Introduction:     Malachi speaks of "bread" and the "table." Bread speaks of the animal sacrifices offered to God. The table speaks of the Brazen altar on which these sacrifices were offered. Twice Malachi uses the word "polluted." The word means, "repudiating, to soil, desecrate, defile." Malachi was saying, "You are offering sacrifices to God that are repudiating to Him." They were polluted to the Lord for 2 reasons: 

I.          THERE WAS OUTWARD DESECRATION

God said, "Ye offer polluted bread upon Mine altar" The ideal of pollution was that of priestly contamination.

            A.        Polluted State Of The Offered (v.7)

They were offering sacrifices without observing the requirements of washing their hands or changing their clothes between offerings (Ex.30:18-22; Lev.6:10-11). This disqualified the priests from performing such priestly functions. To offer the sacrifices when personally defiled also defiled the sacrifices themselves.  They were saying, "The table of the LORD is contemptible."  The word means they were treating the altar and the sacrifices with scorn and in disdain. 

            B.         Polluted Sacrifice Of The Offering (v.8)

In verse 8, God said, "Ye offer the blind for sacrifice...Ye offer the lame and the sick." God strictly forbade any sacrifice that was defective, sick, or lame (Duet.15:21) "And if there be any blemish therein, as if it be lame, or blind, or have any ill blemish, thou shalt not sacrifice it unto the LORD thy God." 

They were offering polluted sacrifices in a polluted state. They were offering what God had condemned in a way God had forbidden. 

II.         THERE WAS AN INWARD DEFILEMENT

Whatever is in the warehouse, will sooner or later be seen in the showroom.     

            A.        The Outward Is But A Reflection Of The Inward

(Proverbs 23:7) "For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he." Also, (Matt.15:18) "But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man." 

The outward is a mirror of the inward. When we are not right on the inside we will not be right on the outside. When we are right on the inside we will be right on the outside.  In verse 7 they asked, "Wherein have we polluted thee?" God declares their repudiating actions and they deny them. 

            B.         Actions Are A Result Of Attitude

Their polluted actions were the result of their polluted attitudes. God answered by saying in verse 8, "In that ye say, 'The table of the LORD is contemptible." They were not saying such a thing with their lips but in their lives. The actions of their hands only revealed the attitude of their hearts. The outward desecration was from their inward defilement. Their conduct was a result of their condition.  Our actions spring from our attitudes. When we give less than our best to God it reveals that our heart is far from God and that our heart for God is not what it should be.  (Illus: "No polluted man can offer pure bread on God's altar."-G. Campbell Morgan.)

·        The condition of the heart is evident in our attitude to the House of God.

We attend Church if it is convenient. We go to Church on a fairly regular basis but will not hesitate to go elsewhere if the opportunity arises. 

·        It is also seen in our attitude to the Word of God.

We rarely pick up our Bibles. No time is ever given to reading and studying the Bible. At Church, we would rather be entertained than exhorted. (Illus: "Scores of people in our Churches today, who will watch a movie (or concert) through and through - and not once only - will pull out their watches and become anxious and fidgety if a preacher exceeds, by a few minutes, what is recognized as his allotted time."- G. Campbell Morgan.) 

·        The condition of our heart is also seen in our attitude to the Service of God.

We say, "I would get involved if I had time," when in reality it is an issue of making time rather than having time. God looks on the heart and not the life. The life is the tattletale of the heart.

Conclusion:       God doesn't treat symptoms. He deals with the cause. God is concerned about what we do, but more concerned with why we do it.  They were not giving their best. They were offering sacrifices that repudiating to the Lord. The reason was because they were not where they should have been with God.