The Lord Rebukes the UNFAITHUL Priests
(Mal 2:1-4) God threatens to severely rebuke a wicked priesthood.
And now, O priests, this commandment is for you. If you will not hear, and if you will not take it to heart, to give glory to My name, says the Lord of hosts, I will send a curse upon you, and I will curse your blessings. Yes, I have cursed them already, because you do not take it to heart. Behold, I will rebuke your descendants and spread refuse on your faces, the refuse of your solemn feasts; and one will take you away with it. Then you shall know that I have sent this commandment to you, that My covenant with Levi may continue, says the Lord of hosts.
a. If you will not hear: If the priests will not hear and repent God promises to curse their blessings. This is either a reference to the blessings brought to the priests by the people, or the priestly blessings they gave to the people.
b. Because you do not take it to heart: Their sin all goes back to a hollow formalism. It is a religion of surface emotions and outward signs, but not of the heart.
c. Spread refuse on your faces: Sacrificed animals still had excrement in their systems, and God said this should be burned outside the sanctuary (Exodus 29:14). Here, God says He will rub their noses in it, so that they will have to be taken outside the sanctuary.
d. That My covenant with Levi may continue: This shows the motive for Gods discipline against these ungodly priests. The Lord hoped that this would warn the priests back to a proper respect of His covenant.
This passage is about unfaithful Jewish priests. So unless you're a Jewish priest, you need not worry about dung being spread on your face. If you don't know Jesus, you should worry about where your soul will spend eternity.
Thank you.
Come again.
A deeper explanation of this entire chapter can be found here.
(Mal 2:1-4) God threatens to severely rebuke a wicked priesthood.
And now, O priests, this commandment is for you. If you will not hear, and if you will not take it to heart, to give glory to My name, says the Lord of hosts, I will send a curse upon you, and I will curse your blessings. Yes, I have cursed them already, because you do not take it to heart. Behold, I will rebuke your descendants and spread refuse on your faces, the refuse of your solemn feasts; and one will take you away with it. Then you shall know that I have sent this commandment to you, that My covenant with Levi may continue, says the Lord of hosts.
a. If you will not hear: If the priests will not hear and repent God promises to curse their blessings. This is either a reference to the blessings brought to the priests by the people, or the priestly blessings they gave to the people.
b. Because you do not take it to heart: Their sin all goes back to a hollow formalism. It is a religion of surface emotions and outward signs, but not of the heart.
c. Spread refuse on your faces: Sacrificed animals still had excrement in their systems, and God said this should be burned outside the sanctuary (Exodus 29:14). Here, God says He will rub their noses in it, so that they will have to be taken outside the sanctuary.
d. That My covenant with Levi may continue: This shows the motive for Gods discipline against these ungodly priests. The Lord hoped that this would warn the priests back to a proper respect of His covenant.
This passage is about unfaithful Jewish priests. So unless you're a Jewish priest, you need not worry about dung being spread on your face. If you don't know Jesus, you should worry about where your soul will spend eternity.
Thank you.
Come again.
A deeper explanation of this entire chapter can be found here.
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