Albert Barnes Commentary Malachi 1:14

"But cursed be the deceiver, who hath in his flock a male, and voweth, and sacrificeth unto the Lord a blemished thing; for I am a great King, saith Jehovah of hosts, and my name is terrible among the Gentiles." — Malachi 1:14 (ASV)

Cursed is the deceiver - “The fraudulent, hypocritical, false or deceitful dealer, who makes a show of one thing, and does or intends another, nor does according to his ability what he makes a show of doing; as if he could deceive God by acting in His service differently than He required, and yet be accepted by Him.”

The whole habit of these men was not to break with God, but to keep well with Him on terms as easy as they could manage. They even went beyond what the law required in making vows, probably for some temporal end. Then, for what should have possessed typical perfection, they substituted the less valuable animal—a ewe, and a diseased one at that.

It was probably to prevent self-deceit that the law commanded that the offering for a vow should be, according to Leviticus 22:19 and Leviticus 22:21, “a male without blemish, perfect;” so that they would not, repenting of their vow (which can be a temptation in impulsive vows), persuade themselves that they had vowed less than they actually had.

Ordinarily, then, it would not have been allowed for someone who did not have the best to offer, to vow at all. But, in their alleged poverty, the prophet supposes that God would go so far as to dispense with His own law and accept the best that anyone had, even if it did not meet the law's standard. Hence the clause, “which hath in his flock a male.”

“If you have not a male, that curse in no way injures you. But in saying this, he shows that they have what is best, and offer what is bad.”

They sinned not only against religion but also against justice. “For just as a merchant who offers his goods at a certain price, if he afterwards supplies them adulterated and corrupted, is guilty of fraud and is unjust, so too, he who promised to God a sacrifice worthy of God—and, according to the law, perfect and sound—is fraudulent and sins against justice if he afterwards gives one that is defective, mutilated, or impaired, and is guilty of theft in a sacred thing, and thus of sacrilege.”

Clergy, or “all who have vowed, should learn from this that what they have vowed should be given to God—entire, manly, perfect, the best. For reverence for the Supreme and Divine Majesty to whom they consecrate themselves demands this: that they should offer Him the highest, best, and most perfect, making themselves a whole-burnt-offering to God.”

“Those who abandon all things of the world and kindle their whole mind with the fire of divine love, these become a sacrifice and a whole-burnt-offering to Almighty God.” Another states, “Man himself, consecrated and devoted in the name of God, is a sacrifice.”

He then offers a corrupt thing who, like Ananias, keeps back “part of the price,” and is all the more guilty because, while it was his own, it was in his own power to give.

I am a great King - “As God alone is Lord through His universal Providence and His intrinsic authority, so He alone is King—and a King so great that there is no end to His greatness, dignity, and perfection.”

My Name is dreadful among the pagan - An absence of any awe of God was a central defect of these Jews. They treated Him as they would not treat a fellow creature for whom they had any respect, awe, or fear.

Some remaining instinct kept them from parting with Him, but they yielded only a cold, wearisome, heartless service. Malachi points to the root of the evil: their ignorance of how dreadful God is.

This is also the root of so much irreverence in people’s theories, thoughts, conversations, systems, and actions today. They know neither God nor themselves.

The relationship is summed up in these words spoken to a saint: “Do you know well Who I am, and who you are? I am He Who Is, and you are she who is not.”

So Job says in the presence of God (Job 42:5–6), “I have heard of Thee by the hearing of the ear, but now mine eye seeth Thee: wherefore I abhor myself and repent in dust and ashes.”

To correct this, God, from the beginning, insists on the title which He gives Himself (Deuteronomy 7:21). Nehemiah uses this title in his prayers (Nehemiah 1:5; Nehemiah 9:32), as does Daniel (Daniel 9:4).

This title also occurs in other passages, such as Nehemiah 4:8 (Nehemiah 4:14 in English versions), Psalms 47:3,Psalms 68:36, Psalms 89:8, Psalms 96:4, Psalms 99:3, Psalms 111:9, and Zephaniah 2:11.

For example, He says, “Circumcise the foreskin of your hearts and be no more stiff-necked: for the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, the mighty and the terrible” (Deuteronomy 10:16–17).

And in warning, He declares (Deuteronomy 28:58–59), “If thou wilt not observe to do all the words of this law that are written in this book, that thou mayest fear this glorious and fearful name, The Lord thy God, then the Lord thy God will make thy plagues wonderful” etc.