5 “The purpose of my covenant with the Levites was to bring life and peace, and that is what I gave them. This required reverence from them, and they greatly revered me and stood in awe of my name. 6 They passed on to the people the truth of the instructions they received from me. They did not lie or cheat; they walked with me, living good and righteous lives, and they turned many from lives of sin.
7 “The words of a priest’s lips should preserve knowledge of God, and people should go to him for instruction, for the priest is the messenger of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. 8 But you priests have left God’s paths. Your instructions have caused many to stumble into sin. You have corrupted the covenant I made with the Levites,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. 9 “So I have made you despised and humiliated in the eyes of all the people. For you have not obeyed me but have shown favoritism in the way you carry out my instructions.”
Malachi 2:4-9 (NLT)
Levi or Levites?
The covenant referred to here is with Levi’s descendents and Aaron (Numbers 18:7-8, 19-21). I’ve chosen the NLT version today because it changes Levi to Levites. Why does it matter?
If you reread this and use Levi (son of Jacob) you may think he was a very godly man. But in reality, he (and his brother Simeon), in the name of defending their sister’s honor, revenge-killed all the men of a town (Genesis 34). Their father Isaac was quite angry with them (Genesis 34:30). Before Jacob died, he pronounced a blessing on his sons. In Genesis 49:5–7 he confirmed their wickedness and cursed Levi to be scattered among his other 11 brothers…hence the Levites were not allowed to own land were dispersed for synagogue service across Israel.
Levi’s descendants
Levi’s descendants are not blue jean wearers! But one of them, Phinehas, was indeed very godly and demonstrated a zeal for the Lord (Numbers 25:11-13). He and other priests (like Ezra) honored the covenant with Levi and were faithful preachers.
Priests problem
We’ve seen this a number of times over the past few days. Though they should be honest preachers and upholders of the Word, they weren’t. “The Jewish priests self-deceivingly claimed the privileges of the covenant, while neglecting the conditions of it, as if God were bound by it to bless them, while they were free from all the obligation which it imposed to serve Him.” (JFB commentary) Remember to pray for our preachers!
