Tag Archives: Book of Malachi

Devotional on Malachi

Posted on September 8, 2011 by | Leave a comment

The curtain falls, but Act II is about to begin
Malachi 4: Remember and keep the revelation I gave through my servant Moses.
Did Malachi understand that these words were to become, for Christians across the ages, the closing words of the Old Testament? It’s highly unlikely. However, I believe God, the Holy Spirit knew it. The last two paragraphs of Malachi are an excellent ending for the Old Testament. For those of that day, still living under the Law, one of the last words is “remember.” They’re to keep the “rules and procedures for right living” given them by Moses. If they do that they’ll have done what the Lord requires of them. However, there’s another last word. It’s, “also look ahead.” The Lord isn’t finished working out redemption for them and all that has happened thus far has prepared the way for the really big deal that’s yet to come. As the curtain’s falling on this, the first act we’re told that the next act is going to be both interesting and surprising. They’ll know it’s starting when Elijah shows up to usher it in. For the people of Israel, that’s a long 400 years distant in the future. As for me, all I have to do is turn the page to see the black and white picture of God’s salvation plan displayed in living color.

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Devotional on Malachi

Posted on September 7, 2011 by | Leave a comment

On the brink and not realizing it
Malachi 3: It doesn’t pay to serve God. What do we ever get out of it?
The message of Malachi is for people who are living in the broad middle, somewhere between the best and the worst days of life. They’re comfortable and secure, just going about the business of living. However, there’s hidden danger in that. When I’m living in the middle I’m tempted to take things for granted. Blessings that would have thrilled those who went before me are lost to me. God feels distant and that makes it easier for me to take spiritual shortcuts which make him feel even more distant. If I’m not careful, one day I look around and God is nowhere to be found. I think to myself, “Do I really need the hassle of religion? I don’t think it’s worth the effort I put into it. People who live as non-religious individualists seem to get along okay. Maybe that’s for me.” That’s where Malachi’s congregation is. Without a sense of desperation for God they’ve drifted away from him. Now, they’re on the verge of stepping off the cliff into the canyon of unbelief. The Lord responds that he’s well aware of what’s going on and that the day’s coming when they’ll be abruptly moved from the broad middle to the hard side of life. With all else ripped from their grasp, their faith will be all there is left to hold on to. This is a message I need to hear in the easy going days of my life.

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Devotional on Malachi

Posted on September 7, 2011 by | Leave a comment

Repentance lessons
Malachi 3: Return to me so I can return to you.
If my relationship with God is strained or even broken today there’s a remedy. When, like the Prodigal Son, I come to my senses, rise, and return to my Father I find that he’s been waiting for me all along. What a relief it is to know that the Lord doesn’t hold a grudge against me. Rather, he patiently reaches out to me, calling me to himself. When Malachi states this spiritual fact of life to his congregation, someone asks for more information on this “returning” business. Exactly how do they do that? The prophet has an answer ready. A sure sign that a person’s returning to God is honest repentance on their part. In Jesus’ parable, the Prodigal is honest with himself and with his father. He’s messed up and he wants to make things right. He knows he doesn’t deserve re-admittance into his father’s household as a son, so he’ll take what he can get. That, my friend, is honesty. In this passage, Malachi points out that they’ve been dishonest with God in the stewardship of their possessions. He tells them that, for them, honesty with God means admitting their failure in this matter. This business of bringing sick and blind animals for sacrifice has to be stopped, confessed, and made right. Their practice of shortchanging God with their tithes has to end and be corrected. That’s what repentance is all about: confession and change. Through his prophet, the Lord says, “If you’ll return to me in repentance, I’ll return to you and bless your life in wonderful ways.” When a nation as a whole makes things right with God, Malachi says, it’ll be voted “Happiest Nation” and be known as a “country of grace.” That’s a good place to live.

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Devotional on Malachi

Posted on September 5, 2011 by | Leave a comment

Dealing with a holy, righteous God
Malachi 2: God’s too nice to judge.
While the people Malachi ministers to say they’re bored with their religion, God says he’s tried of them. These folks have cheapened their religion by giving less than one hundred percent to it. They’ve watered down God’s call to righteous living and have then complained that they get nothing out of their service of the Lord. Then, when Malachi explains that God’s as interested in how husbands treat their wives as he is in dealing with idol worshiping heathen they reply, “We’ll be alright; God’s too nice a God to do anything to us.” Talk about asking for a lightning bolt! They’re almost begging God to teach them a lesson. The pitiful thing is that we still hear people saying the same dumb things. Malachi’s congregation isn’t the first nor will it be the last to develop a folk theology that God’s too good to punish unrepentant sinners. “After all, he loves everybody, right?” Know what? God is good. He’s good through and through. He loves righteousness and he’s “holy, holy, holy.” In fact, it’s preciously because of that that he can’t tolerate sin. If God merely looked the other way when people sinned, if he just let unrighteousness slide, then he wouldn’t be a holy God. That isn’t to say God isn’t all about love. However, that love isn’t displayed by his blinking at sin. Instead, he acts to deal with sin once and for all. That happens at Calvary.

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Devotional on Malachi

Posted on September 4, 2011 by | Leave a comment

Who gets to define marriage?
Malachi 2: God, not you, made marriage.
During the exile their ancestors clung together, maintaining their national identity even in a diverse society. Now that Israel’s been reestablished in it’s own land the people have let their guard down and are breaking God’s command that they be a people set apart as his very own. They’ve married outside their own nation. They shouldn’t be surprised that when they blatantly disobey God that he withdraws his blessings from them. Beyond that, even those who haven’t mixed with other nations are treating marriage differently than God intends, making it relatively easy to toss a marriage aside if it suits them. Through his prophet the Lord declares that he’s the one who designed marriage and he hasn’t given them the authority to redefine what it’s all about. He tells them that he “made marriage” and that “his Spirit inhabits even the smallest details of marriage.” Then he adds, “I hate divorce.” I think the Lord’s speaking to the whole institution here rather than to individual situations. He isn’t denying the possibility of divorce in a specific situation so much as he’s stating his opposition to a culture that takes marriage vows lightly. Also, it goes without saying that the Lord insists that he’s the one who defined marriage and, as this passage says, an outcome of marriage is to be “children.” While there are circumstances in which children can’t be the product of a marriage at least the potential is to be there. That settles it. Marriage is between man and woman and no majority of voters or federal court or anyone else can define it otherwise. Don’t ever doubt it: God takes this kind of stuff very seriously.

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Devotional on Malachi

Posted on September 3, 2011 by | Leave a comment

How to get a better preacher for your church
Malachi 1: You say “I’m bored – this doesn’t do anything for me.”
The people of Malachi’s day have lost the edge off of their religion. Worship services are a burden rather than a blessing. For them, righteous living is more about “have to” than “want to.” What should be the most satisfying part of life has become just another burden for them to bear. Malachi tells them why it’s like this: they’ve settled for a cheap religion. When they bring an animal to the Lord they don’t pick the finest they have. Instead, they pick one that’s probably going to die anyway. Even when they brag that they’re going to make some significant offering, at the last minute they just can’t bring themselves to do it and settle for a mere token offering instead. The result, according to Malachi, is a dull, boring religion. The less they put into their relationship with God the less they get out of it. Here’s the real kicker: God isn’t satisfied with their religion either. He says, “If this is how it’s going to be just lock the Temple doors.” Apparently, the Lord isn’t into playing church. I don’t think this concept gives us preachers a license to preach dull, sloppy, poorly prepared sermons or for singers and others to sleep walk through church. However, from years of experience I can affirm that the people who get the most out of worship services are the ones who put the most into them. Why not give it a try? Get up early enough to pray for the services and for yourself, arrive ahead of time, focus on the Lord, and give 100% to worship. Who knows? You might have a better preacher at your church than you think you do!

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Devotional on Malachi

Posted on September 2, 2011 by | Leave a comment

The challenge of living in the level ground days
Malachi 1: Worship of God is no longer a priority.
Anyone who’s gone through significant weight loss will tell you that the hard part of a diet isn’t the “cut-back-on-the-calories” weight loss phase. Instead, it’s the maintenance phase. At that time, the individual moves from trying to loose weight to living a healthy lifestyle that doesn’t result in regaining the weight that was lost. The problem is that there are constant temptations to give in a little here and a little there. Once one starts down that road the end result is a return to the former state of things. The people Malachi speaks to are at a cross roads. They’re secure and comfortable. The work of rebuilding the Temple was finished by their parents and grandparents. Now, it falls on them to live a spiritually healthy lifestyle as an every day people of God. Frankly, they aren’t doing a very good job of it. When they bring an animal to offer to the Lord, they’ve fallen into the habit of bringing one that they don’t want anyway. Worship, in general, is drifting to a lower and lower priority in their lives. They aren’t back at the stage of their idol-worshiping, baby-sacrificing ancestors, but, without even recognizing it, they’re gradually drifting away from God. It doesn’t take a big effort to connect the dots from this to my own life. I don’t hope a crisis will come to my life to remind me of my priorities, but, here on the level ground of life, I want to live a healthy, day-to-day spiritual lifestyle.

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Devotional on Malachi

Posted on September 1, 2011 by | Leave a comment

The theology of the tee-shirt
Malachi 1: God said, “I love you.”
I saw a shirt with this message on it: “Jesus loves you…but then again, he loves everybody.” The Lord’s first word to Israel through Malachi is “I love you.” His second word, contrary to the wisdom of the tee-shirt, is that the Lord hates Esau (speaking of the nation made up of Esau’s descendants, Edom). Both of these concepts ought to get our attention. God loves people to the point that he pays an enormous price to reconcile people back to himself. At the same time, those who oppose God’s people are hated by God. Through the years, Edom has been the enemy of Israel. When possible, Edom opposed it’s “brother-nation” openly. Otherwise, Edom cheered when Israel fell on hard times. Because they insisted on being enemies of God’s people they made themselves into enemies of God. The Lord’s love for Israel is, therefore, not a warm, fuzzy kind of “God loves everybody.” Instead, it’s love with an edge on it; love that says to Israel, “Because I love you I make demands on you.” It’s love that also says to the enemies of Israel, “If you mess with Israel you mess with me.” Today, through his Son, Jesus, the Lord invites outsiders to join his family and thereby become heirs to all the benefits of being a part of the people God loves. It’s a terrific invitation and one every person can, and should, accept. As you consider responding to that offer, it might be wise to read these opening declarations from Malachi and be reminded that there’s more to the “Jesus loves you” message than is stated on the theology of the tee-shirt.

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Devotional on Malachi

Posted on August 31, 2011 by | Leave a comment

The practical book of the Old Testament
Malachi 1: God’s Word to Israel through Malachi.
The final book of our Old Testament has some interesting mysteries associated with it. Aside from his name the author is unknown to us. In fact, we may not even know his name! “Malachi” may be a title rather than a name. The word means “My Messenger” therefore the writer may be only identifying himself as a messenger of God. Another challenge is the date of the book. Malachi is unique because it isn’t associated with some coming disaster or some regional event that has everyone’s attention. Instead, this book highlights the danger that threatens when life is just rolling along at a normal pace. The scholars guess Malachi dates a little over 400 years before Christ because it appears the Temple has been rebuilt and the sacrificial system is in full operation. Since most of life is lived somewhere between wonderful, extravagant days and horrible, painful ones, Malachi is a practical book for most of us most of the time. Whoever Malachi is, he marches into their crisis-free lives and boldly proclaims that they’ve been lulled to sleep by the lack of perceived danger and because of that, are in a crisis and don’t even realize it. This little book has something to say to every day Christians just like me.

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