IIT UBF - University Bible Fellowship at IIT

Daily Bread

The Day is Coming

Date: Aug. 31, 2019

Passage

Malachi 3:13-4:6 (ESV)

13 “Your words have been hard against me, says the LORD. But you say, ‘How have we spoken against you?’ 14 You have said, ‘It is vain to serve God. What is the profit of our keeping his charge or of walking as in mourning before the LORD of hosts? 15 And now we call the arrogant blessed. Evildoers not only prosper but they put God to the test and they escape.’”

16 Then those who feared the LORD spoke with one another. The LORD paid attention and heard them, and a book of remembrance was written before him of those who feared the LORD and esteemed his name. 17 “They shall be mine, says the LORD of hosts, in the day when I make up my treasured possession, and I will spare them as a man spares his son who serves him. 18 Then once more you shall see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve him.

“For behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven, when all the arrogant and all evildoers will be stubble. The day that is coming shall set them ablaze, says the LORD of hosts, so that it will leave them neither root nor branch. But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings. You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall. And you shall tread down the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet, on the day when I act, says the LORD of hosts.

“Remember the law of my servant Moses, the statutes and rules that I commanded him at Horeb for all Israel.

“Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes. And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction.”

Daily Bread

Key Verse: 4:2

But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings. You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall.

1. God will spare those who serve him (3:13-18)

Some cynical Israelites complained that serving God was futile. To them, the LORD Almighty allowed evildoers to prosper while those who carried out his requirements and went about like mourners received nothing. Their complaint was arrogance. The LORD promised compassion for those who feared and listened to him. They would be God's treasured possession (Ex 19:5). On the day of judgment all will see that God makes a distinction between the righteous and the wicked.

2. Fire for some, healing for others (4:1-6)

The day of the LORD will be a terrible day of fire for the wicked and not a branch will be left to them. However, for those who revere God, it will be a day of righteousness and joy. God will use the righteous as instruments of justice against the wicked (3). Until that day, we ought to remember God's law. Moreover, Elijah would come before the day of the LORD. This Elijah is John the Baptist who prepared the way for our Lord Jesus Christ (Mt 11:13,14)

Prayer: Prayer: Lord, let me not grow weary or cynical but honor you every day as I wait for your return.

One Word: Jesus is coming again.

Daily Bread

Hallelujah!

Revelation 19:1-10

Key Verse: 19:1

Read More

Intro Daily