It’s been a full day, and it’s not quite over yet. Father, in the middle of it all, I would ask for Your blessing on what is yet to come. Amen.
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A friend recently posted a quote from a pastor in the Atlanta, Georgia, area – the pastor’s name is Louie Giglio. The quote is taken from an interview he had with a gentleman by the name of Chad Bonham, as posted on www.beliefnet.com
This is what he had to say,
We go from Malachi to Matthew in one page of our scriptures, but that one piece of paper that separates the Old Testament from the New Testament represents 400 years of history—400 years where there wasn’t a prophet, 400 years where God’s voice wasn’t heard. And that silence was broken with the cry of a baby on Christmas night.
It stirred my heart and my brain! And it got me thinking. First of all, you might know this, and it is inferred, but just in case, the book of Malachi is the last in the Old Testament, and Matthew is the first book in the New Testament canon.
It’s interesting that Malachi sits in that position. He is considered a minor prophet in the Old Testament, mainly because he did write a lot. But what I find interesting is what the writings of Malachi dealt with. (A really cool website is bibleproject.com – I’ve referred to them before, but they create amazing synopses of books of the Bible. Click on the word Malachi to watch the one on his book – it’s only about 7 minutes long.)
Malachi was written to confront the Israelites who had returned from exile to Babylon. You would think it would have taught them something, but for most people, the whole experience was lost on them. For the most part, they learned nothing. They were as rebellious as ever – neglectful, selfish…and sinful as all get out.
But…the one big thing that Malachi talks about is a new Elijah and a new Moses that will be coming. And guess who those people were…the new Elijah, who would proclaim the new Moses, would be John the Baptist – born to Elizabeth, a cousin to who? Mary, the mother of the new Moses – as such – Jesus Christ!
The writings of Malachi were God’s last words to the world until the coming of Jesus. The whole Christmas story was about God breaking back into history. Due to humanity’s degradation and out-and-out rebellion, God had cut off communication. They weren’t listening, so silence it was…for 400 years!
Amazingly, we are on this side of that history. But what is challenging to deal with is the fact that we haven’t changed a lot. Jesus’ life, sacrifice, and resurrection have indeed impacted millions. Still, we must admit that even followers of Christ struggle to keep themselves on the straight and narrow path He has set before us.
May it be our prayer to seek out God with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength and to love our neighbors as ourselves (Mark 12:30-31). That, my friends, is what it all boils down to. If we can master those things, we live how God calls us to!
Dec 17th, 2023, Sun, 5:09 pm
