Malachi 3 - Scrub Behind You Ears
Sometimes God's Word hurts, but even so it ultimately brings comfort.
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17 You have wearied the Lord with your words.
But you say, “How have we wearied him?”
By saying,
“Everyone who does evil
is good in the sight of the Lord,
and he delights in them.”
Or by asking, “Where is the God of justice?”
Malachi 3 (ESV)
1 “Behold,
I send my messenger,
and he will prepare the way before me.
And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple;
and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts.
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 fullers’ soap.
3 He
will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver,
and he will
purify the sons of Levi and
refine them like gold and silver,
and they will bring offerings in righteousness to the Lord.
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 draw near to you for judgment.
I will be a swift witness
against the sorcerers,
against the adulterers,
against those who swear falsely,
against those who oppress
the hired worker in his wages,
the widow and the fatherless,
against those
who thrust aside the sojourner,
and do not fear me,
says the Lord of hosts.
6 “For I the Lord do not change;
therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed.
7 From the days of your fathers
you have turned aside from my statutes and have not kept them.
Return to me,
and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts.
But you say, ‘How shall we return?’
8 Will man rob God?
Yet you are robbing me.
But you say, ‘How have we robbed you?’
In your tithes and contributions.
9 You are cursed with a curse,
for you are robbing me,
the whole nation of you.
10 Bring the full tithe into the storehouse,
that there may be food in my house.
And thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts,
if I will not
open the windows of heaven for you
and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need.
11 I will rebuke the devourer for you,
so that it will not destroy the fruits of your soil,
and your vine in the field shall not fail to bear, says the Lord of hosts.
12 Then all nations will call you blessed,
for you will be a land of delight, says the Lord of hosts.
13 “Your words have been hard against me, says the Lord.
But you say, ‘How have we spoken against you?’
14 You have said,
‘It is vain to serve God.
What is the profit
of our keeping his charge
or of walking as in mourning before the Lord of hosts?
15 And now we call the arrogant blessed.
Evildoers
not only prosper
but they put God to the test and they escape.’ ”
16 Then those who feared the Lord spoke with one another.
The Lord paid attention and heard them,
and a book of remembrance was written before him of those who feared the Lord and esteemed his name.
17 “They shall be mine, says the Lord of hosts,
in the day when I make up my treasured possession,
and I will spare them as a man spares his son who serves him.
18 Then once more you shall see the distinction
between the righteous and the wicked,
between one who serves God and one who does not serve him.
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Malachi 3 Summary
These last few days we've been reading through a series of disputes God brings regarding His wayward, obstinate people who constantly argue back and question God's righteous judgment.
Chapter three actually opens a few verses earlier in 2:17, where we read that God is literally sick & tired (wearied) of His people who arrogantly call evil good and scoff that God has disappeared.
So God announces His messenger - mǎl·ʾāḵi in Hebrew - has been sent to refine the people with fire and soap (v2). Know that God's Word isn't always meant to be instantly comforting; sometimes it painfully scrubs and even burns away the filth in our lives, and although it may not feel good at the moment, ultimately it brings grace & peace.
One of God's primary accusations is that the people have been robbing Him (v8) by not paying their tithe (the Torah commands Israel to pay a tithe - 10% - of their income, which is far less than pagan kings would tax their people). Certainly our omnipotent Father doesn't need our measly offerings, but paying them is a way we can put God to the test (v10). As God's people show their trust in Him by giving a portion, God has promised to open the windows of heaven (v10) in response.
Finally a glimpse of hope is found at the end of the chapter. God promises that after His Word has finished its scrubbing and burning, His people shall once again be His treasured possession (v17).
Dig Deeper
For I the Lord do not change (v6)
This isn't an overly surprising bit of theology we're given to learn that God is immutable; that is, never changing. In fact, the name He gives to Himself is I AM (Exodus 3:14). He's not 'I used to be' or 'I will be.'
What is surprising in this chapter is how unchanging God's people are. God refers to us as the children of Jacob (v6). In other words, just as Jacob was a lying, cheating scoundrel, so are we. Certainly the cultural particulars of we express this changes through the centuries, but our fallen, sinful natures never change.
It's important that you recognize this about yourself so that you continue to let God's Word scrub you clean even though it sometimes hurts.
AAA Prayer:
ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father who does not change;
ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that God's Word will scrub and refine you so your life looks more and more like the One who saved you.
ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED:
