Malachi 4
by Mike Stine
In the last several
times that I have preached we have looked at the book of Malachi. The
book has not painted a pretty picture of the Israelites of Malachi’s
day. In the first three chapters we have seen that the people were half
hearted in their worship. The priests, the spiritual leaders of the
day, had set bad examples and led the people astray. Divorce and
remarriage to ungodly people had become a major problem. The Israelites
had become disillusioned because they witnessed the wickedness around
them but did not see the wicked being punished as they believed they
should. And finally not only were the people presented worthless
sacrifices, they were not supporting the work of the priests and
offering the tithe God had asked and the entire nation had been put
under a curse.
Like Solomon once
said, “there is nothing new under the sun” however. Although we live
2400 years later and thousands of miles from the land where Malachi
lived, all of these issues are still problems among God’s people today.
We have failed to learn from our history and have fallen for the sins of
our spiritual ancestors.
This morning we will
finish the book of Malachi with a final warning but also with hope. As
the Israelites had been waiting for the coming Messiah and had become
disillusioned in their waiting, Malachi offers them hope that the
Messiah was still to come and that they all would be made right by his
appearing.
Malachi 3:13-15
states, “’You have said harsh things against me,’ says the Lord. ‘Yet
you ask, “What have we said against you?” You have said, “It is futile
to serve God. What did we gain by carrying out his requirements and
going about like mourners before the Lord Almighty? But now we call the
arrogant blessed. Certainly the evildoers prosper, and even those who
challenge God escape.”’”
Have you ever said
harsh things about God? The Israelites didn’t think so. The Israelites
were very serious about not taking God’s name in vain. They went to
extreme efforts to make sure that no one took God’s name in vain. So
the accusation of saying harsh things about God probably startled them.
The people had not
openly spoken badly about God but it was reflected in their words and
actions. No one said God is unjust, God is unloving. However, what
they did say reflected that they felt God was unjust and that God was
unloving.
“It is futile to
serve God. What did we gain by carrying out his requirements and going
about like mourners before the Lord Almighty?” Have you ever been
really frustrated and sit down and evaluate your life and decide that
for all of your faithfulness to God that maybe you deserve more from
God, that for all of your service maybe the creator of all things could
cut you a little slack and let things go your way just once.
My brother had his
wisdom teeth out on Friday and I was elected to take him to the oral
surgeon. Watching him come out of anesthesia was a real treat because
he was goofier than he normally is. Later Friday night when I had a
friend up from Virginia for yesterday’s Mid Year Conference, my brother
was telling me that in his sedated state he almost mentioned to the
dental assistant that his brother was single. This story led to joking
discussion between my brother and my friend about all the things I had
to offer a girl, from my low salary and the fact that I still live at
home to my overall laziness and lack of personal hygiene. Ok, they
didn’t mention personal hygiene but the other three were brought up.
Now all of this is
to say that I would like nothing more to get married and start a family
at some point but from some people’s perspective I don’t have a whole
lot going for me. It would be easy to blame God for not blessing me
despite my faithfulness. The Israelites did blame God because they saw
how the nations around them had been blessed but they were not.
No one here is in
the same situation that I am in, however, we all have situations in our
lives that make us question God’s fairness. We have people here who are
sick. Some of you have been in and out of the hospital and have had
more tests than you care to remember. And when you look around, you
wonder why you are experiencing hardship when others around you are
not. Is God unjust? In our minds, we know that God is just, but in our
hearts, we sometimes wonder when our faithfulness is going to be
rewarded and evil is going to be punished. The Israelites struggled
with all of this in Malachi’s day.
3:16 “Then those who
feared the Lord talked with each other, and the Lord listened and
heard. A scroll of remembrance was written in his presence concerning
those who feared the Lord and honored his name.”
It becomes altar
call time at this point. Despite all of the things the Israelites have
been accused of by Malachi there are still people who fear the Lord from
among the Israelites. A scroll of remembrance was written in the
presence of God, listing the names of the people there who feared God.
This is a public
display. Everyone could see who was there and who was taking a stand
for God that day. In an infant dedication service parents come in the
front of the entire church and agree that they will raise their child in
a godly fashion. The congregation likewise agrees to support the
couple. A certificate of dedication is sometimes issued. What it all
comes down to is that both parties are now held accountable to see that
the child is raised to fear the Lord.
Likewise, those of
you who are members of this church have come forward publicly and agreed
to abide by the beliefs of the church. You agreed to support the church
with your service and your finances. Some of you have been members of
this church from before I was born and maybe things were done slightly
different before. But you probably agreed to basically the same thing
that is in the back of your hymnal on page 548.
Maybe the last two
months I’ve been preaching from Malachi you’ve been thinking, I sure
wish so and so was here. Most of you that are here are faithfully here
every week and you don’t struggle with the same things the Israelites
did. However you know members of this church that aren’t here and
should be here.
As a congregation
you were witnesses to the membership of these people. At the end of
reception of new members the pastors says, “Brethren, I commend to your
love and care these persons whom we this day have received as members of
our church, and call upon you to do all in your power to increase their
faith, confirm their hope and perfect them in love.”
The Israelites had a
scroll of remembrance written so that they could know who had made a
commitment. We have a membership roll of those who have made a
commitment to this church. According to what I have seen, we have 78
adult members of our church. We are averaging 40 in attendance. That
leaves almost half of our membership is not here any given Sunday. Some
are unable to be here because of health reasons. Others no longer want
to be here. As a congregation you have made a commitment to them as
much as they have made a commitment to this church. It is this whole
church’s responsibility to be visiting our members who are no longer
capable of being with us. It is also the congregation’s responsibility
to try to provide reconciliation over petty disagreements and other
things that have caused members to stop coming here. As a pastor, I’m
willing to do what I can but I don’t know many of the situations
concerning our missing members. As you have made a commitment to each
and every person that has joined this church it is your responsibility
as much as mine to see that they are increasing in faith, confirming
their hope, and perfecting their love.
3:17, “’They will be
mine,’ says the Lord Almighty, ‘in the day when I make up my treasured
possession. I will spare them, just as in compassion a man spares his
son who serves him. And you will again see the distinction between the
righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do
not.”
Remember the
question, “What did we gain by carrying out his requirements and going
about like mourners before God Almighty?” I never answered it. This is
why we serve God. Even though at times it seems like God does not
reward those who serve him and turns a blind eye to those who do evil,
there will be a day when our faithfulness is remembered. We will be
treasured possessions.
My cousin Vanessa
has a stuffed bunny that she’s had for years. This bunny goes
everywhere she goes. And it looks like it. At one time, bunny was
pink. Now bunny is unwashably gray. Although bunny has only seen
normal wear, it looks like a dog might have attacked it at one point and
ripped the stuffing out and attacked again after bunny was repaired.
Nevertheless if bunny gets left at my house her mom has to come back and
pick him up.
This is what it
means to be a treasured possession. In my eyes, bunny needed to be put
out of misery a long time ago. We’ve already established this morning
that my hygiene is lacking, but bunny disgusts me. He won’t come clean
anymore. We’re the same way. We should have been put out of our
misery. We’re filthy and disgusting. And still we are treasured
possessions that God isn’t going home without.
4:1-3 “Surely the
day is coming; it will burn like a furnace. All the arrogant and every
evildoer will be stubble, and that day that is coming will set them on
fire,’ says the Lord Almighty. ‘Not a root or a branch will be left to
them. But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will
rise with healing in its wings. And you will go out and leap like
calves released from the stall. Then you will trample down the wicked;
they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day when I do
these things,” says the Lord Almighty.
Malachi tells the
people that there will be a day when the wicked are going to be judged.
All the enemies that surround the Israelites and taunt them and make
their lives miserable are going to pay for what they’ve done.
We’ve had it
ingrained into us so much that we are turn the other cheek and take
abuse good naturedly that accounts of judgment and revenge in the Bible
bother us. This is actually a joyful passage. The wicked are getting
what they deserve. In today’s society we use the phrase “Let he who has
not sin cast the first stone” as a cop out to turn a blind eye to sin.
We don’t want to call sin sin anymore. It’s politically incorrect to
tell it like it is.
It may not be our
right to judge in all cases. We are incapable to reading the hearts of
men and women. Our outward actions do not always reflect our inward
thoughts and feelings. However, God sees what we try to hide. God is
allowed to judge. Vengeance is mine says the Lord. And why can he do
this? Because he is just. He is without sin. Because he paid the
penalty for sin and has offered everyone forgiveness. The people that
do not accept forgiveness, God has every right to judge because he has
given them every chance.
4:4-6 “Remember the
law of my servant Moses, the decrees and laws I gave at Horeb for all
Israel. See I will send you the prophet Elijah before that great and
dreadful day of the Lord comes. He will turn the hearts of the fathers
to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers; or
else I will strike the land with a curse.”
Malachi ends with a
promise and a final warning. The day of the Lord is coming. The
Messiah that the Israelites were longing for would come. This passage
actually projects to the second coming of Christ, but the Israelites
were unable to understand this. What they needed to know what the God
was coming. This was great news for those who were waiting and
continuing to place their trust in him. This was terrible news for
those who were living like there was no God and that their sins would go
unpunished. It is my prayer that the coming of the Lord is great news
for everyone here today.
To top of
page |
