Morgan County Democrat. (McConnelsville, Ohio) 1886-1943, 1935-12-19
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Malachi FOretellS New Day,
Malachi 3:1-12, for Sunday, Dec.
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While judah was still Persian
province, Malachi, the last Of the
prophets. denounced the evils of his
time and foretold a new day with
it's promise of the Messenger of
the Covenant and of the second
Elijah to herald his glorious ad-
vent.
V. l. "Behold, / will send my
messenger, and he shall prepare the
way before me: and the Lord whom
Te seek shall come suddenly to his
temple, even the messenger of the
covenant whom ye delight in; be-
hold, he shall come, saith the Lord
of hosts" Gods messenger here
referred to was John, the Baptist.
The Lord needs human forerunners
to prepare the way. The. world had
to be put through a long course of
education before it was ready to re-
ceive Jesus Christ and furnish him
a soil in which to sow seed.
V. 2, g. And who shall stand
when he appeareth; for he is like a
refiner's fire, and like fuller's soap;
and he shall purify the sons of Levi
and purge them as gold and silver
that they may offer unto the Lord
an offering of righteousness. The
needed refining process was a work
of moral publication. The two
preceding chapters denounce the
priests for offering polluted and de-
fective sacrifices; they had treated
the altar with contempt. Religious
expressions not prompted by a sin
cere heart are likely to become
hypocrisy. Gods work of grace in
the heart and mind produces an eX-
perience as expressed in verse six.
v. S. "And / will come near to
you to judgment; and I will be
swift witness against the sorcerers,
adulterers, false swearers, those
that oppress the hireling, the wild
Ow and fatherless, and that turn
aside the stranger from his right.
and fear not me, saith the Lord of
hosts" These ancient sins forbid
den by the moral law are also mod
ern and confront us today, which
need rebuking; they must be clear
ed away if the Lord is to have
part in society; this accounts for
the present lowering of moral
standards and ideals.
v. 6. 'For | am the Lord,
change not; therefore, ye sons of
Jacob are not consumed" Since
God does not change, his moral law
does not change, and transgressors
are always subject to it, God is al
so a God of love who does not
change and therefore he extends
forgiveness to the penitent. The
moral violations with Gods extend
ed pardon are declared in verse
seven.
VS.. "Will a man rob God? Yet
we have robbed me. But We say,
Wherein have we robbed thee? In
tithes and offerings Because the,
moral law had become a dead let
ter and their love to God had cool
ed, they had failed to obey God in
giving a strict account Of their COM
manded offerings, keeping for them
selves the tithe which belonged to
God. Those who have loved God
to the Lords work.
". 9. eye are cursed with a
curse; for ye have robbed me, even
this whole nation Since God is
love, his disapproval is the cause of
the souls distress; to rob man de-
serves punishment, but to rob God
deserves curse.
V. 10. Bring we all the tithes
into the store house, that there may
be meat in my house, and prove me
now herewith, saith the Lord Of
hosts, if 1 will not open the win
dows of heaven, and pour you out a
blessing, that there Shall not be
room enough to receive it, There
is a vital relation between the state