THE SABBATH SCHOOL

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Feb 27, 1901

THE SABBATH SCHOOL

LESSON 1.—MARCH 9.—UNHOLY OFFERINGS.

Lesson Scripture, Mal. 1:1-14, R.V.

1. “The burden of the word of the Lord to Israel by Malachi. 2. “I have loved you, saith the Lord. Yet ye say, Wherein hast Thou loved us? Was not Esau Jacob’s brother? saith 3. the Lord; yet I loved Jacob; but Esau I hated, and made his mountains a desolation, and gave his heritage to the jackals 4. of the wilderness. Whereas Edom saith, We are beaten down, but we will return and build the waste places; thus saith the Lord of hosts, They shall build, but I will throw down; and men shall call them The border of wickedness, and The people against whom the Lord hath indignation for 5. ever. And your eyes shall see, and ye shall say, The Lord be magnified beyond the border of Israel. 6. “A son honoreth his father, and a servant his master: if then I be a father, where is mine honor? 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 Thy name? Ye offer polluted bread upon Mine altar. 7. And ye say, Wherein have we polluted Thee? In that ye say, The table of the Lord is contemptible. 8. And when ye offer the blind for sacrifice, it is no evil! and when ye offer the lame and sick, it is no evil! Present it now unto thy governor; will he be pleased with thee? or will he accept thy person? saith the Lord of hosts. 9. And now, I pray you, entreat the favor of God, that He may be gracious unto us; this hath been by your means: will He accept any of your persons? saith the Lord of hosts. 10. O that there were one among you that would shut the doors, that ye might not kindle fire on mine altar in vain! I have no pleasure in you, saith the Lord of hosts, neither will I accept an offering at your hand. 11. For from the rising of the sun even unto the going down of the same My name is great among the Gentiles; and in every place incense is offered unto My name, and a pure offering: for My name is great among the Gentiles; saith the Lord of hosts. 12. But ye profane it, in that ye say, The table of the Lord is polluted, and the fruit thereof, even His meat, is contemptible. 13. Ye say also, Behold, what a weariness is it! and ye have snuffed at it, saith the Lord of hosts; and ye have brought that which was taken by violence, and the lame, and the sick; thus ye bring the offering: should I accept this of your hand? saith the Lord. 14. But cursed be the deceiver, which hath in his flock a male, and voweth, and sacrificeth unto the Lord a blemished thing: for I am a great king, saith the Lord of hosts, and My name is terrible among the Gentiles.”

NOTE.—The name Malachi is a contraction of Malachijah, meaning “Messenger of Jehovah.” The term indicates the prophet’s office rather than his name. He was Jehovah’s last inspired messenger among the prophets of that age to announce the coming of God’s great messenger. He reproves certain sins in the close of that age, which are paralleled by the same sins in the close of this age. The date was about B.C. 420 to 390. His work followed that of Nehemiah. The grand scope of the book will be developed in our study of its lessons.

QUESTIONS.

(1) To whom is the prophecy addressed? How much does Israel include? Verse 1. Note 1. (2) Of what does the Lord assure them? Verse 2. (3) What proof does He give of His love? Verses 2, 3. Note 2. (4) What does rebellious Edom declare? How does the Lord reply? Verse 4. (5) What will the faithful see and acknowledge? Verse 5. (6) What common truth does the Lord state? Verse 6, first part. (7) What class does He reprove? How does He reprove them? What do they in their blindness reply? Verse 6. (8) How had God’s name been despised? What did they virtually say by this? What had His table become to them? Verses 7, 12. Note 3. (9) What further proof does the Lord give of His people’s unfaithfulness? By what common facts does He appeal to them? Verse 8. (10) What had the Lord’s service become? How had they regarded it? How did they show their feeling? Should the Lord accept such service? Verse 13. (11) Upon whom rests the curse? What does the Lord declare Himself to be? Verse 14. (12) What appeal does the messenger make to these sinful people? How earnestly does he press it home upon them? Verse 9. Note 4. (13) What is the longing of his heart? What is the Lord’s final sentence upon those who continue to regard Him with such disrespect? Verse 10. Note 5. (14) Where does the Lord declare His name will be honored? Verse 11. Note 6.

NOTES.

1. Israel.—Israel is a comprehensive term, including all God’s people. The study of the book will show that the general term at the beginning includes not alone the people of the kingdoms of Judah and Israel, but all who have come in among God’s people from the Gentiles. See Rom. 9:6-8; Eph. 2:11, 12, 19, 20; 3:6.

2. Jacob—Esau.—It is not of the individual men, but of the characters represented by these men, that the prophet speaks. Despite all Jacob’s imperfections, he believed God, and longed to be like Him. He finally obtained the victory, and became prevailer with God. His character was manifest in his descendants. God hated the selfish character of Esau, who sold his birthright for a mess of pottage, whose descendants exercised intense hatred toward their brethren and rejoiced in their downfall. God loves the sinner, that He may save him, but He hates of necessity the sin and the character that is formed by cherishing sin. These men stand as types of characters in all ages—the one of the imperfect man who desires to reform, and does so by God’s grace; the other of those who despise God’s blessings, reject His character, and identify themselves with sin.

3. In that ye say.—They probably did not say it in words, but their deeds spoke more loudly. If it was worthy only of their poorest offering, of their unclean bread, surely it was contemptible and unclean. We have considered some of these verses out of order, so as not to repeat the same thoughts, but it is well to note the repetition. It shows how emphatically and clearly the Lord reveals their sin. (See article “Put No Difference,” in another column.)

4. Entreat the favor of God.—God reproved that they might repent. It was not in His plan that they had failed and their trouble had come upon them. It was all by their means, and God could not accept of half-hearted service. The repentance must be deep and lasting.

5. O, that there were one among you!—The Lord longed for one brave man, according to the Revised Version, who would rise up and close the house of God against the unholy, polluted, imperfect offerings, which were degrading God before the eyes of all that saw. God did not accept the imperfect, cheap offerings, and the fire upon His altar was kindled in vain.

6. My name shall be great (margin).—God’s name will be honored. He desires that it shall be honored by the holy, faithful, earnest, true lives of His people. If they will not do this, His name will not the less be honored. He will get honor from their unfaithfulness. He desired to be honored by Pharaoh’s conversion, but Pharaoh would not have it thus, so God used his overthrow to honor Him. He longs to get honor and spread abroad His name through His people’s success, but if He can not do this, He will get glory through their downfall.

SUPPLEMENTARY QUESTIONS.

When was it that Edom was beaten down? What kind of offering does the Lord desire? What kind of offering did He make for us? If we have only the lame, yet give our best, will He not accept it? What is the state of our piety when the regular service of God becomes a “weariness”?