FROM A CURSE TO GRACE

 

Monday, July 11, 2022

 

FROM A CURSE TO GRACE

 

Mal 4:5-6

5 Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD:

6 And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.

 

Rev 22:20-21

20 He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.

21 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.

 

          The Old Testament ended with three prophecies and one warning. Elijah would return to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children and the children to their fathers. Next, the sun of righteousness would appear, an obvious reference to Christ coming in the flesh. The third prophecy was the destruction of Jerusalem. The word curse is the Hebrew cherem which means “a net.” The idea being that a net would be cast over a victim and that victim would be destroyed.

 

          The Masoretic text changes the order of Malachi 5 and 6 because the Jews did not want to end their Bible with the word curse. Then they repeated verse 5 and shortened it to “I will send you Elijah the prophet.”

 

          In the Jews’ feasts, a plate with knife and fork are set for Elijah and he is thought to be represented invisibly. Jesus, however, clearly said that John the Baptist was the returned Elijah … if you will receive it (Matthew 11:14).

 

          "The 400 Years of Silence" is the name given to the period of time between the last of the Old Testament prophets and the arrival of Jesus in the New Testament. It began with Malachi's prediction of Elijah's return (Malachi 4:5-6) circa 430 BC and ended with its metaphorical fulfillment: the coming of John the Baptist circa 6—4 BC. But history does not exist in a vacuum! Significant and necessary events took place. The parade of nations mirrored the prophecies of Daniel, and probably the most significant event was the translation of the Hebrew text into Greek which is called the Septuagint. By the time Jesus arrived the whole world had a readable copy of the Scriptures.

 

          Jesus’ birth, life, death, and resurrection made possible the change in how the Bible ended. As Galatians 4:4-5 says, "But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons." The Old ended with a curse but the new ended with GRACE.

 

Thank you, Jesus, for making such a marvelous difference. AMEN