After writing to the nation
of Israel and their priests concerning their contempt for offerings
and sacrifices to the Lord, dealing treacherously with their wives,
and wearying the Lord with their words concerning the evil being
good, in chapter three and verse one Malachi the prophet turns his
attention toward what the Lord has to say about His messenger who
will be the forerunner of the Messiah. We read:
Behold, I will send my
messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom
you seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of
the covenant, whom you delight in: behold, he shall come, says the
LORD of hosts.
The
verse begins, “Behold, I will send my messenger, and he
shall prepare the way before me:” “The LORD of host”
said, “Behold”
which means “look, consider, contemplate and observe” “I
will send my messenger”, and
let us notice from whom this “messenger”
or “representative or angel” comes - “I will send”
which means “the
LORD of hosts” will send him.
The purpose of the messenger is also declared - “he shall
prepare” which means “to
turn away, put out of the way, make clear, clear away” “the
way before me” which refers to the “road, distance, journey,
manner or path in advance of the Lord's coming to share His face”.
This messenger would precede the coming of “me” which was
“the LORD of hosts” Himself coming to the earth.
The
verse continues, “whom you seek, shall suddenly come to his
temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom you delight in:”
This messenger was one the nation of Israel were seeking or
“desire, exact or request”. Malachi tells them this messenger
“shall suddenly” which means “surprisingly or in a moment”
“come to his temple” or “go in or enter his palace, nave
or sanctuary”. This man is “the messenger of the covenant”
or “representative of the alliance and pledge between God and men”,
and the people “delight” or “delight and have pleasure”
“in” him.
Finally
the verse says, “behold, he shall come, says the LORD of hosts.”
Once again we are told by “the LORD of hosts” to
“Behold”, and then Malachi repeats the Lord's declaration
in brief, “he shall come” which encases the idea that this
“messenger” will come and be among them, and gives hope
with a promise that it will certainly come to pass.
Jesus
spoke of this promised“messenger” in the gospel of Matthew
in chapter eleven and verse ten as He spoke concerning John the
Baptist. He said,
For
this is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my
messenger before thy face, which shall prepare your way before you.
Before
Jesus began His public ministry, John the Baptist fulfilled this
prophecy in Malachi. “The LORD of hosts” said “he
shall come”, and he did. Jesus also said in the gospel of John
in chapter fourteen and verse three, “I will come again, and
receive you unto myself, that where I am, there you may be also”.
Just as sure as the promise of this special forerunner to the Messiah
Jesus was fulfilled, so shall Jesus come again as He declared. The
question for us is, “Will we be ready when He returns?” Perhaps
as we go forward in this study and discover more about this
“messenger” we will prepare ourselves for His imminent
appearance.
Next
time we will see more details concerning the Lord's messenger,
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