The Worn-Out Words

Text: Malachi 2:17-3:5

Central Idea of the Text: Though some thought God was tarrying to being inconsistent, he proves himself vocal and faithful.

Proposition: Don’t dwell in doubt; have faith in God’s Faithfulness.

Purpose: All hearers should be called from places of doubt to places of trusting in God: his salvation, his purpose, his plan.

It is vacation season , and it is right to have vacation on the brain today. As many of you know I’ve been traveling for the last two weeks , and we have been to the East Coast and back . In the process we logged 3700 miles on our car . We don’t have a large car , but our small car did get good gas mileage on the trip . It was a trip taken to celebrate our sons graduation from high school and so that he could visit his sister . Having taken in a lot of other trips over the years , I can say that this type of vacation is much easier . We’ve been there and done that to take road trips when kids were babies or toddlers or elementary age kids . Days and times when people had to wear diapers and eat at certain times and sing songs and ask some of the most repetitive questions known to mankind . You know that the king of those questions is “Are we there yet End?” The longer the road trip the more you’re going to hear it . Thankfully when you have a graduate in your house , if they ever ask you that question on this type of road trip , You just pull the car over and you give them the keys and say you keep driving and tell me . Of a Divine retribution, or a taste of their own medicine. Whatever your family road trip looks like , I know that that small space lens itself to an increased annoyance at repeated questions .

Today’s text causes us to pause and think about repeated questions especially when it comes to God . Does God ever tire of our questions ? And if So what kind of questions would they be ? Malachi answers this question with the voice of the Lord today. Let’s take a look at today’s text found in Malachi 2:17–3:5 this morning. [Read text]

“17 You have wearied the Lord with your words. But you say, “How have we wearied him?” By saying, “Everyone who does evil is good in the sight of the Lord, and he delights in them.” Or by asking, “Where is the God of justice?” 1 “Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts. 2 But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap. 3 He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, and they will bring offerings in righteousness to the Lord. 4 Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the Lord as in the days of old and as in former years. 5 “Then I will draw near to you for judgment. I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, against the adulterers, against those who swear falsely, against those who oppress the hired worker in his wages, the widow and the fatherless, against those who thrust aside the sojourner, and do not fear me, says the Lord of hosts.”

This is the word of the Lord for us this morning .

Please pray with me : Lord we thank you for this day , and we thank you for the moments as adults and parents that we are reminded of the questions of our children . We are reminded of the patients that you have with your children as they have questions and concerns . Some of those questions and doubts may seem trivial . Others may seem significant. None of them go unheard . And ultimately God your Word tells us that none of them will go unanswered . I pray that you would help us to look to you for answers today and bring your questions . Lead us from Doubt to trust today. we pray in Jesus name Amen .

There are a great many truths that the Word tells us about the God we believe in . They are summed up in several key words or phrases. God is holy . God is righteous. God is just. God is omnipresent. God is omniscient. God is immutable . God is sovereign . There are more. But the trait that the text leads us to wonder about today is this : God is omnipotent . When we say God is omnipotent we mean that He is all powerful Today’s text seems to make us ask questions about God and his all powerfulness . Is God actually all powerful? Or are the questions being asked by his children wearing him out ? This is what Malachi seems to imply . He says in verse 17 that you have wearied the Lord with your words. So is God just some weary parent cruising down the highway with his children in the backseat wondering if we’re there yet? Yes I believe that there are statements and questions that the Lord finds exasperating to hear again and again, and we know that he hears all of them, because he is omniscient. But this is not leading to some deficiency in his energy level . He simply wants the children who continue to ask these repetitive statements to pause and consider what he has done and will do.

What are these exhausting questions ? The people do wonder this because they seem to not be able to recall it. But the Prophet states two: “Everyone who does evil is good in the sight of the LORD, and he delights in them.” Now, what might cause God’s people make such a statement, that those who do evil are actually good in God’s sight? They may be wondering because they are looking around and noting what the world around them looks like. Perhaps they see people who are being disobedient to God , and yet they are prospering . Perhaps they have been disobedient to God’s commands but they have plenty and it seems like they are not suffering consequences for their actions or their disobedience . It even leads them to think that perhaps this God who told them what is and is not sin does not really think that obedience is THAT important. Maybe he’s just actually cool with people who continue to sin and wants to bless them because of their sin. It is to give God a label and say that he actually endorses what is wrong and what is evil. It is a statement and a place of doubt . And it leads to the second question :

“Where is the God of justice?” To ask a question like this is to wonder where is God? What could he possibly be doing ? Why is he allowing this to go on and not stepping in and intervening ? There are appropriate spots at which to ask such a question. But to ask it repetitively without actually seeking an answer or without listening for an answer is to miss out on what God has said and what God has done . Again this question and this statement are another place where doubt goes to camp out.

In our current time and age , we note that these two questions /statements or a place where who would refer to themselves as questioning Christians Would go to hang out . In the modern times it has been popular for some who have been raised in Christian homes, or have grown up exposed to the Church and the Scriptures have found it trendy in these times to refer to themselves as deconstructionists . They are people who would say that they have deconstructed their faith because of their doubts and their questions . Ways that they saw people harmed or have been harmed by others . They may have asked similar questions such as Where was God ? they may have made statements to think that perhaps God was endorsing wrongdoing Or that perhaps God does not exist because he allowed such things to happen . Yes, there are people who would refer to themselves as disaffected Christ or perhaps even former believers who have gone and pitched their tent in the camp of complaint . And I will readily admit this morning that there are times and places that cause us to make such statements and ask such questions . The scriptures themselves at points ask pointed questions of the Lord . But the Lord is not without response or answer . And the Lord responds here to their worn-out words.

It is God’s desire that his people would not dwell in doubt, but that they would have faith in God’s faithfulness. As this Prophet Malachi has spoken , He has spoken to some of the difficult circumstances that God’s people have found themselves in . Places where their worship and offerings to God were dishonoring to the Lord . Places where their marriages and covenants were in trouble. Places where there hearts were not in the right place in terms of giving to the Lord . And so many of these areas where their priorities were out of line were rooted in their doubts and questions that colored their everyday view of their God. If you are constantly doubting God will you trust him enough to pray to him ? If you constantly questioning God’s goodness , will you approach him as if he is good to hear your prayers and provide what you need? Can you see why God was wearied by the people’s words? He had already proved himself to them! He had already made his covenant with them. He had already LED them to the promised land and established them there. even when they were unfaithful, he was faithful and brought them back and established them once again in the land he had promised them . So now for them to continue to live and to question him for decade after decade and his faithfulness ? Can you see the weariness of God ? They have not drained his strength . But they have called into question his patience, and it is TIRESOME for a father to hear this tone and questioning again and again from His children.

So will God answer them ? Or will he be done with them? God makes it clear that he will give an answer and that he will demonstrate that he is a faithful God and that his people can place faith in that faithful God and leave behind their doubt. If I could summarize his response , it would simply be to say this : Sooner AND Later. God’s people will see his faithfulness to His promises and to set all things right sooner and later . I want to examine the sooner and the later of this passage today so that we can fully receive God words about his promises .

The Sooner: John and Jesus

in verse one of chapter three , God lays out what he is going to do in the shorter term. He says in verse three that he will send a Messenger. The Messenger is the one who will prepare the way before the Lord . He will make a path for the one who will execute the plan of setting things right. This is the same one who is spoken of in Isaiah 40:3 “3 A voice cries: “In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God.” If you’ve been around the Bible or the church much . You know exactly who we’re talking about here . This is John the Baptist . The Gospels are very clear that He is the fulfillment of this prophecy from Malachi.

Not only will there be a messenger , but God is clear here as well that the Lord himself will come into the temple . And verse one God speaks of him as the one who comes to the temple and as the one who is the messenger of the covenant. What is being made clear here is that Jesus Christ , the one who is Lord and who is God , is the one who will come to the temple . His coming to the temple will mark his arrival to bring the necessary changes that are needed for Israel . He says in verse two that no one can stand on the day of his coming . He’s the one who is the refiners fire and the Fuller’s soap. We are aware that a refining fire is one that purifies a metal . It allows the metal to become liquid or soft and the impurities come out of it . In the same way this fuller soap that’s spoken of here is like that of a launderer, Who uses a special soap or a bleaching agent to get all of the dirt and impurities out of a soiled garment and make it clean once again. It might be good for us in this moment to think about what Jesus has done when he came to the temple:

When Jesus went to the temple as a boy in Luke 2, his knowledge and answers blew the minds of the teachers in the temple.

When Jesus went enter the temple two different times in John 2 and Matthew 21 , He found the money changers and drove them out, flipping their tables and declaring that they had made his father’s house a den of thieves.

When Jesus went to the temple in Matthew 21 , He healed people , he taught in parables and he challenged the religious leaders .

When Jesus went to the temple in Matthew 24 , he prophesied the temple’s destruction . And when Christ died on the cross, the veil that divided the Holy of Holies from the rest of the temple was torn in 2 from top to bottom.

All of these happenings and more highlight the fact that Christ Had a huge cleansing and purifying impact when he arrived at the temple . But he was not simply purifying a building . He was there to purify a people. This is why verse three goes on to say that he will purify the sons of Levi, and they will bring offerings in righteousness . Now, we have heard of these priests in Malachi’s time previously. They were corrupt. They were allowing bad offerings and were operating from sin-corrupted hearts. But now the sacrifices of this priesthood that Christ was preparing? They would be the priests that would live out the intentions of the Psalmist in Psalm 24:3-5: “Who shall ascend the hill of the LORD? And who shall stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to what is false and does not swear deceitfully. He will receive blessing from the LORD and righteousness from the God of his salvation.” These are priests that are not temporarily pure, but now are pure within by the blood of God’s perfect Lamb.

This is the sooner part of God’s answer. But as we think about it in the shorter term I want us to think about what that means for them . God is speaking here through the prophet Malachi, who is speaking 400 years before Christ is born. The answer that God says is coming in the short term is arriving 400 years after the people who will hear the promise. None of them are actually going to be alive at the time when this prophecy is fulfilled. It is a practical look at what Peter speaks of in 2 Peter 3:8–9 :“8 But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. 9 The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.” So the big key in all of this is Will God’s people be patient with Him and wait on His timing ? Will they trust him ? Even the shorter term answer requests that God’s people have patience and wait on the Lord . They looked ahead to the Christ. Now we look back and see his saving work . And we can be grateful for that perspective because it should anchor our hope on the second part God’s promises through the prophet Malachi. After the sooner comes the later ....

The Later: Christ’s Second Coming

The interesting part of this passage is that we sit right between these two promises of the word. As God is reminding his people about his faithfulness to them we get to see one portion of it that’s been fulfilled and one portion that is yet to be. The portion that is yet to be starts in verse 5: “Then I will draw near to you for judgement.” It seems like a quick shift to talk about moving from one to the other here: from purifying to judgment. But what is being referenced here is the difference between Christ’s first coming and His 2nd coming. At His second coming Christ is coming in judgment .

Some people would pause here and wonder if what I’m preaching jives with what Jesus says. After all, it was Jesus who said in John 3:17 “17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.” Does that mean that Jesus will never come and bring a judgement on sin and the world’s wrongdoing? Not at all! What Jesus’ words in John 3:17 speak to is the fact that his FIRST coming is a coming to bring salvation, and open the way of salvation to everyone! And he has done that. When he hung on the cross, and he said “It is finished!” It truly was finished. His blood was shed. The price had been paid. A way of salvation was made.

When Christ returns, it will not look like it did the first time. No Baby in a manger. No feeding 5000. No walking on water. He will return in Glory and Power, to judge the wicked and to take those who he has rescued to be with him. Paul speaks to this clearly in 2 Thessalonians 1:7–10 “… when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels 8 in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9 They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might, 10 when he comes on that day to be glorified in his saints, and to be marveled at among all who have believed, because our testimony to you was believed.”

So yes, there is a judgement coming! But who is it coming against? All the people will the really BAD sins, right? No, not just that. The judgement is coming against everyone who has loved doing evil. Look again at the sins listed in verse 5:

Sorcerers (Those that would consult the dead or evil spirits, and seek to control and manipulate wicked powers.)

Adulterers (This include all sorts of sexual sin and deviance, those that operate outside of covenant faithfulness of husband and wife.)

Those who Swear Falsely (This is a nice way of saying: “Liars” whose words can’t be trusted.)

Those who oppress the Hired Worker, the widow and the fatherless. (This would be those who keep inordinate amounts of their wealth while leaving the needs of their workers

Those who thrust aside the Sojourners. (This is those who ignore the needs of the needy traveler or homeless among them.)

Those who do not fear the Lord. (This is simply saying that those who do not yield to the Lord as their God. If you do not repent and you do not seek to obey the Lord and his commands, then you do not fear the Lord.)

The interesting part of reading this list is that it reads like a list of sins that some would like to pick and choose from. Some would like to go “yeah God, git em’” to the sorcerers/adulterers. Others would like to go “yeah God, git em” to the one who oppresses the worker or neglects the homeless/immigrant. But this list is not a political list. It is simply a question of how you lived your life and how you were not obedient to God’s law and his intentions for you. Some would look at this list and go, wow, this sounds really judgy. Why you got to be so judgy this time around, Jesus? He must be judgy because he has promised eternal life to His people, to his church. He will return to take them to be with him … as Paul said the day he returns to “be glorified in his saints.” You should understand that in the sins so named here, this is GRACE to you, to say come out of your sin. Jesus is calling out your crap now, so that you would bring it to him now and be forgiven now, rather than leaving it until the day of judgement.

Summary:

Today, we’ve heard God’s challenge to us: Do not dwell in doubt, but have faith in the Faithfulness of God. And we have heard of God’s faithfulness in two specific directions as He has spoken to us today. He has spoken to us of the Sooner, that both John the Baptist and Christ have come to indicate that the way of salvation has been opened through the work of Jesus. It is He who does his purifying and saving work of His people who will now offer pure sacrifices of praise to Him. And He has spoken to us of the Later: That time when Jesus will come to judge the living and the dead . It is at that point that he will execute all justice against all sin . It is only by the blood of Christ that those or saved will know salvation . And that is why it is essential to come to Jesus today. Dwell in doubt no longer. God has spoken and acted. And God will act again. It is my prayer that God will do a good work in you today, and call forth a faith that would guide you into obedient steps in him.

I was reminded of this in a very stark way this week while we were on vacation. On the journey home from our trip we had the pleasure of stopping at the Ark Encounter in Kentucky . Some of you are aware that Answers in Genesis has built a life size ark, Made from the specs that are given in the Bible so that people can understand what The real Noah’s Ark would have looked like . It really is a wonderful museum , but there are certainly times where it gives you pause to examine your own life and where you stand with the Lord. One of those times is when you stand before the large doors of the Ark , and you are reminded that there was only one way in . It was the Lord who made the plan , it was the Lord Who spoke to Noah . And it was the Lord who closed the doors of the Ark . It was the Lord who brought judgment on the earth . And it was the Lord who delivered Noah and his family safely through . And it was only by that one door that one way that Noah and his family would live and not die and encounter God’s grace. Peter says in second Peter 2:5 , That Noah was a preacher of righteousness. He was one who preached to his generation as he looked and knew of the judgment of God that was to come . God has promised that the world will not be flooded again , but the the world will be judged and the Scripture is clear on that . We must be ready . We must be in God’s ark . And we must enter through the door that He is prepared for us. That way is Jesus Christ .

If you don’t know where you stand with God today , then today is a good day to clarify that . If you know that you have sinned , and that you’ve even broken one of God’s laws , the Scripture says that you are guilty of breaking all of the law . Paul writes that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God . There is no one that is exempted from this and there is no one that is not guilty except for the Son Jesus Christ. That is why he made a way for us. It is a free gift that he offers to all who would come to him . And he calls you to respond to him today as you would believe . The call of Acts 238 is simply this : repent and be baptized everyone of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit .

Today the call is open, and the water is warm: Turn from your sin, call Christ your savior, be baptized in His name and be known as a Christian with us. If you’ve been considering it, don’t put it off. If you need to talk to a pastor or elder about it, we are here to serve you and visit with you. Fill out a connect card, and let’s talk soon about your next steps with Jesus.