“Your words have been hard against me, says the LORD. But you say, ‘How have we spoken against you?’ You have said, ‘It is vain to serve God. What is the profit of our keeping his charge or of walking as in mourning before the LORD of hosts? And now we call the arrogant blessed. Evildoers not only prosper but they put God to the test and they escape.’”

 Malachi 3:13-15

“Your words have been hard against me, says the LORD. But you say, ‘How have we spoken against you?’ You have said, ‘It is vain to serve God. What is the profit of our keeping his charge or of walking as in mourning before the LORD of hosts? And now we call the arrogant blessed. Evildoers not only prosper but they put God to the test and they escape.’” Malachi 3:13-15

I return to my study of the last four books of the Old Testament, having already covered Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and most of Malachi.  My study leans on the Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary series volume which covers these books. This morning I start a focus on a commentary-assisted review of Malachi 3:13-18. The commentary for this text provides two divisions as well as a main idea, an introduction and conclusion - today I focus on the main idea, introduction and the first division.

Excerpts from the commentary's main introduction and for the text's first division:

• Main Idea: "God’s commitment to His covenant demands a response from His people, and those who fear God are set apart as His treasured possession."
  
• Introduction - The Fear of God: Believers are reminded that God's promises always come true and these promises equip us to weather all trials and suffering.  We are also reminded that we belong to God, are sealed by Him with our salvation and this is the core promise to which we should remain anchored. We are referred to Luke 24:36 where after his death and resurrection Jesus appears to His disciples sharing "peace to you" encouraging the disciples (and us) to be free from fear and anxiety. We are commanded to live in reverent fear of God - this should be out of respect of who He is and how He reigns over all - we should certainly be obedient to Him.  This reverent fear should not however, drive us to be afraid of God Himself as He encourages us to approach Him confidently (Hebrews 4:16), knowing He wants us to be in relationship with Him.  
  
• The Wicked Respond in a Spirit of Legalism, Expecting Reward for Obedience (3:13-15): God sees a heart problem with His people and the commentary describes how God sees those who are following Him, and those who have wandered from Him.  V13 shares how those who have wandered see obedience as "vain" or useless.  However, God sees through this because their obedience was not a result of reverent fear of God but instead out of a feeling of obligation, and expecting something in return.  We should all remind ourselves that we deserve death for our sin (Romans 3:23, 6:23).  God wants us to treasure and love Him above all and it is out of this love where we week to please Him through our obedience.  Our heart condition and our motives are most important.  See Romans 12:1 where God does not want us to go through the motions, but He wants all of our lives to reflect a love and worship of Him. The commentary then defines both license and legalism - both of which reflect an inaccurate understanding of what God seeks from us. "License is the idea that, since we’ve been saved by grace through Christ, we are free in the Spirit to do as we please and indulge whatever we want, even if it opens the door for sin. These individuals see the promise of God’s forgiveness as justification to do whatever they want. The law seems useless....On the opposite swing of the pendulum from license is legalism—putting fences around the law to protect yourself from breaking it."  The commentary points us to scripture that warns us about both license and legalism: see Matthew 23:23-24, 5:17 then shares that "[t]he people of Israel in Malachi’s day did not understand this, and therefore they saw the law as burdensome."  We are encouraged to know God as deeply as we can (through spiritual disciplines) and as we deepen our knowledge of God we grow in relationship with Him and seek more and more to become more like Him, submitting our lives to Him.  This of course prevents us from wandering.   
  

Comment and discuss this post. 

My Prayer: Father God, what an incredible God You are that You free us from the law, give us Your Son Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, and Your Word so that we can know You, love You, and please You.  Thank You Jesus!  I am not deserving of such blessings....my sin is great and it continues...daily.  Please forgive me and help me turn from such sin and turn towards You.  Help me love You with all of my heart, soul, and mind and love others as You love me.  Help me grow in my faith.  Give Lisa and myself wisdom and strength.  Please continue to heal Lisa of her cancer and from the side effects of chemo.  Help us lead Zach and Dustin to You Jesus and for them to choose You as their Lord and Savior.  Please provide Godly friends and spouses to Zach and Dustin.  Help me serve You, my family, my church, and others.  Help me understand, be obedient to, and apply Your message for me today and every day.