THE LORD YOU ARE SEEKING WILL COME

Passage: Malachi 2:17-3:12

Key verse: 3:1b

NIV

Breaking Covenant Through Injustice

17 You have wearied(A) the Lord with your words.

“How have we wearied him?” you ask.(B)

By saying, “All who do evil are good in the eyes of the Lord, and he is pleased(C) with them” or “Where is the God of justice?(D)”

3 “I will send my messenger,(E) who will prepare the way before me.(F) Then suddenly the Lord(G) you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant,(H) whom you desire,(I) will come,” says the Lord Almighty.

2 But who can endure(J) the day of his coming?(K) Who can stand(L) when he appears? For he will be like a refiner’s fire(M) or a launderer’s soap.(N) 3 He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver;(O) he will purify(P) the Levites and refine them like gold and silver.(Q) Then the Lord will have men who will bring offerings in righteousness,(R) 4 and the offerings(S) of Judah and Jerusalem will be acceptable to the Lord, as in days gone by, as in former years.(T)

5 “So I will come to put you on trial. I will be quick to testify against sorcerers,(U) adulterers(V) and perjurers,(W) against those who defraud laborers of their wages,(X) who oppress the widows(Y) and the fatherless, and deprive the foreigners(Z) among you of justice, but do not fear(AA) me,” says the Lord Almighty.

Breaking Covenant by Withholding Tithes

6 “I the Lord do not change.(AB) So you, the descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed.(AC) 7 Ever since the time of your ancestors you have turned away(AD) from my decrees and have not kept them. Return(AE) to me, and I will return to you,”(AF) says the Lord Almighty.

“But you ask,(AG) ‘How are we to return?’

8 “Will a mere mortal rob(AH) God? Yet you rob me.

“But you ask, ‘How are we robbing you?’

“In tithes(AI) and offerings. 9 You are under a curse(AJ)—your whole nation—because you are robbing me. 10 Bring the whole tithe(AK) into the storehouse,(AL) that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates(AM) of heaven and pour out(AN) so much blessing(AO) that there will not be room enough to store it.(AP) 11 I will prevent pests from devouring(AQ) your crops, and the vines in your fields will not drop their fruit before it is ripe,(AR)” says the Lord Almighty. 12 “Then all the nations will call you blessed,(AS) for yours will be a delightful land,”(AT) says the Lord Almighty.(AU)

Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Source: BibleGateway

ESV

The Messenger of the Lord

17 (A)You have wearied the Lord with your words. (B)But you say, “How have we wearied him?” (C)By saying, “Everyone who does evil is good in the sight of the Lord, and he delights in them.” Or by asking, (D)“Where is the God of justice?”

3 (E)“Behold, I send (F)my messenger, and (G)he will prepare the way before me. And the Lord (H)whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and (I)the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts. 2 But (J)who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears? For (K)he is like a refiner's fire and like fullers' soap. 3 He will sit (L)as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, and they will bring (M)offerings in righteousness to the Lord.[a] 4 (N)Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the Lord as in the days of old and as in former years.

5 “Then I will draw near to you for judgment. I will be (O)a swift witness against the sorcerers, against the adulterers, against those who swear falsely, against those (P)who oppress the hired worker in his wages, (Q)the widow and the fatherless, against those who thrust aside the sojourner, and do not fear me, says the Lord of hosts.

Robbing God

6 “For (R)I the Lord do not change; (S)therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed. 7 (T)From the days of your fathers you have turned aside from my statutes and have not kept them. (U)Return to me, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts. (V)But you say, ‘How shall we return?’ 8 Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me. (W)But you say, ‘How have we robbed you?’ (X)In your tithes and contributions. 9 (Y)You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me, the whole nation of you. 10 (Z)Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby (AA)put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open (AB)the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need. 11 I will rebuke (AC)the devourer[b] for you, so that it will not destroy the fruits of your soil, and your vine in the field shall not fail to bear, says the Lord of hosts. 12 Then (AD)all nations will call you blessed, for you will be (AE)a land of delight, says the Lord of hosts.

Footnotes
  1. Malachi 3:3 Or and they will belong to the Lord, bringers of an offering in righteousness
  2. Malachi 3:11 Probably a name for some crop-destroying pest or pests
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Source: BibleGateway
1. He will be like a refiner's fire (2:17-3:5) The Israelites complained that God cared nothing for justice and questioned his presence. Malachi responded by prophesying that God would send the messenger of the covenant. This messenger would refine and purify the Levites and once again the offerings of the people would be acceptable. He would also testify against injustice. This messenger, the Lord they were seeking, is Jesus. Jesus' death and resurrection cleanses us from our sin and we become acceptable to him. 2. Return to me, and I will return to you (3:6-12) The LORD's mercy does not change. Despite the Israelites' regular disobedience, he did not destroy them but invited them to return to him in repentance. One way they could repent was to offer their tithes. If they did, God promised to pour out so much blessing that they wouldn't be able to store it. God also promised to protect them.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank you for coming into my life to refine me and cleanse me. Make my life an acceptable offering to you.

One Word: Seek the Lord; return to him.