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Showing posts from December, 2016

Malachi, Wake Up!

One of the greatest threats the people of God have ever faced is complacency. This can be incredibly hard to spot, but the effects are devastating. It is hard to see because on the surface nothing appears to be wrong. There is no blatant disobedience of God's commands to be seen. Idolatry seems to be absent. Still, while these are good things, they do not guarantee a healthy spiritual life. The people of Judah were struggling with this very issue. They had returned from exile, the temple had been rebuilt, and an entire generation had been born once again in the Promised Land. Everything seemed to be fine, so why did God send the prophet Malachi? Complacency. Background The book of Malachi was written by the prophet Malachi, whose name means "my messenger." The book was written around 450 BC, about the same time as Ezra and Nehemiah. This makes it one of the last Old Testament books to be written. The book condemns many of the same sins that Ezra and Nehemiah deal