I’ve seen it all the time and maybe you have too. There’s a food/clothing drive at church for people to give to the poor and needy. What do they give? The leftovers in their kitchen of food they don’t want, and clothes that are so outdated they would be scandalous to wear.
It’s the same if you go to a Christian conference where there are offerings. All week long people give some, but the last day they give a lot. Why? They perhaps waited throughout the week to see how their money was spent, and then at the end gave what was left. Same as many do with tithing.
Is anyone who receives a gift pleased with leftovers? We once had someone who would regularly bring us food as a “gift.”. Then she would let us know that the beef stew was a couple of weeks old from her refrigerator. True story.
And would we give a gift to someone important like a king/president/prime minister or someone else we highly admired, and give them something used, worn, leftover?
That was the question of God here in this chapter. He was confronting the priests for their attitude and their sacrifices. They saw what they were doing as a drudgery. Worse, they brought animal sacrifices that were animals who had been crippled or diseased. They were sacrifices of something they didn’t want. The law required the first fruits, their very best, but they gave God the wanted leftovers.
Then they were surprised why God wasn’t pleased with it. Or with them.
‘Why are you not happy with us?’
Would you be happy if you only received gifts as leftovers? God asks them, ‘where is the honor that is due me?’
They gave him no honor.
There was another prophecy as well and this was about the Edomites. Going back, Isaac had two twin sons – Jacob and Esau. Jacob was the one through whom the covenant came and out him came the nation of Isarel. Esau was the twin brother and the older one, but not the one chosen of covenant. Out of Esau came the nation of the Edomites. So there were two nations—the Israelites and the Edomites from Jacob and Esau.
Jacob says he has loved Israel. And the people ask, ‘how?’
He refers to Jacob and Esau and their descendants/nations. The LORD says that he loved Israel but has hated Esau/Edomites.
The Edomites were destroyed and determined to come back again. But the LORD says he will demolish them. That they are called “the Wicked Land.”. They were a people under the wrath of God.
Why were they under God’s wrath? Perhaps because from the beginning they despised Israel even though they were brother nations. When Israel was carried off into captivity, instead of helping their brothers they helped their brothers’ enemies.
The Edomites didn’t have to be enemies of God. But they were bitter against Israel since Israel was the chosen nation. That and perhaps there was bad blood in the descendants because of how Jacob had treated Israel in the early days. While the brothers had reconciled, perhaps their descendants did not and the rift continued to grow.
Regardless, God is saying here that he loves Israel. They are his chosen people. So much so that their very brothers were not chosen. So remember the special place they have in God’s heart.