Malachi (2)

     Last time we took a look at Malachi, the final book in the Old Testament.  This is the last glimpse we have of God's dealings with His people before 400 years of silence leading up to the coming of the Messiah.  So lets return to the book of Malachi to learn more about the rebellious attitude that God puts up with prior to the time when He sends His Son to die for the sins of mankind.
     "You have wearied the Lord with your words," Malachi 2:17 notes.  "Yet you say, 'How have we wearied Him?'  In that you say, 'Everyone who does evil is good in the sight of the Lord, and He delights in  them,' or, 'Where is the God of justice?'"
     Once again, the children of God are showing their arrogance through their defiant questions.
     The prophet announces to the people that God is tired of their words.  "What have we done wrong?" they fire back.
     First of all, God has already indicated that it is their words that weary Him.
     "Guard your steps as you go to the house of God," Solomon advises in Ecclesiastes 5:1-7," and draw near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools; for they do not know they are doing evil.
     "Do not be hasty in word or impulsive in thought to bring up a matter in the presence of God.  For God is in heaven and you are on the earth; therefore let your words be few.  For the dream comes through much effort, and the voice of a fool through many words.
     "When you make a vow to God, do not be late in paying it, for He takes no delight in fools.  Pay what you vow!  It is better that you should not vow than that you should vow and not pay.
     "Do not let your speech cause you to sin and do not say in the presence of the messenger of God that it was a mistake.  Why should God be angry on account of your voice and destroy the work of your hands?  For in many dreams and in many words there is emptiness.  Rather fear God."
     "You weary Me with your words," God sometimes says to us.  "How have we wearied You?" we respond in our pride.
     Isaiah 48:1-4 describes a certain stiff-necked, hard-headed group of people as  those who "swear by the name of the Lord and invoke the God of Israel, but not in truth nor in righteousness."
     But that was then, and now is now.  Are there still the same kind of people, today?  Don't forget what Jesus teaches in Matthew 7:21-27 and Luke 6:46-49 about those who call Him, "Lord, Lord" and yet don't do what He says.
     Another way that we weary God with our words is through our prayers.  In Matthew 6:5-15 Jesus talks about those who pray with empty words in order to be seen and praised by men.  The Lord calls these words "meaningless repetition," and we can be sure that they weary God.  Jesus also mentions those who ask God for forgiveness when they are not willing to forgive their own brothers.  How weary God must be of such words.
     When God answers the people through the prophet Malachi, He says that the people have wearied Him by saying "Everyone who does evil is good in the sight of the Lord and He delights in them."
     What would God say to us, today?  Are there any people in the world today who find it easy to confuse good and evil?
     According to Malachi, the final way that we weary God with our words is when we say, "Where is the God of justice?"
     Unfortunately, the idea that God is powerless is an old one.  Zephaniah 1:12 promises that God will punish those "who are stagnant in spirit and who say, 'The Lord will not do good or evil!'"
     "Know this first of all," 2 Peter 3:3-4 warns, "that in the last days mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own lusts, and saying, 'Where is the promise of His coming?  For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation.'"
     God is wearied by our words.  He is wearied when we say, "Everyone who does evil is good in the sight of the Lord and He delights in them," and when we say, "Where is the God of justice?"
     "From the days of your fathers you have turned aside from My statutes, and have not kept them," God says in Malachi 3:7.  "Return to Me, and I will return to you."
     This promise by God is followed immediately by a question from the people: "How shall we return?"
     Has there ever been a more critical question in history?
     The first recorded words of John the Baptist are found in Matthew 3:2.  "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand," John warns.
     The words of Christ's first message are written in Matthew 4:17.  "Repent," the Master says, "for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."
     In Mark chapter six Jesus sends his Apostles on their first preaching assignment.  "And they went out," verse 12 notes, "and preached that men should repent."

     There are various  passages in the New Testament that discuss the concept of giving.  But one of the most powerful lessons dealing with contributions to God is found in the book of Malachi.
     "Will a man rob God?" Malachi 3:8-10 asks.  "Yet you are robbing Me!" the passage continues.  "But you say, 'How have we robbed Thee?'  In tithes and contributions.
     "You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing Me, the whole nation of you!  Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may  be food in My house, and test Me now in this, says the  Lord of hosts, if I will not open for you the windows of heaven, and pour out for you a blessing until there is no more need."
     Obviously, this passage is talking about material giving.  But we should point out that the same principles that apply to money apply also to time, energy and affections.
     There are two stories in the Bible that give us an interesting insight into the kind of attitude that God expects from us when it comes to giving.
     The first story is recorded in Joshua chapter seven.  It involves a man named Achan.  The second is found in Acts chapter five and deals with Ananias and Sapphira, a man and wife who sell a tract of land and claim to give all the money to the church.  The only problem is that they actually keep part of the money for themselves.
     These stories describe the wrong attitude about giving.  But what is the right attitude toward the material blessings that God has given us?
     The correct attitude toward what God has given us is displayed in the prayer taught by Jesus in Matthew 6:9-13.  It is an attitude of gratefulness instead of greed.
     And our attitude should be the one expressed in Matthew 6:19-21.
     "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures upon earth," Jesus instructs in this passage, "where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal;  but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."
     As the book of Malachi draws to a close, we discover not only more examples of the wrong attitude of the people, but we also find three wrong conclusions that accompany this attitude.
     "Your words have been arrogant against Me," God says in Malachi 3:13-14.  "Yet you say, 'What have we spoken against Thee?'
     "You have said, 'It is vain to serve God; and what profit is it that we have kept His charge, and that we have walked in mourning before the Lord of hosts?'"
     It appears that these people will never learn.  "It is vain to serve God," they complain.  In other words, they are saying, "God has not done anything for us."  They have the wrong attitude about God's relationship with them.
     After questioning God's relationship with them by stating, "It is vain to worship God," the people referred to in Malachi 3:14 demonstrate their wrong attitude by asking, "What profit is it that we have kept His charge, and that we have walked in mourning before the Lord?"  They are showing a wrong attitude about their relationship with God.  Are we ever guilty of having a wrong attitude about our relationship with God?
     The people in Malachi have a wrong attitude about God's relationship with them and about their relationship with Him.  God has done much more for them than they recognize, and they have done much less for Him than they think they have.  As a result, they arrive at some wrong conclusions.
     "So now we call the arrogant blessed;" they boast in Malachi 3:15, "not only are the wicked built up, but they also test God and escape."
     "Doers of wickedness are built up," the people claim.
     "The wicked...also test God and escape," is the final wrong conclusion arrived at by the people in Malachi 3:15.
     Fortunately, the book of Malachi ends on a positive note.  Starting with verse 16 of chapter 3, those who fear the Lord speak to one another, and God hears them.
     "They will be Mine," God promises in verse 17.
     "So you will again distinguish between the righteous and the wicked," verse 18 points out, "between one who serves God and one who does not serve Him."
     "But for you who fear My name the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings," God says in Malachi 4:2, "and you will go forth and skip about like calves from the stall."
     They will accept the truth that will set them free.

Unless otherwise noted, "Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE(R), (C) Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission." (www.lockman.org)