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Additional Comments |
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| 1 Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts. |
Messenger of the covenant – Christ - at His second advent.
Notice how well this description fits with Revelation 10:1. |
| 2 But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner's fire, and like fullers' soap:
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| 3 And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the LORD an offering in righteousness. |
Purifier of silver – He will purify the Truth (silver) and will use this purified Truth to cleanse the Sons of Levi.
The sons of Levi – The spirit begotten.
As gold and silver – As Little Flock (gold) and Great Company (silver). |
| 4 Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the LORD, as in the days of old, and as in former years. |
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| 5 And I will come near to you to judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against false swearers, and against those that oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and that turn aside the stranger from his right, and fear not me, saith the LORD of hosts. |
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| 6 For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed. |
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| 7 Even from the days of your fathers ye are gone away from mine ordinances, and have not kept them. Return unto me, and I will return unto you, saith the LORD of hosts. But ye said, Wherein shall we return? |
Days of your fathers – While this applied to natural Israel, we clearly see this also applies to nominal spiritual Israel. Your fathers would refer to the early church leaders.
Ye are gone away from mine ordinances – These 'fathers' began to bring in false doctrines which lead away from the truth and true consecration.
Wherein shall we return – So complete was this move away from the truth that the nominal church members had no idea how to return to the Truth of God's word. |
| 8 Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings. |
Will a man rob God – The worldly minded nominal church says How is such a thing even possible? "Wherein have we robbed thee?"
In tithes and offerings – The tithe was not only a command from God, but it represented the hearts desire to fully serve Him. In other words: it represents full and complete consecration to do His will.
Consider the first two places where the tithe (tenth) is mentioned in Genesis. The first is where Abraham gave tithes to Melchizedek and received a blessing from him. Gen. 14:18-20. Remember the argument made by the Apostle Paul in Heb. 7:15-17 concerning the importance of the Melchisedec priesthood, a kingly priesthood.
The second is what is generally spoken of as the dream of "Jacob's ladder" Gen. 28:10-22. In this dream God affirms his promise to Jacob "in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed." The stone he had used as a pillow he then anointed with oil. It is there he promises that he will give the tenth (tithe) to the LORD. It is worth paying attention to the fact that there was no command from God that he do this. It was entirely voluntary, just like our consecration to serve Him! |
| 9 Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation. |
Ye are cursed with a curse – Their time of trouble. Jerusalem fell (69-70 A.D.) and eventually in 135 A.D. the Romans made it illegal for Jews to own land in the land of promise. Not only that but they renamed the land after the name of Israel's traditional enemy, the Philistines, calling it Palestine.
Ye have robbed me – Natural Israel said "all that the LORD hath said will we do and be obedient." (Exo. 24:3,7) Because they continued over long years to disobey God they eventually received the curse.
This whole nation – First to the nation of Israel. Eventually to its antitype, nominal Spiritual Israel. The nominal church continued to bring in worldly teachings and practices throughout its long history until they finally were hit with the great time of trouble (the curse) in 1914 A.D. |
| 10 Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it. |
All the tithes – Complete consecration to God. The tithe being a symbol for consecration. Here was a special invitation to the nominal house to fulfill their covenant. Of course it was only a few individuals, the saints, who took advantage of their privileges.
Prove me – We are to prove the Lord because this is what He wants us to do. Not in the sense of doubting Him but in the sense of validating that all of His promises are as sure as the universe itself for when The Almighty is put to the test, He NEVER fails to deliver on His word!
Open the windows of heaven – This is exactly what happened at our Lord's baptism when He received the holy spirit! (Matt. 3:16)
Pour you out a blessing – The blessing of the Holy Spirit. |
| 11 And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the LORD of hosts. |
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| 12 And all nations shall call you blessed: for ye shall be a delightsome land, saith the LORD of hosts. |
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| 13 Your words have been stout against me, saith the LORD. Yet ye say, What have we spoken so much against thee? |
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| 14 Ye have said, It is vain to serve God: and what profit is it that we have kept his ordinance, and that we have walked mournfully before the LORD of hosts? |
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| 15 And now we call the proud happy; yea, they that work wickedness are set up; yea, they that tempt God are even delivered. |
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| 16 Then they that feared the LORD spake 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. |
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| 17 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 spareth his own son that serveth him. |
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| 18 Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not. |
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