The Bridge - Malachi

Reformer Martin Luther called John 3:16 “the little gospel”. In the same way, we can speak of Malachi as the “little Old Testament”. Malachi is the bridge between the Old and New Testaments (Malachi 3:1). A silence of 400 years lies between the voice of Malachi and the voice of one crying in the wilderness, “Prepare ye the way of the Lord” (John 1:23). Malachi is the last prophet to speak to Israel in its own land. “Malachi” means “my messenger”.

When we read the book of Malachi we find that the priests became irrelevant and neglectful (Malachi 1:6,11,12). The priests refused to work except for money. This resulted in carelessness among God’s people in keeping themselves separate from the heathen nations. Mixed marriages with women of outside tribes became common. Some men had not hesitated to divorce their israelitish wives to make this possible (Malachi 2:10-16).

In Malachi 3:10 we see of giving a tenth or tithe in everything which belongs to God.

In Malachi 3 and 4 we see people saying that God did not seem to distinguish between good and bad people (Malachi 2:17). He blesses all alike, and evil people often flourish at the expense of their fellow citizens (Malachi 3:14-15) and so what’s the use of being good? The answer to such a complaint is that God does care. He showed this to them by saying that one day he will send his messenger to prepare his way, then he will come in person suddenly and sit in judgement and separate the evil from the good (Malachi 3:1). When God really gets ready to act, what will he do? The action will be final (Malachi 3:1-3). God wants all his children to honour and adore him. He longs to have us obey and worship him.

Each one who loves and looks for him may help prepare his way by the very manner of living and work. Amid all the hypocrisy of the day, there were those in the Jewish community who still feared God and remained faithful (Malachi 3L16). God bent his ear to hear his people speak about him.

There are certain sins that Malachi rebuked

·         Spiritless routine worship (Malachi 1:6-8)

·         Evil associations (Malachi 2:10-12)

·         Questioning God’s justice (Malachi 2:17-3:6)

·         Robbing God (Malachi 3:7-12)

·         Impatience in waiting (Malachi 3:17-4:3)

Suppose we do find some of these sins in our daily lives. What are we to do? Confess them to God. Malachi had to encourage the people by assuring them of God’s wonderful love. In the same way, I encourage you to confess the sins and ask God to forgive in Christ Jesus name, so that your prayers will be answered and you will stay blessed.

The Just Shall live by Faith - Habakkuk

Habakkuk was one of the Levitical choristers in the temple (Habakkuk 3:19). Habakkuk knew well that Judah must fall before the great power of Nebuchadnezzar. But one question arose in his mind and troubled him greatly – Why should any nation as wicked as Babylon conquer a nation like Judah, which was less evil? It seemed to him that it was just a matter of evil triumphing over evil. God had to show him his ultimate plan. Judah needed punishment. God was using Babylon to correct Judah, but Babylon’s turn would come. Babylon would be utterly blotted out. As for God’s people, there was yet to be glorious future and a kingdom where Jehovah himself would prevail.

In Habakkuk 1, we see Habakkuk knowing his own land, Judah, full of lawlessness. The righteous were oppressed (Habakkuk 1:4,13). The people were living in open sin. They were worshipping idols (Habakkuk 2:18-19). They were oppressing the poor. Habakkuk knew that the day was dark. He knew that this sin was leading to an invasion of Jerusalem by a strong enemy.

Habakkuk asked his question to God. He did not call a committee or form a society to solve the problem of the day. He went straight to Jehovah and stated his problem. Then God answered, “Look at the nations and watch – and be utterly amazed. For I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe, even if you were told” – Habakkuk 1:5. God wanted Habakkuk to look beyond the present. God was already working. God called the Chaldeans to the work of punishing Judah. They were a cruel scourge that swept over the land to destroy it (Habakkuk 1:5-11). God’s answer horrified Habakkuk. He could not understand how God would allow such awful means to bring about punishing his people. It is mentioned in Habakkuk 1:12, 13.

Habakkuk is a prophet who sang in the night (Habakkuk 3). Habakkuk prayed sincerely and God appeared to him (Habakkuk 3:1-16). God always responds to the cry for help from his people. Habakkuk realizes that God is in control of this universe and that he is working out his own purpose in his own time. Habakkuk learns that he can trust implicitly in God. He realizes that he can see only a small part of God’s plan at one time. One must wait for God to reveal his entire program. One must know God’s way is best. God does not promise that he will unravel every problem, but he does assure us that we can put our trust absolutely in him.

One of the texts in Habakkuk has great significance in history of the Reformation. A catholic priest called Martin Luther opposed the hypocrisy of the religious forced faith of Catholics by the words – “The just shall live by his faith” which can be seen in Habakkuk 2:4. The same is mentioned in Romans 1:17, Galatians 3:11 and Hebrews 10:38. On this day when you read this, remember Christianity is not about doing works to reach God, but it is by faith and grace of God that a person can reach Almighty. May God help you to know Christ, understand him and accept him as your personal saviour to know God’s grace and live in salvation.

The BOOK – A Reformer before Martin Luther

As protestant churches worldwide celebrate the 500^th year of reformation, Martin Luther - the man who emphasised on “the just shall live by faith”, in the Old Testament we see Habakkuk, a prophet of faith. He was one of the Levitical choristers in the temple (Habakkuk 3:19). Habakkuk knew only too well that Judah must fall before the great power of Nebuchadnezzar. But one question arose in his mind and troubled him greatly – Why should any nation as wicked as Babylon conquer a nation like Judah, which was less evil? It seemed to him that it was just a matter of evil triumphing over evil. God had to show him his ultimate plan. Judah needed punishment. God was using Babylon to correct Judah, but Babylon’s turn would come. Babylon would be utterly blotted out. As for God’s people, there was yet to be glorious future and a kingdom where Jehovah himself would prevail.

In Habakkuk 1, we see Habakkuk knowing his own land, Judah, full of lawlessness. The righteous were oppressed (Habakkuk 1:4,13). The people were living in open sin. They were worshipping idols (Habakkuk 2:18-19). They were oppressing the poor. Habakkuk knew that the day was dark. He knew that this sin was leading to an invasion of Jerusalem by a strong enemy.

Habakkuk asked his question to God. He did not call a committee or form a society to solve the problem of the day. He went straight to Jehovah and stated his problem. Then God answered, “Look at the nations and watch – and be utterly amazed. For I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe, even if you were told” – Habakkuk 1:5. God wanted Habakkuk to look beyond the present. God was already working. God called the Chaldeans to the work of punishing Judah. They were a cruel scourge that swept over the land to destroy it (Habakkuk 1:5-11). God’s answer horrified Habakkuk. He could not understand how God would allow such awful means to bring about punishing his people. It is mentioned in Habakkuk 1:12, 13.

Habakkuk is a prophet who sang in the night (Habakkuk 3). Habakkuk prayed sincerely and God appeared to him (Habakkuk 3:1-16). God always responds to the cry for help from his people. Habakkuk realizes that God is in control of this universe and that he is working out his own purpose in his own time. Habakkuk learns that he can trust implicitly in God. He realizes that he can see only a small part of God’s plan at one time. One must wait for God to reveal his entire program. One must know God’s way is best. God does not promise that he will unravel every problem, but he does assure us that we can put our trust absolutely in him.

One of the texts in Habakkuk has great significance in history of the Reformation. A catholic priest called Martin Luther opposed the hypocrisy of the religious faith of Catholics by the words – “The just shall live by his faith” which can be seen in Habakkuk 2:4. The same is mentioned in Romans 1:17, Galatians 3:11 and Hebrews 10:38. On this day when you read this, remember Christianity is not about doing works to reach God, but it is by faith and grace of God that a person can reach Almighty. May God help you to know Christ, understand him and accept him as your personal saviour to know God’s grace and live in salvation.