Now, I don’t know what it’s like to have someone in a court of law describing something that I did wrong, but I’m pretty sure that if God was a witness against me, this would be pretty fearful indeed! Imagine that as you consider part of the message that people in the day of Malachi the prophet received from God.
“So I will come to put you on trial. I 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 the foreigners among you of justice, but do not fear me,” says the LORD Almighty.
Malachi 3:5 NIV
God is going to testify against those who practice certain behaviors, and this verse provides some examples of who can be expected to face His testimony. Of these specific cases, it might be easy to ignore some of them as “sins that ‘other’ people do”. However, certain behaviors listed here might hit a little closer to home:
- Have we ever told something that wasn’t true, like a perjurer?
- Have we wanted to trample on the rights of someone from another country?
- Have we ever wanted control over a supernatural power so that we could get our way?
Hopefully not, but I still don’t think that this list is meant as a tool for us to judge others by. Instead it is a chance for us to take an inventory of our own lives, and determine what is junk that needs to be removed, along with identifying which elements of righteousness in our lives should be cleaned up and polished for all to see (not to our glory, but to the glory of God).
And, the “opposite” of all of these evil practices seems to be the fear of God. When He is properly respected, blatantly violating His instructions seems a lot less attractive. (And, once we appreciate His knowledge of all our thoughts, choices, and actions, we might also think more about what testimony He would give about us.)
Conversely, when God is not respected, those who make that choice put themselves in opposition to Him. Many people talk about “being on the right side of history”, but with the insights that God has shared about the eternal destiny of human beings, I am confident that no matter how history judges me, I want to be on the right side of God!
So, let’s watch out for things that can draw us away from God. The very nature of faithfulness means that it requires ongoing effort to keep from straying. It will take work. It will require letting ourselves get cleaned up through trials that God allows to come our way, rooting out gunk that still corrupts our choices. It will require giving up some behaviors. But, remaining faithful and showing respect to the God of the universe, and trusting in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, are absolutely worth the effort. That is a testimony I would like to hear from God about my choices. How about you?
From Sunday School lesson prepared for August 25, 2024
References:
- The Lookout, August, 2024, © 2024 Christian Standard Media.
- Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
- The College Press NIV Commentary – Minor Prophets Vol. 2 Nahum-Malachi, by Mark Allen Hahlen and Clay Alan Ham. © 2006 College Press Publishing Co.
Those Who Sin Differently 