Study Desk

People living far away will come and build the Lord 's Temple. Then you will know for sure that the Lord All-Powerful sent me to you people. All these things will happen if you do what the Lord your God says.

But they refused to listen and refused to do what he wanted. They closed their ears so that they could not hear what God said.

I will bring them back here, and they will live in Jerusalem. They will be my people, and I will be their good and faithful God."

The Lord All-Powerful says, "At that time many foreigners speaking different languages will come to a Jewish man, take hold of the hem of his robe, and ask, ‘We heard that God is with you. Can we come with you to worship him?'"

The Lord will appear to them, and he will shoot his arrows like lightning. The Lord God will blow the trumpet, and the army will rush forward like a desert dust storm.

At that time the Lord their God will save his people like a shepherd saves his sheep. They will be very precious to him. They will be like sparkling jewels in his land.

I will make Judah's family strong. I will help Joseph's family win the war. I will bring them back safely and comfort them. It will be as if I never left them. I am the Lord their God, and I will help them.

The Lord my God says, "Care for the sheep that have been raised to be killed.

The leaders of Judah will encourage the people and say, ‘The Lord All-Powerful is your God. He makes us strong.'

Then I will test those survivors by giving them many troubles. The troubles will be like the fire a person uses to prove silver is pure. I will test them the way a person tests gold. Then they will call to me for help, and I will answer them. I will say, ‘You are my people.' And they will say, ‘The Lord is my God.'"

You will try to run away as that mountain valley comes closer and closer to you. You will run away like the time you ran from the earthquake during the time of King Uzziah of Judah. But the Lord my God will come, and all his holy ones will be with him.

This is a message from the Lord to Israel. God used Malachi to tell this message to the people.

"Now try asking God to be good to you. But he will not listen to you, and it is all your fault." This is what the Lord All-Powerful said.

We all have the same father. The same God made every one of us. So why do people cheat one another? They show that they don't respect the agreement. They don't respect the agreement that our ancestors made with God.

The people of Judah cheated other people. People in Jerusalem and Israel did terrible things. God loves the Temple, but the people in Judah didn't respect the Lord 's holy Temple. The people of Judah began to worship a foreign goddess.

God wants husbands and wives to become one body and one spirit. Why? So that they would have holy children and protect that spiritual unity. Don't cheat on your wife. She has been your wife from the time you were young.

The Lord , the God of Israel, says, "I hate divorce, and I hate the cruel things that men do. So protect your spiritual unity. Don't cheat on your wife."

You have taught wrong things, and it makes the Lord very sad. People were doing evil things, but you said that this pleased the Lord and that he accepted those things. And you taught that God does not punish people for the evil they do.

"People should not steal things from God, but you stole things from me. "You say, ‘What did we steal from you?' "You should have given me one-tenth of your things. You should have given me special gifts.

You said, "It is useless to worship God. We did what the Lord All-Powerful told us, but we didn't gain anything. We cried like people at a funeral to show we were sorry for our sins, but it didn't help.