Malachi Pleads for Wholehearted Religion

MALACHI 2:10

THE basic thought in this opening text of today’s lesson is that of brotherly love. In ancient Israel brotherly love was called for, and could have operated within the nation, but instead, selfishness ‘dominated, and they dealt treacherously with one another. This would not have been had they kept before them the true perspective of who they were and of their relationship to their God.

“Have we not all one father?” asked Malachi. The one father of the nation of Israel was Abraham. (Matt. 3:9) The Israelites did not look upon God as their father. To him he was the great Jehovah, the Creator. Thus the prophet asked the further question, “Hath not one God created us?”

Not until Jesus came and introduced the spiritual calling of the present Gospel age, were the people of God encouraged to think of him as their Heavenly Father. Jesus taught his disciples to address God in prayer as “our Father,” and the New Testament makes it plain that the true followers of Jesus receive the begetting of the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of sonship, hence are children of God.

This wonderful relationship to God and to his people was not enjoyed by the nation of Israel, but it is the heritage of the saints during the present age. And if the relationship of the Israelites to one another through father Abraham, and through God as their Creator, should have served as an incentive to brotherly love, how much more should Christian brotherly love permeate the minds and hearts and lives of the Lord’s people now! Indeed, when it does not do so we have reasonable cause for wondering about our standing before the Heavenly Father, for the apostle wrote, “We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren.”—I John 3:14

MALACHI 3:7-10

THE record of Israel’s faithfulness to God was a poor one. The Lord said, “Even from the days of your fathers ye are gone away from mine ordinances, and have not kept them.” This is confirmed by the testimony of all the prophets, for in all of their messages to Israel there is the call to repentance. But the Lord was patient, and merciful. He continued calling upon them to return to him, giving them the assurance that if they did he would return to them.

“Will a man rob God?” The obvious answer to this question would seem to be, No, of course not. Men may rob one another, but who could think of robbing God? Yet the Lord told the Israelites that they had indeed robbed him. Assuming that they would feign surprise at this and ask how they had robbed him, God explained that it was their failure properly to pay their tithes; that is, that portion of their incomes which belonged to him—a tenth of all they received.

The Israelites suffered famine conditions most of the time in so far as God’s blessings toward them were concerned. His covenant with them promised protection and prosperity and peace, but it was conditional upon their obedience to the Law. When they were disobedient—which was most of the time—God was under no obligation to fulfill his part of the covenant and the people of Israel were poor in the blessings of the Lord a great deal of the time.

Seemingly they were inclined to overlook the fact that their own unfaithfulness was responsible for this, so the Lord calls upon them to put it to the test, to bring all their tithes into the storehouse and see if he would not open the windows of heaven and pour them out such a blessing that they would not be able to contain it. It is doubtful if very many of the Israelites ever accepted this challenge, so they continued on in poverty, and the nation was finally rejected as the chosen people of God, their house being left unto them “desolate.”—Matt. 23:38

Spiritual Israelites of the Gospel age are not under the Law Covenant, nor bound by the ordinances of the Law. Nevertheless, this, even as other features of the Law, was typical of the higher privileges of this age. We are not under Law to give a tenth, but are invited to give all. This arrangement is a severe test of our sincerity and faith. We need to watch lest when there is no compulsion, we not only do not give the all which we have promised, but come short of even the tenth that was required during a non-sacrificing age.

And as spiritual Israelites we will find that spiritual poverty is sure to result from a failure to bring our tithes into the storehouse. If we long to enjoy the blessings of the Lord which make us rich as new creatures in Christ Jesus, it is imperative that we live up to every condition of the covenant of sacrifice into which we have entered with the Lord.—Psa. 50:5

MALACHI 4:5, 6

HERE we have a prophecy of one who would come and attempt a genuine reformation in Israel, one who would turn the hearts of the fathers to the children and the hearts of the children to the fathers. An alternative is foretold; namely, that if the prophetic “Elijah” failed in this mission the Lord would smite the earth with a curse.

Much interest has centered in this prophecy by many groups of professed followers of the Master. The first to wonder about its fulfillment were the scribes and Pharisees, who sent messengers to John the Baptist to inquire if he were the foretold Elijah. John claimed that he was not.

Later, Jesus told his disciples that if they could receive it, John was the Elijah. By this Jesus evidently meant that if John had accomplished t h e foretold Elijah work of reformation in their lives, to them he was the Elijah. We know, however, that John’s work, while it attracted a great deal of attention for a while, did not actually convert Israel, and did not prepare very many of the people to accept Jesus.

The Lord foretold that in the event of such a failure, a curse would come upon the people, and this is what happened in A.D. 70-73, when Jerusalem was destroyed, and the nation scattered. That was a terrible time of trouble upon Israel, a “curse” indeed, which resulted in nearly 2,000 years of suffering as a people.

In a larger fulfillment of this prophecy however, the expression “the day of the Lord” refers to this end of the age, that great day which began in darkness and distress for the people but ends with joy and peace which result from the thousand-year reign of Christ. And prior to this “day” there has also been an Elijah work in progress. It has been accomplished by the church in the flesh. Theirs has been, by divine commission, a work of reformation. But like the more restricted work of John the Baptist with the one little nation of Israel, the world-wide work of the church in calling upon the people to repent has also failed. This means that again the alternative of the prophecy must be fulfilled, that a curse comes upon the earth. This we are witnessing in the great “time of trouble” which is overthrowing all the kingdoms of this world, even as Jerusalem was overthrown in A.D. 70-73.

But this does not mean that the Elijah work of reformation never will be accomplished, that it must always fail; for ultimately it will be during the thousand years of Christ’s reign. Then the world will be converted. God’s law will be written in the hearts of the people, both Jew and Gentile. The Lord will take out their stony hearts and give them hearts of flesh, and they will say, “Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, … we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation.”—Isa. 25:9

QUESTIONS

Whom did the Israelites as a nation consider to be their father?

How important is brotherly love among spiritual Israelites?

Explain the tithing system which God gave to natural Israel. Is the church bound by that arrangement?

Was John the Baptist the foretold Elijah?

What did the Lord mean by smiting the earth with a curse?

When will the actual Elijah work of reformation be accomplished?

| Home Page | Table of Contents |