Nancy: Welcome to immerse: the daily bible reading experience.
day 200 and 81
immersed in Malachi
sometime after the temple had been rebuilt.
Through the challenges and encouragement of the prophets, Haggai and Zacharia,
God sent another prophet to urge the people to worship him properly.
There, this message came from the Lord through the prophet.
We now know as Malachi.
Since the prophet's name in Hebrew simply means my messenger, it is possible
that we don't know his real name and that he was simply a messenger of God.
Malachi took a distinctive approach in bringing God's word to the
people who had returned from exile to draw their attention to
issues that needed correcting.
He would make a provocative claim, anticipate their defensive response,
and then answer their objections.
For example, speaking is God's messenger.
He says, should people cheat God, yet you have cheated me?
He envisions the people responding.
What do you mean?
When did we ever cheat you?
Then he explains, you have cheated me of the tithes and offerings due to me.
The book of Malachi includes six such exchanges with the
people arranged in a chiasm.
A evil doers will not prosper.
Edem will not be rebuilt.
B, the people are not bringing the right offerings.
Defective animals.
C.
Concern for justice.
Men are divorcing and abandoning their wives.
C.
Concern for justice.
People are complaining.
Where is God's justice?
B.
The people are not bringing the right offerings.
No tithes.
A evil doers will not prosper.
The people are saying that evil doers go unpunished.
There's also a special word of correction to the priests after the second exchange,
and a series of hopeful promises at the end of the book for those who take
malachi's corrections to heart and choose to live in a way that honors God.
Ever since the destruction of Israel's first temple and the nation's exile
to Babylon the twin questions of God's presence with his people.
And the possibility of a new temple have been prominent.
Malachi continues this twofold emphasis by focusing on Israel's
proper worship practices.
In the rebuild temple, God will be present with his people, but
will contend with them in order to lead them to become the nation.
He called for a purpose.
The great and dreadful day of the Lord is coming when God
will set the whole world right.
First, he will provide an opportunity for reconciliation promising to
raise up a new prophet, a new Elijah.
His preaching will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the
hearts of children to their fathers.
A dual message of obedience and hope closes the book, Israel is
called to remember and obey God's ancient instructions in the Torah,
and there are consequences for those who ignore his teaching.
Towering over it all is the promise of freedom and healing after the
destruction of those who do wrong.
Surely the Lord will return to his people and the son of righteousness
will rise with healing in his wings.
The prophet Malachi,
this is the message that the Lord gave to Israel through the prophet Malachi.
I have always loved you, says the Lord, but you retort.
Really?
How have you loved us?
And the Lord replies, this is how I showed my love for you.
I loved your ancestor Jacob, but I rejected his brother Esau
and devastated his hill country.
I turned Esau's inheritance into a desert for jackals.
Esau's descendants in EDA may say We have been shattered,
but we will rebuild the ruins.
But the Lord of Heaven's armies replies.
They may try to rebuild, but I will demolish them again.
Their country will be known as the land of wickedness, and their
people will be called the people with whom the Lord is forever angry.
When you see the destruction for yourselves, you will say, Truly
the Lord's greatness reaches far beyond Israel's borders.
The Lord of heaven's armies says to the priests, a son honors his father
and a servant respects his master.
If I am your father and master, where are the honor and respect I deserve?
You have shown contempt for my name, but you ask, how have we
ever shown contempt for your name?
You have shown contempt by offering defiled sacrifices on my altar.
Then you ask, how have we defiled the sacrifices?
You defile them by saying, the altar of the Lord deserves no respect.
When you give blind animals as sacrifices, isn't that wrong?
And isn't it wrong to offer animals that are crippled and diseased?
Try giving gifts like that to your governor and see how pleased he is.
Says the Lord of heaven's armies, go ahead.
Beg God to be merciful to you.
But when you bring that kind of offering, why should he show you any favor at all?
Ask the Lord of heaven's armies how I wish one of you would shut the
temple doors so that these worthless sacrifices could not be offered.
I am not pleased with you, says the Lord of heaven's, armies, and
I will not accept your offerings.
But my name is honored by people of other nations from morning till night.
All around the world, they offer sweet incense and pure offerings.
In honor of my name for, my name is great among the nations, says
the Lord of heaven's armies.
But you dishonor my name with your actions.
By bringing contemptible food, you are saying it's all right
to defile the Lord's table.
You say it's too hard to serve the Lord, and you turn up your noses at my commands,
says the Lord of heaven's, armies.
Think of it.
Animals that are stolen and crippled and sick are being presented as offerings.
Should I accept from you such offerings as these asks the Lord.
Cursed is the cheat who promises to give a fine ram from his flock, but then
sacrifices a defective one to the Lord.
For I am a great king says the Lord of heaven's, armies, and my
name is feared among the nations.
Listen you priests, this command is for you.
Listen to me and make up your minds to honor my name.
Says the Lord of Heaven's armies, or I will bring a terrible curse against you.
I will curse even the blessings you receive.
Indeed, I have already cursed them.
Because you have not taken my warning to heart.
I will punish your descendants in splatter your faces with the manure
from your festival sacrifices, and I will throw you on the manure pile.
Then at last you'll know it was I who sent you this warning so that my
covenant with the Levites can continue says the Lord of heaven's armies.
The purpose of my covenant with the Levites was to bring life and
peace, and that is what I gave them.
This required reverence from them and they greatly revered
me and stood in awe of my name.
They passed on to the people.
The truth of the instructions they received from me.
They did not lie or cheat.
They walked with me living good and righteous lives, and they
turned many from lives of sin.
The words of a priest's lips should preserve knowledge of God and people
should go to him for instruction.
For the priest is the messenger of the Lord of heaven's armies.
But you priests have left God's paths.
Your instructions have caused many to stumble into sin.
You have corrupted the covenant I made with the Levites says
the Lord of heaven's armies.
So I have made you despised and humiliated in the eyes of all the
people, for you have not obeyed me, but have shown favoritism in the
way you carry out my instructions.
Are we not all children of the same father?
Are we not all created by the same God?
Then why do we betray each other, violating the covenant of our ancestors?
Judah has been unfaithful and a detestable thing has been done
in Israel and in Jerusalem.
The men of Judah have defiled the Lord's beloved sanctuary by
marrying women who worship idols.
May the Lord cut off from the nation of Israel.
Every last man who has done this and yet brings an offering to
the Lord of heaven's armies.
Here is another thing you do.
You cover the Lord's altar with tears weeping and groaning because he pays
no attention to your offerings and doesn't accept them with pleasure.
You cry out.
Why doesn't the Lord accept my worship?
I'll tell you why.
Because the Lord witnessed the vows you and your wife made when you were young,
but you have been unfaithful to her.
Though she remained your faithful partner, the wife of your marriage vows.
Didn't the Lord make you one with your wife?
Embody and spirit, you are his.
And what does he want?
Godly children from your union.
So God, your heart remain loyal to the wife of your youth for I hate divorce,
says the Lord, the God of Israel.
To divorce your wife is to overwhelm her with cruelty, says
the Lord of heaven's Armies.
So guard your heart.
Do not be unfaithful to your wife.
You have wearied the Lord with your words.
How have we wearied him?
You ask.
You have weed him by saying that all who do evil are good in the Lord's
sight and he is pleased with them.
You have wearied him by asking Where is the God of justice?
Look, I am sending my messenger and he will prepare the way before me.
Then the Lord you are seeking will suddenly come to his temple,
the messenger of the covenant.
Whom you look for so eagerly is surely coming, says the Lord of heaven's armies,
but who will be able to endure it when he comes, who will be able to stand and
face him when he appears for he will be like a blazing fire that refines metal, or
like a strong soap that bleaches clothes.
He will sit like a refiner of silver burning away the dross.
He will purify the Levites, refining them like gold and silver
so that they may once again offer acceptable sacrifices to the Lord.
Then once more, the Lord will accept the offerings brought to him by the people of
Judah and Jerusalem as he did in the past.
At that time, I will put you on trial.
I am eager to witness against all sorcerers and adulterers and liars.
I will speak against those who cheat employees of their wages, who oppress
widows and orphans, or who deprive the foreigners living among you of justice.
For these people, do not fear me, says the Lord of heaven's, armies.
I am the Lord and I do not change.
That is why you, descendants of Jacob are not already destroyed.
Ever since the days of your ancestors, you have scorned my
decrees and failed to obey them.
Now, return to me and I will return to you, says the Lord of heaven's armies.
But you ask, how can we return when we have never gone away?
Should people cheat God, yet you have cheated me.
But you ask, what do you mean when did we ever cheat you?
You have cheated me of the tithes and offerings due to me.
You are under a curse for your whole nation has been cheating me.
Bring all the tithes into the storehouse so there will be enough food in my temple.
If you do, says the Lord of heaven's armies, I will open
the windows of heaven for you.
I will pour out a blessing.
So great.
You won't have enough room to take it in.
Try it.
Put me to the test.
Your crops will be abundant for.
I will guard them from insects and disease.
Your grapes will not fall from the vine before they are ripe.
Says the Lord of heaven's armies.
Then all nations will call you.
Blessed for your land will be such a delight, says the Lord of heaven's armies.
You have said terrible things about me.
Says the Lord.
But you say, what do you mean?
What have we said against you?
You have said, what's the use of serving God?
What have we gained by obeying his commands or by trying to
show the Lord of heaven's armies that we are sorry for our sins?
From now on, we will call the arrogant.
Blessed.
For those who do evil, get rich, and those who dare God
to punish them suffer no harm.
Then those who feared the Lord spoke with each other and the
Lord listened to what they said.
In his presence, a scroll of remembrance was written to record the names
of those who feared him and always thought about the honor of his name.
They will be my people, says the Lord of heaven's armies.
On the day when I act in judgment, they will be my own special treasure.
I will spare them as a father.
Spares an obedient child.
Then you will again see the difference between the righteous
and the wicked between those who serve God and those who do not.
The Lord of heaven's armies says The day of judgment is coming
burning like a furnace on that day.
The arrogant and the wicked will be burned up like straw.
They will be consumed, roots, branches, and all.
But for you who fear my name, the son of righteousness will rise with healing in
his wings and you will go free leaping with joy like calves led out to pasture.
On the day when I act, you will tread upon the wicked as if they were dust under your
feet says the Lord of heaven's armies.
Remember to obey the law of Moses, my servant.
All the decrees and regulations that I gave him on Mount Sinai for all Israel.
Look, I am sending you the prophet Elijah before the great and
dreadful day of the Lord arrives.
His preaching will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the
hearts of children to their fathers.
Otherwise, I will come and strike the land with a curse.
This concludes today's Immerse Reading experience.
Thank you for joining us.