(Malachi 3:1-18)
“Behold, I am sending My messenger, and he will clear a way before Me. And the Lord, whom you are seeking, will suddenly come to His temple; and the messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight, behold, He is coming,” says the Lord of armies. 2 “But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He is like a refiner’s fire, and like launderer’s soap. 3 And He will sit as a smelter and purifier of silver, and He will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, so that they may present to the Lord offerings in righteousness. 4 Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the Lord as in the days of old, and as in former years.
5 “Then I will come near to you for judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, the adulterers, against those who swear falsely, those who oppress the wage earner in his wages or the widow or the orphan, and those who turn away the stranger from justice and do not fear Me,” says the Lord of armies. 6 “For I, the Lord, do not change; therefore you, the sons of Jacob, have not come to an end.7 “From the days of your fathers you have turned away from My statutes and have not kept them. Return to Me, and I will return to you,” says the Lord of armies. “But you say, ‘How shall we return?’
8 “Would anyone rob God? Yet you are robbing Me! But you say, ‘How have we robbed You?’ In tithes and offerings. 9 You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing Me, the entire nation of you! 10 Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and put Me to the test now in this,” says the Lord of armies, “if I do not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows. 11 Then I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it will not destroy the fruit of your ground; nor will the vine in the field prove fruitless to you,” says the Lord of armies. 12 “All the nations will call you blessed, for you will be a delightful land,” says the Lord of armies.
13 “Your words have been arrogant against Me,” says the Lord. “Yet you say, ‘What have we spoken against You?’ 14 You have said, ‘It is pointless to serve God; and what benefit is it for us that we have done what He required, and that we have walked in mourning before the Lord of armies? 15 So now we call the arrogant blessed; not only are the doers of wickedness built up, but they also put God to the test and escape punishment.’”
16 Then those who feared the Lord spoke to one another, and the Lord listened attentively and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before Him for those who fear the Lord and esteem His name. 17 “And they will be Mine,” says the Lord of armies, “on the day that I prepare My own possession, and I will have compassion for them just as a man has compassion for his own son who serves him.” 18 So you will again distinguish between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve Him.
TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:
With this blog, I've been in the Old Testament now for over 5 years! And while that might sound dreary to some, this has been an amazing spiritual journey of getting to know Jesus better and better. When the Lord (Jesus) speaks, I recognize more and more of His words and how He "speaks" to the people in the four gospels! But, let me stay focused on what God is saying right here!!! And there's so much!!!
There is the prophecy of the messenger (John the Baptist), to clear (prepare) a way for the Lord (Jesus) to come to earth in flesh - the first time. There is the prophecy of the Tribulation, when at the very end of those seven years, at the end of the Jewish Age, Jesus will return to earth and judge the nations, removing all evil and all unbelievers (verses 5-6).
As well, there is the prophecy of the Millennial kingdom which describes a time when Jesus will bring the Jews and all other believers with Him to fulfill all covenants and establish peace on earth (verses 2-4). At the end of the Millennium, the Lord Jesus will judge all unbelievers of all time according to their sins, because they have rejected Him and His salvation.
Even though the Lord God desires that all come to know Him, because He is love, He will not force anyone to love Him back. And because He is holy, He cannot have a relationship with sin. But because He is love, the first time He came to earth in flesh, His work on the cross paid the price for all sin, of all time, for all people, whether someone was going to accept His free gift of forgiveness or not!
The answer to the question, "Who can stand before the Lord?" is - no one. We are all born with a sinful nature. But when a person choses salvation in Jesus, Jesus refines us, and cleanses us from our sins, and covers us with His righteousness, and only in His strength, mercy and grace are believers able to stand before Him.
Not only does the Lord God want a personal relationship with us, He wants to do life with us!!! He wants us to work with Him, so that He can bless us. Verse 7 is very clear!!! When we are with the Lord, THEN He is with us! And when we are with Him and He is with us, we will be obedient in His will and His instructions.
Our obedience is the evidence of our relationship with God!!! But also, when we choose to be obedient, demonstrating our faith and trust, this is when we will experience the Lord, and how He will work mightily for us, in us, and through us! This is when He will bless us! And, He WANTS to bless us (verses 10, 17-18)!!! This is why God created us in the first place!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment