Worship God with Your Best

The book of Malachi was written for a disparaging bunch – a group of people whose hearts have been discouraged by pain and problems. After worshiping God with fervor and excitement, they lost their passion for the Lord when suffering struck. Their family, health, finances, and condition under the Persian rule, all became a heavy burden to bear. And because of this, worshiping and serving God has become tiresome for them.

In the first chapter of this book, God was telling the Israelites how much He loved them. He said, "Yet I have loved Jacob; but I have hated Esau, and I have made his mountains a desolation and appointed his inheritance for the jackals of the wilderness.” (Malachi 1: 1-3) This doesn’t mean that God hates Esau. This simply implies that He loves Jacob more, not because Jacob is better than Esau but simply because He chose him. Genesis 25:23 says, “The LORD said
to her, Two nations are in your womb; And two peoples will be separated from your body; And one people shall be stronger than the other; And the older shall serve the younger." This, too, doesn’t mean that God is unfair. We may not fully understand how He chooses but
we can be sure that God knows what He’s doing.

This went on to a time when Jacob was cooking stew and Esau, tired from work, came in to ask him for something to eat. But Jacob, being the “deceiver” as his name suggests, asked for his brother’s birthright in exchange. Without thinking, Esau immediately gave it up and settled for his brother’s lentil stew (Genesis 25: 29-34).

At this point, we may think that Esau is the better man. But God thinks otherwise: “See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springing up causes trouble, and by it many be defiled; that there be no immoral or godless person like Esau, who sold his own birthright for a single meal. For you know that even afterwards, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought for it with tears.” (Hebrews 12: 15-17) Just like Esau, there are many Christians today who would give up their eternal blessing for a single meal. Many people would rather give in to sin and refuse to repent without realizing that their actions would lead to certain consequences.

The people in the book of Malachi were experiencing God’s discipline. But the problem was that they could not connect their situation to their behavior. Friends, God loves us; that’s why He
disciplines us. Therefore, our attitude is crucial. If we don’t believe God loves us, we will not be able to worship Him properly, especially when we are undergoing discipline.

“Though Edom says, "We have been beaten down, but we will return and build up the ruins"; thus says the LORD of hosts, "They may build, but I will tear down; and men will call them the wicked territory, and the people toward whom the LORD is indignant forever. Your eyes will see this and you will say, "The LORD be magnified beyond the border of Israel!" (Malachi 1: 4-5) This was a prophetic statement saying God will use Israel to proclaim His name. But this was also God’s reminder for the Israelites to count their blessings, even amidst pained circumstances. In the same way, God wants us to maintain a positive attitude—to give Him
thanks in everything (1 Thessalonians 5:18).

The Israelites have dishonored God, but they didn’t have the slightest idea as to what they have done. The Bible says, “But when you present the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil? And when you
present the lame and sick, is it not evil? Why not offer it to your governor? Would he be pleased with you? Or would he receive you kindly?" says the LORD of hosts.” (Malachi 1:8) When we give
less than our best to God, we are doing exactly what these people were doing.