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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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. So that is the exposition, a
couple of lessons, and then we close. 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. 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. 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. 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.
