Respect for God

Introduction

The opening invokes Isaiah 6, paired with a quote from the Dallas Holm song “I Saw the Lord.” The lyrics paint a vivid picture of encountering divine majesty: a place as white as snow and pure as finest gold, with the look of both new and old, where the speaker feels simultaneously at home and far away. In fear they consider leaving but feel urged to stay. A silence unlike any known falls; they stand among the moons, alone. God’s face shines like the sun, his eyes like the sea, his voice like thunder rolling through eternity. In that moment, they see the Lord—high, lifted up, and rightfully adored—and the Lord sees them.

The sermon asks a piercing question: Did you come expecting to meet the Lord today? Did you come recognizing the holiness of God and your own sin in his presence? Did you come with respect and honor? In the presence of God, our hearts are bowed. We are in awe of his greatness and majesty. Let us praise him as the Lord of lords.

Malachi’s Passion

The writing known as Malachi was composed around 430 B.C., approximately one hundred years after Israel’s return from exile. The temple had been rebuilt and sacrifice had resumed. Yet the promise of God to prosper his people had not materialized. Life continued, but the expected prosperity gave way to drought, poor crops, and hostile neighbors. The people questioned: Does God really love Israel? Malachi was written to affirm God’s love for Israel, but also to challenge Israel’s thinking about their relationship with God. That relationship had grown cold and indifferent, with no passion for who God is. This lack of passion revealed itself in their worship, their marriages, and their giving.

In Malachi 1:1-5, God affirms his love for Israel by reminding them of their brother Esau. Israel descended from Jacob, while Edom descended from Esau. The people of Edom had never prospered as Israel had. God’s favor toward Israel, despite their common family origin, was proof of his love. Such proof was not to be overlooked, yet God’s love had been ignored and treated shabbily.

Look at verse 6: “A son honors his father.” The word for honor carries multiple meanings depending on context. Its literal sense is “heavy,” but figuratively it can mean burdensome, difficult, glory, honor, abundance, or riches. When a son honors his father, he acknowledges the weight or heaviness of the father—recognizing his importance and authority. According to Exodus 21:15-17, children who attacked or cursed their parents were to be put to death. God recognizes that children should respect their parents. But there is no respect or honor for the name of God. This charge is brought against the priests. The hearts of Israel’s religious leaders lacked respect and honor for God.

They neither feared him nor respected him. God was merely something one offered sacrifices to, nothing that demanded honor. In essence, they underestimated the power and presence of God. God wasn’t important. He was nothing to have any emotion about. As a result, sacrificial worship became routine and boring, lifeless and passionless. Sacrifices were offered with no regard for the law or the requirements of God. If there is no respect for God, there will be no respect for his law. The religious leaders approached God in a simplistic, complacent way, with no passion in their worship.

Notice in verse 8 that the religious leaders allowed blind, crippled, or diseased animals to be used for sacrifice. God offers this wisdom: bring less than the best to the Persian governor and see if he will accept it. If he will not, what makes you think I will? God goes on to say in verse 11 that although Israel doesn’t appreciate who they worship, others do and will. In verses 12-14, God summarizes the attitudes and hearts of the priests and people: they treat that which is to be considered holy as common. They treat God and the animals to be sacrificed as of no consequence, as if none of it mattered. But God reminds them that he is a great king and his name is to be respected among the nations.

Casualness

We live in a casual world. Respect for those who are above us has been redefined. We approach much of life casually. That isn’t inherently bad—some things needed to be brought down a bit. But on the way to the casualness of our world, it is possible to lose sight of things that are extraordinary and profound. God’s problem with the religious leaders was their willingness to look at everything from a casual standpoint. Sacrifice ended up as just another event. There was nothing special about it because there was nothing special in their hearts about God.

Have we become too casual about God? Israel took that which was holy and made it common. Have we done that in our hearts? Is coming to assembly just another event? Do we understand that we are in the presence of God and do we appreciate what that means? Have we forgotten the greatness of God? Do we realize that we are in the presence of the one who created the world and took care of our sin? Do we realize the significance of God’s majesty, or have we come here with casual hearts? How can we tell if we are too casual about God?

Your heart is too casual about God when you stay up late Saturday night and are too tired to concentrate on the words of songs or prayers, much less a sermon. When you spend longer than ten seconds finding your Bible to bring this morning because you cannot remember where you left it last week. When you begin to believe that sin is okay because, after all, God is in the forgiving business. When you place more emphasis on how you feel about a song than how you can sing it with feeling to God or to those around you. When you are willing to spend forty dollars for a good meal but would not even consider giving more than that to God. When your colleagues are surprised to discover that you are a Christian. When you begin to think that missing the assembly is no big deal. When you dress for style rather than to honor the Father. When you begin to look for and emphasize your “enjoyment” at the assembly rather than concentrating on the majesty of God. When you treat others as if they are for your benefit rather than as you would want to be treated.

Israel’s sacrifices were a reflection of their heart. No respect and honor for God made it easy to be casual about worship. We can enter into this building casually, and as a result, the test for worship becomes not about God but about us. In the process, there is no respect and honor for God. Did you come expecting to meet the Lord? Did you come today recognizing the holiness of God and your own sin in his presence? Did you come today with respect and honor? What is your heart reflecting right now—honor for God or casualness? When’s the last time you met God and knew how great he is and how little you are? Today might be the day for that to happen.

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