DIGGING DEEP NO. 970 – January 31st, 2023 THE SINS OF GOD’S PEOPLE – Part 6 Mal.3: 13- 18; 4: 1- 6.

This is the sixth and last of Malachi’s accusations “You have said harsh things against me, says the Lord” Mal.3: 3. As he closes his book, he points out four different groups of people and what they said and did.

1. The complainers – Mal.3: 13- 15. These people were guilty of saying “harsh things” against the Lord. For one thing, they felt that serving the Lord was useless; it was futile to be His servants. The priests may have been leaders in this complaining, but the common people were just as guilty. “We’re not getting anything out of it” was their grievance. “Things just keep getting worse”. We serve God because it’s the right thing to do, not because we’re rewarded for our service. We shall be rewarded, but that is not our main motive.

But they had a second complaint: the pagan peoples around them who didn’t know the Lord were in better shape than the people of Judah! The wicked were prospering while the godly were suffering. Of course, it would have been difficult for the Jews to prove that they were godly because they were guilty of disobeying the Lord. God would have blessed them if they had yielded themselves to Him, but they preferred to have their own way and then complain about what didn’t happen. It’s a serious thing to serve the Lord, and we are commanded to serve the Lord with gladness Ps.100: 2. It’s a sad thing when a servant of the Lord is merely doing the job because that’s what he or she had to do. Phil.2: 1- 12 is God’s portrait of Christ; God’s ideal Servant, and His example is the one that we should follow.

2. The believers – Mal.3: 16- 18. There was a group of true believers in this remnant, and they remained faithful to the Lord. They feared the Lord, which means they held Him in awe and worshipped Him as the Lord Almighty. They met together not to complain but to encourage and edify each other. They spoke about the Lord and they weren’t afraid for Him to hear what they were saying. God was paying attention and keeping a record of their words. Their neighbors may have laughed at them, but God was pleased with them. They weren’t wasting their time because they were investing in eternity. God claimed them as His own, and God promised to spare them in the future judgment when everybody would see that there is a difference between the righteous and the wicked and that this difference is important. One of the sins of the priests was that they failed to make a distinction between the way of holiness and the way of sin. To them, one sacrifice was just as good as another, yet they were supposed to teach the people the difference between the holy and the common, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean Ezek.44: 23. Many of God’s faithful servants become discouraged because the times are difficult, the crowds are small, and their work seems to be unappreciated. People who aren’t really walking with the Lord seem to be getting more attention than the faithful servants. But the day will come when God will reveal “His jewels” Ex.19: 5; Deut.7: 6; and then the faithful will receive their reward. Every discouraged servant of God needs to read and ponder on 1Cor.4: 1- 5.

3. The evildoers – Mal.4: 1-3. Once again, Malachi returns to the theme of the coming Day of the Lord when God will punish all evildoers. Sinners will be burned up the way fire eats up the stubble; they will become like ashes under the feet of the saints! But the true believers will see the dawning of a new day as the “Sun of righteousness” rises Lk.1: 78- 79. Then Jesus will reign as King of kings and the people will frolic like calves let out of their stalls.

4. The preachers – Mal.4: 4- 6. Malachi has been faithful as God’s messenger, and he closes his book by reminding the people of two other faithful prophets, Moses and Elijah. The law of Moses was still God’s rule of life for the Jews, and if they obeyed, God would bless them.

It seems odd that the Old Testament Scriptures should end with the word “curse”. When we get near the end of the New Testament, we read, “And there shall be no more curse” Rev.22: 3. All of creation is eagerly awaiting the return of the Savior, expecting Him to deliver creation from the bondage of sin Rom.8: 18- 23.

In Conclusion – We too should be expecting Him and, while we are waiting, the witness of Him to others. For when the Sun of righteousness arises, it will mean either burning or blessing Mal.4: 1- 2. Blessing to those who have trusted Him; burning to those who have rejected Him.