WEBVTT 00:00:04.799 --> 00:00:12.480 This podcast is brought to you by Grand Parkway Baptist Church, helping people to know, enjoy, and glorify God. 00:00:12.960 --> 00:00:18.000 For more information about Grand Parkway, visit grandparkway.org. 00:00:20.879 --> 00:00:22.800 Would y'all join me in prayer? 00:00:25.519 --> 00:00:31.920 Lord Jesus, we want to thank you that you're God, that is that is worth beholding. 00:00:32.799 --> 00:00:37.759 That when we truly behold you, God, it blows us away. 00:00:38.479 --> 00:00:43.280 We can't really understand how good or how great or how kind or how loving you are. 00:00:43.520 --> 00:00:47.039 And even when we when we get a glimpse of it, Lord, we're blown away. 00:00:48.159 --> 00:00:52.880 So, Lord, this morning, as we're we're coming to a new book, the book of Malachi. 00:00:53.920 --> 00:01:00.320 This book's gonna reveal things about you and about us that um that it's gonna be good for us, Lord. 00:01:00.560 --> 00:01:03.520 I pray we'd be encouraged, I pray we'd be challenged, Lord. 00:01:04.480 --> 00:01:08.799 We want to dig every all the truths out of this book that we can as we go through it, Lord. 00:01:08.959 --> 00:01:12.640 So I'm trusting you, Lord, that as we go through this book, you're gonna speak to your people. 00:01:13.120 --> 00:01:14.239 Come and speak to us. 00:01:14.560 --> 00:01:15.519 Your name I pray. 00:01:15.760 --> 00:01:16.400 Amen. 00:01:17.280 --> 00:01:20.480 All right, so we are gonna be in the book of Malachi this morning. 00:01:20.560 --> 00:01:25.120 If you want to go ahead and turn there in your Bible or on your phone, whatever you prefer. 00:01:26.079 --> 00:01:34.640 Um, if you see up here on the screen, this is kind of the logo that we came up with for Malachi, and there's two doors there. 00:01:34.959 --> 00:01:37.280 It's the danger of spiritual apathy. 00:01:37.760 --> 00:01:42.640 The people in the book of Malachi are really struggling with being very apathetic toward God. 00:01:42.879 --> 00:01:52.560 And one of the issues that they have is, you know, have you ever had one of those friends where they know that you're about to do something really dumb, really foolish, and they just kind of shut the door on it and they're like, no, you're not gonna do that. 00:01:52.640 --> 00:01:55.040 I'm I'm I love you enough to not allow that to happen. 00:01:55.359 --> 00:01:57.200 Anybody had a friend do something like that for them? 00:01:57.439 --> 00:02:00.959 It's a at the time you don't like it, but afterwards you look back and you're like, that was a blessing. 00:02:01.040 --> 00:02:02.879 They saved me from a lot of trouble. 00:02:03.359 --> 00:02:11.439 My uh my youngest son, Bear, um, right now, one of the things that he loves, and I think most kids at this age love this, but especially Bear. 00:02:11.599 --> 00:02:22.000 He loves going in our bathrooms and taking a soup ladle or his hand or even a toothbrush, really anything he can find, and just swirling it around in that toilet and just having water go everywhere, right? 00:02:22.159 --> 00:02:27.520 And he he will come out from doing that with a huge smile on his face and think it's it's the best thing ever. 00:02:27.680 --> 00:02:29.199 We don't think it's the best thing ever. 00:02:29.360 --> 00:02:30.960 I, as his father, don't like this. 00:02:31.039 --> 00:02:35.280 I know it's there's there's germs in there, and it's a mess cleaning it up all the time. 00:02:35.439 --> 00:02:40.879 And now I've told you this, you're never gonna use our bathrooms if you come and visit us, but we we do a pretty good job cleaning it up. 00:02:41.120 --> 00:02:42.719 But here's something that I've started to do. 00:02:42.879 --> 00:02:45.919 What I've started to do is I've started to shut the door on the bathrooms. 00:02:46.080 --> 00:02:49.840 Like I just go around our house and I just shut the doors because I don't want Bear to be able to get in there. 00:02:49.919 --> 00:02:56.719 And Bear has seen me doing this, and he wants to be like his dad, so he has started to go around and shut doors to the bathroom too. 00:02:56.879 --> 00:02:59.120 And I think that's a good thing. 00:03:00.800 --> 00:03:02.400 What's going on in this book though? 00:03:02.560 --> 00:03:03.599 Let's let's look at 1-8. 00:03:03.840 --> 00:03:06.400 And this is really the verse that we take this graphic from. 00:03:06.639 --> 00:03:10.240 It says, When you offer blind animals and sacrifice, is that not evil? 00:03:10.400 --> 00:03:13.360 And when you offer those that are lame or sick, is that not evil? 00:03:13.599 --> 00:03:14.960 Present that to your governor. 00:03:15.199 --> 00:03:15.759 Will he? 00:03:15.919 --> 00:03:16.719 That's not the right verse. 00:03:16.800 --> 00:03:17.439 It's 110. 00:03:17.520 --> 00:03:19.199 I'm sorry, it's 110, it's behind me. 00:03:19.280 --> 00:03:20.400 I just jumped ahead. 00:03:20.479 --> 00:03:21.280 Let's try again. 00:03:21.520 --> 00:03:27.840 Oh, that you were there were one among you who would shut the doors, that you might not kindle the fire on my altar in vain. 00:03:28.000 --> 00:03:33.439 I have no pleasure in you, says the Lord of hosts, and I will not accept an offering from your hand. 00:03:34.319 --> 00:03:37.840 So the people at this time, they don't have those kind of friends. 00:03:38.000 --> 00:03:40.240 They don't have anybody that's like, yeah, you don't want to do that. 00:03:40.319 --> 00:03:43.120 Let me just shut the door and just kind of keep you away from that foolishness. 00:03:43.280 --> 00:03:46.319 In fact, even their priests are not doing that for them. 00:03:46.479 --> 00:03:52.400 And so they're going and they're offering sacrifices to God that God refers to these sacrifices as evil. 00:03:52.960 --> 00:03:53.599 Evil. 00:03:56.479 --> 00:04:04.719 We need people in our lives that are willing to see us kind of going astray, and they start shutting some of them doors so that we can't go there and we begin to turn back to God, right? 00:04:05.280 --> 00:04:07.919 And so that's that's a lot of what this book is gonna be about. 00:04:08.000 --> 00:04:19.519 We we want to be those kind of people for our friends, and we don't want to get to a point in our lives where God's, I mean, basically God's, he's kind of saying, I'm gonna shut you out of the temple because of the way that you've been acting. 00:04:21.040 --> 00:04:26.399 So here at our church, what we normally do is we preach through books like this, probably 75, 80% of the time. 00:04:26.560 --> 00:04:35.680 And so today, this is the first sermon in this book, so I'm gonna spend a little bit more time on the historical background, probably about half the sermon, then the other half we're gonna look at one, one through five. 00:04:35.839 --> 00:04:36.319 All right? 00:04:37.360 --> 00:04:45.759 And the reason that we do that is because we believe that this book, the Bible, is the best way to understand who we are and who God is. 00:04:45.920 --> 00:04:49.680 And God gave us this book so that as we study through it, he would reveal himself to us. 00:04:49.759 --> 00:04:53.839 And so we believe that us just preaching through books, you're you're gonna get that in the best way. 00:04:54.000 --> 00:05:00.959 And in fact, this morning, this is a passage that I don't think pastors would normally preach because it's a rather difficult passage. 00:05:01.120 --> 00:05:07.199 But we're gonna preach it anyhow because we believe that all of the Bible is relevant to us and we need to hear it, okay? 00:05:07.519 --> 00:05:08.560 So let's begin. 00:05:08.720 --> 00:05:12.079 So the first question, if we want to figure out what's going on in this book, is who wrote the book? 00:05:12.160 --> 00:05:12.959 Let's look at one one. 00:05:13.199 --> 00:05:13.600 One one. 00:05:13.920 --> 00:05:18.240 It says, the oracle of the word of the word of the Lord to Israel by Malachi. 00:05:19.040 --> 00:05:23.519 So Malachi wrote the book, and I wish I could tell you a lot about him. 00:05:23.839 --> 00:05:24.560 I can't. 00:05:24.800 --> 00:05:28.240 This is the only spot in scripture that this Malachi is referenced. 00:05:28.399 --> 00:05:29.839 We don't really know a whole lot more about him. 00:05:30.000 --> 00:05:37.279 All we can do is I've read through this book multiple times, and let me tell you what I've kind of picked up about his character from reading through this book. 00:05:37.600 --> 00:05:40.720 This is a man that understands the people well. 00:05:41.040 --> 00:05:42.079 He understands them very well. 00:05:42.160 --> 00:05:52.399 This is a man that's probably sat with them, had coffee with them, and he's talked through the issues that they're wrestling with, and he understands where their hearts are, what they're upset about, and what it is that they're wrestling with. 00:05:52.480 --> 00:05:56.240 I mean, Malachi's style in this book is much different than the other prophets. 00:05:56.399 --> 00:05:58.959 He doesn't really deliver messages to the audience. 00:05:59.120 --> 00:06:04.959 Rather, what he does is he charges them with various sins, and then he has evidence to back it up. 00:06:05.120 --> 00:06:11.680 And as he's doing this, another thing that you'll see him do is they have questions, and he will say, This is something you've been asking. 00:06:11.839 --> 00:06:17.279 All right, well, this is kind of the answer, and here's the evidence to what you've been doing wrong, and here's what you should be doing, right? 00:06:18.000 --> 00:06:26.399 Another thing about him is he's a man that has sought God through scripture and he's found him and he's found answers to the issues that the people have. 00:06:26.800 --> 00:06:31.199 The third thing I'd say about him is he's a man that is absolutely unafraid to speak the truth. 00:06:31.439 --> 00:06:38.240 Some of the things in this book that he confronts these people about, there it's it's it's straightforward. 00:06:38.319 --> 00:06:39.199 He just calls them out. 00:06:39.360 --> 00:06:44.240 This is what you're struggling with, and this is what you you need to turn back to Jesus and stop doing this. 00:06:44.639 --> 00:06:48.720 Um, a very brave friend, and I think he loved, I think that shows his love for the people. 00:06:48.879 --> 00:06:51.680 To be willing to confront people like that means you really love them. 00:06:52.079 --> 00:06:55.120 Another thing we need to deal with with the book is when did he write it? 00:06:55.199 --> 00:06:56.480 What time period was he writing into? 00:06:56.560 --> 00:06:58.959 Because if we can understand that, we can understand a lot more about the book. 00:06:59.120 --> 00:07:01.839 Well, there's some clues in the book, and this is where 1-8 comes in. 00:07:01.920 --> 00:07:04.480 So if you look at 1-8 here, it says this. 00:07:05.360 --> 00:07:07.439 There's a word here in particular that I want to point out. 00:07:07.600 --> 00:07:10.000 When you offer blind animals in sacrifice, is that not evil? 00:07:10.160 --> 00:07:12.480 And when you offer those that are lame or sick, is that not evil? 00:07:12.639 --> 00:07:17.120 Present that to your governor, and will he accept you or show you favor, says the Lord of hosts. 00:07:17.199 --> 00:07:24.000 That word governor there in the original language is the same word for governor that was used in the Persian Empire. 00:07:24.240 --> 00:07:24.560 Right? 00:07:24.639 --> 00:07:29.600 And so what that's telling us is most likely this work, this book was written during the time of the Persian Empire. 00:07:29.839 --> 00:07:32.240 A few more things that would point to that. 00:07:33.120 --> 00:07:36.720 Uh so in in, we'll go to this in a minute, I'll explain it more. 00:07:36.800 --> 00:07:41.519 But in Israel's history, their temple got destroyed when Babylon came and destroyed them. 00:07:41.680 --> 00:07:47.040 And then Persia eventually beat Babylon and Persia sent them back to rebuild the temple. 00:07:47.120 --> 00:07:48.959 And so the temple at one point was rebuilt. 00:07:49.040 --> 00:07:52.560 And this book, if it's written during the Persian Empire, we should expect that the temple has been rebuilt. 00:07:52.639 --> 00:07:57.759 And so if you look at 110 or 213, it implies the existence of a temple in those two verses. 00:07:58.000 --> 00:08:02.319 So I think again, we're pointing to the same time during uh Persia. 00:08:02.480 --> 00:08:09.360 And then if you want to see that evidence in scripture, you could go to Ezra chapter 6, verses 14 and 15, and that's where the temple was rebuilt. 00:08:09.439 --> 00:08:10.800 That's when that happened. 00:08:11.040 --> 00:08:12.720 So the temple's already rebuilt. 00:08:12.879 --> 00:08:16.079 And then one more thing that would kind of point us toward the same time period. 00:08:16.240 --> 00:08:25.360 In the books of Ezra and Nehemiah, the sins that the people are struggling with in that time are the exact same as the sins that people are struggling with during Malachi's time. 00:08:25.519 --> 00:08:28.800 So sins, like, you know, they're struggling with stewardship of their money and their resources. 00:08:29.120 --> 00:08:30.240 They're not doing well with that. 00:08:30.399 --> 00:08:31.680 They're struggling with divorce. 00:08:31.839 --> 00:08:34.720 Like there's divorce happening within the people of God. 00:08:34.960 --> 00:08:40.480 And then their offerings that they're offering to God are not, they're they're not they're not a blessing to God. 00:08:40.639 --> 00:08:43.120 I mean, in this book, you already saw in 180, he calls them evil. 00:08:43.200 --> 00:08:45.200 So there's something off with that. 00:08:45.519 --> 00:08:48.240 And so the sins are the same as the sins in those two books. 00:08:48.320 --> 00:08:53.360 And so and so let me just kind of run through Israel's history a little bit, just a very short snippet here. 00:08:53.519 --> 00:08:57.120 In 586, Babylon comes and they destroy Israel. 00:08:57.200 --> 00:09:03.840 And the reason they did that, for hundreds of years, God had come and warned them and warned them and warned them and warned them, the direction you're going is not good. 00:09:04.000 --> 00:09:04.960 Please turn back to me. 00:09:05.039 --> 00:09:06.159 I love you, I want you back. 00:09:06.240 --> 00:09:08.080 Stop, stop sending it up. 00:09:08.399 --> 00:09:10.320 And eventually they they don't listen. 00:09:10.399 --> 00:09:13.200 Eventually, God sends the prophet Jeremiah. 00:09:13.360 --> 00:09:18.240 And at that point, almost all of Jeremiah's prophecy is like, this is happening, and there's nothing you can do about it. 00:09:18.320 --> 00:09:22.159 You're gonna be destroyed, and you're gonna be sent off to Babylon, and it'd be best if you just submitted to that. 00:09:22.240 --> 00:09:23.200 And they don't. 00:09:23.600 --> 00:09:27.039 Eventually, Babylon comes and and they they destroy Israel. 00:09:27.200 --> 00:09:31.440 Let's let's turn to 2 Chronicles 36, just kind of some background for this book. 00:09:31.600 --> 00:09:36.320 2 Chronicles chapter 36, and it describes what happened when Babylon came and destroyed them. 00:09:36.639 --> 00:09:38.639 36, 17 to 20. 00:09:38.879 --> 00:09:41.679 It says, Therefore he brought up against them the king of the Chaldeans. 00:09:41.759 --> 00:09:44.240 Now, Chaldeans is just another word for Babylonians, okay? 00:09:44.399 --> 00:09:47.039 So read Babylonians, you'll understand what it is a little bit better. 00:09:47.200 --> 00:09:53.200 Who killed their young men with swords in the house of their sanctuary, and had no compassion on young man or virgin, old man or aged. 00:09:53.360 --> 00:09:54.960 He gave all of them into his hand. 00:09:55.120 --> 00:10:02.000 And all the vessels of the house of God, great and small, the treasures of the house of the Lord, and the treasures of the king of his princes, all these he brought to Babylon. 00:10:02.240 --> 00:10:08.799 And they burned the house of God, and broke down the wall of Jerusalem, and burned all its palaces with fire, and destroyed all its precious treasures. 00:10:08.879 --> 00:10:10.559 So the temples destroyed there, right? 00:10:10.720 --> 00:10:18.480 And he took into exile in Babylon those who had escaped from the sword, and they became servants to him and to his sons until the establishment of the kingdom of Persia. 00:10:19.279 --> 00:10:21.519 So it's a very sad time in Israel's history. 00:10:21.679 --> 00:10:25.279 The temple's destroyed, their nations destroyed, and they're taken off into exile. 00:10:25.360 --> 00:10:32.159 And really the only people that remain there are are the uh the poor people are just kind of left there and they take everybody else off. 00:10:33.120 --> 00:10:37.200 So then in Ezra, 1-1 through 4, we'll skip a little time in history here. 00:10:37.360 --> 00:10:44.320 So Babylon's the ruling power, and then at one point Persia comes in and they destroy Babylon, and now they're the new Babylon, they're the new ruling power. 00:10:44.480 --> 00:10:54.399 And so then in Ezra 1-1-4, God comes to this pagan king, and with this pagan king, he uses a pagan king to send his people back to their promised land. 00:10:54.480 --> 00:10:56.000 Let's read 1-1 through 4. 00:10:56.159 --> 00:11:15.840 In the first year of Cyrus, the king of Persia, that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus, king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all of his kingdom, and also put it in writing, thus says Cyrus, king of Persia, the Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he has charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. 00:11:16.000 --> 00:11:23.440 Whoever is among you, of all his people, may his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and rebuild the house of the Lord, that the God of Israel. 00:11:23.600 --> 00:11:25.759 He is the God who is in Jerusalem. 00:11:25.919 --> 00:11:35.440 And let each survivor in whatever place he sojourns be assisted by the men of his place with silver and gold, with goods, and with beasts, besides free will offerings for the house of God that is in Jerusalem. 00:11:35.679 --> 00:11:40.000 So God takes this pagan king and rescues his people from exile. 00:11:40.320 --> 00:11:40.960 Amazing thing. 00:11:41.039 --> 00:11:45.039 And not only does the king say, you need to go and rebuild the temple, he says, I'm gonna fund you as well. 00:11:45.120 --> 00:11:48.799 Like people need to give you money, silver, and gold, so that you're able to do this and you're able to settle. 00:11:48.960 --> 00:11:50.879 That's an amazing act of God. 00:11:51.039 --> 00:11:52.240 Why is this kick doing this? 00:11:52.320 --> 00:11:53.440 It's not because the king's a Christian. 00:11:53.519 --> 00:11:55.840 I think sometimes we read that and we're like, well, he must be a follower of Jesus. 00:11:55.919 --> 00:11:56.799 That's that's not what's going on. 00:11:56.960 --> 00:11:59.440 This king is a pagan king, he believes in all gods. 00:11:59.519 --> 00:12:03.440 So he believes Persia, you know, we have a God and that's the strongest God, and that's why we're the world power. 00:12:03.519 --> 00:12:07.600 But I believe, yeah, there's a God over in Jerusalem too, and I want to keep all the gods happy with me. 00:12:07.679 --> 00:12:12.720 So he sends them back, he sends them with money, and he wants them to rebuild the temple because he just wants to be blessed by all the gods. 00:12:12.879 --> 00:12:15.360 That's his attitude, and that that's what's going on there. 00:12:15.519 --> 00:12:18.240 But regardless, God works through this. 00:12:19.039 --> 00:12:22.720 And and so here's the state of the people at this time. 00:12:22.799 --> 00:12:33.840 The people in Malachi's day, what they're thinking is they're like, we used to be this huge people group, a nation, and now all we kind of have left is is the city-state. 00:12:34.000 --> 00:12:35.759 If you look here, I got a map. 00:12:36.320 --> 00:12:38.159 It's gonna show David's kingdom. 00:12:39.840 --> 00:12:40.879 David's kingdom. 00:12:41.039 --> 00:12:48.000 So if you you see how big his kingdom, I mean, it basically stretches almost from Egypt all the way up to close to where Turkey is today. 00:12:48.240 --> 00:12:54.399 So this is kind of the Israelite Empire under kind of their biggest point, right? 00:12:54.639 --> 00:13:05.679 And then if you go to the next slide, you'll see that when Babylon comes, so you see the Babylonian Empire comes and destroys them, and all that's left is really just the city of Jerusalem and a little bit of surrounding area, right? 00:13:06.080 --> 00:13:16.720 And so then, you know, a few years later, Persia comes and they become the pink, and they're they're actually so at this point in history, Persia is the one that is over Jerusalem and Judah, but it's still about the same size, not a whole lot of influence. 00:13:16.879 --> 00:13:24.799 And so these people, what they're struggling with is they're saying, we used to be this kingdom with influence and power, and what is left of us? 00:13:24.960 --> 00:13:26.159 We're barely even a nation anymore. 00:13:26.240 --> 00:13:27.759 We're basically a city-state. 00:13:28.159 --> 00:13:28.960 What's left of us? 00:13:29.120 --> 00:13:33.840 Yeah, we got a temple rebuilt, but it's it's like a fourth the size of the previous temple. 00:13:34.000 --> 00:13:44.159 Like one of the things I was looking at, they said the temple, uh Solomon's temple, King Solomon's temple, all the gold and silver in that temple, do you know what that was worth? 00:13:44.320 --> 00:13:48.639 About$30 billion worth of gold and silver was in Solomon's temple. 00:13:48.879 --> 00:13:53.360 And now at this point, they've rebuilt, but it's like a fourth the size. 00:13:53.679 --> 00:13:54.639 It's it's not even close. 00:13:54.720 --> 00:13:57.279 There's no gold and silver, and it's all because of their sin. 00:13:57.759 --> 00:14:06.080 And so these people are seeing all this, and and they can't even see that God's done amazing things to even bring them back, and they're just they're they're they're kind of apathetic and they're kind of negative. 00:14:06.399 --> 00:14:08.639 Have you guys ever had a friend like this? 00:14:08.960 --> 00:14:19.759 You ever had a friend that it's it's always raining, you know, the sky's always falling, everything's gray, their kids are not good, their wife's angry at them, God's mad at them, he doesn't love them. 00:14:19.840 --> 00:14:21.919 You ever you ever had that kind of friend? 00:14:22.159 --> 00:14:26.480 And when you look at that friend, you're like, I don't think your life's actually that bad. 00:14:26.639 --> 00:14:29.519 Like your kids seem pretty happy, your wife seems to love you and be happy. 00:14:29.679 --> 00:14:33.039 Like, why are you why are you being so negative all the time? 00:14:33.600 --> 00:14:36.639 That's kind of the state that these people are in. 00:14:37.919 --> 00:14:44.480 And and I want to ask us this morning before we go farther, do you think any of us are like this this morning? 00:14:45.600 --> 00:14:49.600 And I'm not talking about people, there's some of you that are truly going through hardship this morning. 00:14:49.759 --> 00:14:52.399 And you just need to hold on to Jesus and get through that. 00:14:52.639 --> 00:14:59.440 But I think for some of us, we're probably being a little more negative than we need to be, and a little more apathetic than we need to be. 00:14:59.600 --> 00:15:03.120 And I think, you know, if I asked your friend, I said, you know, how are they doing? 00:15:03.279 --> 00:15:06.879 And if your friend's answer was they're actually doing really good, like God has been good to them. 00:15:07.039 --> 00:15:10.320 But then I talked to you, and your answer was like, Yeah, God, I don't even know if he loves me. 00:15:10.399 --> 00:15:11.039 I think he hates me. 00:15:11.679 --> 00:15:12.720 Like that that's not good. 00:15:12.960 --> 00:15:14.399 There's something wrong there, right? 00:15:14.559 --> 00:15:21.759 Like I I think this apat apathy, it creates this ungratefulness in us, and they kind of just feed off of each other. 00:15:23.120 --> 00:15:25.679 So let me just kind of explain the situation here. 00:15:27.279 --> 00:15:29.279 And I'll put it in modern day context. 00:15:29.600 --> 00:15:32.639 Canada has invaded America, right? 00:15:33.759 --> 00:15:37.279 I had a Canadian guy helped me with this first service because I got some things wrong. 00:15:37.519 --> 00:15:51.600 Um, and so the prime minister, not the president, the prime minister of Canada says he's invaded us, he's taken us all up into the northern regions where it's cold, and not all of Canada is cold, but the northern regions are. 00:15:51.919 --> 00:15:53.679 He corrects me on that too. 00:15:53.919 --> 00:16:01.279 Um, we're all up there, and all that he has left for us is Miami. 00:16:01.360 --> 00:16:03.200 That's all we got, just Miami. 00:16:03.840 --> 00:16:06.879 And so one day this king he says, you know what? 00:16:07.120 --> 00:16:08.320 I care for you guys. 00:16:08.399 --> 00:16:15.919 I want to send a group of you back to rebuild your church and just kind of rebuild the city of Miami, and that can be the United States of America, the city of Miami. 00:16:16.080 --> 00:16:18.879 And so he he pays and he flies us all back. 00:16:19.039 --> 00:16:24.000 We get the church rebuilt, but you know, it's it's not the way it used to be, right? 00:16:24.080 --> 00:16:25.519 It's like a fourth the size. 00:16:25.759 --> 00:16:28.240 The people that come on Sundays, they're not that into it. 00:16:28.399 --> 00:16:32.399 Like they're like, they come because, you know, Easter, Christmas, they come because their mom wants them to come. 00:16:32.559 --> 00:16:35.440 Other than that, they're very in and out, very apathetic. 00:16:35.679 --> 00:16:42.399 You know, we look at our situation and we're like, man, we used to be this huge country, and now all we have is just a like a city state. 00:16:42.799 --> 00:16:45.759 And we just feel kind of down and depressed, right? 00:16:46.879 --> 00:16:49.279 That's kind of the situation that's going on here. 00:16:49.519 --> 00:16:52.720 And that that's that's that's where the people are at. 00:16:54.320 --> 00:16:58.480 And so that's what we're gonna be dealing with. 00:16:58.879 --> 00:17:02.480 These people want Israel restored to its former glory, as we would if we were them. 00:17:02.639 --> 00:17:06.400 We would want America restored to its former glory if all we had left was Miami, right? 00:17:08.000 --> 00:17:12.480 But what they don't realize is the only way that's gonna happen is it has to start in individual hearts. 00:17:12.640 --> 00:17:17.440 For a nation to be revived and come back to God, it's gotta start one heart at a time. 00:17:17.759 --> 00:17:19.039 And they don't really want that. 00:17:19.200 --> 00:17:24.079 They just want they want the blessings of God, but they don't want to do the hard work to get back to God. 00:17:24.400 --> 00:17:26.160 They don't want to do the hard work of repentance. 00:17:26.319 --> 00:17:29.279 You know, sometimes we love our sin more than we hate the consequences. 00:17:30.000 --> 00:17:32.640 We love our sin more than we hate the consequences. 00:17:33.599 --> 00:17:39.680 Sometimes I think we also we trust our sin to make us happy more than we trust that God will just bring us joy. 00:17:40.400 --> 00:17:43.440 We trust our sin to make us happy more than we trust that God's gonna bring us joy. 00:17:43.599 --> 00:17:48.400 And so, what always happens to me when I study one of these books, I'm like, man, what is wrong with these people? 00:17:48.640 --> 00:17:50.720 What is like they just need to repent? 00:17:50.880 --> 00:17:51.839 What's going on with them? 00:17:52.240 --> 00:17:56.799 And then as I study it more and more, I start to see, oh, this this isn't about them. 00:17:57.200 --> 00:17:58.240 This is about my heart. 00:17:58.880 --> 00:17:59.599 This is me. 00:17:59.920 --> 00:18:01.279 I'm the one that needs to repent. 00:18:01.440 --> 00:18:03.519 I have some of these same issues in my life. 00:18:03.920 --> 00:18:10.079 And I pray that as we go through this book for these next few weeks, that the same thing would happen to you that you go from, man, those Israelites are so dumb. 00:18:10.160 --> 00:18:10.799 What's wrong with them? 00:18:10.880 --> 00:18:13.039 To actually, I'm doing a lot of that too. 00:18:13.440 --> 00:18:15.680 And I need to repent and I need to turn back to God. 00:18:16.400 --> 00:18:20.960 And so one of the questions that's coming up with them in their apathy is they're questioning God, do you really love me? 00:18:21.200 --> 00:18:27.359 And I believe, you know, when we begin to ask that question of God, it's actually because of our own lack of love for him. 00:18:28.079 --> 00:18:28.799 You see what I'm saying? 00:18:28.880 --> 00:18:30.559 Like when you start to question, God, do you really love me? 00:18:30.640 --> 00:18:33.519 It's actually because you have started to grow cold in your love for him. 00:18:35.440 --> 00:18:38.640 And we lack love for him because we get too stuck in our sins. 00:18:38.720 --> 00:18:40.160 And so here's what it looks like for us. 00:18:40.400 --> 00:18:42.880 We have all of us are involved with sports games with our kids. 00:18:43.039 --> 00:18:45.839 Like we're just running all over the place all the time if you have children. 00:18:46.000 --> 00:18:58.319 Some of you you're going out to wine with your female friends, some of you you're working crazy hours, some of you are going on vacation, and and we just we struggle to to kind of make God the priority that he needs to be, right? 00:18:59.759 --> 00:19:06.079 And I think on top of this, we don't even realize that we're walking in sin a lot of times. 00:19:06.160 --> 00:19:10.400 Like as we go through this book, you're gonna see that as Malachi confronts them, they're often like, What are you talking about, man? 00:19:10.480 --> 00:19:11.759 I don't have that issue. 00:19:12.240 --> 00:19:16.319 But Malachi's like, yes, you do, and then he gives them evidence, and they're kind of like, Oh yeah, you're right. 00:19:16.400 --> 00:19:18.799 And now they have a choice what they're what they're gonna do about it. 00:19:19.039 --> 00:19:26.799 Um I mean, you're gonna see people in this book making sacrifices to God that God calls it was 1-8 there, where he says, Your sacrifices are evil to me. 00:19:26.880 --> 00:19:29.039 And the reason they're evil, I think so. 00:19:29.119 --> 00:19:35.279 At that time, in the old covenant, you had to offer sacrifices to make atonement or to cover your sin. 00:19:35.920 --> 00:19:38.720 And so you were supposed to give the best from your flock. 00:19:38.880 --> 00:19:51.440 But I kind of like the modern-day equivalent to what they were doing is it's like you're driving down your road on the way to church and you see a dead animal and you're like, oh, this'll work, and you pick it up and put it in a bag, and then you get to church and you're like, here you go, priest, let's offer this for my sins. 00:19:51.599 --> 00:19:54.480 And God looks at that and he's like, That's that's not a blessing to me. 00:19:54.559 --> 00:19:55.839 I'm offended by that. 00:19:56.480 --> 00:20:02.160 And I think, you know, the way this relates to us is I believe that we do the same thing. 00:20:03.200 --> 00:20:14.960 I think a lot of us we've we've gotten apathetic to the point where, you know, I think it looks like for us, like you're supposed to be spending time with your wife or with your children, and instead you're on social media all the time. 00:20:15.200 --> 00:20:21.279 Like if I asked my wife and kids, or if you asked your wife and kids, do they love me or do they love their phone more? 00:20:21.599 --> 00:20:23.200 What would their answer be? 00:20:23.519 --> 00:20:26.480 That's apathy in our lives that's creating that, right? 00:20:26.640 --> 00:20:30.799 And so this is this is what these people in this time are struggling with. 00:20:30.880 --> 00:20:33.599 And and the scariest thing to me is they're often blind to it. 00:20:33.680 --> 00:20:35.920 And that scares me because I don't want to be blind to my sin. 00:20:36.000 --> 00:20:37.359 I want to I want God to open my eyes. 00:20:37.440 --> 00:20:44.160 And so I pray that as we go through this book, God would open our eyes and we get to see ourselves for who we truly are as we look at God for who he truly is. 00:20:44.480 --> 00:20:49.839 So one, two through five, it says, I have loved you, says the Lord, but you say, How have you loved us? 00:20:50.000 --> 00:20:51.920 So this is their question How have you loved us? 00:20:52.160 --> 00:20:56.240 Is not Esau Jacob's brother, declares the Lord, yet I have loved Jacob, but Esau I've hated. 00:20:56.400 --> 00:20:59.759 I've laid waste his hill country and left his heritage to jackals of the desert. 00:20:59.839 --> 00:21:09.279 If Edom says, We are shattered, but we will rebuild the ruins, the Lord of hosts says, they may build, but I will tear down, and they will be called the wicked country and the people with whom the Lord is angry forever. 00:21:09.519 --> 00:21:15.039 Your own eyes shall see this, and you shall say, Great is the Lord beyond the border of Israel. 00:21:15.599 --> 00:21:17.440 So just the statement here. 00:21:17.759 --> 00:21:24.400 When our human love for God atrophies, you will find yourself beginning to question his love for you. 00:21:24.640 --> 00:21:28.960 When your human love starts to atrophy, you'll find yourself, and here's you start to question his love for you. 00:21:29.039 --> 00:21:30.000 And here's why it will happen. 00:21:30.079 --> 00:21:41.440 Even with your relationships with other human beings, I think usually with our relationship with other human beings, when we're in good relationships, it's like we have rose-colored glasses on, and we just see the good in them, and we encourage them, and things are going well. 00:21:41.680 --> 00:21:43.599 But then something, you know, we're human, right? 00:21:43.680 --> 00:21:44.480 And something will happen. 00:21:44.559 --> 00:21:49.680 They'll get sideways with us or be mean to us, and we'll have a tendency to take the rose colored glasses on and put the negative glasses on. 00:21:49.839 --> 00:21:53.279 And now we're looking at them, and all that we see is negative. 00:21:53.440 --> 00:21:56.079 We don't feel like they're loving us, we don't feel like they're being kind to us. 00:21:56.160 --> 00:21:59.359 We're like, did they do that to love me, or are they actually trying to manipulate me? 00:22:00.079 --> 00:22:01.839 And I think we do the same with God. 00:22:02.559 --> 00:22:08.880 And so this first question, it's like we're coming to God and we're like, God, do you really love me? 00:22:09.119 --> 00:22:11.920 I mean, kind of hands on our hips, like, I don't think you love me, God. 00:22:12.000 --> 00:22:14.319 Do you not see what's going on around here in Jerusalem? 00:22:14.400 --> 00:22:15.759 Do you not see the situation I'm in? 00:22:15.920 --> 00:22:16.880 How can you say you love me? 00:22:17.039 --> 00:22:18.400 Prove it, kind of thing, right? 00:22:18.480 --> 00:22:20.400 Like that, that's that's where their hearts are. 00:22:20.640 --> 00:22:23.680 And it mentions here Esau and it mentions Edom. 00:22:24.000 --> 00:22:28.000 So Esau and Jacob, they have a relationship, right? 00:22:28.559 --> 00:22:33.680 And if I could tell you that story real quickly, Esau and Jacob are brothers, they're twin brothers. 00:22:34.000 --> 00:22:37.359 Esau was born first, which is a big deal in Jewish culture. 00:22:37.440 --> 00:22:40.240 That means he's got the birthrights, that means he's going to get a bigger inheritance. 00:22:40.400 --> 00:22:41.759 It's a big deal in Jewish culture. 00:22:41.839 --> 00:22:44.079 So he's born first and then Jacob comes out. 00:22:44.400 --> 00:22:48.480 And so they kind of have this this Jacob's kind of a, he's a little bit of a weasel. 00:22:48.559 --> 00:22:49.680 And so he figures out a way. 00:22:49.759 --> 00:22:51.279 He wants to steal his brother's birthright. 00:22:51.359 --> 00:22:58.960 And so he waits till his brother comes in from a field one day, and he's very tired, and he says, Hey man, I'll give you some soup if you give me your birthright. 00:22:59.200 --> 00:23:02.960 Which is, it's it sounds stupid, but Esau's like, Yeah, I'm really hungry. 00:23:03.039 --> 00:23:04.240 I don't know if I'm gonna make it much longer. 00:23:04.319 --> 00:23:06.319 Sure, give me the soup, have the birthright, I don't care. 00:23:06.480 --> 00:23:08.480 And he gives him his birthright. 00:23:09.440 --> 00:23:20.160 Fast forward a few days, months, years later, um, Jacob comes up with this plan on how he's gonna steal his brother's uh his his inheritance. 00:23:20.240 --> 00:23:25.759 And so what he does is it comes to the end of Jacob, their father's life, and he's going blind. 00:23:25.839 --> 00:23:30.079 And he says, I'm gonna trick him and get him to pray his prayer of blessing over me and not over Esau. 00:23:30.240 --> 00:23:35.680 And so he goes in with some animal skins on because it's hairy, and Jacob, or Esau was a very hairy man. 00:23:35.839 --> 00:23:43.359 So he comes in with these animal skins on, he's got some of Esau's clothes on, so he smells like Esau, he feels like Esau, and he says, Father, bless me, Jacob does. 00:23:43.519 --> 00:23:46.319 And the father blesses him and not Esau. 00:23:46.480 --> 00:23:48.079 And Esau is broken over this. 00:23:48.160 --> 00:23:50.079 He he wants to kill Jacob. 00:23:50.319 --> 00:23:55.200 And so there, there, you know, Jacob runs away and eventually one day they meet up and they reconcile. 00:23:55.440 --> 00:24:06.000 I say they reconcile, but I don't know how well they reconcile, because throughout history, then, the Edomites, which are Jacob's or Esau's people, the Edomites, are at odds with the people of Israel. 00:24:06.079 --> 00:24:07.839 They live close by and they're constantly at odds. 00:24:08.000 --> 00:24:09.279 I'll give you a couple examples. 00:24:09.440 --> 00:24:15.839 When uh when the Israelites were trying to get to the promised land, at one point they asked the Edomites, they said, Hey, could we come through your territory? 00:24:15.920 --> 00:24:16.640 It'd be a lot shorter. 00:24:16.720 --> 00:24:18.960 We don't want to, we've been out here forever, we don't want to keep walking. 00:24:19.119 --> 00:24:21.119 And the Edomites are like, no, you can't cross through here. 00:24:21.200 --> 00:24:23.039 You're not our friends, you're not crossing through our country. 00:24:23.359 --> 00:24:23.920 Go the other way. 00:24:24.000 --> 00:24:26.880 And it's gonna, so it takes a lot longer and they have to go the other way. 00:24:27.119 --> 00:24:31.839 Um few years later, they they actually fought with King Solomon. 00:24:32.079 --> 00:24:34.559 A few years after that, they opposed King Jehoshaphat. 00:24:34.799 --> 00:24:37.839 A few years after that, they rebel against King Jehoram. 00:24:38.000 --> 00:24:41.039 So throughout their history, there's this tension between them. 00:24:41.279 --> 00:24:54.559 And so you can see how these people in this passage, one of the things kind of behind this how have you loved us thing is is they're kind of like, how could a twin brother do this to their twin brother? 00:24:54.640 --> 00:24:56.640 This isn't the way that you're supposed to interact. 00:24:56.880 --> 00:24:59.599 Why, like you're saying you love us, but I don't see that you love us. 00:24:59.759 --> 00:25:01.839 Why are you judging us and you're not judging Edom? 00:25:02.000 --> 00:25:05.359 Like you exiled us and you've done nothing to Edom, right? 00:25:06.480 --> 00:25:07.519 Here's what God says. 00:25:07.920 --> 00:25:11.599 In 1.5, 1.4 and 5, he says he's gonna tear down their country. 00:25:11.759 --> 00:25:16.319 In verse 5, he says, Your eyes will see this and you'll say, Great is the Lord beyond the border of Israel. 00:25:16.559 --> 00:25:19.920 Great is the Lord beyond the border of Israel. 00:25:20.160 --> 00:25:26.240 So a few years after this, the Nabataeans actually come and they destroy the nation of Edom. 00:25:26.319 --> 00:25:32.000 And you know, they live in the wilderness for a while, but basically the nation just kind of disintegrates, and to this day they don't have a nation. 00:25:32.319 --> 00:25:42.160 So what God said comes true, and what God says about this is one of this is one of the issues that they have, and God is saying, I'm gonna deal with this. 00:25:42.480 --> 00:25:43.920 I one day will make this right. 00:25:44.000 --> 00:25:48.400 And when I do, you're gonna say, that is a great God, and he's not just the God of Israel, he's the God of the whole earth. 00:25:48.640 --> 00:26:02.079 And so, my first thing that I would say to you this morning if people have been injust to you, if injustice has happened to you, I don't care how bad it is or what it is, I don't know if it'll be in this lifetime, but sometime God will make it right. 00:26:02.160 --> 00:26:05.119 And the people that have wronged you will be dealt with. 00:26:05.440 --> 00:26:09.599 That's a promise from God, and that should encourage you. 00:26:11.039 --> 00:26:13.279 But here's kind of their heart, right? 00:26:13.519 --> 00:26:17.759 When my kids, when they get in trouble, they do this almost every time. 00:26:18.559 --> 00:26:23.359 They get in trouble, and we're talking to them through it, and they're like, Why are you yelling at me, Dad? 00:26:23.519 --> 00:26:24.559 What about my brother? 00:26:24.799 --> 00:26:25.599 What about my sister? 00:26:25.759 --> 00:26:27.839 They did this and that and that, and this is so unfair. 00:26:28.000 --> 00:26:29.599 Why do you always get on my case? 00:26:29.759 --> 00:26:31.839 And I always have to be like, I'm not talking to them now. 00:26:31.920 --> 00:26:34.400 I'll deal with them later, but right now we're dealing with you, right? 00:26:34.559 --> 00:26:35.039 You can ask them. 00:26:35.119 --> 00:26:36.400 That's what I say, right, guys? 00:26:36.640 --> 00:26:37.279 Yeah. 00:26:39.440 --> 00:26:42.160 That's what these people in this book are doing. 00:26:43.359 --> 00:26:45.680 God's trying to deal with their issue, and they're like, Well, what about Edom? 00:26:45.839 --> 00:26:47.119 Like, why don't you ever deal with them? 00:26:47.200 --> 00:26:48.160 They've never gotten destroyed. 00:26:48.240 --> 00:26:50.640 And and so God's kind of dealt with that part. 00:26:51.839 --> 00:26:56.319 We come to this difficult part where it says, you know, you know, God has this brilliant answer. 00:26:56.400 --> 00:26:58.880 They're like, You haven't loved us, and God's just like, yeah, I have. 00:26:59.200 --> 00:27:01.200 He says, I've loved Jacob and I've hated Esau. 00:27:01.279 --> 00:27:02.000 What's the problem? 00:27:02.160 --> 00:27:03.920 I mean, that's really his answer. 00:27:04.240 --> 00:27:06.000 So this is a difficult passage. 00:27:06.240 --> 00:27:12.079 When you have a difficult passage, something that you want to do is you always, if if maybe there's something in the New Testament that would help us. 00:27:12.319 --> 00:27:13.759 And in fact, on this one there is. 00:27:13.839 --> 00:27:16.880 And the New Testament quotes this passage and then Paul explains it in Romans. 00:27:16.960 --> 00:27:20.640 So let's go to Romans chapter 9, verses 13 through 16. 00:27:20.720 --> 00:27:25.279 And kind of this whole chapter in chapter 9 kind of deals with this issue. 00:27:25.519 --> 00:27:30.559 Um, so you always want to let the New Testament interpret the old. 00:27:30.799 --> 00:27:32.400