In a recent sermon, Pastor Jimmy Gill of Trinity Presbyterian Church, Birmingham, pointed to the chiastic structure of Malachi 1:6-14, neatly marked by a sevenfold repetition of the phrase \u201csays Yahweh of hosts.\u201d<\/p>\n
A. Priests dishonor Yahweh their Father, 1:6a<\/p>\n
B. Blemished offerings on my altar, 1:6b-8<\/p>\n
C. Will God be gracious to those who offer bad sacrifices, 1:9<\/p>\n
D. Stop kindling fire on my altar, 1:10<\/p>\n
C\u2019. My name will be great among Gentiles; incense offered in every place, 1:11<\/p>\n
B\u2019. You despise the table of Yahweh and His food, 1:12-13a<\/p>\n
A\u2019. I am a great king, 1:13b-14<\/p>\n
As Pastor Gill pointed out, there is a movement from Father to King in the A\/A\u2019 pair. B and B\u2019 both refer to Yahweh\u2019s table, His altar. C states the danger that Israel is in; but C\u2019 indicates that, despite all, Yahweh will keep His promise, and cause the world to become a sweet savor. A the center is the Isaiah-like dismissal of Israel\u2019s useless worship.<\/p>\n
At a formal level, these seven speeches form a new-creation sequence. Yahweh remakes the priests and people by sending a prophet to rebuke and warn them.\u00a0It is also possible<\/i> to make some correlations between these exhortations and the days of creation.<\/p>\n
\u00a01. There is not evident connection between Malachi 1:6 and the creation of light.<\/p>\n
2. On Day 2, the Lord created the firmament, a place of separation and contact between the Lord and creation, especially humanity. The Lord\u2019s altar is functionally a \u201cfirmament\u201d boundary and mediator.<\/p>\n
3. I can\u2019t see much correlation between Malachi 1:9 and the imagery associated with Day 3.<\/p>\n
4. Day 4 is the creation of the burning lights of heaven, and Malachi 1:10 speaks of kindling God\u2019s altar. The connection would be stronger if the first part of 1:11 were included in the fourth speech.<\/p>\n
5. Throughout the book of Exodus, incense is in the Day 5 slot. The swarming smoke of incense is connected to the swarming creatures of sea and sky.<\/p>\n
6. B\u2019 refers again to the altar, this time as the table of Yahweh, with its edibles and fruit (Malachi 1:12). There is perhaps an Adamic connection; he was the first priest to despise the table of the Lord.<\/p>\n
7. Sabbath is the day of Yahweh\u2019s enthronement in His creation. Israel sins because they do not treat God as the King that He is. They are effectively Sabbath-breakers in their unfaithful worship.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
In a recent sermon, Pastor Jimmy Gill of Trinity Presbyterian Church, Birmingham, pointed to the chiastic structure of Malachi 1:6-14, neatly marked by a sevenfold repetition of the phrase \u201csays Yahweh of hosts.\u201d A. Priests dishonor Yahweh their Father, 1:6a B. Blemished offerings on my altar, 1:6b-8 C. Will God be gracious to those who […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3021,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[67],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17559","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bible-ot-malachi"],"yoast_head":"\n