Observing the Wrong Laws

Scripture: Remember the instruction of Moses My servant, the statutes and ordinances I commanded him at Horeb for all Israel. Look, I am going to 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. Otherwise, I will come and strike the land with a curse. Malachi 4:4-6

Observation: Malachi concludes with the prophesy of the coming of new Elijah, who will usher in the arrival of the Messiah. The people are reminded to obey the law, the statutes and ordinances given Moses at Horeb. Malachi is being very specific by referring explicitly to the commandments from Horeb. These commandments were NOT ... the ceremonial statutes, or temple procedures, or sacrificial requirements. These were the ten commandments - the laws associated with behavior and morality. They primarily focused on loving God, and loving each other, with specific instructions about what that looks like (for example: having no other gods, obeying parents, not committing murder or adultery, not lying or stealing).

Malachi chapter 4 is how the old testament ends. We then immediately find the start of the new testament where ... John, the new Elijah, arrives and prepares the way for the Messiah ... and Jesus arrives to find a people with little love or care for each other ruled by leaders who focus on ceremonial practices. And with that arrival, the work of Messiah from verse 6 is performed. Jesus does teach of the love the turns children and parents toward each other and heals relationships, but also defines the test that now clarifies eternity for all - the curse of non-belief.

Application: As flawed humans, yet creations of God and in his own image, how is it that we can all repeatedly do exactly the opposite of what we are instructed to do? The Jews did ... recording the words of Malachi in their own scriptures and the promise of a coming Messiah, then doing exactly the opposite of what the prophesy instructs regarding compliance with the law.

As I ask these questions, I know I point fingers at myself. I am better at following procedures than loving others. I am quick to judge, without being good at caring. If I turned my every thought to loving others as my extension of loving God, my daily thoughts and deeds would be SO different. Instead, I obey some processes while criticizing others for failing to obey moral statutes and practices. I need to apply this lesson to myself, and care about how I align myself to God's commandments every moment of every day.

Prayer: Dear Lord, please do forgive me for my wayward deeds and practices. I am a sinful human, and I fail to comply with just your most basic instructions every day. I seek your forgiveness, and I strive to repent of my ways. I wish to walk in your perfect statutes with you every day. This is my goal, and I do ask for your assistance. Amen.