Malachi 1:9-10 And now, I pray you, beseech God that He will be gracious unto us: this has been by your means: will He regard your persons? says the Lord of Hosts. Who is there even among you who would shut the doors for nothing? neither do you kindle fire on My Altar for nothing. I have no pleasure in you, says the Lord of Hosts, neither will I accept an offering at your hand.

 

Rarely do we read in Scripture of the Lord God being sarcastic, but this Passage is one such case. The Priests had been accepting and offering less than acceptable sacrifices. The Lord brought this to their attention through the Prophet Malachi. 

 

In Verses 1-7, the Lord spells out His displeasure, and in Verse 9, He gets sarcastic. In effect, God is saying to the Priests, You have disobeyed me and my commands to you. You have allowed blind, lame, and sick animals to be offered as sacrifices. You have polluted my altar and despised my name, and now you want me to be gracious to you!  

 

The Priests were called to be mediators between the people and God. They made the determination of what sacrifice was acceptable to God. This was their responsibility, and they had failed miserably.

 

In Verse 10, we read where the Lord is calling them out for not ministering unless they were paid. He said, Who is there even among you who would shut the doors for nothing? neither do you kindle fire on My Altar for nothing.

 

This is a subject that I am passionate about. Nothing of the Lord has ever been sold. Jesus never charged anyone for ministry. He never sold tickets for a meal. Everything He did was out of love for the people, and those who loved Him provided financially for His Ministry to continue. The same was true with the Disciples and the Apostles. Nowhere in the Bible do we read of anyone being charged to receive Teaching, Salvation, Healing, Deliverance, or Provision. 

 

Ministry today is quite different. Churches sell tickets and charge people to come to events. Church today is more of a business than it is a ministry, and I believe this to be highly offensive to God. When we sell tickets or charge people to come to a ministry event, we are displaying a lack of trust in God to provide. 

 

God will provide. He always has, and He always will.  God displayed His extreme displeasure in His Words to Malachi. Then He said, Who is there even among you who would shut the doors for nothing? neither do you kindle fire on My Altar for nothing. The Priests were expecting the people to pay them for what they had been called by God to do. This is unacceptable to God. Then the Lord goes on to tell them exactly how He feels about their actions, I have no pleasure in you, says the Lord of Hosts, neither will I accept an offering at your hand.

 

We say we trust God for everything, but turn right around and sell tickets to a church dinner or event. I don't think so. To those who have ears, let them hear.

 

God is able. He will..........turn the tide

 

Trusting God for everything,      Doreen

 

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