Listen up, little ones
Listen for the word Lord.
Reading
Malachi 3:1-12—I Will Come in Judgment
Keys for kids
- God will not let his people remain in their sin.
- Instead, he cleanses them.
- God’s cleansing us can be painful, but it is worth it.
Questions
- Against whom did the Jews expect God’s judgment to be?
- What are the two images of painful cleansing given here?
- How should we respond to God’s cleansing?
Notes
(See Saturday for authors. )
Smith comments that the Jews expected Messiah to come to judge the heathen. Malachi warned the skeptics that they would be the first to be judged. Yet this warning of judgment is not without grace. Rather it is a warning of a grace that will be painful yet purifying. God will not let His people remain in their sin.
Malachi uses two images here of painful cleansing. The purifying will be a refiner’s fire—burning away all impurities of His people. Secondly, the purifying will be like a laundryman’s cleansing soap. Just as a child often dreads being scrubbed clean by a parent, so Malachi’s readers would know this cleansing could be painful. This cleansing lye soup, applied vigorously by the Lord, might well hurt. But the resulting cleanness would be worth it. The Levites, representing the people, would once again present offerings in righteousness because their hearts and lives would have been purified.
Not only does God promise His purifying work of His people, He also promises punishment for the wicked. Again and again, God comes in judgment against the wicked. Most severe is His judgment against the wicked among those named as His people. How much better that we accept His painful cleansing and repent than suffer His just punishment against those who will not repent. When we do, we know His unchanging mercy.
Swedish Method questions
Praise
Psalm 51a, 119u
Prayer
- Ask God to make you clean in your daily life.
- Pray for the preparation for preaching God’s Word this Lord's Day.
- Pray for a member of our church, for your family, and for a non-Christian friend/family member.