Now,
as we begin today, I want to remind all of you what we have said about the
chronology of Malachi’s prophesying in Jerusalem. Remember that after the book of Malachi ends,
then there is a period of some 400 years of prophetic silence from God, ending
with John the Baptist. So, in essence,
Malachi is setting the stage for John the Baptist, who in turn sets the stage
for Jesus himself. Now, over the past
two Sundays, we’ve looked at how the priests and the people of Israel had so
corrupted the spiritual situation there that things were pretty much in
complete chaos. There were offerings and
sacrifices that weren’t anywhere near what they ought to be. There was a welcoming of pagan peoples into
the families of Israel. There was
unmerited divorce, which in no way fit the model for divorce that God had given
to Israel through Moses (yes, God did allow for divorce in certain cases). There was a general sense of whatever anyone
wanted to do, they did. Not only, were
these types of things taking place, but seemingly everyone was taking part in
them. Not only was everyone taking part
in them, but they were getting positive reinforcement from the priests about
their behavior. The people of Israel had
so drifted from God that they didn’t even have a clue that the way that they
were living their lives was completely the opposite of how God had actually
commanded them to live. They took God’s
silence as an indication that they were living as they ought to. As long as they weren’t being told specifically
that they were wrong, they just assumed they were right. Kind of sounds a bit too familiar doesn’t it.
Now, we’re told
in our text that they said, “Everyone
who does evil is good in the sight of the Lord, and he delights in them.” And they even asked the question “Where is the God of justice?” Well, God answered their questioning; he
answered it in a mighty way that would set the stage for what was to come in
about 400 years. He tells them that he
will send his messenger that will prepare the way for him. Notice that he doesn’t say that he’s sending
someone to prepare the way for someone else, but that his messenger was coming to prepare the way for him.
The one who was ultimately to come wasn’t a prophet like Malachi or an
angel or any other messenger, but God Himself.
We know from our viewpoint that he’s talking about Jesus, but think for
a second how this statement ought to have scared the pants off of Israel. God was this being who no one could see his
face or even say or write his name, and now he’s telling the people that he is
coming near them.
Now, God
doesn’t just say that he’s coming and everything will be rainbows and
sunshine. No, God, through Malachi, told
the people of Israel that when he came that there was going to be a time of
cleansing that would not be easy by any means.
The language used here in verses 2 and 3 is that of the process of
refining metals. Now, I’m sure that
there are some of you who know the steps to this process, but just in case
there are those who don’t know, let me walk you through a rough outline of the
process. First, the raw materials are
heated until they melt. The impurities
in the metal separate and rise to the top of the now boiling liquid. As they rise to the top, they are skimmed off
and removed. Once the impurities are
removed, then the remaining liquid can be cooled back down and what you are
left with is a pure metal. The most
important step to achieving a pure substance is the removing of
impurities. What distinguishes the
quality of metals is how much of the impurities the refiners are able to
remove. It’s a harsh process, but one
that must be done. Well, the coming of
God was going to be harsh, but it must be done.
The days of everyone walking around doing whatever they wanted and
feeling like they were in right standing with God are to end. The days of living like Israel while still
claiming to be part of God’s people are ending.
God says specifically here that he will judge the sorcerers, adulterers,
liars, and the oppressors of the poor, widowed, and orphaned. God says that those who live lives that are
outside of his will, lives in which there is no fear of the Lord, will know
quickly that He has come. The same
stands true today. When someone lives a
life that is outside of God’s will and then God finally reveals Himself to
them, they know in an instant that they are guilty. Although, I do fear that there is a growing
number of Christians who live doing whatever they want, and yet they are
oblivious to God’s commands for their lives.
However, there
is a hopeful promise made in the midst of these words. God reminds us that He doesn’t change and
that His promises that He has made with Israel’s fathers, our fathers, do not
change either. Now, we need to take
great comfort in the fact that neither God, nor His promises, will ever
change. However, we have to be very
quick to realize that it comes with some pointed news as well. There are many Christians out there today,
good, Bible-believing folks, who want to live according to God. They want to live like the folks that are set
before them in Scripture as examples to follow.
These folks just want to live right lives. However, there’s something missing. When
these folks come across biblical passages about sacrifices, jubilee years,
Sabbaths, and other festivals, they quickly gloss over them and say that things
are different now. Well, true, they may
be different in terms of the exact objects or actions, but the substance or
essence is still there. We have to be
very careful of “modernizing” Scripture and giving it a completely new
meaning. Remember, Scripture is just as
applicable today as it has ever been, and it doesn’t need me or you to make it
fit in today’s world. No, it may not
tell me what shows my kids are alright to watch, but it does lay out the
guidelines for how I am to raise my children.
Bridging the gap between instruction and practice is my job as their
father and Amy’s job as their mother, but Scripture doesn’t need to change one
bit for this to be accomplished.
You see, even
at this time, Israel was a very different people than they were during the time
of Moses. When they left Egypt, they had
nothing and virtually all that they had, they had to rely upon God to give
them. Time had passed and their reliance
upon God seemed to diminish. Now, we
know that their reliance upon Him hadn’t changed (seeing as He is the source of
all that is good), but the people of Israel felt more self-sufficient. I think that we can very easily relate to the
feeling and sentiment in which Israel displays.
We, like Israel, think that the things that we enjoy are ours. That somehow we actually own all that is in
our lives. You know; “I paid for it,”
“It was given to me,” or “I found it.”
Somehow we think that everything that we claim ownership of actually
belongs to us. We quickly forget that
God has given us, out of His own free will and not because of anything especially
good within us, everything that we have.
As Israel was
withholding their firstfruits from God, He reminded them of how they were
robbing Him. The Israelites were
confused. After all, it wasn’t as if
anyone was stealing from the temple, and we’ve already said that everyone
thought everything was fine since God didn’t reprimand them. Well, robbing God has many different
forms. You don’t have to steal something
in order to rob someone. If you pay your
bills each month, yet the power or the water never gets turned on, then you
would say that you’re being robbed. Well,
remembering that everything that we have comes from God and that He commands
that we give back to him (and we’re told in verse 10 that that is a whole
tithe), we begin to see that not giving God what He commands is the same as
taking something from Him. Well, when
we, like Israel, don’t give to God what is rightfully His, then we are robbing
from Him. Not giving what He is “owed”
is the equivalent of stealing from God.
Throughout the last
few weeks, we’ve made a point of emphasizing that we have to give to God out of
our best, and not just what’s left over after the world has had its way with
us. Now, I know that the past few
Sundays have maybe come off a little harsh and a bit preachy, but isn’t that
what I’m supposed to be doing. I’m not
apologizing for it, but I am letting you know that I am aware of it. However, we have to, from time-to-time, be
hit with the cold hard truth in order to evaluate ourselves properly. A business that never has a deficit is less
likely to examine their practices than a business that seems to always be in
the red. Well, we are always in the red
when it comes to keeping in line with God’s will, but we like to think that
we’re in the black. Sometimes we need
the wakeup calls and harsh criticisms like Israel got from Malachi. Sometimes we have to be confronted with the
sins in our lives in order to recognize them.
God is beginning the process of refining his people for the coming of
the Son. He’s beginning to re-instill in
them the fact that He should be the number one priority in their lives. For them, that has to begin with giving to
Him properly and stopping their robbing of God.
They have to be more concerned with living in accordance with God’s will
than doing what they want to do. And the
same holds true for us today. God is
already at work in us today. The process
of shaping us in the image of Christ and making us holy (a process called
sanctification) is already underway. The
question that I think we need to ask ourselves at this time (a time right
before we remember and celebrate the coming of our Lord) is: where is my priority? During the holiday season that is soon to be
underway, is my priority on seeing my family, ending the business year
strongly, getting all the right gifts, etc., or is it on God? Is my priority on celebrating the fact that
God himself came to earth, taking the form of a servant, only to live a life of
complete obedience to the Father and offer himself up as a sacrifice for my
sins. Friends, let the time that we have
remaining before the “holiday rush” attacks us be a time in which we put
priorities into their proper focus. Let
this be a time in which we remember that God and God alone ought to be our
primary goal, our chief end. Glory be to
God; in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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