The Unfulfilled Promise

Otherwise I will come and strike the land with a curse.   Malachi 4:6

The problems that began in the Garden continued throughout history, right up to the very last word of the Old Testament. But the Bible story is about more than sin’s curse; it is also about a promise. On the day evil entered the world, God promised that someone born of a woman would destroy the evil one and all his works.

In the course of time, God appeared to Abraham and said, “All the families on earth will be blessed through you” (Genesis 12:3). Isaac and Jacob were born, and from them God raised up a great nation. That nation was oppressed in Egypt, but God brought them out and renewed his covenant with them: “I will claim you as my own people, and I will be your God” (Exodus 6:7).

Moses led them out of Egypt. Joshua led them into Canaan. But no deliverer had appeared to save them from sin. Then God gave a special promise to David: a king would be born into his line whose kingdom would last forever (see 2 Samuel 7:13). But after David, most of the kings were a disappointment. One king after another led God’s people to imitate the worship and lifestyles of other nations, so that evil became rampant even among God’s people.

God let the best and brightest of his people go into exile in Babylon. Jerusalem, along with its Temple, was utterly destroyed. But God never goes back on a promise, and after seventy years, a small group returned to rebuild the city. God sent Malachi to remind them of the problem and the promise.

“The Sun of Righteousness will rise with healing in his wings. And you will go free” (Malachi 4:2). There would be healing for the problem that had run all through human history. Evil had gained a grip on the world, and even God’s people were imprisoned by it, but the day would come when God’s people would experience freedom.

Despite this promise, the Old Testament ends on a dark note. It leaves us asking, when the Messiah comes, will the people be ready for him? Four hundred years passed before Jesus Christ came. Some were ready, but many were not. How about you? Are you ready for Jesus Christ today?

For further reading, see Malachi 4