Reading… and Thinking

Then those who feared the LORD spoke with one another. The LORD paid attention and heard them, and a book of remembrance was written before him of those who feared the LORD and esteemed his name. “They shall be mine, says the LORD of hosts, in the day when I make up my treasured possession, and I will spare them as a man spares his son who serves him.”

– Malachi 3:16-18 (ESV)

The prophet Malachi was the last inspired writer of the Old Testament. He literally provided the “last word” from God, before the long gap that ended when His own Son was about to come on the scene. The themes in Malachi are in fact carried forward by Jesus – who is without question the “messenger” that Malachi foretells.

The particular verses quoted above have long been favorites of mine.

Like many prophets before him, Malachi rebukes the people of Israel. The problem he confronts is superficiality in their worship—one of those themes that Jesus will have a lot to say about. (We should note that progress has been made due to the captivity in Babylon, and then the post-exile work of Ezra, Haggai, Nehemiah, and others. At least they no longer need to be rebuked for idolatry!)

The reaction to Malachi’s rebuke is recorded in the verses above. This gives me tremendous hope, both for myself and for others. When confronted by the word of God, some people will take it to heart. I hope that includes me! Their reaction, as recorded by Malachi, is very normal: they talked about it with each other. A great example for us!

And notice the result. Basically, their conversations were viewed by God as prayers. He heard them, and heeded them. And He caused their names to be written in His book of life. He views them as very precious to Him, His own “treasured possession”. Both before and after these verses, God reveals that judgments will come – but when they do, He says those treasured ones will be spared.

The ones who are treasured didn’t start out that way. They started out as people who dishonored God (chapter 1), who were faithless (chapter 2), and immoral (earlier in chapter 3). But they heard the rebuke, believed it and took it to heart, and then talked about it with one another. This response is what made them treasured. God loved them all along, was reaching out to them – and they were already His people…superficially. But they became part of his “treasure” only when they responded by letting His word penetrate to the heart.