Malachi 3:13-4:3
What good is it to serve God? The unsaved seem better off. What cynicism is at the forefront of the people and their attitude! They do not consider their service to God important. In fact they say to serve the Lord is vain (3:14). They may decide to abandoned good for evil. When that happens the difference between good and evil blurs. Moral absolutes are minimized, and evil becomes acceptable. After all, it seems to work for the world. They seem to escape the judgment of God. The problem of evil and evil doers has caused concerns among the people of God for generations. Cynicism of God turns to complacency toward serving God. They see service and worship of God as worthless.
But God does not abandon his people: “I will spare them” (3:17). The Lord knows those who fear Him. The motivation to serve God is His faithfulness and their future hope. This hope is both positive and negative. God will remember. He keeps the accounts and holds man accountable. That day is evitable. That day will bring two results: First, God will act on behalf of his people. Second, he will destroy the works of evil. It will be a day in which divine sovereignty and human accountability will meet face to face. Because of this the prophet warns them not to become either cynical or complacent, but to spring forth in action, tread down the wicked, and serve the living God. As believers, “God will not remember our sins (Isa. 43:25), he will remember our righteous acts …as well as our tears (Psa. 56:8).”[1]
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