On 8-30-15, Malachi 3:1-10 will be our Adult Sunday School/ Uniform Series/ International Sunday School Lesson, herein is my commentary. This lesson is known by some as Return to a Just God or A Plea to Return to God

Return to a Just God 

or 

A Plea to Return to God

Malachi 3:1-10

August 30, 2015

Commentary 

by

Jed Greenough

God does not change.  I wonder how many of you pay enough attention to what I write to see how many times I have said that over the last several weeks.

Despite Israel’s stubbornness and failure to hold up their end God follows through.

In today’s first verse He says, “See I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me.”  Soon to be fulfilled by John the Baptist.  

This is followed by “Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come…”  Soon to be fulfilled by the Messiah.

Both things He eluded to in the past or clearly said He would do and now He will.  Easy for us to see now but like most prophecy at the time, not so much.

What else have we been seeing week after week now?  The consistency of God’s message in how He wants us to act ourselves and treat others.  

This week we read, “So I will come near to you for judgment.”  That makes it personal doesn’t it?  Don't just think of it in general terms such as a group like Israel but for us all as individuals.

He will “be quick to testify against sorcerers, adulterers and perjurers, against those who defraud laborers of their wages, who oppress the widows and the fatherless, and deprive aliens of justice, but do not fear me.”

Lest we think that is an all encompassing list and tick them off and say, “whew!” we should instead consider it as the nature of God and how He wants us to act and treat others.  By the same measure He will treat us.

He shows, again consistently, that when we don’t have a walk like this He doesn’t walk with us.  But there is hope, at least for now.

As we read in verse 7, “Return to me, and I will return to you.”

For Discussion:

1. Look up what Malachi means.
2. Read Isaiah 40:3-5
3. Discuss verses foretelling Christ.
4. Discuss a refiner’s fire.
5. Discuss how we are to live.
6. Discuss changes in our church that are changes to what God said.
7. Discuss how one returns to God.

Upcoming Lessons

9-6-15     Praying for One Another or Praying for Boldness    Acts 4:23-31

Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 Biblica. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved