Malachi 1:14
‘“But cursed be the swindler who has a male in his flock and vows it, but sacrifices a blemished animal to the Lord, for I am a great King,” says the LORD of armies, “and My name is feared among the nations.”’
There are several problems here. The individual was sacrificing a blemished animal. It was a reject, it could have been sick or sickly. One that couldn’t be sold. This was against the law. God gives His laws and guidelines. They are to be obeyed.
Today we are christians who have been saved by grace and delivered from the Law. That doesn’t mean we don’t have to keep the Ten Commandments. This is also true for fornication and some others. The difference is that the part of the law that was for covering sins has been replaced by the sacrifice of Christ. The Commandments still stand. One doesn’t need to give an unblemished animal any longer.
Does this verse have any application? Yes. One is obedience. We are to obey the Lord. We are to obey the Commandments. What else are we to obey? We are to love others and forgive them. That’s not optional. If we don’t do those things, then the Lord still has work to do in us or we aren’t christians.
Another application, which is similar to obedience is we are to fear the Lord. This means we acknowledge His power and we do what He says. We wouldn’t think of not heeding His Words.
Another smaller point is the making of vows. That was part of the Old Testament. It’s no longer part of the New. Jesus says this in Matthew 5:34,35 “But I say to you, take no oath at all, neither by heaven, for it is the throne of God, nor by the earth, for it is the footstool of His feet, nor by Jerusalem, for it is THE CITY OF THE GREAT KING.” This is a relief. Before I was a christian I thought God would have wanted us to make vows. I would have thought that religions the world over would have wanted that, also. Not so. He’s done the work. He just wants to love others to walk with Him in obedience.
Jesus says a few verses later, “But make sure your statement is, ‘Yes, yes’ or ‘No, no’; anything beyond these is of evil origin, (v. 37).” Be honest, have integrity and don’t make vows. Don’t shade the truth.
There is an interesting comment on not shading the truth. It’s in Proverbs 26:4, “Do not answer a fool according to his folly, or you yourself will be like him.” Some have dark hearts and they seek to stir up trouble. We aren’t to engage them. Walk on by. If we are caught in an exchange, seek to get out.
Jesus is a great example of getting out of arguments given by fools. He’s so brilliant that He could turn it around. They weren’t being honest. They wanted to entrap Him or get Him in trouble with the people.
Lord, thank You for the New Covenant. It’s so freeing. Thank You for removing vows. Thank You for the charge to love and forgive others. Help us to fear You.