Malachi 1:7
Ye offer polluted bread upon mine altar; and ye say, Wherein have we polluted thee? In that ye say, The table of the LORD is contemptible.
Original Language Analysis
Cross References
Historical Context
The Levitical system required unblemished animals for sacrifice (Leviticus 1:3, 10, 3:1, 6, 4:3, 23, 28). This wasn't arbitrary but taught important theology: sin demands costly atonement, God deserves our best, and sacrifices foreshadowed the perfect Lamb of God (John 1:29, 1 Peter 1:19). Post-exilic priests violated these requirements, offering blind, lame, and sick animals (v. 8). Economic hardship may have tempted them to keep healthy animals for profit while giving God defective ones. But their actions revealed theological corruption—they no longer believed worship mattered or that God deserved excellence.
Questions for Reflection
- How do our actions in worship reveal whether we truly value God's 'table' or find it contemptible?
- What 'defective offerings' might we bring to God—half-hearted service, distracted worship, grudging obedience?
- How does Christ as the perfect sacrifice expose and remedy our tendency toward contemptuous worship?
Analysis & Commentary
Ye offer polluted bread upon mine altar; and ye say, Wherein have we polluted thee? In that ye say, The table of the LORD is contemptible. God specifies the priests' contempt: offering polluted bread (לֶחֶם מְגֹאָל, lehem mego'al) on His altar. לֶחֶם (lehem, bread) refers to sacrificial offerings; מְגֹאָל (mego'al, polluted/defiled) indicates ritual uncleanness. The priests brought defiled sacrifices—animals unsuitable for God's altar according to Torah (Leviticus 22:17-25, Deuteronomy 15:21).
Again the priests respond with feigned innocence: Wherein have we polluted thee? (בַּמֶּה גֵאַלְנוּךָ, bameh ge'alnukha). God's answer reveals their attitude: In that ye say, The table of the LORD is contemptible (בֶּאֱמָרְכֶם שֻׁלְחַן יְהוָה נִבְזֶה הוּא, be'emarkhem shulhan Yahweh nivzeh hu). שֻׁלְחַן (shulhan, table) refers to the altar where sacrifices were offered (Ezekiel 41:22, 44:16). נִבְזֶה (nivzeh, contemptible) means despised, worthless, insignificant.
The priests' actions revealed their hearts—by offering defective animals, they communicated that God's altar deserved no better. They treated sacred worship as contemptible routine rather than holy privilege.