001 God’s Burden Through Malachi

Malachi 1:1

October 16, 2022

This morning we’re beginning A NEW BOOK STUDY.

We’re going to begin working through the book of Malachi.

(We want to spend some time this morning

Really just introducing the point of the book as a whole)

Malachi is a Hebrew word that means “My Messenger”

This book is a message from God through His servant.

It is also the FINAL message God would speak for over 400 years.

THIS BOOK WOULD CLOSE OUT THE OLD TESTAMENT

And there would not be another new revelation

Until an angel visits Zacharias in the temple

To tell him that his wife Elizabeth would bear a son.

This would be the message

That Israel would dwell on for the next 4 centuries.

On the surface it is a message about APATHY or INDIFFERENCE.

In fact, if you look up the word apathy in a dictionary it is defined as

“a lack of interest or feeling; indifference.”

That is what the book of Malachi talks most about.

It is about when God’s people become indifferent

To the desires and glory of God.

And you’ll see it throughout the book.

· Indifference to worship

· Indifference to God’s word

· Indifference to sin

· Indifference to brotherly love

· Indifference to giving

It’s just a people who don’t care if God is pleased or not.

So let’s INTRODUCE this book a little while this morning.

(1) “The oracle of the word of the LORD to Israel through Malachi”

“oracle” is the Hebrew word MAS-SAH

It means “burden” or “load”

Exodus 23:5 “If you see the donkey of one who hates you lying helpless under its load, you shall refrain from leaving it to him, you shall surely release it with him.”

They called the donkey Jesus rode a “beast of burden”

This book is the “burden of the word” or “the load of the word”

It is God’s burden.

It is the load which God has carried.

It is now the burden or load which Malachi will bring to the people.

This is a HEAVY MESSAGE.

And I want you to grasp that from the outset.

MY PRAYER as we begin this book is that it would LAND RIGHTLY.

· It is never my objective to discourage the righteous by copying the

Pharisees and by laying on people a burden to great to bear.

· Nor do I want to put a burden on you that I won’t lift with so much as a

finger.

· I am also mindful that Jesus came to give rest and His yoke is easy and

His burden is light.

And so it is never my desire to just take God’s word

And grind the innocent under its weight.

· AT THE SAME TIME, it is not my desire to whitewash anyone’s wall either.

· It is not my desire to lessen the weight of what God would say to His

people.

· It is not my desire to disregard what was clearly burdensome to God.

And so you must understand that the book we are studying here

Represents what was burdensome and heavy to God.

THIS IS A GRIEF GOD BORE.

This is what “weighed” on Him.

And as God’s people we must be willing to take seriously

The things which burden God.

GOD’S BURDEN HERE IS THE INDIFFERENCE OF HIS PEOPLE.

Let me put the book in CONTEXT for you.

TURN TO: MALACHI 2:14

You see one of the expressions of their indifference was that they had no problem sending away their wives.

· This was an afront to God since He is a God who keeps His covenant.

· In fact God will tell them “I hate divorce” but it still hadn’t stopped them.

But let me give you the context to this divorce dilemma.

It was 605 BC when the first wave of exiles was carried into Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar.

The temple was actually destroyed in 586 BC.

But 70 years after those first exiles we get Cyrus issuing the decree that the Jews can go home and rebuild their temple. That was 536 BC

· That is when Zerubbabel returned to Jerusalem and started building that

temple.

· Zerubbabel finished the temple 20 years later in 516 BC

Ezra shows up in 458 BC

And Nehemiah shows up to rebuild the wall in 445 BC

Nehemiah goes back to Persia for a time and returns again in 420 BC

Now that’s a lot of dates, but just know that

· When Nehemiah gets back to Jerusalem that second time

· Israel has been back in the land for over 100 years

· Zerubbabel’s temple is 96 years old

· Jerusalem has been a walled city for around 25 years.

Everything had grown comfortable and easy

And the people had settled into complacency.

Listen to Nehemiah explain the scene.

TURN TO: NEHEMIAH 13:15-31

You see in verses 15-18

· Israel had gone right back to profaning the Sabbath.

· The things of God didn’t matter anymore.

· More important was making money and personal satisfaction.

· The people were indifferent to the desires of God.

Even in verses 19-22

· Nehemiah had a difficult time keeping the tradesmen from camping outside the city.

You see in verses 23-31

· They had also returned to the intermarriage that had gotten them in trouble in the first place.

This is what Malachi was referring to.

They were divorcing their wives

So they could intermarry with these foreign women.

READ MALACHI 2:11-12

It was people who were indifferent to the desires of God.

· What God wanted didn’t enter into their thinking.

· They were more concerned with making money.

· They were more concerned with gratifying the flesh.

They were a people who were going through the motions,

But at the end of the day God was anything but a priority.

THIS IS WHEN MALACHI SHOWED UP TO PREACH.

· Again, it is the message that Israel would chew on for the next 400+ years.

· The next prophet who would speak in Israel would John the Baptist who would tell these people it is time to repent.

PERHAPS THAT GIVES YOU A LITTLE CONTEXT TO THE BOOK.

That also gives you insight as to why we are studying it.

If I say that “Our culture is one that is marked with indifference toward the things of God”, there’s not a man in here who can argue with me.

We know our culture has reached a place where God’s will is ignored.

There is no fear of God in our culture any longer.

And we know what the indifference of the world looks like.

Asaph talked about them.

Psalms 73:10-12 “Therefore his people return to this place, And waters of abundance are drunk by them. They say, “How does God know? And is there knowledge with the Most High?” Behold, these are the wicked; And always at ease, they have increased in wealth.”

· They are people who just dwell in this sort of complacent and apathetic “ease”.

· They are concerned about the things of the world

· They are totally unconcerned about the things of God.

Jesus spoke of the world’s apathy as well.

Matthew 22:4-5 “Again he sent out other slaves saying, ‘Tell those who have been invited, “Behold, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and my fattened livestock are all butchered and everything is ready; come to the wedding feast.”’ “But they paid no attention and went their way, one to his own farm, another to his business,

· It is to be unconcerned about spiritual things

Luke 17:26-27 “And just as it happened in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man: they were eating, they were drinking, they were marrying, they were being given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all.”

· It is to be unconcerned about the warnings of judgment

Isaiah spoke of the world’s apathy regarding judgment also.

Isaiah 22:12-13 “Therefore in that day the Lord God of hosts called you to weeping, to wailing, To shaving the head and to wearing sackcloth. Instead, there is gaiety and gladness, Killing of cattle and slaughtering of sheep, Eating of meat and drinking of wine: “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we may die.”

God was warning of judgment.

God was calling men to repentance and mourning.

But men were indifferent.

Who wants to repent when we could party?

That is indifference.

That is apathy.

THE WARNINGS AGAINST

THE WORLD’S INDIFFERENCE ARE ALSO PLENTY.

Listen to the writer of Hebrews

Hebrews 2:1-3 “For this reason we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away from it. For if the word spoken through angels proved unalterable, and every transgression and disobedience received a just penalty, how will we escape if we neglect so great a salvation? After it was at the first spoken through the Lord, it was confirmed to us by those who heard”

Those are nautical terms by the way.

“pay much closer attention to” is the Greek word pra-SECH-o which means “to bring a ship to land” or “to moor a ship” or “to tie it up to the dock”

“drift away from it” is the Greek word parr-arr-RAY-o it means “to flow by” which speaks of a ship that is allowed to drift past the harbor.

So it’s the picture of an INDIFFERENT CAPTAIN.

He has given no thought to the direction of his ship.

He’s just letting it drift and never giving any thought to bringing it into port.

It’s an analogy of our lives.

Your life is the ship, the port is heaven.

AND THE QUESTION IS:

If you live your whole life disregarding God and His call of salvation, what are the odds that your ship will just one day enter the port of heaven and anchor itself there?

Indifference does not lead to eternal life.

That’s the point.

“we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard”

Listen again to the writer of Hebrews

Hebrews 10:26-31 “For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a terrifying expectation of judgment and the fury of a fire which will consume the adversaries. Anyone who has set aside the Law of Moses dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace? For we know Him who said, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay.” And again, “The Lord will judge His people.” It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”

There the indifference is seen in their irreverence for God.

· They “trample under foot the Son of God”

· They “regard as unclean the blood” of His sacrifice

· They “insult the Spirit of grace”

In other words they have heard God’s warning of judgment

But they are totally indifferent to the way of salvation.

THAT IS THE WORLD’S INDIFFERENCE.

· They are indifferent to the holy requirement of God.

· They are indifferent to the saving call of the gospel.

· They are indifferent to the impending judgment.

They just neglect or disregard or overlook such commands

And their indifference most certainly will land them in judgment.

We have no problem seeing or condemning the indifference of the world.

WE KNOW THAT THEIR INDIFFERENCE IS A TERRIBLE PROBLEM.

And yet, the book of Malachi is NOT a sermon for the world.

It is “The oracle of the word of the LORD to Israel…”

Malachi was not a prophet to the pagan nations.

This is a sermon for the people of God.

And just to give you a preview:

READ MALACHI 1:10

God was so displeased with the indifference of His people He cried out for someone who would be willing to go and shut the gates so that people would quit arriving to bring Him such pathetic worship.

· He wasn’t pleased with the offerings…

· He wasn’t pleased with the people…

· His request was for someone to close up the temple and call off the service.

READ MALACHI 2:7-8

Listen to God talk to the priests about the way they handle God’s word.

· They were indifferent to what God had to say and had instead settled on some

other authority.

· That is indifference and God promised to make those priests “despised and

abased” because of it.

READ MALACHI 2:17

That is their indifference to the coming judgment.

· They didn’t think God would judge sinners.

· They thought people in sin were fin.

You see God’s burden there don’t you?

“You have wearied the LORD”

Because they tell people that they can do evil and still be pleasing to God.

Their message to sinners is that God still delights in you.

They actually question whether God is even just to judge sinners at all.

Boy doesn’t that sound familiar!

In a world where church after church only has the goal

To make sinners feel comfortable and to assure them that

God delights in them regardless of what they do.

That is indifference and it was wearisome to God.

READ MALACHI 3:13-15

And this is the pinnacle of arrogance.

“what profit is it that we have kept His charge..?”

What’s in it for me?

· Forget the days of serving God for God’s benefit.

· Forget the days of worshiping God for God’s glory.

· Now we just want to know what’s in it for me?

I went to church now where is my blessing?

I gave some money now where is my reimbursement?

I did what you asked so where is my benefit?

Do you see that the people were totally indifferent to what God wanted?

It is one thing when the culture grows indifferent to God,

But Malachi is about when that indifference infiltrates the church.

First just let me ask you

Why indifference is such a grievous problem in the church?

· What is the big deal if we grow a little complacent?

· What is the big deal if we grow a little lethargic?

· What is the big deal if we are a little indifferent or apathetic?

Here is the big deal.

Matthew 22:36-37 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And He said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’”

If you take the entire book of the Law…

If you take the sum total of all that God commands…

DO YOU KNOW THE MAIN POINT?

LOVE GOD MORE THAN ANYTHING ELSE!

This is the foundation command for everything else.

· Why should we not have any other gods? (because we are to love God)

· Why should we not make graven images? (because we are to love God)

· Why should we honor the Sabbath? (because we love God)

· Why should we obey..?

· Why should we evangelize..?

· Why should we give..?

BECAUSE WE LOVE GOD MORE!

· More than other gods

· More than our time

· More than our money

· More than our comfort

You know of course that Jesus is quoting the infamous SHEMA

Have you read that passage?

Deuteronomy 6:4-9 “Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one! “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. “These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. “You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up. “You shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontals on your forehead. “You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.”

That command is the very opposite of indifference.

That command is the very opposite of apathy.

Instead of God being the farthest thing from your mind,

He is the first thing on your mind at all times.

DO YOU SEE THE DIFFERENCE?

Indifference or apathy or complacency is the exact opposite

Of the chief command of Scripture to love God

With all your heart and soul and mind and strength.

So you understand a little why God is so frustrated

Why God actually would just as soon that someone would go lock the doors and cancel the service.

And you’d think the people would know better.

For it their indifference that sent them to Babylon to begin with.

Amos 6:1-7 “Woe to those who are at ease in Zion And to those who feel secure in the mountain of Samaria, The distinguished men of the foremost of nations, To whom the house of Israel comes. Go over to Calneh and look, And go from there to Hamath the great, Then go down to Gath of the Philistines. Are they better than these kingdoms, Or is their territory greater than yours? Do you put off the day of calamity, And would you bring near the seat of violence? Those who recline on beds of ivory And sprawl on their couches, And eat lambs from the flock And calves from the midst of the stall, Who improvise to the sound of the harp, And like David have composed songs for themselves, Who drink wine from sacrificial bowls While they anoint themselves with the finest of oils, Yet they have not grieved over the ruin of Joseph. Therefore, they will now go into exile at the head of the exiles, And the sprawlers’ banqueting will pass away.”

You see their desire for the things of the world

And they cared so little for the things of God.

Is it any wonder that God ripped away their worldly comforts and sent them into Babylon?

Perhaps Jeremiah had the best definition of those who are indifferent.

Jeremiah 12:1-2 “Righteous are You, O Lord, that I would plead my case with You; Indeed I would discuss matters of justice with You: Why has the way of the wicked prospered? Why are all those who deal in treachery at ease? You have planted them, they have also taken root; They grow, they have even produced fruit. You are near to their lips But far from their mind.”

Jeremiah said “You are near to their lips but far from their mind.”

They’re God’s people, but God is not on their mind at all.

Everything else is more important.

Do you see that sort of indifference in the spiritual community today?

If you don’t, then come help with the youth

And next year I’ll let you pick the date for Disciple Now.

You’ll learn real quick where the things of God rank.

(and it’s not just the kids, it’s their parents who value the things of the world more)

I CAN TELL YOU.

· Friday Night Football – that’s #1 (it’s unthinkable that anything unseat that)

· Anything that links to football – that’s #2 (Band, Pep-Rally’s, Cheerleading, Practices, etc.)

· Any other sport – that’s #3 (cross country, travel ball, etc.)

· Then there’s any family get together (weddings, birthdays, reunions, etc)

· And finally just human tiredness (it’s too early, it’s too late, etc)

And if you can get past all of those, then maybe

You’ve got a shot at scheduling something people will attend.

(That is as long as something doesn’t pop up at the very last minute.)

WHAT’S MY POINT?

· Everything matters more than church today.

· Everything matters more than worship.

· Everything matters more than ministry.

That’s not to say that football is sinful or birthday parties are bad,

But their idolatrous preference in our lives over the things of God

Is a horrible expression of indifference to God.

I’ve talked to my kids about this recently because they’ve been so disheartened as they invite friends to disciple now.

But I talk to them about THE LITTLE BATTLES.

Our Christian culture has an absolute blind spot about themselves

That if push comes to shove that they’ll stand with Christ.

You know

· If they make Christianity illegal…

· If someone tells me I have to die for my faith…

· Then I’m standing with Christ!

By in large the American Christian community genuinely believes

That if it ever came to that, then they’d be faithful.

This from people who won’t even let their kid skip an athletic practice

For fear that the coach won’t start them in the game.

Very few people face that ultimate giant battle

· Of Christ or death in some great martyrdom decision.

· There are some who do,

· But the Christian life is not marked by this one giant “do or die” moment.

The Christian life is marked by thousands of little battles every day.

That’s what I remind my kids.

It’s the little everyday decisions that mark your priorities

That show where your allegiance truly lies.

Jeremiah nailed it in Israel,

“You are near to their lips but far from their mind.”

People make their schedules with no thought at all

Regarding their responsibility to gather with the saints in worship.

Don’t tell me indifference doesn’t exist in the church today.

Israel was actually judged by God for it

And sent into Babylon for 70 years.

But it wasn’t just their time management.

It was also their indifference to the commands of God.

Ezekiel compared the people to Sodom and spoke of why God destroyed her…

Ezekiel 16:49 “Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had arrogance, abundant food and careless ease, but she did not help the poor and needy.”

Ezekiel’s point is that you are just like her.

· It was to not care for the things that God cared about.

· It was to store up goods for oneself and ignore the poor.

· They didn’t care that God commanded them to feed the poor.

That’s another kind of indifference.

It’s just not to care about what God has commanded you to do.

Let’s leave the issue of church attendance aside for a moment…

· When is the last time you helped the poor?

· When is the last time you shared the gospel?

· When is the last time you confessed your sin?

· When is the last time you taught someone about God?

· When is the last time you gave sacrificially?

· When is the last time you prayed?

Hopefully you do those things, but you must agree that

There are many who claim Christianity who don’t do those things.

WE ARE TALKING ABOUT

The indifference of God’s people to the things of God.

And God sent Israel into the exile for those things.

And so the people of Malachi’s day should know better.

The problem is that they are now over 100 years removed from the exile.

The people alive now don’t even know what it was like.

To them it was nothing more than history.

Like when you or I read about WWII or the holocaust

It is really easy to slip right back into the indifference

That once plagued a previous generation.

That is God’s burden in the book of Malachi.

It is when God’s people grow indifferent to the desires of God.

NOW LET ME SHOW YOU THE MESSAGE OF THE BOOK

The people of Malachi’s day were content and happy and all they waited for now was Messiah to come and lead them to prominence.

But God had a message for them.

READ MALACHI 3:1-4

These people thought they were ready for the Messiah.

To which Malachi says – NO YOU AREN’T!

· If He were to show up you wouldn’t like it.

· You are not ready to stand before Him.

· You can’t “endure the day of His coming”

So Malachi says before God sends the Messiah,

He will first send a “messenger” and “he will clear the way before Me”

· He will come and preach repentance!

· He will come and make the crooked ways straight!

· He will come and make the uneven places smooth!

READ MALACHI 4:5-6

· You know who this is.

· It is John the Baptist.

NOW WHAT IS THE POINT TO ALL OF THIS?

WOULD YOU REALLY ASSUME THAT YOU CAN

· Present broken sacrifices on God’s altar..?

· Gripe and complain about service to God..?

· Vow a good sacrifice to God and then give Him a broken one..?

· Ignore God’s word and preach your own instead..?

· Disregard God’s commands regarding marriage..?

· Tell sinners that God delights in them anyway..?

· Rob God of the tithe He commands..?

· Call the wicked blessed..?

AND THINK THAT THE MESSIAH WILL BE PLEASED WHEN HE ARRIVES?

“You are not ready to meet Him”.

That is the message of Malachi.

That message is not totally invalid in the New Testament.

Did we not just finish 1 John?

1 John 2:28-29 “Now, little children, abide in Him, so that when He appears, we may have confidence and not shrink away from Him in shame at His coming. If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone also who practices righteousness is born of Him.”

What was John saying?

· Walk in righteousness so you aren’t ashamed when Jesus arrives.

· That’s not so different than the message of Malachi.

And for those of us who are living in the last days,

Being ready to meet Jesus should be at the forefront of our minds.

Let me leave you with one parting verse to ponder on this week.

Romans 13:11-14 “Do this, knowing the time, that it is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep; for now salvation is nearer to us than when we believed. The night is almost gone, and the day is near. Therefore let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us behave properly as in the day, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and sensuality, not in strife and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts.”

We’ll get into the book of Malachi in a couple of weeks.