#51 - Malachi - Whose Work and Whose Glory?
God said to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob “I will make of you a great nation.” “I will be your God and you will be my people.” God rescued them from slavery in Egypt, He gave them detailed instructions about how to live blessed lives. He gave them a country flowing with milk and honey. For the last 1500 years they have given God lip service expecting God to be impressed by their superficial obedience. God forgave and rescued them over and over again from the judgments they deserved. God promised a future of both judgment and blessing, but they rarely listened or obeyed for very long. Now, at what they did not know would be the end of the Old Testament and no word from God for the next 400 years, Malachi records what amounts to an argument between God and his people.
1- “I have loved you, says the LORD.”
—- “How have You loved us?”
2- “Priests, you despise My Name.”
—- “How have we despised Your Name?”
3- “You weep because the LORD does not regard or accept your offering.”
—- “You say, why does’t He accept our offerings?”
4- “You weary the LORD with your words.”
—- “You say, How have we wearied Him?”
5- “Return to Me says the LORD of hosts.”
—- “You say, How shall we return?”
6- “You are robbing Me.”
—- “You say, How have we robbed You?”
7- “Your words have been hard against Me.”
—- “You say, How have we spoken against You?”
If we are honest, we have all been, and maybe are now, on the human defensive side of these arguments. We, like the Israelites, feel like we have obeyed and pleased God because we have confidently and proudly kept the rules He gives us. We have used His Name positively. We have given Him offerings. We have prayed and promised Him our covenants. We have come back to Him over and over again. We have paid our tithes. We have said good things about Him. But much of the time we have done these things with our hands and our lips while our hearts have done them for our glory rather than God’s Glory. We have been religious to build our resume rather than to thank and serve God. We have viewed our life as our good works rather than God’s Good Works. This unrighteous selfishness led Israel to bleak darkness. For the next four hundred years there were those who continued their superficial religion. There were those who continued to question God’s love. (Actually, these kinds of people have always been among us. And I must admit that I have been with them too much of the time.)
But just as we have been habitually unfaithful, God has been, and is, perfectly faithful. We question His love, we despise His name, we offer proud offerings, we weary Him with our words, we superficially repent, we give to God in order to get, and we complain about God when He doesn’t do what we want. In spite of all this God loves us with His Perfect and Powerful Grace. Read the text yourself. God answers every one of their questions.
But there is more, even if it takes four hundred years, or two or ten thousand, God wins the argument. Malachi reveals that while there were those proud and blind to God’s love for them, there were those who “feared the LORD and esteemed his name.” (3:16)
God promised that “the day is coming…” (4:1)“…once more you shall see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve him.” (3:18) It is the difference between those who see the Old Testament, indeed the whole Bible, as God’s Work and God’s Glory, and those who see it as man’s work and man’s glory.
Chapter four concludes the Old Testament with God’s promise that His Judgments and His Blessings will come to pass. And they did.. “when the fullness of time came, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.” (Galatians 4:4-6)
Watch Bible Project video about Malachi
1- “I have loved you, says the LORD.”
—- “How have You loved us?”
2- “Priests, you despise My Name.”
—- “How have we despised Your Name?”
3- “You weep because the LORD does not regard or accept your offering.”
—- “You say, why does’t He accept our offerings?”
4- “You weary the LORD with your words.”
—- “You say, How have we wearied Him?”
5- “Return to Me says the LORD of hosts.”
—- “You say, How shall we return?”
6- “You are robbing Me.”
—- “You say, How have we robbed You?”
7- “Your words have been hard against Me.”
—- “You say, How have we spoken against You?”
If we are honest, we have all been, and maybe are now, on the human defensive side of these arguments. We, like the Israelites, feel like we have obeyed and pleased God because we have confidently and proudly kept the rules He gives us. We have used His Name positively. We have given Him offerings. We have prayed and promised Him our covenants. We have come back to Him over and over again. We have paid our tithes. We have said good things about Him. But much of the time we have done these things with our hands and our lips while our hearts have done them for our glory rather than God’s Glory. We have been religious to build our resume rather than to thank and serve God. We have viewed our life as our good works rather than God’s Good Works. This unrighteous selfishness led Israel to bleak darkness. For the next four hundred years there were those who continued their superficial religion. There were those who continued to question God’s love. (Actually, these kinds of people have always been among us. And I must admit that I have been with them too much of the time.)
But just as we have been habitually unfaithful, God has been, and is, perfectly faithful. We question His love, we despise His name, we offer proud offerings, we weary Him with our words, we superficially repent, we give to God in order to get, and we complain about God when He doesn’t do what we want. In spite of all this God loves us with His Perfect and Powerful Grace. Read the text yourself. God answers every one of their questions.
But there is more, even if it takes four hundred years, or two or ten thousand, God wins the argument. Malachi reveals that while there were those proud and blind to God’s love for them, there were those who “feared the LORD and esteemed his name.” (3:16)
God promised that “the day is coming…” (4:1)“…once more you shall see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve him.” (3:18) It is the difference between those who see the Old Testament, indeed the whole Bible, as God’s Work and God’s Glory, and those who see it as man’s work and man’s glory.
Chapter four concludes the Old Testament with God’s promise that His Judgments and His Blessings will come to pass. And they did.. “when the fullness of time came, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.” (Galatians 4:4-6)
Watch Bible Project video about Malachi