Written by: John Sernaque
Call to Worship
Malachi 1: 11
1:11 For from the rising of the sun even unto the going down of the same my name [shall be] great among the Gentiles; and in every place incense [shall be] offered unto my name, and a pure offering: for my name [shall be] great among the heathen, saith the LORD of hosts.
Jews’ Prosperity Was to Reveal God’s Glory—
[Malachi 1:11 quoted.] The prophetic words of Malachi have been meeting their fulfillment in the proclamation of the Lord’s truth to the Gentiles. God, in His infinite wisdom, chose Israel as the depositary of priceless treasures of truth for all nations. He gave them His law as the standard of the character they were to develop before the world, before angels, and before the unfallen worlds. They were to reveal to the world the laws of the government of heaven. By precept and example they were to bear a decided testimony for the truth. The glory of God, His majesty and power, were to be revealed in all their prosperity. They were to be a kingdom of priests and princes. God furnished them with every facility for becoming the greatest nation on the earth. {4BC 1180.8}
Through disloyalty, God’s chosen people developed a character exactly the opposite of the character He desired them to develop. They placed their own mold and superscription upon the truth. They forgot God, and lost sight of their high privilege as His representatives. The blessings they had received brought no blessing to the world. All their advantages were appropriated for their own glorification. They robbed God of the service He required of them, and they robbed their fellow men of religious guidance and a holy example. Like the inhabitants of the antediluvian world, they followed out every imagination of their evil hearts. Thus they made sacred things appear a farce, saying, “The temple of the Lord, The temple of the Lord, are these,” while at the same time they were misrepresenting God’s character, dishonoring His name, and polluting His sanctuary ( The Southern Work, January 10, 1905). {4BC 1181.1}
Malachi means “my messenger” or “messenger of Yahweh.” Malachi was the last of the Old Testament prophets. God used the prophet Malachi to bring a warning message to the Jews. He was to remind the Jews of their past experiences. God was calling the Jews to return to Him as per their covenant. God repeatedly reminded them of their apostasy and they repeatedly denied any mistakes on their part. Since their return from Babylonian captivity, the Jews fell into progressive spiritual moral deterioration. God called upon the prophet Malachi to turn the people back to wholehearted service for God. The people had returned from the land of their captivity but in their hearts, remained there and were forgetting about God. They forgot their privilege of being God’s chosen people. All their blessings were to be set forth as an example to the whole world, but instead used for their own glorification. Things got so bad that even the priests despised worship and service to God and religion. God grew weary of their service as well and found it to be unacceptable. However, in His mercy and patience, God continued to bear with His wayward people. This was the burden of the word of the LORD to Israel by Malachi.
Our Father, which art in heaven,
We come before You as Your people, as Your children, in thanksgiving, praise, and prayer. We thank You so much for giving us the privilege of being called Your people, Your children, Your saints, and heirs to the Royal Family. We thank You for Your mercy, patience, and compassion toward us. We are not perfect but strive to be, as You were and are and forever will be. You are our perfect example, tempted as we are, yet without sin. We pray that by Your strength we can overcome the condemnation of judgement through Christ Jesus our Lord. You are our heavenly High Priest that is able to save to the uttermost all that come to God through You. We claim Your promise that if we repent of our sins, our sins will be blotted out of God’s record in the final judgement. We are sorry we have sinned against You, we repent of our sins, and pray that You forgive us of all our sins, the known and the unknown, from the beginning until now. We pray to receive Your character, to walk with You and You with us every step of the way. We pray that when people see us, that they will see You. We pray to be an example to all people and a source of strength to them. We pray for the continual outpouring of the Holy Spirit who You sent to teach us all things and bring all things to our remembrance. We pray for all people to receive the Holy Spirit and that none grieve His presence. You have told us all manner of sin and blasphemy You will forgive to men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost will not be forgiven. Whosoever speak a word against the Son of man, You will forgive: but whosoever speaks against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, and neither in the world to come. We pray for no one to commit this unpardonable sin. LORD have mercy on them. We thank You for hearing and answering our prayers, in the name of Christ Jesus, we pray. Amen.
