We know that Northview people love to be in God’s Word and often ask for direction on different devotional apps and reading plans.

While there are several good options available through various sources, we’d like to encourage you to join in our Northview Devotional Guide which will guide you to read and reflect on the passages preached in our weekend sermons! We hope this will unite our congregation around the study of God’s Word, and help us to more readily absorb and apply the great teaching provided by our preaching pastors. Each week we’ll be providing a suggested schedule for working through a passage slowly (15 minutes a day). You’ll need a Bible and a notebook or blank paper to record your observations.

Each day we include a reminder to pray. If you are new to the Adoration / Confession / Supplication method, here are some questions to help guide you as you pray:

  • Adoration: What can you praise God for today?
  • Confession: What thoughts / attitudes / actions might you need to confess to God today?
  • Supplication: What will you ask God for today?
Printable Version

Day 1 – The Warning

Read Malachi 2:1-9 to get an overview of this passage and then focus on verses 1-4. 

  • Who is this warning addressed to? 
  • What are the two conditions mentioned in verse 2? What will happen if the conditions are not met (verse 2b-3)? 
  • What is the purpose of the warning according to verse 4?
  • If you have time, read Deuteronomy 28:1-6, 15-20 (or the whole chapter!) to understand God’s call to obey and the subsequent blessings, or the curses that would ensue from disobedience. 

 

Prayer: In what ways have you ignored God’s commands or dishonored Him? Today pray in confession as you reflect on God’s warning to the priests.

Day 2 – The Warning Continued

Read Malachi 2:1-4. 

  • Last week Malachi addressed the defiled offerings the priests were bringing to the temple (1:7-10). In verse 3 God is using the imagery of what happens to the refuse/dung of the sacrifice to describe how He feels about these priests in Malachi’s day. 
    • Read Exodus 29:10-14. What happened to the leftover parts of the sacrifice (the dung/offal/hide & intestines)?
      • So what is God saying will happen to these priests?
      • What does this tell you about how God viewed the priests of Malachi’s day?
  • Reflect: What do these passages in Malachi and Exodus reveal about God’s holiness and how He views those who do not honour Him?

 

Prayer: As you reflect, praise God for Jesus who suffered “outside the camp” (Hebrews 13:15-16) and took the reproach that we deserved because of our defiling sin.

Day 3 – The Example of Levi

Read Malachi 2:1-7. 

  • God says that He made a covenant of life and peace with Levi and Levi responded properly. (Levi is the name of a tribe in Israel. The priests were descendants of one family in this tribe, the family of Aaron.) 
  • How did the tribe of Levi respond to the covenant according to verse 5-6?
    • How did “Levi” obey God both in what he said and what he did?
  • According to verse 7, what was the job of a priest? 
  • For more background about the priests and Levites, read Deuteronomy 10:8 and 21:5. What were the priests and Levites (the tribe of Levi) set apart to do?

 

Prayer: As you consider God’s promises of life and peace for you, how does your heart respond? Spend some time in adoration, praising God and standing in awe of who He is.

Day 4 – The Violated Covenant

Read Malachi 2:4-9. Notice especially the “but” in verse 8. (Remember the “you” here refers to the priests from verse 1)

  • What three things does God accuse the priests of in verse 8?
  • How do these priests compare/contrast to the Levites described in verse 5-6?
  • In verse 9, God says the consequences of their actions have already started, what are the priests facing because they have not followed God’s ways?
  • What does this passage teach you about the importance of honouring God, obeying Him and teaching the truth? 

 

Prayer: Today as you pray, confess the ways you have not followed God. Thank Him for His forgiveness and grace!

 

Day 5 – The Priesthood Today

Read Malachi 2:7-8 to refresh your memory about what the priests were supposed to do and how they were failing in the days of Malachi. 

  • Read 1 Peter 2:4-5 & 9. How are believers described? What is their role and their task? 
    • How is this similar to what you observed this week about what was expected of priests in the Old Testament?
  • Read 1 Timothy 6:20-21 and 2 Timothy 3:15. What is expected of believers in regard to the gospel and the word of truth? 
    • If Christians are considered priests to God, how important is it that we take our role seriously in light of what you studied in Malachi? What might this mean for you personally?

 

Prayer: Today, pray in adoration, confession, and supplication as you consider your role and blessing as a royal priest and special possession of God.