365 Reflections

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....

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...