You can turn in your Bibles to the prophet Malachi, Malachi chapter 2. Since Malachi chapter 3 verse 1 will be quoted in our study in Matthew next week concerning John the Baptist, I thought this would give us a bit more background as to the context of that particular statement. You will see why John the Baptist was expecting judgment and justice to come from God the Lord. Certainly it is and it was to come, but it was also going to be mingled with the grace and the goodness and the mercy and the kindness associated with the coming of the Messiah as well.
So I want to read chapter 2 at verse 17 in the prophet Malachi to chapter 3 verse 5, as this is one particular unit. Beginning in chapter 2 at verse 17, you have wearied the Lord with your words, in that you say, I'm sorry, yet you say, in what way have we wearied him? In that you say, everyone who does evil is good in the sight of the Lord, and he delights in them. Or, where is the God of justice?
Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple, even 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 launderer's soap. He will sit as a refiner and a purifier of silver. He will purify the sons of Levi and purge them as gold and silver that they may offer to the Lord an offering in righteousness. then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasant to the Lord, as in the days of old, as in former years.
And I will come near you for judgment. I will be a swift witness against sorcerers, against adulterers, against perjurers, against those who exploit wage earners and widows and orphans, and against those who turn away an alien. Because they do not fear me, says the Lord of hosts. Amen.
Well, let us pray. Our Father, we thank you for your word. We thank you for the unity between the Old and New Testaments. We thank you, God, for your grace and mercy that is displayed throughout these pages.
Well, God, we appreciate and we thank you for the justice and the judgment and the righteousness that is displayed as well. We know that you are a just judge and you do what is right. Our Father, we pray that you give us a proper appreciation of this truth as well, and may it indeed inculcate in our hearts a reverential awe Help us to esteem you. Help us to consider the glory that is you.
We ask now for the ministry and the aid of your Holy Spirit, and we pray through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
Introduction: Malachi in Context
Well, Malachi is the last of the prophets in the Old Testament. It's not just because it's the last book here in our English Bible. In the Hebrew Bible, the last book is the book of 2 Chronicles. It's actually structured or laid out a bit differently.
But Malachi certainly is the last prophet before the coming of John the Baptist and then of course the Lord Jesus Christ. He ministered about the years 433 to 425 BC. So he comes even after Haggai and Zechariah. So Haggai and Zechariah preach around 520.
The temple is completed in 516 and it doesn't take long for the nation to slide back into apostasy and defection and unfaithfulness. And Malachi addresses that throughout this particular book. One of the larger sections begins in chapter 1, verse 6, all the way to chapter 2, verse 9. It is a condemnation of the priesthood.
In chapter 2, specifically beginning in verses, going from 10 to 16, he addresses the infidelity of the people. That is seen in the breach in the marriage covenant. It is seen with the people marrying pagans. Here, in this section, he indicts them because of their lack of a sound theology.
And I'll explain that as we move on. But one of the techniques, or one of the things that comes up, or is very prevalent in this book, is that Malachi makes his allegation, or he makes his statement, and then the people just sound so surprised. Look for a moment at chapter 1, verse 6. A son honors his father, a servant his master.
If then I am the father, where is my honor? And if I am a master, where is my reverence, says the Lord of Hosts to you priests who despise my name? Yet you say, in what way have we despised your name? Again, in verse 7, you offered defiled food on my altar, but say, in what way have we defiled you?
That is a recurring pattern throughout this book. The indictment is leveled and they basically scratch their head and say, who, us? What do you mean? They thought everything was going according to plan.
They thought they were engaged in proper worship. They were going to the temple. They were bringing their sacrificial animal, but they weren't bringing their heart. In fact, the bulk of chapter 1 deals with that very thing.
These people stole animals to take to sacrifice to the Lord. As a general rule, my brothers and sisters, if you steal money to put into the offering box, there is something wrong with your heart. There is something wrong with your soul. If you bring the worst animal from your flock and you bring that to the king of kings and lord of lords, there is something wrong with your heart.
So as you read through this book of Malachi and you see the various sins that they're engaged in, the transgression of God's holy law, They're absolutely positively surprised that the Lord has complaint about them whatsoever. And yet they say, in what way did we do this particular thing? Well, here in 2.17 to 3.5, as I said, it's a particular unit. deals with the coming of this messenger of the covenant. Now John is the forerunner of the messenger.
The messenger spoken of in chapter 3 verse 1 is the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the mediator of a better covenant, the surety of the new covenant. But the context starts in verse 17.
The Practical Atheism of Israel
So we'll look first at verse 17 as their particular offense, and I call it the practical atheism of Israel. The practical atheism of Israel. Doctrinal atheism is when you say there's no such thing as God. The whole idea of God is a fairy tale.
It's a wish. It's just a desire born in the heart of man so that he has something big to hold on to. It is pie in the sky. It is not true.
I am saying this is doctrinal. It is a reasoned effort or attempt to try and explain away the existence of God. That wasn't Israel's problem. They affirmed doctrinally that God was.
They affirmed the Shema. Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Their problem is practical atheism. They lived as if there was no God.
And I think this settles in churches at times. It can settle in Christians or professing Christians at times. Doctrinally, we affirm the presence of God. I mean, to deny him would be completely absurd.
But we live as if there is no God. We live as if there is no accountability. We live as if there is no law. We live as if there is no injunction from the apostle that says, let our conduct be worthy of the gospel.
If we are in rebellion against the living and true God, in patterns of sin, patterns of declension, patterns of ungodliness, then the term practical atheism certainly applies to us. So that's the issue here being addressed specifically. in verse 17 and it's in response to that that this promise concerning the new covenant comes in chapter 3 verses 1 to 5. So let's look first of all at this practical atheism of Israel in verse 17. Notice back in chapter 1 at verse 13.
Here was Israel's response to the worship of God. Verse 12, chapter 1, you profane it in that you say the table of the Lord is defiled and its food is contemptible. You also say, oh, what a weariness, and you sneer at it says the Lord of hosts, and you bring the stolen, the lame and the sick, thus you bring an offering, should I accept this from your hand, says the Lord. So when the Sabbath day would roll around there in the kingdom of Judah, after the exile, after they had been freed from Babylon, They go back to their land, it's time to go to worship, they roll their eyes, they whine and grumble and complain, and they say, oh, what a weariness, and they sneer at the very concept of sacrificing to God.
In an interesting turn of events, God the Lord now says to them that you have wearied me. The real issue in Israel is not that you were weary concerning the worship of God, but the underlying problem is that God has grown weary of you. And that's what verse 17 says. You have wearied the Lord with your words.
In Isaiah 43, 24, God says, but you have burdened me with your sins, you have wearied me with your iniquity. So the words spoken, either audibly or inaudibly, by the Israelites at that time, and we'll see them in just a moment, was wearying to the God of Israel. We certainly don't want to get to that point. We do not want to burden the Lord with our iniquities.
We do not want to weary the Lord with our ungodliness. We ought to realize that doctrinal theism ought to promote a practical theism. In other words, when we acknowledge the living and true God, we ought to live in light of that reality. Notice the specific question again that they offer up.
Verse 17, you have wearied the Lord with your words, yet you say, in what way have we wearied him? You see, sinners can fall into patterns. Sinners can fall into ruts. Sinners can fall into practices such that when someone faithful comes along to reprove them, they can have the wherewithal to say, what are you talking about?
What do you mean? I am performing at the optimum level of holiness. I am performing the way godly Christians perform. It often sounds like this, I'm not as bad as that guy, I'm not as horrendous as that guy, I'm doing my thing and I'm doing it as well as can be.
People are surprised when they are reproved by God's prophet in this particular instance. You have wearied Yahweh with your words, yet you say, in what way have we wearied him? Now notice the specifics. Their practical atheism.
In that you say, remember, they wearied him with their words, everyone who does evil is good in the sight of the Lord, and he delights in them, or where is the God of justice? Those are some terrible statements, aren't they? That's bad theology, isn't it? That's horrific and ungodly and abominable.
Everyone who does evil is good in the sight of the Lord. Could you imagine mouthing such a proposition? Could you imagine expressing such a thing? Could you imagine if in the back of the church on a Sunday evening, someone said to you, everyone who does evil is good in the sight of the Lord?
Hopefully you would take that person graciously by the collar and say, what are you talking about? You can't say that. You cannot deny the goodness of God. You cannot deny the righteousness of God.
You cannot deny the justice of God. Notice the second situation. He delights in them. He delights in ungodliness.
Is this true of the Lord? Does the Lord look down upon men? And does He see the fornicator? Does He see the murderer?
Does He see the thief? Does He see the cheat? Does He see the gossip? Does He see the slanderer?
And does it cause Him delight? We know the answer to that is absolutely no. That cannot be the case. And then the third thing they say is, where is the God of justice?
Where is he? Sounds a bit like what we saw in that prison cell. Completely different, to be sure. But John knows the coming of Messiah is associated with the implementation of the execution of justice, judgment, righteousness.
These people want, or at least they think they want, the same sort of thing. We'll see in just a moment how different it is from John the Baptist. But notice, this is a denial of the attributes of God. God is good.
God is right. God is just. God is the just judge of all the earth who will always do what is right. So in these three expressions that they offer up, that everyone who does evil is good in the sight of the Lord, that He delights in those evil workers, or where is the God of justice?
It is to deny the very attributes of God, those perfections, those expressions of His character. That is bad! You don't do that! But as well, it's a denial of His providence.
Look at that. Where is the God of justice? Why isn't He fixing things? Why isn't He sorting things out?
What is behind the scene in such an assertion? Behind the scene in such an assertion is, we know better how to conduct the affairs of the earth. We know better what man needs. We know when judgment is meet.
We know when justice ought to be poured out. We know better than God when we cry out such like this. Where is the God of justice? Why doesn't he fix this messed up world?
Why doesn't he set things in order? Why doesn't he destroy the wicked? Why doesn't he cut them off for all? It is a denial of his attributes.
It is a denial of his providence. It is a conduct or an activity that is characteristic of the wicked. It's the wicked, the ungodly, the non-Christian, the non-believer, those outside the covenant community. Remember Pharaoh when Moses presented himself to him.
He says, who is the Lord that I should listen to him and release his people? Who is Yahweh? I don't want anything to do with him. The Book of Job indicates certain men at that particular time with the same expression in their heart, this refusal to submit and to bow to the God of heaven and earth.
This ought not to transpire within the covenant community. So the sin that is highlighted here is practical atheism.
The Announcement Concerning the Messenger
Now let us move secondly to consider the announcement concerning the messenger in verses 1 to 5. And I have three considerations here. First, the coming of the forerunner.
The Coming of the Forerunner
There are three persons mentioned in verse 1. The messenger here is John the Baptist in verse 1. Prepare the way before me is the Lord God Almighty and the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple. That is Jesus.
Now here it is, even the messenger of the covenant. That's what I was referring to earlier. John the Baptist is foretold here. We know this is the case because of the New Testament.
We know this is the case because in the New Testament, Isaiah 40 verse 3, the voice of one crying in the wilderness, prepare the way of the Lord, make straight. In the desert a highway for our God is applied to the Baptist. So is Malachi chapter 3 verse 1. It is applied there in Matthew chapter 11 at verse 10.
God the Lord says, with reference to the new covenant, with reference to the messenger of that new covenant, there will be a forerunner. There will be a voice crying in the wilderness. There will be one that they ought to take heed to and listen to. So those are the particular persons that are represented here in verse 1.
The Messenger of the Covenant
Now notice secondly, specifically, the messenger of the covenant. Verse one, and the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant. Again, this is Christ. Something that's very intriguing is when we see in Matthew 11, 10, next week, the pronouns are changed.
And what we have is instead of me referring to Yahweh, it says you referring to Christ. So that which is true of Yahweh of Israel, new covenantally, is applied to the Lord Christ at His first coming. This is an assertion of His deity. While there is distinction between the Father and the Son, there is essential unity.
When you have seen the Son, you have seen the Father. The Christology of Malachi 3.1, as it's amplified in Matthew 11.10, is unmistakable. But notice, the Lord whom you seek, were they seeking Him in the proper sense? Is it true that the one whom they sought, they delighted in?
I think he's speaking ironically here. I think he is speaking to a group of incorrigible people and he is telling them essentially this. You're crying out for justice. You are saying that the God of heaven and earth takes no notice.
You are saying that the God of heaven and earth is unjust in terms of his attributes and in terms of his providential government. But here's the rub, Israel. Here's the issue for you. The one whom you allegedly seek, the one whom you allegedly delight in, he is coming to be sure.
And the target of his judgment is not the Persian Empire. The target of his judgment is not the Canaanites. The target of his judgment is not Egypt. The target of his judgment, Israel, is you.
You see, back in chapter 2 at verse 17, those complaints are proffered by them, and I submit are proffered by people today who are very thrilled and very content and very happy to dictate where the God of heaven and earth ought to spill his vengeance. Right? Where is the God of justice? Why doesn't he liberate us from this objection to the Persian Empire?
Where is the God of justice? Our streets look violent. Where is the God of justice? It's as if the other nations are prospering and we are suffering.
You find that today with people, don't you? People say, why doesn't God stop a man like Ariel Castro? Why doesn't God stop these abortionists? Why doesn't God destroy these evil doers?
All the while thinking that they themselves do not stand under that same wrath and that same fury and that same judgment. That's what's most terrifying about this prophecy in Malachi 2.17 to 3.5. Because who they seek and what they supposedly delight in is going to absolutely rock their world. They want judgment on their terms.
They want justice according to their whims. They want the Lord God to serve them in the execution of His justice. Well, it doesn't work that way. That is not going to happen.
They didn't realize that the God of justice, the messenger of the covenant, was going to come. And yes, he will come with healing in his wings. Yes, he will go about doing good. Yes, he will go about preaching the gospel to the poor.
But ultimately, at least upon this body politic in AD 70, he would dispatch the Roman armies to sack their city and destroy their temple. That's not what they were bargaining for. That's not what they were looking for. That is not what they desire.
So their practical atheism that fleshed itself out in a denial of his attributes and a denial of his providential rule has come to bear upon them. The Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight. Behold, he is coming, says the Lord of Hosts. This is a prophecy concerning the first coming of the Lord Jesus.
Where does Jesus come? He comes to the temple. How does Jesus come? He comes as the messenger of the covenant.
This isn't referring to the second coming. This is referring to the first coming. Look over in chapter 4 at verse 5. Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.
You see, John the Baptist, as Jesus says in chapter 11, verse 15, is Elijah the prophet. So since Elijah the prophet is on the scene, guess what that means? It is the great and dreadful day of the Lord. This is why John the Baptist said, what's going on, Lord?
Why am I not busted out of this prison? Why haven't I been freed? Why haven't I been released? Why haven't you exercised overwhelming influence to get me out of this place?
And that's why Jesus says what he says in order to encourage the Baptist. These people want justice for everyone else. That's the problem. That's us, isn't it?
We like the justice of God when it's executed by the civil government. Or when God takes a sinner out of this world in some way? What about us? Do we like God's justice and His smiting and His chastening hand upon us?
Thankfully, we're not in this category that these Israelites find themselves in. But this is the point. I hope you appreciate what's going on here.
The Nature of His Coming
Notice, the nature of His coming is spelled out in verses 2 to 5. Who can endure the day of His coming? You see, you have this longing for Him. You say in Him you delight, but can you really endure the day of His coming?
Are you ready for it? It makes me think of unbelievers or non-Christians who know enough about the Bible and who have an interest in the end times to be very curious about the coming of Christ. You find that. I remember being at the Union Gospel Mission there in Vancouver.
And you meet people that, yeah, maybe they were Christians, but, you know, you weren't convinced. But they all have this curiosity in the end times. So who's going to be the Antichrist? And who's this beast of revelation?
And what's going to happen there at the end? And what's a rapture going to be like? And what's life in the tribulation going to be like? And they're very curious about these things.
They're very curious about the movement of Russia. I wonder what they're doing now. Russia, what do we think about that? You know, newspaper exegesis.
We take our paper and we apply it to the Bible. People are curious. They wonder how it's going to pan out. They wonder what's going to happen.
They wonder about life in the future. I remember specifically speaking to one of the fellows and I said, you know, the important thing isn't to figure out who the Antichrist is. The important thing isn't to figure out who the beast of revelation is. The important thing isn't to figure out the nature of the seven-year tribulation.
The important thing is to be ready for when it comes. You may read every Hal Lindsay book ever published. You may watch and comb the New York Times for Russia's movements, this alliance between them and Syria, You may search the prophet Ezekiel in those latter visionary chapters, comparing it with what you find online. If you're not ready, this is the point of the passage.
Where is the God of justice? Who can endure the day of his coming? You have wearied the Lord with your words. You deny Him in His attributes.
You deny Him in His providential rule. You deny Him in His being, essentially. You strip God of His attributes. You strip God of providence.
There's no God left. So these three assertions essentially wipe God out of the universe. And so the prophet of God comes. He says that there is a messenger, a forerunner, who will come and announce Yahweh's arrival.
And then the Lord of the covenant, the one whom you seek, the one in whom you say you delight, He is coming. He is coming to His temple, and He is going to do certain things. But in order to deal with their particular issue, he doesn't say, let me spell this all out for you and satisfy your curiosity. He says to them, but who can endure the day of his coming?
Because when he comes, he's going to engage in two particular functions. Verse 2, who can stand when he appears for he is like a refiner's fire and like launderer's soap. He's going to burn away dross. He's going to wash away iniquity.
He's going to deal with sin and sinners. For the elect, unto salvation. For the non-elect, unto damnation. That is the only two ways by which this refiner operates.
He is like a refiner's fire and like launderer's soap. He will sit as a refiner and a purifier of silver. He will purify the sons of Levi and purge them as gold and silver that they may offer to the Lord an offering in righteousness." Now, the prophet is using Old Testament language to speak of the priestly office of our Lord Jesus Christ. We don't have a lot of time to defend that assertion, but suffice it to say, in Malachi's day, one of the primary problems, one of the biggest faults was the priesthood, was the sons of Levi.
So he says when this messenger of the covenant comes, he will purify the sons of Levi. This is a reference to priesthood. He will make it good. He will make it right.
He will restore it to its proper function. And He will purge them as gold and silver that they may offer to the Lord an offering in righteousness. We know that offering in righteousness is the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. He is preaching the gospel in the conventional language of the day, pointing forward to the new covenant and to what we ought to expect when Jesus does arrive on the scene.
He will refine. He will burn away dross. He will offer sacrifice. All these things are fleshed out in the pages of the New Testament.
The Specific Judgment on Israel
And then notice the specific judgment that will issue forth in the land. Verse 4. Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasant to the Lord as in the days of old, as in former years. And I will come near you for judgment.
I will be a swift witness against sorcerers, against adulterers, against perjurers, against those who exploit wage earners and widows and orphans. and against those who turn away an alien, because they do not fear me, says the Lord of hosts." They want the God of justice. They want the Lord in whom they delight. They want this one whom they say looks upon evil approvingly. The prophet says, no, you don't want him.
He is going to blast you. He is going to judge you. It isn't the nations surrounding Israel that are the target of His judgment, but rather it is Israel itself. And He speaks specifically there of the kinds of sins that were being practiced in Malachi's day.
Sorcery, adultery, perjury. exploitation of wage earners, and widows, and orphans, and against those who turn away an alien. You see, these things were rife in Malachi's day. These things were happening in the covenant community. These sorts of things.
And yet they have the gall, they have the chutzpah to actually say, where is the God of justice? They actually have the guts to assert that God looks approvingly on this sort of evil? This is absolute wickedness. And note the connection there in verse 5.
We look at those particular sins of sorcery and adultery and perjury and the exploitation of others. We would see those as offenses of the second table of the law. Remember, the second table of the law defines our duty toward man. But notice what happens with the first table.
The end of verse five, because they do not fear me, says the Lord of hosts. We have seen this in connection with our studies in Romans chapter one. We have seen this sprinkled throughout the Bible. When we reject the God of the first four commandments, we care not one bit about the latter six commandments.
When you see a land that is riddled with sorcery, when you see a land that is riddled with adultery, when you see a land that is riddled with perjury, when you see a land that is filled with all manner of wickedness and evil, The underlying problem is that although they knew God, they did not honor God as God, nor were they thankful. That's the connection. You reject the first and the second commandment, and you almost certainly reject every commandment subsequent to that.
Application
So that is the exposition, a couple of lessons, and then we close.
Guard Against Practical Atheism
The first is the danger of practical atheism. I doubt these wearying words of chapter 2 verse 17 passed away or vanished with the first coming of Jesus Christ. I've wondered at times if they do not infect our hearts to some degree or other. You know, this concept, this idea that we know what is best.
God should do this or God should do that. Did we hear the reading tonight in the prophet Isaiah? Does the Lord consult with man? Does the Lord have a body of counselors?
You know, I like to think that our government officials, our political leaders, surround themselves with wise men. Not wise guys, but wise men. I like to think that happens. I'm not always convinced it does happen.
But you like to think that our political leaders have a body of men that they can tap into. Because no one man knows everything. He might be strong in foreign policy. He might be weak in domestic matters.
He needs to tap into those who are strong domestically. He might be weak in all areas. So he needs the feedback of proven men with wisdom by which he can tap into them. God doesn't operate that way.
There's no boardroom for God. There's no red phone that the Lord picks up. There's no consultation that He makes. There is no counsel that He seeks.
He is sovereign, infinitely so. He is righteous, He is wise, and He executes His plan according to who He is, and it's always good. There is nothing that we can say that can better the plan of God. There is no advice we can give to him on how to rule and govern in a more effective way.
Who has known the mind of the Lord? Who has become his counselor? Where does God go for help? He doesn't.
He's God. We need to guard our hearts against this practical atheism. And I think the tendency is there when times get difficult in the lives of believers. When trials come, when afflictions hit, when suffering overtakes us, it's at that time that we want to get up next to God and we want to tell Him how to operate.
There's nothing wrong with prayer. There's nothing wrong with saying, Lord God Almighty, please deliver me in this particular area. Lord God Almighty, please take this thorn from my flesh. Lord God Almighty, please do whatever it is I'm praying for.
But we must be resigned as our Lord Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane. Not my will, but thine be done. We need to submit to His just and wise government. We need to guard against this tendency of a practical atheism that can infect the hearts of God's people.
The Commandments Stand or Fall Together
Secondly, secondly, Please learn that very important lesson that we just touched on as well. The commandments stand or fall together. In chapter 2, the prophet condemns them for marrying pagans. The prophet says, don't do that.
The prophet also condemns them for divorcing the wives of their youth. The prophet condemns the priests and the people for this weariness when it comes to worship. It is that weariness that comes to worship. It is that rejection of the living and true God in terms of communion with Him that then filters down into the offenses of marrying pagans, divorcing the wives of our youth.
Engaging in this practical atheism. Engaging in robbing from God. That's the latter part of chapter 3. Will a man rob God?
Or actually the center section. Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed me. But you say...
In what way have we robbed you? Because you don't tithe. You don't bring offerings. You don't bring what is due to me.
That's robbery. You think that money in your pocket belongs solely and only to you? Do you think that God blesses you and prospers you so you can get 42-inch TVs? Do you think God blesses you and prospers you so you can have long holidays in the summer?
God, in His mercy and in His kindness, does bless, and there is a sense we ought to receive those things with joy and thanksgiving. It's not like we gotta throw it all away. But brethren, what is our priority? If we are not giving to God, if we are robbing from God, fundamentally, at root, is a rejection of God.
You see, you can't miss this connection. It takes a real thick skull to miss this. If you miss allegiance to the first four commandments, you are not going to care whatsoever about the last six commandments.
Be Ready for the Day of the Lord
And then thirdly and finally, This is an interesting passage, and I've often thought, with reference to this passage, in fact, it's in my notes here, there's another interesting passage in the Old Testament prophets that speak to God's coming, and that it won't be exactly what they're hoping it will be. I think we can all agree that's precisely what's going on here in 2.17 to 3.5. Where is he at? Where is the God of justice?
Oh, the Lord whom you seek, he is coming. But who can endure the day of his coming? It's not going to be what you expect. If you go back for just a moment to Amos chapter 5, and I think this is some very vivid language to describe the coming of the Lord.
Very vivid language to describe that it's not going to go as they desire. Notice in Amos chapter 5 at verse 16, Therefore the Lord God of hosts, the Lord says this, There shall be wailing in all streets, and they shall say in all the highways, Alas, alas! They shall call the farmers to mourning, and skillful lamenters to wailing. In all vineyards there shall be wailing, for I will pass through you, says the Lord.
Woe to you who desire the day of the Lord! For what good is the day of the Lord to you?" You see, herein is the point again. Brothers, sisters, friends, if you desire the coming of the day of the Lord, you need to be ready for that day. If you are vainly curious about what's going to happen in the end times, may I suggest that you put that study on the back burner for now and study the cross.
Notice what the prophet goes on to say. After verse 18, Woe to you who desire the day of the Lord, for what good is the day of the Lord to you? It will be darkness and not light. It will be as though a man fled from a lion, and a bear met him.
Or as though he went into the house, leaned his hand on the wall, and a serpent bit him. Is not the day of the Lord darkness and not light? Is it not very dark with no brightness in it? The language here suggests that it's inescapable.
Vainly curious or not one bit concerned, the day of the Lord is coming. It will be like a man who runs from a lion into a bear. Look at the language here. Could you imagine that if you were out in the bush?
You go to East Harrison. I don't suppose there's any lions there, but just indulge me for a moment. Oh, mountain lions, cougars, you could run into that. You can run into that in the streets of Harrison.
But you see a cougar, or you see a lion, and you do what comes naturally to man. You run. No lampposts. No problems, no more whatever.
You run like the bunny. You're going to leave that lion in the dust. And there, you meet a bear. This is not your day, is it?
This is a bad day. I like wildlife from the confines of my car or on my internet browser. I don't need to go traffic with the wildlife. Well, let's just suppose you avoid the bear.
I hear they're fast runners. They've always said outrun the bear. I think you outrun bears. I think they're very fast.
I don't know how you avoid the bear, but let's just suppose you do. You get to the cabin. You get into the cabin. You shut the cabin door.
You put the cabin lock down. You lean your arm on the door, and a serpent bites you. What's the point? You can't escape it.
Woe to you who desire the day of the Lord, but you're not ready. You're not in Christ. Woe to you who desire the day of the Lord. It'll be like running from a lion, meeting a bear, thinking you've got safety in your home, putting your hand on the wall and getting bit by a serpent.
You cannot escape the coming of His wrath. You cannot escape the fury of His judgment. The only way of escape is right now, in and through, the Lord Jesus Christ. It is the gospel.
Believe on Him, repent from sin, and know the joy of everlasting life. I know with the young people, and I know with the children, I refer to you a lot. Not just children, not just young people, but adults. Maybe you profess faith in Christ, but you're not saved.
Maybe you don't profess faith at all, and obviously you're not saved. This is a reality. The judgment of God the Lord is coming. You cannot escape it.
It is inevitable. It is going to be terrible. And the prophet Malachi says to you, who can endure the day of his coming? Well, by the grace of God, with reference to the new covenant, we can save those who are safely folded under the arms of Jesus Christ.
That is your only hope. That is your only place for refuge. It is in Him alone. So flee.
Run. Listen to Amos. Listen to Malachi. Listen to the New Testament scriptures that tell you to look unto Jesus and be ye saved.
Well, let us pray.
Closing Prayer
Our Father in heaven, we thank you for your word and we thank you, Father, for the fact that you are so gracious and merciful. We know you are just. We know you exercise righteous judgment as well. God, you have given us grace.
You have given us faith in the Lord Jesus. God, I pray that would be the case for everyone here, that each and everyone would avoid that coming day of wrath by being found safely in Christ Jesus. God, I pray that you'd go with us now, that you would watch over us in this coming week to grant us help and strength to be those men and women that you've called us to be. And we ask through Jesus Christ, our Lord, amen.