https://www.bible.com/events/49173508
Church of the Nazarene – East Rock
Minor Prophets – Malachi
Famous last words
Today we are finishing up our teaching series on the Minor Prophets studying the last recorded words of a prophet named Malachi.
The way our bibles are organized, Malachi literally gets the last word before the New Testament.
We don’t know a lot about Malachi himself. He was prophesying after the children of Israel got to return from exile in Babylon, somewhere around the 5th century
The Book of Malachi recounts the people’s unfaithfulness through six “disputes” with God. God will call the people out for their sin and rebellion- and they repeatedly deny it or accuse God for it.
As you read the words of Malachi, it becomes clear that the people could not discern the real condition of their hearts.
We focus on the farewell words of the Old Testament. Words that gave way to 400 years of silence from God.
In many ways these last words summarize the whole Old Testament, the law of Moses and the prophets. They call people to action through repentance and returning to the Lord. They call on them to remember the words of the prophets, words of warning, words of judgement, and words of hope. This morning we are glancing back to the minor prophets, but with an eye toward the coming advent season.
Malachi 3:1-7
“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. 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. 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, and the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem will be acceptable to the Lord, as in days gone by, as in former years. “So I will come to put you on trial. 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 the foreigners among you of justice, but do not fear me,” says the Lord Almighty. “I the Lord do not change. So you, the descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed. Ever since the time of your ancestors 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?’
The Lord points once again to a coming day of judgement for his people. Within this text we see consequences for sin, but we also see a promised effect of God’s coming-
That he would purify and cleanse
He will restore proper worship and relationship with himself.
God takes sin seriously- the minor prophets have shown us that again and again. But we also see the heart of the Father in calling his people to repent and return to him.
God’s heart is not his people’s destruction, but their restoration in relationship with him.
And that brings us to the famous last words of Malachi.
Malachi 4:4-6
“Remember the law of my servant Moses, the decrees and laws I gave him at Horeb for all Israel. “See, I will send the prophet Elijah to you before that great and dreadful day of the Lord comes. He will turn the hearts of the parents to their children, and the hearts of the children to their parents; or else I will come and strike the land with total destruction.”
The Old Testament closes leaving the people leaning over the banister of time, looking into the future.
400 years of silence, no new prophecies, no recorded words from the Lord- only the command to remember, to wait, and to watch. And many didn’t.
If our journey with the Minor Prophets has taught us anything, it is that God takes sin very seriously. God’s anger was displayed, but his heart was always inviting his people to return to him. But they refused.
And here we are with Malachi, a nation of rebellious people, refusing to acknowledge God in their lives. And in these famous last words of the Old Testament, it can seem like it’s all over. Like nothing will ever change
But then…despite all that had gone before…despite a rebellious and disobedient people. By His great grace, God intervened in a moment of time.
The last words of the Old Testament gave way became first cries….
The cries of The Savior
The famous last words of Malachi point to the messenger and the manger.
Christmas didn’t come because we needed a holiday- it came because we needed a savior.
He changed everything for his people, and he can change everything for you.
Updates on the new Waynesboro campus
God is inviting us to step out in faith to plant a Spanish-speaking campus in the Waynesboro community. Join us on the journey!
Check out the link below for more information and for frequent updates throughout the journey.
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