Then those who feared the Lord talked with each other, and the Lord listened and heard. A scroll of remembrance was written in his presence concerning those who feared the Lord and honored his name.
“On the day when I act,” says the Lord Almighty, “they will be my treasured possession. I will spare them, just as a father has compassion and spares his son who serves him. And you will again see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not.
Malachi 3:16-18
Last time we saw our returned exiles’ bitterness toward serving God and those who seem to go free. Today we get to see those who are choosing obedience.
“Then those who feared Yahweh spoke to one another…”
I decided to dive into that word “then,” because the timing of this section feels confusing. We were just talking about how His people were envying the wicked. So, are “those who fear Yahweh” part of that group and repented? Were they a section who was always following God? Did this happen a long time after the previous rebuke?
Then is az – at that time; now, once, so, then; A demonstrative adverb; at that time or place; also as a conjunction, therefore — beginning, for, from, hitherto, now, of old, once, since, then, at which time, yet.
Does it make you wonder if it means, so then? I kinda hope so. I hope it implies a change of mind by God’s people, an act of turning around and walking the right way.
As for the meaning of the other words, feared is our familiar yare – affright, reverence, make afraid, dreadful, put in fearful reverence. Spoke is dabar from last time: speech, word, account, act, advice, affair, answer, business, matter, message, purpose, talk, thoughts, verdict. And one another is rea – friend, companion, fellow; another, husband, kind, lover, neighbor, opponent, brother.
Therefore, those who felt fearful reverence toward Yahweh took the same purpose and words with each other as friends and neighbors.
“And Yahweh listened and heard them…”
This one feels tender to me. We know He hears, but I love how intentionally this phrase was added. The curtain is pulled back a bit to know when they spoke to each other, He listened, too.
Here listened is qashab – to incline ears, attend; gave attention, listen, cause to hearken, give heed, incline, mark well, regard; to prick up the ears. Heard is shama – listen with intent to obey; But we’ve discussed before how, when referring to the Almighty, it more likely implies “listening with an intent to act.”
So Malachi seems to purposely point out Yahweh didn’t just turn His ears to them, He listened in order to act. I’m so glad.
“So a book of remembrance was written before Him…”
Written is kathab – to write; decreed, describe, record, registered, sign; to grave, by implication, to write. Book is sepher – missive, document, writing, and remembrance is zikkaron – memorial, remembrance, memorable sayings, memorial; From zakar; a memento (or memorable thing, day, or writing). Before Him is paneh before the face of.
So a document of memory was recorded before the face of Yahweh.
Because write implies to engrave, this section makes me think of stones of remembrance. How God commanded the Israelites to take literal stones and make a memorial of how He acted on their behalf for future generations.
It was there at Gilgal that Joshua piled up the twelve stones taken from the Jordan River.
Then Joshua said to the Israelites, “In the future your children will ask, ‘What do these stones mean?’
Then you can tell them, ‘This is where the Israelites crossed the Jordan on dry ground.’
For the Lord your God dried up the river right before your eyes, and he kept it dry until you were all across, just as he did at the Red Sea when he dried it up until we had all crossed over.
He did this so all the nations of the earth might know that the Lord’s hand is powerful, and so you might fear the Lord your God forever.”
Joshua 4:20-24 (NLT)
This time it seems someone (angels?) are making the memorial. And what are they recording?
“For those who fear Yahweh and meditate on His Name.”
Fear here is yare again, and meditate is chashab – intelligent, to think, account, calculate, consider, determine, devise, esteem, intend, meant, mindful, planned, plot, regard, scheme, skillful, think, cunning, fabricate, contrive in malicious sense. Name is our familiar shem – name, renown, report, as a mark or memorial of individuality; by implication honor, authority, character; possibly “from sum [through the idea of conspicuous position]- to place, appoint, pay attention, required.”
The memory written was of those who felt fearful reverence toward Yahweh and regularly consider, esteem, and think on His renown and conspicuous position.
How beautiful. And how wild. Not only were God’s people to remember ways He had been faithful, He also is recording ways His people fear Him. Seems hard to imagine Yahweh inclining His ear toward human’s faithfulness and having a book written about them. But I suppose all of Hebrews 11 could be an example of such a writing, yes? It also makes me think of how, from Abraham, what is being recorded is when we believe Him. “Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness.”
Could it be when we fear and regularly consider His renown in our lives, it is being written before Him? It’s not impossible, as the phrase “the Book of Life” occurs regularly in Scripture.
“And they shall be mine,” says Jehovah-sabaoth, “On that day that I make them My jewels…”
Make is asah – do, make, accomplish; and jewels is segullah – possession, property, treasure, treasured possession; good, peculiar treasure, special; Feminine passive participle of an unused root meaning to shut up; wealth (as closely shut up).
They will be Mine when I accomplish making them my treasured possession, carefully protected from harm.
This feels like the Already/Not Yet Kingdom tension we live in. Because of what Jesus already accomplished on the cross, once for all, we are already His treasured possession, carefully protected by the Holy Spirit. And, yet, there will be the final accomplishing of forever vanquishing evil and living in a New Heaven and New Earth as His treasured jewels.
“And I will spare them as a man spares his own son who serves him…”
Spare here is chamal – concern, desires, had compassion, had pity, mercy, spared, unwilling, ruthlessly; to commiserate; by implication, to spare; and them is al (to hover over). Serves is abad from last time: work, serve; become slaves, bondage, cultivate, do the work, labor, perform, till, worship.
My compassion and mercy will hover over them as a father’s compassion hovers over the son (ben) who lovingly serves him.
Sparing is only a necessary verb if there is something from which to be rescued. If there is no eternal punishment for our deliberate sin, salvation isn’t necessary, the cross is a joke, and we should all just live as we’d like. But if it’s true we cannot stand before an awesomely perfect and holy God on our own merit, then his compassion over us to save is indeed Good News.
“And you shall again discern between the righteous and the wicked…”
Shall again here is shub – to turn back; Discern is raah – to see; to see, show self, sight of others, view, behold, enjoy, have experience, gaze, take heed, be near, perceive, present, provide, regard. Between is bayin – interval, space between; among, champion, midst; asunder, at, between twixt; from biyn – to discern, a distinction, attend, consider, be cunning, diligently, direct, discern, eloquent, feel; to separate mentally. And righteous is our familiar tsaddiq – just, righteous, while wicked is rasha – wicked, criminal; evil, evil man, guilty, offender; condemned, ungodly, that did wrong; from rasha’; morally wrong; concretely, an (actively) bad person.
You will once more turn back, clearly beholding, discerning the space between those who do what is just and those who willingly continue with evil.
This one is hard, because, if you’re like me, sometimes the more you seek God in a certain area, the more aware you are of how far you have to go. How un-Christlike your character still is, how much you still rely on His power in your life. But it seems as though that is not what is being referred to here with “the wicked.” That part of the definition, an actively bad person, feels different. Like consistently choosing to not trust God, not meditate on His renown but our own, and willingly, continually, choosing what is evil. And He says we will clearly behold the difference, even in this life.
And, finally, our last phrase in today’s verses:
“Between one who serves God and one who does not serve him…”
Between is bayin again, and serves is abad again. Him here is Elohim, Creator God.
Clearly beholding the one who lovingly serves and worships (abad) Creator God, and one who does not (lo abad).
It will be obvious, by actions and the fruit of our lives, those who serve and worship Jesus and His Kingdom and those who do not. And the sad thing is, those who don’t are missing out on the fullness of His presence, the joy He seems to take in our obedience, and the delight of being His treasured possession.
May we continually, daily choose to make Him our Lord, have fearful reverence of His right to rule our lives, and esteem His renown in all things.