Malachi 3-4; Psalms 64 - Prayer Tents

The Coming Day of Judgment

3“Look! I am sending my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. Then the Lord you are seeking will suddenly come to his Temple. The messenger of the covenant, whom you look for so eagerly, is surely coming,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.H7971H4397H6437H1870H6440H113H1245H6597H935H1964H4397H1285H2655H935H559H3068H6635

2“But who will be able to endure it when he comes? Who will be able to stand and face him when he appears? For he will be like a blazing fire that refines metal, or like a strong soap that bleaches clothes.H3557H3117H935H5975H7200H6884H784H3526H1287

3He will sit like a refiner of silver, burning away the dross. He will purify the Levites, refining them like gold and silver, so that they may once again offer acceptable sacrifices to the Lord.H3427H6884H2891H3701H2891H1121H3878H2212H2091H3701H5066H3068H4503H6666

4Then once more the Lord will accept the offerings brought to him by the people of Judah and Jerusalem, as he did in the past.H4503H3063H3389H6149H3068H3117H5769H6931H8141

5“At that time I will put you on trial. I am eager to witness against all sorcerers and adulterers and liars. I will speak against those who cheat employees of their wages, who oppress widows and orphans, or who deprive the foreigners living among you of justice, for these people do not fear me,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.H7126H4941H4116H5707H3784H5003H8267H7650H6231H7916H7939H490H3490H5186H1616H3372H559H3068H6635

A Call to Repentance

6“I am the Lord, and I do not change. That is why you descendants of Jacob are not already destroyed.H3068H8138H1121H3290H3615

7Ever since the days of your ancestors, you have scorned my decrees and failed to obey them. Now return to me, and I will return to you,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. “But you ask, ‘How can we return when we have never gone away?’H3117H1H5493H2706H8104H7725H7725H559H3068H6635H559H7725

8“Should people cheat God? Yet you have cheated me! “But you ask, ‘What do you mean? When did we ever cheat you?’ “You have cheated me of the tithes and offerings due to me.H120H6906H430H6906H559H6906H4643H8641

9You are under a curse, for your whole nation has been cheating me.H779H3994H6906H1471

10Bring all the tithes into the storehouse so there will be enough food in my Temple. If you do,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, “I will open the windows of heaven for you. I will pour out a blessing so great you won’t have enough room to take it in! Try it! Put me to the test!H935H4643H214H2964H1004H974H2063H559H3068H6635H6605H699H8064H7324H1293H1767

11Your crops will be abundant, for I will guard them from insects and disease

. Your grapes will not fall from the vine before they are ripe,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.H1605H398H7843H6529H127H1612H7921H7704H559H3068H6635

12“Then all nations will call you blessed, for your land will be such a delight,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.H1471H833H2656H776H559H3068H6635

13“You have said terrible things about me,” says the Lord. “But you say, ‘What do you mean? What have we said against you?’H1697H2388H559H3068H559H1696

14“You have said, ‘What’s the use of serving God? What have we gained by obeying his commands or by trying to show the Lord of Heaven’s Armies that we are sorry for our sins?H559H7723H5647H430H1215H8104H4931H1980H6941H6440H3068H6635

15From now on we will call the arrogant blessed. For those who do evil get rich, and those who dare God to punish them suffer no harm.’”H833H2086H833H6213H7564H1129H974H430H4422

The Lord’s Promise of Mercy

16Then those who feared the Lord spoke with each other, and the Lord listened to what they said. In his presence, a scroll of remembrance was written to record the names of those who feared him and always thought about the honor of his name.H3373H3068H1696H376H7453H3068H7181H8085H5612H2146H3789H6440H3373H3068H2803H8034

17“They will be my people,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. “On the day when I act in judgment, they will be my own special treasure. I will spare them as a father spares an obedient child.H559H3068H6635H3117H6213H5459H2550H376H2550H1121H5647

18Then you will again see the difference between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not.”H7725H7200H6662H7563H5647H430H5647

The Coming Day of Judgment

The Lord of Heaven’s Armies says, “The day of judgment is coming, burning like a furnace. On that day the arrogant and the wicked will be burned up like straw. They will be consumed—roots, branches, and all.H3117H935H1197H8574H2086H6213H7564H7179H3117H935H3857H559H3068H6635H5800H8328H6057 2“But for you who fear my name, the Sun of Righteousness will rise with healing in his wings

. And you will go free, leaping with joy like calves let out to pasture.H3373H8034H8121H6666H2224H4832H3671H3318H6335H5695H4770 3On the day when I act, you will tread upon the wicked as if they were dust under your feet,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.H6072H7563H665H3709H7272H3117H6213H559H3068H6635 4“Remember to obey the Law of Moses, my servant—all the decrees and regulations that I gave him on Mount Sinai

for all Israel.H2142H8451H4872H5650H6680H2722H3478H2706H4941 5“Look, I am sending you the prophet Elijah before the great and dreadful day of the Lord arrives.H7971H452H5030H6440H935H1419H3372H3117H3068 6His preaching 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.”H7725H3820H1H1121H3820H1121H1H935H5221H776H2764

64[For the choir director: A psalm of David.] O God, listen to my complaint. Protect my life from my enemies’ threats.H5329H4210H1732H8085H6963H430H7879H5341H2416H6343H341 2Hide me from the plots of this evil mob, from this gang of wrongdoers.H5641H5475H7489H7285H6466H205 3They sharpen their tongues like swords and aim their bitter words like arrows.H8150H3956H2719H1869H2671H4751H1697 4They shoot from ambush at the innocent, attacking suddenly and fearlessly.H3384H4565H8535H6597H3384H3372 5They encourage each other to do evil and plan how to set their traps in secret. “Who will ever notice?” they ask.H2388H7451H1697H5608H2934H4170H2934H559H7200 6As they plot their crimes, they say, “We have devised the perfect plan!” Yes, the human heart and mind are cunning.H2664H5766H8552H2664H2665H7130H376H3820H6013 7But God himself will shoot them with his arrows, suddenly striking them down.H430H3384H2671H6597H4347 8Their own tongues will ruin them, and all who see them will shake their heads in scorn.H3956H3782H7200H5074 9Then everyone will be afraid; they will proclaim the mighty acts of God and realize all the amazing things he does.H120H3372H5046H6467H430H7919H4639 10The godly will rejoice in the Lord and find shelter in him. And those who do what is right will praise him.H6662H8055H3068H2620H3477H3820H1984