Malachi on the road to Advent soon
Malachi ---a message for all for pre-Advent
Malachi opens his book with a rather remarkable statement that should guide as well in all of our lives. " I have loved you,saith the LORD." The temple had been rebuilt in the time of Nehemiah ( rebuilt the wall), Haggai and Zechariah ( rebuilt the temple) , and now the people were ignoring the worship and service of God after being back from Bablyon for a hundred years.
The same failures and sins were still a problem for the people. They were intermarrying pagan women Malachi 2:11; they were not putting the temple as a priority and holding back the tithe from the House of God, Malachi 3:8-10; the services in the Lord's House were only a form and lacked true devotion. " It is possible to attend the temple, bend the knee,and make an offering regularly, but unless there is love in the heart there is no communion with God. To go to the temple merely as a matter of duty is to blaspheme." Living Message of the Books of the Bible G Campbell Morgan.
" Your words have been stout against me saith the LORD." 3:13 in another way, " Your words have been arogant against me." "obstinate" This sounds like a young child who does not want to do something. This is what we do when we tell God we do not like His laws and commandments. We put ourselves in the driver's seat and may bow the knee but our hearts are far from his ways.
What does God say should be our question about all difficulties we face in this life. Ultimately God is expressing His love and fatherly care for us as His children. He does want the best for us. It is hard for us to see this when we are conficted about the issues, but God wishes us to follow Him not because we can get something from Him, but because we wish to be His children, because we love Him.
Today when we kneel for prayer our hearts also should be reaching out to His Divine love and concern. It is not an empty ceremony but one with meaning and emotion. Instead of shaking our fist at God and saying, " I will not follow",we should open our arms and say, " Thank you Lord for giving me all you do and the best gift is the gift of God Himself."
Secondly, there is yet hope in our country and in our world. " Then they that feared the LORD spake often to one another: and the LORD hearkened, and heard it..." 3:16 We can decide to follow instead of doing what ever we wish. We offer and did the people in Judah, " the blind for sacrifice" 1:8 Perhaps God will not see my sin. Perhaps He can just deal with it. This is the message of the whole Bible that there is a possible fellowship with God if we return to Him.
The leaders should set the example. " For the priest's lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the law at his mouth: for he is the messenger of the LORD of hosts." 2:8 Do we as Christian leaders set the example of holiness, being men of integrity and followers of Christ first?
" The LORD hearkened.." This is a Hebrew word " suggesting the action of a horse at the sound of the master's voice, the pricking of the ears."(Morgan, p. 346)
Lastly, there is hope in the LORD as we have been saying. He is our fortress, our anchor of the soul and no earthly power can stand against God.
Listen to Malachi again:" For , behold, the day cometh that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud yea, all that do wickedly shall be stubble : and the day that cometh shall burn them up....but unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings.." 4:1
Matthew Henry says, " Here we are certainly to understand Jesus Christ....Christ is the Sun of righteousness."
Let me close with some words from Henri Nouwen : " the first step in the spiritual life is to acknowledge with our whole being that we have already been taken....as children of God, we are God's chosen ones." Malachi would tell us to act on our choseness , and to keep close to God and His Word for us. When we make choices that are shallow or hurtful to God, we are putting ourselves in a very hard place. But God in His loving call to us can bring us back to the covenant that He has made for us and with us. We can find that our lives are hearkened to by God. He hears our deepest needs and fulfills our deepest desires when we turn over to Him the worldly choices that do not bring us closer to Him and His Church.
The Sun of righteousness does arise with healing as we follow the light of Christ. Our obstinacy turns into a loving embrace that was with us all the time. God desires for us healing in all of our choices even when we make them apart from His laws. He draws us to that light which will never leave us in Christ.
Malachi opens his book with a rather remarkable statement that should guide as well in all of our lives. " I have loved you,saith the LORD." The temple had been rebuilt in the time of Nehemiah ( rebuilt the wall), Haggai and Zechariah ( rebuilt the temple) , and now the people were ignoring the worship and service of God after being back from Bablyon for a hundred years.
The same failures and sins were still a problem for the people. They were intermarrying pagan women Malachi 2:11; they were not putting the temple as a priority and holding back the tithe from the House of God, Malachi 3:8-10; the services in the Lord's House were only a form and lacked true devotion. " It is possible to attend the temple, bend the knee,and make an offering regularly, but unless there is love in the heart there is no communion with God. To go to the temple merely as a matter of duty is to blaspheme." Living Message of the Books of the Bible G Campbell Morgan.
" Your words have been stout against me saith the LORD." 3:13 in another way, " Your words have been arogant against me." "obstinate" This sounds like a young child who does not want to do something. This is what we do when we tell God we do not like His laws and commandments. We put ourselves in the driver's seat and may bow the knee but our hearts are far from his ways.
What does God say should be our question about all difficulties we face in this life. Ultimately God is expressing His love and fatherly care for us as His children. He does want the best for us. It is hard for us to see this when we are conficted about the issues, but God wishes us to follow Him not because we can get something from Him, but because we wish to be His children, because we love Him.
Today when we kneel for prayer our hearts also should be reaching out to His Divine love and concern. It is not an empty ceremony but one with meaning and emotion. Instead of shaking our fist at God and saying, " I will not follow",we should open our arms and say, " Thank you Lord for giving me all you do and the best gift is the gift of God Himself."
Secondly, there is yet hope in our country and in our world. " Then they that feared the LORD spake often to one another: and the LORD hearkened, and heard it..." 3:16 We can decide to follow instead of doing what ever we wish. We offer and did the people in Judah, " the blind for sacrifice" 1:8 Perhaps God will not see my sin. Perhaps He can just deal with it. This is the message of the whole Bible that there is a possible fellowship with God if we return to Him.
The leaders should set the example. " For the priest's lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the law at his mouth: for he is the messenger of the LORD of hosts." 2:8 Do we as Christian leaders set the example of holiness, being men of integrity and followers of Christ first?
" The LORD hearkened.." This is a Hebrew word " suggesting the action of a horse at the sound of the master's voice, the pricking of the ears."(Morgan, p. 346)
Lastly, there is hope in the LORD as we have been saying. He is our fortress, our anchor of the soul and no earthly power can stand against God.
Listen to Malachi again:" For , behold, the day cometh that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud yea, all that do wickedly shall be stubble : and the day that cometh shall burn them up....but unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings.." 4:1
Matthew Henry says, " Here we are certainly to understand Jesus Christ....Christ is the Sun of righteousness."
Let me close with some words from Henri Nouwen : " the first step in the spiritual life is to acknowledge with our whole being that we have already been taken....as children of God, we are God's chosen ones." Malachi would tell us to act on our choseness , and to keep close to God and His Word for us. When we make choices that are shallow or hurtful to God, we are putting ourselves in a very hard place. But God in His loving call to us can bring us back to the covenant that He has made for us and with us. We can find that our lives are hearkened to by God. He hears our deepest needs and fulfills our deepest desires when we turn over to Him the worldly choices that do not bring us closer to Him and His Church.
The Sun of righteousness does arise with healing as we follow the light of Christ. Our obstinacy turns into a loving embrace that was with us all the time. God desires for us healing in all of our choices even when we make them apart from His laws. He draws us to that light which will never leave us in Christ.
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