Verse By Verse Men Bible Study | Malachi

Mal 1:14
“Cursed be the cheat who has a male in his flock, and vows it, and yet sacrifices to the Lord what is blemished. For I am a great King,” says the LORD of hosts, “and my name will be feared among the nations.”
BACKGROUND\
The Children of Israel, wandered in the wilderness for 40 years after being freed by God from the bondage in Egypt. Because of their unbelief, they were not able to enter the promised land until the entire generation who left Egypt (except Joshua and Caleb) passed away. Moses, who was told by God he wouldn’t go in with them either, gave final instructions before his death. These are recorded in the book of Deuteronomy, in the form of three sermons.
The First Sermon (Deut 1-4) - Moses provided an account of the events during their 40 years of wanderings, so that this new generation could remember.
The Second Sermon (Deut 5-26) - Moses reviews the Law given by God for this new generation.
The Third Sermon (Deut 27-30) - And lastly, he provides final instructions to the people before they crossed over.
In Deut 27:12-13, Moses commanded Israel to do a remarkable thing.: “When you have crossed the Jordan, these tribes shall stand on Mount Gerizim to bless the people: Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph and Benjamin. And these tribes shall stand on Mount Ebal to pronounce curses: Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan and Naphtali.”
These two mountains were in Shechem and were next to one another with a valley in between. The people would stand on the two mountains by tribe, and on Gerizim would recite the blessings that God would give them if they kept the law and the covenant given by YHWH. And then those on Ebal would pronounce the curses that would result if they did not and worshiped other gods. Read Deut 28 for many of these blessings and curses. According to Jewish tradition, “Mount Gerizim was lush and fertile while Mount Ebal was rocky and barren, clearly portraying the ramifications of our choices: We may choose the good path, holding on to YHWH and following in His ways, leading to a rich, fruitful life. Alternatively, we can embrace evil and negativity, which leads to an empty and barren life, devoid of all things good.” Scripture is full of blessings and curses. If you think about it, the opposite of a blessing, is a curse. But a curse doesn’t mean you will miss out on the blessing, rather it means that the opposite will happen, resulting in terrible consequences.
CURSED BY YHWH
“_Cursed be the cheat who has a male in his flock, and vows it, and yet sacrifices to the Lord what is blemished.”_
“Curse” is a very strong word, and to curse someone was considered very grave and serious. And God cursing someone, or something is dire indeed. In Gen 3, the ground was cursed, and the woman would have pain in childbirth because of their sin. In Gen 4, Cain is cursed by YHWH for killing his brother Abel. In God’s covenant with Abram, He said: “And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.” Gen 12:3.
In this case, the curse is issued for purposefully breaking a vow to God. God will be describing these curses early in Chapter 2
CHEATING GOD
“_Cursed be the cheat who has a male in his flock, and vows it, and yet sacrifices to the Lord what is blemished.”_
The attitude of the priests in Malachi’s time has affected the entire population. Verse 1:14 shows this to be the case. Lev 22:17-25 details what is considered acceptable and unacceptable when presenting a sacrifice for fulfilling a vow. It must be a male without defects or blemish. Yet people were bringing blemished and corrupted sacrifices when they had vowed a perfect one. God calls them a cheat, a deceiver. Unfortunately, trying to deceive God never works, and instead of a blessing, they will receive a curse.