The Lord announces a covenant with Israel. A messenger like Malachi
(his name means "my messenger") shall prepare a way for the sudden
coming of the Lord, who will purify and refine God's people for the
offering of pleasing sacrifices.
Although Malachi's message precedes John's, the proclamation is the
same: the one "whom you seek" is coming (3:1). John, as well as many
of his listeners, would have been familiar with Malachi's words.
Malachi's note of warning is similar to John's as well - we prepare
for a great God who brings salvation and mercy.
I think I know what a refiner's fire is, but I don't know about
fuller's soap. Anybody know? -Dale in Chattanooga
Dale -- Fuller's soap is like bleach, to get things white. -- Mike
in Maryland
I'm the wife of a jeweler and they have a very interesting practice.
They don't throw their dirt away. They sweep it up into a vacuum
sweeper - and save the bags when they're full. They sweep into a
Bissell (those non-electric sweepers) and save the dirt. They NEVER
shampoo or steam clean their carpets or anything else, for that
matter. After awhile when the carpet is dirty enough, they pull up
the whole thing and send it, and all those collected bags of dirt to
a refinery.
At the refinery, they burn away all the dirt, the carpet, and
everything else and somehow "distill" all the gold. Little by
little, miniscule, microscopic gold dust has collected in the dirt
and carpet. The jewelry shop has the option of taking money for hte
gold or getting the gold back. Of course, it's all of different
karats (not really sure how that works). Yet, the check can be in
excess of $2,000 every 3 years or so!
Sally in GA
WOW, Sally, that is an image full of potential for preaching. My
mind races to possible associations. Do you have valuable bits you
have swept under the carpet? What would you have to rip up and burn
to reclaim them? What riches lie at your feet, waiting to be sorted
from the trash? Why should I vacuum (I might lose something)? That
last question could save countless hours. "The place only looks like
a mess. Actually it is a giant collection plate." Hmmm... thanx for
a great Monday morning kick-start. tom in TN(USA)
Sending of a messenger, not just a messenger, but messenger of the
covenant.
But you have to endure...now, when I think of this, endore
word....pleasant things don't come to mind. Prolonged trouble to
endure...wait...have paitience...Job endured sucessfully...Are we to
be the Jobs? We may say i am not praying for patience of Jon---but
isn't that what all Christians end up going through?
Rifining the priestly class, Levites, hmmm is that us, preachers? Do
we think we need refining? Well, I know I do! If we think we are
perfectly in completeion that's when the trouble starts. (Just ask
Jimmy Swaggert, Jim Baker) When you think you are doing o.k. LOOK
OUT!
Now, there are some in here who look down noses at TV media
preachers. But, don't cast first stone, mainline denomination ones,
are doing similiar things.
So, I look at this passage as my personal preached message to
myself...I need the refining! Blessed be our God who refines us, so
as to allow me to be the vessel and message of His Covenant.
Clerically Blonde in West ohio
I'm looking for an illustration, and I recall a story that I got
from the internet ... I just can't remember it completely. Help!
Anyone? It's about someone watching a refiner and asking him how he
knows how long to let the refining process go on ... and he says
until the refiner can see his face reflected in the precious metal.
Does anyone have this story in its complete state? Thank you!
Shalom, HSinON
The Refiner
"And He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver."Malachi 3:3
Some time ago, a few people met to study the Scriptures. While
reading the third chapter of Malachi, they came upon a remarkable
expression in the third verse: "And He shall sit as a refiner and
purifier of silver." Malachi 3:3
One lady proposed to visit a silversmith and report to them on what
he said about the subject. She went accordingly, and without telling
the object of her errand, begged the silversmith to tell her about
the process of refining silver.
After he had fully described it to her, she asked, "But sir, do you
sit while the work of refining is going on?"
"Oh, yes, madam," replied the silversmith. "I must sit with my eyes
steadily fixed on the furnace, for if the time necessary for
refining be exceeded in the slightest degree, the silver will be
injured."
The lady at once saw the beauty and comfort too of the expression,
"And He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver."
God permits us to experience hardships, difficulties, obstacles, and
other furnace like tests. We are purified by these if we continue to
pursue and endure in the truth despite these tests. His eye is
steadily intent on the work of purifying, and His wisdom and love
are both engaged in the best manner for us. He will not let us be
tested beyond what we can endure.
Before she left, the lady asked one final question, "When do you
know the process is complete?"
"Why, that is quite simple," replied the silversmith. "When I can
see my own image in the silver, the refining process is finished."
PKFlyer in Texas
As a Baptist, I did not grow up with advent wreaths or lectionaries.
The problem I feel is that the themes of Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love
are not reflected in the assigned passages. I find myself forcing
the themes on the passages. Does anyone else experience that
tension?
Having said that, I am viewing this passage and the message of John
as a "Prelude to Peace". It seems to me that in order for us to
experience the peace of Christ we must first feel the "sting" of
conscience, and the "heat" of our sin-guilt.
Thanks to Sally and Flyer for the imgae of refiner's fire and for
Mike in MD for the bleach image. Would I be too far off to see the
fuller's soap as being like lye soap? I had a church member in a
previous church who in her 90s made lye soap and proudly gave a cake
of it to her pastor each year. My wife would not go near the stuff,
but I kept it in my shop for tough grease and grim that soft soap
would never budge. Mrs. Lee's lye soap would take it right off along
with the first layer of skin. I remember the "sting" of that soap
and the blushing hands but that is what it took for real cleansing
to take place. The discomfort and discoloration soon turned to the
peaceful thought that I could perform surgery with those hands
without fear of one contaminating germ.
The good news of the passage is that these are not punitive words
but redemptive words. It seems to me that in genuine repentance we
must feel a little sting and heat. Just my ramblins. jrbnrnc
Some unperfected thoughts . . .
Maybe I'm still "offering" oriented because of stewardship campaign,
but the word jumps out at me in vss. 3& 4. The refinement seems to
be for the purpose of coming into a right relationship with the Lord
through offerings made in righteousness.
It's also interesting that this passage precedes the "Prove the
Tithe" passage in vss. 8- 10.
Like I said, these are unperfected thoughts. PKFlyer in TX
This comes from the 2000 contributions and adds a lot to the idea of
the refiner.
I think a good question to ask is 'what impurities need to be burned
away in us so that God can see Himself--His reflection in our
hearts. LJ Mic
Mark in WI
jrbnrnc
Another "theme" for this day is "prepare." In fact, our bulletin
even has "prepare" on it. The "regular" days of Hope, Peace, Joy,
and Love may not perfectly apply here, though there is a connection
of "preparing" and "peace" besides the letter 'p.' Though I do
understand your hesitation to impose the theme of 'peace' on
scriptures that say in 1,000,058 different ways 'prepare.'
The preparation is getting right with God - and getting rid of sin.
There is a peaceful feeling to that, and getting rid of our sin will
mean we won't be continuing the bad habits of literal or
metaphorical warmongering.
I'm going to hone in on "prepare." When you start to think of
"preparing," you start thinking of "cleaning house," refining your
old carpeting for the gold in it, or scrubbing with lye soap. Then
when I think of saying that for 20 minutes, the waters get pretty
muddy. It's not an easy issue.
Sally in GA
to those who were wondering, Fuller's soap is like lye soap and also
like Octagon soap which we had to use as kids in Alabama to get rid
of the chiggers that get under the skin when we played in the woods.
I hated it but it worked. So what's undr our skin that needs that
kind of scrubbing? To PKFlyer, the thing that jumps out at me about
offering & refining is how the offerings given to the Lord can be
made in rightousness only after the purifying/cleansing event. I'm
sure there's more there when I've had more time to prepare :>)
Joye in Baltimore
Hi all.
Anyone want to chew on verse 4? Seems to me that, most of the time
(at least according to the prophets!), the offerings made to the
Lord weren't really all that pleasing to God! And we do a dis-service
to our hearers (and ourselves!) if we suggest that "Their hearts
were not right with the Lord, but OURS ARE, so we're OK!"
Seems like potential fodder for an Advent focus on repentance,
turning around, turning toward the God who is turning toward us...
Rick in Canada, eh?
The first illustration that popped into my mind is the story in C.S.
Lewis's "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader." Eustace, a rather
unagreeable cousin of Lucy and Edmund, finds himself on an island,
transformed into a dragon with a painful gold band around his arm.
He is looking at a cool pool of water when Aslan finds him and tells
him that he must "undress" before he can get in teh water. Eustace
tries to scratch the scales off of himself, but it is not until
Aslan digs deep into his dragon hide that he is able to strip the
dragon-ness off. Check out the book. Andy in CA
So Malachi offers just a word of warning: are we really sure we want
the LORD to return? Heating and bleaching and scrubbing and some
humiliation, I'm certain, are all part of "abiding the day of his
coming." Can't we just sing all the good old "rapture" songs and
ignore all these repentence metaphors? -Dale in Chattanooga
The thought of going through the fire is scary and uncomfortable,
especially if you have had any experience with fire; a consideration
for our preaching - in nearly any congregation someone will have a
fire story; either they or somebody they know and love, may have
been burned or lost property in a fire. Be careful not to dredge up
bad memories or treat the subject casually. (I'm thinking of all
those wild fires out west. Any of you in California got a good
illustration out of the recent fires?)
That being said, the gold should not fear the fire, only the dross
or debris. Thanks, PK, for the illustration I didn't know I was
looking for but will use now that I know it! The refiner is right
there, to pull the precious gold/silver from the flames as soon as
the trash is burned away. As the cutesy poster I once saw said, "I
know I'm special, 'cause God don't make no junk." This fire is not a
punishment, eternal flames torturing the undying souls of sinners.
It is a liberating experience for that which is precious to God,
designed to let what is worthy shine!
Let us give up our swept up piles of dust to God, and ask, indeed
implore,"God save what is worthy!" tom in TN(USA)
What a shame next weeks gospel lection isn't here, Johns warning of
the chaff being burned up in unquenchable fire. What a contrast to
Malichi's refiner who is saving the silver from the fire. I may jump
ahead and pull it back, or consider how to tell the flipside of the
story next week. tom in TN(USA)
There is so much good material here. Sally in GA is right that much
of this theme as well as the whole idea of Advent has to do with
preparing.
I offer my sermon notes from three years ago in the hope that they
help somebody.
==========
YOU WILL GET WHAT YOU WANT, BUT WILL YOU WANT WHAT YOU GET?
In a book entitled _Down_to_Earth_, John Lawrence tells the story of
a city that dared God to show Himself. It seems that the city of
Messina, Sicily, was home to many wicked, irreligious people. On
December 25, 1908, a newspaper published in Messina printed a parody
against God, daring Him to make Himself known by sending an
earthquake. Three days later, on December 28, the city and its
surrounding district was devastated by a terrible quake that killed
84,000 people.
The people were seeking the coming of the Messiah. What they got
first, was John!
Problem… will the gift, so desired now, be wanted later?
I. What You Want (v. 1) A. Even in sin, people seek deliverance.
(Amos 5:18-20) B. People Seek a touch from God C. The cost of
revival is this - revival will cost you your favorite sin.
II. What You Get (2-3a)
Muhammed Ali - "I had the world, and it wasn't nuthin'."
III. What We Will Be (3b-4)
A member of our church (who lives some distance away) contacted me
and suggested that money had become a curse upon the world and upon
all people it touched. She was willing to bear that curse and
suggested everyone send her all their money. (It was, of course, a
joke.)
Psalm 51:17
Romans 12:1
1 Peter 2:4-5
Robert Murray McCheyne in a letter to Dan Edwards after the latter’s
ordination as a missionary, “In great measure, according to the
purity and perfections of the instrument, will be the success. It is
not great talents God blesses so much as great likeness to Jesus. A
holy minister is an awful weapon in the hand of God.”
==========
Note to jrbnrnc ... I'm Baptist too.
JG in WI
It seems to me that one of the main points of the passage is simply
that our impurities do not make us impure; they can be burned and/or
scrubbed away. It's just that we can't do the burning and scrubbing
ourselves, and that makes the process uncomfortable, even painful at
times. A line from a Helen Whitall Smith poem keeps coming to mind:
"Gently in thy fire I will lie, burning." Also, a song I once heard
an African American youth choir sing: "Please be patient with me,
God isn't through with me yet. Please be patient with me, God isn't
through with me yet. When God gets through with me, when God gets
through with me, I shall come forth, I shall come forth as pure
gold." -phofsc
phofsc - I would only re-word your comment to say, yes, our
impurities DO make us impure, but there is a purification in God's
refining. We begin as needy sinners coming to Him and to Him alone
to be made whole.
JG in WI
I agree this is a good follow-up to the stewardship season. Malachi
was railing against offerings that were not whole nor given with a
pure heart. Instead of bringing the first fruits, the people were
offering an animal that was stolen or one that was lame or sick, and
therefore useless to the owner. They had the best to give, but
instead they offered the leftovers. And they were cheating in their
tithes, not giving the full 10%.
This is definitely about money. And what we do with our money is
symbolic of the rest of our lives. But its not just about money. God
asks us to give the best of ourselves as well.
The point of purification is not to punish but to restore
relationship. God wants us to be righteous... that is, honoring the
covenant relationship, being unconflicted and trustworthy.
DGinNYC
The fullers' soap caught my eye and the whole idea of cleansing and
purification being a needful part of our preparation. In "Advent
2003: The Light of the Star," by Stan Purdum. (lectionary based
Bible Study)--he writes about fuller's soap:"What Malachi is talking
about is the caustic homemade stuff containing alkai, potash, and
lye. It will get things clean but it is very hard on fabric."
As all of this was simmering---I was also getting ready for two
things:
1. The annual parsonage incpection during which the chair of
Staff/Parish Relations and the chair of Trustees go through every
room in the parsonage with a form provided by the conference.
My folks are great---BUT this is always wierd and intrusive for me
and my family. How many places could you work where the people you
work for go in EVERY room of your house ?
MEANWHILE my husband and I were also getting ready to go away for a
much needed (twice cancelled due to church emergencies) get a way.
So my parents were coming to stay with the kids.
The only thing worse than the parsonage inspection is MY MOTHER
coming ---(she almost always gives me house cleaning related gifts
at birthdays and so forth !!)
I have thought a lot about the thoroughness of a spiritual
cleaning---not just downstaris or public rooms---EVERY room. None of
this scented and gentle on the hands kind of soap ?! A cleansing of
the spirit ---so to speak is throrough, invasive, and maybe painful.
That hope is that the one who began this good work of preparing the
way will be faithful to complete it ! (Phil 1:6)
I may put some bottles of cleansers with scents in them on the
altar---I think there are three "flavors" of Mr. Clean or maybe some
of the stuff that Madge would soak womens nails in at the beauty
parlor--Pamolive was it ? Maybe a rough looking scrub brush too ?
For those maybe going with the theme of cleansing and purifying let
me share one more thing....I think I found it long ago in "Alive
Now".
"God is like the woman tearing up the place sweeping every
corner..looking for the coin. God is like a woman spring cleaning
both looking for ys and washing us down. Elizabeth Bettenhausen
captures this image well she writes...'There are hidden corners of
my mind so out of sight that I don't even have to worry about them
when I clean up before company comes. Not even the most fastidious,
nosy guest would check out those niches for dust, for the fluff
balls whcih accumulate out of the thin ari of day to day living. I
live with this mess on the edges, knowing it is possible on a rainy
or procrastinatin day to get at it, straighten things up a bit. But
all of the sudden, quite out of my schedule, God comes bustling
through... dust rag, mop, Lestoil, pail of water in hand and scours
and sweeps and shakes and rubs away at those hidden corners. Then
apparently enthused with the results, God goes wild and soaps me
down completely uses a rough bristled brush tosses pails of water at
me to rinse me off and hangs me up to dry....dangling me on the line
with two tough clothespins. Hanging there, I am like the smell of
fresh sheets of fluffy towels blowing in the wind of a Spring Day in
South Dakota when there is still snow in the corners of the garden.
The God comes back, unpins me, and lets me loose again."
Waiting for Snow in New England ! VMRTinCT
The last verse in Malachi chapter 2 sheds light on the attitude of
Malachi's contemporaries. Apparently they grew tired of those same,
old repeated promises of a Messiah which never ever came to pass,
so, they began living as the heathen do. Can you see the connection
to many so-called American Christians today? They are tired of
hearing about sins forgiven, second advent, etc...therefore they are
lax in church attendance and live as the heathen do. But, the word
of promise is that those who will stand & endure (3:2) are those
refined by His Word and have faith.
BTW...Did you know Malachi is the only Italian prophet? Cheesey, I
know.
Luther in IA
