Malachy Oracles: Evils Scent

Rebuke of Sins of People: Mixed Marriages Divorces Robbing God. Remember the Law Promise of.. Elijah, Restore Hearts Warning of Day of the Lord. Difficult to Date but For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction teaching , that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures Refers here to the entire OT we might have hope. Comment - Here is my "loose paraphrase" of this passage: Malachi was written for our instruction that thru the perseverance and the encouragement of the God of Malachi the thoughts and actions of Israel in Malachi we too might have hope in the midst of our trying circumstances.

Corollary - If you don't believe the Bible and if you don't read and study the OT you will be hurting for hope and confidence in the future. The Old Testament is really the richest commentary ever written on the New Testament. If you are coming to a place where faith is beginning to fail and your heart finds itself in the grasp of doubt, then turn to the record of God at work with men of the Old Testament.

It's as the Word of God rings in our ears that faith is created in our hearts to lay hold of the truth we hear, and to make it available in our lives. Now these things What things? I love to help you see how down-to-earth, how practical, how helpful, how relevant the prophets are. They were, after all, just the best preachers of their time. The prophecy reveals a sensitive God, and a stultified proved to be of unsound mind, cause to appear absurd people.

Malachi declared the sensitiveness of Jehovah, and charged the people with lack of sensitiveness, hardness, callousness. The people were not conscious of their own shortcoming. They imagined they were perfectly satisfying the Divine heart, and fulfilling the Divine requirement. The book presents the picture of a people having a form, while they are devoid of power; fulfilling all the external requirements of religion, but being utterly without the internal experience; maintaining the sacramental symbols, while destitute of the spiritual grace of which those symbols should be the sign.

It should be remembered that this message was delivered not to Judah, and not to Israel, if by Israel we mean the Northern kingdom. The burden of the word of the Lord was to Israel. Malachi spoke not to the ten tribes or to the two; not to the North, or to the South, as in separation from each other, but to the whole nation.

When these people had returned from Babylon under Zerubbabel, and when later another contingent had returned in the time of Ezra and Nehemiah, the returning remnants were made up of members of all the tribes. In the last book of the inspired history of these people, the book of Nehemiah, we saw them without a king, without a priest, and without prophet; and moreover, without any Messianic hope. To people in that condition Malachi delivered his message. As the book of Nehemiah was the last page of inspired history, the book of Malachi is the last page of inspired Hebrew prophecy.

The master thought of Malachi is that of fellowship with God. He had to deal with a people whose glorious history was that of their fellowship with Jehovah, whose shameful history was that of their infidelity to that fellowship. If that be recognized, we shall find the threefold permanent value of this book. It is first, a revelation of the unfailing love of Jehovah. It is secondly, a revelation of human infidelity. It is finally, a revelation of the secrets of strength in an age of failure.

Let us take these in order. First, its revelation of the unfailing love of Jehovah. If we read this prophecy, listening for the master tone of it, we shall find it to be that of love, the love of God. I have loved you, saith Jehovah. The tense employed is not exactly the Hebrew tense, nor have we any tense that exactly answers the Hebrew.

I do no violence to the declaration that fell from the lips of Malachi if I render it thus,. It is a declaration of the continuity of His love. That is the opening statement; the burden of the book is that of the constancy of the love of God. God sent that message to His people, when the nation was without king, priest, or prophet, when the nation consisted of a remnant satisfied with formality and lacking power cp 2Ti 3: There was to be no other voice until the herald John the Baptist should announce the Advent of the King.

It rises high above all the other notes. Whether we listen to the thunders of judgment, or to the plaintive complaint, we hear the great love-song of Jehovah. Malachi charged the people with profanity, sacrilege, greed, indifference; he charged them with perversion of the moral order, calling good evil and evil good; he charged them with robbing God in that they did not bring the whole tithe to His altars; he charged them also with blasphemy, in that they said, "There is no value in serving God.

It is love that is wounded. The book, therefore, is a revelation of the constancy of love , the consciousness of love , and the courage of love. The chief sinfulness of form without power is that it hurts the heart of God.

Widdermaker (Carolrhoda Picture Books) [Excellent]: azboo

The one master note of the message which God sends to every age of failure is that which affirms the constancy of His love. Then, in contrast, we have the revelation of human failure. This prophecy teaches that all motives other than love fail to produce maintenance of true relationship to love. It is possible to attend the temple, bend the knee, and make an offering regularly, but unless there is love in the heart there is no communion with God.

To go to the temple merely as a matter of duty is to blaspheme. To carry offerings to the house of God simply because it is commanded, is to be guilty of sacrilege. There is only one motive sufficiently strong to maintain the relation between the heart of God and the heart of man, and that is love. When these people lost their love for Jehovah, all their religious observances became as tinkling brass and a clanging cymbal, noise without music.

The death of love issues in callousness. The hour in which we cease to love God is the hour in which we begin to wonder whether God loves us. One cannot help but observe that the Gospel of God has been the same message for sinners of all generations In many respects it is a sad book, because it reveals what little progress—if any—Israel had made since the nation was born fifteen hundred years earlier Gen Last words are always important. Malachi is the last word of the Old Testament. It is mostly criticism—a reminder that Israel was still in need of a New Covenant , with a new spirit and motivation cf.

But it also contains encouragement, for it reminds Israel that Yahweh was indeed coming and that His coming would not only bring judgment but restoration and blessing as well. Malachi is difficult to date because there are no specific historical events or reigning kings mentioned. Most estimates place the writing between BC overlapping with the book of Nehemiah, and most scholars agree that Malachi is the last book written in the OT canon.

The three post-exilic prophets are Zechariah, Haggai and Malachi. Jensen adds that the following facts support the dating of Malachi in the range of BC Nehemiah deplored the defiled and corrupted priesthood. Nehemiah dealt with the mixed marriages and the evil resulting therefrom. Nehemiah charged the people with neglecting to bring the tithe into the storehouse and so making it necessary for the Levites to turn from the service of the house of God to earn their own living upon the soil.

Malachi uttered a complaint in the presence of the same neglect, there being a deeper spiritual note in his word, in that he recognized the spiritual failure involved in the material which Nehemiah deplored, and against which he made his protest. Malachi - Living Messages. Given the caveats regarding being too dogmatic on the date of Malachi, it is still profitable to make a few general approximations to help us get a sense of the times the historical setting or context in which Israel was living and Malachi was speaking.

These days were approximately. G Campbell Morgan emphasizes that it is important to understand the historical context to most accurately interpret Malachi's rather caustic message. It would seem as though the special evils which Ezra and Nehemiah set themselves to combat still existed, side by side with correct outward observance. The people are seen restored to Jerusalem, their temple built, the services of the temple observed, both special fasts and feasts and regular seasons of worship.

Figuratively refers to a prophetic utterance. Massa ' is used literally to describe a load or burden on an animal Ex Notice that the root Hebrew verb nasa ' can mean either to bear or to lift up. Focusing on the first meaning to bear has led to the meaning of massa' as burden, a message speaking predominantly of judgment.

Other scholars have focused on the second nuance of nasa ' to lift up - "lifted his voice" Jdg 9: John Piper gives two reasons explaining why Malachi's message was a "burden" One is that the word of God is never light and trifling. It is always weighty and serious and heavy. I don't mean dull, or boring, or morose. I mean it is always substantial. There is no mirage in the word of God. It's always meaty—even the milk is meaty. The word of God comes to a prophet as a burden because it is so thick and rich with truth. The other reason that the word of God is called a burden is because even when it's good news, it will be rejected by many.

You remember how Isaiah groaned under the weight of his preaching ministry in Isa 6: Because even the glorious things that he spoke made the heart of the people fat and their ears heavy and their eyes shut Isa 6: And he cried out in Isa And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? Words designed for life become the aroma of death for those who are perishing.

My understanding of what it means to be a faithful pastor is that I should take up the burden of each text that I preach on, and deliver it to you as my own burden with as much of the spirit and truth of the text as God gives me. So I come this morning with a burden —a burden first because the word of God in this text is weighty and because I know that not all will believe what I say. The Greatness of God's Electing Love. The prophets of old were no triflers.

They carried a burden. The servants of God mean business; they have something to carry, worth carrying. Those who speak for God must not speak lightly. We bear a burden indeed, but we should be sorry not to bear it. Why is the word of the Lord a burden to him that speaks it?

It is a burden because it is the Word of the Lord. The Word of the Lord becomes a burden in the reception of it. No man can preach the Gospel aright until he has had it borne into his own soul with overwhelming energy. True preaching is artesian, it wells up from the great depths of the soul. The Word of God is a burden in the delivery of it. He that finds it easy to preach, will find it hard work to give an account of his preaching at the last great day.

When we have preached, the Gospel becomes a burden in after consideration.

Widdermaker (Carolrhoda Picture Books) [Excellent]

If God sends any of us to do good to our fellow-men, and to speak in His name, the souls of men will be a perpetual burden to us. They are worse, for when believers sin, they not only break the Law of God, but they break the heart of God. The sins we cherish and think we get away with bring grief to the heart of God. Malachi is all about " preparing ourselves for God's blessing by presenting to Him the kind of lives He delights [to bless]. In particular it will tell us what baskets we ought to be putting our eggs in if we would bring the blessings of the Lord down upon our heads.

Malachi is addressing the nation of Israel with whom He was in covenant , a relationship in which the priests and people had been unfaithful. In fact God's covenant with Israel was pictured as a "husband" and "wife" Israel relationship Jer What follows is evidence that Israel was in trouble with Yahweh because the Jews had not kept the Mosaic Covenant. Yahweh, of course, was completely faithful to His part of the covenant. The last word of the Old Testament is a reminder of the coming of this Day of the Lord.

So is the last word of the New Testament, the Book of Revelation. Therefore it must be very important that all people remember that this day is coming and live in the light of it. Let us, too, live by meditating on God Ed: I would summarize the message of this book this way. To Israel - The recipient of Jehovah's burden of rebuke and comfort to all of Israel implying all the tribes, not just the nation of Judah. Through Malachi - Malachi is a "conduit" through which flows the living Word.

NT believers by analogy are to be "vessels for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work. If the latter, it would be the only prophetic book which is not ascribed to a specific known individual which seems unlikely. Furthermore as Van Dine reasons "meanings of the names of the prophets usually have something to do with their messages, this Malachi - "my messenger" would not be an unusual play on words.

Note that most of the OT prophets major and minor spoke before the Babylonian captivity. Daniel and Ezekiel spoke during the captivity while only Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi spoke after the return from exile to Babylon thus their designation as " Post-Exilic Prophets ".

Nebuchadnezzar had captured Jerusalem and completely destroyed the Temple. This, however, did not bring the Jews to national repentance. In reading Ezra, we find that when Cyrus, king of Persia, issued a decree permitting all the captives to return to Jerusalem and to rebuild their Temple, only about 50, returned. Most of these were priests and Levites and the poorer among the people.

Although the Jews increased in power and in numbers, they never established their political independence. They were a subject people under Gentile rulers from this time on. What the Bible is All About. It is as if we the readers of this book are being allowed to "ease drop" on an intensely personal conversation between two parties who had drifted far apart from their original relationship Israel drifted, not Jehovah! Malachi's message is based primarily on a repeated pattern of declaration by God usually an accusation followed by a question from Israel which was identified by the phrase " you say " in which Israel raised a doubt as to the veracity of God's accusation.

God then gives a specific explanation of their sin. Malachi is the only prophetic book which ends with the threat of a curse! The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. While Malachi does not end with a word of hope, Malachi does record prophecies which clearly promise Israel a Messianic Hope Here this equates with "believers", cp Rev But you say, "How have You loved us? What is the oracle or burden that Malachi the messenger of Jehovah is to convey? It is one of the most beautiful phrases a holy God could ever utter to children of Adam Ro 5: Yes "really" - God has really loved Israel and still really loves them!

And yet they question His love Love 'ahab describes an affection based on a close relationship, a strong emotional attachment and desire either to possess or to be in the presence of the object of one's love. It implies an ardent and vehement inclination of the mind and a tenderness of affection at the same time. The Bible uses 'ahab to refer to love of a man for a woman Ge I have loved you - The message from Jehovah begins with a clear reminder of His love for Israel.

He is not speaking of love for all mankind as in Jn 3: As noted above, the perfect tense of the Hebrew verb means "I have loved you, I do love you, I will love you. First , His love is unconditional, for it was an act of pure grace, not dependent on anything Israel had done Dt 7: He called Abraham from Ur of the Chaldeans, made a covenant with him, and confirmed it through Isaac and Jacob.

His compassion for Israel is like that of a mother for her child. In fact, God has engraved them on the palms of His hands Isa On two occasions He called Israel His son Ex 4: When the Jew is afflicted, God feels it as if it had happened to Him. His delight was in them, Isa. Remember that Jesus equated love with obedience , not legalistic obedience but obedience as a loving child would show their father who loved them.

The only way we can love Jesus in this way is by the enabling work of the the Holy Spirit in us, Who gives us both the desire and the power to obey Him Php 2: If we try to keep His commandments in our own strength we will fall into the trap of legalism and ultimately will fail to keep them!

We see God's unconditional love portrayed in His choosing Israel to be His very own possession The LORD did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any of the peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples, 8 but because the LORD loved you and kept the oath which He swore to your forefathers Covenant with Abraham, Isaac, Jacob , the LORD brought you out by a mighty hand, and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.

Therefore, I will punish you for all your iniquities. These previous passages are all from the Old Testament and beg the question " Is God through with Israel as a nation, as a ethnically distinct people group " as many in our day teach? Paul answers this question in the New Testament writing I say then, God has not rejected His people, has He?

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May it never be! Greater still is the insensibility of nominal Christendom which rejects, yea, despises, the great love wherewith He has loved us in the gift of His Son. Spurgeon in His comments on Ps Dear brother or sister in Christ, when we find ourselves in a "slough of despond," experiencing discouragement or disillusionment in our spiritual life, even to the point that we wonder if God really loves us, we do well to re-read John's amazing declaration See aorist imperative - command to "Just Do It! For this reason Term of conclusion the world does not know us, because term of explanation it did not know Him.

Died He for me, who caused His pain— For me, who Him to death pursued? How can it be, That Thou, my God, shouldst die for me? Beloved of God, this divine declaration of redeeming love begs the question - How would we respond to Jehovah's declaration? Would we be like Israel and ask "How have You loved us God? How would you describe God's love to you. Is your life and family in such a shambles that you feel as skeptical about it as the Israelites did? Do you want to say, " How hast Thou loved me? And so it will do us all good to listen to God's answer which is almost never heard today.

How hast thou loved us? Yet I have loved Jacob, but I have hated Esau. It has been observed that the opposite of love is often not hatred ; it is apathy.

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I hope that no one here hates God, but some of you may have grown indifferent towards God. You may be going through all the motions of being " a good Christian. Like a functional marriage, you have a functional relationship with God, but the passion has leaked out over the years. Perhaps you've gone through some difficult trials and you've wondered, " If God really loves me, then why is this happening to me?

Why do I suffer while people who don't even believe in Christ prosper? Keep in mind that Israel's " life and family " was to some degree in shambles" as Piper phrased it. Yes, the Jews were back in Israel after 70 years exile reflecting God's faithfulness to His promise in Jer And thus in light of their somewhat dismal from a human perspective circumstances their first of a series of replies to God's rebukes is the question " How have You loved us?

Logsdon "To sin against love is more reprehensible than sinning against law, though the latter is the result of the former and is not without seriousness. But you say - This identifies the first of a series of interchanges that follow the pattern of In short Israel's priest and people repeatedly failed to see their sin against God and their need to confess so that they might experience His mercy and forgiveness. As Wiersbe wisely points out " It is a dangerous thing when people argue with God and try to defend their sinful ways.

Israel doesn't even reply to God's accusations by " Yes, but " but only " But! This reflects their intractably stony hearts, their immutably stiff necks, their unresponsive rebellious spirits! A sad state indeed, for a people chosen by God to be lights unto the Gentiles! How have You loved us? Are you not shocked at the creature responding to the Creator in such a way? They question the Almighty's love.

They in a sense quarrel with God's claim. Look at our sacrifices and offerings! You tell us that we have polluted the altar. We have brought our gifts! You tell us that we have wearied Him. We are not conscious of having done anything to displease Him! You tell us to return. You tell us we have robbed God. We want to know when? You say we have spoken against God. These people are not in open rebellion against God, nor do they deny His right to offerings, but they are laboring under the delusion, that because they have brought offerings, they have been true to Him all along.

They have been most particular and strict in outward observances, but their hearts have been far away from their ceremonials Isa It's as if God says, "I love you," and they respond, "Ho hum! As God traces all his favors to them to the fountain, which was His love, so He traces up all their sins against Him to the fountain, which was their contempt of His love. Instead of acknowledging His kindness, and studying what they shall render, they scorn to own that they have been beholden to Him, challenge Him to produce proofs of His love that are material, and think and speak very slightly of the instances they have had of His kindness, as if they were so few, so small, as not to be worth taking notice of, and no more than what they had sufficiently made returns for, or at least than He had sufficiently balanced with instances of His wrath.

Was not Esau Jacob's brother? He asks this question because He knows that the answer to the question contains the key to understanding of His distinctive love for Israel Jacob. Clearly Esau was Jacob's brother , in fact his twin brother. Not only that, but he was also the elder brother, who customarily would have received his father Isaac's blessing.

Can you see Jehovah's "logic"? Although they were twins, God choose Jacob. And although Esau was the elder, God choose Jacob. So what does all of this say about God's love for Jacob? My love for you is electing love because I chose you for myself above your brother Esau.

My love for you is unconditional love because I chose you before you had done anything good or evil—before you had met any conditions—while you were still in your mother's womb Genesis My love for you is sovereign love because I was under no constraint to love you; I was not forced or coerced; I was totally in charge when I set my love upon you. And my love for you is free because it's the overflow of my infinite grace that can never be bought. Now I ask you, if you are a Christian here today, and if you say to God, "How have you loved me?

Do you look at your sister or brother living in sin and tremble that you have been chosen? And that your election is not because of anything in you? And that your faith and hope are owing wholly to God? Do you look at that childhood friend or college roommate who took a turn away from God when you stayed on the path, and tremble at the awesome thought that God chose you? One would think this should have given them a deep sense of conviction!

Returning God's Love - The book of Malachi begins with this wholehearted word from the Lord to His halfhearted worshipers: Though Israel had long been the object of God's love, they no longer returned His love. God listed the ways His people had offended His love through their disobedience.

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Israel's response was to question God. When He implored them, "Return to Me, and I will return to you," they questioned Him in their blindness, "In what way shall we return? With divine "tough love," the Lord exposed their many blind spots. He did this so that they might repent and accept His love, and return it with wholehearted obedience. We too are often halfhearted in our faith, appearing to love and serve God but really loving and serving ourselves.

Today, as in Malachi's time, God looks for people who reverence Him by maintaining two spiritual practices: The first is fellowship with God's people; the second is fellowship with God Himself. Not only are we to receive and share God's love, we are also to return it through glad obedience. Such worshipers are God's " jewels " Mal 3: Are you one of them? Let's heed what God's Spirit would have us to do— That's how we show Him a love that is true. De Haan To love God is to obey God. Yes His Spirit tells us what to do but also enables us to do it!

Beware of the subtle trap of legalism - "I must do this or that" to prove my love! We can do nothing supernatural in reliance on our own strength! Click for more elaboration on this topic. We seem to use some things more than others—our mouths more than our ears, our stomachs more than our minds. We also seem to use the phrase " It's so unfair! Our families are the building blocks of our churches and of our entire society. If our families fracture en masse, we will have a fractured nation. This resource is listed because it has numerous commentary notes that relate to the OT Prophetic Books.

Israel's Regeneration, Land Covenant: Israel's Regathering; Abrahamic Covenant: Possessing the Land; Davidic Covenant: James Rosscup writes "This work supplies much help on matters of the text, word meaning, resolving some problems, etc. Some have found it one of the most contributive sources in getting at what a text means.

An Annotated Bibliography of Selected Works. Malachi 1 Critical Notes. Malachi 2 Critical Notes. Malachi 3 Critical Notes. Malachi 4 Critical Notes. JFB is one of the more literal, conservative older commentaries prior to Sample excerpt of eschatological prophetic, apocalyptic passage Zechariah If Antichrist be the leader of the nations, it seems inconsistent with the statement that he will at this time be sitting in the temple as God at Jerusalem 2Thessalonians 2: But difficulties do not set aside revelations: Compare the complicated movements, Daniel Temporal blessings and spiritual prosperity shall go together in the millennium: Rosscup - This is the best older, overall treatment of a critical nature on the Old Testament Hebrew text verse by verse and is a good standard work to buy.

The student can buy parts or the whole of this series. Sometimes it is evangelical, at other times liberal ideas enter… In prophecy it is amillennial. Commentaries for Biblical Expositors: Galeotti - The outstanding example of the technical-textual commentary of the OT is the series by C. Their commentary is the standard in the field of OT commentaries and a classic in its own right.

Though dated, it still serves as the primary measure by which all other works are judged. Keil's volume on The Twelve Minor Prophets is conservative in scope and serves as a scholarly foundation upon which any in-depth study of Malachi is to be made. Here is an evangelical commentary well-done in pp. Introductions gather much that is most pertinent for expositors. Problem passages usually draw careful remarks, as in seeing Zech The Theological Journal Library on galaxie.

Click the following links to search by topic, author , or bible reference. Malachi - Living Messages. But that might be reading too much human emotion into Him. I think He loves us in ways that we might not even recognize as love. What's the big idea? By the time of Malachi, they had been back in the land for more than a hundred years and were looking for the blessings they expected to receive when they returned. Though the temple had been rebuilt, the fervor of those early returning Israelites gave way to a thorough apathy for the things of God. This led to rampant corruption among the priesthood and a spiritual lethargy among the people.

Malachi came along at a time when the people were struggling to believe that God loved them Malachi 1: The people focused on their unfortunate circumstances and refused to account for their own sinful deeds. So God pointed the finger back at them, and through Malachi, God told the people where they had fallen short of their covenant with Him. If they hoped to see changes, they needed to take responsibility for their own actions and serve God faithfully according to the promise their fathers had made to God on Mount Sinai all those years before. How do I apply this? Each time, Israel would fail again, prompting the cycle to begin again.

Do you struggle to follow God consistently? The phrase translated "in his wings" also carries the idea of "corners" or an "outer edge. In 1 Samuel One significant fulfillment of this prophecy is to be found in Matthew 9: Do you see it? Cavett Robert, author and professional speaker, writes, "Character is the ability to carry out a good resolution, long after the excitement of the moment has passed. It's a quality that attracts people to you and enhances your relationships and opportunities. Failing to honor your commitments will tarnish your image and have a negative effect on your reputation.

It can create a barrier to personal achievement and erect a roadblock against success. By honoring your commitments you create a strong foundation that will support you and your endeavors. As a result you will be recognized as a person of integrity and character - someone others can trust. Werner Erhard states, "Your life works to the degree you keep your agreements.

Honoring commitments impacts all dimensions of life. Do you honor commitments you make to your team - to show up for them - even in tough or uncomfortable situations? Do you honor the commitments you make to your family and friends? Do you keep the promises you make to them? Do you honor commitments you make to yourself? Do you honor the commitments you have made to God? The people of Judah, with the priests leading the way, had failed to keep their covenant agreement with God. It's clear that more than one person is responsible - in fact, there may actually be many people who have been party to the crime.

Two things are most unfortunate about the robbery - one is that we have no assurances that it won't happen again, and that is a bit unnerving! The other unfortunate element is that we're certain that those who carried out the robbery are members of our church. It's bad enough to know that a theft has occurred, but it's really hard to imagine that professing Christians would actually steal from God and the ministries of his church.

We can certainly hope that anyone who has participated in this act will repent and repay what has been taken. It's reported that some of the stolen money has been used for vacations, cars, boats, designer clothes, athletic equipment, homes, and even dining out. We don't have a complete list of all the suspects, but there is consolation in knowing that God does.

I realize that some of you will disagree, but it would be difficult to get a conviction in the courts given the clever way in which the robbery was carried out. You are probably also interested in how much was taken. The amount is undetermined, but at the very least exceeds many thousands of dollars. It happened as the offering plates were passed during Sunday school and worship. It also happened as people who didn't come simply didn't give the Lord's tithe. Richard Petty, an Ohio State University psychologist, estimates that each of us is faced with hundreds of decisions each day.

They range from trivial Italian or Mexican for lunch , to moral good from evil , to priority best from better. In these decisions we want to make good choices. Because we are the sum total of our decisions. We make our decisions, and our decisions make us. Mary Kay Ash said, "Be careful of the choices you make today. They will become your lifestyle tomorrow. Each day we face choices regarding our walk with God. From the closing of Malachi's book let me explain five areas where we are forced to make decisions.

You mean to take that goodly freight on board before you launch upon the sea of married life. As you cannot visit the Holy Land, it is well for you that there is a work like the Pictorial Bible, in which the notes of the most observant travellers are arranged under the texts which they illustrate.

For the geography, zoology, botany, and manners and customs of Palestine, this will be your counselor and guide… A work of art as well as learning. Regarding the Messianic focus of Malachi, Wilkinson and Boa have an excellent summary: The Book of Malachi is the prelude to four hundred years of prophetic silence, broken finally by the words of the next prophet, John the Baptist: The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!

Malachi predicts the coming of the messenger who will clear the way before the Lord 3: John the Baptist later fulfills this prophecy, but in the next few verses 3: Campbell Morgan said, "Lukewarmness is the worst form of blasphemy. Have you become weary in your worship? We are to worship to the Lord with enthusiasm, not weariness. In fact, the word "enthusiasm" has the word theos God as its root. Every day should become sweeter. Malachi's Message to the Men of Today Conservative notes from Dr Morris who approaches the text seeking it's literal meaning in the context.

NETBible notes are in the right panel. You can also select the tab for " Constable's Notes. Mouse over shows corresponding English word and has short definition at bottom of right panel. This work, later called Preaching Through the Bible Baker Book House , is rich in its applications and exhortations, though often not particularly helpful for the reader who is looking for exposition that stays right with the text. Treatment of the texts is sermonic.

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An annotated bibliography of selected works. Tharp, author of Revival Must Come! Those who reject divine revelation are soon able to ignore conscience, and those who ignore conscience will in time refuse to listen to reason. Only a sovereign, merciful God can save us by sending a full-scale, historical outpouring of His Spirit that will result in His people humbling themselves in prayer and fasting, seeking the will and truth of God, and turning in repentance from their self-righteousness, unbelief, pride, lust, and materialistic idolatry.

A while back I woke up singing the lyrics, "Send the refiner's fire, Come purge away our sin Here is one stanza:. Someone once said, "History repeats itself because no one listens the first time. They repeat the same mistakes generation and generation because they do not listen to what God said, nor do they watch what He did!

If I could open the greatest dictionaries in the world's largest libraries and could find the most beautiful and detailed vocabulary conceivable, I would not be able to fully tell you the magnitude of God's love. If I could take the colorful hues and tones from the earth's most beautiful rainbow, I would not be able to paint the loveliness of His love.

If I could produce the most glorious music which the ear can receive, I would not be able to sing fully the splendor of His love. To describe the love of God in all its fullness is impossible. But we can understand more about His love than we now know. We can grow in our appreciation of the love of God. I feel like the two men who saw the ocean for the first time. One said to the other, "Look at all that water.

It is higher than the highest mountain, deeper than the deepest sea and wider than the clearest sky. It is more profound than the loftiest thoughts of the most intelligent people on earth. Yet, what we can see of it, we must seek to see fully. God says, "Listen, I love you. Yet, we hear God calling to them in love. In this text we learn three things about the love of God. Someone once said, "A cold church, like cold butter, never spreads very well.

It is sad to note that some people who have no faith in a living God have a greater devotion that many Christians. A two inch long discolored eyetooth is reverenced by million Buddhists as the most sacred object on earth. The tooth is supposed to have been reclaimed from Buddha's funeral pyre in B. Today the tooth sets upon a golden lotus in the glorious temple of the tooth in Kandy, Ceylon. It is surrounded by rubies and tons of flowers. Each year a hundred thousand faithful Buddhists come from many countries to gaze at the sacred tooth.

They bring gifts of gold, silver and jewels to place within the temple. So I began to collect those compliments like flowers. Thank you, I'd say. Thank you, thank you, thank you. One of the greatest definitions of worship ever laid down was one by by William Temple: Tozer said, "We are called to an everlasting preoccupation with God.

Most middle-class Americans tend to worship their work, to work at their play, and to play at their worship. As a result, their meanings and values are distorted. Their relationships disintegrate faster than they can keep them in repair and their lifestyles resemble a cast of characters in search of a plot.

One writer notes that worship in our time has been captured by the tourist mindset. Worship is understood as a visit to an attractive site to be made when we have adequate leisure. For some it is a weekly jaunt to church, while for others, occasional visits to special services. Some, with a bent for Christian entertainment and sacred diversion, plan their lives around special events like retreats, rallies and conferences.

We go to see a new personality, to hear a new truth, to get a new experience and so, somehow, expand our otherwise humdrum lives. We'll try anything - until something else comes along. Is God pleased with our worship? This is a question few Christian every ask or think about. After all, when it comes to worship, that is the One with whom we must be concerned. A little boy went with his parents to worship one Sunday and he saw his dad put a dollar in the offering plate.

On the way home from church the parents discussed the service. The little boy chimed in, "I thought it was a pretty good show for a dollar! Malachi was prompted by God to speak to the people about their worship. God shared three important things that were wrong with the worship of the people in that day.

We pulled to a stop in front of a red light. Another car drew alongside us. Worship—three or four hundred years ago it was pronounced worth—ship—means the acknowledgement of the worth that is in our God. It is not easy. If then I am the Father, Where is My honor? And if I am a Master, Where is My reverence? Says the Lord of hosts To you priests who despise My name. And when you offer the lame and sick, Is it not evil? Offer it then to your governor!

Would he be pleased with you? Would he accept you favorably? While this is being done by your hands, Will He accept you favorably? Should I accept this from your hand? You've probably insured your home against almost every possibility of tragedy. You have life insurance, fire insurance, accident insurance, health insurance. In fact, if you sat down and figured up how much of your budget goes to buying insurance, it probably would be alarming and disturbing. But have you insured the family itself? The scrolls of Qumran provide additional clues.

Who are the forces of night? Does the sickness indicate more than the rise of the sons and daughters of darkness? What does the Vatican not want anyone to know? The community would have heard rather than read the gospel. It would have encountered the story as a whole instead of piecemeal in short texts for sermons. Missing would have been the static of Matthew, Luke, and John.

And there is much more. As for the speaker? While most modern scholars table the question of authorship, the post-apostolic writers of the second and third centuries claim with one voice that though penned by Mark the gospel actually went back to Peter. So to hear the gospel as did those early Christians was to hear it as if coming from him. And the result is surprising. Christ was different than expected, he said. Masters and Savages Macon, GA: A Southern hero, but also a coward.

A runaway aching for home. On the eve of embarkation, disease breaks out, and there is pressure to sacrifice the child for the sake of the cargo. But why does he stake the last vestiges of his crumbling humanity on saving this particular girl among so many? What leads him to think she is the road to redemption?