Sunday School Lesson on Justice

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Sunday School Lesson on Justice

Introduction

A. "Now Go Do the Right Thing"

Laura Schlesinger's radio program has becomeone of the most well known and most listened toin the highly competitive world of talk radio. Herno-nonsense approach, characterized by a strongemphasis on Judeo-Christian values, has gainedher a significant following. At the end of eachhour of her broadcast, "Dr. Laura" concludeswith this brief but compelling advice: "Now godo the right thing."

Such counsel seems simple. Yet there is noquestion that if listeners really took it to heart

and applied it to their circumstances, they wouldavoid numerous heartaches and tensions. Per-haps Dr. Laura would find herself with far fewercallers to deal with!

Today's lesson comes from Malachi, the lastbook in the Old Testament. Malachi, the last OldTestament prophet chronologically, is the finalmessenger of God to address God's people beforethe gap of 400 years until the New Testament erabegins. As we will see today, the book of Malachicloses the Old Testament with an appeal fromGod that is appropriate for His people to hear,whether in an Old Testament or a New Testa-ment setting. It may be summarized as, "Now godo the right thing."

B. Lesson Background

Malachi's circumstances were somewhat dif-ferent from those of the other prophets we havestudied this quarter. Yet the basic thrust of whatall these men of God had to say is the same:being part of God's covenant people means muchmore than basking in a special status. God ex-pects a certain lifestyle of those who lay claim tothat status. One of the primary tasks of God'sprophets throughout the Old Testament was tocall His people to account when they failed tocarry out their sacred responsibility.

Not much is known about Malachi himself.One bit of information is his name. In Hebrew itmeans "my messenger"—a theme that will be-come crucial in today's text. We must examineinformation within the book itself to learn thetime in the history of God's people when Mala-chi likely prophesied.

Such an investigation points to the time of Ne-hemiah as perhaps the best fit for Malachi's min-istry. This is because many of the sinshighlighted in the book of Malachi are the samesins that Nehemiah had to confront. These in-cluded indifference toward the kind of sacrificesrequired by the Lord (Nehemiah 10:37-39;

1:6-14), disregard for the Lord's teaching con-cernhirmar-riage_f_ISehemiah 13:23-27; Malachi

2:14-16), and the bringin tithes and offerings

to support the Lord's work ( emiah 10:37-39;

13:10-13; Malachi 3:8-10). Fu hermore, themention of a governor in Malach ,1:8 fits wellwith Nehemiah's time, since he wes recognizedby that title (Nehemiah 5:14).

Nehemiah had traveled to Jerusalem in thetwentieth year of Artaxerxes, king of/Persia (445ac). He went there primarily to speaihead effortsto rebuild the wall of the city (Neheitiah 2:1-11).This was approximately 100 years after the Jewshad first returned from captivity in Babylon, and about 70 years after the second temple had beencompleted through the encouragement of theprophets Haggai and Zechariah. Today's Scrip-ture from Malachi focuses on his challenges toGod's people in his own day. But it also high-lights a portion of his glimpse into the future andof what God planned to accomplish through amessenger far greater than Malachi—the LordJesus Christ.

I. People's Complaint(Malachi 2:17)

A. Malachi Alleges (v. 17a)

17a. Ye have wearied the Loon with yourwords.

Much of Malachi is written as if the Lord isengaging His people in a dialogue. Malachi pic-tures the Lord as making a statement, then hepictures the people as challenging the statement.The Lord then responds to the challenge. In sodoing He calls attention to an area of His peo-ple's relationship with Hint that they have ne-glected. Examples of these dialogues are found inMalachi 1:2, 6, 7; 2:13, 14; 3:7, 8, 13-15, as wellas in the verses before us.

Here Malachi claims ye have wearied the Lordwith your words. One may ask how this can be\ true in light of Isaiah 40:28, which declares,`Hast thou not known? bast thou not heard,,hat the everlasting God, the Lord, . . . faintethnot, neither is weary? there is no searching ofl(is understanding."

But there is no contradiction. The Lord doesnlot grow weary in the sense of losing His power,strength, or majesty; He can become weary(gleaning frustrated and disappointed) with thebehavior of His people and their refusal to heedis call to change.

B. People Ask (v. 17b)

171). Yet ye say, Wherein have we wearied him?

One can understand why the people wouldwant to know how they have wearied the Lord.Have they spoken blasphemous, angry, or lyingwords? Have they been practicing what Jesuswould later call "vain repetitions" (Matthew 6:7)?Is God concerned because their lives are not con-sistent with their words? What's the deal?

C. Malachi Answers (v. 17c)

17c. When ye say, Every one that doeth evil isgood in the sight of the LORD, and he delightethin them; or, Where is the God of judgment?Here is the answer to the people's inquiry. Thewords that have wearied the Lord are words thathave questioned His judgment (meaning "jus-tice"). It appears to the people that the Lord nolonger cares whether evil is punished or good isrewarded. Earlier, the prophet Isaiah declared,"Woe unto them that call evil good, and goodevil" (Isaiah 5:20). Has the Lord done the same?It seems on in the eyes of Malachi's audience.

Why would God's people speak so critically ofthe Lord? At this point in Old Testament history,God's people have been hack in the promisedland for nearly 100 years. They know the wordsof the prophets who had spoken of a gloriousnew day for God's people. That day is to be ush-ered in by the coming of the Branch (Isaiah 4:2-6:111-3; Jeremiah 23:5-8; 33:15, 16). They know ofGod's promise to "set up one shepherd overthem, and he shall feed them, even my servantDavid" (Ezekiel 34:23).

But where is this special person? When willHe come and do all that the prophets had saidHe would do? God's people had finished the tem-ple many decades previously. Hadn't a prophetdeclared that at that time the Lord would "fillthis house with glory" and that "the glory of thislatter house shall be greater than of the former"(Haggai 2:7, 0)? The people have done theirpart—why hasn't the Lord done His? Where isHis glory?

II. Lord's Coming(Malachi 3:1-5; 4:1)

A. Preparation (v. 1a)

la. Behold, I will send my messenger, and heshall prepare the may before me.

The Lord proceeds to answer the challenge.He has not forgotten His promises. "Where is theGod of judgment?" He is coming, but He will not come without a messenger to prepare the way be-fore Him.

Earlier we noted that the name Malachi means"my messenger." Here the Lord promises anothermessenger. Malachi 4:5 describes him as "Elijahthe prophet." The New Testament is clear thathn the Baptist is the one who fulfills Malachi'spr6p4ecy in his role as the forerunner of JesusChrist ark 1:1-4). Jesus equated John the Bap-tist's mini try with the promised coming of Elijah (Matthe 17:10-13).

E ADVANCE TEAM

My wife and I ere in Cincinnati, Ohio, in the1980s when then,president Ronald Reagan wasto visit the city for \a speech. As we drove downthe highway on wIrtich the presidential motor-cade was to pass, we noticed police officersguarding the rout. We drove downtown thatevening to see if We would get a glimpse of thepresident. The steu6ts were cleared of traffic andthere were no parked cars along the path the mo-torcade was to follow. Barricades were up.Arriving that hvening at our friends' house, wegreeted ourh74ess. She worked as a nurse at ahospital bet), en the airport and downtown. Shesaid she-would not be coming home until thepresident's plane had cleared Cincinnati airspacelater that evening.

All of these details were accomplished by anadvance team. This team took great care and pre-caution to ensure that every eventuality was cov-ered and that the president was kept safe for hisentire visit. The team wanted nothing to impedethe safe progress of the president in accomplish-ing his mission.

John the Baptist came as a kind of one-manadvance team for the Messiah. He did all hecould to prepare the way for Jesus. The churchtoday plays the role of the advance team for thesecond coming of Christ. How are you preparingyourself and the world for His return?

B.Place (v. lb)

lb. And the Lord, whom ye seek, shall sud-denly come to his temple.

As noted previously, part of the reason whyGod's people question His whereabouts and Hisjustice is the fact that the temple had been fin-ished many decades previously. Perhaps they areexpecting a display of glory similar to what oc-curred when the first temple was dedicated(1 Kings 8:10, 11). Thus far nothing at all likethat has been witnessed with the second temple.However, the glory of the Lord will, in time,fill this second temple. That is exactly whattakes place when the Lord Jesus Christ entersthere during His earthly ministry.

The word suddenly depicts how most peopleare caught off guard when He arrives because Hecomes in a manner that is unexpected. God's glorywill enter the temple but not in the dramatic wayit had filled the tabernacle (Exodus 40:34, 35) orthe first temple. Rather it will come about because"the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us,(and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the onlybegotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth"(John 1:14).

C.Program (v. 1c)

lc. Even the messenger of the covenant,whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saiththe Loan of hosts.

Malachi now declares the Lord to be anothertype of messenger—the messenger of the cove-nant. Thus one messenger (John the Baptist) willprepare the way for another messenger (Jesus),who will establish a new covenant.

Earlier, Malachi referred to two other cove-nants. One was "the covenant of Levi," involvingthe priests; in Malachi's day they have "departedout of the way" (Malachi 2:8) and neglected theirsacred duties. The other is "the covenant of ourfathers" (2:10), which probably refers to the cove-nant God had established at Sinai. That covenanthad been profaned (again, 2:10). Clearly therewas a need for a new and better covenant. That isexactly what Jesus comes to establish (Jeremiah 31:31-34; compare Hebrews 8:8-12; 10:16, 17).

It may be with a tinge of sarcasm that Malachidescribes the messenger of the covenant as onewhom ye delight in. The people of Malachi's day act as if they desire the Lord to come and vindi-cate himself. But will they be ready to welcomeHim when he does? Sadly, most in Jesus' daywere not (John 1:11).

D.Purpose (vv. 2, 3a)

2, 3a. But who may abide the day of his com-ing? and who shall stand when he appeareth?For he is like a refiner's fire, and like fullers'soap: and he shall sit as a refiner and purifier ofsilver.

The two questions in this portion of our textare to be considered rhetorical; that is. they areasked not in order to produce an answer but tochallenge people to think. Lest people becometoo complacent about the Lord's promised com-ing, they should realize that when He comes Hewill make some serious changes!

A refiner's fire is used to burn away impuritiesfrom precious metals such as silver (compare Isa-iah 48:10; Zechariah 13:9). Fullers' soap (an alka-line lye) is used to cleanse, bleach, andsometimes dye cloth. Most likely the cleansingrepresented by these processes refers to a spin-, tual cleansing.

Thus it is easy to see why the question is raisedas to who can abide or stand such treatment. Thesins from which people need to be cleansed aretoo numerous to count. This messenger of thecovenant comes to perform what in today's termswould be considered an extreme makeover—onthe inside! 'See question #4, page 4454

E.Product (vv. 3b, 4)

3b, 4. And he shall purify the sons of Levi,and purge them as gold and silver, that they

;may offer unto the Loon an offering in righ-teousness. Then shall the offering of Judah andJerusalem be pleasant unto the LORD, as in thedays of old, and as in former years.

the sons of Levi include the priests, who havealready been called to account for having "cor-rupted the covenant of Levi" (Malachi 2:8). Thepriests have also been charged with offeringblemished, unacceptable offerings to the Lord(1:6-10). All of this will change when the Lord'spurifying work has been accomplished.

These verses describe another dimension ofthe consequences of Jesus' work as the "messen-ger of the [new] covenant" (Malachi 3:1). One ofthe most significant characteristics of the newcovenant is that every Christian serves the Lordas a priest (1 Peter 2:9; Revelation 1:6). Priestsoffer sacrifices and good works. Similarly, everyChristian is called to offer the sacrifice of praiseand good works to God (Hebrews 13:15, 16).

The period described as the days of old andformer years may refer to any period in the his-tory of God's people when there was a greaterconsistency between the sacrifices they offeredand the lives they lived. This would have beentrue during the reigns of godly kings such asDavid, Hezekiah, and Josiah.

F. Punishment (3:5; 4:1)

5. And I will come near to you to judgment;and I will be a swift witness against the sorcer-ers, and against the adulterers, and against falseswearers, and against those that oppress thehireling in his wages, the widow, and the father-less, and that turn aside the stranger from hisright, and fear not me, saith the LORD of hosts.While some will choose to accept the refiner'scleansing fire, others will refuse to undergo thepurifying process. Those who refuse will one daylearn, to their ruination, that the fire of refine-ment can also become a fire of judgment.

Several of the sins mentioned in this versebring to mind some of the Ten Commandmentsas listed in Deuteronomy 5. These include theactions of adulterers (Seventh Conunandment),false swearers (Ninth Commandment), and thosethat oppress the hireling, or worker, in his wages(this amounts to stealing, a violation of theEighth Commandment).

To engage in the practices of sorcerers could vi-olate the First Commandment, which prohibitsthe worship of other gods. The neglect of thewidow, the fatherless, and the stranger is forbid-den in Exodus 22:21, 22; Deuteronomy 24:17-22.All of these sins (indeed, any sin) can be traced toone root cause: they are the consequence of fail-ing to fear the Lord. I See question # 5. stage 445.)Recall how our printed text began with Mala-chi alluding to the people's inquiry: "Where isthe God of judgment?" (Malachi 2:17). The versebefore us gives the answer: He will come, andHis judgment will be swift when He does come.Malachi's words are reminiscent of what Peterwrites concerning Jesus' return in 2 Peter 3:9, 10.

MISTAKEN IDENTIFY

I was visiting a church one Sunday for the firsttime. In talking with the minister, he learnedthat I too was a preacher. But somewhere alongthe line he got my first name (Gene) confusedwith another man he knew (Gus). Gus and I havethe sante last name, although we are not relatedand have never met.

At the close of the service, the preacher calledon me for the prayer. Before I prayed, he told thecongregation about the family of Gus and how they had meant so much to his family throughthe years back in West Virginia. Many came tome after the service just thrilled at the great storythe preacher had told about "my family."This case of mistaken identity was hard todeal with given the situation. But there is an-other case of mistaken identity that is evenworse. We see the fatherless and the widow, andwe mistake them for the lazy who shouldn't eat(2 Thessalonians 3:10). Though we may smuglyrejoice at the thought that swift judgment will bemeted out on the sorcerers and the adulterers,we fail to see that the same judgment will bemade against those who ignore innocent peoplewho are in genuine need.

4:1. For, behold, the day cometh, that shallburn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and allthat do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the daythat cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORDof hosts, that it shall leave them neither root norbranch.

This verse also emphastOes the certainty ofcoming judgment. Both the attitudes of the proudand the actions of all that do wickedly are high-lighted. Earlier prophets had used the terms rootand branch as the basis for prophecies concern-

\ ing the coming Messiah (Isaiah 4:2; 11:1; Jere-miah 23:5; 33:15). Now we see that thisjUdgment pronounced by Malachi will be socomplete as to leave neither root nor branch.Thus we have area today's text describe theimpact of both the first and second comings ofthe messenger of the covenant—Jesus. With Hisfirst coming, He initiates a ministry of cleansingand pUrifying through His sacrificial death onthe crass and His resurrection. That ministry continues through the testimony of faithfulChristians who bear witness to what Jesus can dofor others through the gospel message.

At His second coming, however, the refiningministry of Jesus will mean judgment upon thosewho have not accepted for themselves His cleans-ing power. It is similar to saying that those whodo not acknowledge Jesus as the "chief cornerstone" (1 Peter 2:6) will had Him to be "a stone ofstumbling" and "a rock of offense" (1 Peter 2:8).The kind of rock and the kind of refiner that Jesuswill be for us is up to us. Our choice!

Conclusion

A. Right Makes Might

The phrase "might makes right" is familiar.This reflects a belief that the strong or those inpositions of authority generally gain the upperhand because of their ability to exercise sheerforce. The supremacy they possess due to thesefactors gives them the power to determine whatis "right" and to enforce their will on others.The more biblical view and the theme oftoday's study) is that "right makes might." Whenan individual is committed to doing right in thesight of the Lord, he or she gains a sense of accom-plishment and purpose that not even the mighti-est "might makes right" advocate can possess.We began with a reference to Dr. Laura's oft-heard counsel, "Now go do the right thing." Con-sider how often Jesus gave essentially the samechallenge. After telling the parable of the Good Samaritan, Jesus said, "Go, and do than likewise"(Luke 10:37). He told the disciples after washingtheir feet, "I have given you an example, that yeshould do as I have done to you" Uohn 13:15).Have you learned some important lessonsfrom your studies this quarter? Sit down andmake a list of the top ten lessons you havegleaned. With each one, list an action step that you can take in order to apply that particular in-sight. And then—"Go, and do thou likewise."

B. Prayer

Father, forgive us when we fail to do right.Forgive us for those times when a Christian's in-fluence was needed—yet we remained silent andinactive. May we follow the example of Jesus,"who went about doing good" (Acts 10:38). Mayour light shine in this sinful world. In Jesus'name, amen.

C. Thought to Remember

Right makes might—not just believing it, but doing it

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