Breaking The Silence: Let Heaven And Nature Sing

Sunday Service

Malachi to Matthew

During the intertestamental period, there was no prophetic word from God for 400 years. The deafening silence was broken by the angel Gabriel when he announced to an old priest named Zacharias that he would father a son named John who would fulfill Malachi’s prophecy that God would send another “messenger” (Luke 1:13). John the Baptist prepared the way for the ultimate messenger, the Messiah, Jesus Christ.

1. A MESSAGE OF LOVE (1:1-5)
The people were doubting that God really loved them because so much time had passed since He had last spoken to them through the prophets. All they could see was their hardships, which ironically were brought on by their own sinfulness, but God reminded them that He had been faithful to preserve them because they were His chosen people (Deuteronomy 7:7).

2. A MESSAGE OF REBUKE (1:6-3:15)
The Lord gave a message of rebuke to both the priests and the people for not honoring Him. The people were not honoring God because they did not offer the best of their flocks, herds and crops for sacrifice. These blemished offerings were a profanity to God, and to make matters worse, the priests were keeping the best offerings for themselves.

3. A MESSAGE OF HOPE (3:16-4:6)
The message of hope that God gave the people was to assure them that justice was coming in the form of two messengers. The great hope is that the second “messenger” was to be the promised Messiah. Moreover, God assured them of His immutability - that the promises He made, He was faithful to keep. The reason that the people suffered under a curse was because they were not being faithful to return to God that which was rightfully His.

Thank Jesus for becoming a curse for you by hanging on the cross to redeem you from the curse of sin. Ask Him to help you live your life with joy in your heart and a skip in your step as you anticipate your ultimate redemption when He returns (Malachi 4:2).