Malachi Pt. 6 The Way of Jehovah: You are moving toward Him or away from Him.

Good morning and thank you all for joining us as we study the book of Malachi. 

Through His messenger Malachi, God is calling the wayward child back to the right path, the right way marked out by Jehovah in His Word. He is calling on the rebellious person to repent and  turn to Jesus Christ for salvation so that person can begin learning how to walk on the right path. 

This message is about making right choices instead of wrong ones. It is about Honoring God instead of dishonoring Him.  It is about coming to Christ instead of running from Him. It is about learning who we are and what God has done for us instead of letting the culture tell us who we are and what we should do. 

God exposed priestly problems.

Malachi 2:8-9 But ye are departed out of the way; ye have caused many to stumble at the law; ye have corrupted the covenant of Levi, saith the LORD of hosts. 9) Therefore have I also made you contemptible and base before all the people, according as ye have not kept my ways, but have been partial in the law.

In our last post we looked at the purposes, privileges, and promises given to the Old Testament priests. We briefly gave some thought to the New Testament believer in Christ and being a different kind of priest in our homes and work places.

Today we pick up where we left off and God used Malachi to show His priests where they went off track. They departed out of the way. 

What does this mean? The word "departed" means that the priests turned aside, deserted or quit doing what God called them to do. "The way" refers to a path that each person marks out in life so others can see the choices that we make. Are we moving toward Jehovah or away from Him?

The phrase "been partial in the law" means that they did not apply the law of God equally to all people. Instead, they favored rich people over the poor, the politically powerful over the oppressed, and powerless. They failed to judge matters by God's impartial standard.  God says much in the Bible about perverting judgment, taking bribes or bending the law to suit the person who supplied the bribe. 

Because the priests turned away from following the Lord, all the people they were responsible to instruct in righteousness also departed from following God. Therefore, Jehovah caused the people to look on the priests as corrupt, depraved men satisfying the desires of their flesh. The priests were regarded with contempt instead of living as holy men who served God. 

I hope that our individual "way" or path will be marked by a consistent effort to make God honoring choices, so that people observing us can see that our desire is to walk with the Lord in the light of His Word. 

The ways of Jehovah.

Genesis 18:19 For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the LORD, to do justice and judgment; that the LORD may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him.

The text above is an appearance of God in the Old Testament.  The words above are what Jehovah said about Abraham and his character.  He knew Abraham would raise his children right and that they would walk in the way of Jehovah.

Pray for Jehovah's way to be plain.

Psalm 5:8 Lead me, O LORD, in thy righteousness because of mine enemies; make thy way straight before my face.

King David asked the Lord to make His way straight before his face. This is the idea that David would see clearly the God honoring path before him because Jehovah made it plain and clear.

Share the way of Jehovah with others.

Psalm 67:1-2 God be merciful unto us, and bless us; and cause his face to shine upon us; Selah
That thy way may be known upon earth, thy saving health among all nations.

In this text the Psalmist sought the mercy of God and for His blessings to light their path so they could make the whole world know the way of Jehovah.

Learn His way, walk in His truth and fear God. 

Psalm 86:11 Teach me thy way, O LORD; I will walk in thy truth: unite my heart to fear thy name.

The Psalmist asked Jehovah to teach him His way so he could walk in truth. He wanted to live in such a way that his thinking, words and actions were based upon what God said in His Word. The Psalmist connects instruction in the way of Jehovah with fearing His name, that is maintaining respect, awe and reverence for the name of our God. 

His request to "unite my heart" reminds us that there is a battle going on between our flesh and the spirit put in us at the new birth. It is a prayer asking God to take control of our heart. 

What if we stray from the way of God?

Jeremiah 6:16 Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein.

The prophet Jeremiah reminded the people he served that they needed to repent of their sins and turn to the Lord. Jehovah would show them the right path and the good way for them to walk and find rest and safety. 

Breakdown in the "one another" relationships. 

Malachi 2:10 Have we not all one father? hath not one God created us? why do we deal treacherously every man against his brother, by profaning the covenant of our fathers? 

Up until now, Malachi spent time showing the people that their relationship with God was not right. This specific relationship is sometimes called the "vertical" relationship because it centers on man's relationship with God. 

In the text above God moved His prophet to address the problems within the interpersonal relationships between the people. This is called the "horizontal" relationship because it deals with how we treat each other as people. 

It is helpful to remember that the entire law of God can be condensed to having a love for God and a love for our neighbor. Malachi put forth many ways the people of God failed to love one another and we will see more of this in our next post. 

Thoughts to Ponder...

If you are a Pastor, teacher or leader in your church or home, there are good lessons for us to learn. 

First, we must really seek to know God in a living relationship that grows in intensity as we walk with the LORD. We must strive to set a strong example of living for Christ so that the precious people we seek to lead to salvation are never thrown off track with God by something that we did. 

We discovered that knowing the way of Jehovah is important. His way is holiness, righteousness, love, grace and mercy. The only way we can learn the way of Jehovah is by studying His Word and asking His Spirit to help us understand and apply what we learn. 

John 15:12 This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.

Finally, we were reminded again today that loving God and loving one another are where the LORD is leading us. So much turmoil in our homes, businesses, communities and even among nations could be eliminated if Christians lived as Christ told us to.

We learned that we must spend time on our vertical relationship with God first, because if that relationship is not right then our horizontal relationship with others will not be right. 

Church leaders, Pastors, and lay leaders are we living a life that honors God? Parents as we lead your families, are we living out what you are teaching your children? 

May our Lord help us as we begin seeking Him, asking for guidance to walk in His good way  where we find rest for our soul. May God open our eyes to His truth as we seek to understand and obey what He tells us.

Bob