1. Lesson One of the Book of Daniel, Introduction to the Book of Daniel

The Book of Malachi, Lesson XIX, Malachi 4:4-6

 

Malachi 4:4-6, Remember ye the law of Moses my servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel, with the statutes and judgments. Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord: And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.

 

This triplet of verses ends this powerful message given to Malachi from the mouth of God. 

 

It begins with the command to remember and ends with the warning of a curse. 

 

God through Malachi tells Israel to remember the Law of Moses thus inferring that Israel had forgotten. 

 

They were to remember the word of God for they had strayed and the results of that straying is shown in the last verse.

 

For in that verse God turns their mind to the family unit bringing in the prophet Elijah who will turn the hearts of fathers and children to one another.   

 

So many today push God’s word aside as a book of the past for a generation of the past and certainly not applicable to such an enlightened people as we.

 

But right here in Malachi we read a book for today for this is indeed a day where in so many cases the heart of the father is not turned to the children nor the children to the father. 

 

We are living in a day of broken families, many families which were not even begun, as fathers in name only departed from any responsibility to their children nor to the one who bare them.

 

Look at any statistics and you will find God’s word so applicable to our day for such great numbers of babies are born out of wedlock. 

 

And many of these poor children will never even know who their father is for their mother may not even know herself having lived a decadent and immoral life.

 

And such great numbers of babies never know any family as their lives were terminated in the womb of the woman who chose not motherhood.

 

How extremely wicked is our day with regard to families and this is showing more and more in our country as we see the results of intense and wanton disobedience to God’s word.

 

Now after the book of Malachi in the Old Testament there are not more books to study, no more words from God and that lapse will span a period of 400 silent years. 

 

So these words of God in chapter 4 verses 4-6 are God’s last words to Israel until the words of John the Baptist and our Lord Jesus Christ are spoken.

 

And what does God choose to leave to Israel but words concerning the importance of family. 

 

Israel, your families are in disarray, families not unified in their worship and dedication and love to me. 

 

So God’s last words concern the need to have reconciled families, families built upon the firm foundation of the word of God. 

 

The message is have right families or face the curse of God.

 

God here returns to the basics for the family is the institution upon which all else is built. 

 

If the family is not strong the entire edifice will crumble. 

 

Our former First Lady Barbara Bush, included the following regarding this truth in her commencement speech at Wellesley College in 1990.

 

Cherish your human connections: your relationships with family and friends. For several years, you've had impressed upon you the importance to your career of dedication and hard work, and, of course, that's true. But as important as your obligations as a doctor, lawyer or business leader will be, you are a human being first and those human connections -- with spouses, with children, with friends -- are the most important investments you will ever make. At the end of your life, you will never regret not having passed one more test, not winning one more verdict or not closing one more deal. You will regret time not spent with a husband, a child, a friend, or a parent.

 

Now as far as I know she did not say the way to do this is to obey God’s word but Barbara Bush was from a generation in which this was generally known. 

 

But those who heard this message were career minded, money minded, power minded and in most cases I believe not God’s word minded.

 

And that is the key which Israel failed in also for we see in our passage a progression, first separation from God by the neglect of his word which brought family estrangement, which brought the deterioration of Israel, which will bring judgment.

 

The first step in establishing families then is to obey God’s word and all things will fall into place.

 

Isn’t this what it means when the words of verse 4 are said?

 

Remember ye the law of Moses my servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel, with the statutes and judgments.

 

Does not the law begin with loving God and loving your neighbor and are not those of family to be also loved as neighbors are loved.

 

The lack of love toward God results in the lack of love toward our family and our neighbor.

 

The lack of love toward God results in disobedience to His word and thereby results in a blind walk of life and what do the blind do but fall in the ditch.  

 

God keeps it simple.

 

God’s word is Light, always keeping one from falling and keeping one on the straight and narrow. 

 

Loving God is loving His word for his word is a great delight fully equipping us to live a fruitful and godly life, pleasing to our Creator.

 

We are made in the image of God but that image has been distorted by sin. 

 

It has been corrupted by sin and we do not fit that image because of sin and all human relationships are affected.

 

Sin is a departure from the image of God.

 

And departing from the image of God brings family division for departing from that image is departing from obedience to God’s Word.

 

Sin entered the Garden of Eden due to disobedience to God’s word and immediately family discord began for Adam in:

 

Genesis 3:12 when questioned by God pointed to Eve and said………The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.

 

Adam who never before had sinned against his wife pointed his finger at his mate and blamed her for his sin. 

 

She made me do it, it is not my fault.

 

Adam was guilty and tried to look for others to blame which leads to anger and separation for sin brings such a thing as pride which always put one far from the image of God.

 

Instead of seeing himself as a sinner Adam looked to another as the cause of sin.

 

Wars of nations come because of pride and those wars begin from wars of families. 

 

God comes to our aid through Malachi by telling us to remember. 

 

Go back to the basics.

 

Remember the Law of Moses, my servant.

 

Look in God’s book for God tells us to remember so often for he knows our weakness, our weakness caused by sin which causes us to forget His word and invent our own ways.

 

To remember means before this there was knowledge of God’s word. 

 

But now because of neglect, drifting is taking place. 

 

We are so careful to fill our bodies with the bountiful food God provides daily but likewise we are to fill our minds and hearts with the bountiful food of God’s word.

 

As the food of the earth is taken daily so also must the food of God’s Spirit be consumed daily for if we forget God’s Word we will not obey it.

 

We have seen in previous passages of Malachi when God confronted Israel about their departure from the law how they reacted.

 

For in disobeying God’s word for such a long time they did not even know of how they had departed.

 

And so it is true in our generation. 

 

Families are in disarray but have no basis for knowing why for they know not God’s word and disobey God’s word without even knowing what it is. 

 

Always thinking that some outside force is causing the troubles within the family, always blaming others, blaming God, but never thinking that No doubt the trouble is with you!

 

It does not take a high intelligence to know why families fail, it just takes a good knowledge of God’s word for obedience to God’s word will always bring about God loving families.

 

There are times when I have a project and I try and try to solve a difficult part of that project but invariably fail, but then I go on You Tube and watch someone accomplish in minutes what I had failed doing for hours.

 

Wisdom is living life by God’s word which never fails instead of only learning and sometimes never learning by the hard road of experience.

 

So many establish families without knowledge for so many go into marriage from homes where knowledge was also absent. 

 

And so many families fail for they only learn from experience and not God’s word. 

 

In most cases you only have one family, one try to make things right but praise God He has given us knowledge to bring about the right results in our families.

 

As I said previously the law begins with the basics of how we are to be related to God and to each other.

 

It is on the basis of love.

 

Sin entered and distorted this picture but God is not defeated by sin but instead defeats sin by placing it upon His Son who shed his blood that we may indeed be equipped and know how to love God and our neighbor and our families. 

 

God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth on Him shall not perish but have everlasting life and to that I add that whosoever believeth on him will have the power and authority to have God loving and obedient families. 

 

God’s word is alive in that it tells us how to live and to maintain a close daily walk with God by knowing God, and knowing God is by listening to God speak to you through His word.

 

One of the things that God teaches us about His word is to learn of him by observation of natural things. 

 

For natural things reveal a God of constancy, a God without confusion. 

 

The sun comes up, the sun sets, the stars shine, the moon circles the earth and all these things can always be depended upon.

 

And Oh how we love the dependency for our lives are geared to God’s constancy.

 

God is never fickle, never erratic, and never unpredictable. 

 

When I was a little boy I was taught to never put my hand in a fire.

 

I of course tested that never and always felt the heat quickly. 

 

Today, many, many years later I will still not put my hand in the fire for the result of burning still takes place. 

 

God has put in place natural laws that are never amended for man has no power to amend.

 

Congress can forever pass laws amending the law of gravity but you can count on it if a congressman trips coming down the stairs his body will certainly obey the law of gravity. 

 

God’s natural laws if disobeyed always have built in consequences.

 

You break the law of gravity and the law of gravity breaks you.

 

There is no judge, no jury, no panel of peers to determine your guilt for your punishment comes without human decision for consequences are built in.

 

Our Supreme Court states that women have abortion rights.

 

Did the Supreme Court speak any about consequences of this decision?

 

Our nation has defined marriage apart from God’s word.
 

Was anything said about the consequences of such action?

 

No in both cases and in many other social decisions were consequences discussed. 

 

God has built into his natural laws consequences that never fail and so to in his written law as given to us in His word consequences are built in when obedience is discarded.

 

If you plant rye grass seed you will reap rye grass.

 

If you plant corn seed you will reap corn.

 

If you sow to the flesh you will reap flesh for whatsoever a man soweth that shall he also reap.

 

God’s natural law explains it all.

 

A man does not need to be able to read for all he needs to know about sowing and reaping is given for him to observe from God’s creation.

 

God commands us to remember but remembrance infers knowledge to begin with. 

 

Think about what is taking place in our Christian School. 

 

Bible instruction and Bible chapel, and Bible memorization so that our young ones will have something to remember. 

 

What a gift that is to them for without this instruction and the instruction they may be receiving at home and in their church there would be nothing to remember. 

 

And when all is said and done they will have that to remember when God gives them a family of their own.

 

Remember ye the law of Moses my servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel, with the statutes and judgments.