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The Final Word of the Old Testament is About Family

When you consider how the narrative of the Old Testament begins and how the story continues, it should come as no surprise that God concludes the writings under the Old Covenant with a warning about division that would come between families. Adam is considered the son of God (see Luke 3:38). He populated the earth with many sons and daughters and a righteous line that stretched through Noah to Abraham to David to Christ. Fathers and sons change the world.  Malachi 4:4–6 (ESV) “Remember the law of my servant Moses, the statutes and rules that I commanded him at Horeb for all Israel. 5 “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes. 6 And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction.” The purpose of Elijah was to precede the arrival of the Lord. The New Testament makes it clear that this figure is John the Baptist....
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Between Law and Judgment

Malachi 4:1 (ESV) “For behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven, when all the arrogant and all evildoers will be stubble. The day that is coming shall set them ablaze, says the LORD of hosts, so that it will leave them neither root nor branch. What does the word "for" refer to? If we turn back the page to Malachi 3:15, where they considered serving the Lord to be of no profit since the wicked evildoers seem to prosper.  Malachi 3:15 (ESV) And now we call the arrogant blessed. Evildoers not only prosper but they put God to the test and they escape.’ ” But the prophet is clear in this chapter that though judgment is not yet apparent, it does not mean it will not soon be seen. This is one of the challenges of faith for every generation. How can the wicked continue to prosper if God is just and good? The reason is both simple and hard to hear: no one deserves God's grace; judgment belongs to all of us. Yet in mercy, God spares sinners every moment of every day, givin...
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Two Kinds of People in Faith Communities

The end of Malachi 3 draws a distinction between two types of people in many faith communities. The Lord has been conversing with His people, stating realities about their hearts they did not realize were true. They were offering Him second best, considering worship to be weary, robbing Him in tithes and offerings, and suggesting that evil people were considered good because they never seemed to suffer. At the end of chapter three, that complaint continues by the first group: Malachi 3:13–15 (ESV) “Your words have been hard against me, says the LORD. But you say, ‘How have we spoken against you?’ 14 You have said, ‘It is vain to serve God. What is the profit of our keeping his charge or of walking as in mourning before the LORD of hosts? 15 And now we call the arrogant blessed. Evildoers not only prosper but they put God to the test and they escape.’ ” Notice the first complaint. They consider God's Word to be hard. Why? It was true. To the first group, God's Word seems harsh....
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What Happens When We Stop Tithing

We come to the famous chapter on tithing. A passage every preacher hopes will sink into the hearts and minds of God's people as many are not nearly as generous toward the Lord's work as they think they are.  Malachi 3:6–7 (ESV) “For I the LORD do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed. 7 From the days of your fathers you have turned aside from my statutes and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you, says the LORD of hosts. But you say, ‘How shall we return?’ The section begins with a statement of the Lord's consistency. He is immutable. The Lord doesn't change because He does not NEED to change. And in this passage, the context is that of mercy. He doesn't change His mind regarding Israel. Notably, the name Jacob is mentioned. We do well to remember Jacob's vow to God regarding the blessings he might experience from him. During his escape to Laban, Jacob dreamed of a ladder with the Lord standing above it. He awoke a...
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Who Can Stand Before the Lord?

How easy it is to be bitter at God's dealings with other sinners when He's been so gracious toward our own sin. This is the great conundrum of the human heart, which rarely recognizes its own depravity as easily as it spots the depravity of others. This is where the remnant of Israel found itself in Malachi chapter 2.  Malachi 2:17 (ESV) You have wearied the LORD with your words. But you say, “How have we wearied him?” By saying, “Everyone who does evil is good in the sight of the LORD, and he delights in them.” Or by asking, “Where is the God of justice?” The people were looking for God to judge evil people. They were even questioning His fairness. Where is the God of justice??? Did they not realize that if justice had come, they would be dead? These people had been offering second-rate sacrifices, calling worship a weariness, while divorcing their wives and marrying pagans (and that's all that's been reported thus far, up to Malachi 2:16). They committed the most comm...
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God Hates Divorce

The Lord's indictment against Israel continues in Malachi 2.  Malachi 2:10–11 (ESV) Have we not all one Father? Has not one God created us? Why then are we faithless to one another, profaning the covenant of our fathers? 11 Judah has been faithless, and abomination has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem. For Judah has profaned the sanctuary of the LORD, which he loves, and has married the daughter of a foreign god. Intermarriage with pagan people is strictly prohibited in the Law. But these returned exiles were doing something worse: they were divorcing their Jewish wives and marrying pagans! Then, they would show up at the temple to offer a sacrifice.  God declares: Malachi 2:12 (ESV) May the LORD cut off from the tents of Jacob any descendant of the man who does this, who brings an offering to the LORD of hosts! Because of their sins, the Lord did not accept their offerings.  Malachi 2:13 (ESV) And this second thing you do. You cover the LORD’s altar with tear...
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Dead Leaders, Dead Churches

The Lord's rebuke of Israel's Priests continues in Malachi 2. Always remember that in both the Old and New Testaments, the leaders of God's people are held to a higher account than the people. Malachi 2:1-3 (ESV) “And now, O priests, this command is for you. 2 If you will not listen, if you will not take it to heart to give honor to my name, says the LORD of hosts, then I will send the curse upon you and I will curse your blessings. Indeed, I have already cursed them, because you do not lay it to heart. 3 Behold, I will rebuke your offspring, and spread dung on your faces, the dung of your offerings, and you shall be taken away with it. The Priests of Israel had dishonored the name by allowing second-rate sacrifices to flood the altar. They had also grown weary of their service in the Lord's house. It was so bad that, in chapter 1, the Lord wished the Temple doors were shut. So now the Lord says their blessings are cursed. Then the picture of dung on their faces sugges...
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