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When Faith Becomes Routine: Lessons from the Prophet Malachi · Faith at Work

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  SPEAKER_00: So we're going to get started with the book of Malachi.
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  SPEAKER_00: It's the last book in what is our Old Testament.
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  SPEAKER_00: Now most of the prophets lived,
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  SPEAKER_00: other than Malachi,
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  SPEAKER_00: and they prophesied in days of change and political upheaval.
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  SPEAKER_00: Instead,
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  SPEAKER_00: Malachi and his contemporaries were living in an uneventful,
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  SPEAKER_00: politically stable,
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  SPEAKER_00: religiously affluent waiting period.
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  The temple in Jerusalem,
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  having been recently rebuilt,
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  was not only religious...
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  It was also an economic engine tied to land and storage and
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  offerings and elite administration.
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  Yahweh in this era was little more than a namesake being
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  misappropriated by foreign
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  SPEAKER_00: domination in the little province of Judah.
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  To understand why Malachi says what Malachi says through his
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  prophetic imagination
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  SPEAKER_00: for the people of God,
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  SPEAKER_00: we need to understand,
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  SPEAKER_00: in brief,
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  SPEAKER_00: the four to five hundred years that preceded him.
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  SPEAKER_00: So in a quick overview,
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  SPEAKER_00: and in your bulletin,
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  SPEAKER_00: if you open it up kind of close to the end,
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  SPEAKER_00: there's a little graph,
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  SPEAKER_00: this graph,
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  SPEAKER_00: hopefully you can see it either here or there.
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  kind of outlines the period of time that I'm going to be
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  talking about that leads
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  SPEAKER_00: up to Malachi's prophetic imagination.
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  SPEAKER_00: So,
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  SPEAKER_00: in quick review,
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  SPEAKER_00: in 922 BC,
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  the United Kingdom that was established by David and Solomon
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  split into two
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  SPEAKER_00: kingdoms,
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  SPEAKER_00: the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah.
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  Judah is the group of folks that Malachi is talking about in
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  his prophetic speaking.
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  The northern kingdom of Israel was predominantly seen as having
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  all evil kings.
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  SPEAKER_00: Now,
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  SPEAKER_00: as I reflected on that,
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  just that statement would be enough for us to go down a rabbit
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  trail discussing why
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  they were considered evil and the kings in Judah were
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  considered good kings.
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  SPEAKER_00: But we don't have time for that today, so maybe in 2027.
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  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, already starting on 2027.
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  SPEAKER_00: Between 922 BCE and 460 BCE,
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  SPEAKER_00: when Malachi prophesies,
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  a lot happens in both the northern kingdom of Israel and in the
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  southern kingdom of
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  SPEAKER_00: Judah.
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  SPEAKER_00: Most notably, in 722 BCE,
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  SPEAKER_00: Assyria invaded the northern kingdom of Israel,
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  SPEAKER_00: destroyed the capital that was Samaria at that time,
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  SPEAKER_00: and resettled the population into the Gentile populations around,
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  SPEAKER_00: creating what has been called the lost ten tribes of Israel.
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  SPEAKER_00: Really never to be seen again.
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  SPEAKER_00: Now, Assyria tried to invade the southern kingdom in 701 BC, but failed.
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  SPEAKER_00: And then following that victory for Judah,
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  King Josiah centralized worship in Jerusalem after
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  rediscovering the book of the
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  SPEAKER_00: law,
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  SPEAKER_00: which led to a major religious renewal in Judah.
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  SPEAKER_00: But then,
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  SPEAKER_00: between 597 and 586 BC,
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  SPEAKER_00: Babylon invaded Judah,
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  SPEAKER_00: destroyed the temple completely,
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  SPEAKER_00: and deported the inhabitants into the Babylonian exile.
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  SPEAKER_00: About 50 years later,
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  SPEAKER_00: Persia conquered Babylon,
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  and King Cyrus the Great graciously allowed the Judeans to
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  return to Jerusalem and
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  SPEAKER_00: supported the rebuilding of a second,
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  SPEAKER_00: more glorious temple in Jerusalem.
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  SPEAKER_00: So by the 5th century BC,
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  SPEAKER_00: Ezra and Nehemiah had reestablished the law and religious purity,
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  SPEAKER_00: rebuilt Jerusalem's defensive walls,
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  SPEAKER_00: and established a peaceful nation-state under Persian rule.
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  SPEAKER_00: Judah and Jerusalem by the numbers,
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  SPEAKER_00: interestingly,
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  would have been maybe about 30 to 50,000 people in Judah and
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  maybe around 1,500 to
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  SPEAKER_00: 2,500 people in Jerusalem.
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  SPEAKER_00: So we're talking about Harrisonburg and Weir's Cave.
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  SPEAKER_00: Just that is fascinating, maybe 2028.
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  SPEAKER_00: And within that context, the 1%
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  SPEAKER_00: the priests.
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  They were charged by Persia to use the religious order to
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  control the 99% who worked the land.
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  SPEAKER_00: And thus,
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  faith-based social justice was just thrown out of the window
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  and replaced by what
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  SPEAKER_00: we will be talking about,
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  SPEAKER_00: the royal consciousness.
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  SPEAKER_00: The result was that the people of Judah were numb
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  SPEAKER_00: to the ways of Yahweh.
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  SPEAKER_00: It is into this context that Malachi speaks.
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  Now,
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  for the people,
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  everything was seemingly fine for them,
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  better than fine,
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  actually.
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  There was an economic,
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  religious,
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  and multinational political upturn for Judah.
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  SPEAKER_00: But according to Malachi,
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  Nothing of substance had occurred to indicate that God's
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  presence had returned to
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  SPEAKER_00: fill the temple with glory,
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  SPEAKER_00: as Ezekiel chapter 43 talks about and had promised.
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  The people had moved,
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  but according to Malachi,
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  there was no movement of God.
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  The column of fire and smoke that had hovered over the most
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  holy of holies in the
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  SPEAKER_00: temple had not returned after it had left in 592 BC.
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  SPEAKER_00: Others, like the priests, however...
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  SPEAKER_00: Well, they felt differently.
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  SPEAKER_00: They were propagating a new Persian royal consciousness in Judah.
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  SPEAKER_00: But according to Malachi,
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  SPEAKER_00: while all the outward niceties of religious order were visible,
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  SPEAKER_00: God was not in their hearts.
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  SPEAKER_00: There was...
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  as we're talking about today,
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  no movement of God among the people in Judah.
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  SPEAKER_00: They had been duped by empire and the priests again.
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  SPEAKER_00: They were numb, and that was a problem.
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  SPEAKER_00: Now,
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  one interesting thing that I found along the way would be one
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  of those kinds of
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  SPEAKER_00: things that we would discuss in the group background study,
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  SPEAKER_00: if any of you were interested,
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  SPEAKER_00: or you can just come by and we'll talk about it,
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  is this addition to the tapestry of what's going on in the time
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  period of Malachi.
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  SPEAKER_00: It's a non-biblical source.
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  SPEAKER_00: It's called the Elephantine Papyri.
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  SPEAKER_00: And this group of writings was written between 595 and 399 BCE,
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  SPEAKER_00: so right when Malachi is talking.
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  SPEAKER_00: And these are numerous Aramaic documents from,
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  SPEAKER_00: interestingly,
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  SPEAKER_00: a Jewish military colony on an island in the Nile in Egypt.
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  And they are an invaluable source to understand the broader
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  context of the world
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  SPEAKER_00: that Malachi was living in.
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  SPEAKER_00: And if you read through the book of Malachi,
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  SPEAKER_00: that,
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  SPEAKER_00: of course,
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  SPEAKER_00: we don't have time to do today,
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  SPEAKER_00: but I really encourage you to do perhaps this coming week,
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  many of the critiques that Malachi is talking about are evident
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  in those documents.
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  SPEAKER_00: One group of documents is concerned with a Jewish temple
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  SPEAKER_00: operating next to the temple of Canum in Egypt,
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  and the conflict that there is between the priests of the
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  Jewish temple and the
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  SPEAKER_00: priests of Canum.
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  SPEAKER_00: Eventually,
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  SPEAKER_00: that temple gets destroyed,
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  SPEAKER_00: but perhaps that precipitated Malachi's statement in Malachi 1,
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  SPEAKER_00: verse 11,
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  SPEAKER_00: where Malachi says,
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  SPEAKER_00: On behalf of God,
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  SPEAKER_00: my name will be great among the nations,
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  SPEAKER_00: from where the sun rises to where the sun sets.
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  SPEAKER_00: In every place,
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  SPEAKER_00: incense and pure offerings will be brought to me,
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  SPEAKER_00: because my name will be great among the nations,
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  SPEAKER_00: says the Lord.
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  SPEAKER_00: Now.
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  SPEAKER_00: So Malachi,
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  SPEAKER_00: whose name translated means my messenger or my angel,
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  SPEAKER_00: speaks and shows a way back in Judah to a genuine,
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  SPEAKER_00: enduring and living faith where God is present with the people,
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  one in which God invites persons to join God's social movement
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  and reminds Judah
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  SPEAKER_00: that God never forgets those who respond with yes.
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  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
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  SPEAKER_00: Now,
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  the book of Malachi is structured almost entirely around a
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  series of questions and
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  SPEAKER_00: responses.
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  SPEAKER_00: God, in the book, makes a claim.
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  SPEAKER_00: The people push back with a question,
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  and then God answers by exposing their assumptions and calling
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  them toward covenant
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  SPEAKER_00: faithfulness.
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  All of this comes from Malachi's imagining what he feels God
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  would be saying in a
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  SPEAKER_00: time like his in response to the happenings,
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  SPEAKER_00: the questions,
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  SPEAKER_00: and the critiques of that age.
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  So I'd like to just look at a few of those questions and how
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  they might pertain to our day.
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  SPEAKER_00: In the book, the people ask, how have you loved us?
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  SPEAKER_00: Malachi 1, verse 2.
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  SPEAKER_00: In this, God's love is questioned by them.
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  SPEAKER_00: The people see Persia as their liberator.
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  SPEAKER_00: And Malachi,
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  SPEAKER_00: in God's voice,
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  responds by pointing to a covenant history rather than their
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  present comfort.
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  SPEAKER_00: Malachi's plea is to look at the present in light of the past,
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  SPEAKER_00: notice the faithful times,
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  SPEAKER_00: and then trust that God will do what God has always done.
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  SPEAKER_00: Little further along, the priests ask, how have we defiled you?
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  SPEAKER_00: Malachi 1, verse 7.
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  SPEAKER_00: Here, corrupt worship is defended.
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  SPEAKER_00: The priests and the people push back against the charge of defilement,
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  SPEAKER_00: which correlates to half-hearted or even less worship practices,
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  SPEAKER_00: that positively impact society.
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  Malachi answers by naming specific practices that treat worship
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  as an obligation
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  SPEAKER_00: rather than a gift.
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  SPEAKER_00: Now,
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  SPEAKER_00: at this point,
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  it's important for us to realize that central to Malachi's
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  message is the concept
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  SPEAKER_00: of covenant,
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  SPEAKER_00: a sacred agreement between the people and God.
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  Malachi sees signs that the covenant of Moses has been broken
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  and is in disarray.
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  In other words,
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  the covenant is not working because the people are not working
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  the covenant.
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  SPEAKER_00: So things are in a mess spiritually, religiously, and socially.
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  SPEAKER_00: He believes that God wants to bless, but God just can't right now.
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  Malachi sees a loving God and sees a people who instead of
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  responding with warmth
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  SPEAKER_00: and spontaneity to that love are instead apathetic.
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  SPEAKER_00: they are bored with worship, and they are mean in their giving.
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  SPEAKER_00: The result is a mean,
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  SPEAKER_00: self-centered society with all the ornaments of religiosity,
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  SPEAKER_00: but none of the true fruits of true spirituality.
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  In all of this,
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  the people then asked,
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  well,
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  if that's all true,
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  then how shall we return?
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  SPEAKER_00: In Malachi 3, verse 7.
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  SPEAKER_00: In this question, we hear resistance, I think, to repentance.
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  SPEAKER_00: When God,
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  SPEAKER_00: through the voice of Malachi,
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  SPEAKER_00: called the people to return to the covenant,
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  SPEAKER_00: the people asked what repentance would even look like
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  SPEAKER_00: suggesting that they don't believe that there's anything truly wrong.
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  The people and the spiritual leaders,
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  the priests,
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  believe that they are fine with God.
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  SPEAKER_00: Finally, we get to the heart of it.
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  SPEAKER_00: The people confess it is futile to serve God.
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  SPEAKER_00: What?
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  SPEAKER_00: Do we gain?
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  SPEAKER_00: Malachi 3, verse 14.
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  SPEAKER_00: We hear their despair about righteous living in a corrupt world.
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  This question emerges as people conclude that serving God
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  brings no tangible
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  SPEAKER_00: benefit into their lives.
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  And the reason given is that the evildoers prosper and the
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  blasphemers seem to be blessed.
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  Malachi's message is considered pivotal because it served as
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  both a last word for
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  the Jewish community to return to the law of Moses and a first
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  word looking forward
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  SPEAKER_00: to a messianic messenger.
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  And these two foci become guiding principles in the second
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  temple and for the next
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  SPEAKER_00: 500 years of Jewish worship.
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  Malachi's prophetic imagination reminded the faithful remnant
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  to reform and place
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  SPEAKER_00: their hope in God,
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  SPEAKER_00: not in the empire of Persia,
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  SPEAKER_00: a theme that would become central in Jesus's ministry.
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  SPEAKER_00: And of course,
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  SPEAKER_00: as we will see next week,
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  the promise of the return of Elijah during the Messianic era as
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  a messenger of the
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  SPEAKER_00: Messiah in Malachi 3.1 is central to how the people,
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  SPEAKER_00: some 400 or 500 years later,
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  SPEAKER_00: would see the ministry of John the Baptist.
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  SPEAKER_00: So,
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  SPEAKER_00: Malachi deconstructs a religion of numbness, cynicism, and convenience
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  where worship is cheap,
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  leaders are compromised,
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  ethics are optional,
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  and justice is doubted.
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  And he reconstructs a covenant imagination in which God's love
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  is foundational.
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  SPEAKER_00: Worship is reverent.
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  SPEAKER_00: Leadership is accountable to the people, not the empire.
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  SPEAKER_00: Community life is faithful and hope.
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  SPEAKER_00: is anchored in God's refining and restoring presence.
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  SPEAKER_00: Hopefully that's enough for you today.
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  SPEAKER_00: Come talk if you have any questions.
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  SPEAKER_00: Amen.