Godly Love
Chastening of the Lord
Christianity Oasis provides this Godly Love & Chastening Rod study on Chastening of the Lord and Chasten in the Bible Scripture meaning.
Christianity Oasis Ministry
presents
Daily Bread Devotional Bible Study
The Book of Malachi
Chapter 2
Godly Love & Chastening Rod
Chastening of the Lord - Chasten in the Bible
Welcome to our Christianity Oasis Daily Bread study program. This is our Godly Love - Chastening Rod study on Chastening of the Lord and Chasten in the Bible. The message will truly bring a smile to the lips and heart and shine the LIGHT of Truth upon your be-YOU-tiful Christian walk path.
Godly Love & Chastening Rod Explained
Chastening of the Lord - Chasten in the Bible Truth
Happy you're here at Daily Bread for our study of the Book of Malachi. When we left off, Malachi's message was directed to the priests of Israel (the Levites) expressing God's disgust at their defiled offerings.
This chapter continues with the Lord's chastening. Uh oh, here comes a Daily Bread Crumb! We often think of chastening as punishment, but in Truth, it's God's method of "tough love." You see, the root word of chasten is chaste, which means pure. So in essence, when we're chastened by our loving Father, He is really cleansing us or making us pure, because His reproving of us brings us to repentance, which in turn, allows us to receive His Grace. Our God is only just, which means that the severity of the chastening that we receive, fairly fit's the offense ... Perfectly. He is capable of nothing less than perfection.
Now, let's find out what kind of due discipline the priests have brought upon themselves.
Malachi (in God's Words) explains to the priests that if they don't take this seriously and give glory to God, He will curse their blessings, and in fact, has already.
Godly Love & Chastening Rod Tough Love
Chastening of the Lord - Chasten in the Bible Defined
God warned, way back in Moses' day of what would happen if they didn't listen to Him and disregarded His commandments. In Leviticus, Chapter 26 is a horrifying list of consequences that you may want to re-read to refresh your memory. God, here reiterates the gravity of what they face.
Behold, I will corrupt your seed, and spread dung upon your faces, even the dung of your solemn feasts; and one shall take you away with it.
This is also the same message that God spoke through the prophet Ahijah to Jeroboam when Jeroboam worshipped strange gods and introduced this practice to God's people. In 1 Kings 14:9-10, the Lord said he would end the bloodline of Jeroboam for his evil ways.
When the Lord first chose the Levites to be priests, He had expected certain behavior, certain Holiness. Let's look:
4 And ye shall know that I have sent this commandment unto
you, that my covenant might be with Levi, saith the Lord of hosts.
5 My covenant was with him of life and peace; and I gave
them to him for the fear wherewith he feared me, and was afraid
before my name.
6 The law of truth was in his mouth, and iniquity was not
found in his lips: he walked with me in peace and equity, and did
turn many away from iniquity.
7 For the priest's lips should keep knowledge, and they
should seek the law at his mouth: for he is the messenger of the Lord
of hosts.
If you go to The Book of Ezekiel and read Chapter 34, you'll get a better sense of what God was feeling when he gave Malachi this message for the priests. Why does the owner of the sheep choose certain shepherds? Because He trusts them to take care of His precious flock. The Levites (the shepherds) were leading the sheep (God's people) astray instead of insuring their safety and the well being of their souls.
Godly Love & Chastening Rod Discussion
Chastening of the Lord - Chasten in the Bible Facts
8 But ye are departed out of the way; ye have caused many
to stumble at the law; ye have corrupted the covenant of Levi, saith
the Lord of hosts.
9 Therefore have I also made you contemptible and base
before all the people, according as ye have not kept my ways, but
have been partial in the law.
10 Have we not all one father? hath not one God created
us? why do we deal treacherously every man against his brother, by
profaning the covenant of our fathers?
Next, Malachi speaks against the priests because they married wives who were not of their own people, as the Lord commanded against in Leviticus 21:13-14. You can also read more about this in the Book of Ezra 9:1-2 and the Book of Nehemiah 13:23-31.
Godly Love & Chastening Rod Blessing
Chastening of the Lord - Chasten in the Bible Hope
Although this may seem like a silly analogy, people seek even a dog with a pure pedigree, why should it seem strange that the Lord command His shepherds to remain of a pure bloodline?
Solomon wrote about this:
16 To deliver thee from the strange woman, even from the
stranger which flattereth with her words;
17 Which forsaketh the guide of her youth, and forgetteth
the covenant of her God.
18 For her house inclineth unto death, and her paths unto
the dead.
19 None that go unto her return again, neither take they
hold of the paths of life. your companion, and the wife of your
covenant.
What is Godly Love & Chastening Rod
Chastening of the Lord - Chasten in the Bible Vow
Look at this from a Spiritual point of view. This may seem difficult to do in our modern world, whose outlook on everything has changed so dramatically since the days of old. When the tower of Babel was built, the Lord confused all the peoples' languages so that they wouldn't try and conspire to become famous. (And in case you may be thinking that the Holy Spirit allowed speaking in tongues for communication between languages, but that is for His glory, to teach those who don't know of Salvation through Jesus Christ.)
At any rate, The Lord made it clear when His people were brought into the promised land, that they were to keep to their own people. If they did, in the Lord's eyes, it is as if they were unfaithful to their marriage.
Godly Love & Chastening Rod Purpose
Chastening of the Lord - Chasten in the Bible Warning
You can feel from the prophecy of Malachi that in the eyes of the Lord, the infidelity of the priests stretches beyond their marrying of wives that weren't of God's people, but they don't seem to recognize that they've been poor shepherds to the Lord's sheep in general. They've set a bad example and their actions speak for themselves.
Ye have wearied the Lord with your words. Yet ye say, Wherein have we wearied Him? When ye say, Every one that doeth evil is good in the sight of the Lord, and He delighteth in them; or, Where is the God of judgment?
So, the priests are scratching their heads saying, What did we do wrong? By disregarding the Lord's commandments, they're demonstrating to the people that they think God accepts this, and will not act. It's likely that the priests didn't say those words, but their actions did. Don't forget, they are to set an example for God's people, and they themselves are breaking His laws. How wrong they were.
Godly Love & Chastening Rod Conclusion
Chastening of the Lord - Chasten in the Bible Summary
Come on back soon, and we'll continue with our study of The Book of Malachi, when he tells the prophecy of the forerunner, John the Baptist, right here at Daily Bread.
There is a force out there that is attempting to overtake us all; it is Satan. There is another force that is protecting us from him; it is the Holy Spirit. It is a battle for souls. This battle is called Spiritual Warfare, and like it or not, you are right in the middle of it.
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