The Day Is Coming

Malachi lived 400 years before Jesus was born, when some of the Jews had come back to live in Judah after their captivity in Babylonia. They rebuilt their lives, their country, the temple & outwardly lined up their lives with some of the laws of Moses.

They had been taken into captivity because they had abandoned the Lord. Had they learned their lesson? In the first three chapters Malachi says people didn't bother to sacrifice to the Lord, they worshiped other gods, and they didn't follow most of God's laws.

Because according to verse 1, they were arrogant. They said, "We are members of God's special nation Israel. We gave up a comfortable life in Babylon to come back here to this deserted land. We deserve everything God could give us. He hasn't blessed us up to the level of what we had before the exile. He has to be satisfied with the level of obedience we are giving Him."

Why didn't they bother to keep the Lord primary? According to verse 1, they were evildoers. They said, "God doesn't seem concerned with the lives of humans. We are no better off than those who are not part of God's special people. Why should we bother to attempt to carry out His will if it doesn't get us anything?

Anybody like that around today? Does anybody today say, "We use our brain and skills to take care of ourselves. We have the good life because we work hard. We get along with others by living the golden rule. We are self - sufficient. We don't need god"? That is the attitude of the arrogant.

Does anybody say, " We know what we want and where we want to go. We will do whatever it takes to get what we want and where we want to go. We don't need an outside source to set a standard of what is proper or improper for us. If something is enjoyable, adds to my comfort, and makes me feel good, there can't be anything wrong with it. If god doesn't agree with that, then god isn't an issue."? That is the attitude of the evildoer.

So Malachi had a message for the people of his day. And, he had a message for the arrogant and ungodly of today. Does he have anything to say to us today? Are we arrogant? We are members of God's family. We give up a lot to be a part of the family. We give up 10% of our income. We give up huge amounts of our time. We expend a lot of effort to be moral people. We deserve any blessings God happens to throw our way. Oops. Maybe Malachi does have something to say to us today.

Are we evildoers? How about when nobody is watching? When you are all by yourself and something goes wrong, do you talk to God or do you call on Him to punish everything and everybody you can think of? When you are all by yourself and there is no family around, do you still have devotions, or do you leave God out of your life when there is no one to teach and be an example for? What do you say about your elected officials when they are not around to hear you? Do you always make use of opportunities to help somebody who is in trouble? What kind of books and magazines and TV shows do you watch when you are all alone? What do you do with the company property when nobody is there to watch over you? What do you say about the person who is not there to defend himself? Does an intense desire to get things overwhelm you? Oops. Maybe Malachi does have something to say to us today.

We are not just surrounded by the arrogant and the evildoers, arrogance and evil is constantly trying to take over in our hearts. If God needed to bring His message through Malachi in 400 BC, and if God needs to bring His message to the arrogant and evildoers today, we must acknowledge that he needs to bring his message to each of us today.

What was the content of the message? {1} "Surely the day is coming; it will burn like a furnace. All the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble, and that day that is coming will set them on fire," says the Lord Almighty. "Not a root or a branch will be left to them." That sure sounds like Judgment Day, doesn't it? John the Baptist used the same picture when he said: "Jesus' winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering the wheat into his barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire."

What was the content of the message? The second part of the message is: {2} "But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings." For those who worship the Lord, who believe that He is the source of forgiveness and eternal life, the message that the day is coming is good news and a message filled with blessings. For those who worship the Lord, the day will bring the sun who lights up the way so that we see our way to heaven. The sun who gives the healing of a renewed relationship with God. The sun who gives life by overcoming the darkness of death.

For those who worship the Lord the day will bring the sun of righteousness. The sun who not only is completely and perfectly holy and righteous, but who provided righteousness to people. A righteousness which makes people acceptable to God. A righteousness which provides a healing between us and our God. What do wings have to do with a sun? Wings either refer to the rays coming from the sun, or wings just picks up the picture from rise, rise up like a bird which has wings.

What gets healed when the sun of righteousness arises in one's life? Forgiveness and holiness heal our relationship with God. Forgiveness heals a shredded conscience. Reflected forgiveness and holiness heal relationships with other sinful human beings.

Who is the sun of righteousness which rises with healing in His wings? Jesus of Nazareth. He lights up the way to heaven by showing us that we have been forgiven because He died on the cross. He lights up the way to heaven because He suffered the death & hell which we deserve in order to rescue us from it. He provides us with the holiness which He lived as our Substitute so we can have a relationship with God. With these blessings of forgiveness and righteousness He heals our souls, heals our relationships God, and with others people.

What message does God have for us today? The same message He brought through Malachi. Threats of burning like a furnace, setting on fire the evildoers and the arrogant so that they burn like stubble. Threats of not allowing a root or a branch to be left to them. These are terrifying threats. Does God mean to scare people? Yes. God's threatened punishment against sin is intended to make man afraid of being punished. Terror of conscience, fear of God is the intended product of God's threats.

Sometimes we belittle this part of God's message. We make fun of those early new England Puritan sermons which focused on the terrors of God's wrath. We chuckle about the fire and brimstone preachers. But the threats of God's anger are valid parts of His message. Verse 1 of the text is not intended to make the arrogant and the evildoer feel comfortable.

Have we taken God's threats to heart? Can you say: "I deserve to be burned up in a furnace and set on fire. I deserve to not have anything left to me."? As a sinful human being am I scared of God? Do I transmit God's threats in all their severity? When I am discussing man's status with God do I clearly indicate that humans on their own deserve the furnace and the fire?

What message does God have for us today? The same message He brought through Malachi. A message which says God provides us with light and warmth and righteousness and healing through Jesus Christ. These are unbelievable blessings. Does God mean to be so free with these gifts? Yes. God's offered gifts are intended to attract humans to Himself.

Sometimes we belittle this part of God's message. It sounds impossible. It isn't fair. It takes away from us our own self-importance. The offer of God's blessings is not intended to fit our logic. It just gives blessings.

Have we taken God's blessings to heart? Can you say: "I can see my way to heaven. I have a restored relationship with the Lord. My conscience is healed. My sins are forgiven. I am holy in God's eyes. I am wearing Jesus' holiness. And when the day comes I am going to start experiencing the fullness of holiness and a completely restored relationship with the Lord."?

The day is coming.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, please use that threat to curb our sinfulness and use that comfort for our souls.