The Fear of the Lord

A Word of Exhortation

Malachi, the last of the prophets of Israel, prophesied in the days of Nehemiah to a people plagued by corrupt priests, idolatry, wickedness, and a false sense of security in their privileged relationship with God. After this prophet, there would be a famine of the prophetic word for 400 years (Amos 8:11-12) until John the Baptist arrived to herald the coming of Jesus the Messiah. 

The parallel of the times during which Malachi prophesied to the days in which we live is unmistakable. The idolatry, moral depravity, and lawlessness of our present days rivals even that of Sodom and Gomorrah. But even more damning than this is the corruption of worldliness that has leavened the Church so much so that it is in danger of having “Ichabod” written over its doors, because it has grieved and quenched the Holy Spirit, and in doing so denying Christ His rightful place as Head of His Body. And indeed some congregations and denominations are already void of the Spirit’s presence and apostate.

And make no mistake about it Church the word spoken by Malachi is as valid (even more so) today than ever. The Church, in many cases, has closed its ears to the true prophetic word of the Lord, and instead eagerly receives the words of false prophets and teachers, because it has grown tired of the word of truth that calls God’s people to holiness, and has heaped to itself teachers that will tell them what their itching ears want to hear (2Tim. 4:3): words of false security, sin accommodating, mammon-worshiping, repentance-void, holiness-ignoring, world-embracing doctrine that denies God’s judgment and is completely bankrupt of the fear of the Lord—the holy reverence of God that causes His child to stand in awe of Him and tremble before Him. 

God’s people knew the fear of the Lord as they trembled before Him at Sinai. But over generations of serving their own desires rather than the will of the Lord, they lost the intimacy of the child that walked in step with his Father. And this is exactly where we are today. But the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord is near. And the whole earth will stand in awe of Him and tremble. And the oracle of God spoken in the spirit of Elijah is calling this generation to return to the Lord; calling children to honor their fathers and worship the Lord as they do; and calling fathers to love their children, raising them up in the discipline and admonition of the Lord. 

Beloved of God, our Lord and King is returning soon. May he find us all ready to be received by Him.