Israel did evil before God; God went silent for 400 years

 Good morning all.  God is good all the time, all the time God is good.  TOO BLESSED TO BE STRESSED!!!

  MALACHI - the last book and prophet of the old testament.  God is speaking to Malachi and God does most of the talking.  It starts out in Chapter 1 of God saying He loved Jacob yet hated Esau. Then we get to verse 6 and God talks about a son honors his father, a slave his master, but where, O Israel is their honor to God? He talks about defiling the food for His (God's) altar.  Giving blemished or lame animals instead of the perfect animal.

   Chapter 2 God admonishes the priests. God says He will send a curse on them because their hearts are set to not honor God.  Also, because of them God will rebuke their descendants.

    God speaks to the unfaithfulness of Judah and that there will be a day of judgment.

   Chapter 3 God will come to offer judgment and testify against sorcerers, adulterers, and perjurers, those who defraud laborers of their wages, ones who oppress the widows and the fatherless, and deprive aliens of justice, yet they do not fear God.

  God says He does not change, and because of this (covenant) the descendants of Jacob are not destroyed.  God says:" Chapter 3: verse 7 "

Ever since the time of your forefathers you have turned away from my decrees and have not kept them.  Return to me and I will return to you".  Verse 18 God says: "And you will again see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not."

  Chapter 4 gives us the Day of the LORD.  Tells of Christ's return, you can read it below:

Malachi 4 “Surely the day is coming; it will burn like a furnace. All the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble, and the day that is coming will set them on fire,” says the Lord Almighty. “Not a root or a branch will be left to them. 2 But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its rays. And you will go out and frolic like well-fed calves. 3 Then you will trample on the wicked; they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day when I act,” says the Lord Almighty.

4 “Remember the law of my servant Moses, the decrees and laws I gave him at Horeb for all Israel.

5 “See, I will send the prophet Elijah to you before that great and dreadful day of the Lord comes. 6 He will turn the hearts of the parents to their children, and the hearts of the children to their parents; or else I will come and strike the land with total destruction.”

  After this there was a 400 year gap of God being silent until John the Baptist and Jesus was coming about.  If you have a chance to read all of Malachi, a very short book, you will see the anger come forth from God because of the unfaithful and  lack of gratitude of the people.

Thank you for reading with me today. Love y'all.

In Christ's Love and Grace

Johnny