“My covenant with him was one of life and peace, and I gave these to him; it called for reverence, and he revered me and stood in awe of my name.
True instruction was in his mouth, and nothing wrong was found on his lips. He walked with me in peace and integrity and turned many from iniquity.
For the lips of a priest should guard knowledge, and people should desire instruction from his mouth, because he is the messenger of the Lord of Armies….”
Malachi 2:5-7
Last time we began with how Yahweh will smear dung from animal sacrifices on the priests, then carry them and their descendants away with it. The reason? That His covenant may continue with Levi. Today we start with how this covenant began.
We’ll start with “my covenant with him.” Covenant is berith from last time (covenant, allies, treaty). What is sweet is with is eth meaning “with, denoting proximity.” This covenant from Yahweh, His treaty as an ally cut by Him alone, is proximate. Close. Not just in thoughts and prayers, but near, skin-in-the-game faithfulness.
Oh what joy! The nearness of a God so faithful. His covenant with us not just an abstract thought.
And in our verses with whom is this covenant? With Levi and His descendants, the Temple workers and priests.
But that’s not all. This covenant from Him “was one of life and peace.” Life is chay – age, alive, living, appetite, wild beast, company, congregation, lifetime, lively; From chayah; alive; hence, raw; fresh (plant, water, year), strong; living thing, whether literally or figuratively. And peace here is our familiar shalom – completeness, soundness, welfare, peace, favor, friend, great, good health, perfect; from shalam – make amends.
Can you think of two more needed things in our day right now? A covenant of liveliness, strong, practical in the actual stuff of day to day existence. And a peaceful, sound, forgiving treaty for all the ways we bump into each other on this planet. Yes, He is so realistic and good.
“And I gave these to him…” Gave is nathan – to give, put, set. The covenant was not only cut by Him, but He set shalom and chay with Levi and his descendants. Put it in their lives. And why?
“That he might fear me.” Fear is mora – fear, terror, respect, reverence, dread, that ought to be feared. It comes from our familiar yare.
The result?
“So he feared me…” Here fear is yare again – affright, make afraid, dreadful, put in fearful reverence.
“And My name was reverent…” Name is shem, and reverent is chathath – to be shattered or dismayed, break, cracked, stood in awe. What is implied here is the word before, as in “my name was reverent before him.” In Hebrew it is paneh – face. His face was toward awe in My Name.
I am tender to the descriptions of reverence: shattered, cracked, dismayed. I think it’s just life that sometimes the most intimate ways we learn to revere God is when things in our life show their cracks. When we’re dismayed at our circumstances or abilities. When we don’t live up to our own expectations and disappointment in self and others abounds.
But what a perfect way to turn our face toward Him. Remember, the other part of this definition is “stood in awe.” We get to see first hand all the ways He is perfect, has no cracks, His love is shatterproof, covenant unbreakable. Yes, the perfect formula to face the worth of His character and glory.
“True instruction was in his mouth” is next. Remember, we’re talking about Levi and his descendants.
Instruction here is actually torah – direction, instruction, law, teaching. And true is emeth – firmness, faithfulness, lasting, assuredly, establishment, right, sure, verity, certainty, trustworthiness; from aman – to confirm, support, believe, endure, have faith, assurance, bring up, establish, steadfast, to build up; to foster as a parent or nurse; to be permanent or quiet; morally to be true or certain.
I do love these definitions for truth. Something firm we can build our life on when everything is all shifty and squishy. An established knowing, a certain support, like a chair we know will hold us up because we’ve sat on it thousands of times before. Something so lasting it is from everlasting to everlasting. Before time and for all eternity. Such is His instruction, His law, the Word that goes out from His mouth, never returning empty, always accomplishing its purpose for those who put their weight in it.
And don’t you love its root word’s meaning? To build up, foster like a parent or nurse, permanent? It’s precious to me we’re staying with friends right now who are fostering a 9-month-old. The definition of foster is “to encourage or promote development.” Just like any good parent, teacher, coach, mentor, or medical professional. I dearly love that God’s law fosters us, its very words bringing us up as His children.
May the instruction on our mouths, as those who follow Jesus, be firmly established in certain, trustworthy Word.
“And nothing wrong was found on his lips.” Nothing wrong is evel – injustice, unrighteousness, iniquity, perverseness, unjustly, unrighteousness, wickedness; and lips is saphah – lips, speech, talk.
What a description: no injustice or wickedness in our talk. While no one can claim perfection here (see James), this is goals.
Next is “he walked with me in peace and integrity…”
In peace is shalom, and integrity is mishor – uprightness, a level place.
He walked is halak. The synonyms for walk listed in the definition are “go, come, accompany, am about, became greater, becoming increasingly, brighter, continues, along, crawls, fled, flows, follow, get away, grew steadily, march, pressed heavier, travel.”
And then? Just walk: walk, walked, walked around, walked back, walking, went on continually. Sometimes that’s just it, isn’t it? Just the daily walking wherever He leads – around, back, forward. Continually. Because where else are we going to go? No one else has the words of eternal life.
The result of this is really beautiful: “And many turned away from iniquity…” Because he walked in integrity, no injustice on his lips, people repented. Many people.
Many is rab – in abundance, elder, enough; turned away is shub – turn back, return. And iniquity is avon – iniquity, guilt, punishment for iniquity.
The goodness of God is what we do can affect others. I think we know the ways our negative choices impact those around us. But we can also celebrate how walking with Him can influence others to desire the same. And since this covenant was with leaders in Temple, it matters greatly they turned people away from sin.
“For the lips of a priest should keep/guard knowledge…” Guard is shamar – keep, watch, preserve; attend, being careful, bodyguard, give heed, keeper, perform, preserve, protect, regard, secured, take care, take heed, waits, watch, look narrowly, observe. And knowledge is daath – concern, know, skill, truth.
I think it’s interesting that it’s the lips that are doing the careful body-guarding. They are what preserve, secure, and narrowly observe skillful truth.
Reminds me of this verse:
Set a guard over my mouth, Lord;
keep watch over the door of my lips.
Psalm 114:3
Since lips don’t have a brain, we can ask Him to be the door keeper to our words. Help us, Lord. Because knowledge and skillful truth is worth protecting.
“People should seek instruction from his mouth…”
Seek is baqash – aim, beg, concerned, consulted, eager, inquired, investigated, pursuit, request, search; and instruction is torah again. I like two things about this: People are eagerly seeking torah, and it is readily available on this priest’s mouth.
That we would beg to know more of God and learn to eat Truth like the nourishment it is. May we search for wisdom like precious treasure.
And why should the people be eager to seek torah instruction from him?
“Because he is the messenger of Jehovah-sabaoth.”
He here is hu – he, she, it. And messenger is malak – ambassador, from an unused root meaning to dispatch as a deputy; a messenger; specifically, of God…a prophet, priest or teacher.
To me, this implies a couple of things: That people should listen to prophets, priests, and teachers, BUT what flows out of them needs to be torah instruction. Because they are ambassadors of God. The implication being when God speaks, we tremble and obey.
It’s been a while since a section of Scripture has been this heavy on capital-T Truth. The interesting thing is, it’s been a while since I’ve needed to cling to it in my personal life like I’ve had to this week. Such a good reminder of the absolute necessity to have Holy Writ be our bedrock.
May we find out for ourselves – over and over – how His Word proves true.