Saturday, November 26, 2016

An Unclean Nation (Mal. 3:2b-4)


SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 11/26/2016 10:04 PM

My Worship Time                                                                                 Focus:  An Unclean Nation

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Malachi 3:2b-4

            Message of the verses:  “And who can stand when He appears? For He is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap. 3 “He will sit as a smelter and purifier of silver, and He will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, so that they may present to the LORD offerings in righteousness. 4 “Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the LORD as in the days of old and as in former years.”

            Once again I remind you that we are looking at a prophecy that will be fulfilled at the second coming of Jesus Christ to planet earth, and things that will happen after He returns into the Millennial Kingdom.  We see that Malachi is asking the question in the last half of the second verse who will be able to stand when the Messiah (the Lord Jesus Christ) returns.  He then goes on to tell us why no one will be able to stand as he describes what He will do when He returns.  Jesus Christ will purify the Jewish nation when He returns so that they will be fit to serve in the Millennial Kingdom.  He will bring a swift judgment on those who are not believers as according to Matthew 25 “Mt 25:32 “All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; 33  and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left.”

            Dr. Wiersbe writes “In the Law of Moses, God provided three ways for people and things to be cleansed and made acceptable to God:  water, fire, and blood.  There is no mention here of blood because Jesus Christ died for sinners at His first coming.  But he would wash the unclean nation like a launderer washes dirty clothes.  He would purify the tribe of Levi the way a jeweler purifies precious metal in his furnace.  ‘In that day there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness’ (Zech. 13:1).”

            Now once all of the nation is cleansed and also the priests are purified then they will be an acceptable sacrifice to the Lord as seen in verse four as it says they will be pleasing to the Lord like they were in the former days.  This is contrary to what the priests were doing in Malachi’s day as we have seen in earlier SD’s.  In those days when the Lord cleanses His priests they will be like what Paul writes to the Romans in 12:1b “to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.”

11/26/2016 10:19 PM

           

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