Malachi 3:16-17 is one of the best passages in Scripture to learn how to make Biblical prophecy practical. It helps you to answer a relevant question: Since Biblical prophecy is true, what should you do?
“Then they that feared the LORD spoke often one to another: and the LORD hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the LORD, and that thought upon His name. And they shall be mine, saith the LORD of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spares his own son that serves him.”
The Day is coming when the Lord will return to take up His “jewels” – His treasured possession. These are the precious children of God who revel in the mercy of the Messiah and His finished work. Christ will return. In the words of Habakkuk 2:3, “Wait for it!”
Malachi 3:16 answers our question directly. If you trust that Biblical prophecy is right, what should you do that would be good in God’s sight? This verse answers the question with a steady progression that extends from here to eternity.
- Those who fear the Lord: Are you a God-fearing person, in a Biblical sense? When you ponder the statements in Proverbs 8:13, do you conclude that you practice the fear of God? Do you find with Proverbs 14:26 that this godly fear has given you strong confidence? Has it become a fountain of life for you (Proverbs 14:27)? Those who fear the Lord are those who are waiting for the Lord.
- They speak often one to another: Jesus said that a good man brings forth good treasure out of his heart, for “out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks” (Luke 6:45). In 1 Corinthians 14:24, Paul appealed to the Corinthian Christians to keep using the Word with each other in plain, understandable language. According to this passage, this has powerful implications for our evangelism.
How often should God-fearing people speak to each other? The answer from Hebrews 3:13 would be that we exhort one another daily. Failure to do so could leave every one of us in the same boat: “hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.”
- The Lord listens: Malachi 3:16 brings the most important point to our minds: The Lord listens to what we say. He is keenly interested in the God-honoring speech of His God-fearing people.
- A Book of Remembrance is written: God treasures the God-honoring response of His people so much that He has them recorded. This is referred to as “a Book of Remembrance.” Now, if we are to “wait for it” in the right way, we must get practical at this point.
When you walk down the memories in the hallway of your heart, what do you remember about what you have said? Can you recall the times you used the Scripture to comfort, encourage and build up another? If your personal section in the Book of Remembrance were to be read aloud right now, what is in it? When did your spoken responses honor the God who listens and records such responses?
Now, as you “wait for it,” remember that life is not over. You can begin today to assure that you make entries into this book. Each day, for the rest of your life, concentrate on those blessed responses that will be entered into God’s Book of Remembrance.
- For those who feared Him and thought upon His name: All this raises another question. How do you select and use the kind of speech that God will remember? Malachi 3:16 explains that this speech comes from those “who thought upon His name.” This is referring to the kind of patient Biblical meditation expressed in Psalm 1 and Joshua 1:8. The Book of Psalms is, by and large, a collection of thoughts about His name. Concentrate on them and find that “out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks” (Luke 6:45). It’s clear that you have to get God-honoring responses in before you can get them out. Get them into your heart now, and rejoice when you find that they have been recorded on the Day of Judgment! Surely this is how is how we can have “boldness in the Day of Judgment” (1 John 4:17).
So now we know how to do what is right in God’s sight. Keep entering those God-honoring responses that God treasures in His Book of Remembrance. Then, “wait for it!”
Pastor Gordon Dickson, Calvary Baptist Church, Findlay, Ohio