Malachi 2:2: “If ye will not hear, and if ye will not lay [it] to heart, to give glory unto my name, saith the LORD of hosts, I will even send a curse upon you, and I will curse your blessings: yea, I have cursed them already, because ye do not lay [it] to heart.”

Of every Hebrew professor I had while I was in Bible College and Seminary, all except one, were involved in the translation of the Old Testament for the New International Version of the Bible which now outsells the KJV. In fact the NIV is the number one best selling translation of the Bible, the next is the KJV, then the New KJV followed by the New Living Translation and then the ESV.

The translation I use when I use an English translation is the KJV.  I do not even own an NIV. My first Hebrew instructor at Moody Bible Institute was an extremely qualified instructor in Hebrew with a Doctorate in that language.  Yet, he was overlooked to participate in the translation of the NIV.  Sometimes I wonder if the reason he was overlooked was because of his approach to the language. He is the one teacher who caused me to fall in love with the Biblical Hebrew because he loved it so much.  He was different from any of my other professors in that he translated the Scriptures from his heart. He put the Scriptures into an emotional context.  All my other teachers who served on the NIV committee taught Hebrew like a science class, we learned all the mechanics of the language and memorized and memorized all the things I would forget quickly after graduation. But Dr. Stephens, he taught me how to translate the Scriptures from my heart with complete dependence upon the leading of the Holy Spirit. Oh sure he would teach the mechanics and he taught them well.   He would not say: “Ok, what part of speech is this word in.”  He would say: “Look class, look at this word, it is a participle, oh how wonderful.”

I taught for 17 years in a Bible college. I am all for Bible Colleges and Seminaries.  I have only one word of warning to anyone seeking to attend a Bible College or Seminary.  I don’t care which school you choose, they all will give you a good Bible education.  Just do not lose your heart.

You see this is what happened to Israel in Malachi, they were Godly people, they followed the laws and were good religious people, but they lost their heart.  The KJV says, they did not lay it to heart.  In the Hebrew this is ki ‘enekem samim ‘al lev which literally reads because they did not establish it upon their heart.  

Now the NIV says, “they did not honor Him.” Really?  I mean Really?  Give me a break.  You render it this way and it sounds like if you do not give God the proper respect well He will just pick up His marbles and go home, Forget any kind of blessing.  He is sure not going to bless anyone who does not first pay proper respects.

If God meant the word to be honor he would have used the word honor kavod or lahador.  No he says samin al lev, lay it upon your heart. To say honor is to paraphrase whether they like that word or not. I have people tell me all the time, “Oh, the NIV is a translation and not a paraphrase.”  All our translations as some point or another must enter into a paraphrase.  Many of the words in your Classical Hebrew vocabulary are really man’s best guess.  Ok, I pounded that pulpit enough.

So what does it mean to lay upon your heart? The passage is saying that if we do not lay it to our heart to give glory to God he will curse us and will curse our blessings. The word for lay is sum which is to appoint, to ordain establish  to be found to be fixed.  We must fix or firmly plant the glory of God in our hearts.  This verse is not saying that if we fail to give God glory but if we fail to firmly plant the glory of God in our hearts He will curse our blessings.  Glory is kabod in the Hebrew which is a weightiness.  In its Semitic root it is found to express the idea of a burden, a heavy load.  What is the heavy load that God carries, obviously it is His love.

I have heard many people who are single by being widowed or divorced who express the desire, actually longing and they say “I still have so much love to give and I want to find someone to give it to.”  This is not a pick up line, it is an honest expression.  A human being has a natural desire to not only be loved but to express love. In fact for many if they have no one to express this love to it becomes a heavy burden such that they will volunteer in hospitals, schools, churches anywhere where they can unburden themselves of this heaviness of love that is built up inside of them.

If we are created in God’s image then God too is burdened with love, so much love He has to find a way to express it and He needs us to express it to.  He needs to lay upon us this burden of love, this heaviness of love or as we like to call it, glory.

I was talking with a woman the other day who has this great capacity to love and has laid it upon her husband. But he has not taken it into his heart and as a result she is constantly having her heart broken.  This is what this passage is all about, not that God is demanding his due respects, but that He is so filled with love, He is burdened or weighted down with love such that when we open ourselves up to receive it he just pours it out on us, all his weighted love or glory.  But if we do not lay it upon our hearts, what does that do to the heart of God.  It breaks his heart and he will send a curse upon us. Oh, that sounds bad that he will curse us.  But check out the word curse in Hebrew it is the word me’erah from the root word ‘arar.  In its Semitic origins it is a word used to declare that something is of no value, it is garbage.  Thus if God pours his love, his glory upon us and we do not lay or fix it in our hearts, then that love of God becomes garbage, a waste.  We have taken this precious love of God and turned it into trash.  Just as this wife who pour out her love to her husband and he did not fix that love upon his heart but went after other women and selfish desires literally ‘arar cursed or turned his wife’s love into trash.  God then said he would curse our blessings if we do not fix His love in our hearts.  In other His blessing will just turn into trash.  Just as the blessings that this wife tried to give her husband were nothing but trash because he would not take her love to his heart.

Yeah, like neato, God is so full of love He has to just pour it out.  We say, “well bring it on.” Yes, He wants to bless you and fill you with blessing but if that is all you want from Him and you do not take that love to your heart, nurture it, cherish it, honor it and let is just grow within you, then all the blessings that come from it are ‘arar, a curse or just trash, garbage.