“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?” 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.” 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. (Malachi 1:6-8)

Acceptable Worship Matters

Five centuries before Christ, the people of God have returned from captivity to a land broken and desolate. The Temple is to be rebuilt within twenty years, but it would take nearly a century for the walls to be rebuilt. Disheartened by their lives, the Jews struggled to worship the Lord God in spirit. Prophets like Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi preached the message of spiritual restoration. As the word of the Lord began to fade for four hundred years, Malachi addressed the post-exilic Jews against their religious laxity. They dishonored God in worship by bringing broken and damaged sacrifices. Their hearts were far from worship. Malachi advises them to repent.

God has always required men to worship Him. Cain and Abel knew what was required of them. After the flood, Noah built an altar to the Lord in worshipful thanksgiving. The journeys of Abraham can be marked by the fires of his sacrifices as he worshiped his God. When Moses led the Hebrews from Mt. Sinai, they took with them the Law and the Tabernacle to worship. Solomon built the Temple in Jerusalem as the House of the Lord. One thing that never changed in these stories is the type of worship that made men acceptable to God.

Cain’s worship was rejected because his heart was evil. Malachi deals with the same problems as the people of God who say they loved the Lord but were wearied because they had to obey His commands. The prophet parallels the honor a son gives his father, and the lack of honor the children of God show their Father. Even a servant knows his place before his master to give him respect. The Lord accused them of offering defiled food on His altar, and they were incensed at the accusation. Their worship may have been according to the pattern, but their sacrifice was offered with contempt.

The sacrifices offered were not as the Law of Moses prescribed. The blind, lame, and sick animals were given to God for sacrifice, contrary to the clear teaching of the Law demanding animals without blemish. They would never dare bring such animals before their governors or rulers. Yet, they felt no obligation to give God their best. Their hearts were not in worship. They had no zeal for God, no love for the Lord, and they were tired of all the ritual patterns they had to follow. Worship for them was boring and out of place.

Malachi would do well to write a book for the church. Sadly, the character of man has changed little over the centuries. What the prophet addressed to the Jews of his time is the same message that must be preached today in the churches of God. It is easy to go through the motions of the scriptural worship in the divine way by the divine pattern – and have no love for the Lord, His Son, and the Holy Spirit. In the place of bulls, goats, and lambs, now the Lord requires hearts to be sacrificed. What the Lord sees too often are hearts that are blind, lame, and sick.

There is such a thing as acceptable worship and vain worship. Saying the right things in the right ways does not make worship acceptable. There is no worship if the heart is not bowed in submission before God. When men treat God with disrespect and contempt, they will face a certain wrath. Malachi reminds the people God is King, Lord of Hosts, and His name is to be feared among the nations – and the church! Let us not weary the Lord with our vain worship. Behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven. All those who worship in vain will be the stubble that is burned up. Fear His name. Remember His word. Worship in spirit and truth.