Malachi (Letter 39, Larry Crabb’s 66 Love Letters)
Soon You Will See: The Light of the World is Coming
7 Charges from God and Responses from the people
Charge 1: I have love you. You refuse to love Me in return.
Response 1 : How have You loved us? You could love us better [1:2].
Charge 2 : You show contempt for My name.
Response 2 : What are You talking about? [1:6].
Charge 3: Your worship of Me is deficient.
Response 3 : We think it’s fine [1:7].
Charge 4: You weary Me.
Response 4 : We think You should be pleased with us [2:17].
Charge 5: You have turned from Me. Turn toward Me.
Response 5 : We’re facing You. What’s Your problem? [3:6-7].
Charge 6: You’ve robbed Me.
Response 6 : We’ve done no such thing [3:8].
Charge 7: You’ve said harsh things against Me.
Response 7 : Nothing You haven’t deserved. C’mon. Treat us better We’re Your kids, Your favorites [3:13-14].
You show contempt for My name when you treat Me as though I were a vending machine stocked with sweets that temporarily satisfy. I wish the doors to your church were shut and locked so that I wouldn’t have to endure the self-serving noise you call worship.
You weary Me with your idea that people enjoying the pleasant life of prosperity and peace are the real winners while saints like My son Paul, who sacrificed good things now for better things later, are the losers.
Turn toward yourself, live for satisfaction and fullness now, and you will lose yourself. Turn toward Me, sacrifice your pleasure for Mine, and you will find Me and yourself, purpose now and joy forever.
Book Name: MALACHI – From Ray Stedman
Click here for entire Bible Summary from Ray Stedman
MALACHI: Think Upon His Name
Malachi, the last book of the Old Testament, is separated from the book of Matthew by a silent period of more than 400 years, and yet, these two books tie together in a remarkable way.
The last three books of the Old Testament – Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi – were all written after the return of the Israelites from their captivity in Babylon.
This prophecy of Malachi was given by a man whose name means “my messenger.” It is most suggestive that this last book of our Old Testament centers around the theme of a messenger of God and a prediction of the coming of another messenger. In this, therefore, we have a direct tie between Malachi and the New Testament.
“Behold, I send my messenger [in Hebrew that would be “Behold, I send Malachi”] to prepare the way before me, …” {Mal 3:1a RSV}. And that messenger was John the Baptist.
This entire book is a series of responses on the part of the people to the challenges of God. Seven times you will find them saying, “How? How does this happen? Prove it.” As we go through them you can see how they reveal the state of this people’s heart. Here is an outgoing God – and God is always this way, pouring out love – but here is a callous people who have become so indifferent and
so unresponsive to God that in perfect sincerity they can say, “We don’t see this. What do you mean? Why do you say these things to us?” Throughout the book, this is the theme.
It is not without significance that at the end of all the literature of the Old Testament, the last word is “curse.” It is not a definite prediction, however, but a warning. This prophecy begins “‘Behold, I have loved you,’ says the LORD,” and it ends with the warning that if the message of love is not received, the result is a curse.
Now compare that with the last word of the New Testament. Leaving out the final salutation, it is the name of Jesus, the Lord Jesus.
“Come, Lord Jesus!”. That is God’s answer to the curse – his answer to the curse of the Law. He has “redeemedus from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us,”
Thus the full answer of God is grace and love that pours out even more blessing, bringing us into the light and the knowledge of Christ. All the blessing that is wrapped up in that name is to be ours, and that is why the task of a Christian is to learn to think upon his name.
MALACHI – David Jeremiah (Understanding the 66 Books of the Bible)
Key thought: Spiritual apathy is a dangerous condition, one we must guard against with all our hearts.
Key Verse: Try 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 such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it. Malachi 3:10
Key Action: We must return with fervor to the lord, to genuine worship, to high moral values, to marital commitment, and to the practices of tithing and godly fellowship.