Elijah is coming

Transition: Similarly here in the Book of Malachi we see God speaking through Malachi confronting the nation of Israel on their short comings. However rather than expecting them to fix themselves, Malachi points them to the one whom God is sending to prepare the way for His coming, and He (God) will fix them.

Malachi 1:1–3 HCSB

1 An oracle: The word of the Lord to Israel through Malachi. 2 “I have loved you,” says the Lord. But you ask: “How have You loved us?” “Wasn’t Esau Jacob’s brother?” This is the Lord’s declaration. “Even so, I loved Jacob, 3 but I hated Esau. I turned his mountains into a wasteland, and gave his inheritance to the desert jackals.”

Opening Prayer

God declares his love for his people.

However the peoples’ response to his declaration shows the ultimate condition of their heart.

They doubt and question his love for them. And not in a sad not understanding way but in a indignite type of way.

God points out to them that he chose their ancestor Jacob over his brother Esau as proof of his love for them.

Edom tried to build wealth and prosperity apart from God’s covenantal blessings. In fact God said that he would oppose their prosperity and thus ultimately their efforts would prove to be futile.

Psalm 127:1 HCSB

1 Unless the Lord builds a house, its builders labor over it in vain; unless the Lord watches over a city, the watchman stays alert in vain.

God had chosen Jacob and his descendants to be the recipients of his blessings.

God loves His people!

Application: Do you seek what God wants to accomplish with your life, your family, your workplace or your ministry? or are you deciding what you want to accomplish?

Transition: the second exposure God makes is in regards to their worship.

Malachi 1:6–10 HCSB

6 “A son honors his father, and a servant his master. But if I am a father, where is My honor? And if I am a master, where is your fear of Me? says Yahweh of Hosts to you priests, who despise My name.” Yet you ask: “How have we despised Your name?” 7 “By presenting defiled food on My altar.” You ask: “How have we defiled You?” When you say: “The Lord’s table is contemptible.” 8 “When you present a blind animal for sacrifice, is it not wrong? And when you present a lame or sick animal, is it not wrong? Bring it to your governor! Would he be pleased with you or show you favor?” asks the Lord of Hosts. 9 “And now ask for God’s favor. Will He be gracious to us? Since this has come from your hands, will He show any of you favor?” asks the Lord of Hosts. 10 “I wish one of you would shut the temple doors, so you would no longer kindle a useless fire on My altar! I am not pleased with you,” says the Lord of Hosts, “and I will accept no offering from your hands.

God says to Israel you have despised my name. The people respond how have we despised your name.

Ultimately God points out how they were bringing terrible sacrifices to the temple. These gifts are so bad that God points out that they wouldn’t even bring them to their earthly governors and expect to receive favor from them.

Leviticus 22:18–22 HCSB

18 “Speak to Aaron, his sons, and all the Israelites and tell them: Any man of the house of Israel or of the foreign residents in Israel who presents his offering —whether they present freewill gifts or payment of vows to the Lord as burnt offerings— 19 must offer an unblemished male from the cattle, sheep, or goats in order for you to be accepted. 20 You are not to present anything that has a defect, because it will not be accepted on your behalf. 21 “When a man presents a fellowship sacrifice to the Lord to fulfill a vow or as a freewill offering from the herd or flock, it has to be unblemished to be acceptable; there must be no defect in it. 22 You are not to present any animal to the Lord that is blind, injured, maimed, or has a running sore, festering rash, or scabs; you may not put any of them on the altar as a fire offering to the Lord.

The people have failed in their worship of God. Bringing to him sacrifices that he has told them not to bring. However it is not just the people that has failed, but God confronts the priests as well.

Malachi 2:8–9 HCSB

8 “You, on the other hand, have turned from the way. You have caused many to stumble by your instruction. You have violated the covenant of Levi,” says the Lord of Hosts. 9 “So I in turn have made you despised and humiliated before all the people because you are not keeping My ways but are showing partiality in your instruction.”

They have been letting the people bring such unacceptable sacrifices.

You must give your best in worship to God.

Application: Sometimes we can fall into such a familiarity with God that we become contemptuous towards him as we fall into our church routines and activities and forget to whom we do and approach in worship.

What does your daily life reveal about your attitude concerning God?

Transition:God’s exposes a third issue with his people.

Malachi 2:10–16 HCSB

10 Don’t all of us have one Father? Didn’t one God create us? Why then do we act treacherously against one another, profaning the covenant of our fathers? 11 Judah has acted treacherously, and a detestable thing has been done in Israel and in Jerusalem. For Judah has profaned the Lord’s sanctuary, which He loves, and has married the daughter of a foreign god. 12 To the man who does this, may the Lord cut off any descendants from the tents of Jacob, even if they present an offering to the Lord of Hosts. 13 And this is another thing you do: you cover the Lord’s altar with tears, with weeping and groaning, because He no longer respects your offerings or receives them gladly from your hands. 14 Yet you ask, “For what reason?” Because the Lord has been a witness between you and the wife of your youth. You have acted treacherously against her, though she was your marriage partner and your wife by covenant. 15 Didn’t the one God make us with a remnant of His life-breath? And what does the One seek? A godly offspring. So watch yourselves carefully, and do not act treacherously against the wife of your youth. 16 “If he hates and divorces his wife, ” says the Lord God of Israel, “he covers his garment with injustice,” says the Lord of Hosts. Therefore, watch yourselves carefully, and do not act treacherously.

Two things are at play here.First, Men from Israel were divorcing their wives for no reason and marrying foreign women and second, they were adopting their new wives Gods.

You must worship God alone.

The sorrow expressed here in v. 13 is not the deep kind of sorrow that leads to repentance but one of emotions that hides a false piety.

Application: You must worship God alone. Don’t let idols creep in and find their way into your life in the place that only God belongs.

Transition: God’s fourth confrontation with Israel has to do with them doubting his justice.

Malachi 2:17–3:6 HCSB

17 You have wearied the Lord with your words. Yet you ask, “How have we wearied Him?” When you say, “Everyone who does what is evil is good in the Lord’s sight, and He is pleased with them,” or “Where is the God of justice?” 1 “See, I am going to send My messenger, and he will clear the way before Me. Then the Lord you seek will suddenly come to His temple, the Messenger of the covenant you desire—see, He is coming,” says the Lord of Hosts. 2 But who can endure the day of His coming? And who will be able to stand when He appears? For He will be like a refiner’s fire and like cleansing lye. 3 He will be like a refiner and purifier of silver; He will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver. Then they will present offerings to the Lord in righteousness. 4 And the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem will please the Lord as in days of old and years gone by. 5 “I will come to you in judgment, and I will be ready to witness against sorcerers and adulterers; against those who swear falsely; against those who oppress the widow and the fatherless, and cheat the wage earner; and against those who deny justice to the foreigner. They do not fear Me,” says the Lord of Hosts. 6 “Because I, Yahweh, have not changed, you descendants of Jacob have not been destroyed.

Their proclamation is that everyone who does what is evil is good in the lord’s sight, and he is pleased with them. They are saying this because as those around them are “Prospering” they are assuming that God must be pleased with them. There is almost a jealousy for the world around them.

Ultimately, they doubt that God’s Justice.

Do not doubt that God is Just.

Application: 3:1 We see a prophecy that will be fulfilled by John the Baptist. This will also be fulfilled by Jesus and also a testimony of Jesus’ deity. Do not desire the success of the lost world around you, for their success is only for a moment and their destruction for an eternity.

Transition: God’s fifth confrontation with Israel is in regards to them Robbing him.

Malachi 3:7–10 HCSB

7 “Since the days of your fathers, you have turned from My statutes; you have not kept them. Return to Me, and I will return to you,” says the Lord of Hosts. But you ask: “How can we return?” 8 “Will a man rob God? Yet you are robbing Me!” You ask: “How do we rob You?” “By not making the payments of the tenth and the contributions. 9 You are suffering under a curse, yet you—the whole nation—are still robbing Me. 10 Bring the full tenth into the storehouse so that there may be food in My house. Test Me in this way,” says the Lord of Hosts. “See if I will not open the floodgates of heaven and pour out a blessing for you without measure.

The temple was falling into disrepair because the people were not giving to God. God is not in need of our money. Our giving to God is an act of worship. It shows our dependency on him. He even says here to test him in this way. I want to make sure you understand one thing. V.10 is not about wealth and prosperity. If you give God one scoop of Ice cream it does not mean that he is going to give you two scoops back.

Do not stop giving to God.

Tithing and giving to God (through the church) is meant to meet the needs of the priests (pastors) and to do the work of ministry and meeting needs of those in need.

Application: Giving 10% of your income only based on the OT tithe ignores what the NT teaches about giving generously, cheerfully, and sacrificially to meet the needs of ministry and those in the church and outside the church.

Transition: God’s sixth and final confrontation comes in the following verses.

Malachi 3:13–18 HCSB

13 “Your words against Me are harsh,” says the Lord. Yet you ask: “What have we spoken against You?” 14 You have said: “It is useless to serve God. What have we gained by keeping His requirements and walking mournfully before the Lord of Hosts? 15 So now we consider the arrogant to be fortunate. Not only do those who commit wickedness prosper, they even test God and escape.” 16 At that time those who feared the Lord spoke to one another. The Lord took notice and listened. So a book of remembrance was written before Him for those who feared Yahweh and had high regard for His name. 17 “They will be Mine,” says the Lord of Hosts, “a special possession on the day I am preparing. I will have compassion on them as a man has compassion on his son who serves him. 18 So you will again see the difference between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve Him.

Again they say how worthless it is to serve God and to follow his commands. Again looking at the “success” of the lost world around them.

God’s response is about the remenant and how God provided a book of rememberance.

God gave you the Scriptures in order to point you to God.

Malachi 4:1–3 HCSB

1 “For indeed, the day is coming, burning like a furnace, when all the arrogant and everyone who commits wickedness will become stubble. The coming day will consume them,” says the Lord of Hosts, “not leaving them root or branches. 2 But for you who fear My name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings, and you will go out and playfully jump like calves from the stall. 3 You will trample the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day I am preparing,” says the Lord of Hosts.

You do not have to fear the Day of the Lord if you are born again.

Malachi 4:4–6 HCSB

4 “Remember the instruction of Moses My servant, the statutes and ordinances I commanded him at Horeb for all Israel. 5 Look, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome Day of the Lord comes. 6 And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers. Otherwise, I will come and strike the land with a curse.”