The Book of Malachi (1) 02/13/2022

First Baptist Church Leominster

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Let's see today's Galatians chapter 5 for a

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New Testament reading and then he'll pray for us Galatians chapter 5 stand fast therefore in the

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Liberty by which Christ has made us free and Do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage

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Indeed, I Paul say to you that if you become circumcised Christ will profit you nothing and I testify again

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To every man who become circumcised that he is a debtor to keep the whole law

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You have become estranged from Christ you who attempt to be justified by the law you have fallen from grace

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For we through the Spirit eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness by faith For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything but faith working through love

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You ran well who hindered you from obeying the truth? This persuasion does not come from him who calls you a little leaven leavens the whole lump

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I have confidence in you in the Lord that you will have no other mind but he who troubles you shall bear his judgment whoever he is and I brethren if I preach circumcision, why do

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I still suffer persecution? Then the offense of the cross has ceased. I could wish that those who trouble you would even cut themselves off For you brethren have been called to Liberty only do not use

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Liberty as an opportunity for the flesh But through love serve one another For all the laws fulfilled in one word even in this you shall love your neighbor as yourself

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But if you bite and devour one another beware lest you be consumed by one another.

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I Say then walk in the spirit and shoot you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh

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For the flesh lusts against the spirit and the spirit against the flesh and These are contrary to one another so that you do not do the thing that you wish

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But if you are led by the Spirit you are not under the law Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are adultery fornication uncleanliness lewdness idolatry sorcery hatred contentions

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Jealousies outbursts of wrath selfish ambitions dissensions heresies envy murders drunkenness revelries and the like of which

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I tell you beforehand Just as I also told you in time past that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God But the fruit of the

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Spirit is love joy peace long -suffering kindness goodness faithfulness gentleness self -control

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Against such there is no law and those who are Christ's have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires

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If we live in the spirit, let us also walk in the spirit Let us not become conceited provoking one another envying one another

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Let's pray Mm -hmm

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Our Heavenly Father as we we read this passage We are reminded at how great you are and the great gifts that you have given to us

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You've given us life in your son. You've given us instruction by your

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Holy Spirit the conviction of sins the understanding of your truth and Lord what we provide is the flesh and our flesh is against the spirit

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But the spirit is stronger than the flesh and Lord we thank you for this we thank you that even though many of us

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Still struggle with our sin. We we look forward and we sometimes even pursue the things listed here the lusts of the flesh adultery and fornication

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Idolatry hatred contentions jealousy outbursts of wrath selfish ambitions

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Dissensions envy murder drunkenness and the like Lord we confess these things to you

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And Lord, even though we still may desire them our one desire is you And so Lord we pray that we would view these things as you view them that we would have a great hatred for sin

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That we would look at these things and recognize that they will never give us contentment joy or happiness

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But these will only bring us to the grave for those who practice these things will not inherit the kingdom of God and While we may partake in them

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Lord, this is not our lifestyle You have redeemed us from these things and Lord.

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We are so thankful for that We're thankful that you've given us your Holy Spirit that enables us to walk in your truth

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And so Lord help us to walk in the spirit help us not to carry out the desires of the flesh

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Help us to see the truth of the matter that these things are worthless, but you Lord are everything

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So Lord help us to glorify you and enjoy you in our lives. Help us to pursue you at every cost

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Lord, we thank you for these things and Lord, we do lift up right now

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Don and Maureen Maureen who just left for the hospital just a few moments ago We pray that you would protect them on their way there protect

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Maureen We pray that you would strengthen her body for whatever she's fighting against and We just pray

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Lord that they would sort out what the issue is Quickly and that she wouldn't be in too much discomfort

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Please protect them Lord and encourage them and Lord as we now Open up your word and continue our worship

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We pray Lord that we would be mindful of what the text says help us Lord to understand it.

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Give us clear understanding of What it is we need to do in light of this text

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We pray Lord that you would be pleased with our worship here this morning. Thank you Lord in Jesus name.

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Amen We normally

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Provide notes For you and they're detailed, of course However, our office copy machine is on the blank.

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I think it's gonna be repaired this week Lord willing Yes Okay Yes, okay, so Maureen has asthma very poor bad case and so the

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MTS just took her to the hospital With it with her asthma So we have these notes normally available to you

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I think they're in limited quality quantity this morning And so normally we have what about a hundred sets and today probably what 40 maybe?

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30 okay, so I don't know if you have them or not. I hope you do especially if you're visiting I hope you have a set of them in front of you

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I Send these out every Sunday morning and Jason's to when he preaches and I Send them out all between 7 a .m.

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And 8 a .m. And I send them out now to about 312 13 addresses

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Over a hundred of those are pastors mostly in Africa and India and whatnot If you would like to receive them just give me your email address

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I'll be happy to put you on the list and you can receive them weekly And I think they're also available.

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Are they available through our app? I don't they are Some of you have that right now that you can refer to I don't know but I Hope that you find these these helpful

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Well the beginning this morning we intend to give some weeks to the study of the Old Testament book of Malachi Malachi is of course the last book of our

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English Old Testament There's a different order of books in the

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Hebrew Canon same book same content, but different order and Organization of the of the books but Malachi is the final divinely inspired written word of God before the coming of the

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Messiah the last book again of our Old Testament and You open up the next page and you've got the opening of the

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Gospel of Matthew Jesus Christ came into the world about 400 years after God had moved and enabled his prophet

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Malachi to pen this book So commonly we read about the 400 silent years and that's what it's referring to Now in our study

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I first plan to read the text from the New King James Version Because it's set forth in poetic format which is a desirable in some way, however,

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I Learned that the Hebrew text itself is not in poetry.

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It's not poetry or poetic format, but rather it's prose And so we have the

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English Standard Version, which is written in prose form and so I thought that we would read this that reflects the

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Manner in which the Hebrew text is given to us. And so we want to begin this morning

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We're not going to get here for a while, but we want to begin by reading the first five verses of Malachi chapter 1 the oracle of the word of the

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Lord to Israel by Malachi I Have loved you says the Lord, but you say how have you loved us?

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Is not Esau Jacob's brother declares the Lord yet. I have loved Jacob, but Esau I have hated

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I Have laid waste his hill country and left his heritage to jackals of the desert

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If Edom says we are shattered But we will rebuild the ruins the Lord of Hosts says they may build but I will tear down And they will be called the wicked country and the people with whom the

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Lord is angry forever Your own eye shall see this and you shall say great is the

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Lord beyond the border of Israel So in these opening words of this prophecy we read of God's Declaration of his love for his people

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Israel Although his people doubted his love for them the

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Lord set forth an argument proving his love for them By contrasting his historical dealings with another nation

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Related to Israel Edom For which God says he had hatred Edom was that region down in the southeast mountain southeast of the

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Dead Sea Where the city of Petra was one of the major cities of that region

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God brought his judgment upon Edom destroying it in the 6th century

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BC through the Babylonian Empire and So although these people doubted

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God's love God proved his love for them Basically saying look at you and compare yourself and how

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I've dealt with my enemies Edom If you look at that and consider that you'll know you'll be confirmed in the fact

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I have loved you Israel That's basically the content of the message he had dealt severely and justly with Edom because he hated them and so We may conclude from this opening oracle verses 1 through 5

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Malachi 1 that one of the ways that people the people of God may be assured of God's love for them and For his purpose to favor them with his presence and salvation is by consideration

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Of how the Lord has dealt with you in comparison in contrast with how he's dealt with his enemies

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That's basically the substance the message of this first oracle However, before we get into the details of these words, it's very important that we do some preliminary work

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As we open this Old Testament book of Malachi To fail to do so to consider some preliminary matters could result in wrong conclusions

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Regarding the meaning of the text and regarding its application for us as Christians and So let's consider some preliminary matters before commencing our study of Malachi We might say that when we attempt to read and interpret any book of the

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Old Testament That it is very important to understand the context in which it was originally written

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But actually there are three different contexts that we should understand it's very important to recognize these

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There is what we may describe as the book's canonical context and I'm going to describe what that is here shortly secondly, it's historical context and Then thirdly, it's theological or covenantal context and we'll explain that too

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And so let's consider each of these contexts first the canonical context of Malachi we should first understand that Malachi is one of 66 books in our

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Christian canon and I emphasize that word Christian The entire

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Bible is a Christian Bible When we refer to the Bible as the

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Christian canon We're asserting that the entire Bible is God's rule or standard of our faith and practice

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The word canon is from the Greek language. It referred to a reed or a cane that was used as a measuring stick and So to determine the length or the straightness of a thing it would be measured against a canon a rule

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Our Bible is our canon the canon that is the standard of measure

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That God has given us by which we are to assess the truthfulness and correctness of all things

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When we say that Malachi is one of the 66 books of our Christian canon we are asserting that in addition to the 27 books of the

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New Testament all 39 books of the Old Testament are also

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Christian Scripture the entire Bible is Christian Scripture and we affirm that very strongly and we would even assert at this point sadly

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Not many evangelicals do But the entire

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Bible is Christian Scripture There are many Christians in even many evangelical churches that are spiritually impoverished

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Because they fail to understand and regard the Old Testament as Christian Scripture There are those who say that because the

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Old Testament is a record of God's dealings with his people while under the law of Moses It has no abiding authority or relevance for Christians today.

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In effect. They argue We're not under the law but under grace and so we're not to look to the

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Old Testament as Christian Scripture It is pre -christian We're to look alone to the

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New Testament scriptures for the source of teaching for Christian doctrine and for God's instruction on how we're to think and live in this world as Christians that is wrong thinking as We will show

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There are others who similarly argue that the Old Testament is not a source of Christian instruction for it was

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God's Word to the literal physical nation of Israel, but New Testament Christians are of the church and Therefore we are to regard only the

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New Testament books of the Bible as the Word of God for us To look to the

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Old Testament for authoritative Christian instruction is to abuse God's Word They teach and they claim and so oftentimes and I'd say it's a sad thing oftentimes the

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Old Testament is a neglected source of Christian instruction in many

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Evangelical churches and it should not be This is contrary to the belief and practice of most

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Christians throughout the last 2 ,000 years and It is a simple fact that what we call the

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Old Testament Was really the only written scripture the early church is possessed for a number of decades in the first century

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When Christians gathered on the Lord's Day, they would read and preach the Old Testament scriptures as the

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Word of God This is what they read and preached in the churches For perhaps the first three four decades of the

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Christian era The Old Testament the Hebrew Scriptures was the Word of God and they proclaimed

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Jesus Christ from those scriptures Yes, the early church has also had the authoritative witness of the

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Twelve Apostles Who would recount the events in the life and ministry of Jesus to which they were eyewitnesses?

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The Lord Jesus told them in advance the Holy Spirit would enable them to recall these things and That they would be able to recount these things before the churches of Jesus Christ We read of this in John chapter 15, but the helper the

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Holy Spirit whom the Father will send in my name He will teach you he's talking primarily to the

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Apostles he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you and So they had the

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Old Testament scriptures that they would preach from they had the apostolic Witness of what they had seen and what they had heard

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Jesus teach but even as the Apostles taught They and proclaimed the direct teachings of Jesus Christ they would quote passages from the

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Old Testament to validate or affirm what they were teaching Even the

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Lord Jesus would frequently quote from the Old Testament scriptures to validate what he was saying was true the truth of God's Word and We would argue that Malachi should be read as Christian scripture

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God reveals his will to us through these words Instructing us what to believe and how to live before him as Christians the

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Apostle Paul declared this directly forthrightly he wrote to Timothy who was about to pastor the church at Ephesus all

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Scripture is given by inspiration of God Paul was not talking about New Testament scriptures

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They hadn't all been written as of yet or recognized as authoritative He's talking about the

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Hebrew scriptures all scripture the Old Testament All scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable.

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It's beneficial. It's necessary It's profitable for doctrine

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That's teaching for reproof correcting for correction for instruction in righteousness

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In other words to instruct Christians on how they're to live in God's world That the man of God you

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Timothy may be complete thoroughly equipped for every good work people who neglect the

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Old Testament as Christian scripture are Really binding themselves and limiting themselves as to what could be done through the proclamation of the

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Word of God And so Paul was referred to the authoritative Old Testament as all scripture

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He declared that the Old Testament was profitable for Christian doctrine teaching For reproving error and errant teaching and it was a source of practical instruction for how

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Christians are to live in righteousness in this world Many argue the Old Testament is not

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Christian scripture, but Jewish scripture and they are wrong God gave the

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Old Testament for our Instruction and our edification and the

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New Testament repeatedly makes this declaration Paul declared in 1st

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Corinthians 10 that the Old Testament was for Christian instruction Moreover brethren,

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I do not want you to be unaware that all of our fathers Talking about Old Testament saints people of Israel were under the cloud

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Talking about being led through the wilderness to the promised land all passed through the sea

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That's Moses. All were baptized onto Moses in the cloud and in the sea all ate the same spiritual food

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That would be the manna and all drank the same spiritual drink That'd be the water from the rock for they drank of that spiritual rock that followed them and that rock was

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Christ but with most of them God was not well pleased for their bodies were scattered in the wilderness and Then Paul makes this declaration now these things became our examples

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Paul's clearly saying those Old Testament events are examples for us New Testament Christians to the intent that we should not lust after evil things as they also lusted and do not become

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Idolaters as were some of them as it's written the people sat down to eat and drank and rose up to play

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Nor let us commit sexual immorality as some of them did and in one day 23 ,000 fell nor let us tempt

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Christ as some of them also tempted and were destroyed by serpents Nor complain as some of them also complained and were destroyed by the destroyer

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Now all these things happen to them as examples and they look at this declaration.

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They were written down for our Admonition, this is Paul the Christian speaking

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Including the church at Corinth these things in the Old Testament were written down for whose admonition

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Christian Admonition instruction for Christians upon whom the ends of the ages have come

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Paul is declaring that the Old Testament is Christian scripture Now the

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Apostle Peter declared forthrightly that the Old Testament was written for the benefit of New Testament Christians He wrote that the

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Old Testament prophets themselves had come to realize that their ministry of the written word was for the well -being of Christians Who would come after them?

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Ones belonging to this messianic age and so Peter wrote of this salvation

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He's talking of New Testament salvation in Christ of this salvation The prophets have inquired and searched carefully who prophesied of the grace that would come to you

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Peter's writing to Christians Searching what or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ who is in them was indicating when he testified

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Beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow to them that is the

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Old Testament prophets It was revealed that not to themselves, but to us New Testament Christians to us

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They were ministering the things which now have been reported to you through those who have preached the gospel to you by the

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Holy Spirit sent from heaven things which angels desire to look into and So the prophets penned the

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Old Testament scriptures They were inspired by God to record the Word of God for New Testament Christians.

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The Old Testament is Christian scripture the Apostle Paul declared that unless one reads and interprets the

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Old Testament scriptures as Pointing to and testifying of Jesus Christ. The Old Testament scriptures are not comprehensible

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They are Christian scripture He wrote but they're talking about unbelieving

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Jews. Their minds were blinded for until this day The same veil remains uplifted

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Unlifted in the reading of the Old Testament. In other words, they're unable to see and understand the Old Testament Because the veil is taken away in Christ Only when you read the

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Old Testament in the light of Jesus Christ Does it make true? Sense as God would have you understand it

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But even to this day Paul argued when Moses is read that would be the Torah a veil lies on their heart

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Nevertheless when one turns to the Lord the veil is taken away We cannot understand the

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Old Testament unless we understand it as Christian scripture that testifies and reveals

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Jesus Christ to us The fact is all our historic Protestant Confessions of faith declare that the entire

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Bible is the Word of God for Christians Here is the opening two statements of our confession our 1689

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Baptist Confession Article 1 paragraph 1 and 2 we're not going to read it them in their entirety

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But we'll read a few portion of it the Holy Scripture That's the entire Bible is the only sufficient certain infallible rule of all saving knowledge faith and obedience

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Although the light of nature and the works of creation and providence do so far manifest the goodness wisdom and power of God is to leave many inexcusable

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Yet are they not sufficient to give that knowledge of God and his will which is necessary unto salvation

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Therefore please the Lord at sundry times different times and in divers different ways manners to reveal himself and to declare his will unto his church here

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Paul refers to the church as the entire Old Testament people of God as well and afterward for the better preserving and propagating of the truth and for the more sure establishment of the comfort of the church

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Against the corruption of the flesh and the malice of Satan and of the world to commit commit the same holy unto writing

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Which makes the Holy Scriptures to be more most necessary those former ways

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Dreams visions prophets that kind of thing those former ways of God revealing his will unto his people now being ceased

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So that paragraph declares that the entire Bible is Christian Scripture The second paragraph goes into great detail

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Identifying exactly which books of the Old Testament and which books of the New Testament are

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Christian Scripture Under the name of the Holy Scripture or the Word of God written are now contained all the books of the

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Old and New Testament notice Christian Scripture which are these and then they list in the

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Old Testament all of our 39 books and then in the middle of the paragraph and of the New Testament and then they list all of the 27

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New Testament books and then notice the last sentence of that paragraph All of which see

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Old and New Testament are given by the inspiration of God and to be the rule of faith in life that's a historic

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Protestant confession a Baptist confession, which is the same as the what the Westminster Confession teaches and the and the

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Savoy Declaration of the Reformed Congregationalist I'm sure the Heidelberg Confession states the same thing our historic confessions have declared the entire

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Bible to be our Christian canon Christian Scripture and it's important as we turn and we begin to examine

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Malachi That we don't relicate this book as though it's just only in the past Before Christ and there doesn't have implication or application for us

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God's Word to us Can be read and understood through reading

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Malachi today and again, so many neglect the Old Testament fail to teach it or preach from it and they are impoverishing the people of God as great and full and complete as the

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New Testament is The entire Bible is Christian Scripture and we affirm that very strongly

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That's the first context a canonical context Malachi within the canon of Christian Scripture Secondly, it's important that we recognize the historical context of Malachi The Bible is a book that records history over the course of several millennia thousands of years

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But the Bible is not just a record of what has happened in history But rather it is a book or a collection of books that record

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God revealing himself through history Through his dealings with his people and therefore the

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Old Testament is not just history. The Bible is sacred history It reveals

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God to us. It is theological history and that it is a record of God revealing himself to his people

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Increasingly and more fully through events of history And so when we study an

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Old Testament book, it's important to consider it within the stream of that history of God revealing himself to his people the prophet

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Malachi wrote his prophecy around 400 BC The people whom he addressed lived at a time after hundreds of years of God's dealings with his people

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They were a people who saw their origin with the patriarchs Abraham Isaac and Jacob they of course looked to the twelve tribes of Israel as having stemmed from the twelve sons of Jacob Which God had formed and nurtured in Egypt until God?

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Constituted them to be his holy people a holy nation that belonged to him

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Through which he revealed himself through history. And so God had formed and set apart

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Israel as a theocratic nation God was its king God constituted that nation political nation on Mount Sinai and his law

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His Ten Commandments was the rule for the life of the nation and it contained of course promises assuring its future

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But the people to whom Malachi wrote were but a remnant of the former glorious nation of Israel At one time

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Israel had been a great nation in the region blessed of God in every way But due to his defection and departure from God that nation experienced decline in power and prestige

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The days of David were no longer Even as God brought his judgment upon the nation through history

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After Solomon's death the son of David in 931 BC the nation underwent civil war resulting in the division of two kingdoms the northern kingdom of ten tribes of Israel the southern kingdom of two tribes of Judah God destroyed

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Israel in the north in 722 BC over 300 years before Malachi wrote and Later, God destroyed

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Jerusalem its temple in the land of Judah by the Babylonians about almost 200 years before Malachi wrote

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And of course God had preserved himself a remnant of his people even though he had exiled the people out of the land

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Destroying Jerusalem in its temple. He preserved a remnant of taken off to Babylon But after 70 years

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God and his mercy and grace brought this remnant back to the land Just just a relatively few number of people in comparison to the greatness of the nation prior to that time.

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They rehabited Jerusalem they even God enabled them to rebuild its temple and it was functioning when

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Malachi wrote But at the time of Malachi's writing though the temple had been operative once again for perhaps many years maybe 70 or 80 years

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The people of Israel had not seen the promises of God realized in their national experience.

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They were just a shadow of their former self there's no mention of the rebuilding of the temple in Malachi it happened before Malachi came on the scene and The tepid religious fervor and devotion of the people reflected in Malachi Toward God depicted by the

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Prophet suggests that a significant period of time had passed since the temple had been rebuilt and was operative

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Malachi wrote when the spiritual condition of the people was one of religious malaise There was little sincere devotion and vital worship

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There was sinful compromise and departure from the laws of God to which the people had once committed themselves

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They were a people in waiting to see God's promises realized but the sincerity of their devotion and the commitment of their dedication was not what it could have been or what it should have been and God called

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Malachi to address them in their spiritual condition Here's a good description of the people that Malachi addressed

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Whereas most of the prophets lived and prophesied in days of change and political upheaval

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Malachi and his contemporaries were living in an uneventful waiting period when

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God seemed to have forgotten his people and during poverty and foreign domination in the little province of Judah Zerubbabel and Joshua That's the high priest

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Joshua not the one who followed Moses Joshua whom Haggai and Zechariah had indicated as God's chosen men for the new age had died

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True the temple had been completed but nothing momentous had occurred to indicate that God's presence had returned to fill it with glory as Ezekiel had indicated would happen

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The day of miracles had passed with Elijah and Elisha the round of religious duties continued to be carried on but without Enthusiasm, where was the

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God of their fathers? Did it really matter whether one served God or not? Generations were dying without receiving the promises and many were losing their faith

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And God raised up Malachi to speak to these people And then here's a good word of the relevance of Malachi Relevance an application for us today

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Malachi's prophecy is particularly relevant to the many waiting periods in human history and in the lives of individuals

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He enables us to see the strains and temptations of such times the imperceptible abrasion of faith that ends in cynicism because it is lost touch with the

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Living God and even more important He Malachi shows the way back to genuine enduring faith in the

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God who does not change Who invites men to return to him and never forgets those who respond?

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That's a historical context and whenever you come to an Old Testament book

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You must understand its historical context as well as its canonical context as Christian Scripture but there's a third context that we should understand before we

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Dive into the passage and this is the covenantal context of Malachi This is the nature of the covenantal relationship that Israel enjoyed with God at this time in history

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Now the term covenant is found frequently in the Holy Scriptures The English word covenant is used six times in the book of Malachi In the

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New King James Version the word is used in both Testaments on 313 occasions in 293 verses the word covenant is a frequently found word

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Now a number of these instances of the word covenant It's within the context of a covenant relationship between two or more human beings

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We can speak of a marriage covenant between a groom and his bride But when the idea covenant is set forth with regard to God's relationship with his people

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You have this covenant idea coming forward and So when it's used in this way

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Covenant speaks of the nature and the basis of the relationship that God has with his people and so we might say the following the essential idea of the divine human covenant is

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That God has established the terms by which he the infinite and holy God will enter and maintain a relationship with finite fallen

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Mankind The concept of covenant is essential to a biblical understanding of how we may have a relationship with God who created us because of the great gulf between an infinite and holy

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God and finite sinful human beings God established the covenant as The means by which he can relate to us as fallen creatures

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If we're to know God and if we're to have fellowship with God, it would be by means of a covenant

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Relationship defined and delivered by God to to his people Again, if I could cite our confession of faith

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It states the nature and importance of God's covenant relationship with his creatures article 7 of God's Covenant entire article on the matter of the

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Covenant The distance between God and the creature is so great that although reasonable creatures do

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Obedience to him as their creator yet They could never have attained the reward of life by some voluntary condescension on God's part

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Which he had pleased to express by way of covenant We can only know

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God by way of covenant a covenant that he has established and determined Now when we consider the biblical record of God's covenantal relationship with Israel two major distinct covenants are often emphasized

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God had established his covenant with Israel through Moses at Mount Sinai in this covenant

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God Constituted the entire ethnic Jewish people as a nation a holy nation

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Which was his favored nation among the Gentile nations of the world God made this covenant with the physical descendants of Abraham Isaac and Jacob Entrance into this covenant was through physical birth

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You had to be born Jewish or become a proselyte to Judaism And of course by the right of physical circumcision of the male child

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God required Israel to order its national and civil life according to the Ten Commandments It was the covenant that God established with Israel and if they continued to order their life according to those

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Ten Commandments God promised blessing If they refused to order their life according to the

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Ten Commandments God promised his curse upon them Sometimes the

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Mosaic Covenant is referred to as the first or the old covenant while under this covenant

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God promised to either bless or curse Israel based upon its faithful adherence and obedience to God's law his

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Ten Commandments and Repeatedly we read of God's warnings to his people that his blessing of them as a nation as his covenant people was contingent upon their obeying

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God's laws Keeping their covenant that he made with them at Mount Sinai God's blessing was gained by law keeping

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God's curses would be upon them for their law breaking Their covenant was based upon law

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God's law if they broke their covenant with their God He would remove them from the land that he had so graciously given to them.

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And so the physical nation of Israel again ethnic physical Israel Continued its covenantal relationship with God based on keeping this covenant of works the scriptures record, of course that Israel failed to do so and The result was that God eventually cursed them for having transgressed his covenant

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Resulting in him ejecting them from the land and exiling them to the nations And so here is the biblical description of what happened to the northern kingdom then the king of Assyria carried

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Israel away captive to Assyria and Put them in Hala and by the harp a bar the

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River of Gozem and in the cities of the Medes because they did not obey the voice of the Lord their

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God but transgressed his covenant and all that Moses the servant of the Lord Commanded and they would neither hear nor do them.

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Now. That was the northern kingdom which felled in 722 BC Later God also judged the southern kingdom of Judah the two tribes

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Causing them to be removed from the land being exiled to Babylon and the nations of the world.

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That was in 586 BC But Israel again is in the days of Malachi is 400

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BC Several hundred years after the exile just described

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Israel had transgressed the covenant is one and was under the curse of God's law

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God's covenant But God in his mercy had restored a remnant of Jews from exile having brought them back into their land

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God promised them that he would send them a Savior the Messiah who would remove their transgression from them and Re -establish them in a covenant relationship with himself that's described in the prophets as a coming new covenant

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This new covenant would not be grounded in law keeping but it would be the result of God's dealings with his people in mercy and grace

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It was view with view to this future covenant of grace that God called Malachi to speak to his people

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When God called Malachi to prophesy to Israel and 400 BC the people were still relating to God based upon their law keeping

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And they weren't doing a very good job of it But they were waiting for their promised Messiah and the new covenant that God would enact with them

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And so God would reestablish his people Israel under the new covenant a

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Relationship was wholly due to his grace in Jesus Christ Their new covenant relationship with God would not be based upon their law keeping that is their own righteousness

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But it would be founded upon the Messiah Having lived righteously on their behalf and having died to atone for their transgression of God's law

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And when God established his new covenant with his people he would write his laws upon their hearts

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Rather than as they were formerly on stone tablets Each and every one of the citizens of spiritual

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Israel under the new covenant would know the Lord Love the Lord and desire to serve him and follow him

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And that's the covenant that you and I enjoy in Christ the night Jesus betrayed he took the cup gave it to his disciples in this cup is the new covenant in my blood and So that new covenant replaced that old covenant that was so faulty because it could not transform people and enable them to live righteously and So as we read this prophecy of Malachi It is important that we recognize and acknowledge that the physical nation of Israel was relating with God based upon their external obedience to God's law and It's also important to understand that through the person and work of the

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Messiah the new covenant would be enacted would be established with the house of Israel in the house of Judah and The people of God would be constitute a spiritual nation

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Apart from dwelling in their physical homeland even as they believe and serve Jesus Christ as their king over the promised kingdom of God a spiritual kingdom of God and So the ethnic physical

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Israel of God under the old mosaic covenant gives way to the spiritual Israel of God Under the new covenant the

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New Testament and that's what Testament means covenant Whose people are believers in the

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Lord Jesus Christ whether Jew or Gentile There were 12 tribes of Israel there are 12

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Apostles of Jesus Christ Jesus Christ promises 12 Apostles. You will be ruling over the 12 tribes of Israel The New Testament Church is spiritual

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Israel Constituted by Jesus Christ to his own death burial resurrection and the

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Apostles who give forth the New Testament scriptures They're the ones that have been leading this kingdom since the first century

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Malachi may be regarded somewhat as a transitional book between the old and the new covenants it proclaims that the

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The the new covenant is coming. I've got a block quote from Malachi 3 verse 1 and following We're going to give attention to this obviously in some weeks when we arrive there

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The declaration by Malachi actually God through Malachi behold. I send my messenger He will prepare the way before me and the

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Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple and The messenger of the covenant in whom you delight behold.

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He is coming says the Lord of hosts. That's a prophecy of Jesus Christ But who can endure the day of his coming who can stand when he appears for he is like a refiner's fire and like fuller soap

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He's going to cleanse things he'll sit as a refiner and purifier of silver and he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver and they will bring offerings and righteousness to the

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Lord and then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be Pleasing to the Lord as in the days of old as in former years

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And so Malachi has declared that the Messiah is coming the messenger of the covenant

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Again, Malachi may be regarded as somewhat of a transitional book as one wrote It is the transition link between the two great dispensations and what he meant by that was covenants of redemption the last note of the magnificent ratio of revelation whose wailings of sorrowed

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Breathings of hope we're soon to give place to that Richard song. We should not Should be not only of Moses, but also of the

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Lamb and tell not only of Eden and Sinai, but also of Calvary and heaven and then

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James Montgomery Boyce had noted the transitional nature of Malachi makes the book particularly

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Interesting to anyone concerned with the relationship between Christianity and Judaism as well as the overall history of revelation and redemption and so With that lengthy addressing the preliminary matters

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We come with the canonical context of this book It's Christian scripture with the historical context of Israel to which

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Malachi wrote and the covenantal context of Israel Awaiting the promise of salvation in Jesus Christ and knowing these things and affirming these things we are now better equipped

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To understand the substance and the content of this message So in the limited time we have let's deal with the opening oracle of Malachi Again, we're going to read verses 1 through 5

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The oracle of the word of Lord to Israel by Malachi. I have loved you says the

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Lord But you say how have you loved us? Is not

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Esau Jacob's brother declares the Lord yet. I have loved Jacob, but Esau I have hated

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I've laid waste his hill country and left his heritage the jackals of the desert If Edom says we're shattered, but we will rebuild the ruins

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Sound like today's world the Lord's foe says they may build but I will tear down they will be called the wicked country and the people with whom the

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Lord is angry forever and Your own eyes shall see this and you shall say great is the

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Lord beyond the border of Israel. I See that played out history today in our world frankly in verse 1

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Malachi introduces his burden The oracle of the word of the

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Lord to Israel by Malachi is Hebrew word This verse verse 1 is commonly declared to be the title the heading or the superscription of the entire book of Malachi And that's right.

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The Hebrew word translated oracle is often translated as burden

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Nahum 1 verse 1 the burden against Nineveh Message of judgment the book of the vision of day whom they eclipsed

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I it's also used by Zechariah 9 in Zechariah 9 verse 1 the burden of the word of the

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Lord against the land of Hadrach and Damascus and it's resting places That would be Syria and also

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Zechariah 12 1 the burden of the word of the Lord against Israel And so the messages that these men bore to deliver to the people were burdens to them

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Serious matters weighing them down until they could make them known to the ones to whom the Lord was sending them

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To write and proclaim was to ease this burden of their souls

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But Malachi's message it was said God is coming to judge the world

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It's eminent the burden which weighs on the prophet is meant to weigh on men's consciences till they prepare for that day

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And if the Holy Spirit is blessing his word we're going to be burdened by it, too It's going to be weighty

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We see its implications its importance its relevance to us Malachi described his message as the word of the

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Lord being delivered to Israel by the prophet This is consistent again with what the

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Apostle Peter wrote about the divine inspiration of the scriptures No prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the

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Holy Spirit and Malachi was a holy man a holy man of old whom the

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Holy Spirit called and able to record the word of the Lord Having commissioned him to make this word known to God's people

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And then notice Malachi declared that this word of the Lord was to Israel That's interesting

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Again this was written about 400 BC Before the exile of the northern kingdom in 722

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BC Israel had been the name of the northern kingdom of ten tribes The name of the southern kingdom was

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Judah But here at Malachi 1 verse 1 Israel is again used to describe all the people of God Who had returned from exile and were anticipating the arrival of the

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Messiah? I? Could make a case for New Testament Christians being the spiritual

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Israel of God based upon that right there The ones to whom this prophecy would be realized would be comprised of a remnant of Jews who would be identified as Israel it would be a spiritual

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Israel because they would all know the Lord from the heart and serve him with their lives and Then lastly

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Malachi identifies himself the Oracle of the Word of the Lord to Israel by Malachi There's debate among commentators whether Malachi was actually a personal name or a title the

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Hebrew word for Malachi actually can be translated my messenger and Those who argue that Malachi is not a personal name would argue who would name their kid my messenger

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But I think they were wrong I think that indeed Malachi is the personal name of the prophet

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Even though there's no other reference to Malachi throughout the entire Old Testament Now after this initial heading of this prophecy we read the first Oracle of this prophecy, which is verses 2 through 5 and Here we read

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God's love for Israel, that's the theme I Have loved you says the

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Lord, but you say God is still speaking, but you say how have you loved us? Is not

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Esau Jacob's brother declares the Lord So the Lord makes the declaration. I love you, and then the

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Lord says, but you don't believe I love you and Then he gives the reasons why he loved them and they could be assured of his love for them

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Yet I have loved Jacob, but Esau I've hated I've laid waste his hill country Esau's hill country and left his heritage to jackals of the desert

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So again God was speaking He declared to them I have loved you and the tense of the verb love here

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Reveals an ongoing continuous love that God had for his people all down through those centuries of all the difficulty are all the hardship

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He had love for his people as one wrote God's love began far back in history until the present day.

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I have loved you But even as God asserts his love for his people

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God voices what he knows to be the thoughts of his people They doubt his love for them

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Verse 2a I have loved you, but you say how have you loved us?

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These people doubted God's love for them We will read in this prophecy that the love of these people toward their

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God had waned They weren't loving God like they should and here we read at the same time.

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They doubted God's love for them Lack of love for God by you

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Will often result in your doubts of God's love for you They go hand -in -hand

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But here they were they had heard and they had read of God's promises to them and their restoration of the land and their

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Resettling Jerusalem and rebuilding the temple, but the days of glory did not seem to materialize

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They had been asking themselves is is what we're experiencing the manifestation of the love of God What kind of love is this?

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There are many professing Christians Who may look at their lives and draw the same conclusion

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What is happening and what is happening to me is that evidence that God loves me They might conclude just the opposite and so they doubt

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God's love for they do not see or perceive evidence in their in their day -to -day lives of God's love or at least they think that there's little or no evidence

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That should convince them soundly that God loves them But God after himself expressed their doubt of his love set forth evidence of his love for them that was real and true and So we read

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God's response to their question, but you say have you loved us? He said is not

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Esau Jacob's brother declares the Lord Yet I have loved

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Jacob But I saw I've hated I Have laid waste his hill country and left his heritage the jackals of the desert

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Edom was no more Essentially God answered their doubts by saying if I can paraphrase you're still here, aren't you?

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But where are they? The fact that you have survived my judgment upon your nation for your sin and that you're still here before me

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This is proof of my love for you When God declared here that he had loved

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Jacob but hated Esau he was alluding to as a pronouncement When the progenitors of these two nations twin brothers were in the womb of their mother

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Rebecca Of course, it was customary at that time to confer on the elder son even among twins

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That he would be the head of the household and assume the role of the of the father when the father passed

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But God desired to show forth the liberty of his sovereign will and determining whom he would love and bless

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And so we read of the birth of these brothers in Genesis 25 Now Isaac pleaded with the

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Lord for his wife because she was barren The Lord granted his plea and Rebecca his wife conceived

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But the children struggled together within her and she said if all is well why am

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I like this and so she went to inquire of the Lord and The Lord said there are two nations are in your womb two people shall be separated from your body

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One people shall be stronger than the other Israel over Edom and the older Edom Esau shall serve the younger

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Jacob who was renamed Israel So when her days were fulfilled for her to give birth indeed, there were twins in her womb and the first came out red the name

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Esau It means red and the region of Edom you go down to that region today and there's red earth

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Red clay that it all all fits in with it with his name The first came out red.

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He was like a hairy garment all over So they called his name Esau and after his brother came out and his hand took hold of Esau's heel

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So his name was called Jacob the one who supplants or steals or takes away Now the

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Genesis 25 passage does not declare that God loved Jacob but hated Esau and therefore

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God chose to be gracious to Jacob but not to Esau But that is declared forthrightly here in Malachi 1 verse 2

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God declares Jacob have I loved and Esau I have hated Those of you who know your

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Bible somewhat recognize the Apostle Paul quoted this verse in the book of Romans Romans 9

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When he was answering the challenge if Jesus is the Jewish Messiah, why didn't more

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Jews accept him and Basically Paul responded. It's never been God's intention in history to save all the

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Jewish people and So he reasoned it's not as though the Word of God had taken no effect

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For they are not all Israel who are of Israel there you have physical Israel and spiritual

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Israel, don't you? They are not all spiritual Israel who are a physical Israel Nor are they all children because they are the seed of Abraham that is children of God But in Isaac your seed should be called

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That is those who are the children of the flesh. These are not the children of God That would be Ishmael But the children of the promise that's

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Isaac are counted as the seed for this is the word of promise at this time I will come and Sarah shall have a son and then he goes on to talk about Rebecca and Isaac and Not only this but when

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Rebecca also had conceived by one man even by our father Isaac For the children not yet born nor having done any good or evil

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So that the purpose of God according to election might stand not of works But of him who calls it was said to her to the mother to Rebecca the older shall serve the younger as it's written

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Jacob I have loved but Esau I have hated He's not quoting from Genesis 25.

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He's quoting from Malachi Chapter 1 verse 2 This love that God has for his people is sovereign in nature

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God chooses whom he loves He's not won over by us so that he then loves us

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That would be scary there's nothing about God's people that renders them more lovable than damned souls

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God saves sinners Who are unlovely before him? God sets his love upon them and then he purposes to beautify them as his people

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Regarding and treating them as his people who are in union with his son Jesus Christ whom he loves with an infinite eternal love

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And that's why the scriptures say that we are accepted in the beloved that we are accepted in Jesus Christ Paul declared this

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Ephesians 1 blessed be the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ who's blessed us with every spiritual places blessing and heavenly places in Christ All we have is in Christ Just as he chose us

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God chose us in him in Christ before the foundation of the world election was before creation and What did he choose us for that?

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We should be holy and without blame before him He didn't choose us because we were holy without blame he chose us and then determined to make us holy and without blame in Christ and Love having predestined us to the adoption of sons by Jesus Christ to himself

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According to the good pleasure of his will not your will not my will according to his will

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To the praise of the glory of his grace by which he's made us accepted in the beloved in other words in Christ And so God's love loves sinners and therefore wins us over to himself

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Here's a good setting forth of the sovereign love of God for his creatures. The love of God for Israel is sovereign and unconditional

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In a sense it is synonymous with election and redemption This love election relationship between God and Israel is classically expressed in Deuteronomy 7

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The Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for his own possession Out of all the peoples that are on the face of the earth

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It was not because you were more in number than other people that the Lord set his love upon you and chose you

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It was because the Lord loves you The unconditional character of God's love for Israel is also stressed by Hosea The prophet who is rightly called the most magnificent preacher of God's love

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His love was that of a virtuous man toward an unworthy wife Hosea and In Jeremiah 31

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God's love for Israel is defined as an everlasting love Again the people asked the question in what manner have you loved us

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God? And it may seem at a casual reading that for them to doubt

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God's love was wholly unwarranted, but consider their history As one wrote although one cannot condone the utterly irreligious and irresponsible character this question

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One may appreciate their attitude in the context of their experiences Their expectations of a glorious renewal of their national life after the return from exile had been disappointed

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The promised kingdom of the Messiah had not still not dawned Israel as a nation was not delivered and glorified.

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They still remained under Persian rule and We're suffering from pests and plagues as we will read

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The words of Isaiah 59 seem to reflect their own situation So justice is far from us and righteousness does not reach us

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We look for light, but all is darkness for brightness But we walk in deep shadows like the blind we grope along the wall feeling our way like men without eyes

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We look for justice, but find none for deliverance, but it is far away Sounds like some of us today doesn't it?

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But that's no proof that God doesn't love you You can't look at what's coming down in your life

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You know as evidence that God loves you. Look what's God's doing to his enemies that he's not doing to you

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There's some evidence of God's love that's what he's arguing here How do we know you love us

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God God said? Look at look at Edom over here. Look what I did to them. Look what

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I purpose to do to them I've destroyed them and they're not coming back But here you are

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God reasoned with Israel his love was demonstrable in his dealings with Esau or Edom Yes, God had used

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Babylon to judge and punish Judah and Israel But his judgment was not intended to overthrow them but to bring them into the place that they would desire and seek their redemption

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But with regard to Edom God did not employ Babylon to overthrow that God did employ that Nation of Babylon to overthrow them completely and destroy them

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God Intended their utter destruction and ruin and further God stated he would not allow them to be rebuilt

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The Lord has taken down our world today We're seeing it on in every way in my opinion

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But the Lord is preserving his people Granted we're going to suffer consequences and results as Israel was in that day

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But we should be affirmed in God's love for us and that he's promised us

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That he will not condemn us But he will save us holy through Jesus Christ Again verse 4 and 5 read if Edom says we're shattered

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But we will rebuild the ruins the Lord of Hosts says they may build but I will tear down And they will be called the wicked country and the people with whom the

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Lord is angry forever Your own eyes shall see this and you shall say great is the

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Lord beyond the border of Israel The fact is that this life in this fallen world the people of God will experience many events in their lives

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Which may cause them to question or doubt the love of God for them in Christ Jesus But we're to look at what

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God has declared and promised We're to look in faith not according to sight We're to have faith in our

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God who is true to his promises in Jesus Christ Just as God can say to these people.

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You may know that I love you because you're here. You're alive. You're calling on me So we can say to one another and of one another we know that God loves us because he has brought us here

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In spite of all that you've gone through All with all the difficulty that you've had to endure encounter.

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You're still here aren't you? Because you love God you love Christ you see him as your only hope

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We stand before him in faith Expressing our love and devotion to him as our Lord and Savior In spite of all that we've done in spite of all that we've experienced in this fallen world

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Due to our own wretched sin and failure before him here We are even as we look to him who will one day return for us

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And so may we have the faith and patience of Job Who could say in faith and assurance now think of Job.

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He was at the bottom at this point. I know my Redeemer lives and He shall stand

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At last on the earth and after my skin is destroyed this

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I know that in my flesh Resurrection I shall see God Whom I shall see for myself and my eyes shall behold and not another

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We may be assured of God's love for us in Christ because of what he's declared in his word to us

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Amen Let's pray Thank you father for your word and we thank you

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God for all of your word the Old Testament also and we just pray our God that you would help us to see the relevance and the truthfulness and the application of Your word from Malachi to us as we seek to live for Jesus Christ in whose name we pray.