It has been said, “The more things change, the more they stay the same.” When you look at the messages of the Old Testament prophets, you see that human nature and man’s response to God certainly have remained the same throughout time. The message God brought through Malachi came several years after the Jews had been returned to Palestine following Babylonian captivity. The sense of urgency and zealousness that had accompanied the rebuilding of the temple and the city walls had subsided. With this loss of passion for God’s ministry, they slid into sinfulness: They imagined loopholes in the law and rationalized their desire to divorce their wives and choose other women. They saw other people practice such things as witchcraft and mixed marriages and decided to experiment with it themselves. They lost their everyday connection to religion so that it had no effect on their moral and business choices. They listened as philosophers pointed to financially successful persons as examples. Following those examples, they rebelled against God’s leadership and direction. Due to their growing sinfulness, God withheld blessings from the Jews. When they contemplated their lack of blessings and saw the success of the wicked, they began to ask what value there was in following God. When you look at the sins that Malachi condemns in the Jews, you notice the same tendencies are great temptations in our world today, even finding their way into the church: Today’s society also tolerates moral offenses such as witchcraft, adultery, perjury and oppression. People today also question the value of God. They dishonor God by improper worship, by denying his moral instruction and by withholding contributions, just as the Israelites did. As Israel’s spiritual leaders were involved in these sins, so also today’s theologians participate in and excuse ungodly behavior. Anytime a person or culture loses its passion for God, they slide into sinfulness. Malachi attempted to renew the Israelites’ passion by telling them of the coming messenger and the day of the Lord. We need a similar message today, an emphasis on the second coming and judgment. We need to be reminded that God does not accept half-hearted sacrifices and is not satisfied with the left-overs from our finances after we have spent all we want on other things. We need to be reminded that the Holy God to whom we give lip service on Sundays is the Lord of our Mondays through Saturdays too. He demands that we be taught by his holiness to be holy ourselves and to practice integrity, love and compassion where the heathen might practice dishonesty and oppression. Compare Malachi’s accusations against Israel to what is going on today. The Holy God who gave us the gospel of the cross expects that gospel to change our daily lives. Examine your own life and make sure you are not following the example of the world.
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