I. Introduction
A. Why do we do reckless things? Why do we make stupid decisions? Why don’t we show more compassion toward others? Why are our daily routines and life pursuits so often all about us?
It has been said that what you think about God is the most important thing about you. Maybe the key to answering the questions above is to examine ourselves and what we think about God.
B. Notice the many references to “honor,” “reverence,” “awe,” and “fear” in the text: 2:2, 2:5, 3:5, 3:16, and 4:2.
C. Movie clips from The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, & the Wardrobe:
1. The camp bowing down before Aslan (beginning @ 7:00 mins)
2. Susan & Lucy stroking Aslan’s mane (beginning @ 3:05 mins)
3. “Not safe, but good” (beginning @ 6:00 mins)
In the story of Narnia, the great lion Aslan is a kind of Christ-figure.
In C. S. Lewis’ book, The Lion, the Witch, & the Wardrobe, the character Lucy asks: “Then he [Aslan] isn’t safe?” Mr. Beaver replies: “Safe? [D]on’t you hear what Mrs. Beaver tells you? Who said anything about safe? ‘Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King, I tell you” (81).
What we think about God ought to cause our hearts to bow down before him as King. The Lord is not safe, but he is good.
D. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline” (Proverbs 1:7).
Wisdom means basing the decisions we make and the actions we take solidly on our past experiences, our present circumstances/responsibilities, and our future hopes and dreams (HT: Andy Stanley). This is what the book of Proverbs is all about. And the key to wisdom is what we think about God.
II. Israel does not fear YHWH because they do not know who he is (2:1-17)
Israel no longer takes YHWH seriously. They do not fear the Lord. The priests bring blind, crippled, diseased, and blemished animals to offer as sacrifices. The men of Judah are divorcing their first wives and intermarrying with foreign women who worship foreign gods. Israel is withholding tithes and offerings, giving only a part of what the Lord has required. They even dare to question God’s justice, saying that evildoers prosper.
Do they know who God is? Think about it. If they truly knew who God is, they would take him more seriously. If they truly knew the Lord, they would fear the Lord. In vv. 1-3, God admonishes the priests for the posture of their heart. They do not honor God. He says that they have failed to follow the example of Levi (vv. 7-9). He says to them: “‘And you will know that I have sent you this admonition so that my covenant with Levi may continue,’ says the Lord Almighty. ‘My covenant was with him, a covenant of life and peace, and I gave them to him; this called for reverence and he revered me and stood in awe of my name. True instruction was in his mouth and nothing false was found on his lips. He walked with me in peace and uprightness, and turned many from sin” (vv. 4-6).
What does it mean to stand in awe of God? I think the image from The Chronicles of Narnia of the entire camp bowing down before Aslan the King says it all.
Levi stood in awe of YHWH, but the Levites of Malachi’s day did not. This is because they clearly do not know YHWH (see v. 17, where they question his justice). We must know who God is. This is absolutely imperative.
III. Because Israel does not fear YHWH, they will be judged (3:1-5; 3:16-4:6)
A. How we relate to God is a serious business. Malachi pleads with his people to guard themselves in their spirit and repent of breaking the covenant God made with their forefathers. God warns them that if they do not repent, they will be judged. The messenger of the covenant (that is, Jesus) will refine the Levites (3:2-4). In the Day of the Lord, arrogant and evildoing men will burn like stubble (4:1).
Justice is “what is right.” What is right is determined by what God says (Torah). What God says is determined by who God is (just, holy, loving, triune, etc.). So the nature of God determines what justice is. God is “what is right” (source, accessed August 13, 2009).
If you remember, those who had prospered in Babylon were now using their good fortunes to take advantage of fellow Jews who were less fortunate by lending money at an exorbitant rate of interest (usury). This was a great injustice and, as such, it violated the very nature and character of God. God promises that the messenger of the covenant will judge the people of Israel for all of their injustices (3:5).
B. I think one reason we struggle with what we think about God is because he is not physical. Susan and Lucy had a real, live, physical lion ... a potent reminder of who Aslan is. But we do not. It is like there is nothing for our senses to grasp onto.
Israel’s response in 3:16 is striking: it is all about the posture of their heart, yet they preserve their response in a physical scroll, something they can hold onto.
IV. Conclusion
Donald Miller says: “If you ask me, the way to tell if a person knows God for real, I mean knows the real God, is that they will fear Him ... It seems like, if you really knew the God who understands the physics of our existence, you would operate a little more cautiously, a little more compassionately, a little less like you are the center of the universe” (Searching for God Knows What, 38).
V. Regen Reflection Q’s
A. “Our God is not safe, but he is good.” What do you think about this statement?
B. In what ways may you have taken yourself too seriously? In what ways may you have taken God too lightly?
C. What do you think of Israel’s response to God in 3:16? How can we model this kind of response in our own lives and community?
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