Malachi 3:1-12

The Coming Messenger

3:1 See, I am sending my messenger to prepare the way before me, and the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple. The messenger of the covenant in whom you delight-indeed, he is coming, says the LORD of hosts. 2 But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears?

For he is like a refiner's fire and like fullers' soap; 3 he will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the descendants of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, until they present offerings to the LORD in righteousness. 4 Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the LORD as in the days of old and as in former years.

5 Then I will draw near to you for judgment; I will be swift to bear witness against the sorcerers, against the adulterers, against those who swear falsely, against those who oppress the hired workers in their wages, the widow and the orphan, against those who thrust aside the alien, and do not fear me, says the LORD of hosts.

6 For I the LORD do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, have not perished. 7 Ever since the days of your ancestors you have turned aside from my statutes and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you, says the LORD of hosts. But you say, "How shall we return?"

Do Not Rob God

8 Will anyone rob God? Yet you are robbing me! But you say, "How are we robbing you?" In your tithes and offerings! 9 You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me-the whole nation of you! 10 Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in my house, and thus put me to the test, says the LORD of hosts; see if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you an overflowing blessing. 11 I will rebuke the locust for you, so that it will not destroy the produce of your soil; and your vine in the field shall not be barren, says the LORD of hosts. 12 Then all nations will count you happy, for you will be a land of delight, says the LORD of hosts. (Malachi 3:1-12, NRSV)

The following comments are repeated with revision and supplement here from November 19, 2004, two years ago (Friday of the week of the Sunday closest to November 16, Year Two):

Malachi’s fourth oracle, or “disputation” “forecasts a time when covenant loyalty will be a defining trait of postexilic Yehud [Judah] (a theme throughout the book). This eschatological day will also mark the community as true worshipers of Yahweh. As such, this disputation serves as a foil bridging the third (2:10-16) and fifth (3:6-12) oracles indicting the restoration community for faithlessness to God and each other and offers a solution for that offense in the form of divine judgment resulting in the ritual purification of the people” (Andrew E. Hill, Anchor Bible). It is important to understand the meaning of this text in its Old Testament context before we, as Christians, move on to its “fuller sense” in reference to John the Baptist (Mt. 11:10; Mk. 1:2; Lk. 1:17, 76; 7:27).

James 5:7-12

Patience in Suffering

7 Be patient, therefore, beloved, until the coming of the Lord. The farmer waits for the precious crop from the earth, being patient with it until it receives the early and the late rains. 8 You also must be patient. Strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near. 9 Beloved, do not grumble against one another, so that you may not be judged. See, the Judge is standing at the doors! 10 As an example of suffering and patience, beloved, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. 11 Indeed we call blessed those who showed endurance. You have heard of the endurance of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful.

12 Above all, my beloved, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your "Yes" be yes and your "No" be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation. (James 5:7-12, NRSV)

The following comments are combined with revision and supplement here from November 19, 2004, two years ago (Friday of the week of the Sunday closest to November 16, Year Two), and from comments selected from those on James 5:7-20 of September 3, 2005 (Saturday of the week of the Sunday closest to August 31, Year One):

Yesterday’s reading concluded with warnings to rich people about their greed and trust in “gold and silver” which “have rusted,” producing evidence (the “rust”) against them in the coming judgment (Jas. 5:3). They have failed to heed the Lord’s advice to “store up . . . treasures in heaven” rather than “on earth” (Mt. 6:19-20). More than that, they have defrauded their laborers, keeping back their wages by fraud (v. 4).

Today’s reading provides a contrast by beginning with encouragement for faithful people. Encouragement? Yes, but in a rather stern mode. Rather than the presumption and hasty action noted yesterday, James advises patience. “Be patient, therefore, beloved, until the coming of the Lord” (Jas. 5:7). They are to “be patient” (Jas. 5:7, 8) and “strengthen your hearts” in expectation of “the coming of the Lord” which “is near” (v. 8). They are not to “grumble against one another so that you may not be judged” for l”the Judge is standing at the door” (v. 9). The prophets and Job are presented as examples of “suffering and patience” (vv. 10-11). He links patience to endurance (v. 11), when faced with suffering (v. 10), but connects this with the prophets. Job is “not cited as an example of makrothymia [‘patience’ NRSV] proper, but, like Elijah, of not altogether perfectly patient hypomōnē [‘endurance’ NRSV], “that gallant spirit which can breast the tides of doubt and sorrow and disaster, and still hold on, and come out with faith still stronger on the other side” (James B. Adamson, quoting William Barclay). The words “patience,” “steadfastness” and “endurance” are used in the definition of both words, but “forbearance” is added for the former (makrothymia) and “fortitude” and “perseverance” for the latter, the one used of Job (F. Wilbur Gingrich, Shorter Lexicon, s.v. hypomōnē and makrothymia). Throughout Job’s dialogues with his “friends,” his attitude was anything but passive submission.

The admonition not to swear (v. 12) provides another echo of the Sermon on the Mount (Mt. 5:33-37). Friends (Quakers), who traditionally have taken this literally, have been permitted to “affirm” rather than “swear” in court and with respect to legal documents. They claimed that they always spoke the truth, and to swear that one is now telling the truth is to imply that, otherwise, they often would not. Of the words, Above all, which introduce this verse, Cain Hope Felder says they introduce “the main point, closely aligned with Mt. 5:33-37, and the culmination, stressing the importance of speech-ethics and moral integrity” (NOAB, 3^rd ed., on Jas. 5:12).

Luke 18:1-8

The Parable of the Widow and the Unjust Judge

18:1 Then Jesus told them a parable about their need to pray always and not to lose heart. 2 He said, "In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor had respect for people. 3 In that city there was a widow who kept coming to him and saying, 'Grant me justice against my opponent.' 4 For a while he refused; but later he said to himself, 'Though I have no fear of God and no respect for anyone, 5 yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will grant her justice, so that she may not wear me out by continually coming.’” 6 And the Lord said, "Listen to what the unjust judge says. 7 And will not God grant justice to his chosen ones who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long in helping them? 8 I tell you, he will quickly grant justice to them. And yet, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth. (Luke 18:1-8, NRSV)

The following comments are combined with revision and supplement here from November 19, 2004, two years ago (Friday of the week of the Sunday closest to November 16, Year Two), and from June 2, 2005 (Thursday of the week of the Sunday closest to June 1, Year One):

The Parable of the Unjust Judge (Lk. 18:1-8) is one of two together reported only by Luke (cf. the Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector, 18:9-14). Jesus begins his parable about the unjust judge by stating its point at the outset: “their [i.e. the disciples’] need to pray always and not to lose heart” (Lk. 18:1). The judge in this parable “was clearly not a Jewish judge” (William Barclay, The Gospel of Luke, rev. ed., Daily Study Bible Series, 221). Such a case should have been “taken before the elders, and not into the public courts at all.” Barclay adds that

this judge was one of the paid magistrates appointed either by Herod or by the Romans. Such judges were notorious. Unless a plaintiff had influence and money to bribe his way to a verdict he had no hope of ever getting his case settled. These judges were said to pervert justice for a dish of meat. People even punned on their title. Officially they were called Dayyaneh Gezeroth, which means judges of prohibitions or punishments. Popularly they were called Dayyaneh Gezeloth, which means robber judges. (Barclay, 222)

This parable presents an “all the more” (a fortiori, or, in Jewish terms, qal vahomer) argument. If even such a judge, who has “no fear of God and no respect for anyone” (v. 4) will respond to the widow’s persistent pleas for justice (v. 5), “will not God grant justice to his chosen ones who cry to him day and night?” Barclay says that we should not always “expect to get whatever we pray for”:

We do not know what is to happen in the next hour, let alone the next week, or month, or year. Only God sees time whole, and therefore, only God knows what is good for us in the long run. That is why Jesus said we must never be discouraged in prayer. That is why he wondered if men’s faith would stand the long delays before the Son of Man should come. We will never grow weary in prayer and our faith will never falter if, after we have offered to God our prayers and requests, we add the perfect prayer, Thy will be done. (Barclay, 222-223)

Most of us face situations from time to time that could become disheartening, and Jesus was anticipating such circumstances to be faced by his disciples. “When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?” (v. 8). In the situation described by Jesus, the widow certainly deserved justice. But it is only her persistence, “because this widow keeps bothering me” (v. 5), that she prevails. We could emphasize the need for justice in society, including the appointment of just judges. But Jesus is looking for persistence in our life of faith, persistence in fulfilling our calling and carrying out our mission in the world, and persistence in our hope as we look forward to his coming.

Ronald D. Worden, Ph.D.

rdworden@hgst.edu

rworden@houston.rr.com