Overview of: MalachiToday's Reading:
Malachi 2:17 – 3:18
"Judgment will Come"
Focus Verses: Malachi 3:14-17
14 "You have said, 'It is futile to serve God. What did we gain by carrying out his requirements and going about like mourners before the LORD Almighty? 15 But now we call the arrogant blessed. Certainly the evildoers prosper, and even those who challenge God escape.' " 16 Then those who feared the LORD talked with each other, and the LORD listened and heard. A scroll of remembrance was written in his presence concerning those who feared the LORD and honored his name. 17 "They will be mine," says the LORD Almighty, "in the day when I make up my treasured possession. I will spare them, just as in compassion a man spares his son who serves him.
Insight:
Even though many had returned to Jerusalem, and the Temple been rebuilt, and the city walls repaired, life for the exiles was still far from the glorious restoration spoken about by the pre-exilic prophets. Jerusalem was nothing more a small and struggling enclave in the remote regions of the Persian empire. It was tough situation and many people lost sight of God. Evil and arrogant people who boldly challenged the truth of God prospered and succeeded. Faithfulness to God seemed futile, but Malachi proclaimed that God would one day set things right. Those who were faithful would, in the end, be God's treasured possession.
Response and Action:
Some days it's easy to be overwhelmed with life's struggles and injustices. Faith in God can seem futile when those without faith--or worse yet, those who mock it--seem to rule the day. It's understandable to ask, "What good is my faith and righteousness?" But God promises he will one day set things right. He promises that those who remain faithful through thick and thin will eventually experience his compassion and know they are his treasured possession.
O God, help me to press on to take hold of all you have promised. Give me a faith that perseveres through trial. Give me eyes to see hope for tomorrow beyond the trials of today. Give me peace that passes understanding, and remind me that I am yours, that you love and value me. Help me to see the futility of life without you. When following you seems costly, remind me that not following you costs even more. Amen, even so, come quickly Lord!
Proverb for Today: Prov. 16:5
"The LORD detests all the proud of heart. Be sure of this: They will not go unpunished."
New Testament for Today: Revelation 22:12-13
12 "Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done. 13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.
In Context: Revelation 22
Recommended Reading:
Evil And the Justice of God
by N. T. Wright
