EP31: Malachi : Teaching Series Preview

Have you ever been at a place in your life that you wondered if

God really cared about you? Have you ever asked that

question, either aloud or just in your mind?

God, do you really love me? I mean, that's one of the things

that they're struggling with. Welcome back to the Grace Church

Members Podcast. I'm your host, Scott Mazingo and

we are here with Bill White and Jim Taylor and we are previewing

our new teaching series that's coming up this week.

And hey guys, it's good to have you here.

Hey, MO. Hey MO, Good to be here.

And so let's jump right in. Jim, first question is to you.

We're gonna be studying the book of Malachi.

Why? You know, Malachi is one of

those books in the Bible that kind of gets neglected.

Nobody really thinks about it, Nobody really looks at it until

you're trying to find the New Testament and, you know, and

you're trying to land on Matthew.

And then you don't quite turn enough pages and you're like,

oh, what's this thing? And you flip a couple more till

you get to the, you know, to the New Testament.

So. You know that's true.

People probably know more about 400 years of silence than they

know about Malachi. That's funny.

I think so. So you know and I I like all

that. I like finding books that are

neglected or they're a little bit wooden or we don't quite

have the context to really read them and and immediately

understand what's happening. But it is a valuable book and

and really, I'll just be real honest about how it came about

is we spent the greater part of a year 2023 going through the

Gospel of John and we were in the teaching meeting one week

and Bill White says I need to do something practical.

We've got to teach something practical like the book of

James. And so that's how we got to

James. But I was fighting for an Old

Testament book because we like to go back and forth when we

can, Old Testament, New Testament.

And so Malachi is kind of like the James of the Old Testament.

It's short. It's direct, It's a little bit

harsh and there's there's some very practical lessons in

Malachi. And so that to answer your

question, that's how we got there.

It's real spiritual and intentional, yeah.

Yeah, let's talk a little bit more about the teaching team,

how that, what is that? We've heard Bill and Matt

mention teaching team. They've even mentioned Jim

Taylor name by mentioned you by name.

What, what does that look like? What's your role with that team?

Yeah, we we meet weekly and we've got a, we've got a group

of folks who they are just thinking about what we're

teaching. We're looking at the passages.

You know, we try to stay at least six months out when we

can. Now before COVID, I think we

were we were spending time each week talking to sermons, talking

about sermons that were a month out.

And then the world changed and we realized at any moment, you

know, the future is uncertain. So now we kind of work week to

week, but we spend a few minutes each week offering feedback to

the teachers and then we spend a few minutes talking about the

the sermon that's coming up that week.

And the teacher will often throw out some questions or thoughts

to the group and and and we try to pull people in who can offer

different perspectives, different seasons of life,

different genders. And that's really it's, it's

yeah, we're. Really, in some ways we're just,

we're having fellowship around the text and if you're the

teacher that week, you may have a couple of ideas that you're

working through that you know are sticky and it gives you a

safe place to be able to do that and get a variety of

perspectives. We'll have some of our student

ministry teachers in there at times, and it's just it's a way,

but it's also a way for us to have some accountability.

And the good part from my point of view as someone who is

usually on the practitioner side of this is having the benefit of

smart people who really love the Scriptures, who are not

necessarily carrying the water on the weekly teaching and

dealing with some of the existential trauma that's

involved in doing that, who are just at a little bit of a

distance and who are thinking about the bigger picture.

And so like I would not have thought to do the book of

Malachi. It's one of Jim's real strengths

and contributions is, I mean Jim is a biblicist and he loves the

Bible. I have a lot of jokes about

that. I'm not going to say about how

much Jim loves the Bible and the way in which he reads the Bible

and thinks about the Bible and he's just he's bib line and so

he is and that pushes us to go to some places that we might not

go that I'm that are real helpful.

Yeah. And so you do.

Have a lot of jokes about that. I do have a lot of jokes about

that and I'm sorry and I've thought of some while I'm here,

that they're not appropriate for the members podcast, so.

So so as a teacher you're you're calling the best of these

different perspectives and you get to filter that and then you

get to push it through your own study and your own personality

for the for the weekend. I I I think it's another way

that we get to exercise plurality.

So it's an important way to get we get to exercise plurality.

So whenever Jim brings up Malachi, Bill, what do you, what

do you start thinking about? Well I start thinking about at

first. It's daunting every time we talk

about a new series, almost every time.

Now James was not daunting because I felt real strongly

about it and but I don't normally have that kind of

clarity and feeling and I just, I felt like James was a

grounding and it builds on John and so but.

But but usually it's very daunting for me.

So when James, when when Jim brought up the idea of Malachi,

it, it felt very daunting to me. So what I had to do is I have to

go get in the historical context.

That's the way I work my way to it.

And so I have to get in the context of who are these people,

who is this person. And so it's difficult because we

don't have introduction to Malachi and who he has.

Some people even wonder, is that his name or is it just a title

Because it it could mean messenger of the Lord.

He's just he's a messenger he's the messenger and but but then

as I get it narrowed down into a historical context for me then

I'm I can identify with these people and I'm like here's this

messenger who's coming to a group of people after the the

return from exile and this half hearted restoration of temple

worship and and this failed attempt in many ways to re

establish the Davidic line in the Kingdom.

So you have this thing that hadn't really worked out real

well and they're a, they're a a shadow of what they once were

and and they've kind of settled. And so they're not real involved

in idolatry, but they're marrying women who are involved

in idolatry. They're divorcing women.

They're not obeying a Kingdom ethic.

Their worship is half hearted and corrupt and they feel

entitled, you know, And so like once I got to that, I'm like,

Nah, I'm good. I mean I'm ready to go because

it's it's a it's a you have a you have a group of people who

are religious and so they profess faith and and a lot of

them are are sincere in that but but it's they're they're half

hearted in their execution of it and they feel entitled.

They feel like we're doing everything God wants us to do

and you don't really love us. You're not really.

I mean, you know, you're not really working on our behalf.

And then I'm like, OK, entitled people who are half heartedly

obeying like that starts getting convicting from me.

So let's drill down a little bit, just to not have any

assumptions here on the context. You've got folks coming back

from exile. How long ago?

It's It's been long enough right for.

Them. They're coming back about 500

years before Jesus. OK.

And if you go back to when we covered some of these books and

that Nehemiah and Ezra, we talked about some of this, is

that those people, the, the older men and women who

remembered the Solomonic Temple, when they see the new temple,

they're like pull out their beers here.

They're like what? You know, Look at what we've

become and how far we've fallen because of our idolatry, you

know? And they've been in the land

long enough to pick up the pieces and have a better effort

at worship, right? Yeah, yeah, they have.

No, they've been there. They've got a functioning

priesthood. People are making sacrifices on

the regular, following the schedule.

But. There's no there's no king.

There's no king. There's, you know, Zerubbabel

was the hope that's failed and they're still under a governor.

They are. So the situation is still very

similar to what you're gonna find when Jesus comes.

It's different because they're not under Rome, but they have

foreign Pagan authority that is still over them.

But they have permission to kind of do their thing.

A bunch of the people. The sad part is that most of the

wealth, I mean, the Jewish folks who are really wealthy, they're

they're back in Persia, you know, they're in Babylon and

they're in Scots there and they're at the power center and

they're still practicing some form of Judy.

I mean, you still have that. You have Iranian Jews today who

are wealthy and they prospered there and they stayed there and

then people who've gone back. It's just not.

It's just tough. It's like developing world.

Well, and and you're probably, they were probably expecting,

you know, when they realized they were going to be in exile

70 years and God made a promise to bring them back.

And they come back and they start doing all this work to

rebuild the walls and rebuild the temple and rebuild the city.

They were probably expectant of, OK, God humbled us.

Yeah, now we're now we're going to be back on top.

Now Messiah's going to come, we're going to throw off the

nations, we're going to be at the top.

And it just did not turn out that way.

So you mentioned temple, you mentioned Wall.

So Ezra Nehemiah. How does that fit?

Those two books fit in this time frame for Malachi.

Malachi's probably we think about 100 years after.

Could be you have a window. It could be a little sooner than

that, but you're still, you know, right at somewhere right

around 500 years, maybe 400, and change before the birth of

Christ. Somewhere in that arena.

It's hard to pin it down because you don't have any cues from the

book itself. But those books could give a

little bit of context. For that's right.

Similar issues. That's right.

It's it's the same stuff, you see the same kinds of issues

that are there. So what, what we're assuming is

this is a little bit after the events of Ezra and Nehemiah,

same cultural milieu. Nothing has really changed.

And really in some ways it's like you're they're kind of

hunkering down, waiting on the Messiah and and struggling to

really be faithful. They are, to some degree,

they're not giving up, but you know you, they're not

worshipping on the high places. They're not doing those.

It's like they've learned their lesson from that, but it's but

it's not what they were hoping for and what they were

expecting. And you see that in the themes

that come throughout the book. Jim, tell us a little bit about

some of the themes and how they relate to Malachi's purpose.

You know it's it's written and Bill mentioned this when we were

talking about it, that it's written as a conversation

between God and and his people. So God will will make a

statement or raise a question and then he'll say, but you say

this and it's it's you almost get this sense like you're

dealing with a household conflict or you know fight with

your spouse or or or one of your children.

I mean it's all you. You read it and you kind of come

away going and they seem so immature and they don't really

think of this as a relationship. You know it.

It's like being in a fight with your spouse and you're in a

disagreement. And your spouse rolls their eyes

and you say, why do you despise me?

And your spouse says, how do I despise you?

You're like, well, every time I make a statement, you roll your

eyes at me. You obviously are despising me.

Oh, you know, you tell your child, hey, I need you to go

clean your room and put everything away and you walk in

and everything's off the floor. And they shoved it all under the

bed. And you're like, no, I needed.

I told you to put everything away.

They're like I did clean my room, but you said.

Clean my room. And so I did.

Yeah, and and God's just try. I mean, you can just see God's

God's trying here and they just, they're being silly.

You know, if you like the first the the beginning of this

conversation. So if you just just read a

little bit of the text, this is the message that the Lord gave

to Israel through the prophet Malachi.

I have always loved you, says Yahweh.

But you retort, really, how have you always loved us?

And that just sets the tone for the whole thing.

And it it really is, it's just it's like a petulant kind of

petty, yes, you know, self justification and entitlement.

It is. So it's it's amazing that it's

in the Bible. It's 'cause it's so honest.

It's. And he chases a handful of

things down, you know, it's not going to be a long series, but

he's really, when when I look at it, I think there's around about

5 main things that he goes after that Malachi goes after.

One is corrupt leadership. You know, he's got an issue with

how the priests are are running things and it's interesting how

he uses the word messenger in the book.

I mean his name could could mean my messenger.

He says the priests are supposed to be messengers for the Lord,

but they're doing a bad job. And then we get to Chapter 3 and

he says, so I'm going to send my messenger, which we we're we're

pretty confident as a reference to John the Baptist who's going

to prepare the way. And he says, then the messenger

of the covenant is going to come to his temple.

Suddenly the one that you're desiring, he's gonna show up and

is not gonna be fun, 'cause he's gonna cleanse, he's gonna

purify. It's gonna, it's not gonna be as

joyful as you might be expecting.

Yeah. And just reminding folks, this

is the last book of the Old Testament before that messenger

John the Baptist comes on the scene.

And so that's that's some really nice parallelism there.

Yeah, he's concerned about corrupt leadership.

As Bill mentioned, their worship has become cold routine.

They're offering poor sacrifices.

They they just become religious and they're doing the minimum.

It's it's lip service. Yeah, I wrote down minimum

requirements versus true devotion to God.

And that's right. I think that's something that

resonates, resonates with everybody, yeah.

He's he's concerned about divorce.

You know you're you're trading in your wife that you're

supposed to be faithful to for the younger newer model and she

is not godly and it's introducing further corruption.

He he's concerned about some social justice issues around

paying workers their wages and you know handful of other of

other things and this neglected giving, you know they're not

bringing the ties, the ties like they should.

There's no sacrificial spirit left, so he's he's gonna take

all those down in a in a pretty direct way.

Awesome. OK, so.

But it's not about, let's say this, I don't the the tone of

the book is not about that. You just need to go do these

things right? Right, You know.

It reveals the heart. It reveals your lack of

devotion. You're not really thinking of

this like God thinks of this. Is that you're just you don't

bear my image, you don't really trust me, you don't really love

me, and it's plaintive. More than anything, it seems to

me, it's God is appealing to them.

Because that seems to be part of the problem is they're just

going through the motions. They're they're trying to obey

at the minimum level without having a real heart connection.

And so then the opposite of that is not to obey at the maximum

level without having a heart connection.

Right. The the understanding is, what's

the character of God? What's he done for you?

How should I relate to him? And then therefore, this is how

I love and serve him. Yeah.

So, Jim, as we think about entering this teaching series on

Malachi, how should our members best engage the book?

Well, you know, it's it's relevant for us because we we

have all the same issues and we we have the same questions.

I mean, have you ever been at a place in your life that you

wondered if God really cared about you?

You? Have you ever asked that

question, either aloud or just in your mind?

God, do you really love me? I mean that that's that's one of

the things that they're struggling with, because they

had this perception of what they thought God was doing and how

they thought things would go. They probably had a lack of

awareness around the depth of their sin and the consequences

that they're experiencing because of a long history of sin

and rebellion and arrogance. And so when their expectations

don't get met, then it they immediately question God's love.

I mean, that's a very familiar feeling to most of us.

You know, there this idea of lip service and doing the minimum

requirement. I mean, you ever been at a place

in your life where you feel like, well, I'm giving and I'm

serving and I'm attending church and I'm doing all this but you,

there's just a a lack of zeal. There's a lack of passion.

Spiritually you feel distant from God.

And I mean, have you ever thought to yourself, well, I'm

doing all these things, why don't I feel?

Yeah, why's my And why's my life not working out the way I

thought? Right.

You know, have you ever had things happen in your life that

just make you question is, is God good?

Is he sovereign? Does he see, Does he care?

I mean, all of those ideas and those feelings are feelings that

we struggle with. We're not any different from

them in that sense. And and the hope that you see in

this book is God does care. He does raise those questions

because he wants to get to the the heart of the matter, right?

Yeah. And it seems like being able to

withhold judgment on the folks that are the subject matter of

the book, Withhold judgment on Malachi, Withhold judgment on

God, and just just sit in the tension if we're real quick to

try to take the tension out of things.

Right. Bill, I know you.

I I think we do. You you like talking?

About that, I mean just to be able to to put.

That's why I think the historical context is so helpful

for me is these are real people who are trying to do the same

thing that we're trying to do with less than we have, and how

easy it is for us to judge one another from a distance.

And that's why history is important for me, because it's a

form of fellowship. I'm trying to humble myself and

understand someone else's context.

And so if I can do that and then find a way to put myself in

this, then there's a hope for me to learn from these stories that

have come to us, and for me to see that this is.

I mean, we have a better image of all of this.

Yeah. I started to say don't say

better, but the writer to Hebrews says better.

We got a better image of all of this and Jesus.

And we we get to look back on all of that and see how

plaintive, just how's God appealing to us.

And I'm thinking about Jesus coming into Jerusalem and just

being heartbroken over all of that and how he longs to redeem

and what he wants to be. And he's like, but you won't

come to me. You know, even as you're

acclaiming me, you don't really fully understand what you're

saying, just how alone and just seeing God in that way, how

patient he is with us and seeing the fulfillment of that.

Oh, there has. To be a purifying first.

Yeah in the relationship and and Malachi's going to talk about

all of that. But if you're unwilling to be

exposed and you're unwilling to be purified, then you how can

you have a relationship and that and that's one of one of the

images that Malachi is going to use of Jesus coming is he's

going to be like like soap that's going to bleach out

clothes. You know, he's going to be like

a blazing fire that that purifies metal and burns away

the dross and and that's that's that's how it has to happen.

Because we're unholy people and we're dealing with a holy God.

And the amazing thing is, is God's willing to make us holy if

we are willing so that we can have a pure relationship and

have joy and have all the blessings that he does want to

grant us. Right.

But. But that's part of why the

conversation happens. The way that it does in the book

is because God's exposing them. And he's saying, like, look,

you're you're saying these things, but that's not true.

Let's talk about what the truth is and how do we move from this

place of entitlement and you know, to a place where we can

have a real authentic relationship and receive

blessings and and be one be united.

Good, good stuff. Sounds like it's going to be a

very interesting different book for a lot of folks.

Maybe first exposure. We really want to encourage

people to take advantage of the reading plan.

There'll be a link in the show notes.

Jim, you put those verses together for Us Weekly.

I know you put a lot of thought time prayer into that.

So we ask people to engage with that, read the book.

I think Bill, you've mentioned this from the stage.

Just read it through and then read it again.

You can read through the whole book and it's.

Just a few minutes and and one of the beautiful thing about

these small prophetic books of the Old Testament is you have

these images that become like a thorn that that that sticks in

your brain and and that once that image is lodged, that's

what good preaching does to you. Get that in your head and it

won't go away. And so that what you're reading

is good preaching. You're this is a sermon that was

spirit LED and inspired and it has endured for 2500 years now

and people have found it relevant and like if if I could

I want to give one image that has stuck with me.

It's been one of the defining images of my life is at the

beginning of Chapter 4, Malachi speaks about the great and

terrible day of the Lord. And I I mean, I probably think

about this every day and he says I'll just read it.

He says the Lord of Heaven's army says the day of judgment is

coming, burning like a furnace. On that day, the arrogant and

the wicked will be burned up like straw.

They'll be consumed, roots and branches and all.

And so the idea is if you oppose God, so it gets go back to James

and how this is like James because God's opposed to the

proud, but he gives grace to the humble.

And so he's saying there's not going to be a remnant of

arrogance left behind. So if you think about what would

it be like to live in a world where when the that there's no

remnant of arrogance at all. Nothing hidden, nothing,

underground root branch, everything.

It's all gone. All the fruits gone.

There's no more arrogance. It's completely gone.

And he says that's that's what happens to arrogance.

But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness will

rise with healing in his wings. So he's talking about one event

that has the opposite effect depending on the posture that

you have. Now that's a powerful image.

And this is not a Israel plug, but it's our, you know what I

was in Israel and I and I got to watch the sun come up over Moab

and and when the disk first begins to break over the hills

of Moab and you're looking east, you see the wings of the dawn.

So it's it's like the sun has, it's like a flattened out disk

with these wings that run and that's the image that it's

talking about there. And so I for me, I think about

that is that the posture that I take and it's it's been life

changing for me. I mean, I'm so thankful for

Malachi and just that one image that there is going to be a day

that depending on my posture, is going to either consume me or

it's going to be the sun of righteousness rising with

healing is going to solve all my problems.

And I don't have to be right about everything.

I just have to be humble and receive and greet that day and

long for that day. Now that's the kind of thing

that I would argue like that can change your life.

You can get a lot. I have gotten a lot out of that

in terms of how I think about greeting the day and that one

day that this day is just one more day closer to that day and

that day is coming with certainty.

And how do I receive that? And then imagine living in a

world where all of the fruit of of wickedness and arrogance is

gone. I mean, it brings real hope to

you. And so I think that's the kind

of thing. But if you read that over and

over again, those images that you talked about, you know,

scrubbing, Jesus being like soap, that scrubs, just that

idea. There's so much hope that's in

that and and there's trembling as well, right?

You know, but we need both of those things, right?

And that's an antidote for who we are as the people.

It's good. It's a good word, Jim.

Any other thoughts as we close? No, I'm excited and grateful.

Fantastic. Well, behalf of our church, I

really appreciate the work teaching team does time, energy,

prayer, conversations around the table to keep us biblically

oriented. It's essential to who we are as

a church, growing our own devotion to God, our own

devotion to others. And so let's engage church,

let's engage this book well, and we'll see you again on the next

episode.