June 30, 2025

GOD’S WORD FOR TODAY:

“‘A son honors his father, and a servant his master. But if I AM [is] a father, where is My honor? And if I AM [is] a master, where is your fear of Me?‘ says the LORD of Hosts to you priests who despise My name.”

(Malachi 1.6)

TODAY’S REFLECTION ON GOD’S WORD TO US:

As mighty ones of God, followers of Jesus who is the Christ and disciples of the His gospel compelled to make disciples in and of nations, one might think that the call to faithfulness would be taken seriously. This is the message of Malachi, literally meaning The Messenger: to the leadership of Israel, the leadership of the Temple in Jerusalem and to the citizenry of the nation of Israel wherever they may live. Apathy has been a problem in every aspect of human life. It leads in two directions: lethargy and entitlement.

We have already addressed in our reflections on Isaiah how that sense of entitlement becomes a danger to the welfare of any community. When a person or group embraces that sense of entitlement, the vision of justice is skewed. What is seen is the responsibility of others to act for you to accommodate your poor decisions. A sense of entitlement only emboldens a person or group to seek an advantage by disadvantaging others who are not connected to the individual’s situation. In Malachi, as in Isaiah, we see this in terms of the people wanting God (and the ruling governance) to act for them without any requirement of responsibility on the part of the people. Just because they were “Jewish,” they deserved food, property, wealth, security and promotion. Even in the days of Jesus’ ministry, the leadership and governance boasted of their legacy as descendants of Israel. Such a legacy, they believed, entitled them to wealth and power even at the expense of those to whom they were given responsibility to rule and govern “in spirit and in truth.” It had become a business, of sorts, where the people had to earn the right to be provided for. Such a right came in emulating the life and lifestyle of those in power. Strange, is it not, the general population were descendants of Abraham as well. However, without the auspices of wealth and power, the promise was not seen. It would seem that they would have felt the need for entitlement far more than those who were in authority. This is, of course, how Jesus confronted them all with the call to righteousness. All any of them had was from God. Putting one’s faith in God alone and nothing by which humanity could provide or contrive, would lead them “to green pastures, by still waters and a refreshing of one’s soul.“

Lethargy, on the other hand, resulted in a mental, physical and spiritual fatigue. The lack of accomplishment or seeing the fruit of one’s labor is an invitation to defeat. You have heard it this way, “no matter how hard I work, I never seem to get ahead.” I remember hearing it this way, “the faster I go, the behinder I get.” That is indeed a difficult way to live. It becomes an invitation for survival only. How does that impact the spiritual aspect of our lives? Well, for those who invest their future in works righteousness, it can and never will happen. We are not saved by works but by grace. We certainly can extend grace to each other and it helps to build relationships and a sense of forgiveness. God extends grace because we can never become perfect which is what many believed, and believe, must happen in order to attain eternal life. Here the defeat of the Rich Young Ruler who walked away disheartened when Jesus defined the attaining of eternal life as being made real in the decision to trust in Jesus alone as God’s only Son. Even in all his riches, there was no sense of a good future for him. As in the words of Solomon “all seems for naught.”

In Malachi, the issue is raised because the people, including the priests, had settled in for just existing in the world. They were embattled by working for existence and finding more poverty on the one hand. On the other hand, they were frustrated that God was not blessing them with abundance simply because they were “the chosen ones.” God calls them all into accountability to living a right relationship with Him and one another. They were to have a right spirit, a right mind, a right attitude and a right “works” ethic. Ezekiel heard the cry to remove the heart of stone and replace it with a new heart. While the new heart was said to be “of flesh,” the better understanding was a heart filled by the spirit of God’s abundant love. This was missing in Malachi’s day, in Malachi’s Israel. Here the temple was rebuilt funded by Cyrus the Mede, King of Persia (refer to the works of Ezra and Nehemiah.) It was set back in place in honor of the God of the Hebrews. Yet without a right spirit it had become just another building, just another business. This was not and is not the way of the Lord. In fact, as we read in the introduction to Malachi, it “dishonors and disrespects (shows a lack of ‘the fear of the Lord’) the Lord of Hosts. Why should God listen to a people who have no real heart, mind or spirit for God and His will for their lives which is best and good? This is a question we could well ask ourselves as a person, group or nation today!

TODAY’S PRAYER IN RESPONSE TO GOD’S WORD:

Father, in these days we are finding the need to believe even more than ever before. We all have known trouble, some in greater ways than others, but You are offering us the assurance that we will not be consumed by it forever. Regardless of the “time” we are in and the “time” we have been given, we ask for Your Holy Spirit which Jesus asked You to share with us, to lead and guide and direct us in the paths we should go. Teach us what we still need to learn. Empower us to put that learning into action. Bless our actions not as a works righteousness but as righteous works leading others to call Jesus Lord in faith, hope and love. AMEN.