Untitled Sermon

The prophecy of Malachi began by reminding the people of God of his irrevocable love (1:2–5), and it ends with the probable perspective on their utter destruction. God’s judgment cannot be separated from his grace. “If any one has no love for the Lord, let him be accursed” (1 Cor. 16:22).

Pieter A. Verhoef, The Books of Haggai and Malachi, The New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1987), 344. 2. But (And) unto you, who fear My Name, shall the Sun of Righteousness arise. It is said of God, The Lord God is a sun and a shield, and, 10The Lord shall be to thee an everlasting light, and thy God thy glory; thy sun shall no more go down; for the Lord shall be thine everlasting light; and Zacharias, speaking of the office of S. John Baptist in the words of Malachi, thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare His way, speaks of the tender mercy of our God, whereby the Dayspring from on high hath visited us, to give light to them that sit in darkness. “12He Who is often called Lord and God, and Angel and Captain of the Lord’s host, and Christ and Priest and Word and Wisdom of God and Image, is now called the Sun of Righteousness. He, the Father promises, will arise, not to all, but to those only who fear His Name, giving them the light of the Sun of Righteousness, as the reward of their fear toward Him. This is God the Word Who saith, I am the Light of the world, Who was the Light of every one who cometh into the world.” Primarily, Malachi speaks of our Lord’s second Coming, when to them that look for Him shall He appear, a second time unto salvation. For as, in so many places14, the Old Testament exhibits the opposite lots of the righteous and the wicked, so here the prophet speaks of the Day of Judgment, in reference to the two opposite classes, of which he had before spoken, the proud and evil doers, and the fearers of God. The title, the Sun of Righteousness, belongs to both Comings; “in the first, He diffused rays of righteousness, whereby He justified and daily justifies any sinners whatever, who will look to Him, i. e. believe in Him and obey Him, as the sun imparts light, joy and life to all who turn toward it.” In the second, the righteousness which He gave, He will own and exhibit, cleared from all the misjudgment of the world, before men and Angels. Yet more, healing is, throughout Holy Scripture, used of the removal of sickness or curing of wounds, in the individual or state or Church, and, as to the individual, bodily or spiritual. So David thanks God, first for the forgiveness, Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; then for healing of his soul, Who healeth all thy diseases; then for salvation, Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; then for the crown laid up for him, Who crowneth thee with loving-kindness and tender mercies; then, with the abiding sustenance and satisfying joy, Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things. Healing then primarily belongs to this life, in which we are still encompassed with infirmities, and even His elect and His Saints have still, whereof to be healed. The full then and complete healing of the soul, the integrity of all its powers will be in the life to come. There, will be “understanding without error, memory without forgetfulness, thought without distraction, love without simulation, sensation without offence, satisfying without satiety, universal health without sickness.” “2For through Adam’s sin the soul was wounded in understanding, through obscurity and ignorance; in will, through the leaning to perishing goods; as concupiscent, through infirmity and manifold concupiscence. In heaven Christ will heal all these, giving to the understanding light and knowledge; to the will, constancy in good; to the desire, that it should desire nothing but what is right and good. Then too the healing of the soul will be the light of glory, the vision and fruition of God, and the glorious endowments consequent thereon, over-streaming all the powers of the soul and therefrom to the body.” “God has made the soul of a nature so mighty, that from its most full beatitude, which at the end of time is promised to the saints, there shall overflow to the inferior nature, the body, not bliss, which belongs to the soul as intelligent and capable of fruition, but the fullness of health that is, the vigorousness of incorruption.”

And ye shall go forth, as from a prison-house, from the miseries of this lifeless life, and grow up, or perhaps more probably, bound, as the animal, which has been confined, exults in its regained freedom, itself full of life and exuberance of delight. So the Psalmist, 5The saints shall exult in glory. And our Lord uses the like word, as to the way, with which they should greet persecution to the utmost, for His Name’s sake. Swiftness of motion is one of the endowments of the spiritual body, after the resurrection; as the angels, to whom the righteous shall be like7, ran and returned as the appearance of a flash of lightning.

3. And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet. It shall be a great reversal. He that exalteth himself shall be abased, and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted. Here the wicked often have the pre-eminence. This was the complaint of the murmurers among the Jews; in the morning of the Resurrection the upright shall have dominion over them. The wicked, he had said, shall be as stubble, and that day shall burn them up; here, then, they are as the ashes, the only remnant of the stubble, as the dust under the feet. “11The elect shall rejoice, that they have, in mercy, escaped such misery. Therefore they shall be kindled inconceivably with the Divine love, and shall from their inmost heart give thanks unto God.” And being thus of one mind with God, and seeing all things as He seeth, they will rejoice in His judgments, because they are His. For they cannot have one slightest velleity, other than the all-perfect Will of God. So Isaiah closes his prophecy, And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcases of the men, that have transgressed against Me; for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched, and they shall be an abhorring to all flesh. So 13The righteous shall rejoice, when he seeth the vengeance; and another Psalmist, The righteous shall see and rejoice; and all wickedness shall stop her mouth; and Job, 15The righteous see and are glad, and the innocent laugh them to scorn.

This “proof of the people’s righteousness to appear in mourning was done before, on account of, on behalf of (mippenê) the Lord Almighty. They have voluntarily submitted themselves to the rites in connection with mourning and penitence to please the Lord, but according to them it all was of no avail. Their experience contradicted the law of retribution, and they arrogantly came to the conclusion that it does not pay to be righteous.

The Books of Haggai and Malachi VIII. Antithesis between Righteous and Wicked (3:13–21 [Eng. 4:3])

The same attitude toward God and his service is also found in 1:2–5 and 2:17. J. M. P. Smith is of the opinion that it was characteristic of that time to see righteousness as something that one had to pay. If the Lord is served with gifts, offerings, and obedience, then he must also reward it in the form of material blessings, political influence, and domination. He observes that Malachi apparently made this criterion for the appreciation of religion his own, because he does not attempt to replace it with any other.

The prophet did not accommodate himself to the people’s purely external conception of religion; his criticism was specifically directed at the heathen notion that there is a mechanical and magical connection between religion and prosperity. Malachi’s emphasis throughout is on the people’s obligation to love, revere, and honor God (1:6; 2:5; 3:3, 4, 16).

The “arrogant” therefore were either the covenant people as such, or else those members of the nation who had already inwardly and publicly broken with the faith of the fathers, the agnostics, and the skeptics.

The expression those who feared the Lord (Heb. yirʾê YHWH) does not refer to the proselytes of the postexilic (and NT) times, but to the spiritual remnant, the true Israel (Rom. 9:6–9), whose lives and testimony are in full accord with a living realization of the holiness and majesty of God, their Father and Lord (1:6).

They have spoken to one another (Heb. niḏberû), and the content of their testimony was that the Lord has heeded, has given attention (Heb. yaqšēḇ), and has listened (Heb. yišmāʿ).

The Books of Haggai and Malachi VIII. Antithesis between Righteous and Wicked (3:13–21 [Eng. 4:3])

The people in general wearied the Lord by asking “Where is the God of justice” (2:17), and maintaining that it is “futile to serve God” (3:14). The book of remembrance will include all those harsh words and arrogant acts and attitudes. In a special sense, however, the entries in this book will be on behalf of those who feared the Lord. They will be singled out in a special manner, according to vv. 17 and 18. This “book of remembrance” is before the Lord, not so much in the sense of “in his presence,” but in front of him, in order to remind him of the righteous ones and what they have done (cf. Isa. 62:6, 7).

To be the Lord’s is to be his treasured possession. In its profane usage seg̱ullâ means “property” (Lat. peculium, “that which is accumulated by thrift”). In Eccl. 2:8 it is used of the treasures which Qohelet has amassed in the course of time (cf. 1 K. 10; 2 Chr. 1:14–17; 9:1–28). In 1 Chr. 29:3 it denotes the “personal treasures” of David. In the religious sense the word is used to denote the special position of Israel in its relationship to God as his elect people (Deut. 7:6; 14:2; Ps. 135:4). The parallelism of election and possession in connection With Israel is significantly expressed in Ps. 135:4: “For the Lord has chosen Jacob to be his own, Israel to be his treasured possession.”

This elevation of Israel to be God’s seg̱ullâ is an essential aspect of the Sinaitic covenant (Exod. 19:5, 6), with its later renewal in the territory of Moab, where the Lord declared, “that you [Israel] are his people, his treasured possession as he promised.… He has declared that he will set you in praise, fame and honor high above all the nations he has made

The Books of Haggai and Malachi VIII. Antithesis between Righteous and Wicked (3:13–21 [Eng. 4:3])

This is the one side of the Day of the Lord. On that day God will react against all the arrogant words and unrighteous deeds. The seriousness of the day of judgment will not only be the unexpectedness of its coming, but also the surprising manner in which it will expose every reckless word and faithless deed. All the resentment of the “speakers” will be wiped away, and all the insolent questions—Wherein? Whereby? In what manner?—will finally be answered. From the books of Ezra and Nehemiah it appears that many in Israel repented and renewed the covenant with God. On the other hand there were those who rejected the call for repentance and who persisted in their waywardness. To those evildoers the prophecy of Mal. 3:19 (Eng. 4:1) was directed.

20 (2) The Day of the Lord will be “the ultimate stroke of judgment” for the evildoers (v. 19 [Eng. 4:1]), but at the same time “the crown of salvation” for those who revere the name of God (vv. 20, 21 [4:2, 3]). On the one hand his judgment will burn like a furnace, but on the other hand his righteousness will shine forth like the sun. On this “day” the distinction between the righteous and the wicked (v. 18) will reach its climax.

This verse is one of the most significant texts in the prophecy of Malachi. At the same time it represents an exegetical labyrinth for the interpreter.

The Books of Haggai and Malachi VIII. Antithesis between Righteous and Wicked (3:13–21 [Eng. 4:3])

of it.

We prefer the point of view according to which righteousness must be regarded as the key word, and sun to be its nearer definition. On the Day of the Lord righteousness will become apparent just like the shining sun in all its brightness and blessedness. The same idea is found in Ps. 37:6: “He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun” (NIV). In Isa. 58:8 we read: “Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard” (NIV).

Interpreters again differ concerning whether righteousness is to be explained in the sense of a person or of matter. According to most ancient interpreters the “righteousness” here represents the Messiah, either as Christ incarnate or in his function as Judge of the world, or as both. The second interpretation, which was introduced by Theodore of Mopsuestia, has become the generally accepted one. That which those who fear the Lord will acquire on his day is righteousness as a blazing sun. In this OT key word everything worthwhile will become the possession of those who revere God’s name.

To appreciate the real meaning of this promise, we must consider three components of the context. The first is the simile of the sun. The thrust of the comparison is not that it will become fully day for the righteous, but rather that the light of the sun is representing the fullness of God’s salvation for them. In this metaphor we have two emphases: on the comprehensiveness and on the nature of God’s righteousness for those who fear him. It will shine forth not like a little candle in the night, but as the sun in its blazing fullness; furthermore, it will not bring darkness but shining light, in the sense of salvation and deliverance.

The last-named aspect of the promise is confirmed in the second component of the context, there will be healing. The Hebrew word marpēʾ can be translated as “peace” or “healing” (Jer. 14:19; 33:6; Prov. 4:22; 12:18; 13:17; 16:24; 29:1; 2 Chr. 21:18; 36:16). The latter is the meaning in our text. The rendering of the LXX is íasis, “healing,” and of the Vulgate sanitas. The semantic domain of this word is comprehensive. It is not only the opposite of “disease” (2 Chr. 21:18, 19) but also of “disaster” (Prov. 6:15) and “trouble” (Prov. 13:17). A synonym for “healing” is the Hebrew word ʾarûḵâ, meaning that new flesh has been growing on a wounded spot, that the wound has been healed (Isa. 55:8; Jer. 8:22; 30:17; 33:6). “Healing” is also parallel to “abundant peace” (Jer. 33:6, NIV) and “life” (Prov. 4:22). In Jer. 17:14 the prophet’s prayer is: “Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed; save me and I shall be saved.” The same relationship between repentance and healing is found in Hos. 6:1: “Come, let us return to the Lord; for he has torn, that he may heal us; he has stricken and he will bind us up.” In Ps. 6:3 (Eng. 2) David besought the Lord: “Be gracious to me,” and “heal me.” That which Israel’s leaders neglected to do (Jer. 6:14; Zech. 11:16) will be done by the Servant of the Lord: in preaching the good news to the poor he will bind up the brokenhearted and proclaim freedom for the captives and release for the prisoners (Isa. 61:1). Through his vicarious suffering the Servant of the Lord will reconcile his people: “by his wounds we are healed” (Isa. 53:5). “In this pregnant saying OT religion transcends itself and reaches its climax.”

In the eschatological context of Mal. 3:20 (Eng. 4:2) it will not be overloading the meaning of the word “healing” to suggest that all or most of the above-named elements must be incorporated in its interpretation. The righteousness of God for his pious ones will cause their “healing” in the most comprehensive sense of the word. The thousand wounds that were inflicted upon them by the evildoers will be covered by new flesh; the “disaster” and “trouble” that were caused by their sins will be removed, and they will be reconciled; their whole existence will be radically changed and will be characterized by “abundant peace” and real “life.” This “healing” ultimately will be the consequence of the vicarious suffering of the Servant of the Lord.

in its wings. Most interpreters combine the figurative use of the wings of a bird with the rays of the sun, while attaching to it alternative meanings, for instance, as symbol of protection with reference to a hen and her chickens (Luther), or of rapid movement (Reinke), while the majority of interpreters follow Wellhausen in his reference to the comparable motif of the sun depicted as a winged disk in Near Eastern religion and culture. The similarity between the “wings” of the sun- righteousness and the winged disk of Israel’s Umwelt is indeed remarkable. In the astral religions of the ancient Near East the sun did play a major role. The sun-god Shamash was the god of righteousness and the protector of the poor. The possibility of such an association in the metaphor of our text with similar notions in the religion and culture of that time cannot be ignored. Nevertheless, there is an aspect that we must not forget. The sun disk of the Assyrians and Persians was a symbol of dominion and therefore a sign of violence and destruction. Under the wings of Malachi’s sun no violence or destruction will be found, but healing, redemption, everlasting life, and peace.

An interesting explanation is offered by C. van Gelderen in his commentary on Hos. 4:19. According to him the figurative meaning of “wings” is not derived from birds but from a common practice among the Jews. A person’s “wing” was also the fold in his garment, in which money or other precious things were stored (cf. Num. 15:38; 1 Sam. 15:27; 24:5, 6, 12; Jer. 2:34; Ezek. 5:3; Hos. 4:19; Hag. 2:12; Zech. 8:23; cf, also JPSV note). According to this interpretation the shining sun of righteousness has a precious article in the fold of his garment, namely, healing in the all-inclusive sense of the word.

The description of the blessedness that the believers will experience on the Day of the Lord is cast in terms of the OT dispensation. The NT teaches us that this blessedness surpasses all human understanding. We may assume, however, that the love of the merciful God, of which Malachi has also spoken (1:2–5), will then be an astonishing reality. On the Day of the Lord nobody who loves him will have reason to doubt it.

Malachi’s references to the day of the Lord (3:17, 19, 21, 23 [Eng. 4:1, 3, 5]) coincide with an essential motif in OT eschatology. The term itself occurs 16 times in the OT (Isa. 13:6, 9; Ezek. 13:5; Joel 1:15; 2:1, 11; 3:4 [Eng. 2:31]; 4:14 [Eng. 3:14]; Amos 5:18 [bis], 20; Obad. v. 15; Zeph. 1:7, 14 [bis];Mal. 3:23 [Eng. 4:5]). The other expressions for the Day of the Lord are yôm le YHWH (Isa. 2:12; Ezek. 30:3, and Zech. 14:1), yôm ʿeḇraṯ YHWH (Ezek. 7:19; Zeph. 1:18), yôm ʾap-YHWH (Zeph. 2:2, 3; Lam. 2:22), yôm zeḇah YHWH (Zeph. 1:8), laʾḏōnāy YHWH … yôm neqāmâ (Jer. 46:10; cf. Isa. 34:8), yôm rāṣôn YHWH (Isa. 58:5), and finally yôm mehûmâ.… laʾḏōnāy YHWH (Isa. 22:5). Apart from the terminology, the motif of this day may be found in every absolute and final element of each prophecy concerning the future.

We maintain that Malachi restricted his announcement of the coming day exclusively to the covenant people. In this respect his presentation differs from the universal and cosmic motifs of other prophets (esp. Joel, Zephaniah, and Zechariah). The Day of the Lord will cause a crisis within the covenant people. On that “day” the difference between those who fear and serve God and those who do not will be apparent.

It is noteworthy that the people in the time of Malachi, just as in the days of Amos (5:18–20), expected the coming of the day (2:17; 3:1). We therefore disagree with some scholars according to whom there was a deep religious difference between the “popular” and the “prophetic” expectation. The real difference was not so much the expectation as such, but the application thereof on the people themselves and the conclusions that were drawn from it.

A significant aspect of Malachi’s representation of the Day of the Lord is the notion that that day will be preceded by a “forerunner” (3:1, 23 [Eng. 4:5]). The coming of that day is God’s answer to all the people’s reproaches, and that is why it is represented as near at hand (3:1, 5, 19 [Eng. 4:1]). This characteristic trend in the prophetic eschatology must not be “dated,” but concerns the dynamic character of its coming and emphasizes its seriousness and certainty. The coming of the Day of the Lord is real and timely in the concrete situation of the people’s reproaches and sins, although the central and final fulfillments will occur respectively at the first and second comings of Christ. The universal and cosmic motif of Malachi’s representation is found only in the notion of the annihilation of the wicked (3:19 [Eng. 4:1]) and the definition of the day as “the great and terrible day of the Lord” (3:23 [Eng. 4:5]; cf. Joel 2:11, 3:4 [Eng. 2:31

The futility of God’s people is evident here, “It is vain, it is useless to serve God.” This word “vain” is a harsh word. It is from the Hebrew word shav {shav} which means “emptiness, nothingness, worthlessness of conduct, lying or falsehood.” They considered serving the Lord as a big lie because they felt that God and His Word was a lie. Serving God was a big waste of time. They claimed to have kept God’s Word and be repentant before the Lord, but they were only fooling themselves. They were going through the motions outwardly, but their hearts were not changed and yielded to the Lord at all. This is why they were empty and why the Lord did not bless them. Both Isaiah and Paul described people with this condition.

* Isaiah 58:3–4.… Wherefore have we fasted, say they, and thou seest not? wherefore have we afflicted our soul, and thou takest no knowledge? Behold, in the day of your fast ye find pleasure, and exact all your labours. [4] Behold, ye fast for strife and debate, and to smite with the fist of wickedness: ye shall not fast as ye do this day, to make your voice to be heard on high.

These folks could not understand why God was not impressed with their fasting. They wondered why the Lord was not paying attention when they humbled themselves. The Lord rebukes their hypocrisy, pointing out the fact that while they are supposedly “fasting,” they were oppressing their workers, arguing, and getting into fights. This kind of behavior would not accomplish anything with God because their hearts were not truly yielded to Him.

The Queen Mary was the largest ship to cross the oceans when it was launched in 1936. Through four decades and a world war she served until she was retired, anchored as a floating hotel and museum in Long Beach, California. During the conversion, her three massive smoke-stacks were taken off to be scraped down and repainted. But on the dock they crumbled. Nothing was left of the 3/4-inch steel plate from which the stacks had been formed. All that remained were more than thirty coats of paint that had been applied over the years. The steel had rusted away. When Jesus called the Pharisees “whitewashed tombs,” he meant they had no substance, only an exterior appearance. This was the problem with the people in Malachi’s time and also our day. Notice what Isaiah and Paul said about people like this.

* Isaiah 29:13—Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men:

* 2 Timothy 3:5—Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.

When I read this statement, “It is vain to serve God,” I wondered how someone gets to this point. How do people come to this conclusion that serving the Lord is worthless, a waste of time, and unsatisfying when in reality, serving the Lord is the most valuable, productive, and satisfying activity they can do with their lives? The Bible provides some insights to this question.

* Nine Reasons Why Do People Consider Serving to God a Waste of Time?

1. The Pursuit of Profit—“Ye have said, It is vain to serve God: and what profit is it that we have kept his ordinance, …”

In this verse, God’s people did not see any PROFIT in obeying God and having a humble heart. The word “profit” is a technical term used for a weaver cutting a piece of cloth free from the loom. It is used negatively by men expecting their cut or percentage, as a gangster would demand his cut for evil deeds.

Beloved, we are to serve the Lord because it is the right thing to do and because we love Him. We are not to serve Him for profit or gain. Yet, there are Christians today who have this philosophy. They go to church to gain business contacts. If a person is not careful, greed can grapple and grip their heart to the point that money and material possessions are all that he or she thinks about. Greed will distract you, getting your focus off of God and upon yourself. It will muffle what the Lord is trying to say to you.

* 1 Timothy 6:9–10 … But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. [10] For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

Greed funnels the focus of a person on that which he does not have but wants so badly. Greed can cause people to be ungrateful to God for what they have. They believe that what they have or accomplished is based on their own merits. Job described people who had this attitude. He said he would have nothing to do with this kind of thinking. People in his days were consumed with greed instead of a desire to serve the Lord.

* Job 21:15–16.… What is the Almighty, that we should serve him? and what profit should we have, if we pray unto him? [16] Lo, their good is not in their hand: the counsel of the wicked is far from me.

* Job 34:9 For he hath said, It profiteth a man nothing that he should delight himself with God.

* Job 35:3 For thou saidst, What advantage will it be unto thee? and, What profit shall I have, if I be cleansed from my sin?

Some people see education as the anchor of civilization, but it was one of the best educated nations on earth that gave birth to the Nazis. Some see health as an anchor for life, but much of the work in the world is being done by people who don’t feel like doing it. Some see stability in wealth as their anchor. They may have an experience similar to that of the ship Marine Electric, which sank off the coast of Virginia early in 1983, costing the lives of thirty-one sailors. The reason was this: the ship’s eight-ton anchor came loose and battered the hull of the ship until the ship went down. The vessel was destroyed by its own anchor. If wealth or the pursuit of profit is your anchor, it may destroy you. Our hope in Christ is the only unfailing anchor for the soul.

2. The Problem of Unfulfilled Presumptions.

Some folks give up on serving God because of an unfulfilled expectation. They reason, “God did not answer my prayer or do what I wanted Him to do. He doesn’t care about me or my family. He is not real. Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.” Give me a break. Stop having your pity party and grow up.

The Lord knows what is better for your life than you. Stop acting like a spoiled brat at Wal Mart and trust the Lord with your life. Why not thank Him for letting you live another day. Why not praise Him for the food on your table, the roof over your head, and your church that preaches the Word of God which is becoming a rare breed in this day in age. Trust the Lord with your life and continue to put your expectation in Him. Whatever He does will be best for you.

* Psalm 62:5—My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from him.

* Romans 8:28—And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

We have seen so far that people consider serving the Lord as a waste of time for several reasons.

* The Pursuit of Profit

* The Problem of Unfulfilled Presumptions

* Next, the Passion for Personal Desires

3. The Passion for Personal Desires.

People that want to live their own way, without any restrictions or anyone telling them what to do or how to live will shirk at serving God because the Lord expects our obedience to His Word. Their love for worldly matters causes them to consider spiritual and eternal activities as matters that are mythical, fanatical, illogical, impractical, puritanical, radical, and an obstacle to the way they want to live their lives. Pleasing their flesh is their priority. Their motto is to live for now, eat, drink, and be merry. This was the attitude of God’s people during the times of the judges and in Jeremiah’s day. They did not want to have anything to do with God.

* Job 21:14—Therefore they say unto God, Depart from us; for we desire not the knowledge of thy ways

* Judges 17:6—In those days there was no king in Israel, but every man did that which was right in his own eyes.

* Proverbs 21:2—Every way of a man is right in his own eyes: but the LORD pondereth the hearts.

* Proverbs 12:15—The way of a fool is right in his own eyes: but he that hearkeneth unto counsel is wise.

* Jeremiah 2:20—For of old time I have broken thy yoke, and burst thy bands; and thou saidst, I will not transgress; when upon every high hill and under every green tree thou wanderest, playing the harlot. Though delivered by the Lord, God’s people were adamant and said they would not serve the Lord. They continued to live in immorality that was associated with their idolatry.

Translation Note on Jeremiah 2:20: This verse is translated differently in different translations. The KJV reads “I will not transgress” but others have the words “I will not serve.” These translations are very different. The word “transgress” is from the Hebrew word `abar {aw-bar’} which means “to transgress, alienate, or go beyond.” In the Hebrew Bible, the scribes did not alter any text they felt had been copied incorrectly. Rather they noted in the margin what they thought the written next should be. The written variation is called a kethiv and the marginal note is called the qere. The qere or marginal note reading was used for the KJV here. The reason for the variety of translation is because of the uncertainty of the Hebrew word that is used. The other Hebrew word that is very similar in appearance is the word `abad {aw-bad’}. The Hebrew letters for “D” and “R” are very similar in appearance. This word “abad” means “to serve, labor, or make oneself a servant.” This is why the other translations read differently. The translators feel that based on the context of the verse that this should be the word used in this verse.

Samson did not want to serve God and honor the Nazarite vow because of the pursuit of his personal desires. Living for the Lord was not an important issue for him. His passion for Delilah ended up destroying his life. The prodigal son was another who wanted to pursue his passions instead of following the scriptures that his father had taught him. His path of passion and filthy living ended in a hog pen. Those consumed with selfishness live a hog’s life. Paul’s friend, Demas, quit serving the Lord because of his love for the world.

* 2 Timothy 4:10—For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world, and is departed unto Thessalonica; …

Have you stopped serving the Lord because your passions and desires are more important to you? Does this world have a grip on your life and priorities? People consider serving the Lord is a waste of time for several reasons. So far we have seen three.

* The Pursuit of Profit

* The Problem of Unfulfilled Presumptions

* The Passion for Personal Desires

* The fourth reason is the Privation of Praise

4. The Privation of Praise.

An old missionary couple had been working in Africa for years and were returning to New York to retire. They had no pension; their health was broken; they were defeated, discouraged, and afraid. They discovered they were booked on the same ship as President Teddy Roosevelt, who was returning from one of his big-game hunting expeditions. No one paid any attention to them. They watched the fanfare that accompanied the President’s entourage, with passengers trying to catch a glimpse of the great man.

As the ship moved across the ocean, the old missionary said to his wife, “Something is wrong. Why should we have given our lives in faithful service for God in Africa all these many years and have no one care a thing about us? Here this man comes back from a hunting trip and everybody makes much over him, but nobody gives two hoots about us.” “Dear, you shouldn’t feel that way,” his wife said. “I can’t help it; it doesn’t seem right.”

When the ship docked in New York, a band was waiting to greet the President. The mayor and other dignitaries were there. The papers were full of the President’s arrival, but no one noticed this missionary couple. They slipped off the ship and found a cheap flat on the East Side, hoping the next day to see what they could do to make a living in the city. That night the man’s spirit broke. He said to his wife, “I can’t take this; God is not treating us fairly.” His wife replied, “Why don’t you go in the bedroom and tell that to the Lord?”

A short time later he came out from the bedroom, but now his face was completely different. His wife asked, “Dear, what happened?” “The Lord settled it with me,” he said. “I told him how bitter I was that the President should receive this tremendous homecoming, when no one met us as we returned home. And when I finished, it seemed as though the Lord put his hand on my shoulder and simply said, ‘Son, you’re not home yet!’ ” Beloved, we are not home yet, so be faithful.

Satan is the master deceiver. He is good at what he does. The Devil has these folks right where he wants them. This is exactly what he wants us to think too. If a Christian starts to adopt this kind of reasoning, he begins to make carnal decisions and choices that will eventually hurt his relationship with God and others. If you think that living sinfully is going to make you happy, you are headed for trouble and major disappointment. If you believe that living wickedly is going to make you successful, you are headed for a lot of pain and heartache. If you have concluded that you will get away with your defiance or rebellion toward the Lord, then you are in for a rude awakening.

A man named Floyd Collins, in 1925, was exploring near Mammoth Cave in Kentucky and got stuck. He was fifty-five feet from the surface and he got stuck. Icy water was dripping in his face. The rescuers came in and diverted the water. They talked with him, calmed him down, but they couldn’t get him out. He began to lose his mind, stuck in that cave. He was able to see the light, able to see where he wanted to be, hearing voices, getting food, but he was stuck and he couldn’t get out. So he slowly began to have raving hallucinations about everything from chicken sandwiches to angels in white chariots. The newspapers got in on it, and ten thousand people came to see him. They sold hot dogs and sandwiches. It became a circus. Seventeen days later Floyd Collins died in that hole, able to see where he wanted to be and not able to get there.

Beloved, you may go through life living your own way, but eventually, you will get stuck like Floyd. You may thirst for peace, love, joy, freedom from bondage, and satisfaction, but these will elude you because you are caught in the snare of your own reasoning and have rejected the true source of deliverance, the Lord Jesus Christ. Your only hope is to reject your faulty assessments or conclusions, seek, and embrace the truth of God’s Word.

Treasures from Malachi V. The Forgiveness or Amnesty of the Lord 3:17–18

On New Year’s Day, 1929, Georgia Tech played UCLA in the Rose Bowl. In that game a young man named Roy Riegels recovered a fumble for UCLA. Picking up the loose football, he lost his direction and ran sixty-five yards toward the wrong goal line. One of his teammates, Benny Lom, ran him down and tackled him just before he scored for the opposing team. Several plays later, the UCLA Bruins had to punt. Georgia Tech blocked the kick and scored a safety for 2 points, demoralizing the UCLA team. The strange play came in the first half of the game.

At half-time, the UCLA football players filed off the field and into the dressing room. As others sat down on the benches and the floor, Roy Riegels put a blanket around his shoulders, sat down in a corner, and put his face in his hands. A football coach usually has a great deal to say to his team during halftime. That day Coach Price was quiet. No doubt he was trying to decide what to do with Roy Riegels.

When the timekeeper came in and announced that there were three minutes before playing time, Coach Price looked at the team and said, “Men, the same team that played the first half will start the second half.” The players got up and started out, all but Roy Riegels. He didn’t budge. The coach looked back and called to him, but Riegels didn’t move. Coach Price went over to where Riegels sat and said, “Roy, didn’t you hear me? The same team that played the first half will start the second.”

Roy Riegels looked up, his cheeks wet with tears. “Coach,” he said, “I can’t do it. I’ve ruined you. I’ve ruined the university’s reputation. I’ve ruined myself. I can’t face that crowd out there.” Coach Price reached out, put his hand on Riegels’s shoulder, and said, “Roy, get up and go on back. The game is only half over.” Riegels finally did get up. He went onto the field, and the fans saw him play hard and play well in that second half of the game.

Beloved, all of us have run a long way in the wrong direction, but because of God’s mercy, grace, and forgiveness, the game is only half over. If you have been knocked down by sin, get back up. If you have failed, realize the Lord will help you overcome your defeats and mistakes and help you to live a victorious Christian life. Like a precious treasure, He will watch over you, clean and shine you up, protect and keep you close. He will not throw you away.

When we read stories about Christians like Al Braca, we begin to understand why Christians are precious treasures to the Lord. Al Braca worked as a corporate bond trader. His office was on the 105th floor of Tower One in the World Trade Center. A week after the tower was hit and collapsed, Al’s body was found in the rubble. According to his wife, Jeannie, Al hated his job. He couldn’t stand the environment at the World Trade Center. It was a world completely out of sync with his Christian values, but he wouldn’t quit. He was convinced that God wanted him to stay there, to be a light in the darkness and tell those folks about Christ.

On September 11th, 2001, when the jets slammed into the two towers, the Braca family learned that Al had indeed been ministering to people during the terrorist attack. Reports trickled in from friends and acquaintances. Some people on the 105th floor had made a last call or sent e-mails to loved ones saying that “a man” was leading people in prayer. A few referred to Al Braca by name.

Evidently, when Al realized that they were trapped in the building, with no way out, and would not be able to escape, he shared the Gospel of Jesus Christ in that burning building with 50 co-workers and then led them in prayer. God had His man where He wanted Him for such a terrible, tragic, traumatic time. Beloved, God will use you if you are available to Him. The attitudes of futility and faithlessness are a fallacy. You do not have to go through life being defeated.

II. THE SUN OF RIGHTEOUSNESS 4:2–3

The Old Testament closes here in the book of Malachi with God directing man to look toward the heavens, and it is well that man looks upward. Our hope is found by looking up, looking to the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the hope of mankind.

* Hebrews 12:2—Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

* 1 Timothy 1:1—Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the commandment of God our Saviour, and Lord Jesus Christ, which is our hope;

The day of the Lord will be a day of deliverance for the righteous remnant. The righteous will not experience the burning wrath of God but, rather, will be gently and comfortably warmed by the Sun of Righteousness, a figurative representation of the person of Jesus Christ, the Messiah of mankind. The Sun of Righteousness in the Old Testament is the same person who is the Bright and Morning Star in the New Testament.

* Revelation 22:16—I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.

The Old Testament is a testament of expectation. It points to the heavens, and it speaks of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Sun of Righteousness. God is called a sun throughout the Old Testament. This is a fitting figure for Him because Jesus comes to usher in a new day and to end the night of man’s sin. He is the Light of the World.

* Psalm 84:11—For the Lord God is a sun and shield: the Lord will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.

The Day of the Lord is coming, and His kingdom will be established upon the earth. Those folks who put their faith in Christ will be blessed by Him. They will grow up like calves in a stall. They will be protected and enjoy God’s provision. Those folks who rejected Christ will be destroyed and shall be as ashes.

* Matthew 17:3—And, behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elias talking with him.

The Jews today are looking for the arrival of Elijah. At the Passover Feast, in the orthodox Jewish home, a chair is put at the table in which no one sits. It is for Elijah who shall come. A place is set at the table with a cup of wine. The front door is left open so Elijah may enter. If Elijah returned, the Jews would know that the coming of their Messiah was near.

The ministry of John the Baptist as well as Elijah to come will be to turn the heart of the fathers to their children and the heart of the children to their fathers. There is a need today for unity in the home. Most homes today are divided. Divorce is rampant, families are divided and bitter. The bitterness effects the relationship of people toward God. It is hard to have joy and grow spiritually when your heart is full of hatred, anger, and bitterness. If you struggle with these feelings, then ask God to deliver you from them.

In most of the Hebrew Masoretic Bibles the fifth verse is repeated after the sixth—“Behold, I send unto you Elijah the prophet, before the great and terrible day of Jehovah come;” for the Jews do not like to let their sacred book end with a curse.

The last word of the Old Testament, however, is the word curse. It is interesting to note that the first book of the Bible ends with a coffin, which is a result of the curse. God wanted the Jews to find this word at the end of the Old Testament. This would prepare mankind for the hopeful message of the New Testament.

The curse began when Adam and Eve were in the Garden of Eden and disobeyed God. At that time God said that the ground would be cursed and that the curse would rest upon them. The curse was sin, and it will not be removed until the Lord comes to this earth the second time. The problems of the world today are traced to the sinfulness of men. The only hope for mankind is faith in the Lord Jesus Christ who became a curse for us.

* Galatians 3:13–14.… Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: Because of Christ the New Testament ends with the termination of the curse. There shall be no more curse (Rev. 22:3). Amen