That's first Timothy four twelve. Let no man despise thy youth, but be thou an example of the believers in word, in conversation, in cherish, in spirit, in faith, and in purity. Paul speaking to Timothy. But tonight, we're going to be in Malachi chapter two. So Malachi chapter two, and we'll begin reading here in verse one in just a moment.

So shouldn't take you long to find Malachi. If you find Matthew, go back a few pages and there you are. Just a quick review. Malachi was the last prophet of the Old Testament between three and four hundred years before the coming of John the Baptist and then Jesus Christ. Malachi was prophet to Judah after their return from captivity.

So Israel and Judah, over centuries, went into idolatry and the Lord told them if they did so, what would be the consequence? That they would be overrun, that they would be defeated, that they would be captured, that they would be scattered throughout the world. And that's exactly what happened, July to Northern Israel and May to Judah in the South. But God gave them hope. He said by the by the prophet Jeremiah that seventy years later they would return.

Indeed, they did. Cyrus, king of Persia, sent them back. And they rebuilt Jerusalem, and they rebuilt the walls, and they rebuilt the temple under Zerubbabel who became the governor under Nehemiah and Ezra and the high priest of the day whose name just happens to be Joshua. And they got off to a pretty good start after revival in the days of Ezra. But a generation later, Malachi comes on the scene and Malachi is sent to warn them, you are going back again.

You are turning your back on the Lord. They weren't worshiping idols anymore, but they were just going through the motions of worshiping God and they were treating him with contempt and that they weren't giving him their best, they were giving him their leftovers that we talked about spoke about last week. And they were not treating God as we've talked about in the morning service as a person that they loved, but just as someone who was there who could put up with whatever they wanted. And it was sad to see here the warnings that God gave via Malachi to the people as the direction they were headed once again. God brought indictment, several indictments.

He would rebuke and they would respond. And we see that throughout the book of Malachi. The Lord rebukes, they respond, the Lord answers, and we have this sort of back and forth of this debate like structure going on in the book of of Malachi. God's indictment, you have profaned, despise my name. God's name meaning his character.

When we treat God as anything less than God, We treat him with dishonor or contempt. We are we are bringing him dishonor in the eyes of the world, and that was what was happening in Israel. The priest's response was, how so? How how are we doing this? Last week, it was by their contempt for the altar.

In other words, the sacrifices they were supposed to bring were supposed to be without blemish. They were supposed to be one year old male of the flock without blemish, but they were bringing instead the blind, the lame, the sick. It didn't so much matter what they brought. The problem as Jesus addresses four hundred years later when he comes to earth is a matter of the what? It's a matter of the heart.

In Jesus' day, he said, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you shall in no case or in enter into the kingdom of heaven. They were going through the motions, but it wasn't in their heart. And what's not in our heart does eventually begin to affect our actions. Does it not? It affects our speech, it affects our commitment, it affects our our worship of the Lord, it becomes cold and it becomes stale and and it is not pleasing to the Lord when he does not have first place in our life but is second and third and fourth and fifth.

And the priests in particular who were supposed to be leading people in the worship and the offerings and sacrifices to God, they were leaning in the wrong direction. They were not leading them to honor the Lord in their sacrifices. In chapter two, God answers in relation to their departure from the ways of Levi. Let's read this, Malachi two one through seven. And now, oh ye priests, again, specifically here God is talking to the priest.

This commandment is for you. In other words, listen up priest. He says in verse two, if you will not hear this commandment, this rebuke, if you will not lay it to heart. In other words, if you'll not take it what? Seriously.

To give glory unto my name saith the Lord of hosts. I will even send a curse upon you and will curse your blessings. Yea, I have cursed them already because you do not lay it to heart. In other words, you do not take the responsibility of leading the people in honoring me. You don't take that seriously.

You've let it slide. You've become interested in in other things. It's taken second place. Verse three, behold, I will corrupt your your seed and spread dung upon your faces, even the dung of your solemn feasts, and one shall take you away with it. This is a a rather blunt and somewhat grotesque warning from God to get their attention about the worst thing that could be said was for them to take the feces and stuff of animals and to put it upon the bodies of those who were supposed to breathe, those who were clean before the Lord.

It was in stark contrast to who they were. The fact is it was this who had brought this upon themselves. They were not clean already before the Lord. Verse four, and ye shall know that I have sent this commandment unto you that my covenant might be with Levi, saith the Lord of hosts. My covenant was with him of life and peace.

And I gave them to him for the fear wherewith he feared me and was afraid before my name, showed reverence. Continuing on, the law of truth was in his mouth and iniquity was not found in his lips. He walked with me in peace and equity and did turn many from iniquity, from sin. For the priest's lips should keep knowledge and they should seek the law at his mouth for he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts. Continuing on in verse eight, but ye have departed out of the way.

Ye have caused many to stumble at the law. Ye have corrupted the covenant of Levi, saith the Lord of hosts. Therefore, have I also made you contemptible and base before all the people according as ye have not kept my laws but have been partial in the law. So back to our outline here. They had already been condemned for not following the laws God had set down for the sacrifices, for bringing to God the leftovers and the lame as though he wasn't worthy of anything better.

But the Lord continues. The the the filthiness of your actions before the Lord, God basically says, will cause to be seen because they were not clean before the Lord nor were they teaching others to be what? Clean, holy before the Lord, to follow his law. They had departed from the ways of who? What does it say here?

From the ways of of Levi. Now when it speaks of Levi here and it says his, it's not actually talking so much of a person. Now Levi is one of the sons of who? Help me out. Jacob.

Levi is one of the sons of Jacob. Therefore, his descendants became one of the tribes of Israel. Okay? Jacob's name was changed to Israel. His 12 sons became the 12 tribes.

And so, Levi was one of the tribes of Israel. And Levi was given a special privilege. What was the special privilege afforded the tribe of Levi? Well, the special privilege that they were afforded was that they became those who ministered for the Lord before the people. Okay?

They were the priestly tribe. The priests, the descendants of Aaron were also Levites. Not all Levites were priests, but all priests were Levites. Okay? And those that were not priests still helped to serve in the function of the worship of the Lord and in the keeping of the law of the Lord that was given to Israel.

Israel was originally as prescribed in the law to be a different kind of government. Something different from from before and that is it was to be a theocracy. A theocracy that was ruled not by a legislature, a theocracy that was ruled not by an oligarchy, a theocracy that wasn't ruled by a despot or a king, but a theocracy that was ruled by who? By God. Israel had no king.

They weren't given a king. The Levites were to help teach the people the law and the ways of the Lord their king and then help to enforce those laws. But there was no legislature, there was no senate, there was no there was no king other than other than God. The Levites had a special place in Israel. Unlike the rest of the tribes, there was one thing they didn't have.

What was it that they didn't have? They didn't have an allotment of land in Israel. Okay? Every other tribe had an allotment of land like a state. Okay?

That they were allotted, but not the tribe of Levi. They were scattered all throughout Israel. Why? So that they could help teach and maintain the law of who? The law of the Lord.

So that they could lead people in the worship of the Lord all throughout Israel. So there were Levites in Judah, and there were Levites in Ephraim and there were Levites in Zebulon and Naphtali and Benjamin and all of these different tribes had cities where the Levites lived. Many of those cities were called cities of refuge and they were scattered throughout those places. What was special about Levi? Well, one bad thing and then we'll look at the good thing.

K? Originally, their plot of land was taken away as well as another tribe named Simeon whose plot was inside of Judah later on. Because Levi and Simeon committed an atrocity that the actual men, the sons of Jacob before the Lord. That is when they came into Canaan with their father Jacob, the they came to a city, the city was called Shechem. The king's son molested their sister and Jacob didn't retaliate.

But who who did? Levi and Simeon. And Levi and Simeon didn't kill the man who molested their sister, they killed all the men, every last one in the city of Shechem. And God took away their plots of land. That's the bad thing about Levi.

That's the person Levi. But later on, the tribe of Levi prospers. A matter of fact, Moses was from the tribe of what? Tribe of Levi. Aaron, his brother, chosen as the first high priest.

Interesting, if you will take your Bibles, I'm moving ahead a little bit, but if you look in Exodus chapter 32. Exodus chapter 32. Okay? God made a covenant with Levi, the Levites, and would later choose Aaron, a Levite, to be the high priest. And the Levites who were had been accursed in a way because of the actions of their forefather, Levi, are going to redeem themselves.

Exodus chapter 32. Moses went up on Mount Sinai, And there on Mount Sinai, God gave him the what? The 10 commandments. Okay. The law of Moses.

While he was up on the mountain, the people started to get impatient and they talked Aaron into making them a what? Golden calf. And then, probably to Aaron's chagrin and surprise, they started acting just like the heathen did back in the land of where? Where'd they come from? Egypt.

And they started to dance around and then begin to commit atrocities in the name of the golden calf that they were worshiping. And Moses heard it upon the mountain and God told him something very bad was going on. So Moses came down, saw the people doing that, and what did he break? He broke the stones that the 10 Commandments were written on. And in verse 25, it says, when Moses saw that the people were naked for Aaron had made them naked under their shame among their enemies, then then Moses stood in the gate of the camp and said, who is on the Lord's side?

There's a hymn in our hymn book titled, who is that? Who is on the Lord's side? Let him come unto me and all the sons of Levi. All the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto him, that was Moses. And he said unto them, thus saith the Lord God of Israel, put every man his sword by his side and go in and out from gate to gate throughout the camp and slay every man his brother and every man his companion and every man his neighbor.

Now, the assumption here is that the people they slew were the people who were actually committing the in actively involved in committing the atrocities in the name of worshiping the golden calf. And the children of Levi did according to the word of Moses and there fell of the people that day about 3,000 men. For Moses had said, consecrate yourselves today to the Lord even every man upon his son and upon his brother that he may bestow upon you a blessing this day. When God when Moses cried, who was on the Lord's side? Who answered?

I'm trying to believe I did. And do you think it was easy what they did? Do you think they were a bunch of bloodthirsty people that just wanted to kill people? That's not the message here. The Levites didn't come to the aid of Moses because they were violent people.

They came to the aid of Moses because God was being what? Dishonored. What was going on was vile. What was going on was very contrary. And it was God and Moses who said to them, you can't let this what?

You can't let this go. And I suspect it was very hard for them to do what they did. But they followed through. They stood for the Lord. They stood on whose side?

They stood on the Lord's side. Look if you would in Numbers 25. So if you look over from Exodus to Leviticus and Numbers, Numbers 25. Similar situation this time Israel came under the land, they came to a certain valley, they met up with some of the Moabites. The Moabites again, idol worshipers, and they began to commit sexual immorality with the people, with the women of Moab.

And again, God brought judgment and who was it who stood again with the Lord? It was the priests and the Levites. And God said here in Numbers 25 and verse 10, the Lord spake unto Moses saying, Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, hath turned my wrath away from the children of Israel. Why he was zealous for my sake among them that I consume not the children of Israel in my jealousy. Wherefore say, behold I give unto him the covenant of peace and he shall have it in his seed after him.

Even the covenant of an everlasting priesthood because he was zealous for his God and made an atonement for the children of Israel. So God made a covenant with Phinehas who is the son of Eleazar, who was the son of Aaron, was the act acting high priest at the time in Israel. And God blessed him those who would follow in service of the Lord. This is the covenant that God spoke of that he made with the tribe of Levi here in Malachi. A covenant that involved their blessing and privilege despite the wickedness that had taken place by their ancestor Levi, God blessed them because they took a stand on whose side?

God's side. And these Levites became the servants of the Lord and the leaders of Israel, particularly in ceremonial worship as well as in the carrying out of God's law in Israel. They were blessed in this manner. It says here in verse let me find the verse here. Verse four, and ye shall know that I have sent this commandment unto you that my covenant might be with Levi, saith the Lord of hosts.

My covenant was with him of life and peace. I gave them to him for the fear wherewith he feared me and was afraid before my name. In other words, because the Levites answered God's call, they showed him preference, they feared his name and therefore they stood with who? They stood with God. God blessed them and God gave them great privilege in Israel.

This reverential fear was displayed itself in the character and solemn service of Aaron and his sons, Eleazar, Phineas. Later when Israel would come back to the land under Joshua, under Ezra, they spoke and taught the truth to the people. They they taught the people the law. They showed the people the difference between the holy, the clean, the right, and the unholy, the unclean, the profane. That was their job.

That was their privilege before Israel, To be the teachers and the leaders, to represent God before the people and the people before God. While conducting their ministry justly, turning away from iniquity in their own personal lives. Wasn't just in what they taught, but it was also in what they what they did that was important. It was God expectation that the priest should be the messengers of God to the people. That they would learn the law, the ways of the Lord so that others could look to them as an example and for the truth.

The covenant and example of Levi, what was the responsibility that went with the privilege? They needed to study the law. You can't teach the law if you don't, what, know the law. To follow, to exemplify the law in their own life. Then to proclaim the law, to teach it to others in Israel, and then to what?

To enforce the law, which they did with the Lord on the Lord's side back in Exodus when Aaron built made the golden calf. These were the responsibilities that God gave to them, to learn, to teach, to follow, to enforce the law of God. This is true to a degree of every Christian today because as we read last week from first Peter two nine, but ye are a chosen generation, ye are a royal, what? Priesthood. We're all priests in service of the Lord.

Before a world that doesn't know God, we are to show the distinction between the what, the holy, and the profane. By the convictions that we have, by the actions that we take, by the example that we leave, we are to show the world who God is like. But even more so, Christian leaders. The Levites were the leaders of Israel in their day. And God held them doubly accountable for doing what was right and for leading the people.

In first Timothy chapter three, if you wanna turn there, I'm gonna read a few verses. First Timothy chapter three is gives us a list of the expectations, qualifications, you might say, of a bishop. Now, bishop was a leader in the church. The word bishop, the word elder, and the word pastor seem to basically describe the same position in the church. Bishop emphasizes the administrative responsibilities of a pastor.

Elder, the example that the pastor was supposed to be, and pastor the ministry of leading the flock and teaching them in the word of God. But it all seems to be basically addressing the same the same position in church. So verse one says, this is a true saying, if a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work. A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behavior, given to hospitality, apt to teach, not given to wine, no striker, fighter, no greedy of not greedy of filthy lucre, but patient, not a brawler, not covetous, one that rule with his own house well having his children in subjection with all gravity. For if a man not know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?

Not a novice, lest being filled up with pride, he fall into the condemnation of the devil. Moreover, he must have a good report of them which are without, lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil. That is the list of qualifications per se of a pastor. Now, is there a perfect pastor? Elder, bishop?

No. Blameless doesn't mean completely without sin because not one of us is completely without sin, are we? We still fail. Does that include pastors? Sadly, it does.

But what God expects really of every Christian, he demands of those that are in positions of leadership, who are examples to the flock, who are supposed to be teaching them and showing them the way of the Lord. Because if the leader fails, does it affect those being led? The answer is yes. And so although this list that we read here from Timothy really could apply to any Christian, God made sure to say that this really, really needs to be of those in positions of leadership. In first Timothy four twelve, as I read earlier, Paul told Timothy this.

He said, let let no man despise thy youth. He's not saying don't don't let anybody look down on you because you're young. It's not what he's saying. What he's saying is do not let your don't use your youth as an excuse to not be the example you should be. Don't let people despise you because you're acting like a what?

Child. Let no man despise thy youth, but be thou an example. But be an example of the believers in word, in what you say, in conversation, in how you behave, in charity, in your love, in your spirit, in your faith, in your purity of life. Paul told Timothy, you you need to be an example. The priests and the Levites were to be an example to Israel.

They they weren't taking that what? What's the word? They weren't taking it to heart. What does that mean? They weren't taking it seriously.

And it was not only gonna come down on their heads, but it was also gonna come down on the heads of those they lent. The same is true of Christian leadership today. Same is true of Christians today. We need to take the responsibility seriously along with the privilege. We have great privilege.

But with great privilege comes great what? Responsibility. The priest had failed as Malachi points out in verse eight and nine. He said, but ye have departed out of the way. The way of who?

The way of the Lord. They were supposed to be leading people in the way. You ever been to a park or something and and you're or or maybe a museum or and you get a part of a group and you're going to take a what? A tour or you're going to take a hike and there's somebody that leads, usually call him a guide. Okay?

And you're depending on the guide to do what? To lead you in the in the way. Okay? And so when you go on those things, generally, you trust that the guide knows where they're going and the guide's gonna take you where you're supposed to go. Who were the guides in Israel?

They were the priests and the Levites. They had departed from the way of the Lord. They they were leading the people off the what? Off the path and into trouble. That's what God had to say.

Is that serious? Yeah. It's serious. It's serious if you're taking a hike through the Appalachian Mountains, what I have done. It's even more serious when you're talking about the way of the Lord, the way of truth, the way of righteousness.

Because if you're not on the way of the Lord, if you're not following him, then you are going to get into trouble. B a, because they departed from the way of the Lord, from the law of the Lord. We're in verse eight again. You have caused many to stumble at the law. In other words, you have departed and in departing because you're the leadership, what have you done?

You've caused others to stumble as well. In Romans chapter 14, Paul tells the Romans not to judge one another but to judge themselves that they not cause their brother to what? To stumble. Be careful what you do because other people are watching you. Other people are watching you.

And what you do, if you say I'm a what? I'm a Christian. I'm a leader. Follow me. They're watching And they're watching to see if it's important to you.

They're watching to see if Christ makes a difference. Israel was dependent upon the priests. Let me ask you a question. Today, almost every one of you have one of these. You got it?

You can look at it. You can read it. Was that the case in Israel? No. Wasn't the case in Israel.

How many printing presses were there in Malachi's day? None. Matter of fact, there was not such thing as a book. When you read the word book in your Bible, basically you're reading the word scroll. Everything was written on a parchment which was a page basically or it was written on a long parchment which was then rolled up and we call that a what?

A scroll. There was no printing press, everything had to be copied by hand And there weren't scrolls for everybody. A matter of fact, there weren't that many scrolls. The people of Israel were dependent even more in their day than in our day on the priests to tell them the truth, to leave them in the way of the Lord, to give them the law. And the priest had failed and God was going to hold them accountable.

They failed. They departed out of the way of the Lord. They caused other people to stumble. And he says, you have corrupted the covenant of Levi, saith the Lord of hosts. In other words, God says you've made a mockery of the covenant I made with your forefathers.

I made it with them because they what? Because they feared the Lord, because they stood with me. And you're making a mockery of my covenant with them. I'm afraid sometimes we as Christians take the covenant that God has made with us very what? Very lightly and very much for granted.

We are privileged to be part of a new covenant in Jesus Christ. We have been privileged to become the children of who? The children of God. We are blessed with many spiritual blessings and a place that he has prepared for us who know him in heaven. But we have responsibilities here on earth and others are watching and the most important one is who?

God. And God wants to bless us but if we're not taking seriously our privilege, our covenant, and the responsibilities that go with it to be salt and light on the earth. Instead of bringing a blessing, God will bring chastening. He doesn't want to bring chastening, he wants to bring what? A blessing.

But I'm afraid that so much of Christianity today has brought dishonor to the name of God rather than honor. And who is first at fault? The leadership. It is a very accountable position before God. This resulted in the loss of respect among the people, a loss of respect for the Levites, but also a loss of respect for who?

For God. And I think that's happened here too. And largely, we, the church, are to blame. We haven't differentiated between the holy and the profane. Leviticus chapter 10, and I'm almost done.

Leviticus chapter 10, Let me give you the the context here. Aaron's two oldest sons, Nadab and Abihu, were next in line to be the high priest of Israel. But they brought the wrong mixture of incense into the sanctuary before the Lord. It calls it here, they put incense thereon and offered strange fire before the Lord it is set. They brought the wrong stuff.

Now, I think it was an innocent, what, mistake. But I suspect they made the innocent mistake because they were drunk and they weren't taking their responsibility seriously. Why? Because look in verse where were we? Verse eight.

They they were struck down by the Lord for doing that, by the way. God took their life. In verse eight, it says, and the Lord spake unto Aaron saying, their father, do not drink wine nor strong drink, thou or thy sons with thee when you go into the tabernacle of the congregation lest ye die. It shall be a statute forever throughout your generations. Therefore, I surmise that they brought the wrong stuff because they were what?

They were drunk. And that's why they brought the wrong stuff. They didn't take their ministry seriously and they lost their lives because of it. Verse 10, and that ye may put difference between the holy and the unholy, between the unclean and the clean. And that ye may teach the children of Israel all the statutes which the Lord has spoken unto them by the hand of Moses.

Teach, exemplify, follow, and enforce. That was their responsibility. A day a Nadab and a die Nadab and Abihu failed. They lost their lives because of it. Eliezer the third became the high priest of the day after Aaron passed off the scene and then Phinehas, his son, afterwards that we read about.

We have great privilege today as kings and priests one day before the Lord and as a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people today, to show forth the praises of him who has called us out of darkness into his marvelous light. What a privilege. What a responsibility. And don't think that God is not gonna hold us, what? Accountable.

He does. And not only does it affect us, but it also affects others. Let's be an example. Let's pray. Dear God, thank you, Lord, for the privilege of serving you.

Help us, Lord, to be the example that we ought to be to the world around us, that they might see Jesus in us. Help us, Lord, to be the leaders that you've called us to be and take our relationship with you seriously and also the ministry that you have given to us. Lord, I pray that those that come to this church and those that meet these people would see the difference that Christ has made in our lives. That you might draw others to yourself, that other Christians may be led in the right way as they follow us and as we follow you. Lord, help us.

Lord, forgive us. And Lord, help us particularly to take the great privilege and responsibility we have been given seriously. In Jesus' name, we do pray. Amen.