Malachi: I Love & Don't Change

So often we can doubt God's love or take it for granted. God is love. All that God says and does is in love, and He does not change. Do we embrace God's definition of love or do we try to change it? God tells us clearly through Malachi, I Love & Don't Change. #malachi #2020

Starter

Discuss a time when you did something and later wished you could return back and have do over?

Pray

Lord we pray that you would teach us about your love. Help us to believe you over our feelings and opinions, not doubt that you are love, and not take you for granted. May we embrace your definition of love. How can we return, because you say, I love & Don't Change.

Study Questions

"How can we return?"

The book of Malachi reads like a text or social media conversation. As we continue our study of Malachi, the last book of the Old Testament, God's people have seen God continue to love them, discipline them, and explain to them clearly who He is. Yet, His people keep asking questions of Him as if they believe they have done nothing wrong. In Malachi's day, even though God's people were in slavery, God blessed His people to return to the land and city of His promise. He used pagan Kings to bless Ezra's rebuilding of the temple and Nehemiah's rebuilding of the walls. It would have been natural to ask, How can we return?

READ Malachi 3:1-4, Titus 2:11-15, 2 Corinthians 5:20-6:2

1. To help people RETURN to Him, God sends messengers. Malachi 3:1 mentions two messengers. One is clearly stated to be the Lord Himself.
- Who is the other messenger (coming 400 years later) and what do you learn about him from Matthew 11:7-11, John 1:19-23?
1. God fulfills His covenants, He does not change them. The covenant Malachi is referring to in v.1 is the new covenant of grace that Jesus establishes through His death, resurrection, sending of the Holy Spirit, and second coming.
- What can we learn about this new covenant from: Hebrews 7:22, Hebrews 8:7-13, Jeremiah 31:31-34, Ezekiel 37:26-28?
1. We know we live in a world that is impure. We are a society obsessed with trying to purify things and RETURN to some past purity. However, in the end, the impurity of our world always leads us to death. (Hebrews 9:27-28)
- How will God purify us according to these passages? Discuss why?
1. From these passages what should be our response to this new covenant and purification? Why?

READ Malachi 3:5-7, Acts 2:36-40, Acts 17:30-31

1. In Verse 5, what specific things does God say exposes a lack of awe (fear) for the Lord of Hosts? Discuss why these listed things are an obvious lack of awe/fear of God?
- Which of these things that God lists do you tend to do or ignore? Why?
1. Right now we have people RETURNING from China and being quarantined because of the coronavirus. How might the common sense practice of doing this help us to better understand the importance of RETURNING, purity, and our response?
1. In verses 6-7, what is Yahweh clearly communicating about Himself and His people?
- How does this encourage you? ...challenge you?
1. How do we RETURN to God (see the Acts passages)?
1. What will be the results of our RETURN to Him?
- Think a little deeper...what may not be the results of our RETURN to Him?