This week\’s meditations will focus on the following Ideas:
The attitude of the heart in worship
Worship as a daily habit
Honoring God
Today we will be journeying through a short passage from the first chapter of Malachi which is the last book in the old testament.
Before you read through the passage, take a few moments to pray and ask God to open your ears and heart to learn what he has to teach you in this exercise.
As you read the passage for the first time write down the actions which God is reprimanding the nation of Israel for.
Malachi 1:6-14 (NIV)
6 “A son honors his father, and a slave his master. If I am a father, where is the honor due me? If I am a master, where is the respect due me?” says the Lord Almighty.
“It is you priests who show contempt for my name.
“But you ask, ‘How have we shown contempt for your name?’
7 “By offering defiled food on my altar.
“But you ask, ‘How have we defiled you?’
“By saying that the Lord’s table is contemptible. 8 When you offer blind animals for sacrifice, is that not wrong? When you sacrifice lame or diseased animals, is that not wrong? Try offering them to your governor! Would he be pleased with you? Would he accept you?” says the Lord Almighty.
9 “Now plead with God to be gracious to us. With such offerings from your hands, will he accept you?”—says the Lord Almighty.
10 “Oh, that one of you would shut the temple doors, so that you would not light useless fires on my altar! I am not pleased with you,” says the Lord Almighty, “and I will accept no offering from your hands. 11 My name will be great among the nations, from where the sun rises to where it sets. In every place incense and pure offerings will be brought to me, because my name will be great among the nations,” says the Lord Almighty.
12 “But you profane it by saying, ‘The Lord’s table is defiled,’ and, ‘Its food is contemptible.’ 13 And you say, ‘What a burden!’ and you sniff at it contemptuously,” says the Lord Almighty.
“When you bring injured, lame or diseased animals and offer them as sacrifices, should I accept them from your hands?” says the Lord. 14 “Cursed is the cheat who has an acceptable male in his flock and vows to give it, but then sacrifices a blemished animal to the Lord. For I am a great king,” says the Lord Almighty, “and my name is to be feared among the nations.
Read the passage again. Write down the modern equivalents of the offences you wrote down during the first reading of the passage.
Read through the passage one more time, what sticks out to you?
Take a few moments to read through the list of modern offences you wrote down.
After reading through the list ask yourself these questions:
Have I ever been guilty of any of these?
When was the last time I was guilty of one of these?
In what ways can I improve my attitude towards God through worship?
In Step With God 