A PREPARED PLAN FOR LIFE
Malachi 3:1-10
THE REDEEMER
V:1. \”See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come,\” says the Lord Almighty. \”
- The messenger is John the Baptist.
- This is the prophecy of the coming of Jesus Christ 400 years before time.
- This is the also the prophecy of the assignment of John the Baptist as the
forerunner of Jesus Christ.
- The job of John the Baptist was to preach repentance for the coming of Jesus Christ.
- The prophecy of the Messiah was long awaited. (Isa 40:3-5)
- Throughout the Bible, God makes known to us His plan of redemption.
- He gives us the pieces of His plan throughout the Old Testament.
- He gives us the order of His plan.
- He gives us the opportunity to participate in His plan.
- He makes known to us How His plan will end.
- God has revealed to us the success of His plan.
- It is the Father who sent the Son to redeem His people through His death on the
cross.
- It is the Father who made a covenant with Abraham concerning His people
that could only be fulfilled in His Son. Gen 17:5-7
- During the time of Malachi (400 BC), Israel was under the control of the Persian
empire.
- They were looking for a political King to restore control of the Nation to them.
- However, the promise Messiah was our Lord and Savior sent to redeem Israel
from their sins.
THE JUDGE
V:2-3. \” But who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiner\’s fire or a launderer\’s soap.\”
3 He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver. Then the Lord will have men who will bring offerings in righteousness.\”
- When you heat up gold or silver, it turns to a liquid and all the impurities can be
filtered out.
- We were born in sin shaped in iniquity.
- It is the blood of Jesus that atones for our sins and Word of God that cleans us
from all unrighteousness.
- Verse 1 speaks of the first coming of Jesus Christ.
- Verse 2 and 3 speaks of the Age of Grace between the first and second coming of
Christ.
- During the Age of Grace, the redemptive blood of Jesus is the atonement for our
sin and makes us acceptable to God.
- It is the faith in Jesus and His Word that makes us acceptable to the Father.
- The only ones who can stand before the judgment of Jesus are those who
believe in His death and resurrection.
- It is Jesus who said that we are made clean by His Word. John 15:3
- It is faith in the Word that effects our obedience to God\’s commands.
- It is our love for the Father and the Son that causes us to be doers of the Word.
- God selected the tribe of Levi as His priestly line of Israel after the exodus from
Egypt.
- Moses and Aaron were from the tribe of Levi.
- At the first coming of Christ, the chief priest were not from the line of Aaron.
- The Chief Priest at the first coming of Christ was a political position rather than
a holy, divine spiritual office. (Ray C Stedman, Adventure Through The Bible).
- The refining process of the Levites will probably not take place until after
rapture of the Church during the tribulation. Rev 7:14
- Two thirds of the nation of Israel will perish and God will take the remaining
Israelites to be His people. Zach 13:8-9
- It will be during the 1000 year reign of Christ on earth that Israel will become
a Nation that worships the Lord Jesus Christ. Rev 20:6
AN ACCEPTABLE OFFERING
V:4. \”And the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem will be acceptable to the Lord, as in days gone by, as in former years. \”
- When Israel was delivered from the Egypt, God set up His tabernacle among
them to offer sacrifices for the atonement of sin and to show honor
and gratefulness to Him.
- Gradually over time the offering became just a religious ceremony.
- Israel rejected the true and living God and took up the worship of idol gods
in violation to God\’s commands.
- When Israel worshipped God with their whole heart and were obedient to God\’s
commands, they were acceptable to God.
- We must be careful not to let our worship become a formality.
- Our worship of the Lord Jesus Christ should be a life changing experience.
- We should be able to look in the mirror and see our continual growth in Jesus
Christ.
- Our lives outside the four walls of the Church; at home, in the community and on our
jobs should be the image that draws others to Christ.
V:5 \”So I will come near to you for judgment. I will be quick to testify against sorcerers, adulterers and perjurers, against those who defraud laborers of their wages, who oppress the widows and the fatherless, and deprive aliens of justice, but do not fear me,\” says the Lord Almighty. \”
- God is not far from us.
- He is aware of all our thoughts and actions.
- God knows who is for Him and who is against Him.
- God knows whether you are committing spiritual adultery, which is the worship of
anything other than Him or physical adultery.
- God knows whether your are mistreating those around your.
- He knows whether your are taking advantage of the weak and defenseless.
- God knows where you put your trust.
- God will judge us according to our actions, good or bad.
- Only what we do for Christ will count.
- What we do for Christ stores up treasures in heaven.
- What we do against God\’s commands and against our neighbors blocks
blessings and causes judgment.
AN UNCHANGABLE GOD
V:6 \”I the Lord do not change. So you, O descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed.\”
- God does not change.
- He is the same today as He was yesterday and will be the same tomorrow.
- God\’s commands for us does not change.
- God\’s standard of judgment is the same for everyone.
- The reason God has not executed His judgment against us is because He
is tolerant and longsuffering.
- We cannot get away with anything. God has not destroyed us, He is just giving us
time to repent and turn to Him.
- We should learn from the Nation of Israel who suffered greatly because of their
disobedience.
V:7. \” Ever since the time of your forefathers you have turned away from my decrees and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you,\” says the Lord Almighty. \”But you ask, \’How are we to return?\”
- This is God\’s indictment of the Nation of Israel.
- As I wrote these comments there was a storm blowing through the area.
- The wind blew up suddenly and the trees outside moved violently back and forth.
- There was thunder and lightening all at the same time.
- It was God controlling His environment.
- I realized that God could protect me through His storm or execute judgment.
- It is only by the grace of God that we are still here.
- You never know when God will call us to give an account of our actions and judge
us on the spot.
- At every stage of our lives, God gives us a chance to repent and return to Him.
THE BLESSINGS OF GIVING
V:8 \”Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me. \”But you ask, \’How do we rob you?\’ \”In tithes and offerings.\”
- God said that the love of money is the root of all evil.
- If the love of money is in your heart, you will find yourself ignoring the
righteousness of God to get it.
- The love of money can cause you to overlook the basic principles of hard work
and dedication.
- The love of money can cause you rob another person of his hard earned gain.
- The love of money can cause you to rob God.
- God gave the nation of Israel everything they needed to survive in the promise
and.
- God required Israel to worship Him with the first fruits of their flocks and
produce, giving Him a tenth of all their increase.
- God did not need what they had because it all belong to Him.
- Giving from the heart shows our love for the Lord and our obedience to the Lord\’s
commands.
- When we failed to do what God commands us to do, we rob Him of His glory.
- When we fail to do what God commands us to do, we show a lack of respect
for the Lord.
- When we fail to do what God commands us to do, we show a lack of trust
in the Lord.
- When we fail to do what God commands us to do, we deny God the opportunity
bless us beyond our expectations.
DON\’T CURSE YOURSELF
V:9. \”You are under a curse — the whole nation of you — because you are robbing me. \”
- Just because it is popular does not mean you ought to be involved.
- The crowd is not always right.
- The whole nation of Israel decided not to pay God His required tithes and offerings.
- They were all wrong and disobedient to God\’s commands.
- They all faced the consequences of their actions.
- They cursed themselves.
- Part of the curse was not having a prophet of God for 400 years.
- Can you imagine not having anyone to intercede for you with God.
- It was the prophets of God that gave the people a word from God.
- It was the prophets of God that informed Israel of God\’s plans
- There was no relief from foreign occupation for 400 years.
- At the time of the writing of Malachi. Israel was under the control of the Persian
government.
- 400 years later at the first coming of Christ, Israel was under the Roman
government.
- When you disobey God, you block the answers to your prayers.
- In every stage of our lives, trouble will meet us. Job 14:1
- The key to living successful with trouble is to obey God\’s commands.
- We are either going into trouble, going through trouble or coming out of trouble.
- God is there at every stage to bless us with peace, contentment and joy.
- Some of God\’s blessings depends on our obedience.
TEST GOD
V:10. \”Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,\” says the Lord Almighty, \”and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it. \”
- God gave the Israelite\’s a command with a purpose.
- Bring all the tithes into the storehouse.
- God does not want a partial payment, but a full payment of what is due.
- The purpose of giving is so that there is food in God\’s house.
- The Levite priest were not given a share of the promise land.
- The tithes and the offering was to take care of the priest.
- The tithes was also for the maintenance of the temple.
- The primary purpose of the tithes was to honor God.
- God gave us a promise as a result of our giving.
- God dares us to test Him to see if He will keep His promise.
- Just try God out. You will not be disappointed.
- God can do exceedingly abundantly more than you can conceive as
a result of your obedience.
- Your faithful, cheerful giving promotes God to give you more.
Rev M. Mitchell, Asst Pastor of Greater Macedonia Baptist Church
