Read Malachi 3:13-17
 
Malachi 3:16-17 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. 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.”
  
THERE are many in the world and in the church who wonder, “Why know the Bible if it makes no difference in my life?” Such self-centered questions come from people who may often hear God’s Word – maybe most Sunday mornings in church – but neglect to respond to what God tells them. One sign of the way sin has broken our relationship with God is to create in us an expectation that we will see God’s will done on earth when he meets our desires. “Surely the LORD God is ready and willing to come when I call.” We might also look upon wealthy, successful people who disdain and reject God and so complain as the faithless Jews, “It is futile to serve God.” (verse 13)
   But we read, too, there were the faithful Jews, who feared the Lord and talked with each other of God’s law and ways. They even wrote on a scroll his presence concerning those who feared the Lord and honored his name. In other words, the names of God’s faithful people were written as a testimony to their faith. These are the faithful people who understand God is holy. Our relationship with him becomes true when we submit to his will. His desire is we know and worship the LORD.
   God’s response to the faithful is a promise to those who fear him – who respect, honor and revere him. “They will be mine,” says the Lord Almighty, “in the day when I make up my treasured possession.”
   This is for you, church, who are all who believe in Jesus. The Fire Bible Study notes summarizes God’s promise in this way:
   (1) The Lord promises to keep a permanent record of those who bring honor to him by the way they live.
   (2) God recognizes and remembers our faithfulness to him and our love for him. When we stand before him at the time of judgment, he will reward us eternally as we are truly live in the fear of God, devoted to worship, honor, obey and love him.
   Jesus confirms the promises this way: Matthew 25:32 “All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.”  And John records God’s promise in Revelation 21:26 The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into (the city). 27 Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.  
   Is your name there? You will know how to answer when you know how to answer the question, “Do you fear God?”

 

Read Malachi 3:1-12
 
Malachi 3:6-7 “I the Lord do not change. So you, O descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed. 7 Ever since the time of your forefathers you have turned away from my decrees and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you,” says the Lord Almighty. “But you ask, ‘How are we to return?’”
 
ONLY a few words remain in the Old Testament. Beginning with Abraham, the LORD God has been speaking to his people for nearly 2500 years. He is about to become silent for 400 years until John the Baptist and Jesus enter Judea and Galilee. He gives two main messages to Judah before his silence: “I do not change.” And “Test me on (the tithe).” We’ll examine the first here.
 
A word to define God’s unchanging character is “immutable”. You can say absolute, unchanging, constant and sure. One immutable promise he has made throughout the 25 centuries is spoken in Exodus 34:6-7 And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, 7 maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation.”
   God has chosen and formed Israel to be his people. He promises them blessing and justice. The immutable LORD has sifted sin from his people, scattered the disobedient and sanctified the faithful. His holy purpose continued even as most of his people reject him. Nonetheless, the immutable Holy Trinity will not divert from his covenant of salvation spoken in the Garden: To Satan he said in Genesis 3:15 And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he (my Savior) will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.” Satan will wound the Savior. The Savior will crush Satan’s authority.
   Through the ages God has also in many ways declared and exhibited his truth of Exodus 20:2 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. 3 You shall have no other gods before me.” Resolute to save us from sin, God has steadfastly commanded, empowered, purified and forgiven his wayward people.
   Now he honors the faithful with this promise: “Return to me, and I will return to you.”  In other words the Bible declares, “Repent!” Surely this is his message that still comes to us today through the covenant of grace.
   God’s promise to the Jews in 400 BC was to repent and trust his promises. This is very much his promise to you today begun on the first day of the church at Pentecost: Acts 2:38 Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 The promise (See that: the promise) is for you and your children and for all who are far off — for all whom the Lord our God will call.”
 
You can trust your immutable God to keep his promises. If you are far off from him, return and receive his grace.  
 
Please Note: Lessons will return on Monday. Remain blessed in God’s Word.
 

Read Malachi 2
 
Malachi 2:17a You have wearied the LORD with your words. “How have we wearied him?” you ask.
 
THE last half of this verse is missing. Before you go back to your Bible to read it, please stop and consider how you would answer the question.
   In what way might you have wearied the LORD with your words? Have you vainly spoken his name? “Oh, my _____!” is a common, vain phrase today. Have you prayed for forgiveness with empty words, knowing your desire is to sin in the same way again? Have you promised God you would be more faithful to him but have made no effort to change your habits or lifestyle? Have you promised someone you’d care for them but left them waiting? Perhaps a shut-in or aged parent awaits your visit, but you call and say, “I’m too busy right now.” Perhaps you sing, “I love you, Lord.” and you go to places you shouldn’t or refrain from family obligations. You might judge another for a sin you often commit.
   The Jews returned from exile and godly leaders such as Ezra, Nehemiah, Malachi and many others urged and commanded them to re-establish God’s law in their hearts, so they would know and live in the fullness of his words. They needed to stop justifying their sins and begin to repent and live in God’s truth.
   This answer to God was to justify themselves, denying their sins: “All who do evil are good in the eyes of the Lord, and he is pleased with them.” or “Where is the God of justice?”  The Jews wanted to believe everything was right in God’s sight. They did not believe God would judge their sins.
   This was Adam and Eve’s problem that has become humanity’s problem. The problem confronts us daily as we decide what to say and do, how to live. Do we trust and believe God’s words to our hearts? Or are we inclined to excuse our disobedience?
   Sin’s attacks will not change. We then, must change in God’s power to be as God commands us to be.
 
Beware of Unbelief: 2 Peter 3:3 First of all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. 4 They will say, “Where is this “coming” he promised? Ever since our fathers died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.”
 
 
 

Read Malachi 2:11-16
 
Malachi 2:15 Has not [the Lord] made them one? In flesh and spirit they are his. And why one? Because he was seeking godly offspring. So guard yourself in your spirit, and do not break faith with the wife of your youth.
 
TWO problems Malachi addresses in Judah center on marriage. The first problem is Israel’s men who marry foreign women. God’s law pointedly prohibited this: Exodus 34:15 “Be careful not to make a treaty with those who live in the land; for when they prostitute themselves to their gods and sacrifice to them, they will invite you and you will eat their sacrifices. 16 And when you choose some of their daughters as wives for your sons and those daughters prostitute themselves to their gods, they will lead your sons to do the same.” This command and warning was repeated several times throughout Israel’s history. One of the first sins Israel committed in the Promised Land was to break this command. It led to the worship of foreign gods; thus, in disobeying this marriage command, Israel broke the first command to worship only the Lord. The eventual result was the dispersion of Israel’s 10 tribes and the exile of Judah. How deadly our fleshy passions are to cause us to ignore God’s holy fervor for our souls.
   The second problem is divorce. “Hate” expresses God’s disfavor with divorce and points to matrimony’s holy purpose. Although marriage is often ridiculed in our cultures worldwide and dismissed with indifference, it is a precious covenant relationship. God formed marriage to be the first human relationship. Why? He tells us one reason here: Malachi 2:15b Because he was seeking godly offspring. So guard yourself in your spirit, and do not break faith with the wife of your youth. So guard yourself in your spirit, and do not break faith.
   Marriage is to be an exhibition of the covenant relationship God has with us. And in turn, it is to be the foundation of faith development for the next generation. Families were formed in the image of the Holy Trinity to be as one harmonious life force, bearing witness of God’s love to the world. The family is very precious to God because it is to display God’s character.
   The Christ-like life must be the family’s life. We should see the family in the light of God’s grace. Defend the family against evil. Cause the family to prosper in God’s goodness. Those who are single, too, are in some type of family relationship. If you associate with others, you are to demonstrate God’s relational love. It is for all of us to know the primacy of family, so we can defend it against sin’s division.
   Failure of Israel’s husbands to be faithful to God and then their wives led to broken lives in Israel. Of course, it is still true today throughout the world. When we consider what is most important in our lives, let’s first consider how necessary and right it is to focus on our marriages and our family. This is God’s gift to you. Treasure, honor and savor the gift.
 
Ephesians 5:29 After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the church 30 for we are members of his body. 31 “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.”

Read Malachi 1:6-2:9
 
Malachi 2:7 “For the lips of a priest ought to preserve knowledge, and from his mouth men should seek instruction - because he is the messenger of the Lord Almighty.”  
 
The LORD is very unhappy with his priests. Read through the entire passage to understand the hypocrisy and disobedience within Israel’s priesthood. They are to offer the unblemished first of the flock and herds to God, but they have chosen the ill and injured animals. Their offerings would displease worldly rulers and are not worthy of the Ruler of the World. The priests’ offerings are not sacrifices, but they are rejected refuse. With self-affirmation, they ask God, “How have we shown contempt for your name?”. Is it not a habit of the human heart to plead ignorance of law when we break the law? Did the priests really think the holy God would accept such irreverent worship and overlook such disrespect? The LORD told them It would be better for them to shut the temple doors than continue to disrespect the LORD’s holy table – the altar of sacrifice and repentance for the forgiveness of sins. Are you respecting the LORD’s table?
   A key component to this passage is the power of legacy – both good and bad. The priests’ disobedience will cause God to curse their descendants. Malachi 2:2b “I have already cursed them, because you have not set your heart to honor me.” The LORD then rebukes them for dishonoring Aaron’s legacy of righteousness. Remember he was Moses’ older brother who became the first high priest of Israel. Moses and Aaron were of the tribe of Levi, which is the tribe chosen to be the priests. God blessed Aaron with a very personal relationship: Malachi 2: 5 ‘my covenant was with him, a covenant of life and peace, and I gave them to him; this called for reverence and he revered me and stood in awe of my name.” God’s blessing required Aaron’s reverence, his worship.
   Consider now that you, Jesus church, are called to be a priesthood of sacrificing believers: 1 Peter 2:5 you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. God has blessed you. Your response is to be a reverent life, marked with true sacrifice to the God who has called you. You are not to give him the leftovers of your life. He requires your first and best. You are not to be a hypocrite with your words. You are to be a true priest of faithful speech and righteous life habits.
   Do you want to protect your family from evil? Then be a faithful priest of your household, your community and your church. As we considered the life of a good shepherd, a faithful priest is much the same. Speak, live and sacrifice for the LORD God. Honor his Table with your life.