ENGAGE WITH SCRIPTURE

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FOR THE WEEK OF

Sunday, February 19, 2023

Malachi 2

Sometimes God disciplines us as a means of drawing us back to Him.

The descendants of Levi were set apart for the Lord’s service to serve at the temple. Priests were required to be descendants of Aaron, who was from the tribe of Levi. God promised His presence, protection, and provision to those who served as God’s priests. It was the priests’ responsibility to faithfully serve the Lord and instruct the people of their obligation under the covenant of the law. However, the priests failed to keep their commitments. They did not honor God’s name; they failed to worship and serve Him with reverence.

Read Malachi 2:1-9:
  1. How do you think the average person in our community thinks of pastors, priests, and ministers?
  2. In what ways might the casual attitudes of these priests have impacted the people around them?
  3. Considering the New Testament church has no priestly class and that all believers are priests of the Lord (1 Peter 2:5), how are our obligations similar to those of the Levitical priests? How are they different?
Read Malachi 2:10-12:
  1. What treacherous actions did God accuse the people of Judah of committing here?
  2. What does this passage convey about the connection between our covenant with God and our commitments to one another?
Read Malachi 2:13-17:
  1. Why were the people of Judah weeping and groaning before God?
  2. Why did the Lord no longer accept the people’s offerings?
  3. As believers, how can we rely on God’s faithfulness to help us fulfill our commitments?
Taking it Home:
  1. If those closest to you followed your example in worship, what would their worship look like?
  2. Do you take your obedience to God and worship of Him as seriously as this passage challenges?

Ways to Pray:

  • Adoration: Praise God as the righteous judge and the only one deserving of worship.
  • Contrition: Confess any disrespect or carelessness in how you have approached worshiping God in your life.
  • Thankfulness: Express gratitude that God is patient and wants to see us turn back to him in faithfulness.
  • Supplication: Ask God to give you a “united heart” that desires to seek and follow him as he is, not as you would have him.
Additional Scriptures to Engage with this week:
  • Psalm 1
  • Hosea 11
  • Psalm 81
  • Revelation 3:1-13
  • Psalm 86
  • Proverbs 20:17-25