| Date | Version | Reading Plan |
|---|---|---|
| @December 29, 2023 | ESV (2016) | ESV Prophets Plan 2023 |
Pericopes
- The Messenger of the Lord
- Robbing God
- The Book of Remembrance
Notes/Application
God decrees that He will send His messenger to prepare the way before Him. This messenger is identified in the NT as John the Baptist, the forerunner of Jesus (Matt. 11:10; Mark 1:2). When the day of Yahweh comes, He will purify the sons of Levi “and refine them like gold”. Through this refinement, their offerings will be restored as acceptable and will be brought “in righteousness to the LORD.” (Mal. 3:3). God will then enact judgment and “be a swift witness” against those who manifest ungodly behavior. He speaks of His unchanging nature and that this was the reason the children of Jacob were not consumed. God called the people to return to Him and tells them that they were robbing Him. The people questioned God and He responds that their robbing Him came through their failure to bring “tithes and contributions” (Mal. 3:8). If they abide, He will rebuke the devourer for them and they will be a land of delight. The people say that His words have been hard against them, finding no profit in serving God because the arrogant and evildoers still prosper. However, those who feared the LORD convened to wrote a “book of remembrance”, a commitment among the faithful to dissociate themselves from the prevailing sins.
One of the most compelling statements in this chapter is God speaking in Mal. 3:6, that “I the LORD do not change”. It was because of His faithfulness to His covenants with the nation that His people were not destroyed. This gives hope to every soul who has responded to His call, knowing that they will be His child forever. He gives them eternal life, never to perish or to be snatched out of His hand (pp. John 10:28). However, this goes even beyond His treatment of humanity. We see it in the constancy His creation itself. That the laws of nature to persist without change is a reflection of God’s steadiness and reliability. We take this for granted as we focus on our daily struggles, ignorant to how much worse things would be if the natural world was in a state of continual flux.
It prompts a level of gratitude that we serve a God who is unchanging in every way that is needed. Praise the Lord for His manifold faithfulness, both in His goodness of character and its every expression.
Scripture Journal Notes
Commentaries & Resources Used
- ESV Study Bible. (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2008)
- Faithlife Study Bible (Lexham Press, 2016)
- Believer’s Bible Commentary (Thomas Nelson, 2016)
- CSB Study Bible Notes (Holman Bible Publishers, 2017)
- Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible (Guardian Press, 1976)
- The Bible: A Reader’s Guide (Sterling Publishing, 2011)
- The Infographic Bible (Zondervan, 2018)
- ESV Digital Scripture Journal (Crossway, 2019)