Malachi 2:7: Priestly Lips
“For the lips of a priest should preserve knowledge, and men should seek instruction from his mouth; for he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts.” Malachi 2:7
A remnant of Judah had returned from captivity to resettle Jerusalem and rebuild the temple. Yet, in Malachi’s day – roughly three generations later – the people remained spiritually apathetic. The priests were merely going through the motions of temple sacrifice, indifferent to the things of God. Callous. Corrupt. Doing just enough to squeak by. They had “turned aside from the way,” doing what they pleased and doling out bad counsel to the people (Malachi 2:8a). Instead of thirsting after the wisdom of God, they actively soaked up the ways of the culture, which left them parched in mind, heart, and soul. The result? Garbage in, garbage out. They “caused many to stumble by the [bad] instruction” (Malachi 2:8b). Conforming to the modus operandi of their pagan world instead of listening to the voice of Truth didn’t just affect them personally. It deeply impacted others, as the priests held authority as representatives of the Lord of hosts.
It hadn’t always been this way. There had been a time when the Levites and priests had actually “revered Me and stood in awe of My name. True instruction was in his mouth and unrighteousness was not found on his lips; he walked with me in peace and uprightness, and he turned back many from iniquity” (Malachi 2:5-6). By and by, though, they had “corrupted the covenant of Levi” (Malachi 2:8c). Before we click our tongues at them, we need to realize that this is mankind’s default unless we deliberately and diligently seek His wisdom and apply it to our lives (1 Corinthians 10:6-13; Proverbs 2:2-6; Romans 3:10-12; James 1:22-25) That’s why God commands those of us who have His Spirit not to be “conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Romans 12:2). To cultivate real knowledge and divine perspective requires that we strive to know His Word inside and out, Genesis to Revelation (1 Corinthians 2:14-16). We don’t acquire it through human reasoning, popular consensus, or osmosis (Proverbs 14:12). And we can’t share something that we don’t first possess ourselves. We can be sincere, but sincerely wrong. We can lead others down a wrong path if we ourselves remain deceived – even if unwittingly – by the enemy’s propaganda (2 Timothy 3:13-17). God exhorted the Levites of Malachi’s day to take off the blinders and examine what they were really doing. He didn’t want their hollow religiosity. He wanted their hearts (Hosea 6:6; Matthew 15:7-11). Likewise, we need to get honest with ourselves. Do we passionately thirst day-after-day for God’s wisdom? Do we “seek [it] as silver and search for [it] as for hidden treasures” (Proverbs 2:4)? …really, that fervently? Or do we more often than we’d like to admit get caught up in the particulars of day-to-day life and become a bit casual – even apathetic at times – toward God’s voice?
You see, God wasn’t just speaking to the Levitical priests. He was speaking to you and me, too. No, the vast majority of us are not from the physical lineage of Levi from whom the priests of Israel were commissioned. But Malachi 2:7 applies to us because believers in Jesus are anointed by God to be a “royal priesthood” (1 Peter 2:9). “For the lips of a priest [you and me] should preserve knowledge, and men should seek instruction from [our] mouth[s]; for [we are] the messenger of the Lord of hosts.” What a beautiful privilege. What a profound responsibility. The word translated preserve (shamar) is this idea of hedging something about with thorns to protect it; to guard something. “Do not let [God’s words] depart from your sight; keep [shamar] them in the midst of your heart” (Proverbs 4:21). Diligently guard them! Don’t take your eye off them! “For it will be pleasant if you keep [shamar] them within you, that they may be ready on your lips” (Proverbs 22:18).
God’s Word rightly divided matters (2 Timothy 2:15). The culture is pulling people in all sorts of detrimental directions, but the counsel coming from the lips of God’s people – from your mouth and mine – should be different (Proverbs 16:25). It should be rooted in God’s pure wisdom, not tainted and leavened by outside sources. It should be light-bearing and life-giving, guiding people in the right way. The good way. The beneficial way. The counter-cultural way. The fulfilling way. The God-honoring way. Nothing else compares. Any so-called knowledge that contradicts God’s Word is darkness (1 Timothy 6:20-21; 1 Corinthians 1:20-31). It is misguided, even if it seems good on the surface (Proverbs 16:25; 2 Corinthians 11:14-15; Isaiah 5:20). Its touted benefits are skin-deep or downright counterfeit. We must remember that there is an enemy prowling around like a roaring lion who doesn’t want minds and hearts to be enlightened – including our own (1 Peter 5:8; 2 Corinthians 4:1-4; Ephesians 4:14-16; Ephesians 6:10-18). Priests, remain alert.
Our charge as believer-priests is to give good counsel from Scripture that is correctly dissected and accurately handled. Just as the Levitical priests in Malachi’s day, we represent Yahweh as His ambassadors of truth to the world. As we draw close to walk with Jesus day-by-day, growing in the knowledge of Him and applying His truth to our own circumstances, we reap incredible personal benefits. (Check out Proverbs 2, Psalm 19, Psalm 119, and Matthew 7:24-27 for starters!) But out of this springs something that also benefits others: “The Lord God has given me the tongue of disciples, that I may know how to sustain the weary one with a word. He awakens me morning by morning, He awakens my ear to listen as a disciple” (Isaiah 50:4). What a cool thing to be able to use what God is impressing on our own minds and hearts and lives to subsequently sustain others as they, too, pick their way through the minefields of this sin-cursed world (2 Corinthians 1:3-5; Romans 8:18-22). I can personally attest to the potency of being able to take something that Scripture spoke into my soul and share it with someone who’s struggling that day. God’s Word is the fountainhead of truth, abundant life, and hope. Deviation from His way “crushes the spirit,” but a tongue that accurately conveys His wisdom is a healing “tree of life” (Proverbs 15:4; Proverbs 15:2). We are to be channels through which His living, active, powerful words flow (Hebrews 4:12; Jeremiah 23:29; Isaiah 55:11; Psalm 119:105; 1 Thessalonians 1:5).
Father, let the words of our mouths and the meditations of our hearts bring light and life, healing and hope, just as You desire (Psalm 19:14; Proverbs 12:18,25; Ephesians 4:29). May our lips vigilantly preserve knowledge so that we may be Your faithful messengers – a royal priesthood from whom others may seek dependable instruction and take heart.