“A son honors his father, and a servant his master. If then I am a father, where is my honor? And if I am a master, where is my fear? says the LORD of hosts to you, O priests, who despise my name. But you say, ‘How have we despised your name?’  Malachi 1:6

In Malachi, God is calling out the priests and the leaders of Israel and is saying, “You have sinned against me—you have despised my name.”  But they say in response, “HOW?”  “How have we sinned against you?  How have we despised your name?”

 God answers them in Malachi 1:8.  He says,

When you offer blind animals in sacrifice, is that not evil? And when you offer those that are lame or sick, is that not evil?   

God had clearly told them that He wanted the best from them—He wanted the best sacrifices they had to offer.  But after fifty years of nothing happening in the temple, after 50 years without a word from God, they decided that instead of giving Him their best, they would just give him the rest.  They would give him what’s left. 

So they offered blind and diseased animals and kept back the best back for themselves.  They were going through the motions in worship—they were complacent.  We learn all throughout Scripture that there is nothing that enrages God more than when His people become complacent and simply go through the motions in worship and give Him the rest instead of giving Him the best. 

God says through Malachi in Malachi 1:10,

Oh that there were one among you who would shut the doors, that you might not kindle fire on my altar in vain! I have no pleasure in you, says the LORD of hosts, and I will not accept an offering from your hand. 

God gave a similar word to those in the Northern Kingdom of Israel through His prophet Amos when he said,

I hate, I despise your feasts, and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies.  Amos 5:21

He says in Malachi 1:11,

For from the rising of the sun to its setting my name will be great among the nations, and in every place incense will be offered to my name, and a pure offering. For my name will be great among the nations, says the LORD of hosts.

God is saying something similar here.  He says, “I have no pleasure in you—I will not accept an offering from your hand.”   He says, “My name will be great among you, or it must not be used by you.”  He basically says, “I would rather you close the doors to your place of worship rather than go through the motions of worship with me.” 

That’s what they were doing in Malachi’s day and then they had the audacity to say, “What?  What’s wrong with what we are doing—How have we sinned against God?”  They were going through the motions and did not see one thing wrong with it. 

Believers, this is not to be our mentality.  God wants us to come to Him with all we got—with our best and wants us to lay it at His feet—He wants us to look to Him and trust in Him for everything and he wants us to praise Him for all we have and be willing to lay it all down before Him.