Malachi 4:1-6

It is hard to believe that we are at the end of this journey through the Bible a chapter at a time.  It has been over a five year exercise but here we are in the last chapter of the Old Testament and the last six verses of Malachi.  For those of you who have been with me all the way through this time I thank you for your input, encouragement and patience.  The knowledge that there are people reading these thoughts has provided me with both motivation and accountability.  I am certain I have learned much more from doing this than I have been able to transmit to you but the process of making it available to you has made it more meaningful to me so thank you.  Final words are always very important words so as we come to the final words of the Old Testament it is significant that the last word is destruction.  We started with creation and end with a warning about destruction.  The prophet writes to prepare his readers for the arrival of Messiah.  It is important to note that the Old Testament prophets wrote with a perspective that saw the first and second comings of Christ as coinciding with one another.  This should not surprise us or confuse us.  It simply makes the words we read be more readily applicable to us.  There are basically to things that we must do to prepare for Messiah’s arrival.

REFLECT ON THE COMING OF CHRIST: We all have the tendency to live for the moment or in extreme cases for our lifetime.  As believers who are expecting the return of Christ we must not fall into that trap we much reflect regularly on the fact that the day of Lord is coming.  Christ will soon return and He will come as a judge.  He uses the picture of fire that turns the arrogant, evildoers and wicked into ashes under the feet of those who fear the Lord and live in righteousness.  When Christ comes back there will be reason for rejoicing and celebration for God’s children.  However, there will be doom and destruction for those who do not know God and are not followers of the Lord Jesus Christ.  It is very important for us to reflect on those truths.  Keeping the thoughts of Christ’s return in our minds will help to keep us from living short-sighted lives.  God has revealed these truths to us to help us prepare for Christ’s return but if we do not reflect on it we will not live in light of it.

REMEMBER THE COMMANDS OF CHRIST: We also have the tendency to forget.  Not only do we forget in the literal sense of the word but we also forget in the sense of not obeying.  So when Malachi tell us to remember the Law of Moses it is not saying that we need to memorize the words of the Law but that we need to know the Law and live in light of it.  Remembrance implies obedience.  God intends to remind us of the truth of His Word so that our hearts will be transformed.  The demonstration of remembering the Law is spoken of as fathers turning their hearts to their children and the children having hearts turned to their fathers.  This does not imply that the family relationships are the only important relationships.  What this is communication is a heart transformation that will result in us obeying all of the aspects of the Law.  We are not simply speaking of behavior modification but heart transformation.  People without Christ resent their children and rebel against their parents.  Those who remember God’s commands and reflect on His coming will be prepared to give an account before the Lord and will not be condemned under the “decree of utter destruction.”