Did your high school or college have a yearbook? If so, do you still have it? Many people keep their yearbooks for many years following graduation, and occasionally go through it, as it brings back memories of friends and events. Though much less common today due to storing them online, people used to put all their photos into various photo albums. Those are fun to go through, remembering the people from our past. Hopefully someone remembered to write the names of those in the photo on the back! As we read in our Scripture today, God also keeps a book where special names are listed, a Book of Remembrance for Himself. Let’s look into our Scripture passage.
Malachi was a prophet in the days following the return of the Jewish people to their homeland after the Babylonian captivity. His book is also the last book of the Old Testament, likely written sometime between 445 - 432 BC. As we read through this segment of Scripture, we will see how Malachi contrasts the arrogant unbelief of those who despise God’s commands with the faithful remnant who fear Him, and the book where their names are recorded by the Lord.
Malachi begins here by recording the Words of God. The Lord spoke out against the people, as they have been very critical of Him (vs. 13-15). This unfaithful majority of the people of Israel have spoken against God, saying what use is it in serving Him, that there is no profit in serving and obeying His Word. The people point out that the wicked openly disobey Him and prosper, so why not just join them. This type of thinking and complaining against God reflects a spirit of unbelief and rebellion. Sometimes arrogant and evil people seem to prosper more than the godly. If we complain about the blessings that evil people receive, we expose the immaturity of our own faith. We must guard against the temptation to measure God’s faithfulness by outward prosperity. Don’t trust in material blessings rather than in Jesus Christ. Faith trusts God’s character, not in circumstances.
Continuing on in our Scripture, Malachi now speaks of those who are the faithful remnant (vs. 16-18). These are those who fear the Lord, and who speak of Him and His Word often among each other, and are in contrast to those previously mentioned, who were angry and critical against Him. This group feared the Lord, and also fellowshipped together. Sometimes it is not easy to stand firm for God in a culture that tells us we will lose out if we don’t blend in. However, we can get encouragement and support from meeting with other believers. The faithful in Malachi’s time met with like-minded believers to encourage each other. God listened and heard.
God notices and cares for all who fear and honor Him, claiming these people as His own. The prophet Malachi stated that God cherishes these believers as His jewels (vs. 17). We know how if someone has some valuable jewelry, they cherish those pieces, taking good care of them and keeping them safe. We are God’s jewels! He treasures us even when the world mocks us.
Not only does God consider believers as His jewels, He also records our names in His Book of Remembrance (vs. 16). This is a clear distinction between the righteous and the wicked. This is a mark of their faithfulness. It emphasizes God’s endless remembrance as it records those who profess faith in Him. God’s eternal memory is greater than any earthly mother’s memory of her own children (Isaiah 49:15). He will never forget us!
God said here that He will spare His people as a father spares his son (vs. 17). However, God did not spare His only Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, His own blameless Son who served Him. Jesus’ sacrifice fulfilled God’s promise to deliver all people. By not sparing Jesus, He spared us!
Malachi ended this passage, concluding both his book of prophecy and also the Old Testament, with a warning (vs. 1-6). He warned of judgment to come upon the proud and wicked. They will be consumed like stubble. But the Lord will raise the Sun of Righteousness upon the righteous. This Sun of Righteousness is Jesus Himself, who brings healing from sin and triumph over evil.
God finishes His Word in the Old Testament with a promise to send Elijah the prophet before the Day of the Lord comes (vs. 5-6). This prophecy was partially fulfilled in John the Baptist (Luke 1:17; Matthew 11:14). It will be fully realized in Elijah’s future ministry before Jesus’ second coming. God’s plan includes both judgment and mercy. Like He has always done, the Lord sends messengers to call people to repentance before judgment falls. Are we one of the arrogant complainers against the Lord, or are we the remnant, one of His treasured jewels whose name is in the Book of Remembrance?
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