Mon.’s Devo - We are a City on a Hill

Read: Malachi 1:1-2:17; Revelation 22:1-21; Psalm 149:1-9; Proverbs 31:1-9 No one knows for sure who wrote Malachi. Some think it was Ezra using the name Malachi which means “messenger”. There are no clues to when it was written but most think it was during the time of Nehemiah when he was rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem after being in exile for 70 years. The people returned and instead of learning from their past mistakes, they fell into immorality and carelessness. Israel was seriously reclining spiritually. Malachi became very burdened for the people and their disregard for God. *** Malachi teaches in statements, questions and answers. He gives the statement first: God has always loved them. Question: How? Answer: God loved Jacob and totally rejected Esau his brother. I have to say that is an answer that causes pause and consideration. He goes on to explain that God turned Esau’s land into a devastated hill country and if they try to rebuild, God will destroy it also. Their country would be known as “The Land of Wickedness.” So, God loved them by destroying wickedness. *** Statement 2: You have shown contempt for God’s name. Question: How? Answer: by offering animals that were defiled on his altar. The people were giving to the Lord animals they knew they couldn’t sell, the left-overs, not their first fruits and the best. *** God was ready to shut the Temple doors, he felt so dishonored by the people he loved. *** God had a special word to the priests who were accepting these offerings and bringing dishonor to his name. A curse would be given them and it would be passed on to their descendants. The priests would be thrown on the manure pile and have their faces splattered with poop. *** God explained that his covenant with the Levites was supposed to bring them life and peace but it required that they reverence the Lord and feared his name. It was their job to pass on to the people the truth of God’s laws and make sure they didn’t lie or cheat and that they lived righteous lives. *** The priests were to speak with God’s knowledge and instruction. They were to be the messenger of the Lord to the people, but the priests had greatly strayed from God’s ways. They had corrupted the covenant God made with the Levites. So God would humiliate them in the eyes of all the people and cause then to despise them. *** The priests had shown favoritism to those they wanted to and God hates this because we are all created by the same Creator. *** The people had become unfaithful by marrying women who worshipped idols. They gave their heart to these women and allowed them to give gifts to idols, then wanted to bring gifts to the Lord also. *** Another thing the Lord hated was their fake tears they cried at the altar wondering why God didn’t accept their worship. They were also being unfaithful to their spouse, so how could they be faithful to God? Malachi told them to guard their hearts and remain loyal to their wife. God said that he hates their divorces. The word for ‘divorce’ is ‘the putting away’ which means they were not legally divorcing them and promising to provide for them and their children, they were just putting them out and bringing a new woman in. It is the same thing they were doing in Jesus’s day. That is why Jesus told them that to remarry was to commit adultery, because they hadn’t legally divorced the first wife. *** Romans tells us that marriage represents our union with Christ and God hated when we just put Christ away because we have found something more entertaining… but people do it all the time. *** Malachi is a book for us, too. God is delivering us from our enemies and we will one day live in peace and comfort. Will we be tempted to get idle and sloppy in our worship to Him? We have the Holy Spirit to guide us and humble us. May we listen to him, always. *** In Revelation, John saw the new heaven and new earth. The sea of humanity was gone and all he saw was the holy city coming down from heaven - God’s kingdom coming to earth. God will live with us and we will be his people. He will comfort us and heal our hearts. This is coming to us! *** God will make everything new! We who have overcome will be drink freely from the living waters of life and inherit all the blessings God has promised. He will be our God and we will be his children. *** The wicked (read the list in verse 8) will be thrown into the lake of fire. *** Next, John was taken to see the Bride of Christ. The Bride was the city! It was a city of people who had remained faithful and shone with God’s glory. We are the Temple of God! There were 12 gates to the city with a name of a tribe of Israel written on them. This city of believer’s will truly be the light of the world and all the nations will come to it for wisdom and revelation. It will remain open all the time and nothing evil will be allowed to enter, but only those whose names were written on it. *** Glory to God! This is the Good News of the Gospel of Jesus Christ!