December in Ezra, Nehemiah, Psalms, and Malachi

DECEMBER

1. Ezra 7 & 8
2. Ezra 9 & 10
3. Nehemiah 1-2
4. Nehemiah 3
5. Nehemiah 4-5
6. Nehemiah 6-7:73a 
7. Nehemiah 7:73b-8:18
8. Nehemiah 9
9. Nehemiah 10
10. Nehemiah 11
11. Nehemiah 12-13
12. Psalm 107
13. Psalms 111,112, 117
14. Psalm 119
15. Psalm 119
16. Psalm 119
17. Psalms 121-123
18. Psalms 128, 130, 134
19. Psalm 135
20. Psalm 136
21. Psalms 146-147
22. Malachi 1
23. Malachi 2
24. Malachi 3 & 4

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!

Put Malachi Back on the Prophets Shelf

We are done with the entire prophets shelf! WOOHOO! 

Malachi 3:7 - 4:6 - Obey and Fear God

LINK: Malachi 3-4

BACKGROUND

Fifth Message - Obey God (3:7-12)

One way the people did not obey ("return to") God was by not giving a 10th of their grain, fruit, animals, or money to the Levites who in turn were to give a 10th to the priests (Leviticus 18:21-32; 27:30-34; Nehemiah 13:5). Every third year a tithe was brought to local leaders to give to the poor (14:28-29). It was an act of worship to the Lord and went back even before the time of the Mosaic Covenant when Abraham tithed to Melchizedek (Genesis 14:20; Hebrews 7). During Malachi's time, the people had neglected to give to the Lord (Nehemiah 10:34-39; 13:10). They had "robbed" God of His due, but they were being robbed because they missed out on the blessings! In addition, they were not a testimony of trust to the surrounding nations (3:12). It was a lose-lose for everyone concerned. 

By the way, the New Testament does not specify a 10th of our income, but I tend to think it teaches that we give EVERYTHING (Acts 4:31-35; 2 Corinthians 9:6-12; Galatians 6:6; Philippians 4:14-19).

Sixth Message - Fear God (3:13-4:6)

This message is parallel in many ways to the fourth message (2:17-3:6) regarding the question of God's justice and prosperity of the wicked. The people were whining that it was futile to serve God because they gained no benefit. Part of this question has already been answered in the fourth message stating that the arrogant and evildoers would be punished in the day of the Lord and the faithful remnant would be blessed.

Now the focus shifts to the faithful remnant who feared God from their heart rather than ritual aimed at gaining something for themselves. A "scroll of remembrance" of their reverent and obedient response was written before God to remember them. They would be spared on the Day of Judgment.

The faithful remnant is given a final promise that is so beautiful and closes our study of the Old Testament prophets with such hope and opens the way for the fulfillment of many promises and prophecies in the New:

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. 

(Malachi 4:2)

Because of the tender mercy of our God,
With which the Sunrise from on high will visit us,
To shine upon those who sit in darkness 
and the shadow of death.
To guide our feet into the way of peace. 

(Luke 1:78-79) 

AMEN!

REFLECTION

As I type, I am listening to the Christmas Carol "O Come All Ye Faithful," and the connection to this passage is not lost on me; the "word of the Father" that was prophesied from of old has appeared in the flesh. So, come, all you who are faithful, come and adore Him!

What a lovely feeling of satisfaction to come to the end of this Old Testament journey. When I got the idea to do this, I jumped first and then asked, "What was I thinking?" This has taken hours of work, but it has brought me more joy than you can ever imagine. It has brought me to my knees in worship and praise, and it has anchored me to the Ancient of Days like never before. 

God always carved out time for me to study, meditate, write, and pray even when our life was hectic.  But then again, when we are too busy for God, we are TOO busy! This is my offering of praise to our God. I have given to you with joy, and I hope you have been blessed. 

The hardest work is over. YEAR TWO is the toughest, and you have finished the course. Congratulations! 

So, let's continue to press deep into the heart of God as we press on to the New Testament. Let us be found part of those who "revere His name" with every part of our being!

APPLICATION

Spend time meditating on the final two verses in the background section and press into Him in worship and prayer.

PRAYER

Praise, honor, and glory belong to You. We thank You for not leaving us without guidance. You have given us Your Word to guide us into all truth. Thank You for the Old Testament that teaches us about Your character and ways and our need for mercy and forgiveness that comes through the shed blood of Jesus Christ. Guide us this day we pray. Amen.

Malachi 2:10-3:6: Be Faithful and Hope in God

LINK: Malachi 2 & 3 

BACKGROUND

Third Message - Be Faithful (2:10-16)

This message is different in that it doesn't have an initial statement or charge followed by a sarcastic question but has three questions. It is directed at the men who callously divorced their faithful wives to marry younger pagan women (Ezra 9:1-4; Nehemiah 13:23-31). This disregarded the Law (Exodus 34:11-16; Deuteronomy 7:3-4) and threatened the religious training of children. By being faithful to the wives of their youth, they were being faithful to God.

Fourth Message - Hope in God (2:17-3:6)

Israel was acting as if they had no God to believe in or hope for. They questioned God's justice. because the wicked prospered (Job 21:7-26; 24:1-17; Psalm 73:1-14; Ecclesiastes 8:14; Jeremiah 12:1-4; Habakkuk 1). God points to a time of justice when He will send His messenger, whom Jesus explicitly identified as John the Baptist (Matthew 11:10; Mark 1:2; Luke 1:76), who will prepare the way (Isaiah 40:3; John 1:23) for the "messenger of the covenant." This is the Messiah, Jesus!

The rest of this message speaks of the "day of the Lord" which will be a day of judgment of the whole world (Isaiah 2:12; Joel 3:11-16; Amos 5:18-21; Zechariah 1:14-18) and the time of Jesus' second coming. He will be like a refiner's fire that burns away the dross from metal ores and launderer's soap that will cleanse and purify (Mark 9:3; Revelation 3:5) the Levites so they offer clean sacrifices. He will judge the rest of the nation and purge it of sorcery, adultery, perjury, oppression of workers, widows, and orphans, and mistreatment of aliens. While it is a day of judgment for those who reject Him, it will be a day of comfort and joy for the faithful as they look forward to an eternity in His presence!

REFLECTION/APPLICATION

Those who are faithful to Him have hope for the future and have no need to fear when He comes again. Talk to God about this.

PRAYER

Lord, You are a faithful, covenant-keeping God. Teach us to be faithful to You. We praise You for the hope we have in Jesus, and it is in His name we pray. Amen.

Malachi 1:1-2:9: Respond to God's Love and Honor Him

LINK: Malachi 1 & 2

Try reading the whole book of Malachi in one sitting. It took me 11 minutes to read 55 verses.

If you have not already done so, please read the "Introduction to the Prophetical Books." 

BACKGROUND

Book of Malachi

Most scholars agree that Malachi was written around 450-430 B.C. He was a contemporary of Nehemiah who returned to Jerusalem in 444 to face many problems that Malachi addressed in his oracle. Some of the problems included:

• Intermarriage with Gentiles (2:10-11; Ezra 9:1-2; Nehemiah 13:1-2, 23-28)
• Lack of support for the Levites (3:10; Nehemiah 13:10)
• Oppression of the poor (3:5; Nehemiah 5:4-5)

Malachi's name means "My messenger." This is appropriate since the name "LORD Almighty" occurs 20 times. Of the 55 verses, 47 are spoken by God - the highest proportion of any of the prophets (85%).

He writes in a very different style from the other prophets. He introduced each of his six messages with a charge or command addressed to the people and five out of six of the times follows them with sarcastic questions introduced by "But you say (ask)" (1:2, 6-7, 13; 2:14, 17; 3:7-8, 12). Then, he offered proof that each charge was correct. He confronted the apathetic Israelites and applied the Mosaic Covenant to problems of neglect and outright disobedience. His message is similar to the other prophets: covenant blessings require covenant faithfulness!

Malachi 1:1 - 2:9

First Message - Respond to God's Love (1:2-5)

God loved Jacob and chose him to be the one through whom the nation of Israel and the Messiah would come. The people of Edom were descendants of Esau. See Genesis 25:19-26. God loves his people even when they ignore and disobey Him.

Second Message - Honor God (1:6-2:9)

The priests had dishonored God by offering insufficient sacrifices (Leviticus 22). They were casual, lazy, impure, and disobedient by not following the Law. God's command was that they honor Him or they would be cast out of service to purify the line of Levi (Levites were God's ministers in the Tabernacle and temple. See Numbers 1:47-54; 18:19,21.).

Also, Malachi prophesies about a time when Gentiles "from every place" (a better translation of 1:11) will worship God (Isaiah 11:3-4,9; Daniel 7:13-14, 27-28; Zephaniah 2:11; 3:8-11; Zechariah 14:9, 16) and His name will be great among the nations (another "bottom line" verse).

OUR RESPONSE

The Lord said through Jeremiah, "I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore, I have drawn you with lovingkindness" (Jeremiah 31:3). Do you believe that He really loves you?

Jesus said, "He who has my commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him" (John 14:21). How have you loved God by your obedience today?

PRAYER

Lord, You have loved us with an everlasting love and drawn us with lovingkindness. We want to respond to Your love by loving and obeying You. Guide us. We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.

Introduction to the Prophetical Books

INTRODUCTION TO THE PROPHETICAL BOOKS

Download the Year Two BBC Overview and Timeline 

The Bible is not written in chronological order but according to the type of book:

Books of Moses (Law or Pentateuch): Genesis - Deuteronomy 
History: Joshua - Esther
Poetry and Wisdom Literature: Job - Song of Solomon
Major Prophets: Isaiah - Daniel
Minor Prophets: Hosea - Malachi

I find it easier to understand prophecy when it is read in the context of the historical period. So, that is why we are interspersing the prophets in the historical context of 2 Kings and 2 Chronicles. 

I will not be doing a strictly chronological approach because I do not want to jump back and forth once we start a prophetic book. So, when we get to a book like Isaiah, that covers the reign of four kings of Judah spanning six decades, we will read through all of those kings in 2 Kings and 2 Chronicles before we study the entire book of Isaiah.

The prophetical books are broken up into two sections: 5 Major Prophets (Isaiah - Daniel) and 12 Minor Prophets (Hosea - Malachi). We will read them in chronological order. That way we will get breaks between the longer major prophets of Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel with the shorter Minor Prophets. Here is a brief rundown of the order of the historical dates for each prophet with the Major Prophets highlighted in bold. They are all B.C.:

841-824.....Obadiah (this date is hotly debated!)

825-809....Joel

784-772.....Jonah 

767-755.....Amos 

755-714.....Hosea 

-----722 Assyrian Captivity of Northern Kingdom of Israel

739-681.....Isaiah 

733-701.....Micah 

650-620....Nahum 

636-623....Zephaniah 

627-574.....Jeremiah 

574-538.....Lamentations 

621-609.....Habakkuk 

605-586 Babylonian Captivity of Southern Kingdom of Judah

605-536.....Daniel 

593-559.....Ezekiel 

------538 Cyrus of Persian issues edict allowing Jews to RETURN to land

520-505.....Haggai 

520-489.....Zechariah 

435-415.....Malachi 

Theologically, the prophets concentrate on warnings of impending judgment, teachings about righteous living, encouragement to the faithful and oppressed, and predictions of God's future plans.

                                                                                         

I am approaching the prophets with fear and trembling! :)  I hope that you are game and that breaking up the longer books of the Major Prophets with the shorter books of the Minor Prophets will make it easier! I believe God has so much to teach us through the study of these books.

I LOVE what Eugene Peterson says about the prophets:

Over a period of several hundred years the Hebrew people gave birth to an extraordinary number of prophets – men and women distinguished by the power and skill with which they presented the reality of God. They delivered God’s commands and promises and living presence to communities and nations who had been living on god-fantasies and god-lies. 

Everyone more or less believes in God. But most of us do our best to keep God on the margins of our lives or failing that, refashion God to suit our convenience. Prophets insist that God is the sovereign center [emphasis mine] not off in the wings awaiting our beck and call. And prophets insist that we deal with God as God reveals himself, not as we imagine him to be [Isn't that powerful? Ponder that for a moment].  

These men and women woke people up to the sovereign presence of God in their lives. They yelled, they wept, they rebuked, they soothed, they challenged, they comforted. They used words with power and imagination whether blunt or subtle. . .  

Prophets make it impossible to evade God or make detours around God. Prophets insist on receiving God in ever nook and cranny of life. For a prophet, God is more real than the next-door neighbor.  (The Message Remix, p. 1194, 1197)

With fear and trembling, let us start the prophets in the next post!