MPC
27th November 2016.November 27 - Malachi 3, 4 - "The Day is Coming"
MPC
27th November 2016.
Phil Campbell
During the long European winters, farmers tend to keep their cattle safe from the cold in barns. Out of the snow and the driving rain; out of the howling winds. And so by the end of winter you can get a generation of young animals, a whole batch of calves; who have experienced nothing but life shut-in.
There was a video floating round the Internet a few weeks back, and it captures the moment on that first warm spring day... when the barn doors are thrown open. And the young calves are let out on the lush green grass. For many of them... for the first time ever.
Enjoy the moment. Take a look.
Looks like fun doesn't it? And I don't know if you can imagine what's going on inside a cows head in that situation but it must be kind of like, what's this blue sky stuff up there? And what's this soft green stuff under my feet. And I can see for ever. Not just the barn wall.
It takes a minute to sink in, But then as close as cows can come to dancing, they're dancing. With delight.
Now that's exactly the picture the prophet Malachi paints right at the end of his short book that's right at the end of the Old Testament.
One of the two options he spells out for the people of Israel.
Two very different options.
Things can go one of two ways.
And one of those ways is exactly like those calves. In their newfound freedom.
The older English Standard Version puts it this way. You can see the words on the screen.
Malachi 4 verse 2.
But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings. You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall.
For one subsection of the Israelites at least, Malachi says a time is coming... when you'll be free; at last. The sunbeams will sparkle down with beams of righteousness. Restoration; healing from the inside out.
Leaping for joy.
Which isn't to say that's how it's going to be for all the Israelites.
Because if you listen carefully to what Malachi's saying, there's a deep divide. That's only going to get wider.
There's a difference of heart. That's only going to get more obvious. As the future unfolds.
I wonder if you've noticed all the way through this short book; and this is week three of our series. But have you noticed if you've been here or if you've been following the growth group studies it's as if God is serving Israel a summons.
And working through the charge sheet.
The way they're going through the motions of their religious observances in chapter 1, doing it by rote;
Bringing their worst animals to be sacrificed instead of their best.
God's bringing charges against them on that.
Chapter 2. Their unfaithfulness in marriage. Especially the men. When the Covenant God expects to see covenant keeping ... all the way through. God's bringing charges against them on that.
From the end of chapter 2. Verse 17. There's more.
You have wearied the Lord with your words. And you don't even know how. You ask how have we wearied him. Here's how. By saying "Everyone who does evil is good in the sight of the Lord, and he delights in them, or by asking "Where is the God of justice?""
In other words, they're saying, what's the point. God doesn't care about good and evil, about right and wrong, so why should we'? They see evil people prosper, they see good people suffer, and they're saying "What's the point?" We might as well join the party.
And God's bringing charges against them on that.
And the kind of behaviour that flows out of the attitude.
Take a look at verse 5 in chapter 3.
5"So I'll come to put you on trial. I will be quick to testify against sorcerers, adulterers and perjurers, against those who defraud labourers 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.
Not just sorcerers. And adulterers. And liars.
But economic oppressors as well. Who don't pay their workers. Who don't care for widows and orphans. Who don't have compassion for the plight of refugees. Deny them justice. People who at the root of it all, don't fear the Lord their almighty God. Who think he doesn't care. So they don't need to either.
Going about their business, ripping people off, doing whatever they can get away with; all in the present tense with no view of a future reckoning. But God's day in court is coming.
There are two more charges.
You rob me, says God. Verse 8. And again, they're playing dumb. How? By ignoring their tithing law that said they'd bring a tenth of everything to support the temple workers, the levites. They're just not doing it. They're not tithing. Because they're saying they have to watch out for their own needs first. Not trusting God to provide... so here's the charge. Verse 8.
8"Will a mere mortal rob God? Yet you rob me. But you ask, 'How are we robbing you?' In tithes and offerings. 9You are under a curse-your whole nation-because you are robbing me. 10Bring 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 there will not be room enough to store it."
No need to fear. That was the deal for Israel all along. Trust God. And he'll provide. In a way that in verse 12 will leave every other nation looking on in awe. At the way God cares for his people.
And yet they rob him instead. And one more charge. They speak arrogantly against him. Verse 13.
By saying "It's futile to serve God." By saying, "What do we gain by carrying out his requirements and going about like mourners before the Lord Almighty? 15But now we call the arrogant blessed. Certainly evildoers prosper, and even when they put God to the test, they get away with it.
Which means, ultimately, they've given up.
Given up on God.
Given up on any sense of final justice.
Given up on any sense of God's providence. That they can just trust him for their needs.
So there's the charge sheet. Bad sacrifices. Bad faith. Bad words. Robbing God. With a dose of arrogance for good measure.
And you know the funny thing? They're so arrogant. That they're got no fear of God's judgment at all.
They're actually looking forward to meeting him. When they're saying where is the God of justice, it hasn't actually occurred to them he's listening. And he's coming.
I saw the news story about two dumb crooks in America named Jason and Brian; they stole a pile of DVDs from a Target store in America, and as they drove off one of them accidentally pocket dialled the police on his phone. And the police listened... while they bragged about it. And the way they were so smart they'd taken the number plates off their blue Dodge. And hey Jason, let's pull in here at McDonalds.
They got to meet the law a few minutes later... because they'd basically called in the justice system on themselves.
They didn't realise the long arm of the law could hear them.
And neither do these Israelites, when they're saying where is the God of justice back at the end of chapter 2.
God says, I'm listening.
And he says at the start of chapter 3, I'm going to send my messenger who'll prepare the way before me.
There's more detail in chapter 4. Verse 5.
A prophet like Elijah. The most famous prophet of Israel's past, the wilderness man in his camel skin coat; boldly critiquing kings. There'll be another one. Before the great and dreadful day of the Lord comes. God's judgment day for Israel.
Back to chapter 3 verse 1. Here's the sequence. I'll send the messenger to prepare the way for me.
And then, suddenly... astonishingly, the Lord says, I'll come. Myself!
You say you're seeking me? You say you want the God of justice. Well, I'll come right to the temple. In person.
Read the words there at the start of chapter 3. "I'll 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."
You say you want me. The God of justice. So how's it going to go for you when you meet me?
The answer is, It's going to be like a blow torch.
Who can endure the day of his coming, chapter 3 verse 2. Who can stand. When he appears? He'll be like a refiners fire; burning off the impurities. He'll be like laundry soap, washing out the dirt.
Which is bad news, see, if you've got a rap sheet like Israel.
In terms of the timeline of Israel's story, here we are at the tail end of it, the very end of the old testament. Abraham's descendants through the line of Jacob have come into their promised land, they've grown into a nation, just like God promised they would. But they've been peculiarly unwilling to give honour to their God.
And so as we've seen they were exiled in Babylon.
Malachi's set after that. They've come back. They should have learned their lesson. And yet now they've got this whole new charge sheet. So here's what Malachi says lies ahead.
A final messenger.
Then the Lord himself. Will come to his temple.
That's the timeline. To what God calls the day of his coming. Or the day when I act.
There are references to that day all the way through. But who can endure it, the day of his coming? 3 verse 2. Surely, the day is coming, it will burn like a furnace. 4v1.
There's going to be a warning. A messenger. And then God's going to come to his temple in person. What's he going to find?
Here's the thing. You know, I mentioned before there were actually two kinds of Israelites. With a huge gap between them.
The Israelites with the charge sheet against them. And then there are the ones who when Malachi speaks, they're actually listening.
And you meet them in chapter 3 verse 16. Then those who feared the Lord talked with each other...
And instead of a charge sheet, they've got a scroll of remembrance. Listing those who fear the Lord and honour his name.
They want to be remembered. It's a manifesto. They're saying in the middle of the mess, we want to stand up and be counted as faithful.
And the Lord's listening. And he hears them. And he says in verse 17, when that day comes; he says on that day that's coming where there's going to be action... they're going to be spared.
God says, people are going to see the difference. Between the righteous. And the wicked. Between those who serve God from the heart. And those just going through the motions.
And so the day is coming; chapter 4 verse 1. When a line's going to be drawn through the nation of Israel.
The arrogant. The evil doer. Will be stubble. They'll be set on fire.
But for you who revere my name; it's a day to look forward to.
Because that's the day of your freedom. That's the day... you'll leap and frolic like calves. That's the day righteousness will shine on you like the sunshine.
And so Israel's bad sacrifices and their bad priests and their wearying words and their unfaithful hearts... on that day; it's all going to come to a screaming halt.
What a day. So here we are. At the very end of the Old Testament. It's a funny way to stop, isn't it?
Lou and I watched a movie called The Equalizer the other day. And look, it's not the best movie Denzel Washington ever made, but one thing you can say about it for sure, the ending's very tidy. Every loose detail in the story line. Absolutely sorted.
I guess being called The Equalizer they figured it all had to add up. And equalise. And so you got the climax; where the good guys win. Then you get ten more minutes so you get to find out what happens to the faithful sidekick guy; all good; and the girl who was being victimised by mobsters. Now she's off to uni. And then you get a glimpse of what happens to the Russian Mafia boss back in Moscow. Who gets exactly what he deserves.
No loose ends. Sorry about he spoilers.
Some movies though, end with a cliffhanger.
And the Old Testament's kind of like that.
Two future outcomes. For two kinds of Israelite. When the day comes. One day.
Malachi's last words. I'll send the prophet Elijah to you before that great and dreadful day of the Lord comes. You'll have warning. And he'll turn your hearts. You'll see faithfulness again in Israel's families. You'll see repentance. Verse 6. Or else. Or else I'll come and strike the land with total destruction.
What'll it be?
Well friends, Israel had to wait 400 years to find out. We just have to turn the page.
And the story explodes in the gospels. And all of them, Matthew and Mark and Luke and John, can't contain themselves with the news first of all that that John the baptist has come.
And he's dressed exactly like Elijah used to. Even eating locusts and honey as a dietary tribute; that's what Elijah ate.
And he's in the wilderness. And he's calling on Israel to repent. And he's baptising. Washing. As a sign of God's offer of last minute forgiveness.
And more than that, he's saying that there's one coming after him. Who's even greater.
Which is exactly what you'd expect him to say if he's been reading Malachi.
One, he says, who's going to offer a choice of two baptisms. With the Holy Spirit. For the righteousness Malachi was promising. Or with fire. The fire of God's judgment on the nation of Israel.
Depending. One which way they turn. His name's Jesus.
And as you see him in action, he's constantly putting the challenge. Looking for anyone who's interested in standing with him on the side of faithfulness. Anyone who's hungry and thirsty for righteousness. Before it's too late.
The stories of Jesus you read through in the gospels. They're tracking through exactly what Malachi was talking about.
Remember what the Lord says? The messenger. Who'll prepare the way for me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to... his temple...
No accident, see, that Matthew and Mark and Luke, they all frame their gospel accounts around the long journey Jesus makes to Jerusalem. Because that's where he's heading. To his temple.
Which is why it's such a climactic point in Mark 11. Because the future of the nation of Israel... depends on what he finds there when he visits.
On reaching Jerusalem, Jesus goes into the temple courts and begins driving out the traders who are buying and selling there. He starts smashing stuff. Turning over the money changers tables full of coins; turning over the benches of the people selling doves; feathers flying everywhere. And stops anyone to carrying merchandise through the temple courts. He's furious.
If you've read Malachi right, this is the Lord himself. Coming to his temple. They're expecting a party and a pat on the back. But it's the opposite.
And he says to them, it's exactly like the prophets said. Jeremiah in this case. He says, "Is it not written: 'My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations'? But you have made it 'a den of robbers.'"
And the chief priests and the teachers of the law hear what he says, and they're indignant. And start looking for a way to kill him. Because they fear him.
Because the whole crowd is amazed at his teaching.
Can I just say that for Israel. For Israel's place as God's covenant nation; for Israel's place as the centrepiece of God's plans... that moment. Is the beginning of the end.
It launches the final phase. As they arrest him. And they nail him up. And crucify him.
What they're really doing... is judging themselves.
Driving the nails into Israel's coffin as the privileged people of God.
Their God finally visits. And they kill him.
And yet God in his infinite wisdom is making his death the final sacrifice for the sins of anyone who wants to call on him.
The perfect sacrifice. Israel did their worst. God provides his best.
Not for the benefit of just the faithful few of Israel on the scroll of remembrance. But anyone. Any time. Anywhere. You and me. Today.
The Day of God's visit in the person of Jesus; his coming to the temple; it's Israel's final judgment as the privileged people of God. And an open door for anyone. From any nation. To become part of his treasured possession. To be written on the scroll of remembrance.
By simply fearing the Lord. And honouring his name. And in the words of John the Baptist, coming to Jesus and being baptised not with the fire of judgment - but with the holy spirit. Of righteousness.
I almost feel like playing that video again. Of the dancing cows. Free at last. Because that's how Malachi sees it. That's us.
Hearts that sing. With free forgiveness. Basking in the righteousness pouring down on us like sunshine. Wriggling our toes in the grass.
Our little granddaughters Stella and Rosie were doing that on Wednesday afternoon. For the first time in forever we've got a prickle-free back lawn. And it's fantastic. They took their little shoes off, and you could see how good it felt to be wriggling their toes in it. Turned the hose on in the late afternoon. And ran round and round in circles laughing.
The coming of Jesus; free forgiveness; the pouring out of the spirit of righteousness on his people. Friends, these are good times. And we sometimes forget that. These are good times. And we sometimes think we've got to go back to all the old ways of Israel.
These are good times. The days Malachi could only look forward to.
So let's frolic a little. In case people mistake us for the Israelites who said,
It's futile to serve God. What do we gain by carrying out his requirements and going about like mourners before the Lord God Almighty.
I've met Christians a bit like that. Heck, sometimes I've probably been one. But friends, these are good times Malachi looked forward to. So let's make sure we live like it.