”“My name will be great among the nations, from the rising of the sun to its setting. Incense and pure offerings will be presented in my name in every place because my name will be great among the nations,” says the Lord of Armies.
But you say, ‘Look, what a nuisance! ’ And you scorn it,” says the Lord of Armies. “You bring injured, lame, or sick animals. You bring this as an offering! Am I to accept that from your hands?” asks the Lord.“
Malachi 1:11, 13 CSB
The final book of the Old Testament and the minor prophets, Malachi is hearing from the Lord a message for Gods people. He is calling them out for being selfish in their worship…
They are required to give God their best. It is to show a recognition that God has given them everything and demonstrate how much they trust God to continue providing for them. But in selfishness they are trying to “follow the rules” by sacrificing, but are giving their worst…the defective (because it is going to die anyway). In essence they are saying, God you can have this one, because I am throwing it away anyway.
This is NOT what God is after. God wants to know that we trust Him. He wants us to be fully reliant on His care of us. The best part is that He always cares for us and provides for our needs.
This came to life for me years ago when I was trying to figure out how to give God my best in spending time with Him. I was reading or praying whenever “I had a few extra minutes”…that often resulted in forgetting or just a minute of prayer before nodding off to sleep. But that was not my best, nor was I gaining anything from it! That was tedious, boring and felt worthless. Then God convicted me to give of my best as a pleasing sacrifice to Him, which is why I spend these moments with Him before accomplishing anything else.
God, thank you for blessing me with that conviction for the last 20yrs and showing up each day! My day doesn’t feel settled if I miss out…I look forward to this time each morning. The sacrifice has become a delight! You are so good!
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