Malachi 1:8

8 "When you present a blind [animal] for sacrifice, is it not wrong? And when you present a lame or sick [animal], is it not wrong?^[a] Bring it to your governor! Would he be pleased with you or show you favor?" asks the Lord of Hosts.

Malachi 1:8 Meaning and Commentary

Malachi 1:8

And if ye offer the blind for sacrifice, [is it] not evil?
&c.] Certainly it is, according to the law in ( Leviticus 22:22 ) or, as Kimchi interprets it, when they bring to you a lamb that is blind for sacrifice to offer it up, ye say, this is not evil; but it is good to offer it up, because the table is contemptible. The sense is, that, however evil this may be in itself, according to them it was good enough to be offered up upon the altar; which proves that they despised the name of the Lord, offered polluted bread or sacrifice on his altar, and had his table in contempt: and if ye offer the lame and sick, [is it] not evil?
verily it is, by the law of God, which forbids the offering of such things, ( Leviticus 22:21 Leviticus 22:22 ) ( Deuteronomy 15:21 ) this was always observed, in all sacrifices under the law, that they were perfect, and without any blemish, whether of the flock, or of the herd; and this was strictly observed, even by the Heathens themselves: so Achilles, in Homer ^F1, speaks of the perfect lambs and goats they offered in sacrifice; and particularly they were not to be lame, or to halt; such were reckoned choice and excellent sacrifices, which were larger and better fed than others; and which were not lame, nor diseased, nor sickly; for things future could not be known, they say, but from a sound victim ^F2; for they pretended to have knowledge of them, by the entrails of the sacrifices. So Pliny ^F3 observes, that this is to be remarked, that calves brought to the altar on men's shoulders are not to be sacrificed; nor are the gods appeased by one that halts; in short, it is said ^F4, whatever is not perfect and sound is not to be offered to them; and, besides these here mentioned in the text, there were many others, which the Jews especially observed, which rendered creatures unfit for sacrifice. Maimonides ^F5 reckons up no less than fifty blemishes, by reason of which the priests under the law might not offer a creature for sacrifice: no doubt but the laws of Moses concerning this matter had a respect to the pure, perfect, and spotless sacrifice of Christ, which the legal ones were typical of; and teach us this lesson, that, without a complete sacrifice, no atonement or satisfaction for sin could be made: or, it is not evil in your eyes, as Aben Ezra glosses it; which is the same as before: offer it now unto thy governor;
to Zerubbabel, who was governor of Judea at this time, ( Haggai 1:1 ) for they had no king. The meaning is, offer a lamb or any other creature that is blind, sick, and lame; make a present of it to him that had the government of them; make trial this way, and see how acceptable it would be to him: will he be pleased with thee, or accept thy person? saith the Lord of
hosts;
will he thank thee for it, or have any respect to thee on account of it? but, on the contrary, will he not resent it as an affront to him? and if so it would be with an earthly prince, how can it be thought that to offer the blind, lame, and sick, should be acceptable to the King of kings, and Lord of lords?

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FOOTNOTES:

F1 Iliad. I. 1. 66.
F2 Alex. ab Alex. Genial. Dier. l. 3. c. 12.
F3 Nat. Hist. l. 8. c. 45.
F4 Scholia in Aristoph. Acharn. Act 3. Scen. 3. p. 409.
F5 Hilchot Biath Hamikdash, c. 7. sect. 1. &c.

Malachi 1:8 In-Context

6 "A son honors [his] father, and a servant his master. But if I am a father, where is My honor? And if I am a master, where is [your] fear of Me? says the Lord of Hosts to you priests, who despise My name." Yet you ask: "How have we despised Your name?"

7 "By presenting defiled food on My altar." You ask: "How have we defiled You?" When you say: "The Lord's table is contemptible."

8 "When you present a blind [animal] for sacrifice, is it not wrong? And when you present a lame or sick [animal], is it not wrong? Bring it to your governor! Would he be pleased with you or show you favor?" asks the Lord of Hosts.

9 "And now ask for God's favor. Will He be gracious to us? [Since] this has come from your hands, will He show any of you favor?" asks the Lord of Hosts.

10 "I wish one of you would shut the [temple] doors, so you would no longer kindle a useless [fire on] My altar! I am not pleased with you," says the Lord of Hosts, "and I will accept no offering from your hands.

Footnotes

• [a]. Lv 22:18-25; Dt 15:21; 17:1