Aug. 26, 2007
Background Scripture: Malachi 2:17 to 4:3
Devotional Reading: Psalms 34:11-22
Although the Book of Malachi is not the last book of the Old Testament in terms of chronology (Daniel was probably considerably later), it is very appropriate to be the bridge from the Old Testament to the New.
There are many allusions in the New Testament to Malachi’s prophecies: the day of the Lord, the New Covenant, the forerunner who would precede the day of the Lord and the final judgment. Malachi 3:1-3 is also the Scriptural basis for a stirring aria of Handel’s Messiah: “And who shall abide the day of His coming?”
For all that, Malachi is something of a mystery. His name means “my messenger,” so it is probably a title rather than a name, per se. We know nothing about him, his family, or his background.
His book is unlike that of any of the other prophets because it is cast in a question-and-answer framework. I counted nine questions which are purported to come to God from
the people and five questions that God raises with them.
Some of these questions come as challenges to what God has said through His prophets. For example, in 1:2 God says, “I have loved you,” but the people reply, “How hast thou loved us?” This is more than a request for information, it is an impudent challenge to God: So, show us how you love us!
Wearying the Lord In 2:17, God says they have wearied him with their words, “Yet you say, ‘How have we wearied him?’” The answer: “By saying, ‘Everyone who does evil is good in the sight of the Lord and delights in them.’ Or by asking, ‘Where is the God of justice?’”
These questions are bold challenges to the God who supposedly rewards good and punishes evil. They are saying, if so, how come the good struggle and the evil prosper?
“Return to me,” says the Lord, “and I will return to you,” and they ask, “How shall we return?” (3:6). (They probably didn’t realize that there was a distance between them and the Lord.) What do we have to do to return? God’s answer: “Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me. But you say, ‘How are we robbing thee” and the answer: “In your tithes and offerings” (3:6-8).
The problem is not that they are not committing enough of their wealth to the Lord, but that they are trying to deceive the Lord with their bargain-basement giving.
“Your words have been stout against me, says the Lord. Yet you say, ‘How have we spoken against thee?’” God’s answer: “You have said it is vain to serve God. What is the good of keeping His charge, or of walking as in mourning before the Lord of hosts? ... evildoers not only prosper, but when they put God to the test, they escape” (3:13-15).
Honest doubts When Job asked similar questions of God, there was no recrimination from the Lord. So, what is the difference between Job’s questions and those quoted in Malachi 3?
The difference is, even though Job questioned God, he remained sincere and faithful. The people of Malachi’s time pretended to be faithful to God, but were not. God does not reject those who question Him, so long as they are honest about their doubts.
The most important of all the questions raised in Malachi, however, is the question God raises: “Behold, I send my messenger to prepare the way before me, and the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight; behold, he is coming says the Lord of hosts, BUT WHO CAN ENDURE THE DAY OF HIS COMING, AND WHO CAN STAND WHEN HE APPEARS?” (3:1,2 – my capitalization).
Good question: Who can endure His coming? But that is not the end of the matter: “But for you who fear my name the sun of righteousness shall rise, with healing in its wings.” (4:2).
And that is how we return to the Lord – with both our questions and our repentance.
This farm news was published in the Aug. 22, 2007 issue of Farm World, serving Indiana, Ohio, Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan and Tennessee. |
