The words of a priest’s lips should preserve knowledge of God, and people should go to him for instruction, for the priest is the messenger of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. But you priests have left God’s paths. Your instructions have caused many to stumble into sin… So I have made you despised and humiliated in the eyes of all the people. For you have not obeyed me but have shown favoritism in the way you carry out my instructions. 7-9
Malachi the prophet had a lot to say about the hypocritical religion being practiced in his day. The people of God were offering blemished sacrifices, refusing to tithe, and being unfaithful in their marriages (to name just a few things). Here in chapter 2, he berates the priesthood for failing to do their duty. They were not faithfully teaching the word of God and they were not consistently following the commandments prescribed for their order. Their unfaithfulness had led many into sin and as a result, they were despised and humiliated in the eyes of the people.
Today there is no priesthood as it was in the Old Testament. We do not offer sacrifices for our sins and we do not observe all the ceremonial laws as the Jewish people did in Malachi’s day. Jesus completed all of that on the cross and He paid the ultimate sacrifice sin by offering Himself, the Lamb of God, to satisfy the wrath of God for our sin. However, this does not mean that there are no priests today; priests still exist, but it is not who you think. The priests today are not the clergy or people who wear a white-collar. The priests today are all of us who have truly been changed by the grace of God. True Christians today are now called the “Priesthood of all believers.” (See 1 Peter 2:4-5, and Rev. 5:9-10)
Yet, these ancient verses in Malachi can still apply to us “priests”. Our lips should preserve the knowledge of God, and people around the world should count on us for instruction. Every Christian is to be a messenger of the Lord. Sadly, the rest of that verse rings true also… many of the “priests” today (believers) have left God’s paths. Many have caused others in the world to stumble into sin, and as a result many Christians are despised and humiliated in the eyes of people. This happens when we act like hypocrites and come across as fakes. The world is looking for something real, and in order to be “liked or politically correct” we have too often softened (or even denied) the truth of God’s word. If you are truly a Christian then you are in a “priesthood” and your words should preserve the knowledge of God. Being true to His word is the most loving thing you can do for those who don’t know Jesus. May you never cause others to stumble into sin.
