Malachi 2:1&2 – “1And now, O ye priests, this commandment is for you. 2If ye will not hear, and if ye will not lay it to heart, to give glory unto my name, saith the LORD of hosts, I will even send a curse upon you, and I will curse your blessings: yea, I have cursed them already, because ye do not lay it to heart.”
We have heard the passage from Revelation that denotes our position as a king and priest expounded upon many times from behind the pulpit at our church. We know that priests were responsible for offering up prayers for the people of Israel, and thus, having been made a priest in our own right we can enter directly into the throne room of God to offer our own prayers to God.
However, often overlooked are the other responsibilities of the priests, and so many saints today neglect those duties just as the priests in Malachi’s day neglected the same. Among their numerous duties, priests were responsible for singing praises unto God, tending the temple and ensuring its maintenance, and bringing glory to God through ministering and offering sacrifices to God.
We, having been made priests, do not serve in the temple but rather have been made into a tabernacle for which God to reside in. Our very being is a tool that should be utilized to procure praise and honor unto the name of God.
The praise of the Lord should be upon our lips just as God has given to us a song of praise to ever be in our hearts. We should cultivate our appearance to others so that they see the vessel of honor that God has made us into. Our actions should leave others without excuse to honor and praise the name of the Lord God Jehovah.
Should our priestly garments become defiled, should our instruments of praise become untuned and unused, should our life cease to be an outward expression of the mercy and grace of God, our blessings that have superseded the place of God in our hearts will become cursed with judgement from Heaven. So long as a priest’s love was for the things of God, he would perform the duties of his office with love and joy. For he labored not for himself, but for the God whom he loved so dearly. The priest that has his love for God stolen by something else has already stopped serving God and begun to serve and glorify self. God will curse what the priest loves more than God to remind him of the love that he forsook in order to serve the desires of his own heart.
Ever be reminded of the importance of keeping your eyes upon Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. Daily scour your heart for intrusions that will sever your love for God. Don’t be robbed of the recognition that God chose to love you at your worst and offered you the thing you desired most … Himself.
Your fellowservant in Christ, Bro. Jordan Foster
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