1g“Behold, I send hmy messenger, and ihe will prepare the way before me. And the Lord jwhom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and kthe messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts. 2But lwho can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears? For mhe is like a refiner's fire and like fullers' soap. 3He will sit nas a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, and they will bring oofferings in righteousness to the Lord.1 4pThen the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the Lord as in the days of old and as in former years.
5“Then I will draw near to you for judgment. I will be qa swift witness against the sorcerers, against the adulterers, against those who swear falsely, against those rwho oppress the hired worker in his wages, sthe widow and the fatherless, against those who thrust aside the sojourner, and do not fear me, says the Lord of hosts.
Robbing God
6“For tI the Lord do not change; utherefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed. 7vFrom the days of your fathers you have turned aside from my statutes and have not kept them. wReturn to me, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts. xBut you say, ‘How shall we return?’ 8Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me. xBut you say, ‘How have we robbed you?’ yIn your tithes and contributions. 9zYou are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me, the whole nation of you. 10aBring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby bput me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open cthe windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need. 11I will rebuke dthe devourer2 for you, so that it will not destroy the fruits of your soil, and your vine in the field shall not fail to bear, says the Lord of hosts. 12Then eall nations will call you blessed, for you will be fa land of delight, says the Lord of hosts.
13g“Your words have been hard against me, says the Lord. hBut you say, ‘How have we spoken against you?’ 14You have said, i‘It is vain to serve God. jWhat is the profit of our keeping his charge or of walking as in mourning before the Lord of hosts? 15And now we call kthe arrogant blessed. kEvildoers not only prosper but lthey put God to the test and they escape.’”
The Book of Remembrance
16Then those who feared the Lord mspoke with one another. The Lord paid attention and heard them, and na 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, oin the day when I make up pmy treasured possession, and I will spare them as a man spares his son who serves him. 18Then once more you shall qsee the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve him.
The Prophesied Kingdom — Part One
Ezra 1:1 – Malachi 4:6 Sermon • Includes Transcript • 36:31 • ID: 2390The Prophesied Kingdom — Part Two
Ezra 1:1 – Malachi 4:6 Sermon • Includes Transcript • 43:38 • ID: 2391Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. The ESV text may not be quoted in any publication made available to the public by a Creative Commons license. The ESV may not be translated in whole or in part into any other language.