This Day in History: 0000-07-27

July 27 – Malachi 3:16-18 

Then those who feared the Lord spoke with each other, and the Lord listened to what they said. In His presence, a scroll of remembrance was written to record the names of those who feared Him and always thought about the honor of His name.
“They will be my people,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. “On the day when I act in judgement, they will be my own special treasure. I will spare them as a father spares an obedient child. Then you will again see the difference between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not.” 

Here we are, at the very end of the Old Testament. God has created the world, destroyed it with a flood, chosen Abraham and his descendants to be His people, worked miracle after miracle for the nation of Israel to bring them out of their captivity in Egypt and into the land He had promised them, and faithfully pursued them through centuries upon centuries in which they continually rejected Him. History stands ready on the edge of the greatest event of all time: the coming of the Messiah. But before that moment came, God would go silent for hundreds of years.  

His people had once again forgotten Him. Rejected His law and His prophets and chosen instead to go their own way. One last time, God had sent His prophet to appeal to Israel and plead for their hearts. One last time, the faithful few emerged to carry the story through those 400 years of silence. This small group made a bold stand and joined together under the fear of the Lord. They committed to spend their lives in faithful service to Him, thinking always about the honor of His name. In fact, they were so resolved in their dedication that they wanted to stake their names forever upon their commitment. 

The Lord was pleased with them, and as He always does, He honored their obedience. He made them His own special treasure, promising to remember them on the day of judgement.  

Let’s be like these faithful Israelites. Let’s choose today whom we will serve! Let’s make a stand, and perhaps even be so bold as to write it down. Let’s stake our names to our Lord and Savior, committing to give our all for the honor of His name! We’ll never regret it. We can be certain that God will honor our obedience and remember us on the day of judgement. He’ll make us His own special treasure forever!