Malachi Pt. 8 Questions & Doubts give way to Judgment and Consolation.

Good morning

Thank you for joining us this morning. We have had some of the very best weather here in Ohio during the last few days. We find the bright sunshine, dazzling white clouds, moderate temperatures and lower humidity to be very refreshing. We thank and praise God that He walks right beside each believer through all seasons of life and we know He will guide us safely home. 

Questions and Doubts Arise

Malachi 2:17  Ye have wearied the LORD with your words. Yet ye say, Wherein have we wearied him? When ye say, Every one that doeth evil is good in the sight of the LORD, and he delighteth in them; or, Where is the God of judgment?  

Malachi 2 ended with this question "Where is the God of judgment?" and this is the idea that some of the people doubted that God would hold them accountable for their sins. This question will be answered as we move into Malachi 3. In Numbers 32:23 Moses taught the people that when they failed to do what God commanded they could "Be sure their sin would find them out." This means that mankind is not able to cover up sin. God sees it all and knows what we have done in regards to sin against Him. 

No questions or doubts when Christ returns

Malachi 3:1  Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts. 

Jehovah promised to send His messenger to prepare the way before His coming. Prophetically, this messenger was John the Baptist, the forerunner of Jesus Christ. John the Baptist was identified by Christ as the forerunner or messenger of God (Matthew 11:7-10; Isaiah 40:3 and John 1:23). 

Malachi was guided by God's Spirit to declare that the Lord would come into His temple with suddenness and power. Christ came first as a meek, humble Lamb of God but when He comes to establish His kingdom on earth it will be with irresistible power and complete authority.

The idea here is that the priests would be greatly worried and sobered by hearing that Jehovah would come to His temple to set things right. Malachi also tells us that some of the Jewish people delight in the coming of Messiah as foretold in so many Old Testament prophecies. 

Here sits the God of Judgment!

Malachi 3:2-5  But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner's fire, and like fullers' soap: 3)  And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the LORD an offering in righteousness. 4)  Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the LORD, as in the days of old, and as in former years. 5)  And I will come near to you to judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against false swearers, and against those that oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and that turn aside the stranger from his right, and fear not me, saith the LORD of hosts. 

When Christ sits in His temple it will be a day of intense judgment and fiery heat. God asks the debased priests "Who will abide the day that I come?" There are 6 references to heat in this text-refining (2); purifying (2) followed by fire and purging.

To purify and refine a precious metal like gold, it is put in a furnace heated to 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit. This melts the metal into a liquid state and causes all impurities to rise to the top where they are skimmed off, leaving the purest gold. The impurities are also called "dross" and includes lesser grades of ore as well as rock, dirt and other impurities. 

Dross is mentioned 8 times in the Bible and it is always connected to judgment and the need to get rid of all that is impure in us. (See Psalm 119:119; Isaiah 1:22; 25 for examples). 

Refining includes the idea of testing and proving the purity of the gold or silver. The word "purify" includes the idea of testing for moral purity.

This fiery testing is necessary in order for God to make His people pure and righteous in His sight. Jehovah will begin this process with the priests and Levites. 

Heat purges out our impurities.

1 Peter 4:12-13  Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: 13)  But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy. 

Each born again Christian is subject to testing and proving by God as we go through this life. He is not punishing us for wrongdoing. Rather He is purifying us as He works to sanctify each of us and to conform us to the image of Christ. God used powerful, life shaking trials in the life of Job and He worked it out for Job's great benefit and blessing.

The apostle Peter reminded us that we will experience these fiery trials. Some of them will be persecution from unbelievers and some will be trials from God to make us better servants. Heat treating metal like steel makes it stronger. 

Spiritually in this life, we are purified by trials and made fit to serve our Holy God. God can use a trial to show us where we are weak so that we call out to Him for help. Ultimately our service and work for Christ will be tried by fire to determine whether we receive a reward or a loss of reward (See 1 Corinthians 3:10-17).

The world hated Christ and therefore the world will hate us because we belong to Christ (See John 15:18-27). Sharing in the sufferings of Christ is to be viewed with joy not with anger or depression. 

A Perfect Judge Rendering Right decisions.

Malachi described what the seated Lord of Glory would do. He will bring righteous judgment upon the people. Those who persist in sexual sin will be judged. Idolaters will receive judgment as will those who dabble in the occult. People who swore an oath or made a vow to God and failed to keep it will be judged. 

God will judge the cause of the oppressed and helpless. He will be their Advocate, Provider and Deliverer. The fatherless children and widows will find a powerful ally in God. He will bring to account employers who cheat their employees out of wages they earned. He will chastise all who do not fear Him. 

Thoughts to Ponder...

Believers should never question God because He will always to what is right and will keep His promises. Surveys indicate that Christians are living more like the world instead of seeking to live a separated life. The Israelites began to believe that they could sin because God would not judge them. The reality is that God is keeping an accurate record and He will judge us. 

Is our motivation for serving God right? Do we serve Him with joy because He bought us with a price? Do we rejoice in our salvation because of all Christ does for us?

In that day when Christ sits on His throne judging all nations, mankind will be so fearful that they will plead for mountains and rocks to fall on them so that they do not have to see the Son of God in all His glory (Revelation 6:16). 

The culture says that hard times and trials should be avoided but God sends them to us for our good. He will purify us and make us more like His Son, Jesus Christ. We need the heat of a trial to realign our mind and soul with God. 

Are we fully embracing what God has for us, even going through a trial? Do we thank Him after we emerge from a trial for what He did on our life? Can we praise Him in all circumstances?

May our hearts be flooded with joy because Jehovah always does that which is best for each of us.

Bob