Have you ever got stuck on one book of the Bible and read it again and again and again? Well, I did for a couple of months in 2022. This book disturbed me, but it kept drawing me back, and eventually it took hold of me and shook me awake. That’s the only way to describe it.
I had always thought Malachi was all about money, this was so wrong! Malachi is an intimate conversation between God and Israel about their one-sided relationship. God clarifies his love, what he treasures, what displeases him and even what he hates; but Israel was not listening. Israel had sunk to a form of religion where the standards were negotiable and where situational dynamics determined behaviour. They were altering what they knew to be right to fit their situation(s) and thus justifying their actions to negate the standards of God. In spite of this, God seeks to awaken Israel by revealing the influence of their behaviour(s) on the people close to them and on the generations that will follow; but Israel is not listening.
The book is a sad love story with one party relentlessly making all the effort and wanting the relationship to be healed. “Return to me,” says God, “and I will return to you!” While the other party stubbornly defends their low level of love and respect for God. In Malachi any pre-existing understanding of the command to love God, converges with the necessity to also fear the Lord. The reader becomes aware that both are essential for a genuine, sustainable relationship with God, and to generate the acts of faith that declare the greatness of His name. The book leads us to a better tomorrow revealing the beautiful attitude treasured by God. Scripture affirms value, describing the attitude as ‘pure and enduring forever’. It is simply the healthiest way to live as a faithful, effective and willing member of the family of God.
Although written in a different era the parallels to our time are clear. For the reader each chapter provides a genuine opportunity for reflection, against the critical heart issues that Malachi highlights. The book is a love letter from God, and in line with its prophetic character it is a crossroads experience, designed to shake, disturb and to awaken. Malachi is written for the good of the reader, those close to them and for any generations that follow.
| Default |
| Availability |
Limited Availability |
| Availability From |
2024-05-14 |
| Item Code |
9780473690625 |
| Item Reference |
164717 |
| Publisher |
Self Published by Author |
| Type |
Paperback |
| Unit |
1 |
