Malachi 4
Judgment day coming verse 1
FOR – BEHOLD the day comes – that shall burn as an oven
and all the proud – YEA – all that do wickedly
shall be stubble
and the day that comes shall burn them up
says the LORD of hosts
that it shall leave them neither root nor branch
Righteous will be leaping like calves in the stall verse 2- 3
BUT unto you that fear MY name
shall the Sun of righteousness arise with
healing in HIS wings and you shall go forth
and grow up as calves of the stall
And you shall tread down the wicked
for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day
that I shall do this says the LORD of hosts
Obedience is the key verse 4
Remember you the law of Moses – MY servant
which I commanded to him in Horeb for all Israel
with the statutes and judgment
Elijah coming verse 5- 6
BEHOLD – I will send you Elijah the prophet
before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD
and he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children
and the heart of the children of their fathers
lest I come and smite the earth with a curse
COMMENTARY:
DAILY SPIRITUAL BREAKFAST: Young Believers
: 1 For, behold, the day comes, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble; and the day that comes shall burn them up, says the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch. (1197 “burn” [ba’ar] means kindle, scorch, consume, to undergo combustion, or purge.)
DEVOTION: Judgment is still in the future. There are times of judgment but they are not the Day of Judgment. It is designated as a special day when the LORD is going to judge the living and the dead regarding their relationship to the message of salvation introduced by Jesus Christ when HE came to the earth.
The ones who are going to be judged on that Day are those who reject Jesus Christ. They are described as those who are arrogant and wicked. They will see all their possessions burned up. They will be sent to the lake of fire where the devil and his angels are located. This location will last for eternity.
There are some who teach that those who are without Christ will just be annulated. They believe that those people will cease to exist. That is not what the Bible teaches because we find that those who reject Jesus are going to spend just as much time in the lake of fire as believers spend in heaven.
How long does heaven last? It is described as eternal life. How long is eternity? It is longer than we can fathom. Trust in the LORD.
CHALLENGE: Remember to warn those you love of what is coming if they don’t become a believer in Jesus Christ.
DAILY SPIRITUAL LUNCH: Transitional Believers
: 2 But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall. (4832 “healing” [marpe’] means health, restoration, cure, sound of mind, remedy, or wholesome)
DEVOTION: The LORD makes a distinction between the righteous and the wicked. There are two separate ends for these two groups. The wicked are going to be burned up as stubble. Does that mean that they are annihilated? The answer is NO!! Remember that Sodom and three other cities of the plains were destroyed with fire and brimstone in Abraham’s day but they are still waiting for judgment at the writing of the New Testament. The bodies can be burned but the soul and spirit still remain for judgment.
The second group are called the “righteous.” They are the ones who fear the name of the LORD. They stand in awe of God. These are a remnant of the children of Israel that will go through the Great Tribulation but will stand firm for the LORD. They will see HIM coming in all HIS glory. It will be a NEW DAY for the earth. The wicked will be removed and the righteous will rule and reign with Christ. The Light of Righteousness will manifest itself in the appearance of the earth. Remember that the devil is in chains and the world has the Messiah as it’s ruler. When righteousness is common, things are different in this world. People are different. It is like going to a Bible Conference will individuals who want to bring GLORY to the LORD and their faces and actions show it. That is going to happen on this earth during the Millennium.
The world has been in chains for so long. It groans for relief. Here we see that there is wholesomeness again. It is like what happens when a storm comes and the hen gathers the chicks under her wings to protect from the storm. Christ is going to reign and those who go through the Great Tribulation will have the protection of the LORD covering them.
This verse gives a second illustration of what it is like during the reign of Christ. It is like heifers that have been in a stall or pen for a time period and are finally let loose into an open field. If you have ever tried to catch one, you know what I mean. In my first church there was a farmer who let the heifers out and asked me to catch one. I think it was something they did to people who never grew up on a farm. I chased a heifer until I was exhausted. I never got close. The world will have a new freedom that it didn’t have while it was under the curse of man-made kingdoms.
Those who are part of the Biblical church are going to rule and reign with Christ during this time period. We are part of the group called “righteous.” However, there are many in our worlds that are still part of the group called “wicked” because they have never committed their lives to Christ. Malachi was warning of coming judgment. We need to be warning of coming judgment also.
CHALLENGE: Tell one individual about the coming judgment and what they can do to avoid it.
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: 4 Remember you the law of Moses MY servant, which I commanded to him in Horeb for all Israel, with the statues and judgments. (2142 “Remember” [zakar] means mention, to keep in mind for attention or consideration, or recall)
DEVOTION: The final message to the children of Israel before the first coming of the Messiah was to remember. What were they to remember? They were to remember what the LORD taught them in the wilderness before they wandered away from HIM.
The Old Testament ended with this warning to Israel. They had times of revival and times of wandering for the three hundred years of silent between this point and the coming of Jesus Christ.
The purpose of the Law of Moses was to teach us that we were sinners and that we couldn’t correct ourselves. We needed a Savior to die in our place. We needed someone who was without sin to die in our place. We needed the Messiah that would come from heaven and take on the form of a man and die on the cross for our sins. We can’t do it ourselves.
No matter how good we try to be we can’t earn our salvation. It is a free gift from God to those who believe. Anyone who thinks they are obeying the Law of Moses perfectly is deceiving themselves.
We need to trust in the complete work of Christ on the cross for our salvation. Once we do that our actions should be motivated by a desire to bring glory to God, not earn our salvation.
CHALLENGE: The Bible wants us to study the past to understand the working of the LORD. HE is still working today!! HE always works within HIS attributes.
DAILY SPIRITUAL SUPPER: Mature Believers
: 6 And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse. (7725 “turn” [shuwb] means restore, to return, turn back, to cause to return, give in payment, refresh, or bring back)
DEVOTION: The gospel is all about restoration of those who are away from the LORD to the LORD. The nation as a whole was away from the LORD.
There is a promise in the future that Elijah the prophet will come. Some think that John the Baptist was to fulfill this prophecy. It doesn’t seem to be true. He was a witness for the LORD. Many became followers of the LORD during his ministry but the introduction of verse five says that his ministry is going to have before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD.
We know that that day has not occurred yet. The LORD came the first time to provide salvation to all those who believe. HE is coming a second time to establish HIS rule over the world.
Just before HE sets up HIS kingdom there is a time period called the Tribulation where there are two prophets who witness in Jerusalem about the truth of Jesus being the Messiah and many believe. It is thought that this is the time period that is revealed in this verse.
We have to be witnesses like the Old Testament prophets to the truth of the Word of God. It is our responsibility to tell others what the Bible has to say about Jesus and the future.
However, we have to warn them that they have to take action in the present regarding their relationship to the LORD. Too often we find people who are interested in the future who do nothing in the present for the LORD.
You can be a fan of the Bible and the future without being a believer. Many will say when the stand before Christ in judgment at the Great White Throne judgment and say that they did many wonderful works in Jesus Name but the LORD will say I never knew you. Watch out that you are not one of them. Don’t get caught up in knowing the Bible without knowing the LORD!!
CHALLENGE: Today is the day of salvation for those who are searching for the truth of the Word of God. When truth hits home relationship improve!
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DISCIPLINES OF THE FAITH:
BODY
Chastity (Purity in living)
Fasting (Time alone with LORD without eating or drinking)
Sacrifice (Giving up something we want to serve the LORD)
Submission (Willing to listen to others and LORD)
Solitude (Going to a quiet place without anyone)
SOUL
Fellowship (Gathering together around the Word of God)
Frugality (wise use of resources)
Journalizing (Writing down what you have learned from the LORD)
Study and Meditation (Thinking through your study in the Word)
Secrecy (Doing your good deeds without others knowing but God)
SPIRIT
Celebration (Gathering around a special occasion to worship LORD)
Confession (Tell the LORD we are sorry for our sins on a daily basis)
Prayer (Conversation with God on a personal level)
Silence (Letting the LORD deal with some problems and needs)
Worship (Time to praise the LORD alone or in a group)
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DOCTRINES OF THE FAITH:
Scripture (66 inerrant books of the Bible)
Law of Moses verse 4
Statutes verse 4
Judgments verse 4
God the Father (First person of the Godhead)
LORD – Jehovah (Covenant keeping, Personal) verse 1, 3, 5
LORD of hosts verse 1, 3
I commanded (Moses) MY servant verse 4
I commanded (MOSES) in Horeb for all
Israel with the statutes and judgments verse 4
Day of the LORD verse 5
God the Son (Second person of the Godhead –God/man, Messiah)
Sun of Righteousness verse 2
healing in his wings
I shall come and smite the earth with a curse verse 6
God the Holy Spirit (Third person of the Godhead – our comforter)
Trinity (Three persons of the Godhead who are co-equal = ONE God)
Angels (Created before the foundation of the world – Good and Evil)
Man (Created on the sixth twenty-four hour period of creation)
Day comes that shall burn as an oven verse 1
Leave neither root nor branch verse 1
Sin (Missing the mark set by God on man and angels)
Proud verse 1
Do wickedly verse 1
Stubble verse 1
Wicked – ashes under the soles of feet verse 3
Salvation (Provided by Christ’s death on the cross for our sins)
Fear of the LORD verse 2
Healing verse 2
Servant verse 4
Prophet verse 5
Israel (Old Testament people of God)
Go forth and grow up as calves of the stall verse 2
Tread down the wicked verse 3
Law of Moses verse 4
Horeb verse 4
Moses MY servant verse 4
Israel verse 4
Statutes and judgments verse 4
Elijah the prophet verse 5, 6
Church (New Testament people of God)
Last Things (Future Events)
In the day verse 3
Great and dreadful day of the LORD verse 5
Elijah the prophet shall turn the hearts
of the children to their fathers,
lest I come and smite the earth
with a curse verse 6
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QUOTES regarding passage
The present position of Christendom is vividly portrayed by Malachi. Let us draw a very sharp line of distinction between the Church and Christendom. The terms are not synonymous. The Church consists of those who are HIS own. Christendom is the external appearance in every form. Christendom is characterized by formality devoid of power. Formality is not peculiar to one section of the Church. The form may not be the same. It may be stately ritual, or it may be of the simplest. Formality is the result of a conception that religion consists in external observance. To that condition the message of Malachi is: The day is coming which will be a day of healing, or a day of burning according to the condition of those who come to its dawning.
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The point is that fathers and sons would no longer live self-serving lives, but fathers will take their sons to heart and sons will take to heart their fathers, considering the effects of their actions on one another in the course of their lives.
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Ezekiel had vividly portrayed a nation under the horrors of divine condemnation when he prophesied a sight of cannibalism during the siege of Jerusalem in the words, “Fathers will eat their children, and children will eat their fathers (Ezek 5:10; cf. Lev 26:29; Deut 28:53; 2 Kgs 6:28–29).
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Elijah appeared with Moses to testify to Jesus as the Messiah on the mountain of Jesus’ transfiguration (Matt 17:3; Luke 9:29–31). Moses’ presence perhaps signified that the foundational divine revelation in the Torah found its fulfillment in Christ and that Jesus was inaugurating a new covenant. Elijah’s presence there perhaps signified that Jesus was the ultimate fulfillment of the prophetic office and the “messenger of the covenant” who had come to inaugurate the messianic kingdom and purify a people for the Lord.
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According to D. Stuart, “The curse of Mal 4:6 uses the term ḥērem in reference to the fate of the land if the future Elijah is not heeded, implying that those who reject the word of God will suffer the same fate as did those who violated the ban in Holy War, i.e., death.” (Taylor, R. A., & Clendenen, E. R. (2004). Vol. 21A: Haggai, Malachi. The New American Commentary (464). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.)
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Before John the Baptist was born an angel of the Lord predicted that he would minister “in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord” (Luke 1:17).
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However, while he freely admitted that he was the one who prepared the way for the Lord (Isa. 40:3; Mal. 3:1), John expressly denied that he was Elijah (John 1:21-23). Even when Jesus called John “the Elijah who was to come,” He conditioned that designation with the phrase, “if you are willing to accept it” (Matt. 11:14). A solution to the problem seems to be offered in Matthew 17. After Elijah appeared with Christ in His transfiguration, the disciples asked about Elijah’s future coming. Jesus, speaking apparently after John’s death (cf. Matt. 14:1-2), affirmed that “Elijah comes and will restore all things” (Matt. 17:11). This future expectation indicates that Malachi 4:5-6 was not fulfilled in the ministry of John. Israel did not accept John the Baptist as the Elijah-like restorer of all things, so another Elijah-like forerunner is yet to come before the day of the Lord. (Walvoord, J. F., Zuck, R. B., & Dallas Theological Seminary. (1985). The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Mal 4:5–6). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)
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1 The eschatological theme of the Day of the Lord bulks large in the OT prophets (cf. Isa 13:6; Jer 46:10; Joel 2:31; Zeph 1:14–2:3) and also appears in the NT (cf. Matt 24:3–25:46; Rom 2:5; 2 Peter 3:10; Rev 16:14). It continues into the second half of this somber verse in which Malachi alternately reproved and warned. The picture of it in v.1 is cosmological. Fire will be the agent of destruction on that day as was water in Noah’s day.
The word for “arrogant” (zēḏ) is a relatively rare one, occurring in the Prophets only once in Isaiah (13:11) and once in Jeremiah (43:2). But Malachi used it also in 3:15. So those “blessed” arrogant ones of the former reference will now be burned as stubble. (Stubble, the unusable part of the grain, lasts only seconds when thrown into a blazing furnace.) Amos 2:9 uses the same figure for destruction—roots below and branches above. The mention of roots indicates the complete termination of growth. As with the two extremities of a plant. (Alden, R. L. (1986). Malachi. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Daniel and the Minor Prophets (Vol. 7, pp. 723–724). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.)
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4:1. Malachi here elaborated on the day of the Lord. As in 3:2–3, the judgment on that day is described as a judgment of fire. The fact that it will burn like a furnace stresses not only its intensity but also its judgmental purpose; it is not a fire that burns out of control. Unlike 3:2–3, which emphasized the purification of Israel (in particular, the Levites), this passage emphasizes the destruction of the wicked (cf. Isa. 66:15; Zeph. 1:18; 3:8). So complete will be the judgment that the wicked (the arrogant and every evildoer; cf. Mal. 3:15), compared to stubble, will not have a root or a branch remaining. This does not mean annihilation in the sense of cessation of being (the wicked will be resurrected, Dan. 12:2), but rather the complete exclusion of the wicked from God’s kingdom (cf. Matt. 25:46). (Blaising, C. A. (1985). Malachi. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 1, pp. 1586–1587). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)
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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 (Luke 1:78–79). Then Jesus will reign as King of Kings and His people will frolic like calves let out of their stalls!
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. Of course, believers today aren’t under the Law (Rom. 6:15; Gal. 5:1–4), but they still practice the righteousness of the Law through the power of the indwelling Spirit of God (Rom. 8:1–4).
The promise in Malachi 4:5 was often discussed and debated by the Jewish rabbis who asked, “Who is the Elijah whom the Lord will send?” The Jewish leaders interrogated John the Baptist about it (John 1:19–21) and Peter, James, and John asked Jesus about it (Matt. 17:10).
The prophet Elijah is mentioned at least thirty times in the New Testament, and ten of those references relate him to John the Baptist. But John the Baptist said plainly that he was no Elijah (John 1:21, 25). He did come in the “spirit and power” of Elijah and turn the hearts of fathers and children (Luke 1:16–17). Like Elijah, John was a courageous man, a man of prayer empowered by the Spirit, a man who lived alone in the wilderness, and a servant who turned many people back to the Lord, but he was not Elijah returned to earth.
However, for those who believed on Christ during His earthly ministry, John the Baptist performed the work of Elijah in their lives: he prepared them to meet the Lord. “And if you are willing to accept it, he is the Elijah who was to come” (Matt. 11:14, niv). “Elijah is come already,” said Jesus, “and they know him not.” The disciples understood Jesus to mean John the Baptist who came in the spirit and power of Elijah (17:10–13). (Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). Be amazed (pp. 163–164). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)
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4:1 the day is coming. The first 3 verses continue the thought of the closing verses of the previous chapter, elaborating on God’s punishment of the wicked and His deliverance of the godly (cf. 3:1–5). This eschatological reference to the Day of the Lord (cf. Is 13:6; Joel 2:11, 31; Zep 1:14) is injected 4 times into the prophet’s final words (3:17; 4:1, 3, 5). It anticipated the return of the Lord Jesus in judgment (cf. Rev 19:11–21). burning like a furnace. Adding to the imagery of a refining fire (3:2), Malachi spoke of God’s judgment as a destructive fire that swiftly and totally consumes with excessive heat (cf. with the proud of 3:15). The destruction of the roots, normally protected by their subsurface location, provides a vivid, proverbial picture of its totality. All who refuse to repent will be cast into the fire of hell (cf. Rev 20:11–15) (MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (2006). The MacArthur study Bible: New American Standard Bible. (Mal 4:1). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers.)
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Ver. 1. For, behold, the day cometh that shall burn as an oven, &c.] Not the day of judgment, as Kimchi and other interpreters, both Jewish and Christian, think; but the day of Christ’s coming in his kingdom and power, to take vengeance on the Jewish nation, which burned like an oven, both figuratively and literally; when the wrath of God, which is compared to fire, came upon that people to the uttermost; and when their city and temple were burnt about their ears, and they were surrounded with fire, as if they had been in a burning oven; and this being so terrible, as can hardly be conceived and expressed, the word behold is prefixed to it, not only to excite attention, but horror and terror at so dreadful a calamity; which though future, when the prophet wrote, was certain: and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble; the proud Pharisees, that boasted of their own righteousness, trusted in themselves, and despised others; all workers of iniquity, in private or in public; all rejecters of Christ, contemners of his Gospel and ordinances, and persecutors of his people; as well as such who were guilty of the most flagitious crimes, as sedition, robbery, murder, &c. of which there were notorious instances during the siege of Jerusalem; these were all like stubble before devouring fire, weak and easily destroyed: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of hosts; which is repeated, to shew the certainty of it, and to apply it to the persons before described: that it shall leave them neither root nor branch: which signifies an entire and complete destruction; the city and temple so utterly destroyed, that not one stone shall be left on another; both magistrates and subjects shall perish, priests and people, so that there shall be no form of government, civil nor ecclesiastical; tribes and families lost, they and their posterity: and so the Targum, “which shall not leave them son and nephew:” and, indeed, the numbers cut off were so many, and the destruction so general, that it may be wondered at that any remained: it is a proverbial expression, setting forth the greatness of the calamity; see Matt. 3:10, 12. (Gill, J. (1810). An Exposition of the Old Testament (Vol. 6, pp. 772–773). London: Mathews and Leigh.)
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The righteous will be rescued in the coming day of judgment. This “day of the Lord,” foretold by Joel and other prophets, was also described by Malachi: “Behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble” (4:1). The “day of the Lord” was first injected into the prophetic picture by the first of the Old Testament writing prophets and it is fitting that Malachi, the last of the Old Testament prophets, should remind his sinful people about that day. It is a real day, a terrible day, a day of God’s wrath against the wicked.
Malachi saw that coming day in his vision, but he also saw the coming dawn. After warning of judgment, God said, “But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall” (4:2). The terrible night of the great tribulation will end and a new day will dawn for God’s people. Jesus will come and once He has performed the radical surgery of Armageddon and the valley of Jehoshaphat, there will be a time of healing. Then the world will become a safe place, as indicated by the pastoral illustration of calves being loosed from their stalls.
In this world of sin, the wicked often triumph over the righteous, but in the coming doom there will be a complete reversal. Malachi foresaw the righteous coming into their own. The Lord said to them: “Ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this” (4:3). (Phillips, J. (2009). Exploring the Minor Prophets: An Expository Commentary (Mal 4:1–3). Kregel Publications; WORDsearch Corp.)
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FROM MY READING:
The Great Commission, after all, is “Go and make disciples,” not “Go make converts.” (This is an imperative point to understand. Some churches have become massive because, in the end, no one is interested in discipleship but in accumulating decisions passed off as conversions. And that is chasing the wind. (p. 146, the Explicit Gospel by Matt Chandler)
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Old Testament WORDS for Today by Warren W. Wiersbe
Whatever delights us directs us, and whatever directs us determines our destiny; so we must be careful to cultivate a spiritual appetite. (p.98)
Why don’t more of God’s people delight in reading and studying God’s Word? The Holy Spirit who wrote the Bible lives in each believer and urges us to set aside time daily for Bible meditation and prayer, but some are too busy to “take time to be holy.” (p. 99)
If God’s people will focus on what God’s Word is, it will motivate them to make the Bible the most important book they possess. The Bible is everything we need for developing spiritual maturity. It is food for growing (Ps. 119: 9); Matt. 4:4; I Pet. 2: 2; Heb. 5: 12-14), water for cleansing (Ps. 119:105, John 15:3; Eph. 5: 26); a light to guide us (Ps. 119: 105, 130), a sword to protect us (Eph. 6: 17; Heb. 4: 12) wealth to enrich us (Ps. 119: 14, 72, 127, 162) and truth to transform us (John 17:17). (p. 99)
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Acts 21
After Paul’s travels, he preaches in Jerusalem and is arrested for violating the Law.
INSIGHT
When Paul preaches, either a riot or a revival usually occurs. When he goes to Jerusalem for the last time, a riot breaks out. Having been told beforehand by the Holy Spirit, Paul is aware that he will be imprisoned and handed over to the Gentiles. Even though his friends beg him to avoid Jerusalem, Paul “would not be persuaded”; and his friends give up and say, “The will of the Lord be done” (v. 14). Paul views himself as a sojourner on this earth, for his true citizenship is in heaven. He is to be simply a steward, an ambassador of Christ while his time lasts. What power and vision that outlook gives Paul to avoid the entanglements of this world! How much more completely would we realize our calling if we saw ourselves in the same way. (Quiet Walk)
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THE HUMANITY OF CHRIST
And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon him. Luke 2:40
The Scriptures also teach about Christ’s humanity. Take, for instance, what you read in 1 Timothy 2:5: “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” He is described as “the man.” Notice–you cannot have read the Gospels without noticing–the frequency with which the term “the Son of man” is used about Him. It is used over eighty times! Now the Son of man, of course, is a very special term, and it has a very special significance.
Then the Scriptures make abundantly plain and clear that Christ had a typical human, physical nature. Take that statement in Hebrews 2:14, where we are told that because “the children are partakers of flesh and blood….he also himself likewise took part of the same.”
Another very striking bit of evidence under this heading is that He obviously looked like a man. Not only that, we also have evidence to prove that He looked like a typical Jew. You remember what we are told of the incident of the woman of Samaria meeting our Lord at the well, and how she expressed her astonishment that He should speak to her: “How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria?” (John 4:9). She had no idea who He was, but when He spoke to her, she at once recognized that He was a Jew.
Then, under this same heading of His physical frame, the Scriptures teach us that He still had this human body even after His resurrection. When He appeared to the disciples, when Thomas was present in the room and He was anxious to prove to Thomas that He was the same person, He said, “Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing” (John 20:27).
A Thought to Ponder: Christ obviously looked like a man. (From God the Father, God the Son, pp. 271-272, by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones)
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Great Is the Lord
“For great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised: he also is to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the people are idols: but the LORD made the heavens.” (1 Chronicles 16:25-26)
This testimony is in the heart of a great hymn of thanksgiving (1 Chronicles 16:7-36) composed by David when the Ark of the Lord was brought back to Jerusalem. It is a testimony of the unique greatness of the God of Israel, with recurring expressions of gratitude for His deliverances and blessings.
This God of Israel was no mere tribal-god or nature-god, such as Dagon, the fish-god of the Philistines from whose hands the Ark had been delivered. All such “gods” of the peoples of the earth—whether wooden images in a shrine, astrological emblems in the heavens, or mental constructs of evolutionary humanistic philosophers—are nothing but idols (that is, literally, “good for nothing,” “vanities”).
It is Jehovah God who is not only in the heavens but who made the heavens! It is their Creator who one day will “let the sea roar” and “the fields rejoice,” when “the trees of the wood sing out at the presence of the LORD, because he cometh to judge the earth” (vv. 32-33).
As Creator and Savior, all His people are exhorted also to “shew forth from day to day his salvation. Declare his glory among the heathen; his marvellous works among all nations” (vv. 23-24). Because of His power, the world itself “shall be stable [that is, ‘permanently established’], that it be not moved” (v. 30). This “God of our salvation” (v. 35), and the wonderful heavens and earth He created, will be forever. The psalm ends with the exhortation: “O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever. . . . Blessed be the LORD God of Israel for ever and ever” (vv. 34-36).
Now, if Israel needed such an exhortation, our modern science-worshiping world needs it still more urgently. (HMM, The Institute for Creation Research)
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There is only one way to avoid the wrath of God, and that is to believe in the Son of God “who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification” (Rom. 4:25) (A Merciful and Faithful High Priest by Martyn Lloyd-Jones)
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Daily Hope
Today’s Scripture Ecclesiastes 2:1-11
With joy and anticipation, we would wait for the County fair week to arrive. Every year it was the best time of the year! We would be able to ride the rides, walk the midway, see the shows, and meet new people. For me, it was the highlight of the summer!
Solomon had concluded that education and wisdom, which he possessed in abundance, did not fulfill him in the previous chapter. He continued his search and determined to seek out pleasure producing events to see if ultimate fulfillment in life was there. In conducting these tests, Solomon, as the king, had the resources and time to do a thorough investigation into each experiment. Here in verses 1-2, he states that his intent was to examine joy producing activities to determine their value for life. He begins with enjoyment through wine and entertainment (v.8). It is not difficult to imagine Solomon in a banquet hall filled with people enjoying the very best of food, drink, music, and entertainment. Yet, when the music stopped and the party concluded, there still remained emptiness in his life.
He then began to labor (v.4) and set his mind and hands to create spaces of beauty and order. His creation included houses, parks, orchards, water pools and the development of flocks and herds that surpassed all previous kings. While each was impressive and astounding to all who viewed them, it did not bring fulfillment to the creator, Solomon.
In verses 10-11, Solomon draws his conclusion and repeats the phrase that continues to haunt and drive his quest to find that which eluded him; “all is vanity”. The search continues and Solomon reiterates the practical fact that all the experiments have ended the same way! A momentary satisfaction and joy over the labor but not the eternal contentment that he is seeking.
The empty spot in the heart that Solomon describes is present in all mankind. The search to fill it and find contentment is repeated by men in search of an answer to life’s deepest need. The thirst for this revelation compels people to daily search and Jesus states it will only be found in the water given by Him which becomes a “fountain of water springing up into everlasting life” (John 4:14). This secret is not in our labors but in the reception of a gift from God. Enjoy your labors but find peace and contentment in the gift Jesus offers freely!
Today is the National Day of Prayer! As our nation, seemingly like Solomon, searches for peace and fulfillment in every conceivable way apart from God, pray that our fellow Americans would find a fulfillment of peace and contentment in Christ alone!
With an Expectant hope, Pastor Miller
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