Malachi 1:9-11

Seek the Lord and obey Him -- Malachi 1:9-11: It was vain for the Jews to seek or claim God's mercy when they were offering such inferior service to Him. This worthless worship was brought about by their own greed. The Jews were so greedy and so selfish that they would not even close a door without expecting to be rewarded for it. Gentiles would do better in keeping the New Covenant than the Jews did under Judaism. When the gospel was preached the sacrifice of Jesus reached all nations, including Gentiles. It is in vain to seek God's mercy while continuing in rebellion against His will. Malachi knew that the hope for the Jews was to repent and to ask God for forgiveness. (Malachi 1:9) The people were guilty and urgently needed to pray for forgiveness. It would be better to shut the door of the Temple and not allow any sacrifice than to offer worthless sacrifices to God. It would be better not to light a fire than to burn inferior sacrifices to the Almighty. True worship must be according to God commandments and it must come from our heart.