The message of Malachi is addressed to a people who had lost
touch with the living God. This wasn’t for a lack of love for them from God. We
saw that the first 5 verses of chapter 1 began with a particular affirmation
of love for God for His people. Here is a quick reminder that God chose
Jacob (the father of Israel) and not Esau (the father of the Edomites) cf. 1:2.
On what basis did God chose Jacob? See Deuteronomy
7:6-9.
God had not moved. On the contrary, God reminds them, “I the LORD do not change…” (3:5). When God
seems far away, guess who has moved? We
saw that it was the people, led by their corrupt spiritual leaders that had
moved from God. When God’s messenger,
Malachi, confronts them they displayed a culture of objection (but you say…[1])
and accusation against God. God had become
inconsequential in the eye of the people of Israel. This resulted in them bringing
perverted sacrifices to the LORD (2:6-14).
They were robbing God (3:6ff). All
this happened because they had forsaken the basis of their relationship with
God – the covenant[2]. Resultantly,
they had grown weary of God (1:13). We
saw that this had consequences. The nation not only grew distant from God, but
they grew faithless to one another (2:10).
But the supreme demonstration of faithlessness was
found in the demise of the most important of all human covenants- the
marriage covenant (2:14-16). Does
this not sound like our own day?
What will God do?
What will the God who has entered into a covenant with Israel/Judah,
His treasured possession (3:17) do
with her? What will God’s people, who have spoken against their God, do? What
will they do, who said, “It is vain to
serve God” (3:14)? And then, what will happen to those of whom
it is said …“Then those who feared
the LORD spoke with one another… those who feared the LORD and esteemed his
Name?” (3:16). What will happen
to those who remain faithful to God?
In these closing words of the message of Malachi we find two kinds of talk, two kinds of people, and two
kinds of destinies displayed. Malachi reminds them and us that all of
life will ultimately steer to that great day of the LORD. The entire Bible has essentially one grand
theme: the consummation of God’s kingdom, in which there are two separate
destinies for the righteous and the wicked. There are two ways to live. There
are two outcomes, two kinds of people. This reminds us very much
of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount concerning the two states of being: entering the narrow or the wide gate (Matt. 7:12-14); being a healthy or a diseased tree (Matt. 7:15-20); being one who does God’s will or one who does not do
God’s will (Matt. 7:21-23); being a foolish or wise builder (Matt.7:24-27).
What happens if we speak about God - either by way of
honouring His Name, or through speaking harshly against Him? The solemn truth
is that God hears and knows everything
about us.
1.
Two kinds of talk – two kinds of people
i.
3:13-15
Those who have harsh things to say about God.
ii.
3:16-18
Those who feared the Lord and who
spoke with one another.
i.
3:13-15 Those who have harsh things to say about God
As we work our way through the message of Malachi, we need to
continually remind ourselves that we are not dealing here with people that
claim to be unbelievers. These are men and women that claim to belong to the
covenant. The harsh talk of 3:13 is
not attributed to atheists or agnostics. They claim to know God, and yet, as we
have consistently noted, there is something very wrong here. They are lukewarm
in their expressions of faith. They have become cynical. They do not see
themselves as having done anything wrong against God. In fact they are charging
God with doing wrong – particularly in 2:17
and 3:14,15. In fact, they are
charging Him with favouring the arrogant. Evildoers prosper. Those who
blatantly challenge God seem to escape! God isn't just.
We have seen that the root cause of harsh talk against God'
is the people’s backsliding. They have turned aside from God (3:7). Backsliding can be likened to
cancer - that unseen, hidden process, when vicious cells quietly spread their deadly
tentacles in the body, until the day comes when it can no longer hide itself. Backsliding
is a cancer of the soul. Initially it is a subtle, painless process until it
suddenly erupts in our life and talk. This is what has happened to the Jews in
Malachi's day. Gradually they had allowed their love for the LORD, which had
been stirred up under godly ministers like Ezra and Nehemiah, Haggai and
Zechariah, to grow cold under the subtle influences of a deadly ministry in 1:6-2:9. Gradually and subtly the
process of substituting a living faith for a dead religion had begun. How can
we discern this process?
Jesus reminded His hearers that, that which comes out of the
mouth proceeds from the heart! (cf. Matt.
15:10-20. See the consequences of careless
words in Matt. 12:36-37). If you
listen to the speech of these people then you know that this is not the speech
of a people at peace with their God. How did they arrive at this state, and why
do they talk like this? When people backslide they begin to forget key facts
about God. They forget to view the world
through God's eyes. You become worldly in your thinking. You interpret life
from your present political, economic and social circumstances. You come to careless conclusions, about who's
to blame. The weather, the tectonic plates of the earth, the climate change,
the politicians and even God gets blamed in a cynical way. The key problem with backslidden people is
that they do not fear God any longer, and we think of everything in terms of
second causes. Yes, it is true that God is the Ultimate Cause of everything – even
allowing earthquakes and floods – they are perpetual reminders of life in a
fallen world and of the final judgement to come. The results are very different:
backsliders blame God, the godly fear God! When we stop fearing God we become careless
in everything- particularly in our foolish talk and actions. Our deceitful
hearts then begin to tell us that we can offer blemished sacrifices. Our
deceitful hearts tell us that it isn’t so important to keep our covenant
promises (e.g. our marriage vows). Our deceitful hearts tell us that the neglect
of giving our tithes and contributions to God isn't serious.
ii. 3:16-18 ; 4:2ff Those who feared the Lord and who spoke with one another.
For the first time in Malachi’s message we become aware that
there is a remnant of true believers in
Judah. They fear the Lord. They esteem His name. Here we find a remnant (another prominent
theme in the Bible).Thank God that in every age and generation there is always a remnant of true believers that fear
God and therefore know Him (e.g. 1 Ki. 19:18ff- the 7000 had not bowed the knee to Baal
in Elijah's time). We learn from these that “the
Lord paid attention and heard them”. We learn that God takes note of
everything. He records everything - nothing done either good or evil ever
escapes Him. And now in 3:16b we read that God caused a book of remembrance to be written,
concerning “those who feared the Lord and
esteemed His name”. The idea of God having a special book in which He
records everything is found frequently
in the Bible[3]. The
Lord pays attention when His people speak not just to Him, but He hears us when
we talk about Him to one another, when we encourage each other and exhort one
another from the Scriptures. These, in
particular will be part of God's treasured possession. In this context it is again
important to understand, that not all that are of Israel are true Israelites (Rom. 9:6-8); not all church members are
members of God's kingdom (Matt. 7:21-23).
But all true children of Abraham - true
Jews (in O.T. context) and true Christians (in N.T. context) will be God's
treasured possessions in that day. It is these that God will spare. We learn
that God makes a distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between
those that serve God and those that do
not serve Him (3:18). Jesus called them sheep and goats respectively (Matt. 25:31-46) This leads us to the next thought.
2.
Two kinds of destinies
Can you see the frequent reference to “the day” in our text? “They
shall be mine in the day when I make up my treasured possession.” (3:17); “For behold, the day is coming…The day that is coming
shall set them ablaze.” (4:2) ; “They
will be ashes under the soles of your feet, on the day when I act.” (4:3); “Behold,
I send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the
LORD comes.” (4:5).
A day is coming, when with sudden clarity the difference
between all men will be made clear. And ultimately we shall find that there are
only two kinds of people in the world: the believer and the unbeliever. Backsliders
forget is this, because they live so much in the present. God fearing men and
women will keep their eyes on the finishing line. They live
with the eye on that day!
Take note of 4:1. Here we find the frightening outcome for those that persist in their rebellion. The day of judgement is a fearful day not for God fearers, but for those that despise God – those that are weary of God, those that say, “It is vain to serve God“.
Malachi
reminds God fearers in 3:17 and 4:2,3 what God thinks of
them: "They shall be mine says
the LORD of hosts in the day when I make
up my treasure possession...”. Faithful men and women will become the treasured
possession of the Lord. He will spare them from the coming day of wrath and
judgment. On that day, “the sun of righteousness shall rise with
healing in its wings.” (4:2). Malachi
says, “You shall go out leaping like
calves from the stall.” What a day of joy!
The great distinction between believers and unbelievers is
revealed by our respective futures. Which future will be yours? This will be
determined by our response to the Word of God and therefore the God of the Word.
THE CRUX OF THE MATTER:
OUR RESPONSE TO THE WORD OF GOD AND THE GOD OF THE WORD
4:4. THE WORD OF GOD: “Remember
the law of my servant Moses, the statutes and rules that I commanded him at
Horeb for all Israel.” The distinctive feature of a believer is their
commitment to the Word of God. As the law is now completed in Christ, our true
test is this- are we faithful to His commandments? “If you love me, you will obey my commandments.” (Jn. 14:15) Faithfulness, obedience, perseverance are characteristic marks of a true believer.
4:5,6 THE
GOD OF THE WORD: “Behold, I will send
you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes. And
he will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the
children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of
utter destruction.” Malachi tells us that Elijah the prophet, the
forerunner of the Messiah will return. Jesus identified John the Baptist as Elijah
(Matt. 11:14). He came to prepare the
way for Jesus. He proclaimed, “Behold,
the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (Jn. 1:29,36). John preached Christ, and in so doing he saw many
sons and daughters reconciled to God through their faith in the Messiah. As they were reconciled to God, they were
reconciled to one another. This is the miracle of the gospel, and it is
signified here in terms of the relationships of fathers to their children and of
children to their fathers. The true gospel heals our relationships vertically
and horizontally. And now we must ask: How is it going with your relationship
with God? How is it going in terms of your relationship with one another? How
is your marriage? Parents, what is your relationship with your children like?
LOOK TO JESUS!
If the
message of Malachi has exposed you, then receive this as the Word of God to your soul. God's promise and invitation is found in 3:7b : “Return to me , and I
will return to you …”
[1]
1:2,6,7,13; 2:14,17 ; 3:7,8,13
[2]
The covenant of Levi (2:5-9) ; the covenant of their fathers (2:10) and hence the most important of all human covenants – the marriage
covenant (2:14)
[3] cf.
Ex 32:32,33; Ps. 69:28, Ps. 139:16 ; Isa. 4:3; 65:6 ; Ezek. 13:9 ; Dan. 12:1
; Philip. 4:3; Rev.3:5,13:8, 17:8, 20:12,15 ; 21:27
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