And ye shall know that I have sent this commandment unto you, that my covenant might be with Levi, saith Jehovah of hosts.
God has been rebuking the priests for what they bring to His altar. Now He tells them why His hand falls on them at all: so that His covenant with Levi may stand. Two questions follow. Why does God name Levi? And what was in that covenant that these priests had lost?
The judgment is not God's last word. He humbles the priests in the very things they took pride in, and He has an aim in doing it:
It was always a mark of the Jew: the further his heart had drifted from the Lord, the more he prided himself on the outward forms of the law of Moses... They had said, "The table of the Lord is polluted; and its fruit, even His food, is contemptible." So He would pollute them and make them contemptible in turn. He would use the very animals — blind and lame and sick — with which they dishonoured the Lord's name. But again, in His tender mercy, even this dealing of His hand should have the correction of His priests as its aim.
God does not pick that name at random. It reaches back to two moments in Levi's story — one shameful, one faithful. Both stand against the failure of the priests He now addresses.
Levi comes in here on purpose, because of his faithfulness at the crisis of the golden calf. It stands in striking contrast with the conduct of Aaron the high priest, the man who should have been the most careful of the Lord's glory... The Lord looks back to the time when Levi gave himself to His service at the cost of every human tie. That is no less striking a contrast — with the bitter revenge he once took for the wrong done to his sister.
The priests had drifted from that devotion into looking after themselves.
"Why are you in this position? Why did I make a covenant with you?" God made that covenant when He meant more to them than father or mother. Now they were no longer for God. They cared more for themselves, thought more of their own gain, and let people bring blemished sacrifices to Him. Self had come in.
Levi himself has a dark record. That makes the honour given to his tribe all the more striking:
The Bible records very little about Levi. He joined with Simeon in the treacherous and vengeful dealings with the city of Shechem. When Jacob blessed his sons, he pronounced a curse on their cruelty, and added, "I will divide them in Jacob and scatter them in Israel." This shows the righteous government of God. That government is in no way set aside by the reward of their later faithful conduct. And it was that reward which led God to choose this tribe for the Levitical service and the priesthood: compare Malachi 2:4, 6. It was sovereign grace.
The covenant itself held two gifts. Their order still matters:
It was a sovereign act of God's favour to choose Aaron and his sons for the priesthood. Only later did God make a covenant with "Levi." He did it on the ground of their faithfulness at a time of widespread unfaithfulness and sin... Peace could have only one meaning — peace with Him who had put "Levi" into the office... And the same order still holds — first life, and then peace. The Spirit gives us new birth through the Word. With that new nature comes life. Then we come to know the power of the work of Christ, and we have peace... Mark this well: no one can enjoy peace without life, or before it.
Naming Levi sets the original standard beside the present ruin. That method is not limited to priests:
In times of falling away, we can only judge the real state of those in it by testing it against what it was at the start. For example, to understand the state of the Church today, we must compare it with its first days at Pentecost... In the same way, God here sets the corruption the priests had fallen into beside what the priesthood was when He first set it up. This principle holds an urgent lesson for today. People keep urging us to go back to the "fathers" for guidance in church matters. Go back by all means — but not to the fathers. Go back to the fountainhead: the apostolic and inspired writings.
- Covenant remembered. God names Levi so the priests will measure what they have become against what He first gave them.
- Covenant given. Levi's line lay under a curse for cruelty. The choice of that tribe rested on sovereign grace alone.
- Covenant contents. It held life and peace — and life always comes first, peace after it, never the reverse.
- Covenant corrupted. Devotion once put God above father and mother. It shrank into self-interest and blemished offerings.
- Covenant restored. The judgment falls with correction as its aim; the way back is to the fountainhead, not to later custom.
My covenant with him was of life and peace, and I gave them to him that he might fear; and he feared me, and trembled before my name.
Before God exposes what the priesthood had become, He describes what He had made it: a covenant with Levi of life and peace, drawn out by Levi's reverence. The verse raises two questions — why Levi, and what God means by fear.
The verse is not nostalgia. God sets the original beside the ruin. You can only measure decline from a starting point.
When people fall away from God, you can only understand their real state by testing it against what things were at the start. For example, to understand the condition of the Church today, we must compare it with Pentecost. So when the Lord sends His message to Ephesus, He says, "I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first."
God names Levi for a reason. His faithfulness at the golden calf stands out against the conduct of the high priest himself.
The Lord brings Levi in on purpose, because he was faithful at the crisis of the golden calf. That is a striking contrast with the conduct of the man who should have been most careful of Jehovah's glory: Aaron the high priest… Jehovah looks back to the time when Levi devoted his service at the cost of every human consideration.
So the covenant is a reversal, not a reward for a man who was better by nature. Grace, not Levi's nature, made him what he became.
By nature he was "black as the tents of Kedar"; by grace, "lovely as the curtains of Solomon". By nature he was joined to a covenant of murder; by grace, to a covenant of life and peace. The first, because he was fierce and cruel; the second, because he feared the Lord's name and stood in awe of it.
Life and peace are not the same thing, and the order matters.
What a blessed joining of the two! … Peace could have only one meaning — peace with Him who had put "Levi" into the office… And the same order still holds: first life, then peace. When the Spirit uses the Word to bring us new birth, we receive a new nature, and with it life. Then we are led to see how effective the work of Christ is, and we have peace. This is always God's order. Note it carefully: no one can enjoy peace without life, or before life.
Mackintosh looks further back, at what had to happen before Levi could enjoy such a covenant:
Before Levi could enjoy the "covenant of life and peace" (Mal. 2:5), a spotless Victim had to face the shock of death, that king of terrors, with all its thunders.
Levi's covenant and ours are not on the same footing. Older translations read the second half of the verse as God giving life and peace because Levi feared Him, and Dennett follows that reading:
There is a difference between the life and peace promised to Levi and what God gives now to those who believe in Christ. He gave them to Levi as a reward for faithfulness… This fits the truth of that time, when life was to be the result of obedience.
God gave life and peace because Levi feared Him. That fear is not terror of punishment.
We will tremble at His name. This is not a fear that we are going to be punished, or that God is hard and harsh. It is the trembling that this fear of God produces in us as we acknowledge His holiness, His righteousness and His truth. God never changes His standard to suit our circumstances. He may take account of our circumstances with sympathy, but He never changes His principles just to suit us.
That fear had drained away from the priests Malachi faced.
The fear of the Lord. In the state of things at that time it was missing everywhere. The Lord asks the official priestly class: "Where is My fear?" (1:6)… It was the first mark of a true priest.
- Beginning. God measures a fallen state against the original. Malachi holds up the first priesthood as the standard these priests had left.
- Grace. By nature Levi was fierce and cruel. Grace put a covenant of life and peace where a covenant of murder had been.
- Order. Life comes first, then peace. Nobody enjoys peace with God before God gives life.
- Fear. God honoured Levi's reverence — trembling at His holiness and His name, not dread of punishment. Under that covenant, that fear won life and peace.
- Loss. The mark that opened the covenant is the mark the later priests lost. God's question to them is, "Where is My fear?"
The law of truth was in his mouth, and unrighteousness was not found in his lips he walked with me in peace and uprightness, and he turned many from iniquity.
God answers failing priests by pointing back to Levi, the tribe set apart for service at the sanctuary, and to what a priest once was. The question is whether the men who carry God's word still look like the standard God Himself set. (Older translations, which some writers quote, read "the law of truth" for "true instruction" and "equity" for "uprightness.")
The verse belongs with the two around it, and together they form one picture. One writer counts seven marks in it.
In the beginning the priest was marked by (1) life, (2) peace, (3) the fear of the Lord, (4) the law of truth in his mouth, (5) iniquity not found in his lips, (6) a walk with God in peace and equity, and (7) blessing to others. That blessing meant turning them from iniquity and teaching them knowledge. This is the mind of the Lord for the one who is "the messenger of the Lord of hosts" in this dark world.
God measures the present by the beginning.
We can only judge our true condition at the end of an age by comparing it with the condition at the beginning. Only then will we learn how far we have drifted from what is according to the mind of God.
God names Levi on purpose. When Israel worshipped the golden calf, Levi took God's side while the high priest Aaron did not.
Levi is brought in on purpose, because he was faithful at the crisis of the golden calf. That stands in sharp contrast with the conduct of the man who should have been the most careful of Jehovah's glory — Aaron the high priest… Jehovah looks back to the time when Levi gave himself to His service at the cost of every human consideration.
That honour is striking, because Levi's own record began badly.
Very little is recorded about Levi. He joined with Simeon in the treacherous and vengeful dealings with the city of Shechem. When Jacob blessed his sons, he pronounced a curse on their cruelty, and added, "I will divide them in Jacob and scatter them in Israel." This shows the righteous government of God. That government is not set aside in any way by the reward for later faithful conduct, which is why this tribe was chosen for the Levitical service and the priesthood… It was sovereign grace.
Taken at full strength, this description outgrows any man.
In these expressions we cannot fail to see someone greater than "Levi." They contain God's ideal of the priesthood, and only Christ ever fulfilled it… No one but He who was the truth ever had the law of truth in His mouth… His words were the perfect display of what He was… So iniquity was not, and could not be, found in His lips. And since He always did what pleased the Father (John 8:29), He walked with Him in peace and equity, and at the same time turned many from iniquity.
"He walked with me" describes company kept, and keeping company takes effort.
For this a man must be good company. It is very painful to have a companion who takes no interest in what interests me deeply. To be a good companion you must find out what your friend cares about, and talk about that instead of your own concerns. A priest finds out what God cares about, and so becomes good company to Him.
What kind of peace does the verse mean?
This is a different kind of peace from the one in verse 5. It is peace in the sense of peaceableness. A priest will love peace and be a peacemaker. And fairness will mark all his dealings.
The verse ends with effect on others. The priests of Malachi's own day showed the exact reverse.
In the beginning the priest "feared Me" and "walked with Me," said the Lord. But now they had turned away from the way of life and peace. The solemn result was that, instead of turning many from iniquity, they "caused many to stumble" and brought themselves into contempt in the eyes of the people.
That raises a question: who are the priests now?
They forget, or never knew, that all true believers — and no one else — are priests (1 Peter 2). So they have invented a way of making priests, filling their "holy" offices by human ordination.
- Cause: fear. The portrait starts with a man who feared God's name. Everything else in it grows from there.
- Gift: grace. Levi's history began with violence and a curse, yet God gave him life and peace. The standard is God's gift before it is anyone's achievement.
- Fullness: Christ. Only Christ fully matched this description. The One who is the truth had truth in His mouth and no wrong on His lips.
- Walk: companionship. Walking with God means taking an interest in what interests Him. It shows in peaceableness and fair dealing with people.
- Result: many. A life like this turns many from evil; a life departed from it makes many stumble. There is no neutral option for anyone who handles God's word.
For the priest's lips should keep knowledge, and at his mouth they seek the law; for he is the messenger of Jehovah of hosts.
The priests of Malachi's day had failed badly. Here God stops to describe what a priest was for: a mouth that guards knowledge, a people who come to it for instruction, and a title that explains why — messenger of the LORD of hosts.
The priest stood between God and the people, and his work ran both ways. One writer follows both directions to Christ:
Here we have the responsibility side, along with the character of the office. This is what the LORD intended His priests to be in Israel, in the way their office faced the people. They represented the people before God, and they were charged to represent God to the people. So the apostle writes to the Hebrews, "Consider Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession." The first chapter of that letter shows Him as the apostle or messenger of God — the One coming out from God. The second sets Him out as going in to God on behalf of the people. There He is the merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, who makes propitiation for the sins of the people.
"Lips should keep knowledge" is not a description of natural talent. It describes a man who has spent time over the text so that he can pass it on:
The priest was not only to bear the judgement of the congregation before the LORD, but also to explain the ordinances of the LORD to the congregation. He was to be the always-ready channel of communication between the LORD and the assembly. He was not merely to know the mind of God for himself, but to be able also to interpret that mind to the people. All this would demand constant watching, constant waiting, constant bending over the page of inspiration. In that way he would drink into his very soul all the precepts, the judgements, the statutes, the laws, the commandments, and the ordinances of the God of Israel.
The verse is stated as an ideal precisely because the men holding the office had abandoned it. Verse 8 spells out the collapse:
The priest was meant to be a "messenger" who should have a knowledge of the law and so be able to pass it on to the mass of the people. Though the "law of truth" was in the mouth of Levi at the start, it was not so in Malachi's day. It had departed from the hearts and lips of the priests. They were not only off the path themselves, they were a cause of stumbling, leading many others off it too.
God's severity toward the priests follows a rule that runs through Scripture. Position raises the stakes:
Position and privilege increase responsibility. So if the priest or a ruler sinned, he had to bring a larger sacrifice than one of the common people. In this chapter God deals more severely with the priests, because they were the appointed instructors of the people. Whenever leaders go astray the consequences are graver, for they have more influence, both for good and for evil. A private Christian who falls into error or immorality influences only his own circle. But if a teacher prominent in the church departs from the way of truth, he often draws thousands after him into his own evil path.
The priests failed, so God sent prophets instead. One writer follows that line to its end:
God raised up prophets mainly because the priests in Israel failed. The priesthood became corrupted. The law of truth stopped being in the mouths of the priests, and their lips did not keep knowledge. So God raised up prophets to be the LORD's messengers to the people. Christ Himself takes up this priestly function and exercises it in perfection. That will make the special gift or office of a prophet unnecessary. The law of truth will be in His mouth; His lips will keep knowledge; men will seek the law from His mouth; and He will be the true Messenger of the LORD of hosts.
The same two marks can show in a man with no office at all:
He has knowledge as well as zeal. He is a student of the Scriptures, not merely a reader, and has learned much of God and His ways through it. His lips keep this knowledge — that is, he passes it on to others… He is God's messenger, representing Him. He is like His mouthpiece to men. This is not because of any official position, but because he knows God and so is able to declare Him.
- Knowledge kept. The priest's lips guard truth he first took in himself. The office demands steady time over Scripture, not natural gift.
- Knowledge given. Kept truth must travel. The people come to his mouth, so he is the channel between God and the congregation.
- Knowledge lost. In Malachi's day the law of truth had left the priests' lips. Men off the path themselves pulled many others off it.
- Knowledge weighed. Privilege raises responsibility. A teacher who falls can draw thousands with him, so God judges leaders harder.
- Knowledge perfected. Only Christ answers the portrait in full. He is the true Messenger of the LORD of hosts. And anyone who knows God can declare Him, with no official title.