In Malachi, the last book in the Old Testament, God gives His people final warnings and prophecies before Christ’s ministry. These words were to be His last recorded communication for over 400 years. God clearly describes His displeasure with His people. They were not honoring Him in the way He expected. God said:
They were offering defiled sacrifices (1:7-14) Their priests were not following His commandments (2:1-8) Their priests judged with partiality (2:9) The men were mistreating their wives (2:14-16) They were declaring that those who did evil were `good in the sight of the Lord’ (2:17) They were robbing Him in their tithes and offerings (3:8-10) They complained about serving Him (3:13-15)
God rebukes them for all these things. Yet He tells them He will remain their God because of His promises. He declares that His name shall be great among the Gentiles and the nations (for which we are eternally grateful).
He will send the “Sun of Righteousness with healing in His wings” to those who hear His name (4:2). He also promises that He will turn our hearts, sparing those who serve Him (3:18).
Since we are God’s people today, we can benefit from checking our lives and service against God’s warnings of nearly 2500 years ago. After all, God does not change (3:6). His covenant has changed as we live under the Law of Christ instead of Moses. All the things in this list are common today and can be serious problems in the church. Furthermore, when we read the word “priest” in Malachi, we should replace it with the word Christian, for we know we have been made a royal priesthood (I Peter 3:9).
Let’s decide today to give God our very best this week.
For the elders, Dave Benner