By: Obed Pineda
Mediocre (adj.): moderate to inferior in quality; ordinary (The American Heritage Dictionary).
In times of turmoil and uncertainty it is highly likely that the query that permeates our thoughts is “Why?” Our mind’s eye rushes through countless data stored in our memory bank attempting to make sense of all the chaos that has been unleashed in those challenging moments. The confusion caused by the shock of the misfortune unfolding before our very eyes only increases as our anxiety intensifies when the reality of everything begins to settle in. This was without a doubt the condition of the house of Judah in 606 B.C., when the Babylonian king appeared before the gates of Jerusalem to sack it and carry away the first wave of her inhabitants into captivity (cf. 2nd Chronicles 36:5-8). For the next twenty years (606-586 B.C.) Nebuchadnezzar would effectively destroy Jerusalem exactly as the prophets Isaiah and Micah had prophesied approximately a century earlier (cf. Isaiah 39:5-7, Micah 4:9-10). While in exile, the Jews would wonder why had Jehovah God handed them over to a pagan king who did not fear Him nor worship Him? How was it possible that they, God’s chosen nation among all others, were placed under bondage to an idolatrous kingdom like Babylon? The Almighty’s response to Judah arrived via a letter written by His loyal servant, Jeremiah, saying, “I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all of your heart. I will be found by you, says the LORD, and I will bring you back from your captivity; I will gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you, says the LORD, and I will bring you to the place from which I cause you to be carried away captive” (Jeremiah 29:11-14). The southern kingdom of Judah had broken God’s holy covenant through their persistent idolatry. Even though they had witnessed how God had sent the Assyrians to punish their sister kingdom of Israel, Judah did not get rid of their idols and continued to cheat on Jehovah with false gods (cf. Jeremiah 3:6-21, 11:1-17). Ergo, the Father revealed to Judah that the purpose for their Babylonian captivity was to purge them from all of their idolatrous habits and restore them to Himself. Their seventy year exile would serve as a time for them to reflect, repent, and return to God wholeheartedly. Indeed, Ezra confirms that Judah returned home to Jerusalem after seventy years as God had proclaimed by the mouth of Jeremiah (cf. 2nd Chronicles 36:22-23, Ezra 1:1-4). Verily, Judah returned home motivated and ready to rebuild Jerusalem, the temple, and their worship only unto the LORD God of Israel. Nevertheless, this ardent zeal for God and His worship would be short lived because by the time the prophet Malachi appeared, Judah had only been back in Jerusalem a little less than a hundred years and they had already reverted to their irreverent and indifferent ways toward Jehovah God. It is irrefutable that the Jews had been cured from bowing before idols, but they struggled mightily with remaining diligent in the House of God. Malachi’s message exposed Judah’s disrespect and disdain for God’s worship, revealed by the mediocrity of the inferior sacrifices they were offering God. Holy Writ exhibits God’s displeasure with their grotesque negligence as He stated, “A son honors his father, and a servant his master. If then I am the Father, where is My honor? And if I am a Master, where is My reverence? Says the LORD of hosts to you priests who despise My name. Yet you say, ‘In what way have we despised Your name?’ You offer defiled food on My altar, but you say, ‘In what way have we defiled You?’ By saying, ‘The table of the LORD is contemptible.’ And when you offer the blind as a sacrifice, is it not evil? And when you offer the lame and the sick, is it not evil? Offer it then to your governor! Would he be pleased with you? Would he accept you favorably” (Malachi 1:6-8)? The Jews approach toward God’s pure worship uncovered a discouraged spirit that had converted them into masters of mediocrity. Crestfallen by their political and national weakness in comparison to the nations surrounding them. They had lost sight of the valuable importance of being solidly established in their Divine institution. They ignored that their perseverance in the business of the heavenly King would safeguard them against backsliding into their sinful practices of worshiping false gods; the root cause for their previous punishment. Malachi illumines that a major factor for this mediocre approach was in their holding their human governors in higher esteem than God Himself. They displayed greater respect and honor for a man ruling over them by making it their priority not to offend him by offering him a subpar gift, yet the same was not so as to what they were bringing to the altar of the LORD. Malachi quickly and astutely neutralized the excuse of not having the capability of meeting God’s standards of what was acceptable for His altar in accordance to the Law by highlighting their willingness to do whatever necessary to please a man in an honorable office (cf. Malachi 1:8, Deuteronomy 15:19-21). Their lethargic attitude toward the House of God sadly was not discouraged nor reprimanded by the priests serving in the temple because they, too, were corrupt (cf. Malachi 2). The Jews were being led astray by wicked priests who were allowing them to fall into a vain and perfunctory formalism devoid of true spiritual power that tragically lingered even during the tenure of the Master (cf. Matthew 15:1-9, 23:15-28). Therefore, it was the duty of Malachi to revive the fervor for God’s house in the hearts of Judah by bringing them to a profound understanding of their covenant obligations, seeking to arouse within them a true worship that honored God, but also deepened their spiritual life in the process. Thus, it behooves us today, as the household of faith, to beware becoming masters of mediocrity by losing heart in the promises of God as they did. Instead, “let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart” (Galatians 6:9). May we never lose our splendor in His eyes, keeping in mind that we are “His own special people, zealous for good works” (Titus 2:14b).