If you’ve been reading this blog for
a while, you know I place a great importance over the final words that someone
speaks. I attach a lot of significance to the last recorded words of
Jacob/Israel, David, Jesus, and Paul. When you know that the door is rapidly
closing on your opportunity to speak with someone, you don’t indulge in much
idle chit-chat.
It’s the same principle here. This
is the final recorded words of the God of Israel for over 400 years. Now, is it
possible that the Lord spoke directly to someone, and it’s not recorded? Sure,
it’s possible. But to our knowledge, these are the last words he spoke to the
nation until the arrival of John the Baptist just before the arrival of the
Messiah. So this is incredibly important.
Here’s a little background.
Malachi’s name means “my messenger.” He probably presented his message and
preached during the 4th century B. C., during the time of Nehemiah
but about a hundred years after Haggai and Zechariah.
This
was a time of discouragement. The prophets had promised that the Messiah would
come and set everything right. For example, Zechariah’s last chapter had
predicted that Israel’s enemies would lick the dust, and everyone in the world
would worship the Lord with Jerusalem as its capital. They'd rebuilt the
temple like God wanted. There was a nation-wide revival under Ezra and
Nehemiah. Now a hundred years after those days, there were no signs of any
change. They were still under the heel of a foreign power, living and dying at
the whim of a foreign king. Where was the Lord now?
Another
enemy that Malachi faced was related to discouragement: complacency. If the
Lord’s not going to keep his promises, why should I put so much effort in
obeying and pleasing him? Times are tough. Maybe I can get away with
half-hearted worship, and let my lifestyle slip into the way I like to do
things. What difference does it really make?
Onto
this scene steps Malachi, God’s messenger. In this short book he lists some
cynical questions and objections which the people were murmuring, either
publicly or privately. And then he gives the Lord’s response to it. I promise
that these questions and the Lord’s answers have a special relevance for us as
believers today.
The
first question/objection/accusation which Malachi addresses is concerning God’s
love for Israel. From a human perspective, it sure looked like the Lord had
abandoned them. So where was his love? How had he shown them he loved them?
The
answer: He had “loved” Israel and “hated” Esau. There is a reason why I used
those words in quotation marks, since they can easily be misunderstood, and beg
for a little explanation.
Let’s
take the easier term first, and then we’ll tackle the somewhat more difficult
one tomorrow. Anyone who’s read the Old Testament can see how the Lord loved Israel. He
chose Abram/Abraham, and then his progeny. He redeemed them out of Egypt, cared
for them in the desert, forgave them their flagrant disobedience time after
time after time, etc. Like us, he owed them nothing but judgment and had showed
them incredible love and compassion.
Like
I said, we’re going to tackle the issue of the Lord “hating” Esau tomorrow, since I
can’t do it any kind of justice in a paragraph. In the meantime, how about
you and I take stock in our level of gratitude? Yes, I have lots of problems in
life, but—once again—he owes me nothing but judgment, and he’s shown me
nothing but love, mercy, kindness, compassion, grace, and blessings. If I’m
asking questions like “How has God loved me?” then something’s desperately
wrong. Whatever it is, we need to deal with it.
Lord Jesus, I don’t feel that right now,
but I admit I’ve questioned that sometimes. When it happens, please draw me
quickly back into your Presence, where all questions fade into insignificance.
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