Comments for December 30

v.15 - There is some debate as to what this creature was. Elephant, Hippopotamus, or even a last stray dinosaur have been suggested. Whatever it is, surely the purpose of its inclusion is to demonstrate the power of God both to provide the beast with such strength, and to provide its desire to eat vegetation, so saving us from some fear

Yahweh continues to question Job. From this chapter we learn that Yahweh viewed Job's responses as 'contending' with Him.

Which produces an acknowledgement from Job - Job 40:3-5. In but a few words - by contrast to his many in previous chapters - he acknowledges that he really has nothing he can say to Him in defence of himself.

So Yahweh is able to respond to this humility Job 40:6- end by asking Job to respond to a number of specific questions.

This chapter continues to demonstrate the power of God over us, and over all nature.

40:8 Now that Job understands that he knows nothing he is asked whether he will disannul God's judgements. Job has come to the point of being to acknowledge that God is just when he speaks - we must get to this point before we can benefit from the sacrifice of Christ. (Romans 3:23-24)

ch 40 and 41 - GOD IS THE EXPERT!
I heard God's argument in these chapters summed up very well one Sunday morning. It went something like this: "Job, look at my creation around you. If you can take control over the physical creation, I will be prepared to discuss the moral creation with you."
Can you tame the elephant or the crocodile? Would you put a collar around their neck and give them to your daughter as a pet? Most of us would answer "No," to these questions. It also sees that Leviathan (which translators think is possibly a crocodile) is actually more like a dragon, being a scaly creature, breathing fire from his mouth and smoke from his nose and having no fear of any weapons. No one would ever dream of taming it, having it under control or giving it to their daughter as a present. It is the type of animal that is more likely to keep it's attacker on the run. God's physical creation is in itself an awesome thing, but his moral laws are even more just. But we, like Job, often think that we have the right to discuss morality with God when we can't even control his physical creation. Let us not fool ourselves - God is the expert!

40:8 another comment - Character assassination is the way that politicians tend to work. They justify themselves by finding fault with the policies of others. These things should not be so amongst true believers.

JOB 40 : In this chapter we see Job's reaction to the Almighty. Did Job wish to contend with God? It would appear that there would have been a period of silence before Job answered in verse three. It then appears that Job felt that he has said too much already.(v.4-5) Job has learnt an important lesson, God's overriding hand was in his life, as it is in all our lives.    

SAVED BY GRACE
 
Job's life was blameless.  He insisted that he had not sinned, yet he still could not save himself.
 
Ezekiel listed Noah, Daniel and Job as being extra special righteous men, who, if they had been in Jerusalem at the time of Ezekiel, would only have been able to save themselves by their righteousness. (Eze 14:4)  But even the righteousness of these three men could not save them - it is only by the grace of God that any of us are saved, righteous or not.
 
Paul goes to great pains to point this out to the early believers in the New Testament.  He says, "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no-one can boast." (Eph 2:8-9)
 
So even though Job was a good man - one of the best - he, along with the rest of us, do not deserve to be saved because we have all sinned and fall short of the glory of God. (Rom 2:22)
 
God gave Job a test to see if he could save himself.  He was told to adorn himself with glory and splendour, to unleash the fury of his wrath, to bring proud men low, to crush the wicked and to bury them all in the dust.  If Job could do that from his position then God would admit that Job's right hand could save himself. (Job 40:9-14)  We are in the same boat.  we cannot save ourselves.  So let us give ourselves to God and rely on his grace to be our salvation.
 

In Job 40:1-5 God gives Job a chance to answer for himself, but Job very wisely says that he has nothing to say. He admits he is "vile" or as Young's Concordance says "lightly esteemed". "You are so much greater than me, Lord.  I have nothing to say."

40:3  So Job, it seems, repented immediately of his attitude. For he must have repented or else God would not have continued with him and blessed him.

40:7 Since Job has not only spoken against God, but, also accused Him of injustice, God challenges him to try, could he govern the world, as God by His power doth, and also punish the proud and wicked? (Job 40:7-14)

40:6-14  Having obtained the repentance from Job God now challenges Job at the moral level. He has appealed to the greatness of creation. He now looks at the way He deals with men.

Human nature has a tendency to justify itself.  Whether people believe in God or not does not matter.  They are prone to exonerate themselves, even in the face of accusing God of evil (v.8).

40:4   Job, having had a desire to reason with God, now realises that he has nothing he can say in his defence.

V.6 Yahweh spoke to Job out of the whirlwind. Contrast this with the way that Yahweh spoke to Elijah (1Kin 19:11-13).

V.15 It is not clear what the behemoth was. Behemoth is the plural of behemah, which is Hebrew for cattle. Most commentators lean towards this as being descriptive of the hippopotamus.

40:7 God’s call to Job is like that of 38:3 as Job is now taken through the ways of God, not now as a challenge but as instruction.

Job 40:15,17 - "behemoth" (930) - as others have said, this is an unknown creature and while some scholars suggest it could be a hippopotamus, how does that explain the moving of its tail like a cedar?

40:14 God is saying ‘if you can understand all the things then you can save yourself’

II. Yahweh's second speech.

          Job 40:6-9 - introduction and challenge: V6-7 - the Lord still speaking out of the storm (Job 38:1) repeats Job 38:3 while skipping Job 38:2 indicating Job has been somewhat educated and is no longer looking to contend with his maker; V8 - Job's education has progressed but there is still more to learn - KJV "Wilt thou disannul my 'judgment'<4941>? wilt thou 'condemn'<7561> me, that thou mayest be 'righteous'<6663>?" - Job had previously declared he was righteous (Job 9:15;10:15;13:18;27:5-6;29:14;31:6;32:1-2); V9 - Does Job have the strength and authority of God? - Job spoke without authorisation on God's behalf (Job 23:10-12), predicted God's judgment (Job 13:18) and complained of the apparent unfairness of his circumstances (Job 9:17-18).

          Job 40:10-14 - Job is invited to rule the world: V10 - for Job/man to seek rule like God would require immense pride - in referring to God "majesty"<1347> was used (by Elihu Job 37:4) "excellency"<1363> was used (by Eliphaz Job 22:12, by Zophar Job 11:8) and "glory"<1935> was used (by Elihu Job 37:22) but none of these words were used by Job to honour God; V11-12 - Job is invited to abase and bring low the proud and 'tread down'<1915> the 'wicked'<7563>;  V14- if Job could humble himself and destroy sin (Job 40:11-12) he could save himself - Job is educated to be more humble and reverent of God's righteousness.

          Job 40:15-24 - behemoth - who can overpower him? V15 - many believe the "behemoth"<930> was a hippopotamus and it was made with Job (does this suggest a connection between Job/man and the behemoth?); V15,24 - the grass eating hippopotamus is (unlike Job Job 29:7-12) violent and responsible for killing more people in Africa than any animal other than the mosquito - pride can kill a believer's hope of eternal life; V17 - if the behemoth is a hippo, perhaps it proudly wields its short tail imagining itself to be more important than it is - "stones"<6344> (thighs); V19 - is the behemoth being compared to Job in his pride? - "He is 'chief'<7225> (Job 1:1,3,8) in the ways of God..." - the powerful behemoth can overpower others (as Job did his friends) but it cannot prevail against God - with God's help pride can be overcome; V20-22 - the behemoth receives blessings from many sources like Job prior to his calamity; V23 - the behemoth feels it is untouchable.

40:2   So God saw Job’s words as “contending” with Him. We need to be very careful when we question what is going on in our lives. We certainly should think about how God is working in our lives. However we should never question the appropriateness of the things that are happening.

Job 40:15-24.

While the main theme of God's speeches to Job centers around His power over the universe and over all aspects of nature, He spends a portion of time in ch. 39 talking about various animals that He has created and endowed with various powers and wisdom (or lack thereof - Job 39:14-17 and the ostrich). And the point throughout appears to be - "I am God, and you Job are not!" Why then here in ch. 40 and in ch. 41 is there so much emphasis placed on these 2 animals - behemoth, the land animal, and leviathan, the sea creature? {10 verses on behemoth; 34 verses on leviathan)

In leading up to His description of behemoth, God tells Job in 40:11,12 -

"Unleash the fury of your wrath, look at every proud man and bring him low; look at every proud man and humble him, crush the wicked where they stand."

And then the implication in the next 2 verses is - if you can do such a thing - which you can't! - then and then only will I admit that you have the power to save yourself. But it seems to me that pride really had become Job's own "near fatal" sin. And so God was using, in the first instance, the amazing powers of this land creature to thwart off any and all other animals and even human captors as a metaphor to the proud man and all attempts to humble him. The 3 friends' efforts were unsuccessful due to their arguments being on a false premise that Job so clearly saw. But what they ended up doing was to, in effect, prompt Job into making arguments to God that were best left alone.

The same metaphor, I would think, is there in ch. 41 and the prolonged discourse about the sea creature leviathan. He even ends up there by saying -

"He (leviathan) looks down on all that are haughty; he is the king over all that are proud." (41:34).

John puts sin into 3 basic categories (1 Jn. 2:16) - the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life. Job in not only his description of himself - pre catastrophe - (ch. 29,31), but also in the narrator's assessment of his character (Job 1:1-5) had little, if any, problem in any of those arenas of sin. But when he got no satisfying and Scripturally correct answers as to why God was bringing these severe trials on himself by the 3 friends, he ended up saying things in regard to God that he should never have said. This was pride coming to the fore, and he had to be brought down in humility by God for him not to totally blow his salvation. And to his everlasting credit, he recognized and admitted his problem (Job 40:1-5; Job 42:1-6) and repents in dust and ashes. And the wonderful blessings of restored health and prosperity and a new family come to pass.

Though the points God was making in connection with these 2 amazing creatures were not clearly spelled out for Job, I think he was smart enough to see the points God was making - that pride had become his great enemy. And only by his own contrition and repentance and an acknowledgement that God was right in all of his dealings with him - even if they were very hard to understand at the time - only then could he be saved.

40:4-5  This is the shortest response of Job in the whole of the book.

40:15-24        In calling Job to consider Behemoth God challenges Job to understand but one animal of creation. 

40:6   God answered Elijah from the still small voice -1Kin 19:12-13  - not the whirlwind but God here speaks to Job from the whirlwind. It seems that Job was not willing to listen to a quiet rebuke.

40:4-5     The natural man always seeks to justify himself. Job’s response is the only response that we can ever make to God. It should, therefore, be our attitude of mind to Him at all time. So when we read His word we should see it as teaching us rather than being a book that we can bring our human wisdom and skills to in order to understand its message.

40:8     Israel’s problem was that they sought to establish that they were righteous and in so doing refused to submit to God’s righteousness – Rom 10:3. Society teaches us to rely on ourselves. God teaches us that we should rely on Him.

40:4     Maybe we should reflect on Job’s response to God’s justice. What do we think we might say to God at the judgment? If we might speak of it in such a mechanical way. Surely all we could say is “guilty as charged”. Thankfully God responds to such a response with forgiveness - 2Sam 12:13

40:12   Whereas Job may have said these words about his friends in the past now he is, it seems, including himself in  the group he describes. We should notice that a “just” man like Job recognises his position before God.

40:9 Whilst Job was upright and righteous before God it seems that he had been trying to challenge God on His terms. There is nothing wrong with asking questions but there is a lot wrong with doubting God’s ways.

40:9 Whilst Job was upright and righteous before God it seems that he had been trying to challenge God on His terms. There is nothing wrong with asking questions but there is a lot wrong with doubting God’s ways.

40:1 Job had wanted to debate his cause with God. But now when Got is responding to Job he is unable to answer or justify himself. Hopefully we understand that we should never try to justify ourselves to God but rather rest on the justification that he gives us through faith in the risen Jesus Christ.

40:1 the very acts of wishing to debate with God is the same as saying that God needs to be educated by the man entering the debate. Again we might say that we would never do this. However do we ever question the rightness of how things are happening around us? Do we ever feel or say that some things “are not fair?” Such thinking and words are unfitting for a true believer.

v.10 - God is described as a father to the nation of Israel on many occasions. We, as heirs to the promise through the new covenant, do not have exclusive rights to this relationship. Isa.63:16, 64:8. However, through the death of Jesus we have a much closer relationship than they could ever have. Rom.8:14-16

2:2 If ye will not hear Deuteronomy 28:15
2:2 I will even send a curse upon you Deuteronomy 28:20
2:5 My covenant was with him of life and peace Numbers 25:12
2:6 turn ... away Numbers 25:11
2:7 lips should keep knowledge Proverbs 5:2
2:10 one father Ephesians 4:6
2:11 strange god Proverbs 5:3
2:13 weeping Numbers 25:6
2:14 the wife of thy youth Proverbs 5:18
2:15 godly seed Numbers 25:13
2:15 the wife of thy youth Proverbs 5:18

Similarities with the time of Nehemiah
2:8 corrupt priesthood Nehemiah 13:29
2:11 'mixed' marriages' Ezra 9:12
2:15 Godly seed Ezra 9:2

2:5 The context of Malachi is the time of Nehemiah. Appeal is made to two areas of the Old Testament to reinforce the exhortation of Nehemiah.
They are the time of Balaam Numbers 22 - 25 and Proverbs 5.

v.14 coupled, (as Bro. Peter says below) with Prov. 5:18 serves to remind us yet again that the commitment we have made to God through baptism is a binding as a marriage. It is until death, and beyond that by the grace of God. So let us take it seriously and not even be tempted to go along any other route.

The use of Prov 5 - see table from last year - along with the language from the Balaam incident is instructive. Proverbs 5 speaks of the dangers of false alliances with strange women - the strange woman is a false religion. So the physical events of the Balaam incident are linked with the spiritual consequences of false worship by Malachi.

MARRIAGE
Marriage is a serious business. God created marriage to last a lifetime. It is the commitment between a man and a woman to be devoted to each other for as long as they live. It is about faithfulness, sharing and unity. But today, as it was in Malachi's day, the marriage bond was not respected as it should have been. When a marriage breaks down much more is affected than just the lives of the couple. In this chapter we see that because of their unfaithfulness in marriage, God no longer paid attention to those people or accepted their offerings. In other words, if we want to be accepted by God and we want him to hear our prayers we must stay faithful to our marriage partner. One of the reasons he makes the two halves of a married couple as one is because he is looking for Godly offspring. Can godly children come from a broken home? Yes, they can, but it is so much more difficult. When Malachi finished his message about marriage, he ended with a strong exhortation which is worth repeating: "So guard yourself in your spirit, and do not break faith." Amen!

2:8 In telling the priests that they had 'corrupted the covenant of Levi' he was echoing the condemnation of Nehemiah 13:29

Mal 2:7. Those that are in Christ are accounted priests.(1Pet 3:9) This verse has an application to us to-day. The tribe of Levi was taken instead of the firstborn, and thus inherited the privileges of the firstborn. So it is with those who have entered a covenant relationship with God through Christ. They are privileged as the priests were, their responsibilities are clearly recorded in both Lev 10:11 and in Eph 3:9. 

2:10 'one father'  'one God' emphasises what these priests should have known (Deut 6:4).  The unity of God should have acted as a block to the treachery that they were showing towards their brethren. This is because of the commandments (Deut 6:5 , Lev 19:18)

V.1 The priests in particular are reproved, as their part was to led the people aright, and reprove sin, whereas they encouraged and led them into sin. This is certainly a loud lesson for each one of us today, as we await the return of our High Priest.

MESSENGERS OF GOD
 
We are told that we are to become a kingdom and priests to serve God in the future, (Rev 1:6) and so it is worth us finding out the duties of priests, so that we can prepare for the honour.
 
Malachi has a lot to say to the priests who served in his days because their service had become one of following rules, doing what had to be done but without the right spirit. One of the things he says is this, "For the lips of a priest ought to preserve knowledge, and from his mouth men should seek instruction - because he is the messenger of the LORD Almighty." (Mal 2:7) Unfortunately the priests in Malachi's day had done the opposite. Their words and teaching caused people to turn away from the LORD.
 
Let's learn a lesson from this. If we are to be priests then we should make sure our lips are preserving knowledge and that people will be able to receive good, godly instruction from the things that we say. When we speak we must aim to be messengers of our God, turning people toward him and changing lives for good. But the knowledge and wisdom we need to do this effectively does not come easily. It takes time and dedication to studying God's word, praying for his help, and learning from experience.
 
Let's put our priestly roles into gear right now and prepare our minds to instruct people in God's ways, to share the knowledge of the LORD, and to be an effective messenger for him in all we say and do.

Malachi speaks first against the priests and the Levites (Mal 2:1-10), and then for the rest of the chapter against Judah and Jerusalem. They have “wearied” God. The Hebrew word means to labour, and so be weary. What a terrible indictment! The returned Jews had so gone against God that He was tired!

2:5-6     The example of faithfulness in a priest is based upon Phinehas who, in Num 25 stayed the plague by killing the Simeonite and the Moabite woman.

2:7  ‘The priest’s lips should keep knowledge’ quotes the instruction to the son – Prov 5:2 – when he is being encouraged to avoid the ‘strange woman’ – just problem of the Jews in the time of Nehemiah –the time when Malachi was speaking.

 2:2 What an exhortation we have in this verse, even though the prophet is addressing the priests the message applies to all. We must be prepared to listen, which is not just hearing. Listening includes doing, applying, and hearkening to that which has been spoken. We learn by listening, not by seeing, "and God said". Man has a history of not listening. This is not the first time that this warning was given to Israel. Think about Deut 28, then look at the history of the Israelites over the past 1000 years. We must always be listening to the Word that has been preserved over the centuries, so each one of us can take advantage of the opportunity to be made wise unto salvation.  

After the exile and the completion of the temple, the Jews fell back to lax ways of worship.  The Jews intermarried with foreign women who introduced their false gods (v.11).  The people were worshipping Yahweh but at the same time worshipping these false gods.  And then, they wondered why Yahweh would not pay any attention to them (vs.13,14).  The priests had shown partiality to God's laws and allowed these false practices to occur (v.9).  We must be careful not to allow partiality into our worship.

2:15     In accusing the priesthood of dealing “treacherously with the wife of his youth” the prophet is reproving them for their immoral behaviour in putting away their wives and taking wives of the inhabitants of the land – Neh 13:23

V.7 It should be noted that true followers of Christ are priests-in-training (Rev 1:6; 5:10).  Like all priests, they are guardians of divine knowledge, to whom people should seek instruction.  They are messengers of Yahweh (Rom 10:14).  But how can priests be faithful if they are not knowledgeable in the Word? (Rom 10:17).

2:3 The refuse from the sacrifices was taken without the camp. Everything that offended or was unclean belonged outside the camp so in saying that ‘they’ – the priest – would be taken away with the dung of the sacrifices they were being told that despite the fact that they were offering sacrifices they were in reality out of fellowship with God.

SET YOUR HEART

Above all else, setting your heart to honour God's name is the one thing that will keep us faithful and devoted to the LORD, no matter what temptations come our way. Setting our heart to honour the LORD will also move God to bless us.

Malachi gave this message to the priests: "'And now this admonition is for you, O priests. If you do not listen, and if you do not set your heart to honour my name,' says the LORD Almighty, 'I will send a curse on you, and I will curse your blessings. Yes, I have already cursed them, because your have not set your heart to honour me.'" (Mal 2:1-2)

It all begins with the heart. Our thoughts, words and actions will all follow the desire of our heart. If we have not set our heart on anything, we will drift having no particular aim and end up just existing through life. Our heart can be set on almost anything and when our heart is set on a particular thing, it will lead us there.

Apart from having God's blessing on us when we set our heart on him, the decision to set our heart on the Lord also reaches far beyond our life today right into eternity. Nothing else we could ever set our heart on can do that. So let's set our heart on the Lord and make it our aim to honour him.

2:8 The priests had caused many to stumble at the law because their own behaviour did not match what the law said. So those who should have been the teachers were actually teaching falsely by their way of life. Of course this can be same of us. We might say all the right things but the way we live is observed by all who are around us and the contradiction between what we say and a false lifestyle will impact upon those around us who could well be caused to stumble.

2:2   We have noted in an earlier contribution that there are a number of quotations from earlier parts of Scripture in Malachi. In this verse there are two. ‘If ye will not hear’ and ‘I will even send a curse upon you’. Both quoted from the curses of Deut 28:15-68. Actions have consequences. However God always responds according to the information He has already given us. Israel should not have been surprised when the punishments came, they had been promised to Israel if they were unfaithful.

Mal 2:14-16

"... For Yahweh, the God of Israel, saith that he hateth putting away..."

Some modern translations substitute “putting away” for divorce. This is a mistranslation. The Hebrew text says, “putting away,” shalach, <7971> as opposed to divorce, keriythuwth <3748>. They are not synonymous! A wife can be put away without having been given a bill of divorcement, which completely cuts of the marriage bond. While putting away is the sin that God hates, divorce is a merciful act given by God to Moses (Deut 24:1-4).

Even today, there are wives who are legally separated from their husbands, but are not divorced. In fact, in various provinces in Canada, they must be legally separated for one year before either one can file for divorce. Neither party is free to marry until receipt of their legal divorce papers. This time affords them the opportunity to reconsider their position and reconcile. If either party chooses not to reconcile after one year, then the divorce is granted.

2:4  Malachi’s primary audience was the priests – Mal 2:1, for example, shows this. They should have appreciated their high status but clearly did not, using it as a cloak for serving themselves rather than God. Hence the judgements they were receiving.

2:1-2   In drawing together two quotations from Deuteronomy 28 (Deut 28:15 and , Deut 28:20) the prophet gives a stark warning to his audience. However, as priests –Mal 2:7 – they should not have needed to be reminded of the consequences of their disobedience. But on the other hand, knowing the law of Moses, they were not in a position to question the judgement.  We who have accepted the gospel of Christ are in a similar position. We have accepted responsibilities and will also receive the consequences of faithlessness.

2:7     The way in which the priests who are presented as the “messenger of the Lord of hosts” shows the seriousness attached to teaching the things of God. If we aspire to speak to others about the gospel we must make sure that our word really do accurately reflect His words. 

2:8    The comment “ye have corrupted the priesthood” is no general comment.  Rather the prophet had been moved to comment because of what is recorded inNeh 13:28-29 which records events contemporary to the time of the prophet.

2:10,15        It seems that Malachi is commenting upon the behaviour of Jews in his own day who had put away their wives – Neh 13:22

2:9     Israel viewed God with contempt – though they would have denied that – so God ensures that the nations view Israel in the same light. God is using the principle that we should behave towards others as we would like them to behave towards us.

2:7      The questioning of the people “wherein have we wearied thee?” continues the ignorance of the people as to how far they were away fomr God. We saw this in Mal 1:2,6,7

Mal 2:16

“For Yahweh, the Elohim of Israel, saith that he hateth putting away; for one covereth violence with his garment, saith the LORD of hosts; therefore take heed to your spirit, that ye deal not treacherously.”

The verb “hateth” and “covereth” in Hebrew is in the third person, not the first person, Yahweh! The construction in Hebrew is, “he hates” and “he covers” - third person. To be faithful to the original Hebrew translation, this verse reads as, “If he hates and puts away, says the LORD God of Israel, he covers his garment with violence.” The Hebrew is clear that God is talking in the third person, the treacherous, violent husband who covers up his actions with excuses (Mal 2:15)! Most treacherous men do just that.  Who would dare charge Yahweh with treachery!

Some translations are beginning to correct this mistranslation of Mal 2:16, and may be read in the Septuagint. “The LXX helps us understand more accurately the New Testament that we have today (and vice versa).” https://glanier.wordpress.com/2013/07/26/septuagint-introduction/

The NIV 2011 version reads, “The man who hates and divorces his wife, says the LORD, the God of Israel, does violence to the one he should protect, says the LORD Almighty. So be on your guard, and do not be unfaithful.”

The ESV (English Standard Version) has, “For the man who does not love his wife, but divorces her, says the LORD, the God of Israel, covers his garment with violence, says the LORD of hosts. So guard yourselves in your spirit, and do not be faithless.”  

The CSB (Christian Standard Bible) has, “If he hates and divorces his wife, say the LORD God of Israel, he covers his garment with injustice, says the LORD of Armies. Therefore, watch yourselves carefully, and do not act treacherously.”

Jubilee Bible 2000, “He that rejects her, sending her away, said the LORD God of Israel, covers the violence with his garment, said the LORD of the hosts; therefore take heed in your spirit, and do not be treacherous.”

The Septuagint translation has, “But if thou shouldest hate thy wife and put her away”, saith the Lord God of Israel, then ungodliness shall cover thy thoughts, saith the Lord Almighty; therefore take ye heed to your spirit, and forsake [abandon] them not.”  

Psa 19:7-9 speaks of Yahweh’s perfect law. This includes Deut 24:1-4! The treachery committed by the Israelite men was not in divorcing their wives according to the law, but in putting away their wives without a certificate of divorce, or for using the law as a pretense to divorce for any reason.

Mal 2:16 is not to be taken that there are no grounds for divorce (cf. Ezra 10:3; cf. notes on Isa 50; Jer 3:8). Nevertheless, what Yahweh hates, and we should too, is not the law of divorce, a concession Yahweh made for fallen humanity, but obtaining a divorce on grounds He has not sanctioned (no-fault) - how much more if the wife is  just sent away, forsaken, without any care for her well-being!

In Gen 8:10, Noah “sent forth” the dove from the ark. “Sent forth” is # <7971>, shalach, “send away.” It is the same word the inspired prophet, Malachi used for “putting away” – shalach! Surely, no one would suggest Noah divorced the dove, so why here?

Addendum: This is a classic example of our continuous need to study the Word, because not everything is as it appears to read at its surface (Prov 25:2).

Mal 2:13

“And this have ye done again, covering the altar of the LORD with tears, with weeping, and with crying out, insomuch that he regardeth not the offering anymore, or receiveth it with good will at your hand.”

“Mere sorrow for shortcoming, and resolve to do better, will not help us. The religious world abundantly illustrates this vanity. In the more earnest sects the people come together in solemn assembly, and groan while the preacher declaims, or the prayer-sayer pours forth his Baal-like invocations; they groan and cry and feel bad, and go away and continue as they were before. They are not benefited, because their feelings have merely undergone a superstitious agitation; their understandings have not been appealed to; they have not been pointed to the Word; they have not been placed in the way of well-doing; they have merely been put through a sentimental performance. No doubt they go away pacified and satisfied as they had done an acceptable and a justifying thing. If they were scripturally instructed, they would see differently. Israel was condemned for this very thing, namely, that they lived in disobedience, and then thought to make good their deficiencies by making a doleful lamentation when they came to worship. [Emphasis added]

Soon we shall assemble in another place on an occasion, and for a purpose, that will cause us to think soberly, if we have never done so before, but our sober thinking may not have the same value then. Gathered in the presence of Christ for Judgment, our sober thoughts will have no corrective power. There will be no further opportunity of giving effect to wise resolutions. The account will be closed… Things done under the impulse created by the announcement of the Lord’s actual arrival will not be reckoned; for self-evidently, these would not be works of faith, and it is works of faith, or their absence, that will be the ground of acceptance or rejection.”

Brother Robert Roberts, SEASONS OF COMFORT, Sober Reflection, p. 89, 90

2:8  there were two problems. The priesthood was not following God’s ways and they had taught others the wrong way also. I suppose the second is worse than the first. This highlights to us the importance of understanding what God has taught us and then ensuring that we teach what we have learnt from God’s word faithfully. In Matt 23:15 the scribes and Pharisees had done exactly the same to the people in Jesus’ day.

2:16-177 The utter amazement of the priests when Malachi reports God’s words “ye have wearied me with your words” stands as a stark reminder to us about what we say and think about our attitude to things being said that God would disapprove of.

2:11 “loved” might more properly be translated “ought to love” as the margin shows. The challenge is that those who had returned from Babylon with good intentions had lost that love for the things of God, probably because the initial enthusiasm had worn off because of the persecution that they were experiencing form the inhabitants of the land. We do well to remind ourselves that our initial enthusiasm for the things we believe should not wane as time passes. What was exciting and true then is still exciting and true today.

2:7  The priests in Nehemiah’s day when Malachi was speaking lived lives which did not reflect their high calling therefore they did not teach the law of God. Bad behaviour flows from a lack of understanding of what God’s laws require. The priests did not understand the law and so were unable to instruct themselves or others. We can quite easily be like those priests. Correct instruction leads to correct living.

2:7  there is a progression and responsibility for the priest. They had to teach so they were supposed to listen to God’s words.

A counterpart in our day would be to uncritically present the thoughts of others having read material which does not, in fact, teach what the scriptures say. We may hears this when a fellow believer has taken the easy approach to bible study and just re-presents what has been uncritically read.

20 v. 4 - In order to be amongst this chosen few to live and reign with Christ 1000 years, we must be sure to avoid taking on ourselves the mark of the beast. As soon as it becomes obvious what this is, we must make a serious stand against it. By the description given in ch. 13:15-17, we are going to need a lot of will power to resist. To be able neither to buy or sell is possibly the greatest restriction that could be placed on a 21st century citizen. Let us start to prepare ourselves now.

19:1 This is the last use of the phrase 'after these things' Revelation 7:1 18:1 19:1. We are nearing the end of all things. The use of "after" is to show His servants that those things which are to come will terminate in a time of great blessing.

20:3 The casting of the dragon into the bottomless pit is the reversal of what took place in Revelation 9:2. Thus despite all the evil that has been spoken of in Revelation since that time it is clear that it is God and not a supernatural devil, who is in control of world events. Thus with the binding of the dragon we can be assured that our God will finally suppress all evil in the earth.

Ezekiel saw the likeness of the glory of God (Eze 1:28). The glory of God is associated here with 'salvation …' And so it is that God will truly be glorified when men and women have been made like unto the risen Jesus.

Daniel 7 speaks of the resurrection and the judgement. It is, therefore, appropriate that Daniel 7 is used here when speaking of those who are delivered.

BOOKS AND THE BOOK

When we surf the internet, every website we visit and everything we do there is recorded by our computers. The places we have been and the things we have seen are all recorded there as history for anyone to see. Some people call this an invasion of privacy because they do not want other people to see what they have been up to.

In Revelation 19 we read of the Books and The Book of Life. There is a time coming when the books will be opened and we will be judged by what is written in those books. I believe that we all have a book about our lives that is being written moment by moment in just the same way as our movements through the internet are recorded by our computers.. Nothing we have done will be hidden from being recorded in our book. Our book is being written right now and includes every thought, action, lust, emotion and word that comes from us.

What will be found in your book? What will we be ashamed to have others see when our book is opened? Or will we be pleased to have our book opened, confident that there are no hidden secrets we do not want discovered? Our moments now are writing it - let's live them as we want it read.

The other book is related. It is the Book of Life and reveals the names of those who will be made immortal, whose lives are covered by the grace of God and who have lived as best they can for the Lord. Will you be in it?

There is still time to change the content of both books. Write them well.

We have yet another use of language from Dan 3 where Nebuchadnezzar would have all men worship the image that he had made. All nations gathering shows that it was not only Nebuchadnezzar who was self centred. It is all of mankind.

And so the dream which Nebuchadnezzar had is finally fulfilled in all its details. The stone has smashed the kingdom of this world and Christ is ruling

Rev 20:2. Once again we have the example of the thread running from the beginning of scripture to the end. The serpent here is the same serpent spoken of in Gen. 3. The devil and satan are human nature in opposition to God. It is symbolised by the old serpent, The serpent in Genesis introduced human rebellion against the will of God. Here it finally receives the blow on the head from the One who was struck on the heel.(Gen 3:15)

The mark of the beast is the sign of the crucifix. When a Catholic crosses himself, he is assenting to and aligning himself with the image of the beast which is the religious part of the religious/political Catholic system.

The common good luck practices such as crossing ones fingers, or touching wood (physically or by just saying it) should not be used by true believers in Christ. These all relate to the crucifix.

In Rev.13: The mark of the beast, on the hand, was performed upon the priests. The mark on the forehead was performed by these priests upon the forehead of their flock.

In the 14th.Century, the Holy Roman Empire (the beast) would not allow Catholics (worshippers of the image) to trade with non-Catholics.

The latter day beast will comprise a Catholic Europe which will support the image (Catholicism) and the false prophet (Papacy) in cahoots with the dragon (Russia). It remains to be seen whether this beast will discourage trade with non-Catholics (hard to imagine in today’s worldwide system of trading).

The exhortation for us (Rev 20:4) is to have nothing to do with the political, religious, or social moral of Catholicism (or its apostate daughters).

19:12 The "name that no man knew" is the "new name" that will be given to the ones who "overcome"(Rev 2:17)

19:5 The one occupying the throne is the Lord as God manifest Rev 2:2-3 The throne is David's upon which Christ will reign, and from it will issue laws for the instruction, guidance, and elevation of mankind Isa 2:2-4.

19:12 Christ and the saints are here depicted as ready to appear in flaming fire, taking vengeance on them that know not God, and obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ (2Thess 1:8). Their determination and destination is to take the "many diadems" of the nations, and transfer their authority to the divine government in Jerusalem.

19:6  The ‘voice of a great multitude as the voice of many waters’ draws on the language of Ezekiel’s temple – Eze 43:2 which is most fitting as Ezekiel is seeing the glory of God in the temple. The glorified saints will show that glory to the world.

20:3  Here and everywhere else where the word ‘bottomless’ is found in Revelation the word is Strong’s number <12>. The only other use outside Revelation is Luke 8:31and , Rom 10:7. The use in Revelation seems to draw on the ideas behind the use in Luke 8. A place where that which is evil is consigned to.

WEDDING WORSHIP

The vision of John brought him to the point where great joy and rejoicing was heard because of the righteous judgements of God. In the words of the twenty four Elders, it climaxed when they said, "For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready. Fine linen, bright and clean was given her to wear." (Rev 19:7-8) Then the angel with John told him to write, "Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!" It was at this that John fell at the feet of the angel to worship him, but he was told to worship God instead.
 
The question we need to ask ourselves about all of this, is whether the vision of the wedding supper of the Lamb and being part of the bride of Christ dressed in fine white linen, produces a spirit of worship in us as it did in John? Are we really looking forward to that day with all our heart as a bride longs for her wedding day? Are we so appreciative of the hope that has been set before us that we have praise on our lips and songs in our heart for the goodness of God?
 
The vision of the wedding provoked worship from John. Let us let it's 'wow' sink home to us, and worship God for his incredible promise.

20:7 The concept of the loosing of satan – sin and associated death being seen in the earth again, though only for a short while, contrasts life in the millennium when ‘a child shall die at an hundred’ – Isa 65:20

READY FOR THE WEDDING

19:15 In treading ‘the winepress’ Jesus is finally fulfilling all that was built into the words of the prophet – Isa 63:3

Alleluia, God be praised, the Lord Jesus has come to claim his bride (19:7-9). After the marriage of the Lamb, there remains some unfinished business for the Lord.  Although Rome (Babylon) has been destroyed, there are still those of Catholic Europe who, with the blessing of the false prophet (Pope), will oppose Christ (19:19).  These shall be destroyed (19:20).  Then shall the Kingdom period begin, sinful opposition having been bound for this time (20:2,3). At the end of the Kingdom period there will be a rebellion (20:8) which shall be put down (20:9).  This will be followed by the judgment of the mortal population of the Kingdom period (20:12,13).  After this, both death and the grave will be destroyed (20:14).  At this time all will become subject to Yahweh (1Cor 15:28).

19:6 We find idea of God reigning in the Old Testament in Psa 93:1 and , Psa 97:1. In the second of these references the consequence of God reigning is the earth will rejoice. This will be so when the righteous rulership of the kingdom of God is established men and women will appreciate the glories and worship God. As we already appreciate the glories we should be worshipping Him now.

Rev 19:11-15 First Principles>Kingdom of God>To be Everlasting and world-wide
The Kingdom of God will be a literal kingdom on the earth and last for ever. For more details go to Dan 2:44

19:11 In saying the one on the horse was called faithful and true we see the idea found in Jer 42:5 which there applies to God being applied to the lord Jesus Christ at his return.

20:6   In speaking of the glorified saints being  ‘priests of God’ Jesus is quoting Isa 61:6

GIVEN WHITE ROBES

The great multitude shouted, "'Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready. Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear.' (Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of the saints.)" (Rev 19:6-8)

The bride of Christ had made herself ready by putting on her wedding clothes. She didn't make these clothes herself, and neither did she go and purchase them from someone else in order to make herself beautiful. They were given to her! This seems a bit odd, when we consider that the bright, white, fine linen stands for the righteous acts of the saints. Surely, we think, that our actions are our own. We think that the good deeds we do are done in our own strength, by our own will and at our own initiative. But it appears not.

Paul puts it this way. "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this is not of yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." (Eph 2:8-10)

When Jesus Christ returns, let's make sure our garments truly shine and sparkle with faith and the good works God has prepared for us to do.

19:8  The bride was “granted to be arrayed in white” It was not hers by right. However she was ‘clothed upon’ with righteousness and so has the ‘right’ to be clothed in righteousness. We must appreciate always that our high calling in Christ which will end with immortality is by the grace of God, not by any right to this that we have.  In fact our ‘righteousness’ is like the ‘filthy rags’ that man’s righteousness is like  Isa 64:6

19:17  The call to the fowls to eat the flesh of the might draws on Eze 37:17-18 which speaks of the destruction of Gog. 

19:9   One might think that an invitation to the ‘marriage supper of the lamb’ would be something that no one would want to ignore. However Jesus told the parable of those bidden to the feast who all made excuses Luke 14:16-20 – because they felt that they had something more important to do. That is they valued the feast less than their own activities.  Jesus has already –Matt 6:21 – said that people will, as we might put it ‘follow their dreams’. Where is our treasure?

20:13   The “works” that the dead will be judged according to are not simply charitable actions. They are works of faith. That is actions that are a consequence of a right faith in the things of God. Hebrews 11 is full of such examples. Men and women who acted because they believed what God had said to them.

19:9     Here and in Revelation 16:7 we read of God’s righteousness being true. Both passages draw on Psa 19:9. God’s righteousness cannot exist alongside sin.

19:21  the idea of the fowls being filled with flesh draws on Eze 39:20 which speaks of the overthrow and destruction of God and his host.

19:2,5,7        Notice the progressions. On the first two occasions the people are spoken of as being “servants” but then the “servants” become one person. The “wife”. Unless we are servants together now we are not part of the “wife” who is making herself ready for the marriage of the lamb.

Rev 20:5

“But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years be finished. This is the first resurrection.”

THE Apocalypse was showed to John, not alone for the benefit of the servants of the Deity in the times of the Gentiles, but also for the same class amongst the subjects of the millennial kingdom.

Eighteen hundred years ago John wrote of the dead of the first resurrection, multitudes of whom had not then been born; yet he says, concerning them, ‘I saw the dead, small and great, stand before the Deity.’ Upon the same principle he speaks of the ‘rest of the dead’ who had not come into existence either in or before the time he wrote, or in the times of the Gentiles, or before the resurrection of the firstfruits.

The ‘rest’ is the remainder of a whole number of certain dead ones, to whom eternal life is to be imparted by the Son. The firstfruits are only the earnest of the harvest to be gathered in. The millennial generations will have the happy assurance that, though, the resurrection of the firstfruits had passed, there would be a resurrection of a remainder to complete the whole number originally given by the Father to the Son.

The whole number of the dead is the subject of great solicitude and affection to Christ, who speaks of it in the following scriptures in this wise: ‘Thou, O Father, has given the Son power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him.’ ‘I pray not for the world; but for them whom thou has given me; for they are thine’ (John 17:2,8,24).”

Dr. John Thomas, Eureka, Vol. 3, p. 673

Rev 20

THE GREAT WHITE THRONE

“THE establishment of the Great White Throne of Christ and his Brethren changes the face of the entire world. The Gentile constitution of society in Church and State is entirely abolished; and all the sinners, the ‘miserable sinners,’ as they truly declare themselves to be, or ‘the spirituals of wickedness,’ as Paul styles them, who constitute hierarchies, aristocracies and office holders of the body politic, will be abolished with it being ‘scattered,’ ‘put down,’ and ‘sent empty away’ (Luke 1:51-53). Popes, Cardinals, Archbishops. Bishops, Priests, Parsons, and all sorts of superior and inferior dealers in ‘sorcery’ and ‘lies;’ emperors, kings, cabinets, diplomatists, officers of state, military and naval commanders, parliaments, congresses and all sorts of legislative bodies—these will all be chased into the darkness of annihilation, and historical contempt, as ‘the Devil and his Angels’ who for ages were ‘them who destroy the earth’ (Rev 11:18). All these constituted things with the peoples, nations, and tongues, in their political aggregation, are the Gentile ‘Heavens and Earth,’ or Body Politic. Its complete suppression by the world-wide dominion of the Saints is apocalyptically represented by the saying ‘the Heaven and the Earth fled away; and place had been found for them no more.’ The manner of their flight is symbolically illustrated in Dan 2:34,35, where, as elements of Nebuchadnezzar’s political image, they are smitten by the Stone Power, and ‘broken to pieces together and become like the chaff of the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them; and the stone that smote the image became a GREAT MOUNTAIN, and filled the whole earth.’”