Day 12: God will send a forerunner
so He will be expected
Read Malachi 3-4
Malachi 3:1 - Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before
me. And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and the
messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the
LORD of hosts.
The last prophecy for this study, of the Messiah coming, is part of the last
prophecy in the Bible before Jesus was born. Much of what you have read in the
Scripture for today is about judgment, the judgment on evil the Messiah would
bring.
But just as we read over and over in the Bible, God gives people mercy and
grace: another chance to repent and turn from wickedness. This is the purpose
of this messenger God will send to prepare the way for the Messiah.
All through their history the people of Israel had been given prophets and
leaders to tell them God’s ways and plans. Most of the time, the people had
either ignored God’s warnings, or in some cases had even openly told God they
did not care or they did not believe His warnings. This was one of the
important reasons why God gave them prophecy warnings – telling them ahead of
time exactly what would happen so they knew He was telling the truth. God has
warned us the same way.
*What prophecy warning are you listening to from God?