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108   THE CONVENTION TEACHER

INTRODUCTION

The prophet Malachi is sent to convince and then to comfort. His order is first to discover sin, and to reprove for that and then to primes the coming of him who shall take away sin. This method the blessed spirit takes in dealing with souls. god opens the wound and then applies the healing balm. god has provided for the engaging of Israel to himself by providence and ordinances; but it seems, by the complaints in these verses made of them, that they receive the grace of god with his favours. For these, the people were very ungrateful. The Jews were very careless in their worship of god; the priests especially were so, though they were in a special manner in charge of them. These people profaned the ordinance of marriage and treated their wives unkindly. So the prophet gives the divine rebuke against wicked Israel and demands true obedience to God's holy command.

EXPOSITION

I. DIVINE REBUKE OF ISRAEL'S CARELESSNESS. (VV. 1, 609) (1) The burden of the word of the Lord to Israel by Malachi. The prophecy of this book is styled, "This burden of the word of the Lord." This is of great might; what the false prophets said was light as the chaff; what the true prophet said was heavy as the wheat. It ought to be often repeated to them, as the burden of a song, though they were weary of it and found themselves so aggrieved that they were not able to hear it. To them it would forma burden indeed, to sink them into the lowest hell, unless they repented. To those who lived it, embraced it, and bit it welcome, it was a light burden, yet it was a burden. The burden of the word of the lord was sent to Israel, for to them pertained the oracles of prophecy, as well as those of the written word.

(6)A son honoureth his father, and a servant his master: if then I be a father, wher is mine honour? and if I be a master, where is my fear? Saith the lord of hosts unto you, O priests, that despise my name. And ye say, Wherein have we despised they name? The prophet calls the priests to account, though they were themselves appointed judges to call the people to make a report. Thus saith the lord of hosts to you, O priests. Hear this just  yet severed reproof given to the priests for profaning the holy things of god, of which they were to have the responsibility. And if this was the crime of the priests we have reason to believe the people were also guilty of the same sins, so what is said to the priests is said to all; nay, it is said to us, who, as Christians, profess ourselves not only the people of god, but priests to him. A son honoureth his father -- because he is his father; nature has written this law in the hearts of children before god wrote it at Mt. Sinai; nay, a servant though his obligation to his master is not natural; but by willing compact, yet thinks it his duty to honour him, to be observing of his orders, and true to his interests. But the priests, who are god's children and his servants, do not fear and honor him.

(7) Ye offer polluted bread upon mine altar; and ye say, Wherein have we polluted thee? In that ye say. The table of the Lord is contemptible. The priests probably to ingratiate themselves into the hearts of the people took the refuse  beasts and offered them to god; and thus the sacrificial ordinances were rendered contemptible. The table of the lord is polluted; it is to be no more highly regarded than any other table. The table in the temple, on which the showbread was placed, is that which they reflected upon. Not understanding the mystery of it, they despised it as an insignificant thing, or rather, the altar and the lord's table.

(8) And if ye offer the blind for sacrifice, is it no evil? and if ye offer the lame and sick, is it not evil? offer it now with thee, or accept thy person? saith the lord of hosts. With every sacrifice they would bring a meat offering of fine flour mingled with oil; but they brought polluted bread, coarse bread, servant's bread, perhaps it was dry and molded, or made from the refuse of the wheat which they thought good enough to be burned on the altar. As to the beasts they offered, though the law was explicit that which was offered in sacrifice should not have blemish, yet they brought the blind, and the lame, and the sick that were ready to die of themselves. They looked no further than the burning of the sacrifice

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THE CONVENTION TEACHER  109

and they pleaded that it was a pity to burn it, if it was good for anything else. The people brought vain oblations, mocked god, and deceived themselves by bringing the worse they had, and the priests who should have taught them better, accepted the gifts brought to the altar, and offered them up there; because, if they should refuse them, the people would bring none at all.

(9) And now, I pray you, beseech god that he will be gracious unto us: this hath been by your means: will he regard your persons? saith the lord of hosts. There were evident marks of god's displeasure in the land and it was brought about by these pollutions through the priests. Malachi exhorts them to pray to god that they may be pardoned, for if these practices were continued, god would not accept any offering made by them.

II. DIVINE REBUKE OF ISRAEL'S TREACHERY. (VV. 13-4) (13) And this have ye done again, covering the altar of the lord with tears, with weeping, and with crying out, insomuch that he regardeth not the offering any more, or receiveth it will good will at your hand. In contempt of the marriage covenant, which god instituted for the common benefit of mankind, they abused and put away the wives they had of their own nation, probably to make room for their strange wives. This also have ye done -- This is the second phase of the charge, for the way of sin is downward, and one violation of the covenant is an inlet to another Let us notice what brought forth the complaint; they did not behave as they ought to do toward their wives, they were cross with them, frorward and peevish, and made their lives bitter to them, so that when they came with their wives and families to worship god at the solemn feasts, which they should have done with rejoicing, they were all out of humor. The poor wives were ready to break their hearts, and not daring to make their case known to any other, they complained to god and covered the altar of the lord with tears, with weeping, and with crying -- of the poor women, who, being divorced by cruel husbands, came to the priests, and made an appeal to god at the altar. And ye do not speak against this glaring injustice, reproved Malachi. This is seen in the doings of Hannah, who, upon the account of her husband's having had another wife, whenever they went up to the house of the lord to worship, fretted and wept, and was in bitterness of soul and would not eat.

(14) Yet ye say, Wherefore? Because the Lord hath been witness between thee and the wife of they youth, against whom thou has dealt treacherously: yet is she thy companion, and the wife of they covenant.  Is the lord angry with us? Because ye have been witness of the contract made between the parties; and when the loveless husband divorced his wife, the wife of his youth, his companion, and the wife of his covenant, ye did not execute on him the discipline of the law. They kept their wives until they had passed their youth, and then put them away, that they might get  young ones in their place. They dealt treacherously with them. They did not perform their promises to them, but defrauded them of their support, or took in strange outside women to share in the affection that was due to their wives only. Let us see the proof and grievances of the charge. See the testimony of god himself: "The Lord hath been witness between thee and the wife of thy youth" -- hath been witness to the marriage covenant between thee and her for to him you appealed concerning your sincerity in it and faithfulness to it. He has been a witness to all our covenants and to all our covenant breaches, and he is a witness against whom there lies no exception. It is highly aggravated by the person wronged and abused. First, she is thy wife, they own, bone of thy bone, flesh of the flesh, the nearest to thee of all the relatives thou hast on earth, and to cleave to whom thou must quit all others. Again, She is the wife of thy youth" -- who had thy affections when they were at the strongest, was thy first choice, and with whom they hast lived long. Let not the dealings of thy youth be the scorn and loading of thine age. Again it says; [[bold]] She is thy companion -- she has long been an equal sharer with thee in thy cares and griefs and sorrows. The wife is to be looked upon, not as a servant, but as a companion, to the husband, with whom he should freely talk, and take sweet counsel as with a friend, and in whose company he should take more delight than in any other. For is she not appointed to be thy companion? Lastly, She is the wife of thy covenant -- to whom thou art so firmly bound that while she continues faithful, thou canst not be loosed from her, for it was a covenant for life. She is the wife with whom thou