Today we’ll finish our Old Testament reading with the little book of Malachi. Though it’s little in size, it’s not little in spiritual truth. Malachi’s words challenge us to give God our best, not what is left over, whether that means our finances, time, talent, or some other resource.
So, how can we purpose in our hearts to give God our best in the coming year? How can we bring Him glory in all we do and honor Him in our marriages, our singleness, or whatever our situation?
Then our final passage in Proverbs pictures “the virtuous or excellent wife.” We’ll look at how an ancient description speaks to us today.
Finally, as you read the last 2 chapters of Revelation, allow John’s vision of the glories to come to excite your heart!
Welcome to “God’s Word Day by Day.” Before we get started, I’d like to encourage you to make the coming year the best ever by committing to a daily Bible reading plan. One way is to sign up here for these daily devotionals. They will take you through the Bible in a year and provide valuable commentary that can help you apply the Scripture to your daily life. (If you are already receiving them, thank you so much! And there is no need to re-sign up.)
Today’s Readings:
Malachi 1-4
Psalm 150
Proverbs 31.10-31
Revelation 21 & 22
Are You Giving God Your Best?
Malachi 1-4:
Our Best with Finances, Time, Talent & More
As is all of God’s Word, this little book is rich with His truth. In chapter 1 we see the importance of giving God our best, not what is left over, whether that means finances, time, talent, or some other resource.
God rebuked the people because, instead of giving the best of their flocks as a sacrifice, they offered the stolen, lame, and sick animals.
Many times, instead of giving God our best we, too, give Him what’s left over, if anything. We can’t tithe or give our best to the work of God because we are too strapped with huge mortgages and car payments.
Perhaps, we need to drive that older vehicle a little longer and adjust our budgets in other ways. What might we accomplish if we gave up a Starbucks each week or blessed someone else with the money we’d spend on the latest iPhone?
Instead of giving God our best in the morning, we rush off to work or get busy with our day, promising to read His Word before we go to sleep. At night, we’re too exhausted to read more than a few verses before we fall asleep and we fail to give God’s Word any serious thought or attention.
I don’t want to sound legalistic because the Bible does not say we must spend time reading and studying first thing in the morning but many of us find that to be the most productive time.
Be Creative & Persistent
If you have young children, who as one mom said, “Wake up at the first crack of my Bible,” the best time may be during their naps or after they go to bed at night. I have a friend who when she was the mother of two little ones, kept a Bible open in every room of the house. That way she could read at least a little bit in the small chunks of time she had.
Another wife and mother kept her Bible open on her kitchen counter and when she was waiting for something to cook or had other opportunities throughout the day, she read a chapter or a few verses. As she went about her day she meditated on what she had read. Meditation is simply thinking about what we’ve read in a deeper way. Notice how both of these moms were purposeful about their Bible intake even when it was challenging.
But for many of us, spending time in God’s Word is more a matter of setting the alarm 15 to 30 minutes earlier and making it a priority. The important thing is to find a time when we can be consistent.
If you would like to follow along with me in the coming year, I hope you’ll sign up for these daily posts. I’d love to hear your thoughts along the way if you do. That way we can grow together in the grace and knowledge of the Lord.
Despising the Covenant of Marriage
In chapter 2 of Malachi, God rebukes the priests because, among other things, they took the covenant relationship of marriage lightly. Remember as new covenant believers, we are all priests to the Lord (1 Pet. 2.5).
They knowingly disobeyed God by marrying unbelievers (2.11). Some even divorced their wives to do so:
13 And this is the second thing you do.
You cover the altar of the LORD with tears,
With weeping and crying;
So He does not regard the offering anymore,
Nor receive it with goodwill from your hands.
14 Yet you say, ‘For what reason?’
Because the LORD has been witness
Between you and the wife of your youth,
With whom you have dealt treacherously;
Yet she is your companion
And your wife by covenant.16 ‘For the LORD God of Israel says
That He hates divorce …’
Because of their disregard for their marriage covenants, God had no regard for their prayers and offerings.
Trusting God with Our Finances
Then in chapter 3, we see God’s heart concerning our giving:
10 ‘Bring all the tithes into the storehouse,
That there may be food in My house,
And try Me now in this,’
Says the LORD of hosts,‘If I will not open for you the windows of heaven
And pour out for you such blessing
That there will not be room enough to receive it.’
Do you trust God with your finances? Do you take Him at His Word concerning your giving? It’s the one area of life where God invites us to test Him. His promise is that when we give generously, He will open the windows of heaven and pour out a blessing so big we won’t be able to contain it.
This is not an endorsement of the false prosperity doctrine that says God wants to make us all rich if just we have enough faith or give enough. But God does promise to bless and take care of us when we’re faithful to Him.
So let’s purpose in our hearts to give God our best whether with our time, our talents, our finances, or our relationships.
Today’s Other Readings:
Psalm 150:
Praise the Lord!
Whatever your personal preferences in worship styles, it sounds like heaven will be a noisy place when it comes to music! This psalm says we’re to praise him with the trumpet, lute, harp, timbrel, dance, stringed instruments, flutes, and cymbals.
Praise the Lord!
Proverbs 31.10-31:
Today’s Proverbs 31 Wife
Where do I start? There is so much in this passage. Even though this is a snapshot from another time and place, the principles still apply today.
Ladies, we are not consigned to a lesser role in society, but to a role that is valuable and precious in God’s sight.
Who can find a virtuous wife? For her worth is far above rubies (v. 10).
So what are the characteristics of a godly woman?
She is Trustworthy
The heart of her husband safely trusts her; so he will have no lack of gain. She does him good and not evil all the days of her life (v. 11-12).
She is trustworthy, whether with finances, with her behavior and affections, or with her speech.
She is Industrious
She seeks wool and flax, and willingly works with her hands. She is like the merchant ships, she brings her food from afar. She also rises while it is yet night, and provides food for her household, and a portion for her maidservants (v. 13-15).
She watches over the ways of her household, and does not eat the bread of idleness (v. 27).
She is industrious, not lazy or a time-waster.
Note: While we may not have servants today, we certainly have appliances that make our work easier, as well as, grocery stores and restaurants with prepared foods that our sisters in biblical times could never have imagined.
She considers a field and buys it; from her profits she plants a vineyard (v. 16).
She stretches out her hands to the distaff, and her hand holds the spindle (v.19).
She makes linen garments and sells them, and supplies sashes for the merchants (v. 24).
She blesses the family financially. Today that might mean budgeting wisely, cutting coupons, running a home-based business, or working outside the home.
She Strengthens Herself Physically & Spiritually
She girds herself with strength, and strengthens her arms (v. 17).
She takes care of herself physically and stays strong spiritually.
She perceives that her merchandise is good, and her lamp does not go out by night (v. 18).
Her merchandise is good because her work is done as unto the Lord. She understands that God’s Word is the lamp that lights her path (Ps. 119.105) and she cultivates it with a steady intake of the Bible. Finally, she allows that light to shine through her to others so they can see His influence in her life.
Jesus said, ‘Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven’ (Matt. 5.16).
She is Generous & Wise
She extends her hand to the poor, yes, she reaches out her hands to the needy (v. 20).
This godly woman is generous to those who are less fortunate.
She is not afraid of snow for her household, for all her household is clothed with scarlet (v. 21).
She plans wisely and prepares for problems and changes.
She is Attentive to the Inside & Out
She makes tapestry for herself; her clothing is fine linen and purple (v. 22).
She is attentive to her appearance.
Strength and honor are her clothing; she shall rejoice in time to come (v. 25).
But she understands that it’s the inner person that God is most concerned about.
Do not let your adornment be merely outward—arranging the hair, wearing gold, or putting on fine apparel—rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God (1 Pet. 3.3-4).
She Gives God Her Best
Because she is faithful in her responsibilities, it frees her husband to do what God has called him to do so he can give God his best.
Her husband is known in the gates, when he sits among the elders of the land (v. 25).
She is Godly in Her Speech
She opens her mouth with wisdom, and on her tongue is the law of kindness (v. 26).
She fills her heart with God’s Word which is reflected in her speech.
And the Result
As a result …
Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her. ‘Many daughters have done well, but you excel them all.’ Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing, but a woman who fears the LORD, she shall be praised. Give her of the fruit of her hands, and let her own works praise her in the gates (v. 28-31).
I want to say that I have met Proverbs 31 women of all ages, but many of them are young which is so encouraging to me. Some of them work outside the home, others are stay-at-home moms, and many homeschool their children. Being a godly wife and mother takes time and effort, but if we do it as unto the Lord, we will find joy in that calling.
The Way of Blessing, Peace & Joy
Ladies, wherever you feel you are in this area and whatever your age, it’s never too late or too early. As you read through the characteristics of a godly wife, ask yourself if there is some area on which you know God wants you to work.
And if you are an “older woman,” either in age or spiritual maturity, is there another woman God might want you to mentor as Paul talked about in Titus 2?
Parents, how are you doing at teaching these principles to your daughters? And are you teaching your sons the value of seeking a godly woman?
Being a Proverbs 31 woman may seem old-fashioned by the world’s standards, but God’s truths are eternal. And many a feminist has come to know the Lord, learned His precepts, and realized that His way is the way of blessing, peace, and joy.
Revelation 21 & 22:
Glories to Come
These two final chapters give us a glimpse of the glories to come as we see the New Jerusalem where there will be no more tears and no more sorrow and where Christ is all the light we will need!
… And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely … He who testifies to these things says, ‘Surely I am coming quickly.’ Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus! The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen (22.17, 20-21).
If you’d like to read more about the Book of Revelation, you can read the entire overview beginning with the December 11th post. Just use the search bar or the calendar tool on the sidebar or at the bottom.
Coming Up:
Tomorrow we’ll begin again in Genesis and look at the stories God recorded there for us:
For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope (Rom. 15.4).
Then over the next few days, we’ll also look at the difference between regret and repentance, talk about fighting temptation with the sword of the Spirit, discuss radical surgery, and look at Jesus’ outline for prayer.
Getting Ready for the New Year:
Here at Soul Survival, we are at the end of our journey through the Bible for this year. But, as I said, that only means it’s time to start over. Every new year in God’s Word has more to discover in the way of understanding and a deeper more intimate relationship with Jesus.
What has your Bible reading looked like this year? How has it impacted you? What has changed in your life? How have you applied it (the most important question of all)?
Are you thinking about the coming year? I’ll continue these “God’s Word Day by Day” posts along with other topical posts. I hope you’ll join me. You can sign up here to receive the daily encouragement and my thoughts on our readings.
My Bible in a Year series will also be on YouTube this year. You can subscribe now and preview the first video here.
Blessings,
Donna
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