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. (Malachi 1:11)
This is a fascinating verse since it speaks of the great future for the children of Israel. Roman Catholics use this to support the doctrine of the priesthood. Orthodox Jews tend to use this to support the ongoing nature of the animal sacrifice system. This is echoed in Malachi 3:
He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, and they will bring offerings in righteousness to the Lord. Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the Lord as in the days of old and as in former years. (Malachi 3:3-4)
Troki argues that Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi lives about 300 years before Jesus. Here is a more accurate timeline.
Or a more simplified one:
During the time of Malachi, the people of Judah were wicked and the prophet reproached the people. He longed for the people to return to God and follow him to the exclusion of idols. Psalm 51 shows that sacrifice does not always mean an animal sacrifice.
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise (Psalm 51:17)
This is not the only place where sacrifices mean things other than animal slaughter:
And let them offer sacrifices of thanksgiving, and tell of his deeds in songs of joy! (Psalm 107:22)
I will offer to you the sacrifice of thanksgiving and call on the name of the LORD. (Psalm 116:17)
Better is a dry morsel with quiet than a house full of feasting with strife. (Proverbs 17:1)
And on the day of the LORD's sacrifice-- "I will punish the officials and the king's sons and all who array themselves in foreign attire. (Zephaniah 1:8)While this passage does not really touch on areas of dispute between the church and the system of the rabbis, the offering will likely be in terms of praise and glory to God. After all, it is forbidden to offer sacrifices outside the temple, which is why modern Judaism does not offer animal sacrifices. If this verse was meant to convey animal sacrifices, how is it that in every place among the nations, incense and offerings (that would be animal sacrifice) would be offered?
Hi. I am interested in reading through your different blog posts in this "Under the Microscope" series, yet I find it difficult to be able to look it up and see if you have written about specific issues I have questions about. I know once I read through every individual post, I can know what the topic is, yet I think it would be really helpful to have subheadings that say "Under the Microscope: Sacrifices to God".
ReplyDeleteRight now I am taking a class on the history of the Jewish Holocaust, and the professor is Jewish. He is the first Jewish person I've seen, and he is asking questions I haven't prepared myself on how to answer yet because I am not used to his sort of questioning (about how to interpret Scripture) I am more used to having to defend myself to atheists or "Christians" who don't think you need to listen to what the Bible says. Here are some questions I'm thinking through right now that my Jewish professor asked in class: How do Christians know which parts of the law to follow? If they don't need to listen to the whole law anymore, how do they know which parts to follow and which parts not to follow? If you use the Bible as your source of authority, how do you know what to do when there are two verses that seem to contradict themselves? Such as, Genesis 19:9 (about circumcision) "My covenant in your flesh is to be an everlasting covenant." and Hebrews 8:13 "By calling this covenant “new,” he has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and outdated will soon disappear." How could there be a new covenant when the old one is "everlasting"?
If you have already written about these questions, is it okay if you help me find where? If you haven't maybe they are questions you can consider answering on this blog.
Also, sorry, I know my last comment was a bit off topic of the post, but I was not sure where to put my question because I could not find an email or other way of asking questions.
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