Hope is coming! – There is a way back!
“Behold I send my messenger and he will prepare the way before Me…” (v1) Of course this is the prophecy regarding John the Baptist (Mark 1: 2 etc.) as these words are quoted, together with the words from Isaiah 40, as being fulfilled in him. He was the forerunner to make way for Jesus the Messiah. These words, spoken about 400 years before, came to pass as first, John the Baptist is born and preaches about the coming Messiah, and then Jesus who is that Messiah is born.
The Lord had been wearied by their so-called worship and hypocritical words but he promised to send a Redeemer – the final sacrifice. So no longer would God’s people be defrauding God by bringing poor quality animals to sacrifice, God would provide a final, perfect, complete sacrifice – His own Son, The Lamb of God which would take away the sin of the world. What a glorious message, what glorious hope!
However, if they thought they could carry on as before even when this Messiah had come they were sadly mistaken. v 2 says “But who can endure the day of His coming?” He was going to clean up the people – “For, He is like a refiner’s fire and like fuller’s soap. He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, that they may offer to The Lord an offering in righteousness”, (v 2,3) There would be no room for hypocrisy – the refining would clean up the inside and get rid of the dross, the soap would clean up the outside. The object of the clean-up is so that their words and their actions will be totally consistent – “Offer to The Lord an offering in righteousness”. The 
offering will be right as well as the person doing the offering.
Whenever there was an offering the judgement of God was required. That’s what offerings and sacrifices consisted of for they were usually for sin. They offered sacrifices when they had sinned – particular offerings for specific sins, as well as when they were to praise God for what He had done. Thus the judgement of God was called upon to see if He accepted it. They had reached a state, not for the first 
time, where God didn’t accept their offerings as we have seen in Chapters 1 & 2. To a certain extent it seemed that they didn’t really care. In Chapter 3:5 God says, “l will come near you for judgement”. Specific sins are listed – sorcery, adultery, perjury, employers exploiting employees, those exploiting widows and the fatherless, and those who turned away an alien. (N.I.V. deprive aliens of justice). When they were bringing their polluted offerings they have asked “Where is The God of Justice?” (2 v17) Well, now, He promises to come with justice. He is the judge, but He is also the chief witness as we have seen.
In our judicial system the judge cannot be a witness, he must be impartial, earthly judges are fallible. The God of justice is infallible – He knows us through and through because He is the chief witness and the verdict is clear – “Guilty”. We can ’pull the wool’ over the eyes of earthly judges but we cannot do the same with The Lord for He has witnessed it all.
Notice that “He will be a swift witness“, not a reluctant one. Justice, it is said, should be swift. ‘Justice delayed is justice denied’ God is absolute justice the Bible makes it abundantly clear that God is just and that he deals with us on the basis of His Justice. Justice is not only to condemn the guilty but to protect the innocent. That is evident from verse 5 – He comes to execute judgement upon adulterers, sorcerers, perjurers, exploiters and those who deprive the aliens of justice.
On Saturday 13th November 1999 there was a programme on Channel 4 about faith (prime viewing time!) – it gave an excellent platform to evangelism. But there was a Black pastor who had come to this country soon after the Second World War from the West Indies, He had a religious upbringing and went to an Anglican church when he arrived here. He couldn’t wait to get there – this was The Church of England of which had been taught back home. He was excited at the prospect – but on his way out the vicar shook his hand and said, “The people here are uncomfortable by your presence, please don’t come again”. He was devastated and (to cut a long story short) he sought out others who had emigrated here and they began to worship together thus forming churches of their own. Perhaps if the whites had accepted the Black people and there had been more integration we wouldn’t have had segregation – White churches, Black churches, even racial discrimination ! Now I know this doesn’t happen in all churches and so far as I can remember it definitely wouldn’t happen in either of the churches I have been a member of, in my lifetime. Maybe I’m making something out of nothing?
How vital it is that we welcome and treat justly all who we meet. It was largely fear that caused the vicar to say that to that man; but we could have passed on our 
beliefs and their practices to them and influenced them, whereas now their culture is dominating ours. Some of us would feel uncomfortable today in the congregation of a Black Church with their customs.
The same applies not only to colour of skin, but the type of people who feel 
unaccepted in our churches. I have been a volunteer for the last fifteen years, leading Bible Studies and Sunday Services in many prisons and am thoroughly convinced of the vital importance of churches receiving released prisoners, whatever their crime.
Did you take careful note of the list, all of them are rife in our society today. And why do people commit the same
offences? The answer is here – ” “Because they do not fear Me” says The Lord of hosts.” How important that we
fear God (reverence)!
v6 gives us tremendous hope as well as a warning – “l am The Lord, I do not change.” Isn’t it a blessing that He doesn’t. He is not swayed by those who would seek to change His laws, who seek to evade the consequences. He is utterly dependable. If there has been any movement away from God it is we who have moved. v7 He says, “You have gone away.”
I am glad that God doesn’t change. If He did we would never know where to look for the truth and the answer to all of our problems. If He had changed “Jacob would have been consumed”. It was God’s faithfulness that was vital because if He had changed they would be no more. He is faithful to us – it is we who are unfaithful.
God tells them quite clearly that they have gone away but He also invites them to “Return to Me and I will return to
you”. It is not suggesting that He had left or moved away at all but that is they who had moved away and needed to
return to Him and His ways. Upon return, His blessing would return to them. Because they were living disobedient,
sinful lives, God had withheld His blessing from them. Romans 1 gives us an idea of this – When people went to
sinful ways, “God gave them up ” or “God gave them over….” to the same and to the consequences.
One would have thought they would have been glad to hear those words from God to return to Him, but they ask “How, in what way shall we return?” (v7) So God has to spell it out to them – v18 “You have robbed Me”. That’s a pretty strong accusation, but they asked for it. Robbery is not just stealing – there’s violence and oppression with it. It’s not just slyly putting something that belongs to someone else in our pocket, but seriously accosting them to take what is theirs by force. The phrase used today is usually “robbery with violence” but that’s tautology – robbery means theft with violence in our law.
God says that you have taken what is mine with violence. You have taken my tithes and offerings i.e. the first fruits – the best.
You will recall that particularly in the Old Testament, tithing was commanded. 1/10th of their income was given to The Lord. Largely to keep the tribe of Levi who had no inheritance in the promised land, but were to serve God and the people in the priestly line. On top of the tenth or tithe were offerings. So the 1/10th was minimum. The Bible (New Testament particularly) makes it clear that our giving represents the state of our hearts. Jesus said that the widow who cast in her two mites was giving her all which was more than a tithe, it was all she had, whereas the rich who cast in the large amounts were giving it out of their abundance.
Malachi says that because of their lack of giving they are under a curse (v9). Maybe their condition, their having gone away from God was the curse. It is not a healthy position to be in – under God’s curse. In fact, it is disastrous!
May we examine ourselves whether we are withholding from God what is rightfully His, what is required to keep the Work of God going. Now I know we cannot give to every worthy cause and there are numerous Christian charities and organisations which need support, but we need to pray that God will guide each one of us in the giving of our money, our time, our possessions and our lives.
Let’s give to God what is His – “That there may be food in My house, and prove Me now in this, says The Lord of Hosts.” (v10) If we get our giving right God will prove Himself! And what proof! – “l will open the windows of heaven and pour out for you such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it. “
What are we waiting for? We want God’s blessing, don’t we? We tend to want the blessing without the giving.
He will not fail us, let us do our part. Which do we want, His blessing or His curse, It is ‘no contest’ is it?
And not only will God pour out blessing – “l will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, so that he will not destroy the fruit of your ground; nor shall the vine fail to bear fruit for you in the field ” “And all nations will call you blessed, for you will be a delightful land”
The locusts and worms were examples of the curse of God upon Israel for disobedience to Him. Ordinary things would bring them down and they would be hungry and thirsty and dire poverty would come upon them, and even worse – they 
would become servants to their enemies. Decay and rot will set in – from within. Someone has said that we must exercise ‘spiritual pest control’ by obedience to God’s Word.
Is it saying that we must return to tithing? Possibly! Some people do. But the important principle and there are guidelines laid down for us in the New Testament by Paul that we should be cheerful, willing and freely givers (2 Corinthians 9:7), planned, proportional givers (1 Corinthians 16:2), not to be reluctant givers, and to be generous givers. If 1/10th was a good enough starting point for God’s people, it must be a good practice. BUT BEWARE – There is a danger that we will give simply to get, Receiving is all part of it, but that shouldn’t be the sole motive for giving. Quite simply if we don’t give we won’t receive.
I believe that there are only two references to tithing before the law was given – Genesis 14:17-20 and Genesis 28:20-22 and it is clear that both Abraham and Jacob were not under an obligation but it was voluntary and spontaneous in thanks to God. In the law which followed it was mandatory. In the New Testament, during Jesus’ life on earth the Mosaic Law was still in place, however, after His death and resurrection, the word ‘tithe does not appear, except in Hebrews 7 where the writer is referring back to the old law system. Believers are no longer under law but under grace. (Romans 6:14). Let us remember that all that we have comes from God so we are really giving back to God what is already His and He pours out the blessing – it is not of ourselves.
In the last part of chapter 2:13 we come to the murmurers, the complainers. They even complained that God was being unjust when they themselves were supposedly serving God apparently in vain when the ungodly were not and seemingly ‘getting away with it’. “Your words have been harsh against Me” says The Lord, Yet you say, “What have spoken against You?” You have said, “It is vain to serve God; what profit is it that we have kept His ordinance and walked as mourners before The Lord of hosts?” “
God reminds them of their murmuring – it is a common thing today, for people, even God’s people, to complain that godly people are not prospered, but ungodly people are. There are instances of this in Scripture and down through history. The Psalmists often mentioned it – they couldn’t understand why the wicked appeared to prosper when God’s people were suffering – e.g. Psalm 73, Asaph says, (v3) “l was envious of the boastful when I saw the prosperity of the wicked”. (v12-17) “These are the ungodly who are always at ease, they increase in riches. Surely I have cleansed my heart in vain. When I thought how to understand this it was too painful for me until I went into the sanctuary of God, then I understood their end.” That’s the secret – not looking at the ‘now’ but the hereafter!
Isaiah says similar words and pronounces “Woe unto them that call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for
light and light for darkness, bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter.” (5:20)
David in Psalm 37 “Do not fret because of evildoers for evildoers shall be cut off….., but those who wait on The Lord they shall inherit the earth, “ Proverbs 23v17 “Do not let your heart envy sinners, but in fear of The Lord continue all the day long. “
We are all liable to look at the world and consider their prosperity when we struggle, but the Bible makes it abundantly clear that we should carefully consider just what ‘prosperity’ really is. A lot of preachers who have made themselves wealthy are peddling a false gospel and telling their hearers that they too should be wealthy and healthy by giving to them, and that our faith is lacking if we are not. Avoid them at all costs!
It is better to be God’s child and to serve Him and have relatively nothing, than to be in the world with apparent success and prosperity, because what we have in Christ will last for eternity, is perfect and unshakeable, and no thief can take it away, nor can it decay or be corrupted. What the believer has will last forever.
It seems all upside down, but don’t be envious of sinners despite their seeming success because it won’t last and it
will certainly not achieve lasting satisfaction or eternal security.
Rather v 16 -18, What beautiful words these are and what wise counsel “….those who feared the Lord” – Do we fear
him? Reference, awe – I don’t think it means being scared of Him, except perhaps scared to let Him down! We should, must, fear Him for what He has done – He is God, pure, holy and yet He came to save us. “He who knew no sin, became sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him”. He died for sins not His own, but mine and yours. Almighty God loving the sinner so much that He died to save us. How could we not be filled with awe it’s awesome!
He didn’t have to do it – but He chose to do it – why? Because of His love.
Surely, He deserves our fear!
“They that feared The Lord – spoke to one another”. You would have thought it would have said “spoke to Him” but it doesn’t! Although it can mean two things – it is significant that they “spoke to one another” because so often we don’t. This is the 
basis of fellowship – we meet together with one another to do what? The end of the verse explains – “to meditate on His Name”. In passing, during 2020, we were not allowed to speak in church or sing because of the Coronavirus. We had been banned from doing what God wants us to do – have true worship, in fear of spreading this virus.
Hebrews 10:24, 25 says “Let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some but exhorting one another, especially as you see the Day approaching”. Evidently they had stopped meeting together – but it was vital they recommenced.
It could also mean that they spoke to The Lord. It is all to do with communication between us and The Lord and others. And the glory of it is – “The Lord listened” and not only did He listen but “(He) heard them”, There is a difference between listening and hearing. I can hear without listening, and listen without hearing. It indicates attention and concentration. It is wonderful that The Lord gives us His attention. He takes time to listen and to take in what we say. How careful we should be about what we say. We must be sincere not necessarily knowledgeable. The Lord not only listened and heard them but “a book of remembrance was written before Him” Who by, God or the people?
Psalm 56:8 David suggest that God does it – ” the number of my wanderings, put my tears into your bottle; are they not in Your books? “
If you look in Revelation you will find that ” The books were opened and whosoever was not found written in The Lamb’s book of life was cast into the lake of fire “ These books can only be written by God because only God really knows. Not only is there The Lamb’s book of life but there are other books which God evidently keeps as well. I don’t know what is in them – maybe they include the books suggested by the Psalmist in Psalm 56 and Psalm 139 where David says that God knew him before he was born, was responsible for creating him and forming all of his limbs and parts and “….the days fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them in your book they were all written”.
Whatever is written in the books it is comforting to know that it is a record of each one of us, that we are known to God; but more than that that we have been redeemed and a place in heaven is assured because we are registered in by God himself. It is obvious that we might be in the books but not in The Book! This is the gospel that we can know if we are in The Book by repentance and faith in Christ and receiving him as Saviour and Lord.
I think it was Owens who pens it in a Gospel song I sang over thirty years ago -“Is your name written there on those pages bright and fair. Is your name written in The Book of Life? If you want to be up there, then down here you must prepare. And your name must be in The Book of Life “
So why and who is this book of Remembrance written for? “Those who feared the Lord, those who meditate on His Name”, What greater incentive could we have?
But it goes further and more wonderful – v 17 ” and they shall be Mine says the Lord of hosts, on that day when I make up my jewels, and I will spare them as a man spares his own son who serves him. “
Isn’t that special! To be His special treasure! We belong to Him “We are bought at a price – the blood of Jesus Christ”. No greater price could be paid. People pay enormous prices for jewels, antiques, paintings, artefacts and things that belonged to or have been made by famous people, but nothing compares with the price paid by God Himself for you and me!
How can we neglect to follow this Jesus when He has done what He has done to save us? We, sinners, deserve eternal destruction, but we will be spared on that great day. An awesome day and the most fearful day for those who are not found in The Lamb’s Book of Life.
v18 God looks upon us as His treasures – how important it is that we fulfil His word that we fear Him and meet together and “….-discern between the righteous and the wicked, between one whose serves God and one who does not”, It appears that the closer we are to God, the closer we will be to each other and the clearer it will be between the true and the false, good and evil.
