“For from the rising of the sun to its setting, my name will be great among the nations, and in every place incense will be offered to my name, and a pure offering. For my name will be great among the nations, says the Lord of hosts.”
– Malachi 1:11
This verse comes after a blistering indictment of God’s people for the way they had approached Him in worship. Basically they had minimized His greatness that offered polluted sacrifices less than, far less than what God had required of them. And it was a picture of them basically trying to fulfill their religious duties without reverence for God and all of God and obedience to God’s Word and what He had prescribed for their worship. And God confronts them, the priests and the people in the way they were handling sacrifices and is basically saying to them, “You have a lost fear of me, reverence for me, all before me, and you are not glorifying me with your worship.”
The Call to Make God’s Name Known Among All Nations
As Christians, we should seek to worship God in reverence and make his name known among all peoples.
And as I read these verses, I think about my life. I think about your life. Are we living today in fear of God, with reverence for God, with awe of God? Are we glorifying God in the way He has prescribed in His word? Even as you think about texts in the New Testament like Romans 12:1, “Therefore in view of God’s mercy, let us offer our bodies as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to God, for this is your spiritual act of worship.” Are you laying down your life daily before the Lord saying, “Make me holy, purify my mind, my thoughts, my desires, my words, my actions. May everything I do be pleasing and glorifying to you” Acts 9:31 kind of a way, walk in the fear of God, knowing that he is the Lord of hosts, the great king over the nations.
And one day it will be clear that he alone is worthy of our fear and reverence and honor, and glory. God help us to live like this today. God, we pray that you would keep us, guard us, save us, from religious motion, that neglects reverence for you and fear of you, and awe before you. Oh God, when we gather together as your people, once a week to worship you. God, may that not be routine, whether we’re gathering in person or online right now. God, may it not be routine.
Malachi 1:11 Encourages Sharing the Gospel to the Nations
May our hearts be flooded, overwhelmed with awe in your presence together as your church. Then God that we would live this way as your people all day long, every day. That we would walk in the fear of you, that we would work in the fear of you, that we would offer our bodies as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to you today, knowing that your name is great, that you are worthy of our lives. You are worthy of all of our adoration and all of our affection and all of our devotion. You are worthy of everything we have.
So God, help us not to patronize you with our praying, with our worshiping in any way in our lives. God, be glorified and cause your name to be glorified among the nations through our lives. God, we pray that you would help us to live in such a way that we reflect your character and display your glory to the world around us. And God, to all the nations. We pray today for the Urdu people of Saudi Arabia. Almost a million of them, no known followers of Jesus, who are Urdu speaking in Saudi Arabia. God, we pray for the spread of your grace and your greatness among the Urdu of Saudi Arabia and thousands of other people groups. Where your greatness is not now known, where no one knows. And many cases, the name of Jesus, the truth about Jesus.
Malachi 1:11 Prays for Every Tribe and Tongue to Bow at God’s Feet
God, we pray Malachi 1:11, “From the rising of the sun to its setting, your name will be great among the nations.” May it be so, cause it to be so, and every place incense offered to your name and a pure offering. God, we pray for pure offering of lives among the Urdu in Saudi Arabia. In our lives wherever we are right now for your name will be great among the nations, says the Lord of hosts. We look forward to the day when every nation, every tribe, every tongue will bow at your feet and proclaim the greatness of your name. God, spend our lives. Today, toward that end cause your glory to remain known among the nations. Toward that end, bring about Malachi 1:11, we pray. And help us to live in it today. In Jesus name, we pray. Amen.
David Platt serves as a pastor in metro Washington, D.C. He is the founder of Radical.
David received his Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and is the author of Don’t Hold Back, Radical, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, Before You Vote, as well as the multiple volumes of the Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary series.
Along with his wife and children, he lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area.
