Reading: Malachi chapter 2 verse 17 to chapter 3 verse 15.
Ill: A socialist once came to see Andrew Carnegie;
• Who was an American businessman, the founder of Carnegie Steel Company;
• Which later became U.S. Steel.
• A socialist once came to see Andrew Carnegie;
• And soon was railing against the injustice of Carnegie having so much money.
• In his view, wealth was meant to be divided equally.
• Carnegie asked his secretary for an assessment of everything he owned;
• And at the same time looked up the figures on world population.
• He did a little arithmetic on a pad;
• Then said to his secretary.
• “Give this gentleman l6 cents. That’s his share of my wealth.”
Those words ‘It’s not fair!” So easily fall from our lips;
• ill: According to Ann Landers,
• The average teenager uses the phrase “it’s not fair”, 86 times a day (ill: youth club).
• ill: This week I did a web search for this simple phrase: “when life is not fair.”
• The search yielded a staggering 97.2 million results.
THIS EVENING WE ARE LOOKING AT MALACHI CHAPTER 3:
• We are linking it up with the last verse of chapter 2.
• Where we read that God is tired of playing games with His people.
• He tells them:
• “You have wearied the Lord with your words…”
We think of the word ‘wearied’ as repetitious entreaties:
• Ill: Parents get weary when their young children are always asking for things;
• Can we have some sweets? Can we watch TV? Can we…….?
• As it turns out it is not so much the repetitiousness that bothered God;
• It was much more the nature of the complaint
• God was more offended by the content of their complaint;
• Than by their never-ending moaning.
God is offended that the people would accuse him of injustice.
• The Jewish people of Malachi's day were facing a problem;
• That many in the Old Testament wrestled with;
• Why does God allow rotten people to get away with doing evil and they even seem to prosper;
• While good people seemed to suffer most.
• They did of course think that they were ‘The good’ people;
• Despite all their faults and failings that are recorded in this short book of prophecy.
• What they are actually saying is; ‘We are good but are not getting rich, why?’
• ‘Where is the God of justice?’
Quote:
“People who are out to find fault seldom find anything else”
ill:
• The Legend of Prince Llywelyn of Gwynedd;
• Who went away on a hunting trip.
• One morning he was ready to set off but his favourite Irish wolfhound;
• Named Gelert was nowhere to be seen.
• Although he was normally the keenest of all the hounds,
• His master blew his hunting-horn but he would not answer.
• So Llywelyn and his men decided to set off from the hunting-lodge without him,
• And they did not have their usual success.
• As evening fell, Llywelyn returned to the lodge while his servants stabled the horses.
• But when he came to the door, to his surprise it had been pushed partly open,
• Thinking at once about his young son who had been left in the cradle upstairs,
• He rushed up stairs to find him.
• But the sight that met his eyes was not the peaceful scene he had left there that morning;
• None of the maidservants were there,
• Everything was overturned or smashed or most ominous of all covered in blood.
• Then he saw the wooden cradle, lying on its side, empty;
• There were the bed-clothes in a bloody heap, and there was Gelert lying on the floor,
• His jaws covered in blood and wagging his tail.
• Llywelyn did not know why his dog had so betrayed him and attacked the baby boy;
• Maybe it was hunger or perhaps jealousy.
• At this moment in time, he did not care. Only revenge mattered,
• And drawing his sword he stabbed the hound in the heart.
• Gelert gave a low moan, but did not move;
• As he walked away from the hound, he noticed another animal lying still in the room.
• It was a wild wolf that had entered the house looking for food.
• Gelert had not killed the baby after all, just the intruding wolf.
• Prince Llwelyn had made decisions without having all the facts;
• And it led to disastrous results.
• He was just like the people of God in Malachi’s day!
• Who had made statements without having all the facts;
• With their limited understanding;
• They thought they knew more than the eternal, creator God!
As Christians we affirm that God is a God of justice:
• Yet we know that injustices occur daily in this life.
• Yet we believe that God will one day judge all evil,
• But in the meantime the wicked do prosper,
• And good people are sometimes afflicted.
• These first five verses in Malachi chapter 3;
• Deal with that question that the people were asking:
Malachi gives them a two-fold answer:
• First: God is coming and there will be a judgement.
• Second: ALL evildoers will be judged;
• The reason for the delay is that God is a God of grace as well as justice;
• If he were to come this day, then no-body could stand before him.
• All would perish!
• So in his grace, God delays!
I WANT TO DIVIDE OUR PASSAGE UNDER 4 HEADINGS:
• The first section is the difficult one of the three.
• So we will spend longer on this one than the other three.
• You might remember that chapter 2 deals with the sins of the people:
• Divorce, marrying unbelievers etc. – so in many ways it is straightforward.
• The latter part of chapter 3 deals with more sins of the people;
• Robbing God of tithes and other obligations – again it is fairly straightforward.
• In between these two lists of the peoples sins;
• Come verses 1 to 5 which is a little more complicated – it focuses on the coming of God
• These verses come as a direct result of the peoples complaint.
• Which is record in chapter 2 verse 17:
One of the things that makes Malachi unique:
• Is that he had a dialogue with the people.
• It is clear that as he spoke his prophecy, he was often heckled.
• His prophecy;
• Takes the form of sharp exchanges between the prophet and the people.
• On twelve occasions he says; “But you say…..”
• Implying interruption of one sort or another.
My understanding of chapter 3 is this:
• He has been dealing with the sins of the people in chapter 2:
• E.g. Divorce, marrying unbelievers etc.
• He is then heckled, interrupted (chapter 2 verse 17);
• So he deals with the heckling, the interruption (Chapter 3 verses 1-5).
• Then he continues to deal with more of the peoples sins;
• E.g. Robbing God of tithes and other obligations.
WE ARE GOING TO DIVIDING CHAPTER 3 UNDER 4 HEADINGS:
• A little bit longer on section 1;
• We will be briefer on the other three sections.
(1). Refining (verses 1-5).
Ill:
Elena Bonner, wife of Soviet dissident Andrei Sakharov,
• Says that as he wrote his memoirs she typed, edited, and nursed the work,
• Doing everything she could to make sure it survived seizure by the communist government.
• Sakharov worked on his memoirs in Gorky, Russia's third largest city (name change)
• Rewriting sections because they kept vanishing.
• Then one day he met Elena at the train station and with trembling lips told her,
• “They stole it.”
• She says he looked like a man who had just learned of the death of a close friend.
• But after a few days, Sakharov returned to his work.
• According to his wife, each time he rewrote his memoirs;
• There was something new - something better.
Malachi reminds the people that God wants:
• Something new - something better.
• He will not settle for second best,
• He will not settle for ritual without reality!
• So to prevent that happening he must according to verses 2&3 refine his people!
Note: In this first section (verses 1-5):
• Malachi looks down the telescope of prophecy;
• And sees two important people.
• Two future messengers are referred to,
• And he reveals two different ways of dealing with the problem of sin.
(1). The first messenger (verse 1a):
• Is described in verse 1 as 'my messenger'.
• This is a play on words.
• Because if you remember ‘Malachi’ is not a name but a title, a description;
• The word ‘Malachi’ means 'My messenger',
• Malachi came to the people speaking God's word,
• And in a similar but more dramatic way, another messenger from God would come.
The words in verse 1: ‘Prepare the way’:
• Were well known and extremely popular with the Jews of this period;
• They are taken from Isaiah chapter 40 verses 3-5.
3”Someone is shouting:
"Clear a path in the desert!
Make a straight road
for the LORD our God.
4Fill in the valleys;
flatten every hill
and mountain.
Level the rough
and rugged ground.
5Then the glory of the LORD
will appear for all to see.
The LORD has promised this!"
We know of course that the one Isaiah & Malachi was referring to was John the Baptist;
• All four Gospel writers (Matthew, Mark, Luke & John) unanimously agree on this.
• They all quote part of these verses from Isaiah in connection with John the Baptist.
• Matthew in his gospel (chapter 11 verse 10) quotes both Isaiah and Malachi together;
• Thus linking the two pronouncements.
• Jesus himself in Matthew chapter 11 verse 10:
• Applies this prophecy to John the Baptist.
When John the Baptist exploded onto the scene:
• He started that refining process;
• He spoke clear moral standards.
• He required that people not only confess their sins but also repent;
• He required actions as well as words!
Ill:
• Read his powerful sermon in Luke chapter 3 verses 7-17.
• See the justice of God in practical terms.
• He told the religious leaders; not just to look the part;
• “But to produce fruit in keeping with repentance” – action not words!
• To the crowds he said:
• “Share your food and clothes with those who are cold and hungry”.
• To the Tax Collectors: “Do not steal”
• To the soldiers: “Treat people fairly & be content with your pay”.
So John the Baptist:
• Started that refining process;
• He spoke simplistic clear moral standards.
• He required that people not only confess their sins but also repented;
• He emphasised actions as well as words!
(2). The second messenger (verse 1b):
• Is called ‘The messenger of the covenant’.
• ‘Covenant’ means a sacred promise.
• And this messenger is truly remarkable.
• For it is God himself who will come!
Notice the difference:
• God often sent messengers;
• He had been doing that for hundred’s of years.
• Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel etc
• Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah etc
• They were all great messengers, great gifts of God to his people.
• But they were all human, simply good men!
• Even the greatest of all prophets (according to Jesus – Matthew chapter 11 verse 11)
• John the Baptist was still only a good man, human just like us!
• Now here in verse 1:
• God is promising to dispense with the messengers and come himself!
"See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before ME. Then suddenly THE LORD you are seeking will come to HIS temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come," says the LORD Almighty”.
Malachi is only echoing what Isaiah had already predicted (chapter 40 verse 3):
“A voice of one calling: ‘in the desert prepare the way for THE LORD; Make straight in the wilderness a highway for OUR GOD”.
Again with hindsight we know that God became a human being in the person of Jesus Christ:
• John the Baptist testified of his uniqueness (Matthew chapter 3 verse 11);
• “After me will come more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry”
• At the baptism of Jesus John declared him to be (John chapter 1 verse 34):
• “The Son of God”.
The second messenger 'the messenger of the covenant' – who was Jesus Christ:
• We are told that he would come to his temple (verse 1),
• And this was fulfilled by Jesus on many occassions.
• In his first coming to the earth,
• The Lord Jesus came to the temple and was recognized by Simeon (Luke 2:27).
• He came back to the temple at the age of twelve (Luke 2:49)
• Where he debated the scriptures with the religious teachers.
• And he returned many times as a man;
• And as a teacher (John 7) where he taught in the temple.
• And on one (or possibly two) occasions;
• He entered the temple and started to cleanse it (Matthew 21:12-14).
Note: Often with Old Testament prophecy:
• Events from our Lord's first advent (coming) (verse 1);
• Are combined with events to take place at His second advent (coming) (verses 2-5).
• Ill: Mountain peaks - From one angle it can look like one mountain peak.
• But from another perspective, you can clearly see that there are two side by side.
Ill:
• An example of this that ties in with this context is;
• Luke chapter 4 verse 18:
16He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. And he stood up to read. 17The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:
18"The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to release the oppressed,
19to proclaim the year of the Lord's favour."
20Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down.
• Jesus shocked his audience by saying that this prophecy was fulfilled in him.
• He was the one who had come to do these things
• What we need to note is what Jesus did not read!
• Jesus broke off Isaiah’s prophecy mid sentence!
• Had he carried on he would have read;
• “And the day of vengeance of our God” (Isaiah chapter 61 verse 2).
• He stopped mid sentence because that line will not be fulfilled until his second coming.
• Jesus is indicating here that a day of grace would proceed the final judgement.
• At his first coming Jesus was the messenger of the covenant;
• Who came to secure peace between God and man – he did this at the cross!
• At his second coming he will come as the conquering king;
• When he will enforce his justice on all mankind.
Ill:
• The twofold coming of Christ;
• Can be illustrated by the two metaphors provided in this passage.
• His coming is described both as a refiner's fire (verses 2-3);
• And a launderer's soap (verses 2-3).
• The launderer's soap makes dirty clothes clean;
• Whilst the refiner's fire removes all the impurities from precious metals.
These two metaphors reveal the dual purpose of the coming of Christ.
• He comes both to cleanse the faithful;
• And to eliminate the unfaithful.
• All of those who have ever confessed their sin to God;
• Have known the joy of cleansing,
• But the refining process,
• The separating of the righteous from the unrighteous is still to be completed.
(2). Returning (verses 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?'”
God does not change;
• In theology this doctrine is called immutability.
• It simply means God cannot and does not change.
• Other beings (e.g. humans) can change in one of two ways;
• They can change for the better or they can change for the worse.
• God cannot change for the better;
• Because that would mean he was less than perfect earlier.
• God cannot change for the worse either;
• Because that would mean he would become imperfect. Which he cannot be!
• God is and must remain perfect in all his attributes;
• He is immutable!
Ill:
• It was a bright Sunday morning in 18th century London,
• But Robert Robinson’s mood was anything but sunny.
• All around him people were hurrying to church,
• But in the midst of the crowd Robinson was a lonely man.
• The sound of church bells reminded him of years past;
• When his faith in God was strong and the church was an integral part of his life.
• It had been years since he set foot in a church;
• Years of wandering, disillusionment, and gradual defection from the God he once loved.
• That love for God - once fiery and passionate - had slowly burned out within him,
• Leaving him dark and cold inside.
• As he was walking along;
• Robinson heard the clip-clop, clip-clop of a horse-drawn cab approaching behind him.
• Turning, he lifted his hand to hail the driver.
• But then he saw that the cab was occupied by a young woman.
• He waved the driver on,
• But the woman in the carriage ordered the carriage to be stopped.
• “Sir, I’d be happy to share this carriage with you,” she said to Robinson.
• “Are you going to church?”
• Robinson was about to decline, then he paused.
• “Yes,” he said at last. “I am going to church.”
• He stepped into the carriage and sat down beside the young woman.
• As the carriage rolled forward Robert Robinson and the woman exchanged introductions.
• There was a flash of recognition in her eyes when he stated his name.
• “That’s an interesting coincidence,” she said,
• Reaching into her purse.
• She withdrew a small book of inspirational verse,
• Opened it to a ribbon-bookmark, and handed the book to him.
• “I was just reading a verse by a poet named Robert Robinson. Could it be…?”
• He took the book, nodding. “Yes, I wrote these words years ago.”
• “Oh, how wonderful!” she exclaimed.
• “Imagine! I’m sharing a carriage with the author of these very lines!”
• But Robinson barely heard her.
• He was absorbed in the words he was reading.
• They were words that would one day be set to music & very well known hymn.
“Come, Thou Fount of every blessing,
Tune my heart to sing Thy grace’
Streams of mercy, never ceasing,
Call for songs of loudest praise.”
His eyes slipped to the bottom of the page where he read:
“Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it—
Prone to leave the God I love;
Here’s my heart, O take and seal it,
Seal it for Thy courts above.”
He could barely read the last few lines through the tears that brimmed in his eyes.
• “I wrote these words - and I’ve lived these words.
• ‘Prone to wander…prone to leave the God I love.’”
• The woman suddenly understood.
• The woman then said to him:
• “But you also wrote, ‘Here’s my heart, O take and seal it.’
• You can offer your heart again to God, Mr. Robinson. It’s not too late.”
• And it wasn’t too late for Robert Robinson.
• In that moment he turned his heart back to God and walked with him the rest of his days.
Israel too, ‘Prone to wander…prone to leave the God they loved.’”
• Yet God did not destroy Israel, even though she deserved it.
• Because he changes not - He kept His covenant and his promise too them.
• He wanted them to return to him;
• But alas they kept on walking away.
(3). Robbing (verses 8-15).
• The people failed to bring their tithes and offerings to God;
• That they were commanded to bring in the Law given by Moses.
• The principle of giving to God is consistent and absolute throughout the Bible.
• When we give, God blesses, when we withhold, we put ourselves under a curse (vs 9).
The teaching of Malachi here can be summed up in a sentence:
“Restore what you have stolen and stand back
and see God blessing you beyond your wildest dreams.”
Verse 10: we are told that the place of restitution is the storehouse:
• The storehouse had been built in the temple;
• For depositing the tithes and offerings of the people.
(Nehemiah 10:38-39 and compare Deuteronomy 14:22-29).
• God used these tithes and offerings to feed his priests who served in the temple.
• Tithes and offerings were the priest's only means of support.
• God is on record as saying – prove me!
• In other words no-one was ever a looser who gave to God his due.
Quote: The great writer and preacher, John Bunyan:
"There was a man,
Some called him mad;
The more he gave,
The more he had".
• God is on record as saying – prove me in this area of giving!
• In other words no-one was ever a looser who gave to God his due (not being reckless).
Quote Gladys Aylward (Reading from her Chinese Bible):
“The great, over and above all one Jehovah,
Who controls the hosts, leans saying;
If you will bring into my storehouse your completed tithes that my family may be sustained,
then you can prove me and see if I will not open wide windows in heaven,
pouring out blessings so many, you will never be able to use them all up”
When it comes to the issue of giving;
• It is not an optional extra whether you are an Old Testament or New Testament believer!
• Every Christian is called to give.
• Ill: In Matthew, Mark, and Luke 1 of 6 verses deals with money.
• Ill: Of the 29 parables Christ told, 16 deal with a person and his money.
• It is not an optional extra whether you are an Old Testament or New Testament believer!
• Every Christian is called to give.
• Many are convinced we should tithe (give 10%);
• Ill: R.T. Kendall Book.
• Many are convinced we don’t have to tithe but we still have to give;
• Ill: Article recently in a Christian magazine.
Well, I am not going to tell you tonight how much to give:
• You have a voice - You ask the Lord if you think you are giving enough?
• What I will say is that you should have some sort of giving plan!
• Whether it is 1%, 5%, 10% or 75%;
• We need a plan, so that our giving is consistent and purposeful.
• If you want some clear guidelines when it comes to Christian giving;
• Read 2 Corinthians chapter 8&9.
Verse 10:
• Just imagine God opening the floodgates of blessing.
• The Lord calls us to test him, or prove him in this matter of giving.
• This. blessing includes: The reviving of our fortunes (3:10)
• The rebuking of our foes (3:11-12)
(3). Remembering (verses 16-18):
“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 honoured his name.
17 "They will be mine," says the LORD Almighty, "in the day when I make up my treasured possession. [a] I will spare them, just as in compassion a man spares his son who serves him. 18 And you will again see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not.”
Amongst all the formalism and apostasy of Malachi's day:
• There remains a faithful remnant.
• Those who stayed true to the Lord and his commands.
TWO THINGS ARE SAID ABOUT THIS GROUP.
(1st):
• They 'talked with each other'.
• Literally it means that they made a constant habit of sharing together.
• There is a richness about fellowship with God’s people;
• And we impoverish ourselves by staying away from meeting with true believers.
(2nd):
• The second thing we are told about this group is that they 'honoured his name'.
• Quite literally it means to take an inventory.
• These people thought upon the name.
• They were taking an inventory of their wealth in the name.
• The kings had gone, the priests were corrupt, the prophets were silent,
• But they still have the name.
Note: That expression "the name," is not referring to a title of God, but to his character.
• To reveal or manifest God’s name:
• Is a Semitic phrase for speaking about God’s attributes.
• In other words the God who is all loving, all powerful, almighty, who does not change;
• Is the God in whom these faithful believers trusted in!
