Malachi 1:1-14
The burden of the word of the Lord to Israel by Malachi. 2 "I have loved you," says the Lord. "Yet you say, in what way have You loved us? Was not Esau Jacob's brother?" Says the Lord. "Yet Jacob I have loved; 3 But Esau I have hated, and laid waste his mountains and his heritage for the jackals of the wilderness." 4 Even though Edom has said, "we have been impoverished, but we will return and build the desolate places," thus says the Lord of hosts: "they may build, but I will throw down; they shall be called the Territory of Wickedness, and the people against whom the Lord will have indignation forever. 5 Your eyes shall see, and you shall say, the Lord is magnified beyond the border of Israel. 6 "A son honors his father, and a servant his master. If then I am the Father, where is My honor? And if I am a Master, where is My reverence? Says the Lord of hosts to you priests who despise My name. Yet you say, in what way have we despised Your name? 7 "You offer defiled food on My altar, but say, in what way have we defiled You? By saying, the table of the Lord is contemptible. 8 And when you offer the blind as a sacrifice, is it not evil? And when you offer the lame and sick, is it not evil? Offer it then to your governor! Would he be pleased with you? Would he accept you favorably?" Says the Lord of hosts. 9 "But now entreat God's favor, that He may be gracious to us. While this is being done by your hands, will He accept you favorably?" Says the Lord of hosts. 10 "Who is there even among you who would shut the doors, so that you would not kindle fire on My altar in vain? I have no pleasure in you," says the Lord of hosts, "Nor will I accept an offering from your hands. 11 For from the rising of the sun, even to its going down, My name shall be great among the Gentiles; in every place incense shall be offered to My name, and a pure offering; for My name shall be great among the nations," says the Lord of hosts. 12 "But you profane it, in that you say, the table of the Lord is defiled; and its fruit, its food, is contemptible. 13 You also say, oh, what a weariness! And you sneer at it," says the Lord of hosts. "And you bring the stolen, the lame, and the sick; thus you bring an offering! Should I accept this from your hand?" Says the Lord. 14 "But cursed be the deceiver who has in his flock a male, and takes a vow, but sacrifices to the Lord what is blemished- for I am a great King," says the Lord of hosts, "And My name is to be feared among the nations.
In chapter 1 of Malachi we learn how God shows great favor over the Israelites, above what he had done to the Edomites (vs. 1). However the Israelites were very ungrateful to God for His favors to them, and they expressed that through their actions (vs. 2-5). Next we learn how the Israelites were very careless and thoughtless in the observance of God's desire for worship; the priests especially were strongly rebuked for their practices (vs. 6-14).
The verse that stands out to me today is Malachi 1:14 "But cursed be the deceiver who has in his flock a male, and takes a vow, but sacrifices to the Lord what is blemished- for I am a great King," says the Lord of hosts, "And My name is to be feared among the nations." We learn in this verse that a curse would rest upon all who brought their blemished odds and ends to God for sacrifices. The reason is that the Lord of hosts is a great King, and His name is to be feared among the nations. Can anyone really deceive the Lord? The deception is only in the eyes of the deceiver. I am a great King: The reputation of the Lord among His people was to have been the means whereby all the nations would be drawn to worship Him as well. What example is it, to those searching, to see us giving less than our best? Worship was a "burden" to these priests. If we are not careful we may start to think that following God is supposed to make life easy and always comfortable. We must guard against looking for a God of convenience. The truth is that it often takes hard work to live by God's high standards. He may call us to face loss, ridicule, or suffering. But if serving God is more important to us than anything else, what we must give up is of little importance compared to what we gain.
I pray that you would keep your eyes on the prize today.
1 Corinthians 9:24-27 "Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. 25 And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown. 26 Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air. 27 But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified."
Love in Christ,
Alan J. Schrader
Malachi 2:1-17
"And now, O priests, this commandment is for you. 2 If you will not hear, and if you will not take it to heart, to give glory to My name," says the Lord of hosts, "I will send a curse upon you, and I will curse your blessings. Yes, I have cursed them already, because you do not take it to heart. 3 "Behold, I will rebuke your descendants and spread refuse on your faces, the refuse of your solemn feasts; and one will take you away with it. 4 Then you shall know that I have sent this commandment to you, that My covenant with Levi may continue," says the Lord of hosts. 5 "My covenant was with him, one of life and peace, and I gave them to him that he might fear Me; So he feared Me and was reverent before My name. 6 The law of truth was in his mouth, and injustice was not found on his lips. He walked with Me in peace and equity, and turned many away from iniquity. 7 "For the lips of a priest should keep knowledge, and people should seek the law from his mouth; for he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts. 8 But you have departed from the way; you have caused many to stumble at the law. You have corrupted the covenant of Levi," says the Lord of hosts. 9 "Therefore I also have made you contemptible and base before all the people, because you have not kept My ways but have shown partiality in the law." 10 Have we not all one Father? Has not one God created us? Why do we deal treacherously with one another by profaning the covenant of the fathers? 11 Judah has dealt treacherously, and an abomination has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem, for Judah has profaned the Lord's holy institution which He loves: he has married the daughter of a foreign god. 12 May the Lord cut off from the tents of Jacob the man who does this, being awake and aware, yet who brings an offering to the Lord of hosts! 13 And this is the second thing you do: you cover the altar of the Lord with tears, with weeping and crying; so He does not regard the offering anymore, nor receive it with goodwill from your hands. 14 Yet you say, "For what reason?" Because the Lord has been witness between you and the wife of your youth, with whom you have dealt treacherously; yet she is your companion and your wife by covenant. 15 But did He not make them one, having a remnant of the Spirit? And why one? He seeks godly offspring. "Therefore take heed to your spirit, and let none deal treacherously with the wife of his youth. 16 "For the Lord God of Israel says that He hates divorce, for it covers one's garment with violence," says the Lord of hosts. Therefore take heed to your spirit, that you do not deal treacherously." 17 You have wearied the Lord with your words; "Yet you say, "In what way have we wearied Him?" In that you say, "Everyone who does evil is good in the sight of the Lord, and He delights in them," or, "Where is the God of justice?"
In chapter 2 of Malachi we learn how the priest are reproved for their unfaithfulness in their office (vs. 1-3). Next we learn of the corruption of the priest in the ways of God, and they are again threatened (vs. 4-9). The rest of the chapter rebukes the people for marrying strange and idolatrous women; and all kinds of evil practices (vs. 10-17).
The verses that stand out to me today are Malachi 2:1-2 "And now, O priests, this commandment is for you. 2 If you will not hear, and if you will not take it to heart, to give glory to My name," says the Lord of hosts, "I will send a curse upon you, and I will curse your blessings. Yes, I have cursed them already, because you do not take it to heart." The priests are solemnly warned of dreadful judgment if they do not repent and change their ways. They are reminded that the priests of old were faithful to God's covenant with Levi, but now the priests had become utterly corrupt, and so God had made them contemptible and base before all the people. If you will not . . . give glory: The behavior of the priests was defiling the name of God. I will send a curse: At the passage of the people into the Promised Land, the Levites spread before the people the blessings of obedience and the curses on disobedience (Deut. 27; 28). But the priests were not obeying the Law that they were supposed to uphold and as a result everyone suffered. We can easily glean from these verses that our lives where created to "give glory to [His] name".
I pray that you would live the life you were created for.
Revelation 4:9-11
Whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, who lives forever and ever, 10 the twenty-four elders fall down before Him who sits on the throne and worship Him who lives forever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying: 11 "You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and by Your will they exist and were created."
Blessings,
Alan J. Schrader
Malachi 3:1-18
"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, even 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 launderers' soap. 3 He will sit as a refiner and a purifier of silver; He will purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer to the Lord an offering in righteousness. 4 "Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasant to the Lord, as in the days of old, as in former years. 5 And I will come near you for judgment; I will be a swift witness against sorcerers, against adulterers, against perjurers, against those who exploit wage earners and widows and orphans, and against those who turn away an alien- because they do not fear Me," says the Lord of hosts. 6 "For I am the Lord, I do not change; therefore you are not consumed, O sons of Jacob. 7 Yet from the days of your fathers you have gone away from My ordinances and have not kept them. Return to Me, and I will return to you," says the Lord of hosts. "But you said, in what way shall we return? 8 "Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me! But you say, in what way have we robbed You? In tithes and offerings. 9 You are cursed with a curse, for you have robbed Me, even this whole nation. 10 Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house, and try Me now in this," says the Lord of hosts, "If I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it. 11 "And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, so that he will not destroy the fruit of your ground, nor shall the vine fail to bear fruit for you in the field," says the Lord of hosts; 12 And all nations will call you blessed, for you will be a delightful land," says the Lord of hosts. 13 "Your words have been harsh against Me," says the Lord, yet you say, what have we spoken against You? 14 You have said, it is useless to serve God; what profit is it that we have kept His ordinance, and that we have walked as mourners before the Lord of hosts? 15 So now we call the proud blessed, for those who do wickedness are raised up; they even tempt God and go free. " 16 Then those who feared the Lord spoke to one another, and the Lord listened and heard them; so a book of remembrance was written before Him for those who fear the Lord and who meditate on His name. 17 "They shall be Mine," says the Lord of hosts, "On the day that I make them My jewels. And I will spare them as a man spares his own son who serves him." 18 Then you shall again discern between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve Him.
In chapter 3 of Malachi we have a promise of the coming of the Messiah, and of his forerunner (vs. 1-6). Next we learn of the reproof of the Jews for their corruption of God's ordinances and specifically for robbing God with the tithe and offerings (vs. 7-12). Then we have a description of the wickedness of the wicked that speak against God (vs. 13-15). The chapter concludes with a description of those that fear the Lord and with the precious promises made to them (vs. 16-18).
The verses that stands out to me today are Malachi 3:16-17 "Then those who feared the Lord spoke to one another, and the Lord listened and heard them; so a book of remembrance was written before Him for those who fear the Lord and who meditate on His name. 17 "They shall be Mine," says the Lord of hosts, "On the day that I make them My jewels. And I will spare them as a man spares his own son who serves him." It is clear in these verses that God does not ignore those who fear Him and who are faithful to Him. The "book of remembrance" may or may not be an actual book. The point is that God will remember those who remain faithful to Him, and who love, fear, honor, and respect Him. God also teaches us to meditate on that which He values (Phil. 4:8); He does the same as He commands us. "My jewels" the excitement of these words is that we can sense the love God has for His children. The Hebrew word translated jewels could be rendered "special treasure." It is a wonderfully endearing term that is used in the Old Testament only of the people of Israel as they are valued by the living God (see Ex. 19:5; Deut. 7:6; Ps. 135:4). In other words, God's treasured possession are those faithful to Him. This fulfills the promise He made in the covenant to his people (Exodus 19:5). According to 1Peter 2:9, believers are God's treasured possession.
I pray that you would be encouraged by knowing how much God treasures you today. Love the Lord with all of your heart, soul, mind, and strength; and you be confident, hopeful, and filled with love towards others.
Blessings,
Alan J. Schrader
Malachi 4:1-6
"For behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven, and all the proud, yes, all who do wickedly will be stubble. And the day which is coming shall burn them up," says the Lord of hosts, "That will leave them neither root nor branch. 2 But to you who fear My name the Sun of Righteousness shall arise with healing in His wings; and you shall go out and grow fat like stall-fed calves. 3 You shall trample the wicked, for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day that I do this," says the Lord of hosts. 4 "Remember the Law of Moses, My servant, which I commanded him in Horeb for all Israel, with the statutes and judgments. 5 Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. 6 And he will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the earth with a curse.
In chapter 4 of Malachi we first learn of the great judgments that falls upon the wicked (vs. 1). Then we have the blessings that fall upon those who fear the Lord (vs. 2-3). The prophet then, being the last of the prophets, closes the Old Testament with enjoining the strict observance of the law of Moses till the forerunner already promised should appear, in the spirit of Elijah, to introduce the Messiah, and begin a new period where He will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers (vs. 4-6).
The verse that stands out to me today is Malachi 4:2 "But to you who fear My name the Sun of Righteousness shall arise with healing in His wings; and you shall go out and grow fat like stall-fed calves." Those who "fear My name" are the righteous remnant who held God in wonder and awe, responded to Him in obedience, and lived for Him with constant faith. We also learn that "the Sun of Righteousness shall arise with healing in His wings": By the Sun of Righteousness we understand Jesus Christ. Through him believers are justified and sanctified, and so are brought to see light. His influences render the sinner holy, joyful, and fruitful. And He is called the "Sun of righteousness", because in Himself He has all perfection, and also the justice of the Father dwells in Him: by which He regenerates us to righteousness, cleanses us from the filth of this world, and reforms us to the image of God. The prophet compares the Savior to a bird whose comforting wings bring healing to the chicks that gather underneath.
I pray that these last verses of the Old Testament fill you with hope today. Regardless of how life looks now, God controls the future, and everything will be made right. We who have loved and served God look forward to a joyful celebration. This hope for the future becomes ours when we trust God with all of our heart.
Blessings,
Alan J. Schrader
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