Remaining questions in Malachi

Mo. 11/17/14: Malachi 1:2 – 3                  What was proof of God’s love?

      “I have loved you,” says the Lord.

      “Yet you say, ‘In what way have You loved us?’

      Was not Esau Jacob’s brother?”

      Says the Lord.

      “Yet Jacob I have loved; But Esau I have hated,

      And laid waste his mountains and his heritage

      For the jackals of the wilderness.”

What was proof of God’s love? Israel was God’s chosen people.

Tu. 11/18/14: Malachi 3:8 – 9                  What was God robbed of?

      “Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me!

      But you say, ‘In what way have we robbed You?’

      In tithes and offerings. You are cursed with a curse,

      For you have robbed Me, Even this whole nation.

What was God robbed of? God was not given tithes and offerings.

We. 11/19/14: Malachi 3:13 – 14                  What did God’s people say about Him?

      “Your words have been harsh against Me,”

      Says the Lord, “Yet you say,

      ‘What have we spoken against You?’

      You have said, ‘It is useless to serve God;

      What profit is it that we have kept His ordinance,

      And that we have walked as mourners

      Before the Lord of hosts?

What did God’s people say about Him? There is no present reward for following God.

Th. 11/20/14: Hebrews 3:12 – 13                  What are we cautioned to beware of?

Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; but exhort one another daily, while it is called “Today,” lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.

What are we cautioned to beware of? An evil heart of unbelief in yourself.

Fr. 11/21/14: Hebrews 6:11 – 12                  What is desirable in God’s people?

And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end, that you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.

What is desirable in God’s people? God’s people should be diligent to the end.

Where

Mo. 11/10/14: Zephaniah 3:18b – 20                  Where will fame and praise be?

      “…Behold, at that time I will deal with all who afflict you;

      I will save the lame, And gather those who were driven out;

      I will appoint them for praise and fame

      In every land where they were put to shame.

      At that time I will bring you back, Even at the time I gather you;

      For I will give you fame and praise

      Among all the peoples of the earth,

      When I return your captives before your eyes,” Says the Lord.

Where will fame and praise be? In the land where they were shamed.

Tu. 11/11/14: Zechariah 1:3 – 5                  Where are the fathers and prophets?

Therefore say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts: “Return to Me,” says the Lord of hosts, “and I will return to you,” says the Lord of hosts. “Do not be like your fathers, to whom the former prophets preached, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts: “Turn now from your evil ways and your evil deeds.”’ But they did not hear nor heed Me,” says the Lord.

      “Your fathers, where are they?

      And the prophets, do they live forever?...”

Where are the fathers and prophets? The fathers and prophets are gone.

We. 11/12/14: Malachi 1:6                  Where is the Lord’s honor?

      “A son honors his father, And a servant his master.

      If then I am the Father, Where is My honor?

      And if I am a Master, Where is My reverence?

      Says the Lord of hosts

      To you priests who despise My name.

      Yet you say, ‘In what way have we despised Your name?’

Where is the Lord’s honor? The Lord’s people did not honor Him.

Th. 11/13/14: Malachi 2:17, 3:1 – 2                  Where is God?

      You have wearied the Lord with your words…“Where is the God of justice?”

      “Behold, I send My messenger, And he will prepare the way before Me.

      And the Lord, whom you seek, Will suddenly come to His temple

      …Says the Lord of hosts.

      “But who can endure the day of His coming?...

Where is God? He is sending His messenger, His Son, Jesus Christ.

Fr. 11/14/14: Matthew 18:20                  Where is Jesus Christ?

For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.”

Where is Jesus Christ? In the midst of two or three gathered in His name.

What is the question

Mo. 11/3/14: Zechariah 13:6 – 7                  What are the arm wounds?

And one will say to him, ‘What are these wounds between your arms?’ Then he will answer, ‘Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends.’

      “Awake, O sword, against My Shepherd,

      Against the Man who is My Companion,”

      Says the Lord of hosts.

      “Strike the Shepherd,

      And the sheep will be scattered;

      Then I will turn My hand against the little ones.

What are the arm wounds? These wounds prophesy crucifixion.

Tu. 11/4/14: Malachi 1:7 – 8                  What is the defiled food?

      “You offer defiled food on My altar,

      But say, ‘In what way have we defiled You?’

      By saying, ‘The table of the Lord is contemptible.’

      And when you offer the blind as a sacrifice, Is it not evil?

      And when you offer the lame and sick,

      Is it not evil? Offer it then to your governor!

      Would he be pleased with you?

      Would he accept you favorably?”

      Says the Lord of hosts.

What is the defiled food? The defiled food is imperfect sacrifice.

We. 11/5/14: Malachi 1:13                  What is sneered at?

      You also say, ‘Oh, what a weariness!’

      And you sneer at it,” Says the Lord of hosts.

      “And you bring the stolen, the lame, and the sick;

      Thus you bring an offering!

      Should I accept this from your hand?” Says the Lord.

What is sneered at? Unacceptable sacrifices are offered, but sneered at.

Th. 11/6/14: Malachi 3:7                  What is the first step?

      Yet from the days of your fathers

      You have gone away from My ordinances

      And have not kept them.

      Return to Me, and I will return to you,”

      Says the Lord of hosts.

      “But you said, ‘In what way shall we return?’

What is the first step? The first step is return or repentance.

Fr. 11/7/14: Mark 8:36 – 37                  What is the cost of a soul?

For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?

What is the cost of a soul? The cost is the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.

How God views believers

Mo. 10/27/14: Micah 2:4 – 5a                  How are we destroyed?

      In that day one shall take up a proverb against you,

      And lament with a bitter lamentation, saying:

      ‘We are utterly destroyed!

      He has changed the heritage of my people;

      How He has removed it from me!

      To a turncoat He has divided our fields.’”

How are we destroyed? God has changed our heritage.

Tu. 10/28/14: Habakkuk 2:6 – 8                  How long can we plunder others?

      “Will not all these take up a proverb against him,

      And a taunting riddle against him, and say,

      ‘Woe to him who increases, What is not his—how long?

      And to him who loads himself with many pledges’?

      Will not your creditors rise up suddenly?

      Will they not awaken who oppress you?

      And you will become their booty.

      Because you have plundered many nations,

      All the remnant of the people shall plunder you,

      Because of men’s blood

      And the violence of the land and the city,

      And of all who dwell in it.

How long can we plunder others? God will put a stop to us.

We. 10/29/14: Zephaniah 2:15                  How did desolation occur?

      This is the rejoicing city

      That dwelt securely, That said in her heart,

      “I am it, and there is none besides me.”

      How has she become a desolation,

      A place for beasts to lie down!

How did desolation occur? This will occur while the city is rejoicing.

Th. 10/30/14: Haggai 2:3                  How does the temple compare?

‘Who is left among you who saw this temple in its former glory? And how do you see it now? In comparison is this not … as nothing?

How does the temple compare? The new temple is nothing in comparison.

Fr. 10/31/14: Matthew 5:13, 16                  How can salt lose its flavor?

“You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.

How can salt lose its flavor? We, the salt of the earth, don’t proclaim God’s word.

God questions His people

Mo. 10/20/14: Joel 2:17b – 19                  Why do people question God?

      Why should they say among the peoples,

      ‘Where is their God?’”

      Then the Lord will be zealous for His land,

      And pity His people.

      The Lord will answer and say to His people,

      “Behold, I will send you grain and new wine and oil,

      And you will be satisfied by them;

      I will no longer make you a reproach among the nations.

Why do people question God? God’s people have forgotten Him.

Tu. 10/21/14: Micah 4:9                  Why do His people cry aloud?

      Now why do you cry aloud?

      Is there no king in your midst?

      Has your counselor perished?

      For pangs have seized you like a woman in labor.

Why do His people cry aloud? His people want a king.

We. 10/22/14: Habakkuk 1:3 – 4                  Why do His people cause trouble?

      Why do You show me iniquity,

      And cause me to see trouble?

      For plundering and violence are before me;

      There is strife, and contention arises.

      Therefore the law is powerless,

      And justice never goes forth.

Why do His people cause trouble? His people have iniquity.

Th. 10/23/14: Habakkuk 1:14 – 16                  Why do His people oppress men?

      Why do You make men like fish of the sea,

      Like creeping things that have no ruler over them?

      They take up all of them with a hook,

      They catch them in their net,

      And gather them in their dragnet…

      Therefore they sacrifice to their net,

      And burn incense to their dragnet;

Why do His people oppress men? They oppress men by bowing to idols.

Fr. 10/24/14: Romans 9:19 – 21                  Why do His people find fault?

You will say to me then, “Why does He still find fault? For who has resisted His will?” But indeed, O man, who are you to reply against God? Will the thing formed say to him who formed it, “Why have you made me like this?” Does not the potter have power over the clay, from the same lump to make one vessel for honor and another for dishonor?

Why do His people find fault? They have forgotten the Potter and clay.

Questions

Mo. 10/13/14: Hosea 11:7 –8                  Who was backsliding?

      My people are bent on backsliding from Me.

      Though they call to the Most High, None at all exalt Him.

      “How can I give you up, Ephraim?

      How can I hand you over, Israel? …

      My heart churns within Me; My sympathy is stirred.

Who was backsliding? Israel was backsliding.

Tu. 10/14/14: Obadiah 1:4 – 5                  Who was feeling mighty?

      Though you ascend as high as the eagle,

      And though you set your nest among the stars,

      From there I will bring you down,” says the Lord.

      “If thieves had come to you, Oh, how you will be cut off!—

      Would they not have stolen till they had enough?

      If grape-gatherers had come to you,

      Would they not have left some gleanings?

Who was feeling mighty? Israel’s wealthy were feeling ‘above it all.’

We. 10/15/14: Micah 6:3 – 4                  Who were weary?

      “O My people, what have I done to you?

      And how have I wearied you? Testify against Me.

      For I brought you up from the land of Egypt,

      I redeemed you from the house of bondage;

      And I sent before you Moses, Aaron, and Miriam.

Who were weary? Israel was forgetting God’s salvation.

Th. 10/16/14: Haggai 2:2 – 4                  Who promised Himself?

“Speak now to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and to the remnant of the people, saying: ‘Who is left among you who saw this temple in its former glory? And how do you see it now? In comparison with it, is this not in your eyes as nothing? Yet now be strong, … all you people of the land,’ says the Lord, ‘and work; for I am with you,’ says the Lord of hosts.

Who promised Himself? God Promised to be with Israel Himself.

Fr. 10/17/14: John 14:22 – 23                  Who promised His love?

Judas (not Iscariot) said to Him, “Lord, how is it that You will manifest Yourself to us, and not to the world?”

Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.

Who promised His love? Christ did, and to anyone, not just Jews.

Questions for Believers

Mo. 10/6/14: Jeremiah 2:31 – 32                  Can a nation forget God?

      “O generation, see the word of the Lord!

      Have I been a wilderness to Israel,

      Or a land of darkness?

      Why do My people say, ‘We are lords;

      We will come no more to You’?

      Can a virgin forget her ornaments,

      Or a bride her attire?

      Yet My people have forgotten Me days without number.

Can a nation forget God? Yes a nation and an individual could forget God.

Tu. 10/7/14: Jeremiah 23:24, 28 – 30a                  Can we hide from God?

      Can anyone hide himself in secret places,

      So I shall not see him?” says the Lord;

      “Do I not fill heaven and earth?” says the Lord.

      “The prophet who has a dream, let him tell a dream;

      And he who has My word, let him speak My word faithfully.

      What is the chaff to the wheat?” says the Lord.

      “Is not My word like a fire?” says the Lord,

      “And like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?

Can we hide from God? No one hides from God.

We. 10/8/14: Ezekiel 22:13 – 14                  Can you endure against God?

“Behold, therefore, I beat My fists at the dishonest profit which you have made, and at the bloodshed which has been in your midst. Can your heart endure, or can your hands remain strong, in the days when I shall deal with you? I, the Lord, have spoken, and will do it.

Can you endure against God? No, God sees all.

Th. 10/9/14: Amos 3:3 – 5                  Can two walk together?

      Can two walk together, unless they are agreed?

      Will a lion roar in the forest, when he has no prey?

      Will a young lion cry out of his den, if he has caught nothing?

      Will a bird fall into a snare on the earth, where there is no trap for it?

      Will a snare spring up from the earth, if it has caught nothing at all?

Can two walk together? Yes, if they agree.

Fr. 10/10/14: James 2:22 – 24                  Can faith be without works?

Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect? And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” And he was called the friend of God. You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only.                 

Can faith be without works? No. Even the dying thief showed his faith by telling.