Answers Bible Curriculum: Lesson 12 - A Message Of Hope

Father, I thank you for the love that you give to us. I thank you so much for The fact that we can count on you and and that we know that you are the God who works, works his plan and, and makes these things come to pass and that we can trust in what you're doing. As we look into this study in, in Malachi, Lord, help us to have open minds and hearts to understand. And help me to communicate it clearly and to make it understandable.

Lord, I just ask your blessing upon our time in Jesus' name. Amen. How does God assure us of His love is going to be, fundamental to our study today. Because, As we talked about last time in our last meeting, that, that was a question that came up at the beginning of, that's how the Book of Malachi opens up with this idea that That man needs this, this reassurance.

And so, we'll be looking at that today. Nehemiah 9:6 really underpins our relationship with God because it helps us to understand Him. It says, you alone are the Lord. You have made the heavens, the heaven of heavens with all their hosts, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them.

You give life to all of them. And the heavenly host bows down to you. And so Nehemiah in writing this is, this is the understanding that is there that of God. This is the God that we worship and that everything is in his hands.

We are, finishing up this quarter of, of our lessons and, what we've been covering, we started in this quarter with, Daniel and his obedience to God. And he was a person who going into exile, he was still determined to live in obedience to God and, and what an amazing testimony and example that is for us and, and has been. we looked at the awesomeness of God. We saw it in the visions of Isaiah and Ezekiel.

And how God in his throne and before is there and then we before him should be in awe. We, we saw the restoring of worship, coming back to the land and rebuilding the temple when Israel was released from their exile. And able to come back and start over again. We saw the providence of God with, with Esther, and how God used her in a very particular way to, to save the nation.

we saw, Visions from, from God through the prophet Daniel. And, and how there were the empires of the Gentiles and that God was revealing to Daniel and through him how that God was gonna be using these empires, one after another after another to fulfill his plan and to accomplish his purposes in directing, how things would come to be. We saw the restoring of God's law and the rebuilding of the walls through Ezra and Nehemiah. And last, last time we met, we, we talked about worship and how God cares about worship and, and, and this was through Malachi, the prophet.

And today we're in the message of hope and this is also gonna be me finishing up Malachi and finishing up the Old Testament in this series of our studies and And so that's what we're going into today and First of all, just a brief review. we see this, this timeline here. can get from Genesis on and how the books of the Bible fit into this timeline. and so this is, is a, a way for us to see it and, I can, you can get that online if it's something that you want to get.

It, these are very easily accessible. just type in Old Testament timeline and a whole bunch of them come up, so this is one of them you can get. All right. last time we met, we began with oracle number one.

In this oracle in, in Malachi's prophecy is God communicating to the, the returned exiles, the, the new nation of Israel again. communicating to them through his prophet Malachi. And he begins with, I have loved you. And he anticipates their response and says, but you say, how have you loved us?

And so we talked about that last time we met. it had been about 100 years by this time, since the, the, the exiles began to return. And as they're coming back and they're re-establishing, they're, they're getting property back, they're getting, trying to reestablish order and government, and so on, and, and then we've gone through the, the problems that they've had with, Both, Ezra and Nehemiah and some of the things that had to be addressed, social issues, religious issues, and, so those had to be dealt with and there was just a struggle, a struggle with other people groups that are around them, that are, competing for, competing with them economically and competing for territory and so on.

So it's, it's a continual struggle.

They're paying a heavy load in taxes to the, emperor and back in Persia and it is a, it is not an easy path that they're on. This isn't the glorious new kingdom that they're expecting from the prophecies and so This question comes up, here is how have you loved us? And this is how human beings are, we, have certain expectations about life, how it should be, and we have a tendency to blame God when things don't go as we, as we think they should, as we think they ought to be, and, this is where they are and, and so God is addressing that and really The, the whole prophecy or communication through Malachi really of God there is addressing this issue.

This is, if we, if we read Malachi, understanding that this is the beginning point.

This is what God is addressing. it helps us to understand all of it and put it in, in its right context. So what prophecies? What, what are the things that, that they have, are, are familiar with that they know about and why is it that they have certain expectations?

Well, there are a lot of prophecies. Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel have these prophetic, visions of what Israel will someday be, what God will someday make of them. And what they're experiencing now has, is nothing close to what these, these are. But just as an example, I pulled two of them from the prophet Isaiah.

In chapter 2, verses 1 to 4. Isaiah write, writes this, the word which Isaiah, the son of Amos saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. Now it came about that in the last days, the mountain of the house of the Lord will be established as the chief of the mountains, and it will be raised above the hills, and all the nations will stream to it. And many peoples will come and say, come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob.

That he may teach us concerning his ways, and that we may walk in his paths, for the law will go forth from Zion and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem, and he will judge between the nations and will render decisions for many peoples. And they will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not lift up sword against nation. And never again will they learn war.

Reading that and, and having that expectation when you come back into the land, you can see how they could be disappointed, right? Their, their experience was nothing like this. And so, what, what does that mean? why is it that, how have you, God, showed us that you love us?

In Isaiah 54:1-8. Isaiah writes this, shout for joy, O barren one. You who have borne no child, break forth into joyful shouting and cry aloud. You who have not travailed, for the sons of the desolate, desolate one will be more numerous than the sons of the married woman, says the Lord.

Enlarge the place of your tent, stretch out the curtains of your dwellings, spare not, lengthen your cords and strengthen your pegs, for you will spread abroad to the right and to the left. And your descendants will possess nations and will resettle the desolate cities. Fear not, for you will not be put to shame and do not feel humiliated, for you will not be disgraced. But you will forget the shame of your youth and the reproach of your widowhood.

You will remember no more. For your husband is your Maker, whose name is the Lord of hosts, and your redeemer is the Holy One of Israel, who is called the God of all the earth. For the Lord has called you like a wife forsaken and grieved in spirit, even like a wife of one's youth when she is rejected, says your God. For a brief moment, I forsook, forsook you.

But with great compassion, I will gather you. In an outburst of anger, I hid my face from you for a moment, but with everlasting kindness, I will have compassion on you, says the Lord, your redeemer. So we have prophecies and, and many like this. Ezekiel has great detail on what the, the land of Israel will be like, how it will be divided up and what glory there will be there, and how the city of Jerusalem will be exalted over all of the earth.

And So with, with all of this in prophecy, the expectations had to be high for the people coming back to the land that God was restoring them. And so what we see is that there are Misunderstandings in Isaiah 54. Just, just to, to mention, I think it's, it's worth mentioning. Follows The, the prophetic view of the suffering servant in Isaiah 53.

And Isaiah 53 was also not understood by any of the Jewish readers of that day. In fact, it was so misunderstood that in many cases it was, it was just ignored and not read in, in the synagogues because there was, there was no understanding it. And I can understand that. I think we all can.

Understand it because when we read it now, even though we know what it, what it means, we look back on it and we say, we just shake our heads in amazement and, and, and say how could that be? How could it be that God was, was, would himself become the suffering servant and would himself die for us and, and we look back, in fact, we have, we have hymns, we sing that, that express this amazement. And the wonder of, of the, the death of Christ. And so, so this is, Something that, that really is hard to, to grasp, but Isaiah 53 starts with a question.

The question is, who has believed our report? Indeed. Who, who would believe such a thing? And so the, the, the misunderstandings are, are of, of these prophecies are, are very common for us as, as people and certainly this was, was something that made them question God's love in this time of, of Malachi as he's writing this.

So, we see here there's difficulty in understanding God's promises. One of the problems we have is that we read into them. Our own desires. when we read the promises of God, we have, what we want to happen and so it can make us, misinterpret them because we have our own desires that we read into them.

We also don't have the full picture. God doesn't show us everything. He wants us to trust Him. and so, we, we, we, we will have difficulty and we need to, correct ourselves for that, be prepared for that so that So that we can have that faith that we need.

another thing is that his timeline. we tend to measure God's timeline by our lifetime., we, we read a prophetic thing and we say, well, surely this happens when, while I'm alive, this is going to be fulfilled while, so that I can see it. And that is the problem that, that these people had coming back into their land. They're expecting these prophecies to be fulfilled in their lifetime.

That this is something that they will see. What they didn't know is that God has a, a future that is still coming, that he, there's centuries and centuries to come that are going to, where, where these things will be fulfilled and we as human beings, we don't think that way. we barely, plan for our retirement. we, we have trouble, seeing past our lifetime.

but, we, we, so, so we tend to misunderstand because of that. We want them fulfilled for us today and, and even us who look back on these times. we can struggle with it even though when we have more revelation than they have. and so we will look back at these same prophecies that they struggle with and we have debates within the, the Christian community about what they mean.

and we have disagreement as to, to whether it's, a literal thousand-year period or whether it's some spiritual kingdom or, or whatever it is. And so we have problems even within our Christian community. About what it really means. But there is a tendency to think it's about us, right?

It, it, the, these prophecies have to be about us. And, and so that's where we can go wrong. Let's get into Malachi chapter 3. As I said at the beginning, God is assuring them of his love.

And he answers their question of how have you loved us with, with these prophecies. He, he answered those questions with the oracles too, they, which, which have to do with their moral failures. But he also gives them an understanding of, of what the future is and, and gives them more information and so we'll be looking at that. So in Malachi chapter 3, Versus 1 to 7.

God, speaking through Malachi says this, Behold, I am going to send my messenger, and he will clear the way before me, and the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple, and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts. But who can endure the day of his coming and who can stand when he appears, for he is like a refiner's fire and like fuller's soap. He will sit as a smelter and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, so that they may present to the Lord offerings and righteousness.

Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the Lord as in the days of old and as in former years.

Then I will draw near to you for judgment. And I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers and against the adulterers and against those who swear falsely, and against those who oppress the wage earner in his wages, the widow and the orphan, and those who turn aside the alien and do not fear me, says the Lord of hosts. For I, the Lord, do not change. Therefore, you, oh sons of Jacob, are not consumed.

For the days of your fathers, from the days of your fathers, you have turned aside from my statutes and have not kept them. Return to me and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts. And so We have here this first, revelation that have, has to do with the future, that's, that's given them to assure them of his love for them. And what we see here is, This answer of how you have loved us.

By this declaration that there's gonna be a messenger. That what you need to expect is a messenger. That is going to come and the, as we will see in, in later verses, we'll be looking at this messenger, at least it's going to be partly fulfilled by John the Baptist. then we also see a messenger of the covenant.

So there's two messengers that are mess that are mentioned in this passage, and this messenger of the covenant of the covenant is the one who's going to purify the nation and purify the worship. And this is the Lord that they seek. This is the savior, this is the Messiah. This is the one who's going to transform the nation and transform really the world.

There I keep forgetting to. What did I do? I keep forgetting to click my. A really valuable bullet points that I worked so hard on.

All right. The refiner's fire. He says, he describes the refiner's fire and the, the question is who can endure his coming. that this is going to, that this coming of this messenger is going to be cataclysmic.

It's going to be world-changing, and the descriptions here are of judgment, describing the day of his coming. And as we read through this and read what Malachi is writing down here, it seems that God is giving a message that is almost overwhelming, and it, it did, as I was reading it, remind me a little bit of what Job experienced when Job challenges God and God finally answers Job. And when God answers Job, God gives him Way more information than he can handle. And in a sense, it's like that here.

It's like taking your cup and turning on the faucet and it starts pouring out like a a fire hose, it's just, it's more than we can handle and because the concepts here are so great. And, and as you contemplate them, you realize that this is not just some little tweaking of, of human government and, setting this and that straight. this is overwhelming human government. This is actually destroying nations, destroying evildoers, that this changes everything and it is permanent in its change.

And so he is describing this. One other, thing that's mentioned here that I wanted to bring up in this passage is he says, I do not change. He says, for I, the Lord, do not change. Therefore, you, oh sons of Jacob, are not consumed.

What does he mean by that? Well, he means this, that, that with other nations. When they go into that level of disobedience, God brings destruction and destroys them. God has though made covenants with Israel and has plans for them for the future.

And so, and he has not changed his mind on those plans. We'll be looking at that a little bit more in our application of in, in a cross cross reference with Romans chapter 11. But God has He, what he's doing here is reassuring, in his reassurance of love to them, he is declaring to them, I haven't changed my mind about you. I still have plans for you.

I still am going to work with you. And so, that is something that, that they are to take confidence in, that he hasn't forgotten them, he's not neglecting them. So how is he loving them? Well, he's demonstrating that with this message.

So we go to chapter 4. Verses 1 to 6. There is more of this revelation. He says, for behold, the day is coming, burning like a furnace, and all the arrogant and every evildoer will be chaff.

And the day that is coming will set them ablaze, says the Lord of hosts, so that it will leave them neither root nor branch. But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings, and you will go forth and skip about like calves from the stall. You will tread down the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day which I am preparing, says the Lord of hosts. Remember the law of Moses, my servant, even the statutes and ordinances which I commanded him in horror for all Israel.

Behold, I'm going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord. He will restore the hearts of the fathers to their children. In the hearts of the children to their fathers. So that they will not, so I, so that I will not come and smite the land with a curse.

So we see here, mentioned that the day, there's a day coming, there's a day of judgment. he describes it burning like a, a furnace, that the arrogant and evildoers will be like chaff. and so that is coming, but there will be healing for the righteous. In fact, there will, it will be a day of joy for those who, have reverence for the name of God.

And so, this healing is coming and then he says to remember my, the law of my servant Moses. And so there's this, this instruction for them to come back to what God has called them to. And he's been saying this with the oracles and challenging them with how they have failed in their worship and how they have failed in their relationships with one another. And so God is calling them back.

To what he established with them. And one of the things that's, that's important to see too here is that God refers to Moses as my servant. And what God is saying with that, one of the things at least that God is saying with that is that The God of Moses. Is their God too.

Moses died a long time ago, but I am with you, like I was with Moses. And so God is, is trying to make this connection with them, this personal, so that they, in, in going back to the law, they understand that we're not following Moses, we're following God. And, and so there's this, this, identity that, that God is bringing into it, that they are coming underneath the rule of God. Then he says, Elijah is coming.

And so Elijah is the name Malachi gives to this messenger that we looked at in, in chapter 3. This messenger that is coming. And he was going to be coming before the great and terrible day of the Lord. And this is almost at the end of the book of Malachi, the next to the last verse, the, the great and terrible day of the Lord, the end of the Old Testament for us, and that's how it pretty much ends, is this, this, reminder that there is a great and terrible day of the Lord that's coming.

But before that happens, Elijah will come. And, and one of the interesting things to see here is you have We represented with Moses and Elijah, the law and the prophets, right? And so, what God is, is affirming to in this message is what I have given to you over all of these centuries in the law and the prophets is something that, that I still hold to, that is still valuable to me and, and that I still expect for you to fall underneath. That they would see that.

And they would come underneath all of that. one of the things that comes from this prophecy, Elijah is coming, is then the expectation from Jews from then forward to look for Elijah. and so, if you remember when, John the Baptist first appeared on the scene, one of the things the scribes asked him when they came to him was, are you Elijah? And who are you?

Who should we expect you to be? And, and so they're looking for Elijah. in, I've seen a couple of demonstrations of the Passover, a seder dinner, and in both of those demonstrations, they talked about one of the important things to do at the table, for Passovers is to set an empty place, a chair with a, a, a plate for Elijah because the expectation is that Elijah must come before the Messiah comes. And, and so there is that this right expectation for Elijah to be coming.

Which gets us to the coming, at least in part. And so we go to Luke chapter one. Verse 13 to 17 and in between the end of this prophecy of Malachi, And this passage of scripture here, we have 400 years of silence. God does not send any more prophets.

God doesn't send any more text messages. There is nothing, directly from God. to the nation of Israel, what they, the communication that they have from God is what has already been written and that's what they are relying upon. pretty much like us today, what we have, that God communicates to us is through His word.

And so that's what they had for 400 years and that's, that is all that they had until An angel comes to a priest named Zacharias. And, and speaks to him. This is the first message from God for 400 years. And so let's read about it.

Luke chapter 1 verse 13 to 17. says, but the angel said to him, Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your petition has been heard and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son. And you will give him the name John. You will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and he will drink no wine or liquor, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit while yet in his mother's womb.

And he will turn many of the sons of Israel back to the Lord their God. It is he who will go as a forerunner. Before him in the Spirit and the power of Elijah to turn the hearts of the fathers back to the children. And the disobedient to the attitude of the righteous, so as to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.

So we see him announced as a forerunner that Zacharias and his wife Elizabeth are going to have a son. They're to name him John. Now, this is a puzzle that we'll never get because he's supposed to come in the spirit of Elijah, but they don't tell, God doesn't tell him to name him Elijah. He used to name him John, something else, and, and yet, as we're gonna see in some passages following, he was to be seen as, Elijah But anyway, he's the forerunner.

He's the one that's prophesized in Malachi. And, Even that probably would have been enough to make Zachariahs speechless. It wasn't, but he was for the 9 months that, until John was born, he was speechless. And so, We see him as the forerunner.

We see that the spirit and power of Elijah was supposed to be on him. I get 10-minute Bryant. he was to turn the hearts of the fathers back to their children. And to make ready a people prepared for the Lord, that that was going to be his role, his job.

And, in reflecting on this, Zacharias must have just been is excited, ecstatic about what this would be, that not only were they getting a son that they had so long hoped for, but this son was going to be a major step in, in the, reclamation of Israel as a, as the, the nation that God had intended them to be. And so, this is the coming, this is the promise of the coming of the forerunner. Then we look in Matthew. Chapter.

3 verses 1 and 2, and we see the ministry of, of John, what actually did happen. So if you look over there, it says this. Now in those days, John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, saying, repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. For this is the one referred to by Isaiah the prophet when he said, the voice of one crying in the wilderness, make ready the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.

Now John himself had a garment of camel's hair and a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. Then Jerusalem was going out to him and all Judea and all the district around the Jordan, and they were being baptized by him in the Jordan River as they confessed their sins. But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Therefore, bear fruit in keeping with repentance and do not suppose that you can say to yourselves, we have Abraham for our father, for I say to you that from these stones God is able to raise up children to Abraham.

The ax is already laid at the root of the trees. Therefore, every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. As for me, I baptize you with water for repentance. But he who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove his sandals.

He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will thoroughly clear his threshing floor. And he will gather his wheat into the barn, but he will burn up the shaft with unquenchable fire. We see here in this message, a clear connection to what was revealed through Malachi, very clear, connection that, that John understands his role.

He, he knows what, who he is, that he is the forerunner. His message is to repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. And, His message is pretty blunt. in contrast with many of the messages that have been preached over the years trying to cajole people into the kingdom of heaven.

John wasn't a cajoler. He was just blunt, this is how it is, understanding that everyone who comes into the kingdom comes the same way. And that is with humility, that we bow our heads, we bend our knees before God. We don't come, we don't, negotiate terms with God.

No, there's only one way, and that is through our repentance and through our faith. That's the only way we come to God. And so John preaching this message, he was preaching clearly, he was preaching bluntly, but he was giving clearly this idea that he is the forerunner of someone who is coming after him. That is mightier than him and is going to clean house.

that is the idea. In his message. he, he tells them that they need to bear fruit in keeping with repentance. that this is not just lip service repentance, but this, that you need to show the repentance with your actions.

And he's talking specifically there to the religious leaders that come down. he will burn up the shaft. This is a, a reference back to Malachi, what Malachi has said. And then we go to Matthew chapter 11.

No, yes, Matthew chapter 11. This is Jesus speaking, and in this passage, this is after John had been arrested by Herod and is in Herod's prison, and he sends messengers to Jesus because he's beginning to wonder, is Jesus really the one? And so they come and ask him and, and Jesus refers them back to some statements by Isaiah and, and tells them, this is what I'm doing, just what Isaiah had said, and, and so they go back to tell John that yes, he really is the one. But as these men were going away, it says in verse 7, Jesus began to speak with the crowds about John.

What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? But what did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing?

Those who wear soft clothing are in king's palaces. But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and the one who is more than a prophet.

This is the one about whom it is written, behold, I send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you. Truly I say to you, among those born of women, There has not arisen anyone greater than John the Baptist. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. From the days of John the Baptist until the kingdom of heaven, until now, the kingdom of heaven suffers violence and violent men take it by force.

For all the prophets in the law prophesized until John. And if you are willing to accept it, John himself is Elijah who was to come. He who has ears to hear, let him hear. So, one of the, the points that comes out in this message is that, that he is the one who fulfills this prophecy of behold, I send my messenger that's back in Malachi, a clear connection that Jesus is making between John the Baptist and that messenger.

And then, Jesus makes this point that if that John is Elijah, if you accept him. And so there is this sense. That, That John the Baptist would be Elijah. If he had been accepted by the people, if his message had been received.

And his message was that the kingdom of heaven is at hand and that this mess this Jesus is the Messiah, and he declared him to be at the baptism, that Jesus was the one. So if that had all been believed and accepted by the nation of Israel, then John the Baptist would be, would completely fulfill the role of Elijah. But those are what ifs. And the eternal all-knowing God does not dwell in what ifs.

but what this does tell us is that the kingdom of heaven. That was at hand was a real bona fide offer. That, that, in fact, Jesus himself picked that message up and began to declare it, that it is at hand if you will receive it. but we also know that Jesus had a, a higher, mission to accomplish, and that mission was to die for the sins of the world.

OK, I think I went further back than I wanted to go. Yeah, let's go here. Matthew 17. Verses 10 to 13 says this, and his disciples asked him, why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?

And he answered and said, Elijah is coming and will restore all things. But I say to you that Elijah already came and they did not recognize him but did to him whatever they wished. So also the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands. Then the disciples understood.

That he had spoken to them about John the Baptist. So, why would Elijah come first? Well, because that was the prophecy. That was what Malachi had said, and Jesus confirms it, that Elijah is coming.

that, that's still on the table, that's still in the program of God for Elijah to be coming. he says Elijah did come, but he was rejected and so there is this sense of, of understanding that the disciples were, were starting to grasp, just beginning to grasp that there would be another coming of this Elijah. that, and they saw that, that John represented Elijah, but he was unable to, to fulfill completely that role. because of, the, rejection of the Messiah that, that happened.

He did, however, fulfill the role of announcing the first coming. And so that, and so we as looking back on it now can see that John accomplished his task, did what he was supposed to do. And, and was able to then announce the first coming which, in its fullness, we celebrated last week with Easter, with the, the actual death, burial, and resurrection of, of Jesus. I'm hitting a button here that I'm not supposed to hit.

I think that shuts it off. All right. Application. What do we do with this message?

When Israel is feeling unloved, God reassures them with a message that his plans are still in play. His plans for them as a people group are still in play. And this is a, an important point in, in the study of Malachi, that, that God cared enough about their well-being that God would give them this message. You see, they were struggling to be obedient.

They were having trouble with, keeping the laws that they're supposed to be. It was a struggle in, in, in our normal human relationships, we, our patience tend to run out. But we see here God's patience with the people of Israel did not run out. he continues in that patience.

He continues to have them in his heart, continues. To have them in his plans for the future. And he gives them the reassurance of things to look for. And even though he also confronts them on what they are doing wrong, but he also gives them hope, gives them something that they need to look forward to.

And we see their response in Malachi. We see that many of those who feared the Lord then did, repent and they made the changes that, that, God had asked them to make. And then through that 400 years, if you go back and, and read some of the history, of that time period, You find that there were, there were those who stayed true all the way through. they, they lived their lives, their descendants did to stay true to that.

And so when Jesus came, there were still righteous Jews living in that land, people who were reverent before God. And So we find a couple, Mary and Joseph, that God would choose to bear the, the son. And they were two people that were reverent before God, that they loved God and that they were willing to follow God and do what God wanted. So there were people that from that whole time period they went through and they were faithful to God.

They had those promises to hold on to and, and they could then have a better understanding. Of the prophecies that have been given before the restoration of Israel, to know that there's still, it's still in the future, it's still out there. God still has it in his plan. In Romans chapter 11 verse 29.

Paul writes that the gifts and calling of God are without repentance. That they're within, without, there are irrevocable. I don't know why I lost those two words back there, but anyway, They are irrevocable is what it says. And there they come.

so what is it that that we, how are we to see that? Well, in, in Romans chapter 11, it's actually part of a, a section from chapter 9 to chapter 11 that Paul writes, To answer a question. In chapter 8, Paul is, is giving to the Christians, to this 1st generation, 1st century group of believers in the city of Rome. this, he has from the, from chapter 1 through chapter 8, the, the, this great doctrine of salvation and what it means for us as believers.

And in chapter 8, he finishes that part of it off with the idea, with basically 3 questions. Who then can make a charge against God's elect? And he says, if God be for us, who can be against us? And he finishes it with, there, the, the idea that there's nothing that can separate us from the love of God, that we are secure in God's love.

And so it really is back again to this idea of, does God love us? Yes, he loves us. And so we as believers, we can go to Romans chapter 8, and we can get our comfort there that God is, is working in our lives and that, that everything works together for our good, when we are loving God and we are called according to His purpose. And so, we can take comfort in God's love and have assurance of it.

But at the end of that chapter, going into chapter 9, Paul changes direction a little bit, in fact, quite a bit. And it, it seems that he's, he's answering a question that he thinks will pop into their minds, they being first generation, first. century Christians whose scriptures are the law and the prophets, and who are reading about the history of the nation of Israel. And, and knowing the ups and downs there and coming down then to the rejection of the Messiah in their own century and, and seeing that, that That Israel has, it, it appears violated in the greatest way, what God has been offering to them.

And so the question must be, if nothing can separate us from the love of God, what about Israel? Because that's the question I believe that Paul is answering there in chapter 9, 10, and 11. And so we get to, verse 29. Of chapter 11 and what Paul states very clearly.

That the gifts and calling of God are irrevocable, and, and it really goes hand in hand with verse 6 of Malachi chapter 4, he said, where he says, I do not change. I, I am still holding you even though you have violated, our, our covenant. I will not change and I will not violate my covenant with you. The same is true for us as believers.

And so if the gifts and calling of God are irrevocable to the nation of Israel, we can have confidence that nothing can separate us from the love of God. These two things go together and our understanding that God doesn't take away. our place in his family because of our failure. just as he's not taking the nation of Israel out of his plans and out of his favor for the future time.

and, and so these, these, these ideas go together. The gifts and calling of God are irrevocable. So how would these Israelites respond to Malachi's message? Well, I think the Psalm 85.

If it wasn't written at this time, It probably was read at this time in their response, because it very well, encapsulates the, the idea, those who would have repented, those who would have, heard this message from Malachi. And made the changes, done the repentance and, and begun to follow God with their whole heart. So I'd like to read this psalm and then, and then we'll be closed. He says, oh Lord, you showed favor to your land.

You restored the captivity of Jacob. You forgave the iniquity of your people, you covered all their sin. You withdrew all your fury. You turned away from your burning anger.

Restore us, oh God, of our salvation, and cause your indignation toward us to cease. Will you be angry with us forever? Will you prolong your anger to all generations? Will you not yourself revive us again that your people may rejoice in you?

Show us your loving kindness, oh Lord, and grant us your salvation. I will hear what the God, what God the Lord will say, for he will speak peace to his people, to his godly ones. But let them not turn back to folly. Surely his salvation is near to those who fear Him, that glory may dwell in our land.

Loving kindness and truth have met together. Righteousness and peace have kissed each other. Truth springs from the earth, and righteousness looks down from heaven. Indeed, the Lord will give what is good and our land will yield its produce.

Righteousness will go before him and will make his footsteps into a way, excuse me. So, This is an expression, a godly expression, an expression of, of yielding to the, the sovereignty of God and his work in their, in their nation. And that is an expression that really as the people of God ourselves can also give. We can give the same expression.

That, in the application of this lesson for us today, That we can, we can yield to the lordship of God in his directing the events that are around us. Of course, we live in a world that is crazy. Of course, we live in a world that, that has agendas that are anti-God. But God is not intimidated by that, and neither should we be.

We trust in the God who, who does his work. We, yield to his ways, and we trust in what he's doing in the events that are around us and the things that are happening to go ahead and follow him and do things his way and trust in, in, in the future in what he will do because there will be a day coming. When he will restore his people Israel, when, when Jerusalem will be the center of the earth, and where All the nations will come to that Messiah that will be there. And will bow before him and they will do it because they want to.

what a change that will be, as we see righteousness prevail in the world. It's hard for us to imagine that. It's hard for me to imagine that. It's, we've never seen anything like that, but someday it will be so.

And so we trust in that. We look forward to that day when he comes again, and that is what we as Christians are to, are called to do, right? To always be looking forward to his coming. Brian, do you have something that you wanted to say?

It's been so long now you probably forgot. OK, it's all right. You can bug me later if you think of it. OK.

Let's close in prayer. Father, I thank you that That we get to trust in you and that we're not the ones that have to bring these things to pass. That we can just walk in obedience before you, living our lives as you would have us to, to lead them, yielded to your ways. Lord, may our lives glorify you and even as we go out this week and are confronted with different things in this world, In our jobs in, in, in our.

Other ways that we touch this world. May your light shine through us and, and may we, be people that, that effectively communicate your glory. And we look forward to that day when you come back, and you do bring order to this world. You do bring it.

In a way that exalts righteousness and exalts your son. We look forward to that time, but until then, may we be faithful to you. Amen.