Shabbat Shalom everyone. Let's open our Bibles to the book of Malachi. Malachi chapter 2 is where we are studying today. The ministry today comes from Malachi chapter 2. I would like to read for us this ministry meeting, the first nine verses of Malachi, Malachi chapter 2. Malachi was a prophet of Israel who spoke to our people about 400, 430 years before Hanan Hamadbil, John the baptizer proclaiming about Yeshua the Messiah, "Behold the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of this world." There was 400 years of silence. There was no message to our people Israel. And now you might say the final message from God to our forefathers Israel before that long silence until the Messiah have come and proclaimed to be the Shepherd of Israel, the Messiah of Israel.

So Malachi is speaking to the priests of Israel, to the spiritual leaders of our forefathers. And look what he says to them at that time in Malachi, Malachi chapter 2 verses 1 to 9. He said, "And now, O ye priests, this commandment is for you. If ye will not heal, and if ye will not lay it to heart, to give glory unto my name, saith the Lord of hosts, I will even send a curse upon you, and I will curse your blessings, yea, I have cursed them already, because ye do not lay it to heart. Behold, I will corrupt your seed, and spread dung upon your faces, even the dung of your solemn feasts, and one shall take you away with it.

And ye shall know that I have sent this commandment unto you, that my covenant might be with Levi, saith the Lord of hosts. My covenant was with him of life and peace, of chayim and shalom. And I gave them to him for the fear wherewith he feared me, and was afraid before my name. The law of truth was in his mouth, and iniquity was not found in his lips. He walked with me in peace and equity, and did turn many away from iniquity. For the priest's lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the law of his mouth, for he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts.

But ye are departed out of the way. Ye have caused many to stumble at the law. Ye have corrupted the covenant of Levi, saith the Lord of hosts. Therefore have I also made you contemptible and base before all the people, according as ye have not kept my ways, but have been partial in the law. And I'm stopping here after reading Malachi chapter 2 and verses 1 to 9. This is a very, you might say, sad commentary upon the Kohanim, the priests that God has raised among our forefathers, the people of Israel. It's rather a sad commentary that God gives us as he directing his message to those priests using Malachi, that is Malachi, the prophet of Israel.

And dear brothers and sisters, how sad the condition here 430 years about before the coming of the Messiah, because here 430 years about B.C., these nation of Israel, our own forefathers, have now returned back to the promised land. After there were 70 years in Babel from 605 B.C., after the destruction of the temple at 586 B.C., now a few years have passed by. They are already back in the land. They now should have said, you know, we used to be by the rivers of Babylon. We wept there. We have seen how sad it is to be away from the Lord. And now the Lord have restored us back to our promised land.

He have helped us to rebuild the temple in the city of Yerushalayim. And now we should enjoy him. We should live for him. We should be the kind of a people that will honor the God of our fathers, give glory to his name. But it didn't happen. It didn't take too long when there was again a departure from the Lord. We read just earlier in 2 Timothy chapter 3, we read the whole chapter, in which the apostle Shaul Paul said the very same thing about the last days in the assembly in the church age. Many should depart from the truth. They will not want to hear the word of God as they begin in the early days.

And now the time has passed by. And now I tell you, Paul is saying, the apostle Paul said to Timothy. He said, "Perilious time shall come, for men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection." In verse 5 he said, "Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof." He said to Timothy, "But thou hast fully known my doctrine and manner of life." And so on. He's saying to Timothy, "Timothy, I'm telling you that's what's going to happen in the last days of the church age." And as we are studying the book of Malachi, this is exactly what happened in the last days of Israel history, before the Mashiach, the Messiah came to pronounce himself as the savior of sinners, as the promised Messiah of Israel.

So as we study, as we learn the prophet Malachi, we can see the things that happened in those days, not even the people first, but the priesthood, the spiritual leaders of the people of God. And here we learn how God pronouncing, you might say, "judgment upon the priesthood who are descendants of the tribe of Levi." If you remember, in our previous ministry meeting, we have looked at chapter 1, verses 6 to verse 14, and found, if you remember, the two-fold statement that God said about the priests of Israel, from verses 7 to verse 14. Two ways in which the priests despised the name of the Lord. That which we already read in chapter 1, verses 7 to 14.

Number one, the priests offered unacceptable sacrifices on the altar in the temple. They offered, as we read it, the blind, the lame, and the sick. They gave God the leftover. They gave God the no-good animals, which were not acceptable by Him. And secondly, they dishonored the name of the God of Israel. And the name we mentioned earlier, that the name represents the character of God. What is in a name? In a name of God, as we read from the book of Exodus, where God proclaimed the name of the Lord to Moshe, to Moses. And he said to him, God is merciful. God is gracious. God is long-suffering.

God is a good God. But He is also, not only that He is a loving God, He is also a holy God, that He will have to judge sin, because He is a holy God. And so the priests dishonored the Lord in two ways. Number one, they have offered polluted animals. And number two, they dishonored the name of the Lord Himself. So now in the continuance of the message to the priests, in Malachi 2:1-9, the Lord is presenting and showing the priests how unfaithful they were in comparison to the early days of the tribe of Levi, of the early day of the priesthood. Isn't it so, beloved brothers and sisters, everything usually starts very well.

Even in our own personal life, we begin our walk with the Lord when we are born by the Spirit of God. We begin very well. We make commitment to the Lord. We make resolution. We say, God, I'm going to follow you. I'm going to live for you. I'm going to do everything for you, God. Just help me. Help me so I can live for you in my life. But then time passes by and we forget our relationship with the Lord. Sin easily beset us. We look to the world around us. We are attacked by Satan, our enemy. The flesh is running within us. And we neglect it.

Slowly but surely, we depart from that place where we were at the beginning. And it's in our own personal life. It is in our own family life. In our own assembly life. And it's in a national way among the people of Israel. The assembly, the church at large. It's slowly but surely, we are drifting like a ship drifting from shore. And we always have to keep ourselves in check. Always have to remember to give short account. To keep short account with the Lord. Because we are a failing people. We have an inclination to go astray. Like anyone who had been before us. And so God has shown the leaders of Israel.

The priests. How they have gone astray. And how they dishonoring. By offering wrong sacrifices. Unacceptable sacrifices. And not giving glory to his name. Now he is moving on in chapter 2 and verses 1 to 9. He is really showing the priests of Israel. How they were unfaithful to the covenant. That God made with their father Levi. And so notice what he does here. In the first three verses of our chapter. Malachi chapter 2 and verse 1. He is first warned them. And he warned those unfaithful priests. For the consequence of their wrongdoing. He began of course in verse 1. And notice what he says. He says. And now all ye priests.

This commandment is for you. He is directing the message through Malachi to the priests. The spiritual leaders of Israel. He says. I want to tell you something. I am directing my message now to you. I am not going to talk about what the people have done. The rest of the nation of Israel. But I am directing the attention of my message to you. He is saying. To the priests. To the Kohanim. To the leaders. The spiritual leaders of Israel. And why he is saying this to them. Because he wants them. Because he wants them to. You might say to pause. To pause. And to realize.

That they have to take it to heart. They have to take the things of the God of Israel seriously. And not to assume. And not to assume. That God doesn't see. And that God is not going to deal with them. To take the things of the Lord. Seriously. And therefore it said. Oh and now. Notice the word. And now. It says. It's right this moment. I am directing my attention now to you. And I want to tell you. Priests. Oh ye priests. This is the commandment. That is addressed unto you. So in verse 1. He is directing this to them. Why? Beloved brothers and sisters. Because the priests of Israel.

Were spiritual leaders. They are responsible over the nation. Number 2. The priests were guilty. In leading our forefathers Israel astray. They were not an example to them. Just yesterday. I received a text. Or an email. From someone. Who said that in one of the congregation. Here locally. Somebody was teaching from the pulpit. That Yeshua is not the Lamb of God. The Lamb of God. Now I don't know how you can be a believer. And reject the fact that Yeshua is the Lamb of God. Is the one who came to die for the sin of this world. So you can be a teacher. And you can stand in the pulpit.

And you can preach the word with the Bible in your hand. Yet you can reject what the scriptures say. And you can teach others. And others ending up to adapt it. And turn away from the ABC of the word of God. So the priests of Israel were the spiritual leaders of Israel. And they were responsible to teach the people of Israel. And therefore God gives them a warning. And he began his warning. He says. This commandment is for you. O ye priests. Hakohanim in Hebrew. The priests. And he continued now. And I want you to notice that. In verse 2. The Lord warns. The Lord warns.

That if the priests. Will not heal. And give heed to his word. Eventually. The Lord will discipline them. Notice what he says to them in verse 2. If you will not heal. And if you will not lay it to heart. To give glory to my name. Says the Lord of hosts. I will even send a curse upon you. And I will curse your blessings. Yea. I have cursed them already. Because ye do not lay it to heart. In other words. The Lord is saying. Through Malachi. To the priest. To the Kohanim. The priest of Israel. He says. Listen. I'm going to give you a warning. That if you will not.

As it says here in verse 2. Will hear. Or listen to what I'm telling you. And lay it to heart. In other words. Don't only have it in your head. But bring it down to your heart. Appropriate it to your life. And make changes in your life. If you will not. Listen to my word. And hear what I have to say. Eventually. As he says to them. I will send curse upon you. Now in a moment. I'm going to mention. That thought about. That word for. Curse here. In Hebrew. It's called. Ve'aroti. Or. Me'era. Or arur. It comes from the Hebrew word. Arur. One who is being cursed by God.

Now first. Just. I want you just to notice. That expression here. In verse 2. Where he said to them. If you will not hear. And if you will not lay it to heart. To give glory to my name. You remember beloved brothers and sisters. The whole theme here. In the book of Malachi. Is that the priesthood of Israel. It didn't give God the glory to his name. That he deserved. He already began. If you remember the whole book of Malachi. In chapter 1 and verse 6. To show them that they did not give glory to his name. You remember what it said in chapter 1 verse 6. Verse 6. A son honors his father.

And a servant his master. If then I be a father. Where is my honor? And if I be a master. Where is my field? Sayeth the Lord of hosts. Unto you all priests. That despise. Notice that. Despise my name. And ye say. Wherein have we despised thy name? You notice that. That the priests. By their behavior. Despise the name of Jehovah. The name of the God of Israel. And so now he's telling them in chapter 2. And verse 2. That if they will not hear it. And if they will not appropriate it in their hearts. And make changes in their life to give glory to God's name.

He says to them. I will even send a curse upon you. And I will curse your blessing. Yea, I have cursed them already. Because ye do not lay it to heart. Now just for a moment. If you don't mind to go with me back to the book of Deuteronomy. For a moment. And in Deuteronomy chapter 28. Moses and our people Israel were just before entering into the promised land. And there God promised Israel that he will give Israel all the promised land. What we call today Knaan. The land of Canaan. But at the same time. As he gave Israel these promises. He also gave them a warning.

That he will bless them if they obey. And that he will curse them if they disobey. Now we read in chapter 28 of the book of Deuteronomy. And I am just going to read a few verses. You notice the first verses there. Chapter 28 verse 1. There God said. It shall come to pass. Verse 1. That if you shall hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord thy God. To observe and to do all his commandments. Which I commend thee this day. That the Lord thy God will set thee on high above all the nations of the earth. And all these blessings. Notice the word blessing. In Hebrew the word bracha or brachot in plural.

These brachot. Blessings. Shall come on thee. And overtake thee. If thou shall hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God. Verse 3. Blessed shall thou be in the city. And blessed thou shall be in the field. Verse 4. Blessed be the fruit of thy body. And the fruit of thy ground. And the fruit of thy cattle. The increase of thy kin. And the flocks of thy sheep. Verse 5. Blessed shall be thy basket. And thy store. Verse 6. Blessed shall thou be when thou comest in. And blessed shall thou be when thou goest out. Look at the blessing that God promised to the people of Israel. Just before they have entered to the land of Canaan.

To possess the land of Israel. And it is all depended upon the fact that they will hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord. The God of our fathers. The God of Israel. But on the other hand, beloved brothers and sisters. Look a little bit further down. In verse 15. Of Deuteronomy chapter 28. In Deuteronomy chapter 28. From verse 15 to verse 19. He reverses that. If they will not hearken unto the voice of the Lord. Listen to verse 15. Deuteronomy 28:15. It shall come to pass that if thou will not hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God. To observe to do all his commandments. And his statutes which I commended thee this day.

That all these curses. The Hebrew word arur. All these klalot in Hebrew. All these curses. Shall come upon thee and overtake thee. And he continues. Verse 16, 17, 18, 19. Just listen to this. Cursed shall thou be in the city. And cursed shall thou be in the field. Cursed shall thy basket and thy store be. Cursed shall be the fruit of thy body. And the fruit of thy land. Of thy king. And the flocks of thy sheep. And the flocks of thy sheep. Cursed shall thou be when thou comest in. And cursed shall thou be when thou goest out. You see beloved brothers and sisters. These are the people of God.

To whom God said. Even though you came out of the land of Egypt. You were under the blood. You are just now ready. The new generation is ready to enter into the promised land. But you can be sure that even though you are the chosen people. I will have to deal with you as a father dealeth with his own children. Discipline you. If you will disobey me. And I will bless you. If you will obey me. Now time passes by. And Israel now is on the other side of their history. You might say. Before now they are now in the land. And now they are in the last days.

You might say before the 450 or 430 years of silence. And now the Lord is speaking to the leadership of Israel. And he is saying to them in verse 2. If you will not hear. And if you will not lay it to heart. To give glory unto my name. Sayeth the Lord of hosts. I will even send a curse. Upon you. And I will curse your blessings. Yea I have cursed them already. Because ye do not lay it to heart. Now let me remind you. Beloved brothers and sisters. That God is a sovereign God. What is sovereign God? A sovereign God is a God who is in full control.

Over the affairs of this world. Nothing is hidden from him. Not your life. Neither my life. Not your thoughts. Neither my thoughts. Nor your ways. Neither my ways. God knows everybody's situation in their lives. And God yet want to save us. Of course. But he want to bless his own people. But if his people live the kind of a life that dishonor him. As a sovereign God. As a sovereign God. He can send. And you notice his expression. As it says here. I will send. A curse. Upon you. What does that mean? I will send. Because God is sovereign. Because God is sovereign. And he is in full control.

He can send. You might say. As we read it here in verse 2. As a sovereign God. He is divine. He can send a supernatural hindrance to one's life. When he blesses someone. He sends. You might say. A divine. Blessing. To aid. In the life. Of an individual. That's why we sometimes say. This person has been blessed by the Lord. What do we mean by that? That this person. God. Have sent along. To his life. A situation. And circumstances. And people. In his life. Life. That will help him. And will bless him. And will reward him. Whether it is physically. Whether it. And also it could be spiritual as well.

But at the same time. God is able. As a sovereign God. To send. Judgment. Upon those who refuse. To obey his word. That's why he used this expression. If you will not lay it to heart. To give glory unto my name. Says the Lord of hosts. I will even send. The curse. Upon you. And I will curse. Your blessings. Now some. Immediately come to my mind. If you remember. The Yonah. Hanavi Jonah. The prophet of Israel. When God. Sent him. To preach the message. Of the gospel. To this Gentile world. To tell them about. The God of Israel. And Yonah. Did not want to obey the Lord.

He didn't go. Instead. Of going. To where he should have gone. He went into a boat. In the city of Yafo. He went down. And he went. All the way. To another direction. And you remember. What God. We read. In the book of Yonah. The book of Jonah. That God sent. The strong wind. And as he sent. The strong wind. The whole ship. Was in a chaos there. In turmoil. There was. Tossed to and fro. And then God. Allowed Jonah. To be cast. Into the water. And then he sent. The fish. To swallow Jonah. And then after that. He told the fish. To threw out.

Jonah. On shore. And then God. Sent the gourd. And he raised the gourd. And then he sent the sun. And the sun. Will scorch the gourd. The plant. And the plant. Will die. God was in a full control. Over the life of Jonah. He was his servant. And when he disobeyed him. The Lord have allowed him. To experience. Challenges such as this. And he's saying. To the priest of Israel. He's saying to them. Listen. If you will not. Hear what I'm saying to you. If you will not. Lay it to your heart. I'm telling you. If you will not. Give me glory. I'm going to send.

Your way. Curse. And he said. I will curse. Your blessings. In other words. He will reverse. The blessing. That he intended. For the tribe. Of Levi. The priest. Was supposed to enjoy. To serve. Our people. Israel. To be ministering. To the people. Of God. To be a blessing. To God's people. But when they turn away. And they did not. Honor God. They were offering. The blind. And the lame. And the sick. Upon an altar. Giving glory. To the name. Of the Lord. God. Was going. To judge. His very own. People. Whom he loved. And he wanted. To bless them. So much. And I would suggest.

Beloved. Brothers. And sisters. That it is the same. In our very own lives. Whether we are in leadership. Or not in leadership. God is sovereign. We cannot. We cannot. Live a life. That dishonor him. Willfully. Without him. Intervening. In our lives. As we read. In Galatians. Whatsoever man. Sowers. That he will also. Reap. Be sure. Your sins. Will find you out. God has said. That to our own people. Israel. Years ago. And that is a principle. That is carried on. To this present day. The Lord disciplined. The people. Whom he loved. Whom the Lord loves. He chastens. And he scourges. Everyone. Whom he received. We read in the book of Hebrews.

So he is telling. To the Kohanim. To the leaders of Israel. He says. Listen. If you are not going. To take it to heart. If you are not going. To listen. To what I am saying. To you. And give glory. To me. I will reverse. The very blessings. That I have given to you. I will reverse them. And instead. Of giving you a blessing. I will curse you. I will judge you. And then. Notice what he said. At the end. In verse 2. He said. And yes. He said. I have cursed them already. You know why? Because they didn't. Hearken. Unto the voice. Of the Lord.

That is an amazing lesson. That every believer. To take to heart. In every generation. Before Israel was a nation. During the time. That Israel as a nation. Was called by the Lord. After the assembly. The church was born. During our present day. This is applicable. In every generation. For the people of God. Who need. To learn. To lay things. To their hearts. And take seriously. The things. Of the Lord. Yeshua. The Messiah. So he continued now. In these next verses. And after he said. I will curse your blessings. He showed them. That he is sovereign. That everything. That he does. He is in full. Control.

Nothing is hid. From the eyes. From the eyes. Of the Lord. Listen to this verse. In Psalm 115. Just this verse. Verse 3. The psalmist of Israel. Said. But our God. Is in the heavens. He has done. Whatsoever. He has pleased. Our God. The God of Israel. Is in heaven. And whatever he does. He does. As he pleases. In Proverbs chapter 16. We read these words. Listen to this. In verse 9. A man's heart. Devises his way. But it says. The Lord. Is eventually. Directing his steps. Let me read it. As it is written. A man's heart. Devises his way. But the Lord. Directeth his steps. Even though we make plans.

And we try to have all kind of things. In our own mind. That we plan. Before the Lord. But then. Eventually. The Lord is the one. Who is sovereign. And he. Direct. The steps. Of any. Men. Anyone. Here. In this world. Listen to another verse. In 2nd Chronicle. Chapter. 20. And verse 6. And said. This is. Yehoshaphat. He was the king of Judah. Look what he said. He said. Lord God. God. God of our fathers. Are not thou. God in heaven. And rule us not. Thou. Over all the kingdoms. Of the heathens. And in thine hand. Is there not. Power. And might. So that none. Is able.

To withstand thee. Nobody. You see. God. Is the creator. Of the universe. No one. Can withstand him. He is sovereign. Even though. We see things. That are messed up. Here in the world. In which we live in. Yet God. Is sovereign. He chooses. And allows. Things to happen. And send. Along. The ways. For those. Who disobey him. He does send. Discipline. Upon. Even. His very own people. In Ephesians. Chapter 1. And verse 11. We read. This is a New Testament passage. New Covenant. We read about Yeshua. The Messiah. It said. In whom. Also. We have obtained. An inheritance. Being predestinated. According. To the purpose. Of him. Who works.

All things. After the counsel. Of his own will. God works. All things. After the counsel. Of his own will. No one. Can change. God's plan. And program. Chapter 3. Of Ephesians. And verse 20. Now unto him. That is able. To do exceeding. Abundantly. Above all. That we ask. Or think. According to the power. That worketh. In us. He is the one. Who is in control. Over the affairs. Of men. And so he gave warning. To the priests. Of Israel. Through. The prophet. Malachi. And he tell them. Listen. You better take it. To heart. Because if you will not. Take it to heart. I will curse. Your blessing.

And yes. I'm telling you. Even I have already. Cursed you. Because. You did not. Lay it. To heart. I have already. Cursed you. And this is. Speaking to us. Because. We also. Want the blessing. Of the Lord. And if we want. The blessing. Of the Lord. We need to submit. To his authority. Therefore. He will bless us. And lead us on. In our life. Now notice. Notice. I'm back. To Malachi. Chapter 2. And verse 3. In verse 3. We find out. That God. Will. Rebuke. The seed. Of these. Priests. And God. Will. Spread. Dung. Upon them. And eventually. He will remove them. Out of their ministry. Notice. Chapter.

2. And verse 3. Behold. I will. Corrupt. Or I will. Spend. And I will. Spread. Dung. Upon your faces. Even the dung. Of your solemn feasts. And one. Shall. Take. You. Away. With it. You see what he's saying to them. Okay. Priests. You were privileged. To serve me. You were privileged. To be in the temple. In the house. Of the Lord. But you abuse. Your privileges. And if you don't. Take it to heart. What I'm going to do. I will. Rebuke. Your seed. And I will spread. Dung. Upon your faces. The thought of rebuking. Their seed. Is that. Can you imagine. You sowed the seeds. Because the Levites.

Received the portion. Of the land. The little portion. To receive. For themselves. To be fed. By that. So you will. Spread the seed. To grow. And then. Not only that. He said. I will spread. Dung. The Hebrew word is. Perish. He will spread. Dung. Upon your faces. That he says. Even upon. The dung. Of your solemn feast. You know. They were celebrating. The feasts. But celebrating. The feasts. With their heart. Away from the Lord. Going through. The routine. Without. The heart. Is really. Pricked. And doing it. As unto the Lord. This becoming. For God. Unacceptable. And that's why. He's saying to them. I will put.

Dung. Spread tongue. Upon your faces. And even the dung. Upon your solemn feast. And. One. Shall take you. Away. With it. You remember. In the earlier. Chapter. One. Is there. Is anyone here. To close the door. Need you. To come. To worship me. Anymore. Here. He says. I'm going to. Remove you. Completely. After I. Took away. From you. The ability. To grow. Any seed. And I will. Judge you. And I will. Discipline. You priests. Because ye. Did not. You did not. You did not. Exalt. My name. So these. Are the first. Three verses. Christ. And again. I just. Think about. Us today. Those of us.

That have a privilege. Of teach the Bible. And preach the word. How many times. We know. Our own hearts. How we fail. At the Lord. How we dishonor him. Many times. In our own life. And how much. We need to be careful. James said. To the early. Believers. Of the assembly. Of the assembly. He said. Brethren. James 3. Verse 1. Be not many. Teachers. Why? Knowing that. We shall receive. A greater. Condemnation. We shall receive. A greater. Condemnation. Yaakov. Said. To the early. Hebrew believers. Of the assembly. Of the church. He gave them. This warning. And he said. To them. Be careful. Because. You need. To realize.

It is a privilege. To serve. The Lord. But. Privilege. Comes with. Responsibility. And it's the same thing. For the rest. Of the people. Of God. It is a privilege. To be saved. And forgiven. And part. Of the people. Of God. But it also. Comes with responsibility. It's not merely. A form. Of religion. They got. To be a reality. God says. To the. Apostles. To the. Believers. To the leaders. He says. Listen. They got. To be a reality. I know. We all come short. In many ways. But nevertheless. You cannot. Willfully. Go ahead. And ahead. And in your own way. To the extent. That God. Is set aside.

And you end up. To be corrupting. The truth. Of the word. Of God. God. Is love. But he's also. Light. He's holy. And he. Demand. Glory. From his. People. We. Didn't read. Revelation. 316. Where Yeshua. Said. To the church. Of Laodicea. I will. Spew you. Out of my mouth. We didn't read. Other passages. That we could have read. That shows us. What the Lord. Is saying. Assemblies. How God warned. The assemblies. When they are going astray. And the leadership as well. As he has. Warned. The people of Israel. In days. Of old. So. In the first three verses. Of Malachi. Chapter 2. Verses 1 to 3. The Lord warns the.

Unfaithful priests. Of judgment. To come. But now. From verses 4 to 9. This is the second portion. Of this ministry meeting. The Lord is pointing. To the contrast. Between Levi. The father. Of the priests. And the priests. Of those days. In the days. Of Malachi. He making a contrast. Look at the difference. Between the days of old. How it all began. And look at the way. It is right now. And so. In verse 4. Notice that. Brothers and sisters. God. Send. A commandment. And he's pointed. To the covenant. That he once made. With the tribe. Of Levi. And he says. In verse 4. Ye shall know. That I have sent.

This commandment. Unto you. That my covenant. Listen. Might be. With Levi. Says the Lord of hosts. I. I've sent to you. Priests now. To realize. And to remember. That my covenant. That I made. With Levi. The tribe of Levi. Years earlier. If you want. To enjoy. That covenant. You have. To submit. To me. Because I have. Made a covenant. With the tribe. Of Levi. Or Levi. In Hebrew. I made. An agreement. A covenant. With the tribe. Of Levi. And he. In a sense. He takes. The priests. All the way. Back. In their history. History. And he. Remind. Them. How. God. Have. Selected. The tribes. Of Levi.

To be. The tribe. That serve. God. Minister. Among. The people. Of Israel. Now let me. Just for a moment. Remind you. That Levi. Was one of the sons. Of Jacob. Jacob. Jacob. If you remember. Had. The two wives. Lea. And Rachel. The son. Levi. Was one of the sons. From. Lea. He was the one. That was born. To. Lea. One of the mothers. Of our people. The people. Of Israel. Levi. Later on. If you remember. When. Levi's. Sister. Was taken. By. Another man. From the nations. Around. And he. Took her. Dina. If you remember. Dina. In English. You say. Dina. And they. Violated. Dina. And then Levi.

And Shimon. Were so angry. If you remember. They told. The people. Of Hamor. There. That if they are going. To be part. Now. And after. They were willing. To be circumcised. What Levi did. And Shimon. They killed. All those people. Because they. Violated. Their sister. Dina. And they. Dishonored. The God. Of Israel. Jacob. Their father. Was not happy. With that. And Jacob. Said to them. You have put me. To shame. In what you have done. And he was not happy. With them. And they ended up. Fleeing. In chapter 49. When Jacob. Genesis chapter 49. When Jacob. Blessed them. He reminded. Them. Levi. What they have done. That they have killed.

All those. Descendants. Of Shem. And Hamor. Because of. They violated. Their sister. Dina. But time. Passes by. And you remember. Jacob. Jacob. Ended up. To be in Egypt. In Mitzrayim. In so years. They were. Away from the promised land. For over 400 years. And finally. God had brought. The people of Israel. Outside of Egypt. And now. They have arrived. To the mountain. That they call. Har Sinai. Mount of Sinai. There. By the time. That they have been. In Mount Sinai. God have. Given the commandments. The law. To our forefathers. The people. Of Israel. Now. Moses. Went up. To Mount Sinai. And he delayed. His coming. If you remember.

And I would like you. For a moment. To turn with me. To Exodus. Chapter 32. If you remember. What happened there. That Moses. Did not come. Right away. Took some time. He was 40 days. And 40 nights. There on the mount. So now. Because he did. Lay his coming. If you remember. Beloved. Brothers and sisters. That they say. To Aaron. Aaron. You know what. We have to. Build. For ourselves. Golden calf. We need a God. Make us a God. So Aaron. Took all the earrings. And all that gold. That they have had. And he. Formed for them. And he made an idol. The golden calf. Now. By that time.

God is saying. To Moshe. Listen. Look what your people. Have done. And then he sent him down. And it says. In verse 15. Of Exodus 32. And Moses turned. And he went down. From the mount. And the two tables. Of testimony. Were in his hand. The tables. Were written. On both. Of their sides. On the one side. And on the other side. Were there written. And then we read. Listen. What we read. In verse 19. When Moses came. And saw. What Israel have done. Building a golden calf. And saying. This is the God. That brought you out of Egypt. It says. That as he. And it came to pass.

Verse 19. As soon as he came. Nigh unto the camp. He saw the calf. And the dancing. And Moses. Anger. Wax hard. And he cast. The tablets. Out of his hand. And he break them. Beneath the mound. And he took the calf. Which they had made. And he burned it. In fire. And he grounded it. To powder. And he strode it. Upon the water. And he made. The children of Israel. To drink it. And when you read. Just a little bit further. Beloved. Brothers and sisters. As you read. In verse 26. Of Exodus 32. Moses stood in the gate. Of the camp. And he said. Who is on the Lord's side.

Let him come unto me. And notice what happened. And all the sons of Levi. Gathered themselves together unto him. And he said unto them. Thus. Sayeth the Lord God of Israel. Put every man his sword. By his side. And go in. And out. From gate to gate. Throughout the camp. And slay. Every man his brother. And every man his companion. And every man his neighbor. And the children of Levi. Did according to the word of Moses. Moses. And there fell. Of the people. That day. About 3,000 men. What Levi did. The tribe of Levi. When Moshe said. Mi la Adonai. Eli. Who is on the Lord's side.

Let him come unto me. The Levites. The whole tribe of Levi. Levi. Took side with God. Against themselves. And the rest of the nation. They took swords. And they killed. Their own brethren. Who have. Dishonored God. They have took a stand for God. In those days. Against their own brethren. Now you and I will say. Whatever you want to say today. How could they do such a thing. In the days. When God. Have given the law. To our forefathers. To the people of Israel. That what Moses. Commended him to do. Against his very own people. Who have sinned. So grievously. Against the God of Israel.

Levi. Took a stand. For God. Some time later. Passed by. And there was again. Another disorder. In the land. Among the people of Israel. In Numbers. Chapter 25. Again. The people of Israel. Abused. Themselves. By allowing themselves. To be influenced. By. Daughters. Of Moab. And they ended up. Committing hudams. There. In the camp. Right there. Beside the Lord. Beside Moses. And beside the rest. Of the people of Israel. The Bible tells us. In Numbers. Chapter 25. That people. Began. To commit hudam. With the daughters. Of Moab. This is chapter 25. And verse 1. What happened there? Even at that time. God was so. Displeased. With the children of Israel.

That God. Have. You might say. He. Demended judgment. Upon his own people. Who were going around. And abusing themselves. And causing all kind of havoc. In the camp. Behold. One of the children of Israel. Verse 6 says. Came. And he brought unto his brethren. A Midianatish woman. In the sight of Moses. And in the sight of all the congregation. Of the children of Israel. Who were weeping. Before the door. Of the tabernacle. Of the congregation. There was such a chaos. That existed there. Among the people of Israel. In the camp. Where they were camping. In the wilderness. So there was a man. By the name of Pinchas.

Who was a. Kohen. He was a priest. And Pinchas. Verse 7. The son of Eliezer. The son of Aharon. The priest. Saw it. He rose up. From among the congregation. And he took a javelin. In his hand. And he went after the men of Israel. Into the tent. And he thrust both of them. Through the men of Israel. And the women. Through. In her belly. So the plague. Was stayed. From the children of Israel. And Pinchas. We read of this. Pinchas. Verse 11. The son of Eliezer. The son of Aaron. The priest. Has turned. My wrath. God is saying. Away from the children of Israel. He was zealous.

For my sake. And then we read in verse 12. Wherefore say. Behold. I will give unto him. This is Pinchas. Who is a Levite. My covenant of peace. And he shall have it. And he said. After him. Even the covenant. Of an everlasting. Priesthood. And from there on. The tribe of Levi. Have entered into a covenant. With God. To have an everlasting. Priesthood. Among people of all. The people of Israel. But why I'm reading this. It is because. The covenant that God made. Is a covenant. That God wanted. To give the tribe of Levi. The privilege. Of serving him. Of ministering. To God's people. And so.

In the olden days. They were committed. To the things of the Lord. But look what's happened now. They have led Israel astray. They have offered the blind. The lame. And the sick. They didn't give honor. To the name of the Lord. And they. As if it were. Despised. The tabernacle. The temple. I should say. And dishonored the Lord. And now. God is telling. To the priest. You just. Look back. And see. How things. Begin. You shall know. That I made. My covenant. With Levi. In days. Of old. And so. In verse 5. Of Malachi. Chapter 2. The Lord reminded. The priest. That it was. His covenant. That he made.

Was for life. And for peace. Look at verse 5. My covenant. Was with him. With Levi. It was a covenant. Of life. Chaim. And of peace. Shalom. I promised him. A long life. And I promised. To give him. Shalom. And blessing. That was. The covenant. That I made. With the tribe. Of Levi. With your forefathers. And I gave. Them. To him. For the fear. Wherewith. He feared me. And was afraid. Before my name. In other words. He is looking back. And he saw. The faithfulness. Of Pinchas. The faithfulness. Of the Levi. The tribe of Levi. In the days. Where the rest of Israel. Were worshipping. A golden calf.

They. Made. A decision. For God. They were faithful. They took. Side. With God. Against themselves. Against their flesh. Against. Their own brethren. Who dishonored him. Amazing. To see. Where do you see. Something like that. It is only. When one. Is committing. Himself. And his life. To the things. Of the Lord. That he says. I have decided. To follow. Yeshua. The Messiah. I want to live for him. To follow him. I know. I will fail. Many times. But I decided. To follow. The Lord. And so now. Notice that. He continues. And he says to them. In these next verses. Verse 6. The Lord. Remind. These priests. Of the.

Godly. History. Of their forefathers. Notice. Verse 6. It says. Four things. About. The priests. Forefathers. The Levites. He says. The law. Of truth. Was in his mouth. And iniquity. Was not found. In his lips. He walked. With me. In peace. And equity. And he did. Turn many. Away. From iniquity. Notice. Those. Four things. That. The Lord. Is mentioning. About. The tribe. Of Levi. In the. Older. Days. Is. Number one. The law. Of truth. Was in his mouth. When he. Preached. And he shared. The word. With the rest. Of the nation. Of Israel. He presented. The truth. Of the word. Of God. The law. Of truth. Torat.

Emet. Was in his mouth. Secondly. Not as the same. Verse 6. Not only this. But iniquity. Was not found. In his lips. He was not. Speaking. Things. That are evil. Iniquity. Was not found. In his lips. Whatever he. Spoke. You wanted. To heal. That which. Will honor. God. And will give. A word. Of encouragement. He didn't speak. His lips. Were not filled. With words. That were dishonoring. The Lord. Thirdly. Notice. That verse 6. It says. He walked. With me. In peace. And in. Iniquity. Or uprightness. To those priests. In a time. Of Malachi. He says. You know what. When you look back. When I made a covenant.

With your forefathers. With the tribe. Of Levi. He walked. With me. Who. Halach. Iti. He walked. With me. In peace. Shalom. As it says. In verse 6. And with. Uprightness. A godly. He was honoring. He was honoring. Me. And fourthly. He says. In verse. Six. At the end. And he says here. As he says here. And he did turn. Many. Away. From. Iniquity. You see. The tribe. Of Levi. Was used. By the Lord. The Kohanim. The priest. To turn away. Many. Who were going. In a wrong. Direction. Who were heading. Away. From God. He brought. They brought them. Back. To the. To the things. Of the Lord.

They were used. By God. In olden. Days. Malachi. Speaks. On behalf. Of God. To the priests. Of those days. He says. But Levi. Of all. The fathers. Of these priests. The tribe. Of Levi. I love. Especially. The expression. At the end. He turned. Many. Away. From. Iniquity. You know. The spiritual. Leaders. Of the people. Of Israel. Like the spiritual. Leaders. Of the assembly. Today. They have. The privilege. And the responsibility. To turn. People. Away. Back. To the fold. Back. To the truth. Back. To the Bible. Back. To the Lord. How many. People. Are. Trying. To find. Satisfaction. Anywhere. Else. And. They neglect. The things. Of the Lord.

I. Remember. Many. Years ago. When I was. Before. I was. Even. A believer. There was. A dear brother. I was playing. Soccer. In one of the fields. In Niagara. On the lake. And there was. One brother. Who was. He was watching. He was watching. The game. And when I finished. The game. He took half an hour. With me. And sat with me. And shared with me. The gospel. He took his time. And his effort. To show me. The love of God. That Yeshua. Was the Mashiach. Of Israel. The savior. Of the world. And somehow. The Lord. Used him. And many others. To turn. Our hearts.

Back. To say. Wait a minute. That's the truth. It's better. To. To trust. In the Lord. Than to put confidence. In men. I need to go. Back. To the word. Of the Lord. That's what. The ministry. Beloved brothers. And sisters. Of the priests. In those days. They were. Ministering. Unto. The Lord. And the Lord's people. By leading people. Back. To the word of God. You know. James. In the end. Of his book. He said. In chapter 5. James 5. Verse 19. Brethren. If any of you. Err. From the truth. And another. Or one. Convert him. Or turn him around. Let him know. That he. Which converteth. Or. Or turn back.

The sinner. From an error. Of his way. Shall save. A soul. From death. And shall hide. A multitude. Of sins. Or the privilege. To be those. That are used. By the Lord. To lead others. To salvation. On the one hand. But to also. Be used. As a vessel. To bring others. Back to the scripture. Back to the word of God. You see. The world. Tells us. You don't need. God. You don't need. Yeshua the Messiah. You don't need. The Bible. You don't need. To pray. You don't need. To come. To meetings. Why should you? That's what the world. Tell us. That's what Satan. Does to us.

But the Lord. Says. Hey listen. It is good for you. To trust me. It is good for you. To read the word. It is good for you. To speak with me. It is good for you. To turn to me. And I'm going to send. My servants. To minister to your heart. So you will be restored. Back to me. This is the ministry. Of the servant. Of the Lord. What a privilege. Was the priests. Ministry. Among our own people. The people. Of Israel. The law. Of truth. Was in his mouth. Iniquity. Was not found. In his lips. He walked with me. In peace. And in uprightness.

And he turned many away. From iniquity. One day. The Lord. Will honor. Those who do so. He will reward. Those who serve him. Because the day. Coming. For we must all. Appear before. The judgment seat. Of the Messiah. And anything. That we have done. For the Lord. Yeshua. The Messiah. He will reward. His own people. He is a just. God. And he will do so. And so now. Malachi. Continued. And God. Now. Declared. Through Malachi. The true. Ministry. Of the priest. Of the Kohen. Notice verse 7. For the priest's lips. Should keep knowledge. And they should seek. The law. Of his mouth. For he is. The messenger.

Of the Lord. Of hosts. What is the priest's. Ministry. Well. The priest's lips. Should keep knowledge. They should share. The truth. That you have learned. From God. Through his word. Then. The result. Will be. That they. Meaning. The nation. Of Israel. They will seek. The law. At his mouth. If somebody. Want to know. About the things. Of God. In Israel. He would come. To the priest. The priest. The truth. Of God. To our people. Israel. And eventually. As it says. Here. In verse 7. The priest. The Kohen. Is the messenger. Of the Lord. Of hosts. This word. Messenger. Is again. The second time. Where you get.

In the book. Of Malachi. The word. Malach. Malach. Messenger. Actually, it is the only time in Scripture that the word Malach is applied to a priest, to the Kohen. And the word Malach simply means a messenger. You remember, it is the second time because the first one who is called Malach or Malachi is the servant himself, Malachi, the prophet. He is called, as it says in chapter 1, verse 1, the burden of the word of the Lord by Malachi, Malachi, Malach. This time is the second time in the book of Malachi that the word Malach is mentioned. Now it is in reference to the priests, to the Kohanim, the job, the ministry of the priest.

He is a messenger who Malach is the messenger of the Lord on behalf of the Lord for the people of Israel. This is the work the priest was called to do. And when he does his work right, the people would seek law at his mouth. I want to know more about God, I'm going to go to the priest. I want to learn more about the things of the Lord, I'm going to come to the spiritual leaders who can help me spiritually. And we too today, if we want to know some more things about the Lord and we have a question, we usually go to someone who is teaching us the word of God so we can glean some more.

Now that does not mean that we don't pray and ask the Lord ourselves, but God gave us leadership in the body of Messiah who will teach and minister the word of God among God's people. Now, just to sum it all up in verse 8, he shows them the contrast now. The contrast, these priests have done exactly the opposite of what their forefathers did. Notice that in verse 8. While in verse 6 of Malachi chapter 2, he said what the priests, the Levites of all have done, now he is telling them what they have done, the priests in the time of Malachi, they have done exactly the opposite. Instead of turning people back to God, they cause many to stumble at the law.

Instead of being speaking the word of God for encouragement and fulfilling the covenant that God made with Levi, they corrupted the covenant that God made with the tribe of Levi. Look at the sad condition, beloved brothers and sisters, that existed there in the days of Malachi. That's why there are 400 of silence years that are coming until the Messiah will finally come. And even then, unfortunately and sadly, Israel did not accept Yeshua, his first coming. So here's the final punishment that God gave to the priests in those days. And that is found in verse 9. And look what we read here. In other words, they have been, you might say, they didn't have, they had respect of person.

They were partial in dealing with the people of Israel. So here's the verdict. God said to them, I've also made you despised. You will not be honored by your people. The people of Israel will not respect you because of the manner whereby you have behaved. God despised and humiliated the priests because they have despised him and humiliated the name of the Lord himself. And the lesson for us, dear brothers and sisters, is that we also can learn this and apply this to ourselves. We need to ask the Lord as well, Lord, help us, guide us, raise in our midst godly brothers and godly sisters that can be good example for us in our lives.

And help us to be used by you, Lord, to bring honor to your name and to be a blessing to the people of God. Well, may the Lord bless these thoughts to us all. We have covered today Malachi chapter 2 verses 1 to 9. Can we say amen to that?