This morning I preached from Malachi 2:10-12. It’s a confrontational text, heavy on the negative, and without a lot of positive stuff to balance it out. If it had been my desire to beat up the congregation with my words, it would have been a great text.
But I was feeling a little beat up myself, and had no desire to inflict or afflict others. So the words here are an attempt to encourage rather than hurt.
The nation of Israel was in a tough situation when they returned to their land after the Babylonian captivity. Everything was different. They had been a powerful kingdom, and now they were a vassal state. They had been ruled by their own king in Jerusalem, and now they had a governor appointed by their pagan overlords. The glory of God had dwelt in the Holy of Holies in their temple, and now the Holy of Holies was empty. Their worship had been centered around the temple and the presence of God, and now it was changing and becoming centered around the synagogue and the local community. Before, pretty much everything had demonstrated that they were God’s people in God’s place, and now it was clear they were just another little conquered kingdom that existed only by the whim of a distant king.
This all worked together to make it easy for them to give up on God and look to their own needs and desires. And a lot of them did. They gave up their convictions, forsook their God, and began to worship other, false gods that were more attractive to them. And God was displeased, because they were His people, after all, and the other gods were no gods at all.
I think this should be a little familiar to most of us. We all experience times that are spiritually empty, when God seems far away, when circumstance seem hopeless, and it looks like everybody is doing well but us. It’s tempting to think about walking away, about forsaking the Lord, and the church, and the faith. It’s tempting to do what the Israelites did.
It’s tempting, but it’s wrong.
If we leave the Lord, what exactly are our options? The old song asks, “Where Would I Go but to the Lord?” It’s a good question, and one that Malachi speaks to. Look at Malachi 2:10:
10 Have we not all one Father? Has not one God created us?
Both of these questions require a “yes” answer. And they deserve a little pondering.
In his sermon at Mars Hill in Athens in Acts 17, Paul pointed out that all people are the “offspring” of God. He meant this in a very general sense – since God created us, we are all His offspring, and all of us owe Him some allegiance and trust, although few if any are willing to pay.
For the Christian believer, though, this idea of God as Father goes further and deeper. John 1:12 says “as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God.” That’s a lot more specific than “offspring.” Believers owe allegiance and trust to their Father not merely as offspring, but as children. In Christ, the general, distant relationship to a Creator-Father is replaced with an intimate relationship with Abba, “Daddy,” who has adopted each believer as His child and heir. Romans 8:16 and 17 say, “The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ.” So the questions here in verse 10 certainly require a “yes” answer. We all have one Father, and one God has created us. This, being true, leads us to the next question in verse 10:
Why do we deal treacherously with one another by profaning the covenant of the fathers?
Having been adopted into a position of favor which we never deserved, why would we ever want to disobey? Why would we ever walk away? We are children of the King. What could provide more promise? What could offer greater advantage? Why would any believer ever profane the very covenant which promotes them to such an amazing life?
But people do. The Israelites did so back then, and Christians do so today. They let their thinking and their hopes focus on something else. And then they forsake God and they leave. But where it is that they go? Where would you go? Look:
11 Judah has dealt treacherously, and an abomination has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem, for Judah has profaned the LORD’s holy institution which He loves: he has married the daughter of a foreign god. 12 May the LORD cut off from the tents of Jacob the man who does this, being awake and aware, yet who brings an offering to the LORD of hosts!
Do you see what I meant when I said that there’s not a lot of positive here? God compares Israel’s rejection of Him to a husband who is unfaithful. Just like a man who cheats on the he woman is married to and plays around behind her back with someone else, the Israelites had gone after other, false gods while still pretending to faithfully worship the Lord.
I hear that when men behave this way, wives tend to get a little distressed. And I would say rightfully so. So it’s easy to understand why God was unhappy with Israel.
But back to my question: If you decide to forsake God, where do you go? The answer is there in Malachi. The only place to go is to what this text calls a foreign god. A false god. A god of nothingness. A god that is no god. So, presuming you decide to forsake God, you can:
- Become an atheist, and lose all hope.
- Become an agnostic, and lose all direction.
- Become a hedonist, and lose all restraint.
- Become a materialist, and lose all perspective.
There are other options, but they all go the same way. The simple truth is that anywhere you go, if you leave God, you lose. You end up with less, not more. Less hope, more doubt. Less provision, more needs. Fewer answers, more questions. Like the prodigal, if you leave God, you find that the life you fantasized as fulfilling is in fact a far cry from your Father’s house. Husks are much less satisfying than living water. The mud hole is a lot less comfortable than the mansion.
So I suggest that the best course, no matter how difficult things may be, is to stick with it. To stay with God, to continue to love and serve Him. To fall back on your first love and cling like never before. Every indication is that this is the wise thing to do. Consider a few lessons from Bible history:
- Cain forsook God and brought a sacrifice that was unsuitable. He became a murderer and permanent outcast from society.
- In Exodus 4, Moses ignored the covenant of God and nearly lost his life.
- Nadab and Abihu tried to worship God on their own terms and lost their lives because of it.
- David forsook God for the lust of his flesh and suffered great loss because of it.
- Solomon, despite his great wisdom, forsook his God and went looking for fulfillment in wine and women. And found that all was vain.
- Nebuchadnezzar thought he could make himself his a god, and spent a year eating grass and saying “moo.”
- Ananias and Sapphira made money their god and lost their lives for their trouble.
And on and on I could go, but it would get depressing, if it hasn’t already. The great lesson of Bible history is that it never works out when you forsake the one true God. The best place to be is in the place God puts you. The worst days with Him are better than the best days without Him.
So don’t give up. Stick with it. If you have trusted Christ, God is your Heavenly Father and Jesus is your Savior. You couldn’t be in a better place. If you feel forsaken, you are not. If life is overwhelming, stick with your God: it’s even more whelming without Him. If the noisy calls of the world and the flesh seem overpowering, run to your Father before you find yourself wallowing in the mud.
The truth is that there is no better place to be than with God. No greater life to live than for God. No higher path than walking with God. No greater work than the work of God.
So don’t quit. Stick with it. Despite all of the troubles and trials of life, love the Lord your God with all of your heart, with all of your soul, and with all of your mind. There’s just nothing better out there.
Audio version here.
