20  “Behold, I send an angel before you to guard you on the way and to bring you to the place that I have prepared. 21  Pay careful attention to him and obey his voice; do not rebel against him, for he will not pardon your transgression, for my name is in him. Exodus 23: 20-21 “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. Malachi 3:1 8  Then the voice that I had heard from heaven spoke to me again, saying, “Go, take the scroll that is open in the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea and on the land.” 9  So I went to the angel and told him to give me the little scroll. And he said to me, “Take and eat it; it will make your stomach bitter, but in your mouth it will be sweet as honey.” 10  And I took the little scroll from the hand of the angel and ate it. I...

"Behold, I send an angel before you to guard you on the way and to bring you to the place that I have prepared. Pay careful attention to him and obey his voice; do not rebel against him, for he will not pardon your transgression, for my name is in him. Exodus 23:20‭-‬21 ESV ¶Angels (malakhim) are the ones dispatched from God as His messengers. Angels come among God's people to guide and to guard, but with stern warnings and a fearsome presence. Malachi prophesies of John the Baptist, calling him malak (messenger). John was God's messenger; so was Malachi (a name that means "my messenger"). Angels' words are a stern warning of judgement, yes, but also of a liberating justice. With power derived from the name they carry, they are fully loaded with the power to see things made right. Embedded within that fearsome message, though, is a nugget of liberating, powerful truth: God loves you. The power of the angels, God's Holy Spirit, has now foun...

For all this they sinned still, and believed not for his wondrous works. Therefore their days did he consume in vanity, and their years in trouble. When he slew them, then they sought him: and they returned and enquired early after God. And they remembered that God was their rock, and the high God their redeemer. Nevertheless they did flatter him with their mouth, and they lied unto him with their tongues. For their heart was not right with him, neither were they stedfast in his covenant. But he, being full of compassion, forgave their iniquity, and destroyed them not: yea, many a time turned he his anger away, and did not stir up all his wrath. Psalms 78:32‭-‬38 KJV ¶Not out of upright hearts do we seek the Lord, but in tribulation. Not out of unreasonable expectation do we then expect Him to set all things aright, for it is when things are a-wrong that we seek Him. Nevertheless He forgives us, pouring out upon anger His own compassion, forgiving even the unconfes...

The Lord says to my Lord: "Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool." The Lord sends forth from Zion your mighty scepter. Rule in the midst of your enemies! Your people will offer themselves freely on the day of your power, in holy garments; from the womb of the morning, the dew of your youth will be yours. Psalm 110:1‭-‬3 ESV   ¶This Lord's Lord, seated at God's right hand, is the One who is referenced by Peter at Pentecost as having been exalted to the right hand of God, and who, having received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit, pours it out, creating a people clad in His holiness, reborn with youth like eagle's, ready for the in-gathering of the nations under His rule.

For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness. Romans 12:3‭-‬8 ESV   Though this exhortation may seem a little redundant, It addresses a real issue. We may look to others exercising their gift, and desire to be like them: to share in the esteem, the prestige they receive from it. Some gifts...

And a proclamation was made throughout Judah and Jerusalem to all the returned exiles that they should assemble at Jerusalem, and that if anyone did not come within three days, by order of the officials and the elders all his property should be forfeited, and he himself banned from the congregation of the exiles. Ezra 10:7‭-‬8 ESV ¶Who were the exiles? They were back in the land now, but who were they? They were the taken ones, ripped from the land of promise and transported to Babylonian captivity, ripped not only of their possessions and Temple furnishings, but of their identity. The demolished Temple could be rebuilt and its furnishings restored, but who were they unless God returned there to be with them? The gathering together in Jerusalem was not only physical, but spiritual, gathered for the purpose of reconstituting God's people into a congregation. In his first letter, Peter calls us to rebuild a Temple of living stones. He addresses us as exiles, but calls...

"At the set time that I appoint I will judge with equity. When the earth totters, and all its inhabitants, it is I who keep steady its pillars." For not from the east or from the west and not from the wilderness comes lifting up, but it is God who executes judgment, putting down one and lifting up another. "All the horns of the wicked I will cut off, but the horns of the righteous shall be lifted up". Psalm 75:2‭-‬3‭, ‬6‭-‬7‭, ‬10 ESV ¶What is it that keeps the earth from tottering? What is it that keeps creation steady on its pillars? Is it any of the systems of control which men have created, with all their unintended consequences? It is the God who has given us all his righteous judgements. who graciously judges the wicked, who graciously lifts up the righteous, who holds us together, holds the earth from flying off its axis, and all creation from disintegrating into an unintelligible heap of chaos.

Arise, for it is your task, and we are with you; be strong and do it." Ezra 10:4 ESV ¶Wishful thinking will not accomplish the purposes of God. We just have to be strong and do it. People may have hurt you. You may have hurt yourself. Admit to what has been broken; admit our need for a savior; acknowledge what needs to be done; accept the fact of conflict and resistance, and overcome. What does success look like? The goal is the hallelujah, (hallel Yahweh), that God get glory.

And Shecaniah the son of Jehiel, of the sons of Elam, addressed Ezra: "We have broken faith with our God and have married foreign women from the peoples of the land, but even now there is hope for Israel in spite of this. Ezra 10:2 ESV ¶What is this hope that remains even when we have broken faith with our God? It is hope in His steadfast love, in His covenant faithfulness, in His grace, in His promise to return to make all things, including us, new again.

And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. Romans 8:23 ESV   Perfectly in line with this, James 1:18 exhorts us to show forth our faith by our works, " that we might be a kind of first-fruits of all creation".

Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river Ahava, that we might humble ourselves before our God, to seek from him a safe journey for ourselves, our children, and all our goods. For I was ashamed to ask the king for a band of soldiers and horsemen to protect us against the enemy on our way, since we had told the king, "The hand of our God is for good on all who seek him, and the power of his wrath is against all who forsake him." So we fasted and implored our God for this, and he listened to our entreaty. Ezra 8:21‭-‬23 ESV ¶Is it now to our shame that we put our trust in armed men who patrol our highways to protect us, even to the neglect of prayer for our own safety, and prayer for the success of those who watch over it? They need our prayers, not only for their own protection, but for the protection of the democratic freedoms they swear to defend. In Exodus 18:21, Moses is encouraged to look for " able men from all the people, men who fear God, who are ...

Give the king your justice, O God, and your righteousness to the royal son! May he judge your people with righteousness, and your poor with justice! May he defend the cause of the poor of the people, give deliverance to the children of the needy, and crush the oppressor! Psalm 72:1‭-‬2‭, ‬4 ESV ¶Good people, the righteous of the Lord, want to do this. They want to obtain positions of power and influence in order to provide a shelter of protection for the oppressed. This in themselves does not make them evil, power-hungry, or corrupt. God, bless those who continue to campaign for the poor with the spirit of this prayer on their hearts.  May he have dominion from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth! May desert tribes bow down before him, and his enemies lick the dust! May all kings fall down before him, all nations serve him! Psalm 72:8‭-‬9‭, ‬11 ESV ¶This prayer of David depicts a king in martial readiness to defend his people and defeat their enemi...

For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, "Abba! Father!" The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. Romans 8:15‭-‬17 ESV   How can you tell if a child is yours? He looks like you! The Spirit's witness is that when, by the Spirit, we are transformed into His image, we show we are His children. This bears a witness aligned with our own spirit, which calls out "Abba , Father, Papa God!" Jesus puts it this way: "If God were your father, you would love me."

Then the Lord said to Moses, "Write this as a memorial in a book and recite it in the ears of Joshua, that I will utterly blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven." And Moses built an altar and called the name of it, The Lord Is My Banner, saying, "A hand upon the throne of the Lord ! The Lord will have war with Amalek from generation to generation." Exodus 17:14‭-‬16 ESV   The Lord is shaping Israel's memory. These acts are to be remembered in writing, so that, when they hear of them, future generations will trust in His faithfulness. Thank God that we can receive by faith what these Israelites received by sight.

In thee, O Lord , do I put my trust: let me never be put to confusion. Deliver me in thy righteousness, and cause me to escape: incline thine ear unto me, and save me. Psalms 71:1‭-‬2 KJV Does the psalmist have any claim to God's help? He calls upon God to deliver because of His righteousness. Is the psalmist blameless, that he can bring God's own righteousness to account? Does fairness dictate to God that He provide deliverance? No, but He is a covenant-keeping God. His steadfast love crosses the bounds of covenant, keeping it on our behalf. Going the extra mile, offering the shirt also when asked for the cloak, turning the other cheek, forgiving His enemies, these are the pictures of the One who... ...suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit. 1 Peter 3:18 Ultimately, the cry "Deliver me in thy righteousness" is met in Christ... ...Who became for...

I will also praise you with the harp for your faithfulness, O my God; I will sing praises to you with the lyre, O Holy One of Israel. My lips will shout for joy, when I sing praises to you; my soul also, which you have redeemed. And my tongue will talk of your righteous help all the day long, for they have been put to shame and disappointed who sought to do me hurt. Psalm 71:22‭-‬24 ESV Lets begin an inventory of all the ways we have to praise Him. We have instruments, and music to create on them. We have our lips, and language to tell of Him. We have our tongue, to influence the world as powerfully as the rudder that steers the ship. We have bricks, and stone, to build outposts of new creation beauty. We have clothing, and finery that ennobles our feeble frames even to the resembling of the immortals. We have plants, to remind us of Eden's garden. We have animals, which remind us of the Creator in our creaturely kinship. What else would you add to the list? If thi...

For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, and to him Abraham apportioned a tenth part of everything. He is first, by translation of his name, king of righteousness, and then he is also king of Salem, that is, king of peace. He is without father or mother or genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but resembling the Son of God he continues a priest forever. Hebrews 7:1‭-‬3 ESV ¶Hebrews identifies Jesus as priest in the order of Melchizedek, king of righteousness. Righteousness is determined at two levels. In the setting of a dispute, a judge would rule in favor of the party he judged righteous, in right standing with God's covenant requirements upon Israel. The judge, or king, is himself deemed righteous to the extent that he is true to the law and/or the covenant, condemns evil, shows no partiality, and upholds the cause of the defenseless. How could ...