Last Post of the Year

Thanks to everyone who has tracked with me through 2010.  Here is the last post of the year, and I hope you'll come again in 2011.

Matthew
Worry.  The passage in the Sermon on the Mount that addresses worrying is so straightforward and understandable, yet quite difficult (in my view) to put into practice.  I understand and desire to live without worry, but somehow, I let it creep into my life.  This is a great example of when we can use prayer!  Whenever you worry, hopefully you will realize what you're doing, and when you do, bring that issue to God.  Even if it's a "small" thing, mention it to God and lay it at his feet.  And keep doing that as long as the issue comes to mind.  We may worry about a lot of things, but when we let God into the picture, we can start letting go.

Prayer

Matthew
Prayer.  I think prayer is often misunderstood; I myself am still learning all that prayer can be and do.  The term 'prayer' seems so formal, but the action should be more conversational.  How else can we get to know God as friend, father, and helper, if we're too formal to get past the "Oh gracious heavenly father from the utmost realms above."?  I never talk to my friends like that, unless I were joking around.  We've got to bare our hearts to God, no matter what shape we're in or emotion we're feeling, not babbling like the pagans trying to fill up space, but knowing that whatever we say, whether short or long, God hears it and listens.   That kind of prayer can be unceasing, as we share our thoughts and feelings with God throughout the day, whatever we're doing.

Loving our enemies

Genesis
It's interesting to see how the twelve tribes of Israel came about because two sisters were fighting over who got to sleep with their shared husband.  What a different culture!  With a more modern worldview, we can look at this story and say that it is clearly a lesson to not have two sisters marry the same man.  However, if we put ourselves in ancient Canaanite/Israelite history, we would find that this situation is more common than not.
As for Jacob being deceived by Laban, one can't feel too sorry for him, as he himself was a great deceiver (cf. Esau (twice!) and Laban's sheep).

Matthew
I've often wondered what was meant by Matthew 5:48 - "Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect."  Read alone, it suggests that we need to attain perfection, not having any sin.  Read in context, "perfect" seems to suggest something a little more attainable (see the commentaries at http://bible.cc/matthew/5-48.htm).  Jesus was just talking about loving our enemies, not just our neighbours.  Just as God loves all people, and acts with a certain wholeness and consistency, so we must also be whole, complete, and consistent in our attitude, mirroring that of God the Father as represented through Jesus.

Stephen the martyr

This is a picture of Stephen being martyred (a bit ahead of today's scripture reading).  I can see how the Sanhedrin (court of Jewish judges) were up in arms over Stephen and his testimony before them.  Here was a Greek Jew, having grown up outside of Palestine, teaching these judges about Jewish history and how it points to Jesus being the Christ.  It's always a bit humiliating (if we let it) when we claim to be experts on a topic, but someone else comes along and provides a different point of view that holds up under scrutiny.  There are a number of ways that we could react.  We could get angry, like the Sanhedrin, and shun this person and his new ideas (or go to the extreme and actually kill him...), or we could lose our pride and, with a humble spirit, listen to what they have to say.  I think we know what the better option is - conducting ourselves with integrity and humility.  So, let's go out and do it!

The reading plan

The new revised version of the reading plan is now up.  Check it out here.  It no longer skips from Dec. 14 to the 25th, so that means we end on June 22 instead of the 30th! (Unless I find other mistakes, but it should be good to go.)  Enjoy!

More righteous than the Pharisees

Matthew
Matthew 5:20 can be confusing unless one digs a little deeper.  The text says: "For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven."  How can our righteousness surpass the Pharisees?  They're experts in following the law. 
The catch is, Christ came to fulfill the law (as mentioned just previously to verse 20).  We can't have a righteousness of our own just by following the law, because we can't keep the whole law.  Fortunately, through Christ, who has fulfilled the whole law, we can obtain righteousness greater than that of the Pharisees.  Faith alone will get us there, not any works that we could do ourselves.  Thus, through Christ, we can enter the kingdom of heaven!

History repeats itself

I couldn't believe how history repeated itself in the story I read in Genesis today.  Isaac told his wife Rebekah to make sure everyone thought he was her brother when they visited Abimelech, king of the Philistines in Gerar.  Abimelech then mistakenly takes Rebekah into his household but is told by God that she is Isaac's wife.  Abimelech is angry with Isaac and sends them both on their way to avoid punishment.  Funny thing is, this exact same scenario happened years earlier when Isaac's father, Abraham, came through Abimelech's land.  He had Sarah pretend to be his sister, Abimelech takes her, God reveals the truth, and Abimelech gives Sarah back.  Abraham leaves with some of the king's spoils as gifts to get him out of the area.  What's the deal her?  Perhaps Isaac had heard the story and decided to take a page out of his father's book in order for some extra bounty from the king?  How would it have felt to be Sarah or Rebekah?

It's interesting to see who God uses to further his kingdom.  Let's take heart in the fact that God delights in using broken vessels, so we can all help out in his kingdom work.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Merry Christmas!  Today, spend time with family and friends, and keep Jesus at the focal point, because without him, we'd have nothing to celebrate.

Peter's shadow

Key verse
Psalm 8:9 - O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!

Acts
I found it impressive that people hoped to have even Peter's shadow fall on them as he passed by in order to receive healing.  That reminds me of what Jesus told his disciples before he died: "I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father."  What he says here, though, is linked to asking for anything in his name, so again, as we live out our faith, let's make sure we're living in Jesus' name, his character, and all that he stands for.

A pillar of salt

I took an Old Testament course a while ago and learned something new about the story of Lot escaping from Sodom and Gomorrah.  In that course, the professor suggested that Lot's wife may not have actually been turned into a pillar of salt.  Salt piles were common in that area, and a story teller would use this commonality to engage with his readers.  I've just done some digging around (just Google search Lot's wife and pillar of salt, and you'll come up with a myriad of ideas), and some theories are that Lot's wife may have been gloating over the destruction of the city and didn't retreat fast enough and therefore was consumed in the hailstorm as well.  Perhaps she was actually more interested in staying than leaving, and so didn't escape in time.  Likely, she didn't just give a quick glance while running away, and get punished for it.  For some reason or another, she was probably delayed in leaving the doomed city and was caught up in its destruction.
Hint for us?  When God gives you a way out, go for it with all your heart!

walking and leaping and praising God

Silver and Gold Have I None
Peter and John went to pray.
they met a lame man on the way
He asked for alms and held out his palms,
and this is what Peter did say”
Silver and gold have I none,
but such as I have give I you.
In the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, in Jesus’ name rise up and walk.
The man went walking and leaping and praising God,
Walking and leaping and praising God,
“In the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, In Jesus’ name rise up and walk”.

The resurrection

Peter talks about the resurrection of Jesus in his speech to the large crowd in Acts 2.  I just read about this passage in a commentary by William Barclay.  Barclay wrote that the resurrection was at the heart of the "early preachers' sermons" because that was what the Christian life was all about.  As a Christian, I know this to be true, but somehow, it's so easy to get caught up in Jesus' birth (especially at this time of year) and his life's ministry.  In the end though, none of that would be worth anything, except in light of the fact that he conquered death.  Because Jesus came back to life, the rest of his actions mean something.  The resurrection is the central point of Christian faith.  Without it, we have nothing.  Thankfully, God did send his son as a baby who was meant to die for us, but not only that - to come back to life!  That's why Christmas means anything at all, because Jesus was born to die... and then live.

A new take on the Christmas story

You must listen to Greg Koukl's podcast from December 20 (found on str.org or my redirect page).  He discusses the historical account of the Christmas story, and suggests that instead of the traditional village inn, Mary and Joseph stayed at a relative's house.  The Greek word that has been translated as 'inn' is actually the same term used for 'the upper room'.  Bethlehem was a tiny village and likely didn't even have an 'inn'.  Most guests would stay in the upper room of a relative's house, and the animals were kept in the lower area.  However, if Mary and Joseph were late in coming to Bethlehem, and their relative did not have room left in the upper room, they would have had to stay in the lower room of the house, not necessarily a cave.  The idea that they stayed in a stable cave didn't come up until the 3rd century, probably shortly after such caves came into existence.

All things are possible with God

I was reading the account of Noah today, in Genesis 5-8.  What struck me was the waiting.  Imagine, you've spent months on a boat because of the torrential waters that took forever to drain away, and when you see a bird come back with a branch, wouldn't you just want to jump out of the boat on to dry ground?  And yet Noah had the patience to wait until it was actually safe to establish a home once again.  You can tell his endeavour was blessed by God from the start, because there is no way someone could head up such an adventure on his own (at least, I wouldn't be able to).  What prime circumstances for cabin fever!  With God, all things truly are possible.

The Christmas story

In light of Christmas day, soon to be here, I am just posting part of today's reading from Matthew.

The Birth of Jesus Christ

This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.

But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus,^c because he will save his people from their sins.”

All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”—which means, “God with us.”

When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.

______

What a way for God to come to the world to save us!  This story shows how much God is interested in having a relationship with us, that we came as a child, to real parents, and grew up among us.

God’s Covenant Promises and the Unfaithfulness of His People - A Theology of Malachi

God’s Covenant Promises and the Unfaithfulness of His People

A Theology of Malachi

A scholar of the Old Testament can approach the study of the text in a variety of ways.  One could choose a central theme, such as Eichrodt’s “covenant” approach, and examine how that theme appears throughout the entire Old Testament.  By choosing a central idea, however, a scholar may leave out some books if they do not contain that single theme, or stretch the contents of a book to fit with the selected idea.  Walter Brueggemann used the dialectical approach by examining the opposites found within the Old Testament.  Childs stated that the Old Testament should be viewed as the ancient Hebrews viewed it: religious literature.[1]  While these methods of developing Old Testament Theology are valid, another method, first undertaken by von Rad and Wright, also captures the theology of the Old Testament as a whole, the tradition-history or kerygmatic approach.  This approach takes the twelve confessions of the Old Testament, identified in song by the Israelites themselves, to show how each book in the collection relates to the whole.  The twelve confessions are creation, ancestors, Egypt and the Exodus, Sinai, wilderness, conquest, Mount Zion, David, the prophets, exile, and restoration.  One or more of these items can be found in each of the Old Testament books.[2]

The book of Malachi is no different.  Malachi, the last book of the Protestant version of the Old Testament, completes the “Book of the Twelve”.[3]  Malachi’s prophecy does fit in with the larger collection of the Old Testament, particularly when the scholar takes the kerygmatic approach as outlined above.  The confession of Sinai, the giving of the law, and God’s covenant with Levi and the entire Israelite group, outlined in this Sinai experience, is Malachi’s focal message.  God promised to love the Israelites and to bless them, if they would, in return, follow his commands.  Malachi served as a messenger to the later, post-exilic Israelites, calling them back to God’s covenant at a time when they had forgotten it.  The book of Malachi focuses on the unfaithfulness of the Israelites in terms of sacrifice, marriage, and tithe, placing these three things in relation to the Levitical covenant that indicated that God would either bless or curse the people depending on their response.

Malachi the author

            The name Malachi is mentioned only once in this book, in Malachi 1:1 (NIV), and most scholars are divided upon whether Malachi is a proper name or only a title derived from Malachi 3:1 given to the anonymous author.[4]  Regardless of whether Malachi is a proper name or not, it likely means “my messenger” rather than the briefly mentioned but normally negated “Yahweh is my messenger” or “my angel”.[5]  Thus, the prophet of this book was either named or titled “my messenger”.  Very little else is known about Malachi, other than his interest in the priestly class, as identified in his diatribe about God’s covenant promises and the activities of the Levites.  Malachi maligned the legalistic attitude of the priests of his day, and championed the earlier attitudes of the pre-exilic priests and prophets who discussed God’s relationship with his people as a matter of the heart and mind, not just outward actions.[6]  This theme is consistent throughout the book, even though Malachi was not the only author.  That is, before the book reached its final form, later editors may have read this text and added an additional message for the people of their time.[7]  Nonetheless, these messages remained within the context of Malachi’s original message of a covenant reminder for the people of God.

History of post-exile people

Malachi’s message is roughly contemporary with Nehemiah and Ezra.  The Jews were exiled to Babylon in 586 BC and in 539 BC, Cyrus the Great defeated the Babylonian empire and took control of Palestine.[8]  In 515 BC, the temple in Jerusalem was rebuilt.  The completion of the temple ushered in the Second Temple period, in which Malachi proclaimed his message.  Nehemiah was going to lead a number of Jews back to Jerusalem in 445 BC to help rebuild Jerusalem, but his reforms had not yet occurred.  Persians ruled the area, and the Jews were living among unfriendly peoples.  Disappointment had set in and the priests became less strict in following God’s covenant commands.[9]  It was in this despondent situation, suspected to be between 480 and 458 BC, that Malachi brought God’s message to His people.[10]  He could see the people heading back down the path that had led them to exile and the removal of God’s blessing in the first place, and he wanted to keep them from such destruction.[11]

Unfaithfulness of the priests in sacrifice

            The priests were the first audience to which Malachi directs his message.  God’s covenant love for the Jews was physically exemplified in the blessings He would pour down on them if they kept his commands.  The situation in Jerusalem had degraded so far that the Jews doubted God’s love for them.  However, they had forgotten God’s message to them, as captured in Leviticus 26, which indicated that if they would keep God’s commands, God would bless them, but if they did not, God would withhold his blessing and send curses down on them instead.

            The priests had broken God’s covenant by offering blemished sacrifices on the altar, that is, injured or diseased animals of some sort.  They had assumed that if they followed the gist of the law and continued to offer the sacrifices that they would be fulfilling the law.  God told them that it would be better to shut the temple doors than continue in the blasphemous way they had been conducting the sacrifices (Mal. 1:10 NIV).

In this passage, Malachi uses two different relationships to identify the duties the priests had to carry out before God.  Malachi 1:6 reads as follows: “A son honors his father, and a servant his master. If I am a father, where is the honor due me? If I am a master, where is the respect due me?”  The son-father relationship and the servant-master relationship both bring responsibility to the fore, and regardless of the relationship with which the priests identified themselves, they would have had to accept the responsibility of obeying God’s commands, thus bringing themselves back under the covenant God made with Levi.[12]  When hearing Malachi’s words in this section, the priests may have thought of Exodus 20:12 or Deuteronomy 1:31, which highlight the parent motif recognized in Malachi 1:6.  These relationships were also typical of any ancient near eastern treaty, and the mention of them here underscored the importance of a covenant with God, even though the term covenant is not always explicit.[13]  Modern day readers may not understand the ancient traditions of treaties and covenants immediately from the text.  Gaining historical understanding of the period and culture in which Malachi’s audience found themselves is crucial to understanding how his message would be understood and received.  His audience, the priests and the people of Judah, were profoundly aware of the covenant.  Even in such a sinful state as they were, the priests were cognizant of the demands God had placed on them through His covenant with them.

            Covenant in relation to the priests is either explicitly mentioned or alluded to in most of the section dealing with Malachi’s admonition of the priestly culture.  The discourse on how the priests had defiled the altar, by offering blemished sacrifices, should have caused consternation for the priests, as the covenant described in Leviticus explicitly states how sacrifices should be conducted.  One of the major decrees was that the animal had to be pure and spotless (Lev. 22:19-22).  Because the priests had not followed those decrees, they are in danger of bringing God’s curse upon their heads unless they turned from their wayward ways, once they have been warned (Mal. 2:2).  Curses played a key role in covenants and treaties in the Ancient Near East, and Malachi’s audience would have been familiar with such dire ramifications of their covenant-breaking actions.  The threat of imminent curses was meant to keep the Jews in line so they would once again live within the covenant with God and experience the blessings of his love.[14]

The covenant of Levi can be found elsewhere in the Old Testament.  God made a covenant with Levi through his descendants in Numbers 3 when God set apart the tribe of Levi to care for the temple.  God made this covenant with Levi to ensure that His people would follow His ways; the Levites were to be the conduits of instruction and were to help the people keep God’s covenant.  Moreover, the Levites were the ones to participate in the discipline of the whole people of God after they had created the golden calf while God was giving the law to Moses on Mount Sinai (Ex. 32:36-39).[15]  In Deuteronomy 33, the Levites were deemed the spiritual leaders of the people.[16]  The Levites had great authority over the people, and with that authority came much responsibility.  When the priests in Malachi’s day defiled the altar, they were misguiding the people about God’s covenant, and their actions, as Malachi indicated, had serious consequences (Num. 3:6-12).[17]  Malachi 2 opens with a dereliction against the priests, stating that if they did not obey and did not honour God’s name, He would curse them, rebuke their descendants, and cause the priests themselves to be “despised and humiliated” (Mal. 2:1-9).

            Malachi outlined in detail how the priests broke the covenant and what they should do to keep the covenant, and why – to attain God’s blessing once again.  The priests’ actions, however, were not done within a vacuum.  That is, the people who followed the priests also had duties to fulfill, so Malachi ended his first section, leaving the priests in suspense by dwelling on the humiliation to come for them because of their deeds, and proceeded to discuss how the people as a whole had violated God’s covenant.

Unfaithfulness of people in marriage

Even though the priests were supposed to be examples for the rest of God’s people by modeling how to obey His commands, it was not solely their fault that the people sinned, nor was the burden of the people’s sins entirely on their shoulders.  Malachi reprimanded the people of Judah, the Jews remaining in Jerusalem, for breaking God’s covenant as well.  One instance of how the Jews missed the mark of the covenant was in marriage.  God’s covenant with the Jews was symbolized in the promises they made to each other in individual marriage.  When they broke their marriage vows to each other, they broke their “marriage vow” (or covenant) with God.[18]  Malachi specifically states that they “broke faith” with each other, by “desecrating the sanctuary the Lord loves by marrying the daughter of a foreign god.”  Not only did the men of Judah marry foreign pagan women, they also divorced the wives of Judah they already had (Mal. 2:11, 14).  Malachi told them that they should not be surprised that God had turned against them since they had already turned their backs on God when they did these things.  This problem was still ongoing when Nehemiah returned to Jerusalem, as he spoke of it in Nehemiah 13:23-27.  Intermarriage was such a major issue because the Jews were living in a foreign land prior to returning to Jerusalem, as they had been exiled to Babylonia. Marriage to foreign women was not the problem, so long as these women abandoned the religion of their former nation and came under God’s control.  Malachi’s wording of “daughter of a foreign god” was purposeful, to remind the Jews of the dangers of intermarriage with other religions.  Invariably they would be dragged away from the one true God; even with the great King Solomon participated in this sin.[19]  Even in Malachi’s day it was still common practice to meld together the religious beliefs of the foreign nation with the Jews’ own religion.[20]  Nonetheless, God’s command given at Mount Sinai, the origin of the covenant and the Law, was that there should be no other gods but Him.  Thus, the Jews were acting outside the covenant when they took these pagan women and married them.

Textual considerations

Ancient copies of this section on marriage and divorce, particularly Malachi 2:15, are not clear and thus require some interpretation.[21]  Although Deuteronomy 24:1-4 supports a man’s divorce of his wife, it is only toleration, not a command.[22]  Rogerson even states that the Talmud more correctly renders the Hebrew of Malachi 2:15 by saying that “God hates the man who divorces his first wife.”[23]  In whatever way this passage is reworked, Malachi’s intent was clear: God does not like divorce, as is explicitly stated in verse 16.  This is a teaching supported throughout the Old and New Testaments.  The teaching in Deuteronomy 24 is one example, and Jesus himself said in Matthew 5:31-32 and 19:4-6 and 9 that divorce for reasons other than marital unfaithfulness were akin to adultery and divorce should be avoided.  Divorce was another practice that caused the Jews to fall outside of the covenant relationship that Malachi was concerned with renewing.

One complaint of the people was that God no longer paid attention to their acts of worship, which Malachi said happened because of their transgressions against the marriage covenant.  Malachi stated that the people “weep and wail because he [God] no longer pays attention to your offerings or accepts them with pleasure” and they asked why this was so (Mal. 2:13-14).  One explanation for this complaint is that the people of Judah may have forgotten the covenant they made with God at Sinai, which stated that if they did not obey God’s commands, He would turn from them.  Leviticus 26 outlines in a powerful way the calamities to come if God’s people rejected His ways, and yet the Jews of Malachi’s time had done just that.  Because of their marital unfaithfulness, judgment was imminent.  Malachi described the coming judgment, but also identified another errant behaviour that kept the post-exilic Jews from coming near to God: they were avoiding paying the tithe.

Unfaithfulness of the people in tithing

            Nehemiah, in Nehemiah 13:10, commented on the lack of tithing against which Malachi spoke out in Malachi 3:9.[24]  Tithing was a means of both supporting the Levitical priesthood and showing devotion to the Lord.  Moreover, tithes and offerings were used to help take care of the widows, orphans, and other outcasts in society.  This practice was also part of the covenant, as identified in Leviticus 27:30, Numbers 18:26:29, and Deuteronomy 14:22-29.  The lack of tithing suggests lack of spirituality on the part of the Jews, and increasing their tithe would symbolize the renewal of their full faith in God.[25]  Moreover, fulfilling the covenant responsibility to tithe would initiate God’s blessings once again.  Having not tithed properly, God cursed the people, just as the priests were under threat of curses for not fulfilling their duties.  The two groups, the priests and the people, are integrally tied together, as the people must support the priests by providing them with the tithes and offerings, and the priests must properly offer sacrifices to God on behalf of the people.[26]  The problems of the priests identified in Malachi 1 no doubt were at least partially linked to the fact that the people were not supporting their priests and so the priests were struggling to carry out their duties in a lawful manner.  Once the proper tithe came in, the priests could offer pure sacrifices and the entire group could show their full devotion to God.

Malachi brought the various parts of his message together regarding the covenant sins of the people with his criticism of the current tithing process.  If the people would just bring to God what was His, He could work through them.  Every member of the Jewish family would be able to take part in a relationship with God by offering back part of what He had blessed them with in the first place.  This act of generosity would thereby open up opportunities for the priests to minister properly, further helping the community toward a greater experience of God’s blessing.  The covenant relationship between God and his people was just that, for his people, not just for the priests or for select members of the community.

God promised the people that He would bless them if they followed His commands, including the command to offer tithes to the temple priests.  God’s reminder in Malachi 3:6 that He does not change underscores that fact, because part of the covenant relationship is that obedience brings blessing for the people of God.  The phrase used to describe the people in this passage, the “descendants of Jacob”, is apt because just as Jacob deceived Esau and stole his birthright (described in Genesis 25), so the Jews were trying to deceive God and take from Him what was rightfully His.  Nevertheless, just as God promised Jacob and his immediate descendants, so he promised the Jews in Malachi’s time – blessing would come if they followed the covenant.[27]  When they sinned, God did not destroy his people, but neither did He bless them, as they were hoping.[28]  They had forgotten the covenant of their forefathers in this regard, so much so that they claimed that service to God was useless and nothing would be gained from it (Mal. 3:14).  They claimed that they had carried out the requirements God had put before them, but Malachi, throughout his entire message, indicated that they had certainly not done so.  In fact, another example of the shortcomings of the people was illustrated in the presence of the poor in their society.

            The outcasts and downtrodden in the Jewish society were being ignored, another consequence of not tithing.  Malachi 3:5 states that the widows, orphans, and foreigners in the land were being taken advantage of and oppressed.  Many of these less fortunate people were pressed into slavery, the very plight from which God had rescued his people hundreds of years before in Egypt, and now some people were right back in the same situation.[29]  This situation was far from what God had promised the Jews, but it was through their own doing that such events occurred.  The tithe to the Levite priests was to go in part to the needy in the society to keep them from being enslaved.  In this way, the people of God were to resemble one family.  If some in their midst were ignored, the family was not whole.[30]  Just as the marriage relationship between husband and wife mirrored the relationship between God and his people, so to did the relationship between each individual of the group to each other, in a different way.  When their relationships failed, so did the one between themselves and God.  Malachi was trying to teach the Jews this lesson by identifying how the covenant with God affected their lives.  Either judgment or blessing would come to them, depending on how they responded to the covenant.  Heretofore, the Jews had not fulfilled their covenant duties and curses were imminent, although God stated numerous times through Malachi that blessing would come if they would only return and open their hearts (and moneybags in some circumstances) to God.

Judgment or blessing and the Law

The complacency that set in after the second temple was built would soon be broken, because God’s messenger of the covenant would come and purify the Levites (the priests) and the proffered sacrifices would finally be acceptable to God.[31]  Judgment would be poured out on the iniquitous.  In the end, if the Jews did accept Malachi’s message and understood that if they remained righteous, God would eventually come through for them at the right time, and there would be a clear distinction between righteous and wicked (Mal. 3:18).

Nehemiah and Ezra later undertook active reforms to improve the covenant relationship and deal with the issues mentioned in Malachi, such as the lackluster approach of the Levite priests, the intermarriage and divorce of the people, and the lack of tithing.  Through their tireless efforts, the inhabitants of Jerusalem and its environs once again committed themselves to the ancient covenant with God (Neh. 13 and Ezra 9-10).  Malachi’s message quite possibly paved the way for such reforms to occur.  His focus on the covenant and the law ensured that the Jews would remain the unique people of God, a light shining in a dark world.[32]

God would bestow his blessing on the priests and the people if they obeyed.  God would open the storehouses and bless them beyond measure.  This is the central theme of Malachi: a call of obedience to the covenant, which would produce either judgment or blessing on the people depending on what they chose.  Malachi identified the shortcomings in the society because of the lack of covenant relationship, since the priests were offering impure sacrifices, the men were marrying foreign, pagan women and divorcing their first wives, and no one was paying the tithe, forcing the priests to abandon their duties.  These failings on the part of the people had resulted in their current situation of living outside of God’s blessing, a recurring theme throughout the Old Testament, and one clearly identified and discussed at length in Leviticus 26.

Lest Malachi’s message be somehow misconstrued, he reiterated in chapter 4 the importance of following the Law of Moses, which was the backbone of the covenant God had made with his people on Mount Sinai.  A final reminder of the law and the judgment to come was aimed at keeping the Jews in holy fear and reverence to God (Mal. 4:4-6).  Thus, even as the book was amended in later days, the main thrust of the text remained the same: salvation or destruction would come based on the level of obedience under the covenant.  God’s promise of such interaction had not changed since the beginning, and would not change in the future.  The Jews could rely on His covenant promise.

Bibliography

Baldwin, Joyce G.  Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi: An Introduction & Commentary.  Downers Grove, IL: Inter Varsity Press, 1972.

Bright, John.  A History of Israel.  Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1972

Childs, Brevard S.  Introduction to the Old Testament as Scripture.  Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1979.

Cox, Claude.  “Old Testament Theology and History OLDT 0511.” Lecture, Tyndale Seminary, Toronto, ON, May 31-June 4, 2010.

Froese, Brian.  “Approaching a Theology of the Book of Malachi,” Direction 25, no. 1 (1996), pp. 14-20.

Harrison, George W.  “Covenant Unfaithfulness in Malachi 2:1-16,” Criswell Theological Review 2, no. 1 (1987), pp. 63-72.

Huey, F. B.  “An Exposition of Malachi.”  Southwestern Journal of Theology 30, no. 1 (1987), pp. 12-21.

Kaiser, Walter C.  “Divorce in Malachi 2:10-16,” Criswell Theological Review 2 no. 1 (1987), pp. 73-84.

MacKenzie, Steven L. and Howard N. Wallace.  “Covenant Themes in Malachi,” The Catholic Biblical Quarterly, no. 45 (1983), pp. 549-563.

“Malachi, Book of.” In Anchor Bible Dictionary, vol. 4, ed. David Noel Freedman, pp. 478-485.  New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1992.

Merrill, Eugene H.  Everlasting Dominion: A Theology of the Old Testament.  Nashville: Broadman and Holman, 2006.

Rogerson, J.  “Malachi.”  In Oxford Bible Commentary, eds. John Barton and John Muddiman, pp. 615-617.  New York: Oxford University Press, 2001.

Sweeney, Marvin Alan.  The Twelve Prophets: Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah.  Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2000.

---

[1] Brevard S. Childs, Introduction to the Old Testament as Scripture (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1979), p. 16.  Childs’ idea was discussed in Claude Cox, “Old Testament Theology and History OLDT 0511,” (Lecture, Tyndale Seminary, Toronto, ON, May 31-June 4, 2010).

[2] The various approaches to the study of Old Testament theology were outlined in Cox, “Old Testament Theology.”

[3]  The Book of the Twelve consists of the following prophetic books: Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi.

[4] All Scripture references are from the New International Version unless otherwise indicated.

[5] “Malachi, Book of.” In Anchor Bible Dictionary, vol. 4, ed. David Noel Freedman (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1992), p. 478.

[6] Ibid., p. 479.  See also, Joyce G. Baldwin, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi: An Introduction & Commentary (Downers Grove, IL: Inter Varsity Press, 1972), p. 218.

[7] Baldwin, “Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi,” p. 214-215.

[8] Cox, “Old Testament Theology.”

[9] Bright, History of Israel, p. 379.  See also “Malachi, Book of,” p. 479.

[10] J. Rogerson, “Malachi,” In Oxford Bible Commentary, eds. John Barton and John

Muddiman, (New York: Oxford University Press, 2001), p. 615.  See also Eugene H. Merrill, Everlasting Dominion: A Theology of the Old Testament (Nashville: Broadman and Holman, 2006), p. 94.  Merrill places Malachi around 460 BC.

[11] Merrill, Everlasting Dominion, p. 563.

[12] Baldwin, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi, p. 225.

[13] Steven L. MacKenzie and Howard N. Wallace, “Covenant Themes in Malachi,” The Catholic Biblical Quarterly, no. 45 (1983), pp. 557-558.

[14] Baldwin, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi, p. 233.

[15] Baldwin, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi, p. 234.

[16] George W. Harrison, “Covenant Unfaithfulness in Malachi 2:1-16,” Criswell Theological Review 2, no. 1 (1987), p. 64.

[17] Brian Froese, “Approaching a Theology of the Book of Malachi,” Direction 25, no. 1 (1996), p. 16.  See also Harrison, “Covenant Unfaithfulness,” p. 69

[18] Merrill, Everlasting Dominion, p. 564.

[19] Baldwin, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi, p. 238.  Solomon’s plight is described in 1 Kings 11:1-3.

[20] Marvin Alan Sweeney, The Twelve Prophets: Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah (Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2000), p. 733.

[21] Baldwin, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi, p. 240.  See Walter C. Kaiser, “Divorce in Malachi 2:10-16,” Criswell Theological Review 2 no. 1 (1987), pp. 75-77 for an in-depth discussion on the interpretation of v. 15.

[22] Kaiser, “Divorce in Malachi,” p. 81.

[23] Rogerson, “Malachi,” p. 616.

[24] As pointed out by Bright, History of Israel, p. 379.

[25] “Malachi, Book of,” p. 483.

[26] Sweeney, Twelve Prophets, p. 743.

[27] F. B. Huey, “An Exposition of Malachi,” Southwestern Journal of Theology 30, no. 1 (1987), p. 19.  See also Baldwin, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi, p. 244.

[28] Mal. 2:17 and 3:14-15 indicate that the Jews were questioning God’s treatment of them.

[29] Bright, History of Israel, p. 380, as mentioned in Neh. 5:5

[30] Rogerson, “Malachi,” p. 617.

[31] This phrase “the messenger of the covenant” in Mal. 3:1 is the source for experts’ statements that Malachi, or “my messenger”, is only a title and not a real name.

[32] Bright, History of Israel, p. 380.

Can God hate?

Malachi
I will attach a paper that I wrote about the book of Malachi, for those who would like to do some more intense reading on this book (stay tuned for that post).  In addition to that, I would just like to pass on a tidbit of information that I recently read in, guess what?, "How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth".  In the beginning of Malachi, God says Jacob have I loved, but Esau I hated.  Hate?  Where did that come from?  Isn't hate wrong, sinful?  Clearly, our definition of hate is not what is meant here.  A typical definition for hate in Hebrew is rejection, and that is what God was talking about.  God rejected Esau, rather than hated him in the sense that he would have wanted him to go to hell for eternity.  This wording in Malachi is an example of how we must be aware of the language used in scripture, and what we might think it means versus what the author meant.  We should avoid making errant theological judgments based on a poor grasp of the actual meaning of the text.

John
Sometimes, having read through the gospels, one might tend to think that we have all the information about Jesus.  John's conclusion clearly demonstrates otherwise!  There could have been so many volumes written about his life and work that we would be swimming in the information.  Isn't so interesting that God had people pass along just what we would need to get to know God, rather than all the information we could possibly want to satisfy all our insatiable curiosities?  We need faith that what we can't figure out or what people didn't write about isn't crucial to our knowing God fully.

The new city

The description of the new Jerusalem in Revelation 21 is impressive.  The dimensions alone are extensive - 2200 kilometres wide and long!  That's a big city!  And there will no longer be any night, which makes sense because God will be the light, and there will be no darkness whatsoever.  That's tough to wrap your mind around, as its completely different from what we experience in this finite world.

A flying scroll

Zechariah 5:2 is a verse that, on its own, is great evidence for not taking verses on their own, or out of context: He asked me, "What do you see?" I answered, "I see a flying scroll, thirty feet long and fifteen feet wide."
There are various conclusions one could draw from reading just that verse.  However, when read within the rest of Zechariah's vision, this passage makes a little more sense.  He wasn't halucinating; he was hearing/seeing from God!

Imprecatory psalms

A friend of mine mentioned the other day that some of the psalms seemed extremely violent, and as much as it is useful to express anger that one feels, these violent psalms seemed to be a bit over the top.  Well, as my faithful readers might know, I have been reading “How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth”, and just today I came across the section dealing with imprecatory psalms, or psalms that identify the author’s feelings of hatred toward his enemies.  These psalms, while drastic or hyberbolic in language, provide us an example of how we can approach God with our anger, rather than take out our rage against our enemies, verbally or physically.  As inspired text, we can trust that  we can follow the psalmist’s approach to conversing with God about our negative feelings.

The sensus plenior

Remember the post from two days ago on John 19?  I mentioned that it referenced Psalm 22 and the casting of lots for Jesus' clothing, although Psalm 22 didn't really seem to prophesy about that event.  Well, I was reading today in "How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth" that New Testament authors, since they were inspired by the Holy Spirit to write what they did, were allowed to read into the Old Testament and use it as allegory for New Testament events (most relating to Christ).  This secondary meaning is called the sensus plenior or the "fuller meaning" of the OT text.  Modern day readers of the bible should not try to make up their own sensus plenior, however, because we are not inspired by the Holy Spirit to do this.  We are illumined readers of the text, not inspired authors.  So when we read the OT and only see it in its original context, that's fine.  The NT writers can use those older texts to help us understand the new covenant in a better way, but we should avoid doing this on our own.

The Lord speaks

I don't have much to say on today's readings.  However, it was interesting to read today's chapter of Job (ch. 38).  This is the chapter where God speaks to Job. "Who is this that darkens my counsel with words without knowledge?"  Those are hefty words.  Thankfully, we can come before God and make known our requests and complaints through Jesus, and we can have the confidence that God hears us and will respond, provided we come in a humble and contrite spirit.
In this chapter, since Job so proudly argued that he had done no wrong, God had to come and set the record straight.  It's really impressive to read God's account of creation.  Here is a short selection from Job 38:

“Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation? Tell me, if you understand. Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know!  Who stretched a measuring line across it? On what were its footings set,

or who laid its cornerstone—while the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy?"

*I must also admit that I have found an error in my reading plan.  Apparently, December 15-20 and the 24th do not exist, as they were not in the plan.  So, the numbering of the plan will be off by a few days as of tomorrow because I am still going to do the readings listed, they will just be off by a few days.  At some point, I will get around to fixing the electronic copy.

Habakkuk asks why

Key verse
Job 37:23 - The Almighty is beyond our reach and exalted in power; in his justice and great righteousness, he does not oppress.

Habakkuk
Reading Habakkuk reminded me of Ecclesiastes.  There's nothing new under the sun.  Habakkuk was asking God why?  Why all this suffering and injustice?  Ever since the fall of Adam and Eve there has been suffering and injustice.  We still ask why?  We still don't understand.  All we can do is trust in his strength and request that God would renew his mercy to us every morning.

Casting lots for clothes

John 19
It seemed amazing to me that David would foretell about the casting of lots for Jesus' clothing.  John 19:24 includes a reference to Psalm 22:18, in which David says that he has been surrounded and attacked and his clothes were divided among his enemies, by casting lots.  This passage in Psalm 22 doesn't really seem to speak to future events, but rather describes what was happening to David when he had written this particular psalm.  Why then does John include this passage as a "fulfilment of scripture"?  It seems more like a nifty little similarity rather than a fulfilment of a foretold action.

Micah and Jesus

Key verse
Micah 6:8 - He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.

Micah
It's amazing that Micah could give the word of the Lord to his hearers regarding Jesus' birth in Bethlehem hundreds of years before it actually happened.  Micah's word of encouragement concerning little Bethlehem in Judah gave hope that God would not abandon his people (see Micah 5).  This Christmas season, don't get caught up in presents and gifts and trees.  Dwell on Micah's words that spoke of a man who would stand in the strength and majesty of the Lord and rule his people in peace.  Let's stand in God's kingdom and help extend this peace in our areas today.

The letter of the law

The Jews bringing Jesus before Pilate were so focused on fulfilling the letter of the law that they refused to enter the Gentile palace so that they could still observe the Passover.  And yet, they missed the larger picture of what the law was all about, and the fact that Jesus was the fulfillment of the law.

Do we get too caught up in trying to do good works in order to appear righteous, or are we focusing on truly being more like Christ?

Jonah in the belly of a whale

When I read the story of Jonah, I sometimes wonder if God made the Ninevites repent just to spite Jonah.  I know that's not how God works, but still.  However, I read in my bible footnotes today that the reason the Ninevites may have so quickly repented and turned to God is because they had recently experienced an eclipse, the Assyrian empire (of which they were a part) was at a super low point, and the economy/environment wasn't as stable and sure as it used to be.  When Jonah presented an option of turning to God to avoid destruction, the Ninevites were quick to do so in order to avoid any further uncertainties.

Reaching out in trust and acceptance to those we dislike is tough, but Jonah's story clearly demonstrates God's love for all, and indicates that we should follow in his footsteps, even if it is difficult.

100th post!

This 100th post is about unity.  Today's reading in John (the last part of chapter 17) really drove home Jesus' desire for unity among Christians.
"I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me."

Renewal

After finishing Amos, I realized that the prophets speak out about a lot of doom and gloom, but they usually end in restoration and renewal for the people of God.  God's love for us is so strong that he will care for us and restore us even after we commit grievous sins.  While a lot of the prophets' audiences seemed to be stuck on the imminent judgment, we can look back and see how God worked through that to restore Israel time and again.  God truly does have unconditional love for his people.

What version of the bible do we have?

Key verse
John 17:3 - Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.

Amos
In Amos, we see an example of how we have the Old Testament based on the Masoretic text (Hebrew version), whereas the first century church had the Old Testament from the Septuagint (Greek version).  Amos 5:25-26 reads rather differently than Acts 7:42-43, but if you follow the footnoting in your bible, you'll see that in fact, if we read the Septuagint version of Amos 5, the wording will be much the same as that in Acts 7.  Stephen, the fellow who was quoting from Amos, was not confused about what the Old Testament said.  In fact, he knew it quite well, only in Greek!

God of love

Today's reading in John was interesting.  Here is what I am referring to (John 16:25-28):
“Though I have been speaking figuratively, a time is coming when I will no longer use this kind of language but will tell you plainly about my Father. In that day you will ask in my name. I am not saying that I will ask the Father on your behalf. No, the Father himself loves you because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God. I came from the Father and entered the world; now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father.”
I decided to read about this passage in a commentary, one by William Barclay.  He mentioned that this passage is important because it shows that Jesus was not the one who turned God into a God of love.  Jesus is telling his disciples that they will be able to ask in his name because God himself loves them.  God in the Old Testament seems to not be so loving, with all the judgment and punishments meted out on the Israelites.  When Jesus came, it seemed like he changed God.  However, Jesus didn't just show God's love after he died, his entire life on earth was a testimony to the fact that God loves us.  Jesus wasn't changing God's attitude, he was changing ours, so that we would understand just how much God loves his people.  All of God's actions toward us were in love.

For three sins or four

Amos
I read somewhere about this passage in Amos.  Amos is listing off a number of foreign places, describing God's judgment that will be meted out upon them.  Each new place gets a little closer to home, however, and Amos' audience must have been getting a little more anxious as they heard about Damascus, then Gaza, Tyre, Edom, Ammon, Moab, and then, what?  Judah and Israel?  Yes, God was going to judge them for their sins as well.  Don't take God's grace for granted or as a free ticket to sin with impunity.

More glory of God

In Revelation chapter 4, we see a parallel of an image first read about in Ezekiel - check the previous post "The glory of God" from November 7, 2010.  John saw four living creatures surrounding God's throne: ox, lion, eagle, and human.  I thought that was interesting to note, and adds to the validity of each author's message, since they both saw the same thing.

Eye salve in Laodicea

The city of Laodicea was known for its extraordinary eye salve, as well as a medical school.  Knowing this historical fact sheds light on why the church in Laodicea would have been told that Jesus would give them salve to put on their eyes so they could truly see.  What is more, the Laodiceans also sold black wool, so Jesus would give them white clothes!  These tidbits of information exemplify the need to read commentaries or bible dictionaries when wanting to study the bible, as most of us won't readily pick up on some of these more culturally/historically relevant items that would help us identify the point of a given passage.

Bearing fruit

Today's post is actually about yesterday's reading in John 15.  I was listening to a podcast on Stand to Reason earlier today, the show hosted by Greg Koukl.  He had an insight that I hadn't really thought of before.  You know how people will often say, "Lord, let this be all you and none of me. Take over this task and don't let me get in the way."  Well, this isn't actually the best idea because if you aren't in the way, that means you're sitting on the sidelines waiting for God to do all the work.  Instead, we should ask that whatever we do be 100% us and 100% God.  Just like Jesus was all God AND all man at the same time, God can work completely through us while we are still working completely as well.  It's like Jesus says in John 15:5 - “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing."
"Apart from me you can do nothing" doesn't mean that we can't do anything ever.  If we are in Christ, we CAN do something!   Make sure that whatever you do, you give it your best, and then you can let God take care of the rest.  He'll take what you do and make it good, but you've got to do something first.