September 23 - Malachi 2:10-4:6, Joel 1:1-3:21

Good morning everyone,

Today ….. today is our last day in the Old Testament. Whoop! Whoop! Congratulations to all of you who hung in there with me :-) I find it to be so bitter sweet as I have loved, totally loved, my walk through the pages of antiquity. I hope you have too. I am already looking forward to next year and what God will show me when I revisit.  Now though we still have this last day to look at. Right? Let’s get to it.

As we read over our Scripture in Malachi, there is no need to ask God, “How do you really feel about divorce?”  Verse 16 says, “For the Lord God of Israel says that He hates divorce, for it covers one’s garment with violence,” Says the Lord of hosts.
“Therefore take heed to your spirit, that you do not deal treacherously.” I will not belabor this, I will simply say that if you are married it is your responsibility as a Christian to stay married. You do not get to say, “But I don’t love them any more.” Sorry! It is not about feelings, it is about a vow, an oath, a pledge you made. You need to do, we all need to do what ever it takes to honor our commitment, our word to the person we promised to spend the rest of our life with. If you are experiencing rough times in your marriage, I suggest you get back to the basics. Let God’s Word be your guide, your instructions as to what your role as husband or wife looks like and then apply it. Don’t worry about if your spouse is, just worry about your role and I promise you if you will do this, give it an honest effort, in time your marriage will be infinitely better. God is so good!

The book of Joel ….. Not a whole lot is known about Joel. It is believed he prophesied around 830 BC. The land of Judah had been wiped out by locusts and in the first part of the book we read how God sent Joel to explain to them what was going on. The second part of the book relates more to when the Lord returns. It is easy, when we read these words and also the Book of Revelation, to think they are so bizarre, remote from our “way of life” so to speak that we don’t give them the respect they deserve. But for a moment ask yourself, “What would Moses, or Elijah or King David think about our society, our modern technology?” 

Too many of us get complacent, stagnant even, in our walk with God. The vivid pictures of destruction should serve to awaken us from our spiritual stupor. Friends, the words of the Word are not just fairytales, these were actual people used by a very real God to help us find our way down a path that leads to our eternity in heaven. Allow your mind’s eye to see the apocalyptic imagery like we find in Joel. Allow it to open your eyes, and heart to the necessity of faithfully following after God every moment of our lives. I so wish I could say that in words that would make you sit up straight and know how vitally important it is for us all to have a close relationship with Jesus. To be off the fence, in God’s ballpark and be ready. In Luke we are instructed to be dressed ready for service and keep your lamps burning. The church will be raptured, that’s for sure and Jesus is coming back, it is not an “if”  it is a “when” and the when could be today. Are you ready? 

There will be four hundred years between the Old and New Testaments and a lot of changes take place. To sum it up quickly, the Jewish homeland was taken over from the Persians by the Greek Empire in 332 BC followed by the Egyptian occupation in 312 BC. The Greek language came into common usage during this time, inspiring the translation of the Old Testament into Greek. The Jews continued to practice the Law of Moses and the temple rituals until Syria overtook Jerusalem in 204 BC. Then in 171 BC, Antiochus Epiphanes (who is he? you ask. me too. i will have to look that guy up) desecrated the Holy of Holies. After which the Jews, led by the Maccabee brothers, revolted and retook control of Jerusalem in 165 BC. The Roman Empire conquered Israel by 63 BC, and continued to reign throughout the events of the New Testament.

While the 400 years of silence revealed no new biblical revelation, they clearly included many significant historical events and fulfillment of prophecy such as the rule of the land of Israel as well as the necessary preparations for the coming of Jesus Christ as the Messiah. Yay!  Galatians 4:4-5 tells us, "But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.” Are you ready to start studying that? I am! I’ll see you tomorrow in the New Testament. Amen?

Have a great day and to God be the glory.

God bless you all …..