Author: Gary Witcher

Questions from Malachi - 4

     "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."
     It is impossible to read this passage without remembering a friend we once had.  He was living in a run-down house that belonged to his sister, and he promised to study the Bible and obey God just as soon as his housing situation was taken care of.  He obtained a nice house, but he only had a part-time job.  He said that he could not concentrate on studying the Bible and obeying God until his job situation was taken care of.  He obtained a good, full-time job, but his car was giving him trouble.  He promised to study the Bible and obey God as soon as he had a better car.  He got a better car.  But he still did not do what he had promised.  He always had an excuse.  He was apparently convinced that there was no hurry.
     But he was stepping up on the curb one day after crossing the street when a car pulling a camper passed by.  The car had extended mirrors because of the trailer, but the driver was not used to being concerned about the extra width caused by the mirrors.  One of the mirrors caught this man in the back and cut through his spine.  He died after several painful days in the hospital.
     "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, hardheaded 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.  Is 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.
     And notice what Paul writes in Titus 1:16.  "They profess to know God," this passage points out, "but by their deeds they deny Him, being detestable and disobedient, and worthless for any good deed."
     "You weary Me with your words," God sometimes says to us.  "How have we wearied You?" we respond in our pride.
     "Therefore putting aside all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness," James 1:21-26 points out, "in humility receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls.
     "But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves.  For if any one is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was.
     "But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man shall be blessed in what he does.
     "If any man thinks himself to be religious, and yet does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this man's religion is worthless."
     "You weary Me with your words," God sometimes says to us."  "How have we wearied you," we respond in our pride.
     What is God saying to us?  Those of us who have taken on the name "Christian" have made a commitment.  We have made a commitment to do what God has commanded us to do in religion.  We have made a commitment to live a certain kind of life.  And it makes God weary when our commitment actually consists only of hollow words.
     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?
     This problem existed when John wrote the book of Revelation.  Chapter two verses 14,15 talk about people who followed the teaching of Balaam and others who held the teaching of the Nicolaitans.  From reading the text we can see that these people believed in a doctrine of compromise.  The end result of their belief was that bad was good.  Jesus promised in verse 16 to make war against them with the sword of His mouth.
     Just a few verses later we read about another group that tolerated a woman called Jezebel.  We find a little bit of their teaching in verse 24 where it refers to the "deep things of Satan."  They taught that a person could not appreciate the wonderful things of God without having experienced the deep things of Satan.  The bottom line was that evil was called good.  Read Revelation 2:22,23 to see how Jesus felt about this doctrine.
     Throughout the New Testament we read about people who sneak into the church with false teaching.  What these people are trying to say is that bad is good.
     Romans 1:18 identifies a group of ungodly and unrighteous men who, "suppress the truth in unrighteousness."  The Holy Spirit through Paul continues through verse 31 with a description of these people.
     "And, although they know the ordinance of God," verse 32 states, "that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them."
     The fifth chapter of 1 Corinthians deals with the attitude of that congregation toward a member who was living with his father's wife.  Not only were they not upset about the situation...they were actually arrogant and boastful.  They were calling bad good.
     Paul points out in 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 that it is not possible for certain people to inherit the kingdom of God.  From the language of verse nine, some people had apparently been deceived into thinking that it was possible for these people to be in the kingdom without changing.  They had been fooled into thinking that bad was good.
     1 Peter 4:1-5 talks about people who are surprised that Christians cannot act like people who are living in the world.  And the entire second chapter of 2 Peter tells about false prophets who arise among God's people and try to lead them astray.  Most of the book of Jude deals with the same situation.
     So we weary God by saying that "everyone who does evil is good in the sight of the Lord and He delights in them."
     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?"  Where do we get these words, anyway?  The Devil is glad to supply us with these lies.  How, then, can we overcome these lies and stop wearying God?
     We can follow the truth that will set us free.

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