A Promise Prepared
Advent Week 3: Here lies the promise of a God who makes a way to unite Himself to creation, no matter the waywardness.
“‘Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming’, says the Lord of hosts.”1
The Way Prepared
We all want a way out—out of our money problems, out of our demanding jobs, out of our responsibilities, out of the Christmas family dinner conversations, out of pain and suffering, out of grief, out of insecurity. The masterpiece of God’s design and promise to make creation whole again is not that He gave us a way out because that’s not what we really need.
Our Savior decided to step in. God stepped into the world to step into our trials, be with us through the less-than-satisfactory moments, and guide us through the awkward relationships.
Reflecting back on what the Lord spoke to His people through Malachi thus far2, we remember that more than anything else, God loves us. God calls us to a higher standard, expects us to give generously to honor Him and care for the church. He called out the downfalls of His followers and pointed to a solution to come, one that would unite the Lord and His people forever.
Here we are, week three of this short Advent series, at the promise explained.
God laid out His promise for all mankind: a messenger (John) will prepare the way for Jesus’ arrival, and the Lord will come to us. As foretold in Malachi 3, the Lord’s angel appeared to Zechariah in the temple3 to tell Zechariah that he and his wife were to bear a child named John…
“‘And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.’”
In Malachi 3, the Lord revealed His promise to prepare the way for His arrival, the ultimate Waymaker—the One the people had been waiting for, the One in whom their soul delights. Malachi shared the words of the Lord that reveal the reality of a refining movement and saving grace for all sinners. This promise was about preparing a way from our hearts to His, from our earthly vision to eternal life with Him.
A Refining Arrival
As the Lord suggested4, Jesus was and is in the business of refining people. The Sermon on the Mount is one such example where we see all the ways the people of God expected the law to play out in the coming of the Lord, and just how wrong we tend to be when we assume we know what we need.
The goal of Christ’s arrival—advent—was not just to spend time with His people, though that is near to the heart of God. The promised path from God to us was to refine our souls to align with God so we could be united to His presence forever.
“For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5:20
Jesus came to earth and taught the disciples and all those who would listen that we are held to a high standard of righteousness, and that righteousness is achievable through belief in God and commitment to His ways. This level of righteousness is different than how the Pharisees and teachers of the laws understood the word of the Lord, though.
Jesus stepped in and led a ministry of refinement and peace, guiding people toward the understanding of the upside-down kingdom.
A Spared Son & Treasured Possession
We find ourselves again reading the words of God that spare us the trouble of seeking out things of this world to fill our heart and soul. The Lord said to the people who surrender their lives and worldly matter that He will “open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need.”5
The juxtaposition between earthly possessions and heavenly treasure is portrayed many times throughout Scripture. If God is enough—and He is—then we won’t find ourselves lacking what we truly need.
The problem at this time for the Israelites is that they didn’t have a connection to God the way we do now. Not everyone had the Holy Spirit alive within them. No one had direct access to God, just the priests and prophets at specific times. They needed a way forward, they needed to be spared for their sins in order to draw near to God, but they also needed justice to be served in order to bring glory to God.
“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.
‘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.”
Malachi 3:16-17
The awe of advent is in the refining joy offered through a God who stepped into our mess to make a way to be with Him through the life and sacrifice of His Son, whom God spared in order that we may live forever and Christ with us.
The promise was not just the presence of our Lord Almighty but a path prepared to be in that presence forever, despite our shortcomings, and ultimately, without the pain and trials this world offers. That promise of forever is yet to come for those who believe, and that’s the advent we wait upon.
Malachi 3:1
Malachi 3:2-5
Malachi 9:10
We were in Luke at the end of chapter 1 today in church and this was the theme...preparing the way!! Excellent that you showed it in Malachi as well!