말라기 1:7 주석

Thus prophet is sent first to convince and then to comfort, first to discover sin and to reprove for that and then to promise the coming of him who shall take away sin. And this method the blessed Spirit takes in dealing with souls, Joh 16:8. He first opens the wound and then applies the healing balm. God had provided (and one would think effectually) for the engaging of Israel to himself by providences and ordinances; but it seems, by the complaints here made of them, that they received the grace of God in both these in vain. I. They were very ungrateful to God for his favours to them, and rendered not again according to the benefit they received (Mal 1:1-5). II. They were very careless and remiss in the observance of his institutions; the priests especially were so, who were in a particular manner charged with them (Mal 1:6-14). And what shall we say of those whom neither providences nor ordinances work upon, and who affront God in those very things wherein they should honour him?

In this chapter the Lord declares his love to the people of Israel, and proves it; and complains that the honour due unto him was not given him; which he demonstrates by various instances. The inscription is in Mal 1:1 showing the name and nature of the prophecy; the author of it; the people to whom it was sent; and the name of the person by whom. In Mal 1:2 the Lord affirms his love to the people of Israel, which they called in question; and proves it to be real, special, and distinguishing, by the instance of Jacob and Esau, two brothers; yet one, their ancestor, was loved, and the other hated; which latter is proved by the desolations made in his country, and by the fruitless attempts made to repair and rebuild; which was so clear a proof of the Lord's indignation against him, that the Israelites could not but see it, and would be obliged to confess it, to the glory of God, Mal 1:3 hence he passes on to observe the honour and fear that were due to him as a Father and master, which were not shown him; but, instead thereof, he was despised, and even by the priests themselves, with which they are charged, Mal 1:6 and which being objected to by them, is proved by offering polluted bread on his altar; and by polluting him, in saying his table was contemptible; and by sacrificing the blind, the lame, and the sick, unto him; things which would be justly resented, if offered to a temporal prince and governor, Mal 1:7 wherefore they are called upon by the prophet to pray to the Lord for grace and mercy for the people, seeing it was by their means (the priests) that these things were done; though it was questionable whether the Lord would have any regard to them, Mal 1:9 their sins being so dreadfully aggravated; and particularly, inasmuch as they did not serve in the temple, not so much as shut a door, or kindle a fire on the altar, for nothing, without being paid for it; hence the Lord declares he had no pleasure in them, nor would he accept their offerings; but would call the Gentiles by his grace, among whom his name would be great from one end of the earth to the other; and incense and pure offerings would be offered by them to him, Mal 1:10 and then he renews the charge against them, that they had profaned his name, by saying that his table, and the fruit thereof, were polluted, and his meat contemptible; by expressing a weariness in his worship, and a contempt of it; and by bringing the torn, the lame, and sick, as an offering to him, Mal 1:12 upon which such sacrificers are declared deceivers, and pronounced accursed, which they might assure themselves was and would be their case; since he was a great King, and his name dreadful among the Heathen, Mal 1:14.

Ye offer polluted bread upon mine altar,.... Which some understand of the shewbread, mention being afterwards made of a "table", as Jerom; who observes that it was made of wheat, which the priests themselves sowed, reaped, ground, and baked, and so could take what they would out of it: as for their sowing it, it does not seem likely that they should be employed in such service, whatever may be said for their reaping; since the sheaf of the first fruits was reaped by persons deputed from the sanhedrim (w); though of the reaping of that for the shewbread, I find no mention made; but as for grinding, sifting, kneading, and making it into loaves, and baking it, and taking it out of the oven, and putting it upon the table of shewbread, all this was the work of the priests (x); and those of the house of Garmu (y) were appointed over that work: now, this bread might be said to be polluted, when they set upon the table such as was not made of fine wheat flour, and had not pure frankincense put upon or by each row, as the law required, Lev 24:5 nor is it any material objection to this sense, that it is an altar, and not a table, on which this bread was offered; since, as the altar is called a table, Eze 41:22, as this is in a following clause, the table may be called an altar; though it may be observed, that the shewbread is never said to be offered, but to be set, or put upon the table: indeed the burning of the frankincense set by it is called an offering made by fire unto the Lord, Lev 24:7 wherefore others interpret this of the daily meat offering, which went along with the daily sacrifice of the lambs, and part of which was burnt on the altar, Exo 29:40 or rather this designs sacrifice in general, sometimes called "bread", Lev 3:11 and so the Targum here, "ye offer upon my altar an abominable offering;'' such as had blemishes in them, were blind or lame, as after mentioned; and had not the requisites of a sacrifice in them; or were offered not in a right manner, or by bad men, and with a wicked mind: and ye say, Wherein have we polluted thee? thy bread offering or altar; as if their offerings were pure, and they themselves, and their consciences pure from sin. The answer is, In that ye say, The table of the Lord is contemptible; either the shewbread table, which yet was covered with gold, and all the vessels of it made of gold; or the altar, as in Eze 41:22 their actions spoke so loud, and declared that the table or altar of the Lord was a contemptible thing, since they cared not what was offered upon it: or the reason why it was had in contempt, as some think, was because there was not that holiness in the second temple as in the first: or, as Abarbinel and Kimchi say, because of the fat and the blood which were offered on the altar, which they esteemed contemptible things; not observing the end for which the Lord commanded them to be offered. (w) Misn. Menachot, c. 10. sect. 3. (x) Maimon. Hilchot Tamidin, c. 5. sect. 6. (y) Misn. Shekalim, c. 5. sect. 1.

(Verse 7) To you, O priests, who despise my name, and you say: 'How have we despised your name?' You offer on my altar defiled bread, and you say: 'How have we defiled you?' By saying that the table of the Lord is despised. LXX: You, O priests, who despise my name, and you say: 'How have we despised your name?' You offer on my altar polluted bread, and you say: 'How have we polluted it?' By saying that the table of the Lord is despised ÷ and what remains, you have despised ÷ But what follows: And what remains you have despised, we have marked with an obelus, because it is not found in the Hebrew, and it has been added from the following verses. To you, therefore, O priests, who despise my name, this discourse is directed: you who have returned from Babylon, fearful of past servitude, should have turned to the Lord with a full heart. And not only do you not do this, but imitating Cain, you respond with arrogant words against God, and you ask Him whom hidden things do not deceive, and it is said: Wherein have we despised thy name? (Gen. IV) so that with the impudence of dissimulation, you may cover the wound of conscience. Do you want to know in what way you despise my name? You offer on my altar polluted bread: that is, the bread of offering, which according to Hebrew traditions, you yourselves should sow, you yourselves should reap, you yourselves should grind, you yourselves should cook. And now you take whatever you please from the midst, and with a reckless voice you respond, and you say, in what way do we pollute them, or you? For while the sacraments are violated, he himself, of whom they are sacraments, is violated. But we can interpret this in the following way: In what you say, the Lord's table has been despised, referring to the fact that, when they returned from Babylon and the temple had not yet been rebuilt, they dwelled in huts and in the ruins of the ancient city. They only built an altar, but it did not have the same glory as the previous one, and they believed that the sanctity of the religious practice was lacking because there was no ambition for construction. We have drawn thin lines to highlight the spiritual explanation that must be imprinted. He reproaches the divine word to bishops, as well as to neglectful priests and deacons, whether because we are of the priestly and royal lineage, or because all those who are baptized in Christ are considered (or should be considered) in the name of Christ. Why do they despise the name of God? And when asked in what way they have despised His name, He reveals the reasons for their offense: 'You offer on my altar polluted bread,' He says. We pollute the bread, that is, the body of Christ, when we unworthy approach the altar, and when we, dirty, drink the world's blood, and say, 'The table of the Lord has been despised.' Not that anyone would dare to say this, and not that anyone would think of uttering such an impious thought with a wicked voice, but the deeds of sinners despise the table of God. We can also say this: The Doctor of the Church who makes the spiritual bread and distributes it to the people, if he speaks to the people and flatters the rich either for human glory or for worldly gains that follow glory, and honors sinners, and according to James, welcomes those who come to him with gold rings (James 2), and rejects the holy poor, despises the name of God, defiles the bread of teachings, and hurls insults at God himself, thinking that the table of his writings is a common table of idols and secular teachings.

GOD'S LOVE: ISRAEL'S INGRATITUDE: THE PRIESTS' MERCENARY SPIRIT: A GENTILE SPIRITUAL PRIESTHOOD SHALL SUPERSEDE THEM. (Mal 1:1-14) burden--heavy sentence. to Israel--represented now by the two tribes of Judah and Benjamin, with individuals of the ten tribes who had returned with the Jews from Babylon. So "Israel" is used, Ezr 7:10. Compare Ch2 21:2, "Jehoshaphat king of Israel," where Judah, rather than the ten tribes, is regarded as the truest representative of Israel (compare Ch2 12:6; Ch2 28:19). Malachi--see Introduction. God sent no prophet after him till John the Baptist, the forerunner of Christ, in order to enflame His people with the more ardent desire for Him, the great antitype and fulfiller of prophecy.

ye offer, &c.--God's answer to their challenge (Mal 1:6), "Wherein have we despised?" polluted bread--namely, blemished sacrifices (Mal 1:8, Mal 1:13-14; Deu 15:21). So "the bread of thy God" is used for "sacrifices to God" (Lev 21:8). polluted thee--that is, offered to thee "polluted bread." table of the Lord--that is, the altar (Eze 41:22) (not the table of showbread). Just as the sacrificial flesh is called "bread." contemptible-- (Mal 1:12-13). Ye sanction the niggardly and blemished offerings of the people on the altar, to gain favor with them. Darius, and probably his successors, had liberally supplied them with victims for sacrifice, yet they presented none but the worst. A cheap religion, costing little, is rejected by God, and so is worth nothing. It costs more than it is worth, for it is worth nothing, and so proves really dear. God despises not the widow's mite, but he does despise the miser's mite [MOORE].

God's Love, and the Contempt of His NameMalachi 1:1-2:9 The Lord has shown love to Israel (Mal 1:2-5), but Israel refuses Him the gratitude which is due, since the priests despise His name by offering bad sacrifices, and thereby cherish the delusion that God cannot do without the sacrifices (Mal 1:6-14). The people are therefore punished with adversity, and the priesthood with desecration (Mal 2:1-9).