Should This Matter?

Malachi 3:5

For the time is come that judgement must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?

1 Peter 4:17

 

Malachi, another shepherding prophet, reminding the people not to return to the same sins that sent them into captivity in the first place.  He tells the people that Messiah is coming, and He will judge.  Yet, here’s the kicker: God is not just going to judge those pesky Malachi may be a little book plopped onto the end of the Old Testament, but it is rich with truth that very much applies to our lives today.  I’ve always associated Malachi with prophecies of Christ and John the Baptist, which it does include, however, Malachi has so much more to offer to our daily lives as Christians.  I wish that more people taught on this Old Testament book.

Malachi’s prophecies are directed toward the former Judean captives of Babylon who have recently returned to Jerusalem thanks to the policies of the Persian Empire.  Judah’s 70 year-long captivity in Babylon was a result of their sin against God.  God allowed Babylon, under king Nebuchadnezzar, to destroy Jerusalem and the temple there as well as kill many of the Judeans before taking the rest of the people captive to Babylon.  The Judean captives finally repented and returned to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple and the city.  Ezra and Nehemiah document the return from exile to a broken Jerusalem along with the struggles the people encountered both from external threats and internal strains.  Additionally, Haggai and Zechariah were prophets that helped guide the people along the way.  Before long, the temple and walls are rebuilt, and Jerusalem seems to be in a better place.  Along comes gentiles, He is coming to judge Israel.

            And I will come near to you to judgment… (Malachi 3:5)

Malachi is set up as a debate style of conversation between God and His people.  God presents a candid statement and then provides Israel’s response to His statement which is always an accusatory question challenging God’s initial statement in some way.  This reaction reveals Israel’s lack of understanding and even their obstinance. For example, in chapter one, God says that He loves Israel, but Israel’s response is ‘how have you loved us?’  Next, God will rebuff Israel’s reply rebuking and correcting their behavior and understanding in the process.

Interestingly, Israel sounds a lot like the modern Christian church.  Many deny God’s truth and dare to stubbornly question it in the same way as Israel does here.  In our darkest days when we want to question God’s love and goodness, we can come to Malachi to enrich our spiritual lives through the teaching that God gives to Israel.  Sadly, most of Israel doesn’t learn from what God says here, but we can!

The part of the conversation that I want to zoom in on today begins in Malachi 2:17. The conversation is as follows:

God: You have wearied the Lord with your words.

Israel: Wherein have we wearied him?

God: When ye say, ‘Everyone that doeth evil is good in the sight of the Lord, and he delighteth in them’; or ‘Where is the God of judgement?’

Basically, Israel is challenging God’s fairness, and God is tired of it.  Israel claims that God is rewarding the wicked and even delighting in their wickedness.  They wonder when the “God of judgement” is going to finally show up to save them.

Chapter 3 of Malachi is God’s retort to Israel’s denial of His fairness and proper judgment, and His response is chilling and humbling to anyone who follows Christ.  In essence, God says, ‘Oh, I am coming to judge, and I’m going to start with you!’

Let’s back up a little bit here and understand the context of this passage a bit better.  Remember, the people of Israel have returned to Jerusalem to rebuild their lives after 70 years in captivity.  As we see in Ezra, Nehemiah, and a few of the prophets (Zechariah and Haggai, for example), the people face two issues.  First, they received external threats from surrounding peoples who desired to stop the rebuilding of Jerusalem.  Additionally, they were still under the thumb of a gentile empire, Persia. Second, they suffered from internal sin problems.

Up until this point in chapter 3, Malachi addresses Israel’s sin not only at the hand of the people but also the priests. Chapters 1 and 2 tells us that the priests were not following God’s law and had corrupted their covenant with God.  They offered maimed animals as sacrifices seeing God’s sacrificial requirements as a burden.  On top of that, God rebukes the people of Judah for divorcing their wives and marrying foreign women and their boldness to expect God to accept their sacrifices in the temple after doing so.

There is little doubt that the people are focused on the first of the issues, the external threats from gentiles, when they ponder where God’s judgement is.  They see how Persia is still in an authoritative position over them.  The surrounding nations are still around to bother and threaten them.  The people may have even thought that their return to Jerusalem was going to give rise to God’s kingdom on earth and the Messiah who would finally punish the gentiles.

God swiftly corrects this notion, however.  In Malachi 3:1, God acknowledges that the Messiah is coming as promised.  God indicates that He will come “suddenly” and after a messenger prepares the way (John the Baptist).  God seems to hint at his annoyance with Israel when he adds, “whom ye seek” and “who ye delight in.”  The sarcasm is hard to miss as clearly the people and priests were not so diligently seeking or delighting in God according to the sin outlined in the first two chapters of Malachi.

…and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold he shall come, saith the Lord of Hosts.

Next, God illustrates the comprehensive judgement to come.  He compares it to a refiner’s fire that heats high enough to remove impurities from metal and fuller’s soap that removes dirt and grime.  No one will escape God’s judgement.  Even the priests will undergo the refining fire of God’s judgement to purify them so that their offerings will finally be acceptable to God.

            I will come near to you to judgement…

The gentiles are not even mentioned here in this passage in relation to God’s judgement.  We know from other Scripture that the gentiles will be judged, but here God reminds Israel that judgement will start with them!  There is plenty to be judged in Israel.  What sins in Israel will God provide evidence of?

            Sorcery

            Adultery

            Liars

            Oppression of employees, widows, orphans

            Refusing to help the sojourners

Would the modern church today find these same sins ripe for judgement?  Sadly, the answer is most definitely yes!

            Sorcery: obsession with death, spirituality, mediums, mental health, etc

            Adultery: sanction of divorce and remarriage

            Liars: going back on our word, generally lying

            Oppression of others and sojourners: apathy towards those in need

So, the takeaway here is simple: ALL will be judged.  Judgment is not just for the wicked around us, but for us too!  In fact, there is a clear pattern in scripture where God first rebukes His children and then will judge the heathen.  Let’s look at a couple of instances in Scripture where God speaks to this pattern.

Isaiah 10:12

Wherefore it shall come to pass, that when the Lord hath performed His whole work upon Mount Zion and on Jerusalem, I will punish the fruit of the stout heart of the king of Assyria, and the glory of his high look.

God first had to deal with Israel’s punishment before He would turn His attention on Assyria.  Make no mistake.  Assyria was punished, but it came after God dealt with His children.

 

1 Peter 4:17-18

For the time has come that judgement must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the Gospel of God?

And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?

Peter is speaking to Christians who are living in a gentile world.  He reminds the church to live righteously suffering for Christ so that in the day of judgement, we can be saved.  We live to a higher standard: Christ’s standard.

 

Matthew 10:5-6

These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter yet not:

But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

This passage sounds a lot like Malachi 3:1-6.  Judgement did indeed go to Israel first.  Jesus is the judge.  John 9:39 tells us, “And Jesus said, for judgement I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and they which see might be made blind.”  Jesus came to Israel first.  Jesus reiterates this point when the woman of Canaan came to Him asking of help for her daughter.  Jesus said, “I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”  The woman acknowledges when she says, “yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their master’s table.”  She understood that Jesus was coming to judge everyone, first the Jews, but then the gentiles.  In the same way, Jesus came to save everyone, first the Jews, but then the gentiles.

Matthew 7:1-2

Judge not, that ye be not judged.

For with what judgement ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.

These are perhaps the most misused verses in the Bible. It is easy to come to the wrong conclusion when we do not have a proper understanding of what the Scripture says about judgement and how it relates to us.  This passage is NOT saying that if we do not judge others, then we will not be judged.  That is opposite of Scripture, such as this passage in Malachi that we just went through which tells us that we will ALL be judged.

When we take these verses in the context of the entire passage, we see that these verses line up with Malachi and the rest of Scripture perfectly.  We are to judge others, but FIRST, we are to acknowledge judgement on ourselves.  In verse 3-5 of this passage, Jesus continues, “And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?  Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and behold, a beam is in thine own eye?  Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of they brother’s eye.”

Jesus is saying that we cannot accurately judge others around us if we are not judged first!  How can we help judge others if we are still in sin?  We must acknowledge judgement on ourselves first so that we can go out into the world and judge others to bring them to Christ.

In summary, Malachi isn’t just a book for the people of ancient Israel to learn from.  Malachi’s point stands true for us today.  Judgement is coming for us all, even God’s children.  So, inspect your life.  The people of Israel offered maimed sacrifices and married the heathen around them.  Are you offering the best of you to God?  Are you keeping your covenant with God or breaking it to join with the world around you?  If you are acting like Israel was, then correct your behavior!

Judgement has come to us as Jesus Christ.  He left His Spirit to purify us so that we can be holy and acceptable to God.

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. 

For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.

Romans 12:1-3