I want to begin
today by reiterating something that I only briefly mentioned towards the end of
our time together last Sunday. Last
week, I told you that I realized that over the past few weeks that I had made a
lot of comparisons between Israel and Christians today, people just like
us. I also acknowledged that the past
few sermons might have come across as somewhat condemning or admonishing. They may have seemed a little harsh to
some. Now, the same as last Sunday, I
want to clarify that I’m simply stating that I realize it, not that I am
apologizing in any way. You see, the
words that Malachi gave to Israel were very much needed at that point in their
history. They had drifted away from
God’s commands and they needed to be brought back to reality. The words of Malachi and the reminder
(so-to-speak) of the priority in which we are to give to God and God alone are
very much needed today as well. It’s not
necessarily a bad thing for us to hear sermons, read articles, sing songs, or
listen to speeches that point out our failures instead of just pointing to the
things that we do well. Not only do we
learn from seeing our flaws, but it makes us appreciate the good things that we
enjoy in spite of or despite our flaws.
Hearing how far I have fallen makes me appreciate even more the grace
that God has shown me in his calling of my to be his child.
However,
Malachi’s words beginning in 3:16 have a much different feel to them than all
of what he has said up to this point.
After laying out critical abuses of inadequate offerings, living immoral
lives, improper priorities, lackluster commitment, and the judgment and
condemnation that accompanies these offences, Malachi begins to speak of those
who fear the Lord and are actually faithful to him. He calls those who have been faithful to him
and who have kept him as their main priority by a very special name. He calls them his “treasured possession.” This
title, which was first used of God’s people back in Exodus chapter 19, connects
both the covenant between God and Israel at the time of his giving the Law to
Moses at Mount Saini and the covenant as it exists in its current context, just
prior to the coming of the Messiah. You
see, God’s not making things up as he goes along, this is part of the plan that
he has had since before the foundation of the earth. God’s covenant with his chosen people is not
a series of covenants, but one continuous relationship and covenant that has
found greater and greater fulfillment as time has passed. The words of comfort here for his people are
a reassurance of sorts that yes, things are bad at that time from a spiritual
health perspective, but those who are faithful to God are to continue in their
efforts. These words carry with them
great meaning for us today as well.
We’ve said numerous times that we live in a world that seems to by the
second become more and more separated from God.
However, as Christians, those called by God as his children, our
responsibility is to not be transformed by the world. We are to be in the world, not of the world.
Beginning next
Sunday and running all the way through our Christmas Eve service, we will
observe what is known as the season of Advent.
Now, Advent season looks different in almost every Christian
denomination, and every church for that matter.
However, the title of Advent means the same regardless of what direction
you approach it from. The word advent
comes from the Latin word adventus,
which means “coming.” You see, Advent is
simply a time in which we remember, honor, rejoice over, and thank God for the
coming that was about to happen at the time of Malachi (relatively speaking)
and the coming that we call Christmas.
We celebrate the coming of the Messiah to earth. We celebrate the coming of the King of kings,
Lord of lords, and Prince of Peace. We
celebrate the coming of the Son, the Second Person of the Trinity, Jesus
Christ. We celebrate God himself
becoming man, humbling himself, taking the form of a servant, living the
life-to-perfection, and dying for our sins upon the cross.
Through
Malachi, God tells Israel that this day is coming. He tells them that the day of the Lord is
coming. Now, there are some that take
“day” mentioned here as the final day of judgment. While I do acknowledge that it is not
uncommon for a reference to “the day” to be that of the Day of Judgment, I
don’t think that is the case here in Malachi.
I find myself in agreement with John Calvin, who interprets the “day”
mentioned in Malachi 4 to be the day of Christ’s first coming into the
world. I want you to take a second and
notice the difference in the reactions pointed out by Malachi between those who
have God as their priority and those who don’t.
Our text refers to them as those who serve God and those who don’t, as
well as the righteous and the wicked.
For the righteous, those who serve God, the coming of Christ will be
like a healing warmth. It will be
something that gives us new life and causes us to feel as if there is no limit
to what we can do. It will cause us to
have that feeling that you get after walking out of a cold room into the
warming sun. However, for the wicked,
the warmth is a burn. We’re told in our
text that it will be like an oven. The
light that is coming into the world is magnified to where instead of simply
providing warmth, it causes pain and destruction. For the Christian, those who truly place God
as their priority, the coming of Christ, the closeness of God, and a deepening
relationship with Him are not things to be feared (at least in the anxious
sense), but things to be welcomed and embraced; it’s like the notion of
death. Sure, when we lose someone it
hurts, but not for that person. For that
person, it is a joyous time of going to the Father. Well, for the ones who do not worship God,
it’s just the end. There’s nothing
joyous about it. For the non-Christian,
death is something to be fear and not a joyous occasion to celebrate a person’s
uniting with Christ in heaven.
The final words
of God spoken through the prophet Malachi prior to the coming 400 years of silence
are a bit of reminiscence. We find
mentions of two men, Moses and Elijah, who were prominent figures in the Old
Testament. Moses is largely considered
to be the greatest mediator not named Jesus between God and his people. Elijah was one of, if not the, greatest
prophet who ever lived. He’s probably
best known for his being used by God to defeat the prophets of Baal, leaving
those who worshiped false gods to acknowledge the greatness of Elijah’s
God. Well, as we mentioned earlier,
there is one who is coming who is a greater mediator than Moses, a greater,
prophet than Elijah, a greater king than David, and a greater priest than
Levi. Jesus Christ, was soon to enter
into the world, and things literally would never be the same again. Now, we live on this side of Jesus. We live after knowing what Jesus did and what
he ultimately would accomplish. Knowing
all of this, how could we ever allow ourselves to mirror Israel during
Malachi’s time? How could we know what
we know about the magnitude of what God was soon to do and yet find ourselves
struggling with the same things that Israel did prior to Christ’s coming? If we mirror Israel and yet we actually know
what Christ has already done, doesn’t that make our sin so much worse? Well, I’m not going to get into a discussion about
the hierarchy or levels of sin, but I want us to see the severity of the issue
that not placing God as our priority creates.
I want us to realize that when we don’t have God as our central focus,
then everything else isn’t as it should be either. For the people of Israel, Jesus was soon to
come into the world and put things into their proper focus. As we prepare for this holiday season, don’t
let our celebration of Christ’s coming into the world be the very thing that
causes you to lose focus. Friends, we
are blessed with so many great and wonderful things in this life. However, it is only when we have God in the
right place in our hearts, minds, and priorities, that we can enjoy everything
else as we ought to and not become overwhelmed by the world around us. We have to continue to look to God first and
as the primary focus in our lives. Glory
be to God; in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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