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A Weighty God

A Weighty God

“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?” (Malachi 1:6a)

In every culture, every son is expected to give their father proper respect. When ignored, the unsettling occasions when a wayward son curses his father or spits on his parents’ grave upset our sense of order. Things are not as they should be, and every instinct tells us something is amiss.

Through the prophet Malachi, God appealed to this internal sense of propriety in an ironic attempt to pull His people toward repentance. God, the Great Father, asked His children: “A son honors his father … If I am a father, where is the honor due me?”

The first Hebrew word translated “honor” literally means “weighty” or “heavy.” God is highlighting the common practice of a son giving his father his proper weight, acknowledging his rightful place of authority. More than a call to mere obedience, this designation reflects centuries of Hebrew heritage in which their ancestors, sages and warriors of old were given seats of honor at the feasts, and when a wise one spoke, all hushed to hear. There was a weightiness about them.

The second time Malachi uses the word “honor,” he uses a different but similar-sounding word from the first, drawing a distinction between the proper honor sons give fathers and the stark lack of honor given to God. In essence, God asks poignantly, “Where is my weight?”

And God’s fury unfurls; He hurls accusations. The people had done the one thing God will not allow. They had dismissed God. At times, God will allow us to wrestle with Him like Jacob or grow angry with Him like David. There are even times when He will allow us to measure the cost and walk away. But the one thing we must never do, the one thing He will never allow, is for us to simply use Him, toying with His name.

Today, God still asks us, “Where is my weight?” Where is God’s weight when our worship is dreary and we are unmoved by sacred moments? Where is God’s weight when we use God for a momentary high, a quick-fix, void of intimacy, void of us, and then move along to our true lovers?

God’s message is not to spiritual seekers, wrestling with their faith. His message is not to Christ-followers, weary or struggling with sin, but still struggling. His message is for those of us who trifle with God, attempt to manipulate Him with our games, who think we have Him figured out and caged up, those of us who have grown quite comfortable dismissing Him.

His vicious love will erupt. His name will be great. The world will feel His weight.

Dig Deeper:

Malachi 1

Prayer:

Dear God, I am sorry for the times when I do not respect You as I should. Remind me of your weight and worthiness throughout my day.


RELEVANT’s “Deeper Walk” daily devotionals are presented by the LUMO Project, a visual translation of the four Gospels developed to engage people with scripture in a new way. You can watch the videos—which redefine the standard of visual biblical media—on YouTube, and find out more about LUMO’s mission at their website.

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