The Problem Of IndifferenceMalachi 2:1-9

The Problem Of Indifference Read Malachi 2:1-9 Let’s look at 5 fatal flaws that

caused the spiritual slide of the Levites

They’re in verses 2-3 and verses 8-9 Then we’ll finish with some

leaderships lessons in verses 4-7

5 Fatal Flaws First – they dishonored God’s

Holiness (verses 2-3)

What you think about God is the most important thing about you.

A.W. Tozer

5 Fatal Flaws

In the 1st part of verse 2, “If you do not listen, and if you do not take it to heart to honor My Name…”

“Listen” means “to hear intelligently” with obedience

5 Fatal Flaws “Take it to heart” means that an active

choice of the will has been made We know from chapter 1 that they didn’t

honor God because they were giving Him garbage for sacrifices

We see that God refers to Himself as “Lord of Hosts” 4 times in these 9 verses

He is the “self existent One” with a host of Angelic Armies to do His bidding

5 Fatal Flaws They didn’t care They were bored with it all They yawned in the face of Yahweh Notice the 1st word of verse 2 –”If” God gave them a chance to repent If not – judgment as in Jeremiah

13:16

Give Glory to the Lord your GodBefore He Brings Darkness

And before your feet stumbleOn the dusky mountains

And while you are hoping for lightHe makes it into deep darkness

And turns it into gloomJeremiah 13:16

5 Fatal Flaws Ok – now it gets a little graphic If they don’t get a handle on their

indifference three things will happen 1 – Rebuke 2 – Rejection 3 - Removal

1 - Rebuke 2nd half of verse 2 – they will be

cursed A curse is an inherent power of

doom and destruction “Sent” implies that God will “hurl” or

“let loose” His curse upon them

1 - Rebuke God will curse their blessings Sin and rebellion cannot be washed

away by some benediction or religious service

They can’t bless themselves out of their mess

They need repentance

1 - Rebuke Verse 3 begins with a rebuke against

their children and grandchildren The way they are living – the

example they are setting will affect the future of Israel

They aren’t leaving any kind of legacy

1 - Rebuke Another take on verse 3 is that

“offspring” or “seed” could mean that their ministry will bear no fruit

Their ministry is so useless is corrupts the present and the future

2 - Rejection “I will spread refuse on your faces, the

refuse of your feasts; and you will be taken away with it…”

The Levites were going to get “manure makeovers”

The word “refuse” refers not only to the intestines and the parts of the animal that were thrown away, but the feces that were in them

The yucky parts

2 - Rejection God is going to take the excrement

from the sick and lame animals and smear it all over the priests

As in Nahum 3:6 Indifference is worthy of humiliation

3 - Removal When the Levites cleaned the

animals for sacrifice, they were to throw it over the wall to be burned with all the garbage

They will be discarded just like the entrails and feces and burned with fire

Jesus called this place “Gehenna”

Valley of Gehenna

3 - Removal Malachi 1:2 “I have loved you says

the Lord” God loved them too much to let

them continue living in indifference They needed to come back to a

proper understanding of God’s love

5 – Fatal Flaws 1st Flaw – they dishonored God’s

holiness 2nd Fatal Flaw – they had “turned

aside from the way” (verse 8a) They were following their own path Once a leader stops walking with

God – his ministry is over

5 – Fatal Flaws 3rd Fatal Flaw – They were

destructive to others (verse 8 b) Their half hearted teaching lead the

people astray They grew cold and in turn the

people grew cold 1 Corinthians 15:33 – “Bad company

corrupts good morals”

5 – Fatal Flaws Isaiah 9:16 –”For those who guide

this people are leading them astray; and those who are guided by them are brought to confusion”

5 – Fatal Flaws 4th Fatal Flaw – They had desecrated

the covenant (verse 8c) God had a special rapport with the

family of Levi They were to represent God’s love to

the people They let that relationship decay and

dissipate

5 – Fatal Flaws 5th Fatal Flaw – They were despised

by the people (verse 9) They didn’t take their relationship

with God seriously – neither did the people take them seriously

They accepted substandard sacrifices from the people – they didn’t want to “offend”

5 – Fatal Flaws They paid more attention to the

people than they paid to God With the ironic result that the people

rejected them

At This Point One Might Ask…

SoWhat!

We’re Not Levites!

We Are Under The New Covenant!

Why Would We Be Going Through This?

Levites Set apart to do 2 things 1st – To sacrifice animals 2nd – To serve God Under the New Covenant, Jesus

offered Himself as the Final Sacrifice The sacrificial office has been

fulfilled

Jesus Our High Priest Hebrews 4:14- 16 – Would someone

please read Hebrews 7:23-25 – Volunteer please Hebrews 7:27 – “who does not need daily,

like those High Priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for his own sins and then for the sins of the people, because This He did once for all when He offered up Himself”

The Sacrifice Is Finished That leaves the office of serving God 1Peter 2:9 – “But you are a chosen

race, A royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession…”

John put it this way… Revelation 1:9 – “and He has made us to

be a kingdom, priests to His God and Father

We Are Priests Every believer is a priest We are set apart for worship and

service We are to lead others to Christ

Unfortunately… We forget our function as followers

of Christ We end up seeing our service as

drudgery rather than a delight

What were some of the consequences of Jewish indifference?

What are some of the consequencesof our own indifference?

Would you Pray with me?

Prayer Lord, you are a Holy God, help us to

never forget that Lord you are the creator of all

things, You and You alone are worthy of all praise and glory and honor, forever

Lord were we have left your path, please direct our way back

Prayer Lord forgive my indifference, I pray I

have not lead others astray or discouraged anyone from believing in You

Mold us into effective ministers of Your Word

Lord forgive me for violating Your New Covenant

Prayer At times, I have placed myself

before You and others Lord, help me to humble myself

before You and ask for forgiveness Lord fill us with Your Holy Spirit and

guide us as we fulfill our priestly office

Does anyone else want to speak out

Heading For Home

Leadership Lessons 1st Respond to God in obedience

(verse 2a) James 1:22 – Be a doer, not just a

hearer 1 Samuel 3:10 – “Your servant is

listening”

Leadership Lessons 2nd Revere God as awesome (verses

4-5) Just as God longed for His Covenant

with Levi to continue in verse 4, God wants us to revere Him and set our lives apart for Him

Leadership Lessons Let’s be honest Sometimes we play church games,

compromising, disobeying whenever we feel like it, right in the face of a Holy God

If we would revere God as awesome, how our lives would change

Leadership Lessons Understand who God is and you

won’t get bored with Him If we don’t honor Holiness, we risk

losing sight of what’s really important

Leadership Lessons 3rd Resolve to lead yourself (verse

6a) Let God’s word penetrate your

personhood Focus on your walk with Him Unless we are squared away

internally, we have little to offer others

Leadership Lessons 4th Repel people from sin (verse 6b) James 5:19-20 My brethren, if any among you

strays from the truth and one turns him back,  let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins

How is my example to others

Leadership Lessons 5th Represent God to others (verse 7) Ezra 7:10 For Ezra had set his heart to

study the law of the LORD and to practice it, and to teach His statutes and ordinances in Israel

Do people come to you for answers

Leadership Lessons 1 Peter 3:15 but sanctify Christ as Lord

in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence

Let Us Pray!