Malachi 3
Notes
Transcript
Today we will probe the question:
Is there a difference between righteous and the wicked?
Please open your Bibles to Malachi 3:1-4.
“I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come,” says the Lord Almighty.
But who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiner’s fire or a launderer’s soap. He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver. Then the Lord will have men who will bring offerings in righteousness, and the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem will be acceptable to the Lord, as in days gone by, as in former years.
We have seen that Israel had been in a rough spot during the time of Malachi.
The priests had been giving cut-rate sacrifices.
Israel’s family had sinned with itself through adopting the religion of foreign wives
and through divorce on demand.
There was injustice.
And the Israelites called evil good, and good evil.
But God still loved—ahav.
Therefore, he will bring purification.
But first,
he will send his messenger.
A messenger who would prepare the way before him.
Clearing the way meant to remove obstacles of self-interest,
spiritual tiredness,
and evil behavior.
The messenger would prepare the hearts of the people of Israel.
If we look ahead to the New Testament,
we will see that John the Baptist, the cousin of Jesus,
is the promised messenger.
Jesus said, about John the baptist, in Luke 7:27
This is the one about whom it is written:
“ ‘I will send my messenger ahead of you,
who will prepare your way before you.’
John the Baptist prepared the way.
For who?
According to Malachi, this messenger would prepare the way for the Lord,
the master whom the Israelites looked for.
The ruler who would heal them and help them.
John had a powerful ministry.
But his ministry was to be God’s messenger who would prepare the way for this ruler.
In Luke 3:16
John answered them all, “I baptize you with water. But one who is more powerful than I will come, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
John recognized that another one was coming after him who would be more powerful than him.
This person would baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire.
The lord whom John had prepared the way for was Jesus Christ.
He is the lord whom Malachi speaks of.
The Lord will enter the temple--
the place where God’s spirit resides.
The day when he comes will be such a holy day.
...
Many of the prophets saw this as one day, or one coming.
And while the first coming of Christ was marvelous,
the second coming of Christ will really be like a refiner’s fire,
or a launderer’s soap.
But here in Malachi,
don’t think of the Lake of fire or Dante’s inferno,
or some Western/Hollywood conception of hell.
Here the main point is not suffering fires,
but refining fires.
The lord who would go to God’s temple will be like a refiner’s fire.
And Jesus, although he has only come in the first coming,
he can still refine like fire.
He can burn out the impurities of the heart.
Like a launderer’s soap,
Jesus can clean our hearts from sin.
Malachi was preaching hope when he spoke of the lord.
A day is coming when the lord will come, and sin will be dealt with, and our hearts will be purified?!?
A day is coming when God refines the people.
What fire does in separating the slag from the metal and soap does in separating dirt from clothes,
that is the type of cleansing work God will do for his people.
The Israelites would have been ecstatic to hear that the transformation of the heart is possible when the lord arrives.
And let me tell you,
Jesus has come.
And as John said,
he baptizes with his spirit and fire.
And on the day of Pentecost,
the Spirit of Jesus appeared as fire
And purified the hearts of the church.
And the Spirit continues to purify our hearts.
This fire would also purify the priesthood—the Levites.
So that’s good.
People, through the Spirit,
will bring offerings in righteousness.
They would give the best of the best because their hearts would be in the right place.
The change of hearts occurs through the Spirit because of the Lord.
Changing hearts can be difficult,
but through the spirit and love of Jesus,
hearts can change.
The priesthood that gave cut-rate sacrifices can have their hearts so changed that they will give offerings in righteousness.
But refinement does involve dealing with impurities.
So God needs to deal with some bad people.
Look with me at
“So I will come to put you on trial. I will be quick to testify against sorcerers, adulterers and perjurers, against those who defraud laborers of their wages, who oppress the widows and the fatherless, and deprive the foreigners among you of justice, but do not fear me,” says the Lord Almighty.
The impurities that God dealt with to refine were sorcerers.
People...
who dealt with other gods and elements to do their will.
Adulterers,
people who cheat, who are unfaithful.
Perjurers,
people who lie,
say they will do something,
promise that they will but don’t.
God will also testify against those who defraud laborers of their wages.
They don’t fairly pay laborers.
they just care about making a profit instead of helping people,
by giving them livable wages.
God will testify against those who oppress three types of people.
The Bible regularly teaches to protect and care for
the widows,
the fatherless,
and the foreigners.
We should not deprive
the widow,
the orphan,
or the refugee from justice,
instead, we should fear God
and advocate justice and protection
for the widows,
fatherless,
and foreigner.
Widows and orphans represent two disadvantaged groups of ancient societies.
They were easy targets for economic exploitation.
God desired that his people would defend and help the widow and orphan.
There were laws that Israel had to follow,
which would help the widow and the orphan
God cares about these things.
And God does not change.
As Malachi 3:6 says
“I the Lord do not change. So you, the descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed.
If God cared about the widows,
the orphans,
and foreigners back during the time of Malachi,
he still cares about them now.
The Lord does not change.
He is the same forever.
And if he made a promise to protect the Israelites,
then the descendants of Jacob would not be destroyed.
God is faithful whether the Israelites recognized it or not.
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According to God,
the Israelites had failed to recognize and observe the decrees of God.
Malachi 3:7 says
Ever since the time of your ancestors you have turned away from my decrees and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you,” says the Lord Almighty.
“But you ask, ‘How are we to return?’
But even though the Israelites had turned away,
God had said,
“Return to me, and I will return to you.”
...
God’s mercy is never-ending.
If Israel repented,
if they turned to God, God would welcome them.
But how could Israel return?
They needed to get their life together.
And it started with their giving, their offering.
They were robbing God.
Look at Malachi 3:8
“Will a mere mortal rob God? Yet you rob me.
“But you ask, ‘How are we robbing you?’
“In tithes and offerings.
The Israelites had to give tithes.
The tithes belonged to God,
for administration in Israel,
so that the priesthood could be fed
and do other humanitarian efforts.
Ten percent of every profit would go to the temple,
and the temple would administrate the funds according to God’s word.
They would use the tithe to help the widow and the orphan.
The tithe was an offering of 10%.
If Israel had received ten sheep,
it was supposed to give one to God.
It was an act of worship.
The Israelites had three tithes.
One tithe from the land given to the priests.
Another tithe from the eating portion.
And the third tithe was collected every three years for the poor.
It was a big deal to not pay tithes.
So much so that the nation was cursed because it did not pay its tithes.
Malachi 3:9 says
You are under a curse—your whole nation—because you are robbing me.
But the Israelites still had an opportunity to be blessed.
Look at Malachi 3:10-12
Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it. I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not drop their fruit before it is ripe,” says the Lord Almighty. “Then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land,” says the Lord Almighty.
If the Israelites would bring their tithe,
God would still bless Israel,
even though they had cheated God.
God would open up the floodgates of heaven and bless the Israelites tremendously.
The Israelites had thought,
“Oh, if I keep the funds, the tithes,
I know how to administrate it better.
If I keep my gifts without giving them to God,
I will be blessed.”
But in reality,
they were cursed.
...
Look at what one scholar observed.
Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi: An Introduction and Commentary 6. The Lord Longs to Bless (3:6–12)
A proverb taught that the man who gives grows all the richer, while the one who withholds what he should give only suffers want (Prov. 11:24). This was the outworking of the curse on the stingy giver, for God cannot bless the individual, church or nation that can spare him nothing
The Israelites were cursed.
It’s a proverb,
a common truth.
God cannot bless the stingy giver.
However,
if they gave the tithe to God,
they would be blessed.
Super blessed.
The nations would call Israel blessed.
Submitting to God is way better than trying to do things our own way.
I think it is fitting to talk about the tithe and the church now.
Does the church have to tithe?
And the short answer is no.
And I know there are some who disagree with me,
and that’s okay.
We could still fellowship and worship together.
But,
The tithe we see here was for the Israelites to administer the funds for their nation.
The church does not play the same role as the temple did.
The early church doesn’t really talk about tithing.
But the early church does talk about giving everything.
How that looks like is different for each person.
And I think there is a biblical principle in giving the first fruits to God.
Like divide a certain amount,
it could be ten percent or five or twenty.
Whatever percent, and give it for the maintenance of the church,
and the church will strive to support humanitarian efforts and our worship gathering.
Set an amount for God first,
before any bills.
And that does something.
...
But I want to be clear,
these words about the tithe are for Israel.
But if you still want to give 10%,
God honors that.
Now, we will be entering a portion of scripture that I had to work on for an entire semester in grad school.
I tried to modify it so it’s fitting for this message.
So Malachi 3:13-4:3 is about Israel.
Israel had seen the word of God as vain,
regardless of what God had said.
All of the temple worship and duties continued to be dishonorable towards God.
The Israelites had seen no purpose in practicing justice as God had revealed,
because they saw what was evil in the eyes of God,
as good.
The Israelites had an arrogant attitude towards God.
In this section,
the arrogance of the Israelites culminated,
and God responded to the arrogance of the Israelites.
God declared that Israel had spoken arrogantly to him.
The Israelites were saying that serving God was futile.
According to the Israelites, there was no gain in sacrificially following God’s commands.
The Israelites had called evil good.
The Israelites called the arrogant good.
Further,
the Israelites believed that evildoers prospered and could escape God’s judgment,
even after they had sinned against God.
Nevertheless, Malachi wrote that there are benefits to serving God.
God will remember those who honor him.
On a future day, God will act to elevate and spare those who honored him.
Those who said that serving God was futile will see that there is a distinction between the righteous and the wicked,
since a day is coming when a fire will burn the evildoer,
and since a day is coming when the sun of righteousness will heal and strengthen those who honored God.
God-fearers will be victorious over the wicked.
Malachi began concluding his book by reminding Israel to keep the law of Moses, of the torah. The prophet also reminded Israel that the day of the LORD is coming.
On the Day of the Lord, the prophet Elijah will meet his people and change hearts.
If hearts do not change,
God will destroy the land.
In the first part of this section,
in Malachi 3:13,
the Israelites were arrogant towards God.
They had spoken arrogantly towards God.
The Hebrew word for arrogant is,
חזק
And this word has been used to describe kings overriding good advice.
Similarly, the Israelites were valuing their perspective,
over the words of God,
over his advice and guidance.
They thought that their way of doing things
was better than God’s way.
God confronted their arrogant talk.
But the Israelites denied God’s charge against them via a question.
“What have we said against you?”
The Israelites were arrogant.
Sometimes,
when we think it’s either our way or the high way,
it doesn’t matter what God or other people say,
even if they confront you with facts,
you are just gonna stick with your guns,
and maybe say, insincerely,
Oh how have we messed up?
Well the Israelites had messed up because they were saying that work that was directed to God was futile.
They saw no purpose in serving God.
No purpose in giving their best to God.
No benefit in working for God, in giving sacrificially.
Their reasoning was that
those who serve God,
they walk in mourning, and do not receive a reward.
But the wicked,
they break God’s command and are not punished.
...
It’s like we see a Christian
serving God wholeheartedly,
and see her suffering.
Then we see a wicked person,
exploiting people,
stealing money,
having no care for others,
and it looks like the Christian is suffering for no reason,
while the wicked is receiving rewards and not being punished.
The wicked are living with greed and oppressing people,
but there is no judgment.
So what’s the point of serving God.
The Israelites who served God appeared to be walking in
קְדֹ֣רַנִּ֔ית
This Hebrew word conveys the idea of having a dark or gloomy facial expression,
a face that mourners possessed.
So these Israelites saw these people who served God,
saw how sad they looked.
Maybe they were sad because of the way their country was going.
But the Israelites noticed the sadness of those who serve God and the rewards that they didn’t get,
and they compared it with the wicked who don’t serve, who oppress people, and yet don’t get punished
and get rewards.
So the Israelites concluded,
serving God is pointless.
Doing wickedness is good.
Being arrogant against God and doing wickedness was better than serving God,
for the Israelite,
since, the wicked could test God by breaking his laws,
his Torah
breaking his wisdom,
the wicked could test God, and escape his judgment.
The wicked would subsequently prosper.
In Malachi 3:16,
while the wicked spoke harshly against God,
the righteous spoke to each other.
And you know what God did with the words of the righteous?
He heard their words.
God hears the words of those who fear him.
Those who fear God,
when Malachi references God-fearers,
he’s talking about people who
revered, honored, and showed faith in God for his covenant, his berit—covenental relationship.
The righteous were not like the wicked.
Their speech was different.
They didn’t speak harshly against God.
And here’s something to note.
Although the wicked said there was no point in serving God,
Malachi just noted that God hears the words of the righteous.
There’s something powerful about God hearing the words of the righteous.
God heard the word of the righteous, and then,
a book of remembrance was written before God for those who feared him and esteemed his name.
This might appear odd to us...
God writing a book of remembrance?
He remembers all things but yet he wrote the names of the righteous in this book of remembrance?
Well,
the Hebrew Bible uses this imagery of God having a scroll.
You could check Exodus 32:32 to see an instance of this.
In Malachi,
Those who fear God will be in the scroll,
in Exodus, Moses pleaded with God to keep Israel within the scroll.
Another example of God having a scroll is Daniel 7:10.
Malachi said God would spare his treasured possession in the next verse—Malachi 3:17
and the book was opened in the presence of the court in the vision of Daniel.
Malachi referred to God’s scroll to communicate to a Hebrew culture that understood God’s scroll as a record of his righteous ones,
and God might use the scroll in a court.
-
This scroll of remembrance.
-
Interestingly, the word “remembrance” isn’t connected with any book or scroll elsewhere in the Hebrew Bible.
this is the only case when remembrance is connected to scroll.
The Hebrew word for remembrance is
זִכָּרֹ֤ון
This word זִכָּרֹ֤ון is used within the courts of kings.
It was used to connote the idea of a reminder, or a memorial day,
a symbolic object, or a record.
Malachi, by using this image of a scroll of remembrance,
the prophet was depicting God as a king who had a record to judge accordingly.
There is no indication whether this book is literal or figurative,
but the point is that when God judges,
he will remember those who feared him.
Therefore,
in the coming day,
God will elevate and spare those he remembered,
those who feared him.
In addition to those who feared God,
those who valued the name of God,
by keeping his name in mind and by observing the covenant the berit and the torah, the instructions of God, those who observed the words of God will be remembered.
Those who valued the name of God would be remembered.
So is there value in serving God?
Is there value in fearing God?
In obeying God?
In valuing his name?
In serving him?
In trusting in him?
The answer is a loud YES!
God will remember the righteous,
those who fear him and those who value his name.
Contrary to what the wicked have said,
there is value in following God!
In Malachi 3:17-3:24, we see the result of being written in the book of remembrance.
The prophet Malachi began teaching
that on a future day,
on a day God is preparing,
God’s people would be his own possession, inheritance.
The Hebrew word is
סְגֻלָּ֑ה
In addition to being spared, the Israelites whom God remembered will be preserved as his children on this future day.
This future day stands for a period of time;
it doesn’t necessarily speak of a 24 hour period.
This tradition of speaking about a specific day is prophetic.
The prophets spoke about this day that would be the Day of the LORD.
Malachi saw the coming day as a day of judgment and redemption.
God will redeem and elevate his people.
The ones written in scroll will be God’s סְגֻלָּ֑ה
סְגֻלָּ֑ה
This word is reminiscent of the personal and unique status that the Hebrew Bible conveyed when it spoke of Israel as God’s treasured possession.
The word סְגֻלָּ֑ה connotes the covenant relationship God had with Israel.
Consequently, the Israelites who fear God,
in the coming day, will be, once again, God’s own סְגֻלָּ֑ה, a word that is reminiscent of the beautiful relationship that Israel had with God after the Exodus,
after God had delivered Israel from Egypt.
God would spare his own people from judgment.
He will spare those who revere him just as a father spares a son who serves him.
Serving is reminiscent of serving in the temple.
Fathers have compassion towards sons who serve them,
and God will have compassion towards the Israelites who serve him.
This is a simile from the image of a family,
a common trend within Malachi.
Earlier, back in Malachi 1:6,
Malachi used the imagery of sons honoring their father to describe how the priests should honor God,
Evidently, if you honor God by serving him,
he will remember you.
He will spare you.
There is a difference between the righteous and the wicked,
as Malachi 3:18 states.
There is a difference between those who serve God and those who don’t.
And while right now, as it did with Malachi,
it might feel that there is no difference,
that the righteous and wicked all prosper,
or maybe that it is better to be wicked.
...
But
No there is a difference.
God will demonstrate that there is a difference.
The righteous will be spared!
Then in Malachi 4:1
Malachi 4:1 continues to elaborate how God will distinguish the righteous from the wicked.
While currently, wrongdoers appear to escape God’s judgment,
in the coming day,
no wrongdoer will escape God’s judgment.
Those who have feared God and honored him will see the coming day as a day of restoration,
but the evildoer will see the coming day as a day that is burning like a furnace.
Don’t think of the lake of fire or modern conceptions of hell,
but do recognize that there was a biblical understanding of evildoers facing fiery judgment.
The prophet Joel, like Malachi, demonstrated that on the Day of the LORD,
the wrongdoer will face burning fires.
The wicked think there is no difference,
but the Bible reveals that the wicked will suffer judgment
when the righteous will be restored.
The judgment appears to be an imminent catastrophe that the wicked people of Malachi would suffer.
It was a figure of speech,
but there’s still wisdom.
While presently, it looks like there is no difference between the evildoer and the righteous,
the truth is that there will be a day when God will distinguish the evildoer from the righteous.
We have read revelation.
We know that there will be an ultimate Day of the Lord.
Although the evildoers of Malachi’s day did suffer some during his time,
they will fully encounter God’s judgment during the second coming of Jesus,
on the Day of the LORD.
There will be a final judgment.
And in this judgment,
the evildoers will be completely uprooted.
Nothing will be left.
Malachi said that the wicked would not have a root or branch.
Completely annihilated.
As a tree is gone when it loses its roots and branches,
the evildoer will be annihilated.
Don’t tell me that there is no difference between the evildoer and the righteous.
Mal 4 2 says
But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its rays. And you will go out and frolic like well-fed calves.
According to Malachi,
the righteous will have a blissful experience.
While the wicked will suffer,
those who fear God’s name will experience blessings.
Those who fear God’s name will experience the rising sun of righteousness,
and its healing.
Malachi is using a figure of speech to describe the amazing healing that the righteous will experience.
The sun that consists of righteousness will come.
Righteousness will be apparent like the shining sun.
How can we think that there is no difference between the righteous and the unrighteousness?
Look,
there is a day coming when righteousness will shine like the sun.
The sun is a positive image in the Bible.
For example 2 Sam 23:2-4
“The Spirit of the Lord spoke through me;
his word was on my tongue.
The God of Israel spoke,
the Rock of Israel said to me:
‘When one rules over people in righteousness,
when he rules in the fear of God,
he is like the light of morning at sunrise
on a cloudless morning,
like the brightness after rain
that brings grass from the earth.’
there is an image of sun and righteousness meshed together over the one who would rule in the fear of God.
Then in Luke 1:78
because of the tender mercy of our God,
by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven
An angel sings a song that appears to have the sun of Malachi.
Both Luke and Malachi use the image of a sun positively,
and both speak of the sun rising to come to his people.
There is hope in both cases.
The angel of Luke appears to have connected the sun of Malachi 3:20,
and maybe even the sun/ruler of 2 Samuel 23:4.
The angel used the image of the sun to speak about Jesus.
Years later, Christians used the imagery of the sun to refer to Jesus.
In Ephesians 5:14
This is why it is said:
“Wake up, sleeper,
rise from the dead,
and Christ will shine on you.”
the apostle Paul used the image of the sun to speak about the light that Jesus shines on his people.
Paul understood that Jesus was God’s righteousness and perceived Jesus as the one who shines on his people.
Therefore, there is a high probability that the apostle Paul saw a link between Malachi 2:30 and Jesus.
Malachi did not think of Jesus.
He did not have a fully developed view of the sun of righteousness being Jesus,
but it is possible that he was thinking about the Messiah and his judgment.
We now know that Jesus is the Messiah and therefore, he is the sun of righteousness who has healing wings.
This is a deep type of healing.
It’s more than just the opposite of disease,
it’s also the opposite of disaster and trouble.
But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
and by his wounds we are healed.
And through Isaiah 53:5, we know that through his suffering,
Jesus has brought the healing that the prophets desired.
Because of the sun of righteousness and its healing,
those who fear God will walk differently.
Malachi described that the ones who fear God will gallop like well-fed calves.
This is conveying a sense of joy and freedom.
Earlier in the passage,
the arrogant perceived that those who served God walked in mourning,
but now we see in Malachi that those who fear God will skip joyfully.
...
How things appear like right now will not be the case.
The righteous will skip,
and the wicked will receive what they deserve.
...
The wicked,
the ones who spoke arrogantly,
the ones who said it’s not worth serving God will be like ashes.
The day of burning will make the wicked ones into ashes.
And the oppressors will be trampled over.
The ones who abused others will be like ashes,
and their victims—the righteous ones—will trample over them.
It’s like the humans are crushing the serpent with their feet,
it invokes the image of a king triumphantly planting his foot on the chest of a defeated enemy.
A great reversal takes place in the passage we read.
In the beginning of our time,
the wicked spoke harshly against God and serving him.
The arrogant saw that serving God was futile and that the wicked have prospered and escaped God’s judgment.
But as we are finishing up,
we have seen God reveal that on a future day,
serving God has its benefits
and acting wicked was a mistake.
The wicked will no longer be in a place where they could presume that serving God is futile.
Instead, they will suffer God’s judgment under the feet of those who revered God.
There is a day coming when God will both judge and save.
And on that day,
it matters whether you revered God or not.
Like in the times of Malachi,
there are presently people who speak against God.
They say that God is dead or absent from this world.
They see the evils present within this world,
and they conclude that the LORD does not listen.
That he doesn’t care.
And some people think that it is futile to work for God.
All we do as a church and followers of Christ is in vain.
People say that the church could put its efforts elsewhere,
in a more profitable work.
They think that those who strive to live holy lives are striving in vain.
The world says, as the Israelites said during Malachi’s ministry,
that the church walks like mourners.
Those in the world think that everyone should enjoy the pleasures of life since they have witnessed people enjoy sinful pleasures and appear to escape God’s judgment.
...
God is active, however.
He might not immediately bless the righteous or judge the wicked.
But God remembers.
He remembers the deeds of the righteous.
God will remember whether people choose to honor his name.
There is a day coming when God will remember those who feared him.
Through the adoption work of Jesus Christ, the church, with righteous Israel,
will be God’s treasured possession.
In the future day,
the church will feel the sun of righteousness through the person of Christ.
(We feel it to a degree today)
Conversely, those who have spoken arrogantly will finally see that it is worth serving God.
And they will see that not serving God was a mistake since they will suffer for their sin.
Therefore, the church should strive to do God’s work.
Malachi taught that temple work, marriage, caring for the vulnerable, and honoring God are essential.
Thus, you should consider how you are serving the church,
how you are honoring your marriage or relationship,
caring for the vulnerable,
and honoring God,
despite what the arrogant say.
The church should maintain the attitude that God sees our actions and remembers our deeds.
I end with the words of Malachi 4:4-6
“Remember the law of my servant Moses, the decrees and laws I gave him at Horeb for all Israel.
“See, I will send the prophet Elijah to you before that great and dreadful day of the Lord comes. He will turn the hearts of the parents to their children, and the hearts of the children to their parents; or else I will come and strike the land with total destruction.”
And we’re not alone in this task.
God has sent the prophet Elijah.
He has sent John the Baptist.
That was a title for him,
and he prepared the way for the LORD, Jesus Christ.
Through Jesus, we have the opportunity to change our hearts.
Honor will be restored within the family through Jesus.