Hello Ambassadors of Christ,
Today, let’s learn about the responsibility given to the priests to share the knowledge of God and help the people return to Him:
For the lips of a priest should keep knowledge, and men should seek instruction from his mouth; for he is the messenger of Yahweh of hosts.
— Malachi 2:7
Malachi is the last book in the Old Testament. The reason it is placed as the last book is because it is the last time God would send a prophet to the nation of Israel to prophesy over them. History teaches that after the prophecy by Malachi, there would be a period of four centuries of silence where the people would not hear from God through a prophet. The next time they would hear from God would be from John the Baptist 400 years later.
In this regard, we see that the last time God would speak to His people through a prophet was a time after the exile to Babylon. Malachi is a post-exilic prophet. The main focus of Malachi’s prophecy is God’s call to His people to return to Him. This was because following the exile, the people would fall back into their old ways of disobedience.
From the beginning of this prophecy, we see that God’s focus is on the priests who had the responsibility to hand down to the people all the instructions from God. Today’s verse highlights the responsibility that the priests had and the effects of their departure from that responsibility.
The Priest’s Responsibility
Malachi’s words from God state: “For the lips of a priest should keep knowledge.” This aligns with the priest’s core responsibility to mediate between God and the people. The whole book of Leviticus is written to give instructions on how the priests should mediate for the people of God, how they were to offer sacrifices, cleanse themselves and the people, and so on.
And the sons of Aaron the priest shall put fire on the altar and arrange wood on the fire. Then Aaron’s sons the priests shall arrange the pieces, the head, and the suet over the wood which is on the fire that is on the altar.
— Leviticus 1:7-8
The knowledge that Malachi states the priests have to keep is the knowledge of God. This includes the law of God and instructions handed down through the laws and the prophets. It was the priest’s responsibility to teach the law to the people so they may follow and obey God.
In Malachi’s prophecy, we see that the priests had abandoned their responsibilities, including offering sacrifices that were not in keeping with the law:
“‘A son honors his father, and a slave his master. Then if I am a father, where is My honor? And if I am a master, where is the fear of Me?’ says Yahweh of hosts to you, O priests who despise My name. But you say, ‘How have we despised Your name?’ You are presenting defiled food upon My altar. But you say, ‘How have we defiled You?’ In that you say, ‘The table of Yahweh is to be despised.’ But when you present the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil? And when you present the lame and sick, is it not evil? Please, bring it near to your governor! Would he accept you? Or would he lift up your face?” says Yahweh of hosts.
— Malachi 1:6-8
God says they have dishonored Him, despised His name, and despised the table of God. This was contrary to what the law instructed regarding sacrificial offerings:
If his offering is a burnt offering from the herd, he shall bring it near, a male without blemish; he shall bring it near to the doorway of the tent of meeting, that he may be accepted before Yahweh.
— Leviticus 1:3
Because of their defiance, God was going to send a curse upon them as punishment:
Behold, I am going to rebuke your seed, and I will spread refuse on your faces, the refuse of your feasts; and you will be taken away with it.
— Malachi 2:3
The People’s Responsibility
Furthermore, Malachi states that men should seek instruction from the priest’s mouth. This means that while the priests are responsible for teaching the knowledge of God, the people must seek and apply this knowledge.
A similar prophecy by the prophet Hosea highlights the consequences of lacking the knowledge of the law of God:
My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.
Because you have rejected knowledge,
I also will reject you from ministering as My priest.
Since you have forgotten the law of your God,
I Myself also will forget your children.
— Hosea 4:6
When people fail to seek knowledge, they are destroyed. King Solomon in his wisdom highlights the importance of sharing the knowledge of God:
Where there is no vision, the people are out of control,
But how blessed is he who keeps the law.
— Proverbs 29:18
Here, “vision” can also be translated as “revelation.” When there is no revelation of the law of God, people are out of control. This is the result of the people neglecting their responsibility to seek knowledge and the priests failing to teach the oracles of God.
Today, we do not have Old Testament Levitical priests. Since the destruction of the temple in 70 AD, the sacrificial system ended. As believers, having placed our faith in Christ, the law has been fulfilled in Him, and we are not under the law but under grace:
For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace.
— Romans 6:14
However, the New Testament still uses language that references the sacrificial system and the law:
But you are a chosen family, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;
— 1 Peter 2:9
In Peter’s letter, believers are referred to as a “royal priesthood” and a “holy nation,” similar to the language used for the children of Israel. The difference now is that believers are connected directly to Jesus Christ and are a holy priesthood through Him:
You also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
— 1 Peter 2:5
Paul also uses this language in his letter to the Romans, urging them to present their bodies as living sacrifices:
Therefore I exhort you, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a sacrifice—living, holy, and pleasing to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.
— Romans 12:1
These passages help us understand the lessons we ought to learn from the Old Testament priests and the chosen nation. Paul also makes such a reference in his letter to the Corinthians:
Now these things happened as examples for us, so that we would not crave evil things as they also craved.
— 1 Corinthians 10:6
As New Testament believers, it is important to learn these lessons from the priests and the people:
Share The Word
As a royal priesthood, we have a responsibility to share the knowledge of the word of God with those around us. We should remember the Great Commission. Our core function as believers is to glorify God by sharing the gospel:
Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to keep all that I commanded you; and behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.
— Matthew 28:19-20
Like Paul, we need to use our lips to declare the truths found in Scripture and take part in God’s divine plan for the redemption of men:
So then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as God is pleading through us. We beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.
— 2 Corinthians 5:20
We have a responsibility, and we need not be ashamed of it, as God’s power is made manifest through the gospel to save those who believe and condemn those who reject it:
For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
— Romans 1:16
Seek The Word
As a people for God’s own possession, we have a responsibility to seek the word of God. We must learn what the word says and live out our faith in a way that is pleasing to God:
This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way successful, and then you will be prosperous.
— Joshua 1:8
As believers, we need to earnestly desire the word of God. His word is the source of life and can keep us from sin:
How can a young man keep his way pure?
By keeping it according to Your word.
With all my heart I have sought You;
Do not let me stray from Your commandments.
— Psalm 119:9-10
Key Takeaways:
- As a royal priesthood, we have a responsibility to share the knowledge of God with the people.
- As a people of God, we have a responsibility to seek the knowledge of God.
- There is grave danger whenever there is a lack of revelation of the word of God to the people.
I pray this word reminds us of our responsibilities.
Be strong and courageous,
Paul.
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