Daily Bible Reading Tuesday 7th January 2020
by William Moody
Malachi 3:13–18
13 “Your words have been hard against me, says the LORD. But you say, ‘How have we spoken against you?’ 14 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? 15 And now we call the arrogant blessed. Evildoers not only prosper but they put God to the test and they escape.’”
The Book of Remembrance
16 Then those who feared the LORD spoke with one another. The LORD paid attention and heard them, and a book of remembrance was written before him of those who feared the LORD and esteemed his name. 17 “They shall be mine, says the LORD of hosts, in the day when I make up my treasured possession, and I will spare them as a man spares his son who serves him. 18 Then once more you shall see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve him.
(ESV)
The people question the value of serving the Lord (v13-15). The people are troubled with the prosperity of the wicked (v15; Psalm 73). The people feel very discouraged and disillusioned. Such feelings often arise among God’s people, life in this world is tough.
The Lord takes this complaint very personally (v13). Their complaint questions the goodness and faithfulness of God. We need to be honest before God but we also need to be careful that our complaining is not questioning the goodness of God.
We see here the Lord takes special note and remembers the faithful (v16). Faithfulness here is seen in fearing God and highly esteeming His Name.
The Lord promises that the faithful will be His treasured possession (v17). The Lord also promises to make a distinction between the righteous and the wicked (v18). Here we see there is real benefit in serving the Lord and great encouragement to persevere in difficult days.
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