Where is Mine Honour Mal. 1:6-14 CLICK TITLE FOR AUDIO
God gave Malachi words to rebuke Israel because they were not honoring him. He asked, Where is mine honour? He is entitled to their honour in the same way that parents are entitled to honour from their children according to the fifth commandment [Ex 20:12] because God took Israel to him as his firstborn son [Ex 4:22].
Israel got tired of honoring the Lord and so they started giving him the worst and not the best in their sacrifices. They looked at their service to the Lord as contemptible. In so doing they:
Began offering things that were not lawful – Mal 1:8, 13 – see Lev 22:22; Deut 15:21, 17:1 – if they had honored him they would not have sacrificed these things. They would not have even offered these things to their governor because he wouldn’t accept them either. Unlike the Jews, the Lord said that the Gentiles will honor him [Mal 1:11, 14; Rom 15:9-12] as an inducement to get Israel’s attention.
Thus the Lord refused to hear their prayers and to have pleasure in their sacrifices – Mal 1:9-10, 13 – Malachi is the last book of the Old Testament – the Lord was silent after this for 400 years.
Conclusion: We can draw an inference from this in our own lives. With what do you rightfully need to honour the Lord that you are withholding from the Lord – the tithe [Lev 27:30] – he gave you his Son and you give him the leftovers if you even give him that much – you spend on your covetous desires and offer nothing to the Lord – your time [Heb 10:25] – your witness [Acts 1:8] – your attention to his words [Matt 4:4] – honoring the Lord is a weariness to you just like it was to the Jews – and don’t think the Lord will be inclined to answer your prayers or to have pleasure in your “sacrifice,” any more than he was with Israel.