Malachi 1:8

Deu 17:1  Thou shalt not sacrifice unto the LORD thy God any bullock, or sheep, wherein is blemish, or any evilfavouredness: for that is an abomination unto the LORD thy God. 

                                                                                                                                       

Here is a law regarding offering a sacrifice to God: no creature that had any blemish should be offered in sacrifice to God; it is an abomination to Him. God must not have that offered to Him which man would not offer for himself or to another person.

God said through the prophet Malachi: “And if ye offer the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil? and if ye offer the lame and sick, is it not evil? offer it now unto thy governor; will he be pleased with thee, or accept thy person? saith the LORD of hosts” (Malachi 1:8).

God said: “Offer it now unto thy governor.” They won’t but they would offer them to God. Unbelievable! When we read Malachi 1:8, we condemn those folks and say: “How could they do this to God; I won’t do it. I will give God the best.”

But, do you? Do you really give God the best? How do you worship God? Do you come with your best attitude to worship God in spirit and in truth? (John 4:24). Do you sing with gladness in your heart to the Lord? (Colossians 3:16). Are your ears open to the preaching of the word? (Romans 10:17). Is your mind on the words when a brother is leading the prayer? (1 Corinthians 14:15). Is your mind on the cross of Jesus when you are partaking the Lord’s Supper? (1 Corinthians 11:24-25).

Worship is one area we offer our sacrifices to God: “By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name” (Hebrews 13:15). The Jews approached God by the blood of an animal sacrifice; we approach God by the sacrifice of our lips in praises to Him. Hence, “Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer” (Psalm 19:14).

Moreover, in opposition to those dead sacrifices offered by the Jews under the Old Covenant, Christians are to offer up themselves as living sacrifices to God. Paul wrote: “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service” (Romans 12:1).

The sacrifice which every Christian gives is himself. The kind of sacrifice that God accepts is one which is living and holy. “Living” implies it is alive and active. It is a life consecrated to His service. It is the kind of sacrifice which our Lord says: “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me” (Luke 9:23).

“Holy” means it is free from sin. Paul explains it in the next verse: “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God” (Romans 12:2). It is a life that has been transformed, changed, to the image of Christ Jesus.

What kind of sacrifice are we bringing to God? Are we alive in Jesus and holy? Paul’s life was transformed when he became a Christian, He changed from a great persecutor of Christians to a great preacher of the gospel. At the end of his life, he could confidently declared: “For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand” (1 Timothy 4:6).

Paul was ready to be offered. His sacrifice was complete, alive, and without blemish. That was the sacrifice he was presenting to God when he meets his Creator. What about us? What kind of sacrifice will we be bringing to God?

Jimmy Lau

Psa 119:97  Oh how love I thy law! It is my meditation all the day.