Polluted bread

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. And if ye offer the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil? and if ye offer the lame and sick, is it not evil? offer it now unto thy governor; will he be pleased with thee, or accept thy person? saith the LORD of hosts. – Malachi 1.7-8

Another big problem here at the end of the Old Testament is what the Lord called ‘polluted bread.’ The idea is that the people were not offering their best on the altar. It was their second best or worse. It was the kind of offering they would not even offer the governor, but they were trying to offer it to God.

Not giving God our best goes way back to Cain and Able. We read that while Cain brought some of his crops for an offering Able brought the best, the first-fruits of his livestock.

The Law warned against offering improper offerings. God deserves and expects the best. What really drives the point home is that they would take things they wouldn’t think of offering the government officials and offering them to God.

How does this apply to us today? I think there is an obvious application. Do we give God our best? Do we give Him the best of our resources? Do we give God the best of our time? Where is he on our priority list? Can we pay for the cinema or a nice date and not give to God’s work? Can we make it work on time at 8.00 and not make it to church on time at 11.00? Do we have time for the rugby, but not for Bible study? Are we ready to talk about politics but not about the Lord?

We need see what we are giving God. Or is it nothing better than polluted bread.?