16 Then those who feared the Lord spoke with one another. The Lord paid
attention and heard them, and a book of remembrance was written before him of
those who feared the Lord and esteemed his name. 17 “They shall be mine, says the Lord of hosts, in the day when I make up my treasured possession, and I
will spare them as a man spares his son who serves him. 18 Then once more you shall see the
distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God
and one who does not serve him. (Malachi 3)
This
continues the theme of those who tremble at the words of Jesus.[1] As we consider what this looks like for those who “fear the LORD and esteem his name,” we
are also invited to consider what it is like for God himself to see this taking
place in our lives.
Which
brings us to this fascinating introduction of “a book of remembrance”. In this book were written the names of
those who trembled at the words of God. He saw who it was that spoke to one
another out of their fear of God. He actually “paid attention” to them and “heard
them”.
Along
with recording these people in his book of remembrance, God declared through
the prophet how he felt about these people. He wanted them to know that “they shall be mine”, that these people
were clearly going to be identified as his own people.
However,
he was identifying that this was in reference to a coming “day when I make up my treasured possession”. These people could
expect good things from the LORD on that day. And, they could expect that it
would then be very clear who it was who served God and who did not.
This
is of great encouragement during this lifetime when it is not clearly apparent
who loves Jesus and who does not. At the time that the prophet Malachi wrote
down this revelation from God, many people were self-dependently carrying out
the outer demands of the law while enjoying the pleasures of the world. They
looked very similar to those who were loving and serving God with hearts of
true reverence and awe.
What
God revealed to those who feared him was that he was listening in to their
talks about him, the Bible studies where people were talking to one another out
of their fear and reverence and worship of God. He wanted them to know that he
heard them as distinct from those who were just carrying out religious
activities. He knew they were his, and he wanted them to know that being his
meant they were his “treasured possession”.
Jesus
spoke of a day when every person will stand before him in judgment. He pictured
some people as the sheep of his pasture, and the others as goats that did not
belong to him. The sheep heard the sound of their Shepherd’s voice calling them
into his presence forever, and they gladly followed him then as they had
followed him during their earthly lifetime. The goats heard the sound of a stranger’s
voice, the voice of someone they had never cared to know, and yet they were
powerless to refuse him as he ordered them out of his presence forever.
There
will be days when those who belong to God are overwhelmed with the animosity of
the world, the attacks of the devil, and the incessant harassment of their own
flesh. We are given this paragraph from Malachi to encourage us that God has
his book of remembrance holding us near to his heart as he prepares for that
day that we will be seen as the beloved children of God we have been from
before the beginning of time.
From
my heart,
Monte
[1]
See Pastoral Ping, January, 30, 2013 ~ “Hearts that Tremble at Jesus’ Words”
This was really encouraging to read!
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