Today's Word Radio

Brett Meador: They’re living securely. Their vineyards are being blessed, the Bible says, yet all the while they’re saying, “Where is God?” as they’re sitting, living large and living securely. That’s the condition of the people in Malachi’s time. They’re wealthy, but they’re distracted with their wealth.

If you ever start doubting the love of God like the people here, denying the love of God, repent from that and just look to the cross and see what has God done for you. The answer: everything.

Kurt: By the time of the prophet Malachi, the temple was rebuilt, sacrifice and feasts had resumed, but some unfulfilled promises of earlier prophets left the nation discouraged and disappointed. Israel needed both an assurance of God’s love as well as a confrontation from God for their lack of obedience. Pastor Brett Meador continues our study series in Today’s Word.

Brett Meador: The book of Malachi. Interesting few sideline things before we dive in. Malachi, the name means messenger, the Hebrew word for "my messenger." So it could be a guy by the name of Malachi, which is, in my opinion, probable. But some scholars say Malachi was actually written by Ezra and called himself Malachi as the messenger of God. It would be more like a title than his personal name. There’s debate on that, but nonetheless, it’s still the messenger.

That’s a good word whether it’s Malachi’s name or it’s just the writer’s name or whatever that Malachi uses. But I wouldn’t argue on that. We don’t really know much about Malachi, but it’s not really about the messenger, it’s about the message that God gives. And that’s what we care about. But the message that he’s going to give is quite heavy. Basically, one thing about the messenger, by the way, you and I are called to be the messengers as well. I hope you understand that.

The Lord wants you and me to be the messenger. So he starts off the book with a heavy word. Let’s see verse one, chapter one. "The burden of the word of the Lord to Israel by Malachi." Now, the word "burden" there, if you look it up in the Hebrew dictionary, it's massa, which is a message of rebuke rather than comfort. The definition actually goes on and says "ominous in judgment and utterance, chiefly of doom." So this is what we're in for. Are you guys ready for some doom? Here it is, Malachi, the burden, the doom upon Israel.

Now, some of you might protest and say, "Brett, why would Malachi be talking to Israel? Israel has been gone for hundreds of years. They were destroyed by the Assyrians." Well, if you remember back in the days of Jeroboam and Rehoboam, they were the kings of Judah and Israel. Judah was in the south, Israel was in the north. The twelve tribes split, two tribes in the south, ten tribes in the north, and a civil war. That civil war split up Israel and Judah. They were enemies not long after David, only a few generations after David was king in Jerusalem.

Jeroboam, there in First Kings 12, remember what he did? One of the things he did, he was worried that the Jews that lived in his northern Israel, as it was called, he was worried that the Jews would go down and do their yearly trek to Jerusalem for the feasts and festivals and that he would lose his people to the worshiping of God in Jerusalem. So Jeroboam in First Kings 12:28, he made these little miniature places of worship. "Hey, forget going down to Jerusalem like God’s word says, but hey, let’s make places of worship. Well, what are we going to worship? I got an idea. Golden calves."

So they made two places, Bethel and Dan, which is up in the northern region, or Laish is the ancient word for Dan. But they made the two golden calf centers, and that’s where the north lost their marbles. The northern tribes of Israel, the ten tribes. Now, when the Assyrians came and conquered the northern tribes, that was 150 years before the Babylonians crushed the southern tribe of Judah. So the Assyrians just took, and remember they put fish hooks in their mouths and they dragged them up into the north.

But there’s this notion that all the Jews were taken up there, so all those tribes were lost. But it’s not true, and I’ll tell you why. If you read the Bible’s narrative, what happened with Jeroboam, when Jeroboam pulled the trigger on this wacky worship of his little golden calves, a ton of the Jews in the north said, "We can’t do this. We’re not going to be pagans and worship a golden calf." So they made their way back to Jerusalem and they moved to Judah and they were no longer part of the northern kingdom.

There were a bunch of people from all the different tribes that moved back down to Jerusalem. So the northern tribes were wiped out by the Assyrians, but not all the tribes were wiped out by the Assyrians because a bunch of those tribes came to the south. You guys with me on that? Now, it is true, by the way, most Jews have no idea what tribe they’re a part of today, which helps with this whole lost tribe narrative. But all that to say, there’s no such thing as lost tribes, and I want you to know that because books have been written, cults have been started, and all kinds of crazy stuff about this dividing of the lost tribes of Israel.

The reason I go into all that is because some people say, "See, Malachi doesn’t know what he’s talking about because look, he says the Lord is speaking to Israel by Malachi." But one of the things we need to remember: Israel was the name of the northern tribes that rebelled against the southern two tribes, but we’re still calling them Israel. And it’s because God gave that name to Jacob, remember, when he wrestled with God at Peniel and touched his hip and his hip went out of socket, that whole story. So Israel’s always called Israel by God, whether they’re lost tribes or not. Of course they weren’t, but that’s one of the protests you’ll hear sometimes.

Now we come to the first section, and this is sort of the debate that’s going to banter back and forth between God and the people of Israel. And it’s really heartbreaking. Check this out. So the first section, we’re going to call verses two through five, the denying of God’s love. This is the first part of their bad condition of the people of Malachi’s time: the denying of God’s love. And we pick it up in verse two: "I have loved you, saith the Lord. Yet ye say, Wherein hast thou loved us? Was not Esau Jacob's brother? saith the Lord: yet I loved Jacob, And I hated Esau, and laid his mountains and his heritage waste for the dragons of the wilderness. Whereas Edom saith, We are impoverished, but we will return and build the desolate places; thus saith the Lord of hosts, They shall build, but I will throw down; and they shall call them, The border of wickedness, and, The people against whom the Lord hath indignation for ever. And your eyes shall see, and ye shall say, The Lord will be magnified from the border of Israel."

The Lord is talking about several things that really are springboards into some really interesting discussions. The Lord says, "Man, I loved you guys," and the people are like, "When did you love us?" Boy, does that sound like a grateful bunch of people. "When did you show us love? What have you done for us lately?" they might have said. Now, it’s easy to say because they’re living large right now. During Malachi’s time, they’ve got their temple built, their houses are all comfy, they really are in somewhat freedom from enemies at this point.

Isn’t it funny how that’s usually when you start to doubt God is when you’re living in times of prosperity, doing your own thing and don’t have a real need for God? You’re not in desperate need, so you’re not crying out to God. It’s in prosperity you forget God, and that’s where the people were. "I love you." "Where did you love us, God?" This is the people’s heart, that’s where they’re at. And then the Lord says, "Man, I have loved you. Think about it. I chose Jacob," remember the guy that changed the name from Jacob to Israel, "and Esau have I hated."

Isn’t it interesting? Romans talks about this, about this idea of the Lord choosing us. Election is an interesting part of the discussion here. God chose the Jews over the descendants of Esau. Now, the Esau descendants, the Edomites, and they’re the ones mentioned here. And it’s important to know what’s going on with these guys. The Lord says, "I’m going to crush them, so I loved you because I didn’t crush you." Well, that’s not loving. No, it really is. The Lord should have crushed the whole world. We’re all sinners, we all deserve death and hell, but the Lord loves the Jews. We’re huge sinners and the Lord still loves us.

It reminds me of Romans 5:8 where we’re told by Paul the apostle: "But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." And he says he loved Jacob and he hated Esau. This is where Paul quoted from that. The Lord says, "Jacob have I loved, Esau have I hated." Who would you have chosen, by the way, between those two people? I always laugh at that because I’m pretty sure for me, I can’t speak for you, but for me, I would have chosen Esau. Jacob was a smooth, mischievous, lying, sinister little guy who liked to be in the kitchen cooking. Esau was a mighty hunter and he’s a man’s man and he liked to eat lots of food and he killed things. I like that.

Sorry, I just do. You got Martha Stewart Living and you got Field and Stream, kind of the two different kinds of people here. But why would God choose Jacob over Esau? And there’s an interesting whole biblical theme that goes throughout the Bible, but Esau kind of is a symbol of the carnal man. But if you would, Jacob’s the one who was chosen, elected. This reminds me of Romans 8:29 through 31: "For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified. What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?"

How does that work? How does God choose us or did we actually choose him? And this is where people get really hung up, especially the very logical people are like, "This doesn’t work out mathematically, Brett. Did you choose God or did God choose you?" And I say yes. But you’re like, "That doesn’t work." But this is where I’m so thankful for God. He’s bigger than our math. Do you understand that? If God were small enough to figure out, he wouldn’t be big enough to worship. God is way bigger than that. And so people get stumbled on this. Did Esau choose to go against God or did God choose to reject him and he chose... and people get all stopped in this.

One of my favorite old writers and pastors, in 1935, H.A. Ironside wrote about this idea of predestination and divine election. He was quite the guy, I liked a lot of the stuff he wrote. But let me read to you what this old fellow said about this "Did he choose us or did we choose him?" thing. They call it Ironside’s Door. Let me read it. "Here is a vast host of people hurrying down the broad road with their minds fixed upon their sins. And one stands calling their attention to yonder door, the entrance into the narrow way that leads to eternal life. On its plainly depicted text, it says on this door, 'Whosoever will, let him come. Every man is invited, no one need hesitate.'"

"Some man may say, 'Well, I may not be of the elect, and so it would be useless for me to endeavor to come, for the door will not open for me.' But God’s invitation is absolutely sincere. It is addressed to every man. 'Whosoever will, let him take of the water of life freely.' Revelation 22:17. So I am going inside, I will accept the invitation, I will enter that door. And he presses his way in, and it shuts behind him. And as he turns about, he finds written on the inside of the door the words, 'Chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world.' What? he says. Had God in his heart fixed on me before ever the world came into being? Yes, but he could not find it out until he got inside of the door."

I like that. It’s the way it happened. It’s a good way of thinking about it. I know it doesn’t work out in our logic with time and space and our little miniature dimensions compared to what God knows, but the Lord chooses who he wants to. Divine election, predestination. Now, some might protest and say, "I feel sorry for Esau. Why didn’t God choose him?" Someday when we see the Lord, we’ll understand. "Oh, God knew exactly what he was doing. Good choice, Lord." We will commend him and say, "Righteous and true are your judgments, O Lord." That’s what we will say about everything.

But if you’re worried, if you’re sitting in this chair, "Well, what if I’m not chosen by God?" there’s only one way to find out. It’s really actually pretty simple. It’s like Ironside’s door. Do you go in or do you not? So if you’re sitting here saying, "Well, I just don’t know about becoming a Christian and I don’t know if I want to pull the trigger on that because Christians are weird," or whatever dumb excuses there are why you would never want to go through the door, then you probably aren’t chosen. But if you repent of your sins and say, "O Lord, I’m a sinner, I do acknowledge my sins before you and I believe that you died on the cross for my sins and rose from the ground," and then you take and accept salvation from Christ, guess what? You’re chosen. You walk in and you realize the Lord chose you from before the foundations of the earth.

That’s what the Bible says about that. If you go on in Romans chapter nine, verse 13, this is where he quotes from Malachi. Romans 9:13 through 18: "As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated. What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid. For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy. For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth. Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and on whom he will he hardeneth."

Pharaoh’s another example of that in the Bible. Nine times in the story of Pharaoh in Exodus, it says that Pharaoh hardened his heart, and then nine other times it says and God hardened Pharaoh’s heart. Which one was it? The answer: yes. That’s the idea with divine election. God is sovereign, he chooses, he elects, and it’s sure. And God can do whatever he wants. And if you say, "Well, God, you’re not fair," then who are you to reply against God? That’s what Paul would say. "Should the clay talk to the potter and say, why are you making me thus?" That’s the kind of example Paul the apostle gave. Does the potter have power over the clay? Yes, and that’s the argument.

Election makes some people bummed and worried; it doesn’t worry me at all. Don’t be afraid of the scripture, Esau have I hated. Just marvel at the phrase "Jacob have I loved." See, that’s why I’m amazed that God chose Jacob because he was such an unchoosable guy. And at first, I didn’t like that. "Should have chosen Esau. Kabella’s! Come on, choose Esau!" But the Lord says, "No, I’m going to choose the one that is kind of slimy and sneaky." Guess what? That should make you feel comforted. See, election, when I realize what election really is, when I really think it through, it makes me less of a worrier and more of a worshipper. When I really understand divine election, I think, "Wow, Lord, to choose a knucklehead like me, I just worship your name. You’re so kind and compassionate that I get to be part of the chosen."

So I love this idea of election versus free will and stuff like that. I believe in both. Divine election, yes. You also have free will to choose, and it’s not a conflict. I don’t believe that at all. So we have number one here, verses two through five, the denying of God’s love. "When have you loved us?" And by the way, we could number the ways that God loved Israel. We could talk about the deliverance out of Egypt, the parting of the Red Sea. Was that a loving thing for God to do? I think so. I think that was pretty loving to part the Red Sea and destroy Pharaoh’s army.

What about starving in the wilderness? Did the Lord love them? Yes. They were hungry and all they had to do is wake up in their tent and reach outside the tent door and grab manna off the ground. They didn’t have to stand in line at Safeway. Like, they got to eat food. And yet, with the Lord loving them throughout the whole Bible, they wanted meat and so God sent quail. God, throughout the history of Israel, God loved them and provided for them and protected them and wiped out their enemies over and over and over again. But the Jews rebelled against God. Now in Malachi’s time, "What ever good thing have you done for us? When did you love us, God?"

Sadly, that’s the condition of much of Israel today. Much of Israel, as I’ve brought out, I even showed you I think in one of the recent studies, 70 percent of the population of Jews in Israel are atheists. That’s an amazing thing. By the way, whatever happened to the Edomites since that’s part of the thing here in verses two through five? Did you know they’re no longer? The Edomites don’t really exist anymore. Edomites, the descendants of Esau, they went to Edom, which land means red, which is interesting because Esau was called red also. But Edom was the red land, and the reason it’s called red over there is because of the red sandstone. That’s where Esau lived, in the red land of Moab, which is modern-day Jordan today.

So the Edomites, what happened to them? In 450 BC, not much further away from Malachi’s time, it was almost the same time, God allowed the Edomites to be totally wiped out by a group called the Nabataeans. And the Nabataeans, by the way, are the ones that carved all the fancy stuff in Petra. They’re the ancient people group that went and carved the facades in Petra, which is an amazing thing. It’s one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. If you’re ever in that region of the world, you got to go see Petra. Carved beautiful facades that the Nabataeans carved, Colosseum, tombs, cisterns, it’s an amazing place. But those people crushed the Edomites, never to be heard from again.

So after going his own way, being rebellious against God, God demonstrated his love, preserving Israel, but also judging Esau. That’s kind of the idea. By the way, I wonder if the Lord loves you and you question that. "Does the Lord really love me?" And remember, I told you it was in times of prosperity when people questioned that the most. But I wonder, even if you aren’t as well off as someone next to you, maybe you’re like, "I don’t have as fancy of a car, or I don’t live in as fancy of a house as those people. Why doesn’t God love me the way they are?" Maybe the Lord keeping you poor is his demonstration of love for you.

Have you ever thought about that? Like material wealth. When I’ve been to Africa, some of my African friends in Ouagadougou, it’s interesting because the African church there knows that wealth is maybe a curse for Americans. They look at our fancy houses and churches and cars and they in some ways they kind of wish they could have that too, but they also have told me, "Brett, we understand. That’s like a temptation." And they understand what the Bible says, like in Matthew 19:24, Jesus said, "It’s easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God."

So maybe the most loving thing God can do is make you poor or impoverished. Is it the love of the Lord that we’re so well off as Americans or is it actually a curse against our country? Being distracted of what actually matters. That’s the condition of the people of Malachi’s time. They’re wealthy, but they’re distracted with their wealth. Their homes are dialed in, they’re living securely, their vineyards are being blessed, the Bible says, yet all the while they’re saying, "Where in have you loved us, God?" as they’re sitting living large, drinking their wine and living securely.

So it’s not a sin to be materially blessed, by the way. It’s when you focus on that and make that sort of your thing. It’s like that verse that’s so oft misquoted from First Timothy 6:10. They always say, "Money is the root of all evil," they say, but they forget the first part. It’s not money that’s the root of all evil, it’s "for the love of money," that’s the way the whole verse goes, "is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, pierced themselves through with many sorrows." That’s really the condition of Malachi’s time, and that’s why they’re denying the love of God. Even though they’re wealthy, "When have you loved us? Everything I have is something I made or I built," and they’ve taken credit for that.

But man, I love that when you actually know the love of Christ. There was actually a story of a monk. He felt like his community didn’t understand the love of Christ. So he decided to do a unique sermon on a dark, gloomy day. They came into the cathedral and there was only one candle lit. All the other candles were not lit. And the people came in like, "What’s the deal? It’s so dark in here, you can barely see." And then the monk came up to do his sermon. And what he did is he came and got the candle and then he walked, he got up on a ladder that he had put there before the service that climbed up to the crucifixion that they had hanging on the wall.

And then the monk just slowly, without saying a word, just took the candle and held it up to the right hand where the nail was in his hand, and then the left hand and the nail in his hand, and then the crown of thorns, and he just moved the candle around the wounds of Christ. And then he put the candle down after about ten minutes of just looking at Christ’s body, and then he said, "You’re dismissed." And I guess it moved the town. The whole town was moved to realize that that was the love of Christ. His love was demonstrated on the cross. If you ever start doubting the love of God like the people here, denying the love of God, repent from that and just look to the cross and see what has God done for you? The answer: everything. He’s done everything.

Kurt: Pastor Brett Meador has been beautifully illustrating the unmistakable ultimate gesture of God’s grace and love, the sacrifice of His Son for us. And there’s even more to come of this verse-by-verse study of Malachi in Today’s Word. I invite you to stay right there as Pastor Brett will join me to share some comforting words from our Savior. But first, our teacher Brett Meador is the senior pastor of Athey Creek Church just outside of Portland, Oregon. Each day Pastor Brett will bring you an in-depth study of God’s word. If you missed any portion of our time today, you’ll find all of his messages online at todayswordradio.com. That’s todayswordradio.com.

All right, Pastor Brett has joined me. For a person listening right now who’s going through a difficult time in life, be it a health issue, financial, or even a hard time with someone close to them, I know Jesus gave some encouraging words to us in scripture. Brett, can you share some of those with us?

Brett Meador: I would love to, Kurt. Jesus said so many things. Some of my favorites personally are John 14:1: "Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me." I think that Jesus mentioned that to the disciples in a very dark and troubled time for them. And so if you’re going through those times, you can hear the word of Jesus there. Don’t let your heart be troubled. Believe in Jesus, that He’s there, that He’s going to take care of things.

Also, Matthew chapter 11, there’s that great reminder, Jesus, I think these words are greatly comforting: "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." I love that Jesus doesn’t say, "Figure it out first, good luck," but He invites us, "Come unto me." There’s so much that I find there to just be real. You just go to the cross and He’ll bear that burden, whatever it is that you’re trying to bear. I love that the Lord never leaves us or forsakes us, that Jesus is with you. Your trial is real, your difficulties are real, but Jesus is even more real and powerful than we could ever imagine. And I think those words that Jesus is able to speak to us, He calms the storm. I love during the storm when Jesus said... the disciples were toiling and thinking they were going to drown, but Jesus said, "Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid." And I think those are the words that I would think of if I’m in troubled times.

Kurt: Oh, that is very encouraging. Thank you, Pastor Brett. And if you’d like more information about Today’s Word Radio or Pastor Brett Meador, just go to todayswordradio.com. That’s todayswordradio.com. Well, that’s all the time we have. Next time, Pastor Brett will continue in the book of Malachi to examine our own hearts to see if we’re honoring God with sincerity or giving him what costs us little instead of our best. Today’s Word with Pastor Brett Meador is an outreach of Athey Creek Church in West Linn, Oregon.