abraham thy father, and I will make thy
seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give unto
thy seed all these countries, that in all thy seed all the
nations of the earth be blessed. Now notice verse five with me. Because that Abraham obeyed my
voice and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and
my laws. Can you imagine? I ran into a
guy here that kept all of God's word. And God said it happened. Abraham, what's it say? Because
that Abraham obeyed my voice and kept my charge and my commandments,
my statutes and my laws. Now the word commandments here
is the same word we find over in Malachi chapter 2 verse 1. Keep my commandments. Over here
we find, run into a guy who says, God said, he kept all my commandments. More than that, he kept all my
charge, my statutes, and my laws, and obeyed my voice. I says,
that's the guy I want to be with. I want to be positionally the
same as Abraham, because God looked at him in complete righteousness. Now we can read about his human
flaws. He had several human flaws. But
we get under the blood of the New Testament, there's not one
word ever written about that. By faith, Abraham sojourned. And we find this verse of scripture
was his word, his verse, that in some capacity, and we know
how that happens, that the Lord Jesus Christ imputed His righteousness
so completely that God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy
Spirit could write about Him and say He kept it all. He didn't
disobey one word. And I said, wow. Now that happens
in the New Testament too. Let's first of all go to someone
like these priests that say they have, turn with me if you would
to Matthew chapter 19. Matthew chapter 19. Matthew chapter 19, beginning
with verse 1. Excuse me, verse 20. This young man came to him, it
says there in verse 16, behold, one came and said unto him, good
master, what good things shall I do that I may have eternal
life? And this, like so many other
places, we have people saying, what must I do? What must I do? You know, for years, the Philippian
jailer was given a positive note because that's what he asked.
What must I do? And then, go from here and we
can get you on your knees. That's not the message there.
Paul goes on to preach Christ. It's not what you do, it's what
he's done for you. All right, what must I do? And
he said unto him, why callest thou me good? There is none good
but one, that is God. But if thou wilt enter into life,
keep the commandments. Told those priests in Malachi
chapter two, verse one, this commandment. Then we read about
Abraham, says he kept them all. Well, let's follow this. And
he saith unto him, which? Well, we got a problem right
now. Jesus said, thou shalt not murder,
thou shalt not commit adultery, thou shalt not steal, thou shalt
not bear false witness, honor thy father and thy mother, and
thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. The young man saith
unto him, all these things have I kept from my youth up, what
lack I yet? All these things, now that's
the natural response from a human being. Number one, I've got a
lot of them down, what do I lack? So he lists, enumerates these,
and I kept all those, all of those. And then the Lord said
something that he didn't want to hear, sell all you have and
give to the poor, because he was rich. We notice there in
verse 20, all these things have I kept from my youth, that I
kept. Now turn back with me again to
the book of John, only this time to John 17. I don't know how
many times in the last couple of years we've had reference
in Bible classes, camp messages, or the services here that we've
been dealing with John 17. It's a good place to be. But
notice here in John 17, that young man over there in the book
of Matthew said, these have I kept. Now in John chapter 17 and verse
6, I have manifested thy name unto
the men. which thou hast given me out
of the world. Thine they were, and thou gavest
them me. Now notice these words. And they
have kept thy word. Oh my goodness. Peter, yeah. Thomas, not Thomas, yeah. Yeah, Thomas, and Peter, and
James, and John, and all the disciples that the Lord had given
him, except the son of perdition, which he knew from the very beginning, had kept the word of God. Now, how can we do that? There
is only one way, and that's the same way that Abraham It's written
about him that he kept all the word and all the statutes and
all the commandments and all the laws of God. Someone did
it for us, imputed it to us, gave us the gift of it, and said,
you are just as if you had never been an Adam. Now the folks there
in Malachi chapter 2 and verse 1, they are not Jacobs as we
see them yet. We don't know what's going to
happen in their life. But God said, I have a commandment for
you. And he goes down through there, you know, you're gonna
be dressing out an animal, and I'm gonna find you so unclean,
you're gonna have to go bathe. You can't go any further. You're
gonna cut into a place in one of those animals, and you're
gonna be covered with stuff you don't wanna be covered with.
You're gonna be so unclean. There's nothing like being unclean
and then being made clean and have it written about you. Abraham,
after he's dead, buried, God would write to his own son, Isaac
and say, Abraham did everything. The disciples did everything. And those who say I've done everything,
what else do I need to do? They don't have a clue. But those
who say, a wretched man that I am, I trust him for everything. I just find that a very comforting
position to be in, that God's people would be comforted so
much that he paid for them double for all their sin. And that God
could write about them and say, I find no fault in them. Well, we're going to go on here
in the book of Malachi in our study, not anymore tonight, but
go on and we'll find out what his prophet and what his true
priest, a representative, is going to say to these priests
who pretended that they had something and did not. And we noticed going
through there, most of it's not good. There's only solace, only hope,
only peace in the Lord Jesus Christ. And in Him, we're just
as clean as He is.