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 what 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, because many of them are not following God’s ways. Instead of giving God their best, they are giving Him their worst for their offerings. The Levites, the priests, are very corrupt. Men are mistreating their wives. And the widows and orphans are being neglected because the people are not tithing. 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 4:16 (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 go by, the people continue as they have done. Many are corrupt or do not follow God. But there are always some who do. 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 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 Zecharias has not taken another wife because Elizabeth is barren, nor has he divorced her. He is being faithful to his wife. So, he is fully following the laws of God. This is good news! Someone listened to God’s last words!

And what did God say He would do for those who followed Him? He would remember them! And God certainly does! In the next few verses, Zacharias will get a surprise visit from the angel Gabriel with some very good news. You see, while the people of Israel have been waiting for God to send the Messiah, Elizabeth and Zacharias have 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 God’s displeasure. We know that God was not displeased with Zacharias and Elizabeth, because the text says so. Perhaps this barrenness, though, caused Zacharias and Elizabeth to try doubly hard to follow God’s commandments. And in doing so, they will be prepared for what God has next for them. Because their task will be no ordinary one. They will be raising the one who goes before the Messiah, the prophet Elijah. And since the prophecies said things would happen “suddenly” when they were finally fulfilled, it was good that Zacharias and Elizabeth were prepared for the challenge!

We often face periods of waiting in our lives. What we do in those times can affect what God brings next in our lives or the life of someone else. If you diligently follow what you know God has already told you to do, your waiting time can be a preparation time. Use that time wisely!

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 to prepare the people of Israel to be prepared for the Messiah’s message, too, by teaching them the Law of God. God is faithful. He sees them and will remember them. And God sees you, too, and remembers you. If you faithfully follow Him, even in the difficulties of your life, your name will be written in His book of remembrance, too!

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.