According to the writings of
the prophet Malachi, “the LORD of hosts” said most of the
people within the nation of Israel were at fault before Him. They
worshiped Him with contempt, dealt treacherously with their wives,
said evil was good, wondered where the God of judgment was, robbed
the Lord through their tithes and offerings, and wondered what profit
there was in serving God. There was, however, a group of people among
them who “feared the Lord”, spoke of Him to one another,
and whose names were written in a “book of remembrance”
before the Lord for their behalf. In chapter three and verse eighteen
of Malachi we learn more about these who “feared the Lord”
whom the Lord claimed as His own peculiar treasure. We read:
Then shall you return,
and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that
serves God and him that serves him not.
The
verse begins, “Then shall you return, and discern between
the righteous and the wicked,...” The
first action mentioned for being the Lord's jewel is “you
shall return” which means “to
come or go back, refresh, restore or repent”. Then they will
“discern” or “see, look at, inspect, perceive, consider
and have vision” “between the righteous” which refers to
“the just, lawful, right and correct” “and the wicked”
which refers to the “criminal, hostile, and guilty of sin”. These
“jewels” of the Lord who were to be “spared” by the
Lord would return to Him and have the ability to discern righteous
and wicked people.
The
verse goes on to say, “...between him that serves God and him
that serves him not.” Not only would they be able to “discern
between the righteous and the wicked” but they will also
“discern” between the one who “serves God” which
means “works for, labors for and makes himself as a servant for”
the Lord and “him that serves him not” which refers to
those who do not “work for, labor for or make themselves” as a
servant of the Lord. This might seem like an easy task, however, we
remember that there were those among the people of Israel who were
simply playing the part of worshiping servants and those who were
worshiping the Lord in spirit and in truth.
Spiritual
discernment is a gift from the Lord, and the promise to these who
“feared the Lord” was they would be able to “discern”.
Not only would they “return” to the Lord, but their doing
so would give them abilities to “discern” that were not
with them before. As we allow this scripture to sink deep within our
spirits, perhaps we too will be motivated to “return” to
the Lord, and should He gift us with the ability to “discern”
between the “righteous and unrighteous” and “him that
serves God and him that serves him not” let everything we do
bring glory to His Holy Name and His Holy Son's Name – Jesus.
Next
time we begin a new chapter and see how the Lord deals with the
wicked,
so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until
tomorrow...there is more...
Look
for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From
Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be
Married”, and the new devotional “One Year in the Sermon on the
Mount” in all major bookstore sites, www.amazon.com ;
www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at
www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
No comments:
Post a Comment