Bible the Formal Religious Observances

Bible

The formal religious observances of the Israelites were performed half-heartedly and in contempt of the Lord. When the Lord speaks with Malachi, He points out several problems with the waning faith of the people. Religious practices had become profanities. For example, God bemoans the ritual sacrifices because the priests had been offering "injured, crippled or diseased animals," (Malachi 1:12). These diseased animals defiled the altar of God. Moreover, the Israelites have acted immorally with each other, as infidelity and divorce had become social problems. The Lord uses divorce as a metaphor for the way the Israelites have been unfaithful to God" "A detestable thing has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem: Judah has desecrated the sanctuary the LORD loves, by marrying the daughter of a foreign god," (Malachi 2:11). The Lord rebukes Malachi and his people as a result of their transgressions. Malachi's story illustrates the ways in which human society rarely changes. Unfortunately, the same problems that God points out to Malachi still exist millennia later.

The Lord offers several messages that we can use to avoid the mistakes of the past and also rectify them. For one, God chose Malachi to be His messenger. God still has the ability to choose people to be spiritual leaders. Malachi proves to be a strong leader, who understands God's message and who fears God's wrath as well. In fact, one of the main them es in the book of Malachi is God's anger. God expresses His anger to Malachi in a clear manner that enables His messenger to respond by leading the Israelites back to their true faith.

Our society has descended into the faithless, materialistic, and debauch society that God derides to Malachi. From the extent to which marriages end in divorce to the lack of obedience to God's will, modern society very much resembles the Israelites during Malachi's time. One of the most striking parallels between society in Malachi's time and today's world is expressed in Chapter 3, verse 15: "now we call the arrogant blessed. Certainly the evildoers prosper, and even those who challenge God escape." The arrogant among us are the people who are admired most: the sordid celebrities and celebrity athletes who lead lives distant from God. Furthermore, the "evildoers" of the world are prospering rather than the righteous. Those who make the most money are the ones who receive the most admiration -- not the ones who are the most faithful. Those who "challenge God" indeed "escape" from any social sanction in our world.