“The LORD of hosts”
has exhorted the nation of Israel through the prophet Malachi. He has
directed their attention toward their contempt of worship, dealing
with their wives treacherously, saying evil was good, robbing Him in
their tithes and offerings, speaking brazenly before Him, and He has
told them of the blessings that will be given to those who “fear
the Lord”. In Malachi chapter four and verse six the final
words the Lord will share for a span of about four hundred years tell
how hearts will be turned and the Earth will be cursed where we read:
And
he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart
of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth
with a curse.
The verse begins, “And
he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children,...” When
the fore-runner to the Messiah comes, referred to as “Elijah”
in verse five of this chapter, the first result will be to “turn”
or “return or turn back” “the heart of the fathers”
which is the “inner
man, mind, will, and understanding” of the “head or founder of a
household, group, family, or clan” “to the children” who
are the “son, grandson, child, or member of a group”. The
implication is that the hearts of the fathers are turned away from
their children, and when the fore-runner comes on the scene, their
attention will be back upon their children as it should be.
The verse goes on to say,
“...and the heart of the children to their fathers,...” The
second benefit of the fore-runner arriving will be “the heart”
or “inner man, mind, will, and understanding” “of the
children to their fathers”. In other words, when the fathers'
hearts are turned toward their children, the children's hearts will
return to them. The Hebrew reads “shuwb leb 'ab ben leb ben 'ab”.
Even in the phrases we see the one action leads to the reciprocal.
Finally the verse
says, “...lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.”
We are left with one final
warning as “the LORD of hosts”
ends his sharing: “lest I come”
which means “to go in, enter, come, go, come in” “and
smite” or “to strike, hit, beat, slay, kill” “the
earth with a curse” which means “a thing devoted, thing
dedicated, ban, devotion, to utterly destroy or utter destruction”.
In other words, if there is not a turning of the fathers' hearts to
their children and the children's hearts to their fathers, the Earth
will be cursed by the Lord, and no one will be able to endure that
curse.
As we ponder these final words of the Lord through the
prophet Malachi, we should note the importance of a relationship of a
father to his children. The Lord sees people as His children whether
they are children of obedience or children of disobedience. In this
instance it appears that the fathers' hearts have been away from
their children, and they need turning back. This has caused the
children's hearts to be turned away from the fathers, and this
condition is not good as well. Our Heavenly Father's heart is turned
toward the entire human race, and the theme of the Bible is to redeem
His children back to Him. The purpose of the fore-runner to the
Messiah was to and is to bring men, women boys and girls back into a
relationship with God, and those who are wise will receive the gift
of His son Jesus Christ. His sacrifice on the cross was to remove the
sin which distanced us from our Heavenly Father, and in response let
us turn our hearts toward Him lest we receive the promise of the
curse that is only intended for those who will not return.
Next
time we will begin a new study in the New Testament book of
Colossians,
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.
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