Malachi 3:13-18
In this running “dialogue” between God and the People, Malachi pictures God as
saying that the people had spoken harshly toward God. I particularly like the King James
wording “stout” because it conveys that the words were not only harsh, but also strong
words. The Amplified Bible says that the words were both strong and hard, so I feel as if I
am on solid ground with this interpretation.
How are are words sometimes against God? In Isaiah’s great revelation of God in
Isaiah 6, Isaiah mourned being a man of unclean lips and dwelling in the midst of a people
of unclean lips. This was because the people had just lost a great king and in losing that
king they probably mumbled against God. Sometimes our words about God’s justice, or
our complaints are “against God.”
As I read the story of Moses and the Hebrew’s during their wandering in the desert,
it seems as if God judged them over most frequently because of their words and attitudes
much more than actual misbehavior. The Bible speaks more about sins of the tongue and
lips than it does of drunken behavior, lewdness, sexual immorality, or just about any other
type of sin.
Malachi responds for the people. Their answer is full of disbelief and mock
innocence, “How have our words been so bad?” Malachi offers the answer. The people
were declaring that it did not pay to serve God. They claimed that they had walked
mournfully before God and wicked people were doing better than they were.
Two problems arise in their attitudes. First, their mournful walk is a problem.
While God wants us to mourn our sin, he does not want us to dwell on it. God does not
want us to mourn, but to be comforted as Jesus declared about those who mourn in the
Sermon on the mount (see Matthew 5).
When the people of God came together and heard God’s Word after the exile, they
mourned and wept. They were told to go and wash their faces and find the joy of the Lord,
which would be their strength. When Paul describes the filling of the Holy Spirit in
Ephesians 5:18 he describes a happiness that results (in the following verses) in a heart full
of gratitude, singing, and general happiness. God has never called for us to walk
mournfully before him, except during brief periods when we are truly sorrowful for our
sins. Our walk with God should bring joy, peace, and other positive attitudes, not sorrow.
The second part of their attitude is that they expected God to pay them. Their
attitudes are like Union workers preparing for a strike, they are unhappy and displeased
with their “pay.” The Jewish concept of wealth being a demonstration of God’s blessing
perhaps stems from the idea that God had blessed good and righteous men like Father
Abraham and Job. In fact, Satan, always the accuser, declares that the only reason Job
serves God is because God “bribes” Job with his goodness.
In my own life, whenever I begin to tell God what I think I deserve (or just think I
deserve something) that is when I am reminded of the cross. If I received my just desserts
God would consistently rain down his judgment on me. He would judge my attitudes, my
words, my thoughts, my lack of concern for others, my insensitive spirit, etc. etc. But
instead of giving me what I deserve, he works diligently to give me wealth that is spiritual
in nature. He works within me and deals with those very things that He should judge me
for. Serving God pays- as one author has stated, it pays eternal dividends. The problem
with the people Malachi was speaking to was that they wanted their “spiritual bonds” to
mature immediately in wordly terms.
The funny thing is, God had just promised to deal with their “wordly needs” in
earlier verses of this chapter. If the people would put God first in tithes and offerings he
would rebuke the devourer from their land. All the nations around them would see the
exact opposite of what they were saying, they would see that it DOES PAY to serve God
and that he does meet the needs of his people.
Recently, my son, Joshua, has gone through a period similar to that of Job. He was
laid off from one job and was having problems getting enough hours to make ends meet at
another. Then one night he came out and found his car stolen. It did not help that we had
just dropped the comprehensive coverage from the insurance. The car was found, but the
engine was ruined and it was a total loss. The Lord intervened and provided another car
for him. Then just before Christmas, when all was going well he loses his job. His attitude
was “this must not be where the Lord wants me.” Then on Christmas morning, a
mechanical malfunction caused him to wreck his new car. It was totalled. There was even
some question as to whether the insurance was going to pay for it or not. Imagine all of our
shock when the insurance company paid him (AFTER the $500.00 deductible) more than
$800 more than he had paid for the car. God further blessed by leading him to a car just
like the one he had, with a few minor differences, and he bought it for $1500 less than the
insurane pay off. God blessed him, allowed him to pay his insurance, his title and
registration, and have money left over while he continues his search for a job. I have
worked hard to communicate to Joshua that God has BLESSED him over and over in the
rough times and that those rough times do not mean that it does not pay to serve God.
Like most Christians, at times, he expresses strong faith and at others he is questioning
what God is up to in his life. However, it pays to serve God. Those who have seen what
Joshua has been through, his family and his church family, and even some non-believers,
have seen that God has cared for and ministered to Joshua.
These people complained because wicked people were prospering. This is an age old
question. Why does God allow wicked people to prosper? Why? Because He is God and
while we can sit and wonder, in the whole scheme of things it does not really matter. In the
end, God will reward those who serve and love Him.
Malachi intejects a different group of people into the dialogue though. Here’s the
real thrust of what I want to share. They that feared the Lord spoke often to one another
and God’s response was to hear it and make a record of it and establish a future period of
reward.
There are three things that we can do to get God’s attention.
1) Fear the Lord (respect)
2) Speak about the Lord (bring to rememberance, encourage)
3) Honor the name of the Lord (both in word and activity)
To fear the Lord is to recognize his authority and to submit to it. It does have an
element of fear, as a child ought to fear doing wrong and getting caught by a parent.
However, it has more of an idea of showing extreme respect and obedience.
When the people who feared the Lord spoke to one another they had something so
important to say that God listened. I believe that they spoke of God’s goodness. I believe
that they were offering encouragement one to another in much the same way that the
spirit-filled believers are commanded to do so in Ephesians 5 (following the filling of the
Holy Spirit). They got God’s attention with right words that came from right hearts. We
need to speak words which demonstrate right hearts before God, both to ourselves AND to
one another.
Finally, they honored his name. They did this by having heart-felt attitudes. The
people that Malachi was writing to had dishonored God’s name. They had done only what
they had to. They had done it with wrong attitudes and not out of a sense of love for God,
but out of a sense of obligation. They had brought sacrifices because they had to, but even
then, what they had offered to God had not honored him.
Yet, Malachi points out that there were still people who feared God, openly spoke of
God and honored his name in the midst of a people who had a lack of true righteousness.
In America we live in society that promotes sexual immorality, that laughs at integrity, that
mocks righteousness and spiritual values. Yet, as in Elijah’s day, there are those who have
not bowed their knees to the false gods. As in Elijah’s day, there were those who are
seeking God and God has a special plan for these people.
First, he will treasure them. He will keep these valuable people for himself and
second He will spare them in the time of judgement which is coming. God declares that
those who trust Him and honor Him are not only to be preserved but given a special place
of honor.
