Malachi 3 speaks of a Covenant Keeping God


Our covenant keeping God will cleanse, restore, and bless.

This 5-day devotional study looks into our covenant keeping God, the Faithful and Loving One who will forgive, cleanse, restore, and bless His people.

Day 1
Devotional Reading: Malachi 3:1-5
Marked: vs.1, 3-4
Impressions:
  • The passage starts with a clear reference to the deity of Christ. God is obviously speaking here and He says His messenger (John the baptist) will prepare the way for Him, proving again from the OT that Christ is God. And Christ, referred to as the Lord, will be coming to His temple. Only God can have a temple in Israel. This again points to the deity of Christ.
  • The Lord is coming to cleanse the priests, and eventually the nation of Israel as well. As the priests are cleansed, offerings in righteousness that will please the Lord will again be restored. All these cleansing and the judgments on activities forbidden by law and sins that were pervading in Israel is God’s answer to their obliviousness to sin and their calls for justice. All these will happen when the Lord comes back again to establish His kingdom. 
Principles
  • When the Lord returns, He will establish His kingdom in a whole new different world. He will carry out justice and cleanse the world of everything there is that is evil and wrong, and establish worship that is pure and sincere. It all boils down to God’s ultimate goal for us - His worship.

Day 2
Devotional Reading: Malachi 3:6
Marked: vs.6
Impressions:
  • God never changes, that’s why Israel will continue to exist and realize the fulfillment of God’s covenant promises. Israel may have gone thru hardships in the process, in consequence to their sins, but God continually loved them, always watching over them, caring for them, delivering them, providing for them. Because, He never changes.
Principles:
  • A promise is only as good as the person who makes it. People make commitments, either by impulse or not. And time and again they fail, make mistakes, or renege on their promises. But not God. No matter what we go through in the process, and no matter how many times we fail Him, He never changes. He is always a loving Father, ever faithfully looking out for our best. 

Day 3
Devotional Reading: Malachi 3:7-12
Marked: vs.7, 10, 12
Impressions:
  • Israel has been unfaithful to God many times, but God continues to reach out to them to return to Him again, with the promise that He will bless them again with His presence and provisions. 
  • As Israel asks God in what way they have failed Him, the first example He gives is about their failure to give back what is due Him.
Principles:
  • Like Israel, no matter how many times we fail, God’s love for us is always there. He continuously seeks to bring us back (vs.7) into His fellowship, His care, and His blessings.
  • When we do not give back to God what is due Him, we are basically robbing Him.
  • We may feel it difficult to give when we think of our financial needs. But God promises provisions and abundant blessings (vs.11) to those who faithfully provide for His ministry. This is our testimony to the world of God’s goodness (vs.12).

Day 4

Devotional Reading: Malachi 3:13-15
Marked: vs.14-15
Impressions:
  • The age-old question against God’s fairness and the desire for rewards for ministry endeavors is emphasized here again. How does service to God benefit them? Why does God allow the wicked to prosper and get away with their sins? 
Principles:
  • Our labors for the Lord will never be in vain (1 Corinthians 15:58). Most of the time we don’t get to really appreciate how God rewards our efforts because of our wrong expectations as to how God should be blessing us.
  • If we don’t get rewarded now, we can be sure that rewards await us in the future.
  • God is always fair and He will deal with us accordingly. If not now, it will surely come at God’s appointed time.

Day 5
Devotional Reading: Malachi 3:16-18
Marked: vs.16-18
Impressions:
  • Apparently, some of Malachi’s audience heeded the call to repentance, and even recorded their commitment on a scroll.
  • In response, God will acknowledge them as His, protect them, and honor them.
Lessons Learned:
  • v.16 gives 3 practical steps:
 1. Commit to faithfully following God. (In response to. In repentance. Out of love.)
 2. Connect with people who desire to follow God. (For encouragement & accountability.)
 3. Chronicle your decision. (As a covenant reminder & further accountability.)
  • God acknowledges those who repent, blesses their commitment, and honors their service.

How about a devotional study on Malachi 1?


photo credit to: qimono

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