My covenant was with him of life and peace; and I gave them to him for the fear wherewith he feared me, and was afraid before my name.
The priests cannot evade their guilt by blaming the people's coldness. They were appointed to teach the right way; when they dissembled, their silence was consent, and they robbed God's people of His fear, letting spurious sacrifices corrupt the whole worship. The command falls on them first.
AI summary
Commenting on Malachi 2:1-17
If priests had taught the people sound doctrine, the people would have brought better offerings. The blame for corrupted sacrifice traces back to corrupted teaching. Ministers of God's Word are under God's government and answerable to Him for what they teach and what they permit.
AI summary
Commenting on Malachi 2:1-9
My covenant was with him of life and peace,.... Not with Aaron, nor with Phinehas; nor is it to be understood of a covenant, promising temporal life and outward prosperity to either of them; Aaron living a hundred and twenty three years, Num 33:39 and Phinehas, according to some Jewish writers, above three hundred years, which they gather from Jdg 20:28 but of the covenant...