#DailyDevotion Will You Be Frolicking Or Ashes On The Last Day?
Malachi 4:1–3
“You see, the day will come, burning like a furnace, and all who defy God and all who do wrong will be straw. The coming day will burn them,” says the LORD of armies, “leaving no root or branch of them. 2“But for you who respect My name there will rise the Sun of Righteousness with healing in His wings. 3You will go out and frolic like calves let out of their barn. You will trample on the wicked because they will be ashes under your feet on the day when I act,” says the LORD of armies.
As much as we want to always put forth God in his primary will toward us, which is love, mercy, kindness, patience and forgiveness, there is that secondary will he has when we reject his primary will toward us. We see that secondary will in this text. In Isaiah the LORD calls it is alien work. What this secondary will or alien work of God is his wrath and punishment.
Malachi is looking to the last day when the LORD returns in all his glory. What that glory looks like depends on what your attitude towards the LORD is. If you attitude towards him is defiance and doing wrong then that day will will, burning like a furnace. You will be like straw before him and no root or branch of you will remain. It’s why so many people hate the LORD, the Living God, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. They don’t want to fear, love and trust in him above all things. They want to do their own thing. They think the one true God is petulant and immature for delivering them his wrath for their unbelief and hatred towards him. Such people get what they deserve. For now, we are to pity them and to pray for them that they may repent before it is too late.
However, for those who respect the name of the LORD, Jesus, who fear, love and trust in God above all things (which is only possible by the power of the Holy Spirit), the Sun of Righteousness with healing in his wings rises for us. Faith in Christ is to have the fear of YHWH, the LORD. There can be no respect or fear of the LORD without faith in Jesus Christ. Faith in Jesus Christ believes he is the Sun of Righteousness here. It looks to him to be redeemed, ransomed, victorious over the grace, the adoption as sons of God and saved from the wrath to come.
In some senses we may be a little repulsed at trampling upon the ashes of those who rebelled against the LORD our God. But remember this is God’s alien or secondary work. As such, as his sons, it also is our secondary and alien work. The world tries so hard to defeat our faith. Politics and leaders who oppose the LORD and inflict us with numerable immoralities–tries to get us to accept as loving and pleasing to God inflicts and pierces our hearts on a daily basis. How often is our conscience wounded by the people we love who don’t love Jesus? We are taught by Jesus to love one another, to love our enemies and this is good and true. But there is coming a day when this age comes to its ultimate end. The jig will be up. You will either be rewarded for your faith or for your works of unbelief. If for your faith, you will be like calves let out of the barn frolicking upon the new earth. Every tear will be wiped from your face and you will be rejoices in the LORD and his goodness for all eternity.
Merciful God and Father, grant us faith to fear your name and to have faith in Christ Jesus so we may at the resurrection frolic like calves let out of the barn. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.