Day 273 (Malachi 1-4) - Year 7

Hey, Bible readers, I'm Tara Lee Cobble, and I'm your host for the Bible Recap.

Okay, everybody, wherever you are, no matter what you're doing, I need you to stop.

Take a deep breath, and celebrate because you did it.

You finished the Old Testament.

Whether this is your first time or your 10th time, this is a huge accomplishment, and we don't want you to miss this moment.

I know there are some some days when this didn't feel possible, but here we are.

I'm so proud of you.

But even more than that, I'm so excited for you about all God has done in your heart along the way.

Tomorrow, we'll turn the page to begin the New Testament.

And you just wait.

The New Testament is going to come alive to you in a whole new way because of all you've learned from the Old Testament.

Just a couple quick reminders.

Number one, don't forget our three-friend challenge.

Think of three people you can invite to join us for the New Testament.

Invite them to read along with us and check out the info at thebible recap.com forward slash start

number two what's a finish line without a t-shirt check out thebible recap.com forward slash store to find some cool merch to celebrate your trip to the old testament number three finally for today's weekly check-in i want to ask you a question now that you've read the entire old testament what do you know about god and his character that you didn't know when we started on day one or what have you at least become more aware of?

I hope he has surprised you somehow.

Think about that today and thank him for it.

Okay, let's get to our last recap from our Old Testament reading.

When the book opens, we're in Jerusalem with the exiles who've returned after the Babylonian captivity and they're dealing with the deep disappointment they're feeling toward God.

He sent a bunch of prophets to tell them about all the plans he had for them, plans to prosper them and not to harm them, plans to give them hope and a future, according to the prophet Jeremiah.

So they feel really let let down that it hasn't quite happened the way they'd imagined it.

They failed to remember that part of God's covenant with the Israelites has to do with their obedience to him, which is something that hasn't really changed at all as far as we can tell.

And another part of the covenant is attached to what is called the Messianic Age, when the Messiah comes and reigns on earth.

At Malachi's point in history, the Messiah hasn't been born as a human yet, so we're still really far off from his eternal reign.

All that to say, the people are disappointed that God hasn't yet done what they thought he'd promised them.

Maybe you've been there, so maybe you can relate to some of the conversations that take place in this short book of the minor prophet Malachi.

Let's jump in.

In chapter 1, God starts out by telling Israel how much he loves them, but they don't believe him.

So he shows them the contrast between them and Edom, the descendants of Esau, and he basically says, if you don't believe me, just look at how I've blessed my kids versus how I've treated the Edomites who aren't in my family.

In this section, God says something that may have shocked you, especially if you've never encountered this idea.

It's in verses 2 to 3, where God says, I have loved Jacob, but Esau I have hated.

Does this really mean God hated Esau?

Or does this just mean he loves him less by comparison?

Or is this referring to the two people groups, but not the people themselves?

Or is this just showing that God is not bound by the cultural norms to show preference to the firstborn?

There are lots of questions about this, and the only way to start finding answers is to look in the greater context of scripture.

In case you want to dig deeper today, we're going to include several different links in the show notes with various perspectives on this passage.

Most of them are short, but one of them is pretty long and detailed.

It's the transcript of a Charles Spurgeon sermon.

If you choose to read through those links, I'd encourage you to remember a few of the things you've already learned about God and His Word.

First, we've seen that God's emotions are complex.

Very few things have only one layer.

Second, We've seen that God does hate some things, primarily things that are in opposition to things he loves.

Third, we've seen that God's family is made up of those who have been adopted into it.

It has nothing to do with genetics or even the fact that he's the one who made us all.

And if this passage is really hard for you, don't give up.

Ask God to keep revealing himself to you as you dig in.

If it feels hurtful to you because you feel like there's some rejection in it, then you're in a perfect spot to understand more of how God feels in relation to his people Israel who have rejected him yet again.

Look for God in this.

Keep searching for him as we continue reading through the Bible and remember what we've already learned.

It's going to be helpful to see what he says about himself, but also to see what the people who know him best have to say about him.

Okay, back to Malachi.

God tells the priests how they've rejected him even after all he's done for them.

He brought them back to the land, rebuilt the temple that was destroyed because of their sin, then comes to dwell with them again despite the fact that they haven't repented and are terrible leaders who oppressed the people and offered polluted offerings to him.

They mock him and his laws.

He says he'll send a curse on them if they don't repent, and that's not what he wants to do.

He made a covenant with Levi that was one of life and peace.

And Levi demonstrated godly leadership, unlike these guys.

Levi feared God, gave true instruction, walked with God in peace and uprightness, turned people from their sin, sought knowledge, and spoke with wisdom.

But these priests are doing none of that, and they're causing people to stumble.

Malachi inserts himself into the conversation between God and Judah.

And it's important to note that he's referring specifically to the people of Judah here, not all humans.

He basically says, we are God's people, the adopted children of Yahweh.

Why aren't we acting like it?

Why are we oppressing our brothers and sisters and disobeying our father's rules?

May God cut off anyone who shows that they love their own ways more than God's ways by bringing him false offerings.

Malachi also addresses God's intentions for marriage.

He speaks about how God hates marriage to those who don't love him, and adultery, and divorce.

He encourages them twice to guard yourselves in your spirit and do not be faithless.

I know this may bring up some questions for some of you, and if so, we'll link to a short article with more info in the show notes.

For others, it may have hit some wounds.

As we keep reading through scripture, we'll keep seeing what God says about these things, because in Christ, there is hope for all of us, and for all of us in Christ, that hope is Christ.

Chapter 2 wraps up with Judah making two contradictory accusations toward God that are both wrong.

The first is, Evil isn't a big deal to God.

It's fine.

He doesn't really care.

And the other is, God is the worst because he never brings justice.

When is he going to punish the evil done to us?

Judah wants to have their cake and eat it too.

They want their sins to be okay by God, but not the sins done to them.

Chapter 3 opens with the prophecy of one messenger who will prepare the way and is followed by a prophecy of the messenger who is the way.

The second messenger is Jesus.

He will refine his people like silver and gold, purifying them.

I've heard that the way a refiner knows when the metal has been purified is when he can see his own reflection in in it.

After this refining, God says he will draw near for judgment.

I'm super glad that happens after we've been purified, not before, because pre-Jesus me doesn't stand a chance.

So if Jesus is the second messenger, then who is the first messenger who prepares the way for the second messenger?

We find out in Matthew 11 and Mark 1 that it's John the Baptist.

Because of that, many people believe that the reference to Elijah in 4-5 also refers to John the Baptist, and that Elijah is listed here as an archetype of John the Baptist, a sort of, here's what he'll be like, kind of thing.

But there are others who believe it refers to the literal return of Elijah.

In chapter 3, God begs his people to return to him, but they want to know what it will cost them.

God explains that anything it costs them will be repaid in ways they can't even imagine.

And he offers them a practical example with tithing.

In fact, this is the only place in scripture where God says to test him.

He basically tells them, if you think I'm here to rob you and not bless you, if you don't believe believe I'm after your joy, just lean into this tithe thing and see what happens.

I will absolutely take care of all your needs.

I will bless you.

Some of them respond by saying, no, thanks.

We don't really see any benefits in serving you.

The wicked have better lives.

But others, those who fear the Lord, are remembered by God and he calls them mine and sets them apart.

Chapter four is where I saw my God shot.

It paints a picture of the great day of the Lord, the day of God's judgment over

There are two fires in this section, the oven and the sun.

One brings death and one brings life.

And through these two fires, God shows that he is a God of both justice and mercy.

And those two things aren't opposed to each other.

They work in tandem.

The people who don't know and love Yahweh will get justice for their sins.

And those who do know and love him get mercy because their sins have been paid for by Christ.

God demonstrates the great complexity of his character here, and it produces a deep humility in us if we can accept and worship who he really is.

God's kids don't deserve any of the mercy he's granted us.

We all deserve the oven.

But in his great mercy, he has provided the healing that comes from the Son of righteousness.

And he's where the joy is.

Tomorrow we'll be starting the books of Luke and John.

We're linking to a short video overview in the show notes that covers Luke 1 through 9 and a second video that covers John 1 through 12.

Both videos are eight minutes long, so check those out if you have time to spare.