December 10, Last Words

Last words. We tend to take them seriously. Whether we are talking about death, or just about not seeing someone for a long time, we usually think carefully about the last words we are going to leave with someone.

Well, the prophet Malachi recorded some of the last words God spoke to the nation of Israel just before the commencement of 400 years of silence, in which there was a lack of recorded prophecy from God. Would you think that last message was important? Apparently, it was!

Here are the last three verses in the book of Malachi in the Bible.

Malachi 4:4-5 (NIV)
“Remember the law of my servant Moses, the decrees and laws I gave him at Horeb for all Israel.
 “See, I will send the prophet Elijah to you before that great and dreadful day of the Lord comes. 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.”

The last directions God gives to the people of Israel is to follow His laws. And then He tells them that He is going to send the prophet Elijah to them, the one who goes before the Messiah, preparing their hearts to receive the Messiah’s message. (Malachi 3:1, Isaiah 40:3)

It is going to be a long wait before the people of Israel see part of this prophecy fulfilled. 400 years is a long time to be waiting for something. But God told them what they should do while they wait for Him to act. They are to continue following God. Actually, there needs to be a revival, they need to return to God, which is the main topic of the book of Malachi. Because many of the people of Israel were not following God’s ways at the time. Instead of giving God their best, they were giving Him their worst for their offerings. The Levites, the priests, were corrupt. Men were mistreating their wives. And the widows and orphans were being neglected because the people were not tithing or taking care of them. God calls them to repent!

But in the midst of all God’s reprimanding, He also says He sees those who are doing good and are trying to follow Him.

Malachi 3:16 (NKJV)
Then those who feared the Lord spoke to one another, and the Lord listened and heard them; so a book of remembrance was written before Him for those who fear the Lord and who meditate on His name.

As the years went by, the people continued as they had been. Some were corrupt or did not follow God. But there were always some who did. We do not get another look at the people of Israel again until the book of Luke opens with a scene at the Temple in Jerusalem some 400 years later. And what do we see?

Luke 1:5-7 (NKJV)
There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the division of Abijah. His wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless. But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and they were both well advanced in years.

Well, it seems like someone was listening to what God said through the prophet Malachi! Here we have a Levite and his wife who are following the Lord blamelessly. That means they have reverence for God and they read God’s laws and are putting them into practice. That also means that Zacharias will be teaching the people the Law accurately, which will help the people to know what God expects of them and to be prepared for His coming.

Notice, too, that Zacharias has been faithful to his wife, Elizabeth, even when she is barren. We learn later that he has been praying for her, just as other Patriarchs had done when their wives were barren. (Luke 1:13, Genesis 25:21) This is yet another evidence that Zacharias was seeking to follow God in the way he lived. You see, while the people of Israel had been waiting a long time for God to send the Messiah, Elizabeth and Zacharias had their own, long personal wait. They have not been able to conceive. This was a great disgrace for a woman in that time period. And barrenness came with a stigma of what was assumed to be God’s displeasure. We know that God was not displeased with Zacharias and Elizabeth, because the text says so. But did others know that? Did Elizabeth ever feel like people thought she was barren because of some sin in her life? We don’t know. The text does not say. But we can imagine that it must have been very difficult for them both.

What we do know is how Zacharias and Elizabeth responded to their personal trial. They pressed into God, perhaps just like the righteous people of Malachi’s time. Malachi 3:16 says that those who feared the Lord meditated on His name. How would that help anyone? Well, the names of God actually are descriptions of God and His character.

When we go through trials, we can often doubt God’s goodness or faithfulness. We can easily forget all the good that He has done for us in the past when our present circumstances are difficult or crushing. By thinking about God’s character through remembering His names, we can not only hold on to our faith that He is a good God, but we can also search for places in our life where we still see Him at work.

For instance, if God is our Creator, and He says what He created was good (Genesis 1), then His creation of me must be good and He must have created me with purpose. If God is Yahweh, the self-existent One, the He has always been and always will be. If God is known as Yahweh-Jireh, “The Lord will Provide”, then He will provide for my needs as well. (Gen. 22:14) If God is Yahweh-Shammah, “The Lord is Present,” then He is near me. If He is Yahweh-Rohi, “The Lord My Shepherd,” then He is able to guide, protect and direct me. If He is Yahweh-Rapha, “The Lord My Healer,” than He is able to heal me in both body and soul. There are many other names of God throughout the Old Testament which can remind us of Who He is and His character.

There would be many years of trial for the people of Israel between the days of Malachi and the days of Jesus. They would face wars and revolt and be ruled by Greeks and Romans. Disobedience to God, wickedness and corruption would persist. How could the worship of God be preserved and not perverted? How could the knowledge of God remain? The answer: through the gathering together of those who still reverenced God and His laws and through their remembrance of His name. As they talked amongst themselves, they would remind themselves of who God had revealed Himself to be through the ages. They would encourage each other to follow His ways. And because they remembered God in this way, God says He would write their names in His Book of Remembrance.

We often face periods of waiting in our lives. What we focus on and how we live during those times can affect what God brings next in our lives or the life of someone else. If you diligently hold on to God’s revealed truth and follow what you know God has already told you to do, your waiting time can be a time of faith and growth.

Because Zacharias and Elizabeth spent their waiting years diligently following God and learning His ways, they were prepared for God’s big assignment for them. And they were actively helping the people of Israel to be prepared for the Messiah’s message, too, by teaching them the Law of God and reminding them of Who He is. God is faithful. He sees them and will remember them. And God sees you, too, and remembers you. Press into God, gather with other believers, and on His words. This will carry you through your times of waiting.

Names of God by Jason Denison.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Scroll, Image by Taylor Flowe and Unsplash.

Zacharias and Elizabeth Praying, Image from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

2 thoughts on “December 10, Last Words”

Comments are closed.