ROOTED - Wednesday, June 3, 2026

Malachi 3:1

1  “Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare
the way before me. And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his
temple; and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he
is coming, says the Lord of hosts.

Reflection: A Promised Messenger

Written By: Pastor Jesse Caro

At last, we have made it to the last full reading in the Old
Testament, as tomorrow we read the very short, last chapter in the OT… Malachi
4. In these chapters we read the final prophecies to the Children of Israel.
God tells his people that he will soon send “a messenger” who will prepare the
way. Now, this prophecy is a little unclear as we are not certain if it refers
to Jesus or to John the Baptist. This is complicated since Malachi 4:5, 6 (the
last two verses of the Old Testament) says, “Behold, I will send
you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of
the Lord comes.And he will turn the
hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their
fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter
destruction.” Almost certainly this verse is a prophecy about John the
Baptist and not Jesus. Regardless, Malachi is prophesying that there will be
another voice… a prophet… coming soon.

From Malachi to Matthew… from the Old Testament to the New
Testament… 400 plus years had transpired. This is not a small fact. It is
important that you understand the reality here. God had taken his hand off of
Israel and he stopped sending prophets to them. 430 “silent years!” That is
what scholars call it... 400 years where God’s people did not hear from God.
400 years of silence and waiting. “Surely God has abandoned us,” they must have
thought. But God had not abandoned them. As we open to the book of Matthew
tomorrow, we see Christ show up on the scene… a bright ray of hope, preceded by
John the Baptist. Though it took quite a long time, I know that God never
abandoned his people. He showed up, right on time, ready to deliver his people
from sin and death. I encourage you now to read Matthew from the vantage point
of the children of Israel who were waiting and looking for a deliverer!

Prayer

Lord, thank you that we can see the testimony of the Scriptures
that teach us that you will never abandon your people!