MA!CHI: GOD’S COVENANT FAITHFULNESS Small Group Discussion Guide

Text: 3:16-18

Theme/ Big Idea: Malachi 3:15-18 presents an address by the Lord of Hosts towards two different audiences. The first audience (Mal 3:13-15) are those who do not fear God, who speak harsh, treasonous words against him, and who cynically judge him. The second group are those who fear the Lord, and “esteem his name.” The cynical Israelites of Malachi accuse God of making no distinction between the arrogant, evil and the faithful, righteous. Yet in these verse he does just that building towards a larger point regarding their future destinies in .

Context/ Background Information: As we come to the conclusion of Malachi we see the Lord of Hosts addressing two audiences within . Those who continue to rebel and those who fear the Lord. The rebellious ones have accused God of endorsing evil and rejecting the righteous. They have accused him of making no distinction between the arrogant, wicked and the faithful, righteous. However, in Malachi 3:13-18 he does exactly the opposite of what they accuse him of. He makes a clear distinction between these two groups.

According to Malachi 4:1, the arrogant and the wicked, a group to which some of Israel belong, will face the final day of judgment and will be refined. Yet, they will not survive. They will be reduced to “stubble" that will be burned on the day of judgment. This theme of refinement has been consistent through chapter 3 and into chapter 4. In 3:1-5 the Lord of Hosts says he will refine Israel and the result will be dross and impurity. He says they have been swindlers from birth and continue as “swindlers,” robbing him of wholehearted worship and devotion (3:8).

It sounds hopeless and as though all is lost for Israel. However, God is the faithful God of the covenant. He invites them to refine him (3:10). The result will be nothing but gold. And he invites them to repent and return to him that they might experience the gold of his character poured out on them in blessing (3:7; 11-12). What we begin to see in Malachi 3:13-15 is that there will be some who persist in their bitterness and rejection of God. While in Malachi 3:16-18 we begin to see good news. There is a remnant of faithful few who will remain true to God. These, he calls “those who feared the Lord.” This phrase is used twice in verse 16. Just as the Lord has heard every word of the rebellious and deemed them “harsh” or treasonous, he has also heard every word of those who fear him and he has “paid attention.” The Lord is always listening and especially to those who cry out to him. This is what he did for Israel when they were in the wilderness (Ex 2:23; 3:7; 9). And the Psalmist continual recounts the joy of knowing the Lord hears his cries (Psalm 18:6; Psalm 34:17-18).

Furthermore, he has made note of this group of God-fearers who “esteemed” or respect his name, writing down their names in “a book of remembrance” (vs 16). This group stands in stark contrast to the spiritual leaders and rebellious Israelites who repeatedly disparage and dishonor the Lord’s name throughout the . We are not given the content of their conversation only that God has heard their words and taken note. They certainly were oppressed just as the cynical Israelites were. And they certainly would have had questions about God’s promised faithfulness to the covenant. Yet, something is different about their concerns, questions, and conversations. Their concerns are rooted in esteem for God’s name. They respect him recognizing the immensity of his knowledge and love. Their questions are not cynical. Instead they are directed towards God in the firm belief that he is a benevolent, loving, and wise Father. See, for example, Psalm 89 where the Psalmist recounts in 37 verses the great love and steadfast covenant faithfulness of God before he begins to question the current desperate circumstances he faces. It is because the psalmist believes that God is infinite and faithful that he asks what is going on in his own circumstances. This is radically different from the audience in 3:13-15 who have simply concluded God does not care. The primary difference lies in that the God-fearers viewed God as a loving and relational father rather than a distant deity good only for personal transactional gain.

Not only will their names be remembered, they will be the ones counted as the Lord’s “treasured possession” (vs 17). Again, we have an allusion to the imagery of refinement. When a refiner takes raw metal and places it in the fiery hot temperatures of the furnace two things are revealed; that which is impure and that which is pure. The pure that remains is counted as treasure. This is a reminder of Exodus 19:5-6 where Israel was called out and set apart to be God’s “treasured possession among all peoples…a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” But this is also a reminder that God’s redemptive plan and faithfulness to the covenant has not been thwarted. There is a faithful few and it is through them that the messenger of the covenant will come.

It is also important to notice why he heard their words, wrote their names in a book of remembrance, and called them his treasured possession. Why did he do this, because they are is precious children. They are the ones he will spare as a “man spares his son.” What this faithful few believed in faith to be true of God, namely that he is a relational, intimate, and loving Father who cares for them, is true. As Ian Duguid notes, “This point is crucial when we are wrestling with our hearts in the midst of difficult surroundings. We are often tempted to read God’s attitude toward us from our circumstances: if life is going well, we think it means that God loves us, while if we are in the pit of trial and difficulty, it means that God doesn’t see us or care about us.”1

The Lord of Hosts concludes by responding to the accusation that he makes no distinction between the arrogant, wicked and the faithful, righteous. In verse 18 he says they will “see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between the one who serves God and the one who does not serve him.” It is important to note, as we saw in verse 14, the word serve can also be translated as worship. What we are being told here is that a distinction is being made. The Lord is not distant and aloof. No, he is paying close attention, overhearing every word. And there will be a final day of distinction or judgment and only those who respect, fear, and revere the name of the Lord will be spared. Only those who recognize him as king and submit their lives to him will be spared. Only those whose name’s are written in the book of remembrance will be spared.

Studying these verses through the lens of the New Testament we know that this world is not all there is. There will be a final day of judgment where a final distinction will be made between the arrogant wicked, and the faithful, righteous (Matt 3:12; Matt 25:31-46; Acts 17:30-31; Rom 14:10; 2 Cor 5:10; Heb 9:27; Rev 20:11-15). On that day a book will be opened. According to Malachi it is the book of remembrance. In Revelation it is called the “Book of Life” or the “Lamb’s Book of Life." It is the Lamb’s book because is the “lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world” (John 1:29). We understand through the gospel that all who hope in Jesus as savior and look to him as their righteousness will be marked as the Lord’s “treasured possession,” spared “as a man spares a son,” and have their names inscribed in “the book of remembrance," the “Lamb’s Book of Life” (Rev 13:8; 20:11-15; 21:27). And why do we have this good news? Because we have a loving Father “who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all” so that we who were not sons could be spared (Rom 8:32).

Discussion Questions: 1. What does it mean to fear the Lord? Why is this healthy and the beginning of wisdom according to Prov 9:10? 2. What distinction does the Lord of Hosts make between the group in Malachi 3:13-15 and Malachi 3:16-18? What are some of the characteristic differences between the two groups (consider the difference between their attitudes, words, and views of God)? 3. Why is it so important to study and meditate on God’s goodness long before we face trials, storms, and adversity in life? 4. The book of Malachi has seemingly appeared dark and discouraging. It has certainly been confrontational. However, against that dark backdrop what hope and encouragement are found in these verses regarding God’s redemptive plan and faithfulness?

Footnotes: 5. Iain Duiguid, Zephaniah, Haggai, and Malachi: Reformed Expository Commentary (Phillipsburg, NJ, P&R Publishing, 2018), 177.