Skip to main content

223. A Foreshadowing of Jesus In The Temple

Malachi 3:1-5
Key Verse: "Then, suddenly, the Lord you are seeking will come to His temple; the Messenger of the Covenant, whom you desire, will come," says the Lord almighty."
Malachi 3:1B

He is who they were told to watch for, but they didn't recognize Him when He arrived. He would appear at the temple to set things right, but the way things were was too comfortable, so His corrections were not welcome. Malachi had given them the sign. "See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before Me." (Malachi 3:1A) The messenger had come in the person of John the Baptist, but they hadn't recognized him either.

Malachi warned them to be on their guard. Malachi was the last prophet to speak and then, there was four hundred years of silence. Malachi had much to say to the people about how corrupt they were. Their sacrifices were pitiful. The priests were negligent and abusive. Malachi warned the people that the Lord would come, but they were not expecting Him to come in the way that He did.

"He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; He will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver." (Mal. 3:3) Gold and silver are refined by heat. As they melt, the impurities sink and can be removed leaving only precious metal behind.

In Malachi's day, the sacrifices and offerings, given to the Lord were impure. They were not offered with a heart toward worship, but rather, a heart toward getting off as cheaply as they could. As we will see, the sacrificial system was no better in Jesus’ time. The refiner would still need to act.

But in acting, His goal was that: "Then the Lord will have men who will bring offerings in righteousness, and the offerings in Judah and Jerusalem will be acceptable to the Lord, as in days gone by, as in former years.” (Malachi 3:4) Malachi was remembering the offerings of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, David and Elijah: those who were wholly devoted to the Lord. That is what pleases God's heart.

"You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; You do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, You will not despise." (Psalm 51:16-17) Obviously, what Jesus would come upon in the temple, He despised very much. This calls us, once again, however, to examine our own offerings. Are they true gifts to God, offered in sincere love, or are they our attempt to get off cheap, giving God as little as possible so that we have more with which to be self-indulgent? Remember, God knows. Might He need to do some cleansing in us as well?

Finally, we need to remember that He Himself has gone before us to set the example. He does not ask us to do anything that He Himself has not already done. His sacrifice will be the purest and while He Himself refines our sacrifice, through His sacrifice, He Himself will be the most refined of all. "Offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God, this is your Spiritual act of worship." (Rom.12:1b) Even in this, He goes before us as we shall see.

"Overcame - Jeremy Camp

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

211. The Sons of Thunder's Request

Matthew 20:20-28 , Mark 10:35-45 , Key verse: "Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all." Mark 10:43B-44 In our readings for yesterday, in which Jesus outlined what was about to happen to Him, for His disciples, the passage in Luke ends: "The disciples did not understand any of this. It's meaning was hidden from them, and they did not know what He was talking about." ( Luke 18:34 ) Now, we see just how truly clueless they were. Jesus had laid out a plan before them of pain and suffering and death and now James and John are focused on a promotion. The disconnect is so obvious. It's really not important to know whether James and john came up with this request on their own or if their mother put them up to it. The request was made and James and John thought that they could handle the responsibility that would come with it. What is that saying, "Fools rush in where angels fe...
Post a Comment
Read more

These Boots are Made for Walking

Scripture: Ephesians 6:10-15 These Boots are Made for Walking. Of course, I picked that title because it has a reference to popular culture, and it connects with our text today about “feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.” I was tempted to play the video of that song, but it’s really not amenable to worship. If you remember that old song, it was quite confrontational. The singer had a righteous complaint against a boyfriend or spouse who was cheating on her. She’s not going to put up with that, and the song goes on to say, “One of these days these boots are gonna walk all over you!” And that “take a stand” bravado made her a hero! It was a #1 hit in 1966. I mention it because it has one interesting parallel and one major contrast with the message of grace and forgiveness. That parallel is this. God has a righteous complaint against the entire human race for cheating Him out of the loving relationship He desires with us. As the God who created us, he h...
Post a Comment
Read more

186. Ten Healed, Or One?

Luke 17:11-19 Key Verse: Then He said to him, "Rise and go; your faith has made you well." Luke 17:19 At last, Jesus has left the crowd behind and again is continuing His journey toward Jerusalem. His path takes Him and His disciples along the border of Judea and Samaria, between the pure Jews, and the hated half breeds of the day. On His way, Jesus encounters an interesting group of people. We only learn the nationality of one of them and, though we don't know the nationality of the others, because Jesus sends them to the priests in Jerusalem we can probably assume that at least some of them are Jews. Isn't it interesting that through leprosy, a disease that causes much suffering, the dividing wall of hatred has come down for the sake of companionship? We encountered one leper earlier on our Journey. Lepers were the dreaded untouchables of the day. Their disease cut them off from all they loved. It was a very lonely life. No wonder these people had ...
Post a Comment
Read more