Well, friends, we have been looking into this little book of Malachi, this little prophecy of Malachi, and we're going to turn to this again this evening. We have seen already the great burden that rests upon Malachi. We're told that in chapter 1, verse 1, the burden of the word of the Lord to Israel by Malachi, and I spoke about the particular meaning of that word there and the way in which it's used. It's only used in, I think, three of the prophets. They speak of the burden, the others speak of the word of the Lord, but the sense of burden was very much upon Malachi as he comes to speak here. and he's immediately begun by reminding them of God's great love for them in chapter 1, we've seen that, and the great grace and goodness of God towards them when they didn't deserve it. And yet God has a complaint with them, firstly with the people in the first part of chapter 2 and then with the priests from the middle of verse 6 and then down through to the end of verse 9 of chapter 2, the passage we're looking at, chapter 1 verse 6 through to chapter 2 verse 9. And although when we read it in the English it almost seems as though the people are almost fighting against God, arguing against God, And I think we have to understand that the words here are, to some extent, something of a surprise. They're a little bit taken aback. They're going through the motions, they're doing what God has commanded them, they're worshipping, they're bringing the offerings and the sacrifices, but their heart has gone out of it. The days have gone by. You remember the other day I put the time chart up They'd come back from exile, the temple had been rebuilt, the walls had been rebuilt, and things seemed to be going well to start with. And then Nehemiah goes back to Assyria to report, back to Babylon to report. While he is away, they fall into sin. Nehemiah comes back. and he has to rebuke them of that. And then the years pass by, and now probably 30, 40 years later, or maybe not quite as long as that from Nehemiah, but certainly from Ezra's time, and they're beginning to get weary, and things don't seem to be happening, and while the Word of God is precious, There they are, they're doing the sacrifices and they're going through the motions, but their heart has gone out of it, they've lost the enthusiasm that they had. And what had happened to the priests? The priests were more afraid of the people than they were of God. and they were disobeying God because, well, they were just thinking that if they did exactly what God said then perhaps the people might turn against them even and certainly wouldn't support them as they ought and we saw a little bit of that last time, didn't we, when we considered something about this, and then I said, what should they do about it? Well, God challenges them to pray and to stop their false worship and to recognise that God will be glorified at the end of chapter 2. God takes no pleasure in judgement. He doesn't want to punish them, but if they continue to rebel against him, then he will punish them. But God delights in mercy. So repent of your sin and return to him and cry for mercy. And now in chapter 2, these opening verses of chapter 2, in a sense these words are repeated and reinforced and emphasised specifically and more directly to the priests. He has had the priests in mind from verse 6 of chapter 1. but now more particularly to the priests, the leaders, what we might call today the leaders of the people of God. So let's just look at this for a moment or two this evening and I've got three quite simple headings. Firstly, blessings removed in verses one to three, blessings removed. What God is doing here is he is saying to these people God is not saying that he's losing patience with them. God doesn't lose patience with us, you understand that. But the time for repentance is drawing to the end. If they do not listen to God's word, he is going to have to come and punish them. He's going to have to come and rebuke them. You know what happens when you're training children and, you know, they misbehave and then you say, right, come on, behave yourselves, and then they don't. They say, now look, one more warning, one more warning. Now it's not that you've stopped loving your children, of course not. But you know they need disciplining. And it is as though God is saying, now, come on, be careful. One more warning, and I will have to punish you. It's not that I no longer love you, I do love you, but I want to correct you, I want you to bring you back to the truth. You have known this, you've understood this in the past. Now come back to me. And that's the sense, that's the sense. And if they don't, then the blessings will be removed. Time is running out. Now why does God speak like this to the people? Well, God takes no pleasure in judgment. The Bible makes that abundantly clear. The prophets over and over and over say that. Isaiah says that a number of times. And the other prophets make that indeed clear. In fact, Isaiah calls judgment God's strange work. And the word that is used there is a very interesting word because it has the sense of being almost a word that is unnatural. Now, not that, God, of course, is the sovereign God and the holy God and always does that which is right, but it's not something he takes pleasure in. Isaiah tells us, doesn't he, that God takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked. But they'd taken no notice of God's warnings. And if they forget who God is and what he has done, then judgment will come. They had disregarded the great end of their lives, the great purpose of their lives, to bring glory to God. Now these things, of course, are clearly spoken about in the Psalms, aren't they? David says in Psalm 29, he reminds the people of the responsibility they have. Give unto the Lord, O you mighty ones, give unto the Lord glory and strength. Give to the Lord the glory that is due to his name. Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness. Now in the context, those are very significant words because David goes on to speak of the power of the Lord in his glory as he thunders, as he comes with power. Power to judge, power to condemn, but also power to bless. And when that glory rests, as Psalm 29 tells us, over the temple, then everyone speaks of God's glory. And it's wonderful. But to those who reject it, there is judgement. Now God has come to them with his tender appeals. We've seen some of them already. Chapter 1, verse 2. I have loved you, says the Lord. And he's spoken about his loving-kindness. They had forgotten God's love for them. Chapter 1, verse 6, as a son honors his father and a servant his master. If I am then your father, where is my honor? They didn't honor God as they should. Verse 7 and following of chapter 1, their worship was poor and hypocritical. Verse 12, their attitude was contemptible. They have profaned God's name. And they'd insulted God with their sacrifices. They didn't understand that. Because they were going through the motions, but their hearts were not in it. And that's why God rebukes them. And he says in verse 3 of chapter 2, he says, your solemn feasts are filthy in my sight. I will rebuke your descendants and spread refuse on your faces, the refuse of your solemn feasts. They're like rubbish to me, like dung. It's a very strong word. They had so despised his name, they had so misused the sacrifices that God says, as he also says through Isaiah, almost he says, I'm fed up with your sacrifices. That's a bit crude to put it like that. All your boasting of spirituality is worthless. And it's a little bit like the parable of our Lord, you remember, of the unprofitable servant. You remember the three servants that were given tasks to do, and the first one had five talents, and he came back with five more talents, and the second one had two talents, and he came back with two more talents. So they'd worked, but the last one took the talent and buried it in the ground and did nothing with it. And he was unprofitable because he wasted the opportunities that he had. and in the Banner of Truth commentary by T.V. Moore he says this, if men refuse to be taught by precept, they must be taught by punishment. Now these are words here to the priests, to the leaders. Now pastors today are not priests in the Old Testament sense, but they are leaders of the people of God. And again, to quote T.V. Moore, Thomas Moore, he says this, ministers of religion have a fearful responsibility for they cannot sin or suffer alone. They drag others down with them if they fall and have a part of their sins to bear. I find that challenging, I find that incredibly challenging. Here am I, being a minister of God's word for all these years. And yet I know I'm not perfect, I know I'm a sinner. Is my sin dragging you down? I have a responsibility to live, not only to live before you, but to live before God, honourably. And I know I'm not perfect. And if you knew my sinful heart, you would, well, not only would you understand that, you'd probably run a mile, you probably wouldn't stay here listening to me. Now I don't make this observation in order to justify that situation, but I do make this observation. If I knew your sinful heart, you probably wouldn't want to stay in this room with me either. Because we're all sinners, aren't we? And we know that we've not done what we should do. We know that we're unworthy. But it's a solemn matter, isn't it? Ministers especially drag others down with them if they fall. Well, please God, he'll keep us, keep me, but he'll keep us all away from sin. And what a reminder to make sure that we're listening to God's Word and seeking by his grace to obey it. Otherwise, we might find that God's blessings are removed. Secondly, more positively, blessings restored. In verses four to six, blessings restored. then you shall know that I have sent this commandment to you that my covenant with Levi may continue. And there are words here about God's covenant and in verse six about his law of truth and about God's peace and truth and so on. God does not take pleasure in judgment. He is the God who has established his covenant with you and his covenant, verse five, is of life and peace. God's great purpose is to bring them back to himself. Verse 4, then you shall know that I have sent this commandment to you that my covenant with Levi may continue. God is not going to cut them off. He may come to punish them, but he's not going to cut them off. All of this is to restore them and to encourage them and to bring them back to the place of blessing. Now I was thinking again about these things this afternoon, well this morning and this afternoon, and when you read these words, when you think about them in the light of the rest of scripture, they are in fact amazing, they are incredible words. Do you understand why? I must confess that I hadn't really realized the significance and the impact of what we're being told about God's covenant grace in these words. Now I've lectured Just back in January, I was lecturing on covenant theology, on biblical theology. I have strong views about God's covenantal grace and God's love to men and women and 30 lectures to the students on this whole matter. And yet I don't think I had fully appreciated what is being said here. And I don't know that I even have now, but I just think this is, it hit me this afternoon, how incredible this is. What is happening? God speaks about a covenant that he made with Levi. Where in the Old Testament do we find God making a covenant with Levi? Levi the man actually doesn't have a good record in the Old Testament. The words in the Old Testament about him are, and the words of Jacob when he comes to die, as he speaks of his sons, he doesn't speak very favorably about Levi. And Moses in Deuteronomy, some people think these words are linked with Deuteronomy's words, with Moses' words to the tribe of Levi in Deuteronomy 33. But again, they're not words in terms of covenantal, they're not covenantal words. And they're not particularly words of blessing in fact. Deuteronomy 33 in verses 8 to 11. And of Levi he said, this is Moses, let your thyme and your urine be with your holy one whom you tested at Massa and with whom you contended at the waters of Meribah. who says of his father and mother, I have not seen them, nor did he acknowledge his brothers. For they have observed your word and kept your covenant. They shall teach Jacob your judgments and Israel your law. This is what they should do. But that wasn't characteristic of them, even the Levites as the people of God, as the priests of God. They hadn't lived as they ought to do. And while there is a reference to the covenant there, it's not in covenantal terms as God's words to Abraham and to Moses and to Noah and to David. So to what is he referring? Now if we believe that the Scriptures are God's sacred word to us, what is Malachi saying to us here? He's writing under inspiration of the Holy Spirit. These words, I say, are not covenantal. Well, of course, others say, well, of course, this is referring back to the event with Phinehas. which is in covenantal terms, and Phineas was a priest, so this is what Malachi is referring to. Well, Phineas, the son of Eliezer, in Numbers 25, he stands up for the truth, he brings judgment upon the grossly abhorrent immorality that was so publicly displayed in the sin of Baal Peor in Numbers chapter 25. And God commends him for his zeal and for his concern for the purity of God. And in Numbers 25 verse 11, Phinehas, the son of Eliezer, the son of Aaron, the priest, has turned back my wrath from the children of Israel because he was zealous with my zeal among them, so that I did not consume the children of Israel in my zeal. Therefore say, behold, I give to him my covenant of peace. And you find very similar words to Malachi. And it shall be to him and his descendants after him a covenant of an everlasting priesthood, because he was zealous for his God and made atonement for the children of Israel. Now that's God. Those are God's covenantal words to Phinehas, who was a Levite, and to his family, And if we understand and trace the priestly line through, it is through Aaron and Eliezer and Phinehas and so on, and that is right, but it's only with those family and descendants of Phinehas, not to all the Levites, because not all the Levites were priests. John Calvin says this, but we may here learn a useful truth. The Prophet briefly teaches us that the priestly office takes away nothing from God's authority, who requires a pure and holy worship, and that it lessens in nothing the authority of the law, for sound doctrine ought ever to prevail. So what is Malachi saying here? Well it's I think it is highly likely that he has in mind the words spoken to Phinehas, but he's elevating that to a higher level. He is reminding us of God's covenantal dealings with his people. and as God comes to Noah with words of a covenant, as he comes to Adam in terms of the covenant, although the word covenant is not used but they're in covenantal words in Genesis 3 after the fall, as he comes to Noah, as he comes to Abraham, as he comes to Moses, God deals with men and women in covenantal terms and the great progressive revelation of God's great work of salvation, which begins in Genesis at the fall and goes right through the Bible. is here in Malachi's mind as he speaks of these things. And he's reminding us of the eternal covenants of God fulfilled in the new covenant, as Jeremiah calls it, as the everlasting covenant, as the other prophets call it. So what is happening is here is another aspect in the Old Testament demonstrating the utter faithfulness and reliability of God. It's wonderful. And God's covenant remains in force. Men may break it, but that doesn't invalidate it. And it does not mean that God will rescind it, will take it away. Nowhere in scripture does God ever break a covenant. He never takes it away. Even however bad men may sin, God's covenant stands. Men may fail, men may break his word, men may disobey him, men may fall under judgment, but God keeps his word. God is utterly reliable. He is utterly trustworthy. He is utterly faithful. He will never, never fail. And God's great purpose is to bring men and women into his covenant and under his grace to bring them to repentance. And all of God's warnings here in Malachi are to bring the people back to him. They are positive. They are to lead men to repentance and to restoration. God has not broken his covenant. They have broken God's covenant. And in every case in Scripture, when God's covenants are broken, it is men who break them. But that tells us something else. And as we shall see as we look at these words in a minute, I hope you'll understand this. This is why the full glory of the covenant could never be fulfilled under the Old Testament dispensation. Under the Old Testament, terms because there is only one perfect covenant. All the covenants of the Old Testament point forward to Christ. And you get to the end of the Old Testament, and we're nearly at the end of course in this book, and what do you find? You find that here are people, as it were, at the end of the Old Testament and it's almost as though they're standing on tiptoe and they're just waiting, waiting, waiting. Now there's 400 years that passes between Malachi and the events of Matthew and Luke and the coming of the Lord Jesus. But there's a sense of anticipation. There's a sense of something more. It's there in the Old Testament, it's there in David. It's there in David and there's incredible words in 2 Samuel 23 when he speaks about the morning light and the sun and the other things that he says in that chapter as he comes to the end of his life and he's looking forward. It's there in 2 Samuel 7 when God speaks his covenant to him. It's there so often in the Old Testament but it increases and gets stronger. I think I said the other week I was at a meeting two, three years ago, a conference in London speaking about the Old Testament, and one of the men saying, you get to the end of the Old Testament and it's almost a pit of despair. I sat there, I thought, what rubbish, what rubbish. You get to the end of the Old Testament and everybody is looking, or not everybody, but all the godly people are looking forward to God to do something, for the Lord Jesus Christ to come, for something, God to break in. You get to the end of the Old Testament, as I say, it's almost as if people are on their, you understand, on the tips of their toes, they're sort of waiting. And here is Malachi's great promise, we'll see it again in chapter 3 and chapter 4, even more powerfully I think than here, but it's here in this chapter. Well, how does he describe these things? He speaks of the wonder of the fulfilment of the words of the covenant that God made with his people and with Levi the priest. These were the terms of the covenant. Look at it, verse 5. My covenant was with him one of life and peace. And I gave them to him that he might fear me. So he feared me and was reverent before my name. The law of truth was in his mouth. and injustice was not found on his lips, he walked with me in peace and equity and turned many away from iniquity. Who fulfilled those terms? Only the Lord Jesus Christ did. Here is the perfection of all that the Old Testament was waiting for and longing for. Here is the one alone who fulfilled these things. Here was the only one who kept God's covenant. The man who kept God's covenant. He was God, but he was man. He walked with God in peace and truth. He turned many away from their iniquity, and he's still doing it today. And all the covenants of the Old Testament are looking forward to something and someone greater and more glorious, and that one is the Lord Jesus Christ. That's why when Jeremiah speaks of this in Jeremiah 33, and Jeremiah isn't the only one. Dear friends, please don't fall into the trap of thinking that Jeremiah is the only one who talks about the new covenant. He's the only one who calls it the new covenant, but it's there many times in the Old Testament. It's only Jeremiah who calls it new. The others call it the everlasting. It is the new covenant, but it is the everlasting covenant. Jeremiah 33 and 14 to 18, let me just read them. these words. Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, that I will perform that good thing which I have promised to the house of Israel and to the house of Jacob, Judah. In those days and at that time I will cause to grow up to David a branch of righteousness. He shall execute judgment and righteousness in the earth. In those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will dwell safely. And this is the name by which she will be called, the Lord our righteousness. And you find that name is applied to the Lord Jesus Christ, that name by which he will be called, but now she will be called because it's the people of God who are brought into the Kingdom of God under the purpose of the Lord Jesus Christ and through his saving grace. And in verse 19, of Jeremiah 33, look at the word of God here. And the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah saying, thus says the Lord, verse 20, if you can break my covenant with the day and my covenant with the night, so that there will not be day and night in their season, then my covenant may also be broken with David my servant. What God is saying is here is something that is established in creation, night and day. And as significant as that is, so is the significance of my covenant. nothing can break it, nothing can destroy it. This is the only way in which these blessings can come. The law of truth in our chapter 2 verse 6, the law of truth was in his mouth, injustice was not found on his lips. He walked with me in peace and equity and turned many away from iniquity. This is the only way in which the blessings are received. As we sang in our hymn last Tuesday, in him the tribes of Adam boast more blessings than their father lost. There's only one in whom we can walk with God. Once in Him, in Him forever, thus the eternal covenant stands. None shall pluck thee from the strength of Israel's hands, says the hymn, or in the hymn we sang a moment or two ago. God of the covenant, changeless, eternal, Father, Son, Spirit, in blessing agree. Thine be the glory, our weakness confessing. Triune Jehovah, we rest upon thee. Blessings removed. Blessings restored. But just be careful, thirdly, that blessings are not despised. Verses 7 to 9. And here is the contrast between the Lord's true servant in verses 5 and 6 and the false servant in verses 7 to 9. The priest is to reflect the glory of that perfect covenant. The priest is to act, for the lips of the priest, verse 7, should keep knowledge, and people should seek the law from his mouth, for he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts, but you have departed from the way. Beware, says God. The priest is to keep and to display that knowledge of God and there should be some evidence of his work. Verse 7, people should seek the law from his mouth. to Evian Moore and his commentary says that this tells us that a faithful ministry will surely, usually be sealed by the conversion of sinners and an unfaithful minister will suffer a fearful fate, verses 8 and 9, those who have departed from the law and corrupted the covenant of Lefi, therefore I have made them contemptible and base before the people. What a warning, what a warning. And friends, it does come as a warning, doesn't it? It comes as a warning to us. What results have we seen? Are we guilty of despising the blessings of God? Are we under the judgment of God? The nation we live in appears to be, but are we? Please God, we are not. Please God, we will not be guilty of ignoring God's blessings or despising them. Because if we do, then God has every right to remove them from us. Please God, we may not be under judgment. God was dishonoured by the unworthy lives of these people. They were hypocrites and the people saw through them. Do people despise our God because of our poor witness, because we say one thing but do another? Well, please God, that won't be the case. How different, how different the words of Paul concerning the Thessalonians. In 1 Thessalonians chapter 1, they received the word of God. They, if you like, had learnt from these things not to fall into the same trap. And so Paul is able to speak of the Thessalonian believers. May this be God's testimony of us. we give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers, remembering without ceasing your work of faith, your labour of love and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in the sight of our God and Father, knowing, beloved brethren, your election by God for our gospel did not come to you in word only but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and in much assurance as you knew what kind of men we were among you for your sake and you became followers of us and of the Lord and so on. There's only one way to ensure that we are within the covenant that we are trusting the Lord Jesus as these Thessalonian believers did and then going out to be fishers of men And as we will be praying in a moment or two, as we think of those who go out to speak in the open air and those who witness in other ways, to be faithful witnesses, verse 7, that others might come to seek the law of God. That's the point, isn't it? that people should seek the law from his mouth for he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts, filled with zeal for the glory of God, for the blessing of God upon his people. It was said of Robert Murray M'Chayne that he seemed as though he was almost dying to have you converted. Well, do we have that kind of passion? not despising God's blessings, but striving to see his greater blessings as the Gospel is preached, as the Word of God goes forward. Of course Malachi has much to say about that positive side of things later in his little book. He's already begun to refer to it, but much more in greater detail. Listen to these words of the Apostle Paul from 1 Corinthians chapter 9. as he speaks about the preaching of the Gospel. For if I preach the Gospel, I have nothing to boast of, for necessity is laid upon me. Yes, woe is me if I do not preach the Gospel. For if I do this willingly, I have a reward, but if against my will, I have been entrusted with a stewardship. What is my reward then? That when I preach the Gospel, I may present the Gospel of Christ without charge. that I may not abuse my authority in the gospel. For though I am free of all men, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win them all. And to the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might win the Jews. To those who are under the law, as under the law, that I might win those who are under the law. To those who are without law, as without law, not being without law toward God, but under law toward Christ, that I might win those who are without law. To the weak I became as weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all men, that by all means save some. Now this I do for the gospel's sake, that I may be the partaker of it. with you. What encouraging words they are. And as we go out, as we seek to spread the Gospel, we go out not despising the blessings of God but seeking his grace, living in the light of his covenant truth and in the glory of his grace.