Great Among The Nations (Malachi 1:11)

 


Wednesday, November 27, 2024


Psalm 68:1-20

Malachi 1

Revelation 12:1-6


Observance: Ember Day


Great Among The Nations (Malachi 1:11)


The prophet Malachi is a brilliantly appropriate way to lead us down to Advent. His is the last book of the Old Testament, and he is the last prophet. He gets the last word before John the Baptist, and as we approach the Advent of Christ, we should pay attention to what he has to say.


The first word of the last prophet is this: God loves us. “How does God love us”, we ask. And we need not wonder about the reply from God, because the apostle Paul has explained to us what this bit from Malachi means: God chose those whom he loves from before the creation of the world. (Romans 9:10-13) God’s love is not capricious; God does not wait to decide who to love; God does not change his mind on who he loves. God loves us, and that’s that; God’s love is the rock upon which we can build everything else, because we know it will never move or change.


The remainder of this first chapter then concerns our response to God’s love. And the way Malachi works through this topic is by illustration greater than any preacher could come up with. Think of a person you love and respect: a son and his father; a servant and his master. This person may not be exactly like one of those two examples, but we all have someone who loves us and who we love and respect in return.


How do we show our love and respect to that person? How much more should we be showing love and respect to our God who loves us to an infinitely greater depth?


God, speaking through Malachi, calls for incense and pure offerings (that is, prayer and worship) “in every place”. We know how wonderful God is; God is saying, go and show it to everyone else, in everywhere else. Not so that God’s name may be great among the nations, but because God’s name will be great among the nations. It is inevitable that the gospel of Jesus, the greatness of God’s name, will be great among the nations. And our response must be commensurate.


Do you ever consider prayer and worship a “burden” (Mal 1:13)? How might you combat those thoughts about God? And how could your own prayer and worship be used by God to make his name great among the nations?


Lord Almighty, who loves us with an unbreakable love, whose name will be great among the nations: consume me entirely with your salvation, so that I may always offer prayer and worship to the greatness of your name.

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