Sermon Notes: Surveying the Text: Malachi
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This portion of the Word of God came to us through Zechariah, son of Berechiah. For our purposes here, we will not assume any textual error in Matt. 23:35 where Jesus says that Zechariah, son of Berechaiah, was murdered between the temple and the altar. This had also happened to Zechariah, son of Jehoidah, in 2 Chron. 24:20-22. But Zechariah was a very common name, and martyrdom was common to the faithful.
“In the eighth month, in the second year of Darius, came the word of the LORD unto Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo the prophet, saying,” (Zechariah 1:1-6).
The nation of Judah had been taken into exile in Babylon. This Babylonian captivity lasted from 586- 539 BC. The first return to the land was shortly before the ministry of Zechariah, which began in 520 BC. This is just several months after the ministry of Haggai began. During Zechariah’s time, the dominant empire was that of the Persians. Darius I began his rule in 522.
Although the context is the same as we find in Haggai, the images are much more vivid and apocalyptic, and therefore more difficult for moderns to understand. Four things will encourage you as we work through this book.
Just relax and read—do not try to read this book as though it were a letter of Paul. Do not try to dismantle and analyze as you go. You will be learning some alien literary forms, and you must begin by letting those forms “happen” to you. Repeatedly. Do not try to squeeze this book into any existing categories you might have in your mind.
Mind his prophetic companions—Zechariah ministered alongside Haggai. As you read and reread this prophecy of Zechariah, take care to read his contemporary and companion in ministry. Note the impact—second only to the book of Ezekiel, the prophecy of Zechariah had a profound impact on the book of Revelation. This is not revealed through direct quotation, but through many allusions and symbols. Take care also to read the book of Revelation after you have read Zechariah, taking special note of any similarities.
And remember we have an inspired interpretation—the New Testament writers teach us what many Old Testament passages mean. This in turn sheds much light on the original context of the OT passage. Further, the apostolic writers teach us how to handle such passages. In other words, we learn our hermeneutic from the apostles.
“And the LORD said unto Satan, The LORD rebuke thee, O Satan; Even the LORD that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee: Is not this a brand plucked out of the fire?” (Zech. 3:2). See Jude 9. “These are the things that ye shall do; Speak ye every man the truth to his neighbour; execute the judgment of truth and peace in your gates:” (Zech. 8:16). See Eph. 4:25.
“Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: Behold, thy King cometh unto thee: He is just, and having salvation; Lowly, and riding upon an ass, And upon a colt the foal of an ass” (Zech. 9:9). See Matt. 21:5 and John 12:15.
“And I said unto them, If ye think good, give me my price; and if not, forbear. So they weighed for my price thirty pieces of silver. And the LORD said unto me, Cast it unto the potter: a goodly price that I was prised at of them. And I took the thirty pieces of silver, and cast them to the potter in the house of the LORD.” (Zech. 11:12–13). See Matt. 26:15 and Matt. 27:9-10
“And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, The spirit of grace and of supplications: And they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, And they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, And shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.” (Zech. 12:10). See John 19:37 and Rev. 1:7
“Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, and against the man that is my fellow, Saith the LORD of hosts: Smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered: And I will turn mine hand upon the little ones.” (Zech. 13:7). See Matt. 26:31 and Mark 14:27.
The prophecy of Zechariah comes to us in four distinct parts.
Introductory—the introduction is simply the first six verses of the books (Zech. 1:1-6).
Symbolic—the second section is a series of symbolic “night visions,” bringing us to the end of chapter six (Zech. 1:7-6:15). These night visions are chiastic. Visions 1 and 8 have the colored horses. Visions 2 and 3 match visions 6 and 7, and deal with obstacles the people were facing as they rebuilt the Temple. Visions 4 and 5 are the centerpiece, and deal with encouraging the leadership of Zerubbabel and Joshua.
Didactic—the teaching portion of the book is found in chapters 7 and 8 (Zech. 7:1-8:23). A question arises about fasting, and the people are told to turn their fasting into rejoicing (8:18-19).
Prophetic—in the prophetic section of the book we find two great oracles. The first (Zech. 9:1-11:17) prophesies the coming of the Shepherd King, and the second deals with the salvation of the entire world (Zech. 12:1-14:20). The coming king will be killed, but the kingdom triumphs regardless.
The prophet is bringing a word of encouragement to the people. But he does not gloss over sin in order to bring a false encouragement. Gospel encouragement is not possible apart from genuine and true repentance.
Wrath and encouragement—we find no salvation in turning to the ways of our fathers. This is good or bad, depending upon what our fathers were doing. In this instance, “do not be like your fathers,” Zechariah says.
All flesh is grass—your fathers who were disobedient are all dead. The prophets who rebuked them all also dead. In contrast to both rebel and servant, the word of the Lord continues on.
Look around—the land was originally a land of milk and honey. After the return from exile, the children of Israel were standing in the midst of a great ruin.
Remember —one of the great features of the biblical sermon is the call to remember. One of the great sins in Scripture is that of forgetting. What the Lord said He would do to the fathers, He has most certainly done. Look around you, remember the Word of the Lord, and draw conclusions.
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Our sketch of a godly husband is not to be based upon a particular set of cultural assumptions, or on certain notions created by the false elevation of certain personality types. As with everything, we must turn to the Word of God for guidance.
“An excellent wife is the crown of her husband, but she who causes shame is like rottenness in his bones” (Prov. 12:4).
We should begin by noting that a husband should love Jesus Christ above all—“If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple” (Luke 14:26). In the parallel passage in Matthew 10, Jesus uses the expression “loves more than me.” But here in Luke, He includes wives in the list. A man who loves his wife more than Jesus Christ cannot be Christ’s disciple. And if he is not Christ’s disciple, he will not be the kind of husband he ought to be. In other words, a wife with good sense will deeply desire to be second on the list of her husband’s priorities. In this sense, a wife who is loved as “number two” will receive a lot more sacrificial love than if she were number one.
Second, a husband must be a man, not a boy—“And I looked, and arose and said to the nobles, to the leaders, and to the rest of the people, ‘Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, great and awesome, and fight for your brethren, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your houses’” (Neh. 4:14). But in order to qualify for the fight, God required maturity of males. “Take a census of all the congregation of the children of Israel, by their families, by their fathers’ houses, according to the number of names, every male individually, from twenty years old and above—all who are able to go to war in Israel” (Num. 1:2-3). In a church where marriage is valued highly, boys should want to be married before they sire ready to be married.
In order for this to happen, a husband needs to have been prepared —marriage is a help to vocation (1 Cor. 11:8-9). A man not prepared for vocation is not prepared for marriage.
A godly husband assumes masculine responsibility —a man must come into marriage understanding what it is, and where he stands in the relation he is establishing. In short, the vows should be in line with the teaching of federal husbandry, and he should understand the nature of the vows he makes. He enters into marriage fully expecting to exercise leadership. He knows how to make a decision.
A godly husband is monogamous to the bone—it is not good that man be alone, and God created one woman to fix the problem (Gen. 2:18). The creation order shows God’s design for marriage. The relation of Christ and the church shows God’s design for marriage (Eph. 5:21-33). The Bible requires Christian leaders to be monogamous (1 Tim. 3:2), and they are set before the church as examples (Heb. 13:7, 17). This obviously excludes adultery and lust, but it also excludes snide comparative comments.
A godly husband is tribal—this means that he thinks in terms of his ancestors and descendants. The Ten Commandments promise blessings to a thousand generations (Ex. 20:5). Godly men pursue God’s blessings. “Now Jabez was more honorable than his brothers, and his mother called his name Jabez, saying, ‘Because I bore him in pain.’ And Jabez called on the God of Israel saying, ‘Oh, that You would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory, that Your hand would be with me, and that You would keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain!’ So God granted him what he requested” (1 Chron. 4:9- 10). He does not think in terms of raw accumulation, of collecting trophies. And he does not boast in putting on his armor as though he is taking it off.
A godly husband is industrious—this standard of industry is not determined by the union. It affects more than whether he does an adequate job “at work.” He does not sit for endless hours, staring slack-jawed at the tube. He is not a slug at home.
A godly husband provides food and clothing—in the Old Testament law, God placed a certain restriction on polygamy. A man could not steal certain things from his first wife by taking a second. We see the essential things God requires a man to provide for his wife. “If he takes another wife, he shall not diminish her food, her clothing, and her marriage rights” (Ex. 21:10).
A godly husband is sexually attentive—this is not the same as being sexually selfish. “Nevertheless, because of sexual immorality, let each man have his own wife, and let each woman have her own husband” (1 Cor. 7:2). He understands his wife and what she desires. He listens, and is thoughtful.
A godly husband is courageous—in Neh. 4:14, we saw the duty which men who are husbands and fathers have to fight to protect their homes. We have drifted into a mentality which seeks to find defense in unattached boys. We use eighteen-year-old boys as cannon fodder. But in the biblical mentality, a society goes to war, represented in it.
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Haggai’s name means “festal,” and this gives us a key note for the book. Like other prophets, he rebukes the sins of the people. But unlike most other prophets, the people listen to him, and he promises great glory to come. What we know about Haggai is found in this book, and in Ezra 5:1-2 . Along with Zechariah, Haggai is a post-exilic prophet, and his entire recorded ministry lasted only a few weeks in the year 520 B.C.
Exiles had returned to Jerusalem after the decree of Cyrus in 539 B.C. They built the altar and the foundations of the Temple, but then got distracted, and began work on their own homes and estates. It is now some 19 years later, and the word of the Lord comes to Haggai.
“For thus saith the Lord of hosts; Yet once, it is a little while, And I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land; And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come: And I will fill this house with glory, saith the Lord of hosts” (Hag. 2:6–7).
The book of Haggai consists of four prophetic oracles, and one very brief narratival response. The first oracle rebukes the people for neglecting the rebuilding of the Temple while paying attention to the building of their own paneled homes (1:1-11). We then have a brief narrative of the positive response by the people (1:12-15). The second oracle answers a concern by some of the older Israelites who remembered how glorious Solomon’s Temple had been (2:1-9). In the third oracle, Haggai answers a question arising from the laws governing ritual defilement (2:10-19). And then in the fourth oracle, Haggai gives a great promise to Zerubbabel, grandson of King Jehoiachin, and vassal governor under the Persians. Contrast what is spoken of their respective signet rings (Hag. 2:23; Jer. 22:24).
As you read through this short book, take note of some of Haggai’s literary devices. He frequently uses the rhetorical question. He is also accustomed to the device of repeating key phrases. He employs parallelisms, and his book is filled with allusions.
For example: “Is this the right time for you to dwell in your paneled houses?” (1:4, 9; 2:3, 12-13, 19). For the second, “consider your ways!” (1:5, 7). For the third, “you have sown much, but harvest little” (1:6; cf. 1:4, 9-10). And for the allusions, Hag. 1:6 contains echoes of Deut. 28:38-40). And compare Hag. 2:17 with Deut. 28:22.
In the third oracle (2:10-19), we learn that touching an unclean thing contaminates the holy. And in the same way, the prophet showed that Temple ruins contaminated all of life. When worship is ruined, so will everything else be. We will come back to this.
Solomon built the first Temple. After it was destroyed, the people of Israel were taken into exile. When they returned after seventy years, they rebuilt the Temple, establishing what is called “Second Temple Judaism.” Some centuries after this, Herod completely refurbished this Temple, but in such a way as to keep it the Second Temple. Work started on this project in 19 B.C, and 10,000 skilled laborers worked on it. One thousand Levites were trained as masons and builders so that the work could be done without interrupting the sacrifices.
When Jesus first came to the Temple during His ministry, it was still under construction and had been for 46 years. It was not completed until 63 A.D.—just 7 years before the Romans destroyed it. Now when Jesus came to the Temple, He cleansed it, and He plainly identified Himself as the new Temple, the final Temple, the ultimate Temple. And this is how the author of Hebrews describes it when he quotes the second chapter of Haggai. The entire passage is worth quoting:
“But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel. See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven: Whose voice then shook the earth: but now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven. And this word, Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain. Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear: For our God is a consuming fire” (Heb. 12:22–29).
What does this signify? We are told plainly what it signifies. We are being given an ultimate and final kingdom, one that cannot be shaken, and it cannot be shaken by definition. And why? Because the foundation is the cornerstone of the Lord Jesus, and the walls are built out of the promises of God. Over the gates we have the embedded jewels of our gracious salvation, which cannot be pried out their places by any sin of man. The sins of men can be shaken, but the salvation of men cannot be.
What should our response to the words of Haggai then be? We must “have grace.” We come before God in worship with reverence and godly fear. Why do we fear Him? We fear Him because we have nothing to fear. We tremble in awe because trembling with craven fear has been banished. The salvation of the world is an eschatological earthquake, a profound earthquake, in which every tawdry thing is absolutely destroyed, reduced to powder, and every noble thing remains standing, revealed for what it is in everlasting glory.
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As we consider some common sins committed in marriage by both men and women, remember the context of federal headship. The responsibility for all these sins lies with the husband. A woman can and should recognize her individual sins before the Lord; her husband’s overarching responsibility should in no way lessen her sense of personal and individual responsibility. Properly understood, it should have precisely the opposite effect.
“For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was” (Jas. 1:23).
The Word of God is given to us in order to enable us to see ourselves. Apart from this, we cannot really see ourselves. When we examine our own hearts, there are many parts of it which we cannot see. In order to see ourselves properly, we always have to hold up the mirror of the Word. This is particularly true in marriage.
First is refusing responsibility. As we saw last week, the man is the head (1 Cor. 116 ). His only option therefore is whether he will accept or refuse to face that fact of headship. Many Christian men refuse, and it shows in their marriages.
A second problem is that of refusing to be masculine—In 1 Cor. 16:13 , Paul charges the Corinthians to be courageous in their sanctification. The word he uses is literally act the man. Especially in the arena of marriage, men need to learn to be men.
Third, a common problem is infidelity in the heart. Jesus’ words are well-known. “But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Matt. 5:28). This includes, but is not limited to, lust provoked by magazines, co-workers, daughters and wives of friends, Internet images, movies, songs, daydreams, or anything else you might be able to come up with.
Then there is the problem of harsh bitterness. Paul goes out of his way to tell husbands that love includes a refusal to be embittered by the behavior of their wives (Col. 3:19). Fifth, we cannot leave out the common problem of being a blockhead. Women are complicated beings. Peter requires husbands to treat their wives according to knowledge (1 Pet. 3:7). The Word of God does not permit you to fail this course. Men must study their wives.
Sixth, there is the problem of poor provision. Paul says that poor financial provision for one’s family is tantamount to apostasy (1 Tim. 5:8). This is the case regardless of the reason how the provision failed. An essential element in provision is forethought. And when there is a genuine hard providence—a meteor landed on your business—remember the first principle above.
And last, laziness—one particular reason why many men do not provide adequately for their wives is laziness. “He who has a slack hand becomes poor, but the hand of the diligent makes rich” (Prov. 10:4). This is followed by the close second of excuse-making.
A very common sin is that of disrespect. God commands that a wife respect her husband (Eph. 5:33). Many wives do not read all those marriage books because they are zealous for righteousness; they read them in order to get more ammo to use on their husbands. Further, they want their husbands to love them unconditionally, but they then return their owed respect conditionally.
Second, there is resentment. While men tend to harsh bitterness, women tend to hurt bitterness. In the emotional realm, women bruise easily (1 Pet. 3:7). Some have concluded from this, falsely, that women have a right to any offense. But in Eph. 4:31-32, Paul tells us what we must do with the sins committed against us. It is as much a sin to be offended as it is to offend.
Third, a common sin is to think as the foolish women do. Many men struggle under numerous temptations for a time, only to have the wife join the dogpile. For example, Job’s wife encouraged him to let go of his integrity, to curse God and die (Job 2:9).
A fourth problem is the “little helper syndrome.” The Bible says that woman was made for the man (1 Cor. 11:8), and she was given to him to be a helpmeet (Gen. 2:20). But nowhere does the Bible say that the Holy Spirit needed a helpmeet. “Let’s see. Where can I find someone to help convict this man of his sins. . . ?”
Another is poor sexual responsiveness. Paul teaches us that one of the purposes of marriage is to provide protection against the manifold temptations out there to immorality (1 Cor. 7:2). But not only are many Christian wives not a help here, they are a positive hindrance. Remember though, the model is to be the Shulamite, and not the latest survey results in some bizarre women’s magazine.
In conservative circles, there can be the problem of pseudo-submissiveness. Many wives want their husbands to take the initiative, seize the leadership… as long as they do what the wife would have wanted them to. But see Eph. 5:24.
And last, there is carping, whining and quarreling. Solomon tells us that the contentions of a wife are an ongoing pain-in-the neck (Prov. 19:13). “But I just wanted him to hear my concerns. Just one more time.”