Sat Jan 17

Listen up, little ones

Especially for the littles in your household.

Listen for the word messenger.

Reading

Malachi 3:1—I Will Send My Messenger

Keys for kids

Also for the littles. Young households might choose, after Keys for Kids, to go directly to praise and prayer.

God will send His messenger to His people.
At least three messengers are found in Malachi.
Malachi’s prophecy was the last word from God for 400 years.

Questions

(some read these before notes, then ask them after)

Who are the messengers in verse one?
What was Malachi’s role in announcing Jesus?
What was John the Baptist’s role in announcing Jesus?

Notes

(See below for all authors.)

In this short, final book of the Old Testament, in Hebrew, the first word is burden and the final word is curse. Yet the book is not all doom and gloom. Malachi brings a message of hope in the midst of warning and judgment. After this book, there will be no word from the Lord for 400 years. Malachi’s last written word of curse will be broken by the coming Living Word of blessing—the Lord Jesus Christ. This coming of God’s messenger is promised here in Malachi 3. In fact, 3 different messengers are represented in v1. Malachi (the author’s, name means “my messenger.”) Secondly, the my messenger who will prepare the way, a clear reference to John the Baptist (Matthew 11:7, 10). Finally, the Lord Himself is promised—the Messenger of the Covenant—the One who is coming.

This Messenger of the Covenant will come suddenly. The RSB notes that this word is almost always associated in Scripture with an unhappy and calamitous circumstance (Num. 12:4; Is. 47:11; cf. 2 Pet. 3:10). Hope and warning. Let the reader be aware!

Swedish Method questions

See the Sunday notes for meaning of the symbols.

Praise

Psalm 16d, 119u

Prayer

Rejoice in Jesus coming as God’s Messenger of the Covenant.
Pray for the reading and preaching of God’s word tomorrow.
Pray for a member of our church, for your family, and for a non-Christian friend/family member.

Notes this week are drawn in part from commentaries by John Calvin, William Hendriksen, Kent Hughes, Kenneth Gentry, R.C. Sproul, Benjamin Shaw, James Smith, John Benton, the Theological Dictionary of the Old and New Testaments (TDOT, TDNT) and notes from the CSB Study Bible, and the Reformation Study Bible (RSB).