Malachi 3-4: A Long Struggle

We have come a long way since we began this journey. What started as a perfect world fell into darkness and destruction. Out of that darkness, a man was chosen to start a family through whom the world would be healed. That family grew into a nation. And that nation... struggled.

They endured 400 years of slavery before arriving at the land promised to them. They took that land. Through battle after battle, they drove the inhabitants from it. They were God's people. Who could stand before them? They lived according to his laws. They followed his word. At least, they did for a little while. Then they forgot. They forgot who rescued them out of Egypt. They saw what the nations around them possessed and their hearts were turned toward other gods. They lost their way. Time and time again God called His people back through his prophets. Each time, they returned for a short while, then fell away again.

As we arrive at the end of the Old Testament, one thing becomes clear: Israel has failed. They are a fraction of the nation they used to be. While most of them have been allowed to return to their homeland, they are not a free nation. They live under the rule of the Persians. Their task of being a blessing to all nations is a wash. They are barely a nation themselves anymore.

Malachi is the last of the prophets. After him, there are no more. As you read the first 2 chapters, it's easy to see that this is not because the people of God changed. Why won't you listen to Me? is what we hear God asking again and again. Why do you not listen? If it ended here, we would all understand. It's another tragic tale. A benevolent God creates a good world that ends up being destroyed by the people He created to care for it. He worked hard to get them to return to Him, but ultimately they were too stubborn, too determined to destroy themselves. Their character flaws were too great to overcome. So God gave up on them. He washed His hands of them and decided to start anew.

That's the way it should end. Israel is not going to change. What more could God possibly do? It's time to throw in the towel. He did everything a loving God could possibly do for his cheating people, right? He loved them. He disciplined them. He forgave them and welcomed them back again and again. And they continued to repay his love with rejection. There is nothing more to be done.

At the beginning of chapter 3, we something strange happen though...

Pay attention! I am sending My messenger,
and he will clear the road ahead for Me.
The Lord you seek will suddenly arrive at His temple.
And the Messenger of God’s covenant, your soul’s delight,
Watch, because He, too, is coming.

Wait. What? He isn't through with them? How could that possibly be?

Because I, Yahweh, have not changed, you descendants of Jacob have not been destroyed.

There it is. Hope. Here is the way Paul explains it in 2 Timothy:

If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself.

God was still going to rescue His people. Why? Because God is faithful. It was never dependent on His people being faithful or good enough. He is faithful. And because of His faithfulness, we see him reaffirming what He has said since the beginning.

“They will be Mine,” says the Lord of Hosts, “a special possession on the day I am preparing. I will have compassion on them as a man has compassion on his son who serves him.

These people are mine. I will not give them up. I will have compassion on them as a man has compassion on his son. These are my children. And I love them more than they love themselves. I will rescue them by the strength of my own arm. I AM coming.