The words of Malachi speak volumes to us today. Malachi rebuked the people and the priests for neglecting and watering down the worship of God and failing to bring the best of their sacrifices. Their blemished sacrifices were half-hearted devotion to the Lord. Again the people had one foot in the world and one foot with the Lord.  The temple had been built for over 100 years but the people had lost their enthusiasm for worship. Do we neglect or water down the worship of God in our church services? Do we always give Him our best?

Another message from the reading for today in Malachi 1:1-5 is similar to the message we have learned from the book, The Harbinger and the companion video.  Edom may say, “Though we have been crushed, we will rebuild the ruins”.

And the Lord responds with, “They may build, but I will demolish.”

Malachi 2 mentions that Judah has desecrated the sanctuary by marrying the daughter of a foreign god. In other words, the people were joining with pagan traditions and pagan practices.  Earlier in the chapter God had admonished the priests because their teaching had caused many to stumble.  Guess they weren’t teaching the truth – so the people didn’t know the difference between God’s ways and pagan ways.

Many, many times we have heard Malachi 3 quoted in stewardship campaigns and sermons. And rightly so…but we would propose another application for these verses.  Since God had just warned the people about the consequences of continuing in pagan practices and being less than sincere about their worship of Him…ponder this.  Do we also rob God of the honor and glory He deserves when we do not honor His Holy Days?  He says that if we honor Him with the whole tithe (honor His Holy Days in His way), he will “throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.”

As we (Phil and Patti) look back over the years, we can clearly see that God has blessed us abundantly especially since we began honoring His Holy Days.

Malachi also gives us a prophecy concerning the Day of the Lord.

Malachi 4:1-3
"Surely the day is coming; it will burn like a furnace. All the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble, and that day that is coming will set them on fire," says the LORD Almighty. "Not a root or a branch will be left to them. But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings. And you will go out and leap like calves released from the stall. Then you will trample down the wicked; they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day when I do these things," says the LORD Almighty.

We can scarcely imagine what the earth will be like when that day comes during the firestorm when the sun scorches the land. There will certainly be plenty of ashes in which to leap. The word for leap also means to frisk; those who are saved from the fire will leap about joyfully in the knowledge that they have witnessed the triumph of God over Satan, the consummate battle of good vs. evil. God will have cleansed the whole earth with the fire in preparation for the new life that will spring from the ashes. The believers will know they have been saved by the grace of God to live into the Millennium to build the world anew.

While these are prophecies of the Millennium to come, we must remember that the prophecies are layered.  God promises to spare his treasured possession today as well.

Mal 4:5
See, I will send you the prophet Elijah before that great and dreadful day of the LORD comes.

Just as John the Baptist was sent before Jesus to prepare His way, so will another "Elijah" be sent to prepare the way? Seems as if most of the prophets have already been preparing the way. Are we listening???