Populus Zion, 2021
Rev. Thomas Van Hemert
Malachi 4:1-6; St. Luke 21:25-36
Populus Zion
December 5, 2021
In the name of the Father and of the +Son and of the Holy Spirit.
This is the context and background of Malachi’s Old Testament prophecy:
In those days, the Lord God said, “I [the LORD] will draw near to you for judgment. I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, against the adulterers, against those who swear falsely, against those who oppress the hired worker in his wages, the widow and the fatherless, against those who thrust aside the sojourner, and do not fear me,” says the Lord of hosts. “For I the Lord do not change; therefore, you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed. From the days of your fathers, you have turned aside from my statutes and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you,” says the Lord of hosts. “But you say, ‘How shall we return?’ Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me. But you say, ‘How have we robbed you?’ In your tithes and contributions. You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me, the whole nation of you. Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test,” says the Lord of hosts, “if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need. I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it will not destroy the fruits of your soil, and your vine in the field shall not fail to bear,” says the Lord of hosts. “Then all nations will call you blessed, for you will be a land of delight,” says the Lord of hosts. “Your words have been hard against me,” says the Lord. “But you say, ‘How have we spoken against you?’ You have said, ‘It is vain to serve God. What is the profit of our keeping this charge or walking as in sadness and repentance before the Lord of hosts? And now we call the arrogant ones, blessed. Evil doers not only prosper, but they put God to the test and they escape.’”
Then those who feared the Lord spoke with one another. The Lord paid attention and heard them, and a book of remembrance was written before them of those who feared the Lord and esteemed his name. “They shall be mine,” says the Lord of hosts, “in the day when I make up my treasured possession, and I will spare them as a man spares his son who serves him. Then once more you shall see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve Him.
For behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven, when all the arrogant and all evildoers will be stubble. The days that is coming shall set them ablaze, says the Lord of hosts, so that it will leave them neither root or branch. But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings. You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall. And you shall tread down the wicked for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet, on the day when I act, says the Lord of hosts. Remember the law of my servant Moses, the statutes and just decrees that I commanded him at Horeb for all Israel. 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.”
If you were paying attention, in that brief section from the Prophet Malachi alone, the title, “Lord of hosts,” is used nine times. Nine times. This is not something to be overlooked. The repetition of a word or term in the Bible, especially the Old Testament, means that it is theologically significant and important. The title “The Lord of hosts” is a military title. Jesus Christ is our Lord who rules heaven and earth. He is first and foremost a general who commands legions of angel hosts and armies of angels. Everything in heaven and on earth is subject to His authority. While He is a friend of sinners and our Brother by Baptism, and we are coheirs of heaven with Him, it almost seems inappropriate when people speak of our Lord Jesus Christ in a way that almost makes Him seem like our buddy or pal or our fishing buddy—someone we can call up and shoot the breeze with nonchalantly, and make jokes and joke around with Him in His own house. To me, that seems almost inappropriate, because His title used most often is the Lord of hosts. This is the reason why we in the Lutheran Church take worship so seriously and reverently. Because in our worship, in the Divine Service, we are actually coming into the presence of a Holy God who, though He could smite us into oblivion because of our sins and unholiness, which would be His right, He instead deigns to dwell amongst us and heal us with His Word and Sacrament. It’s important that we understand what’s going on here. Because our worship here, in this place, confesses something much different than many other Christian church bodies, other denominations, and unfortunately, even some churches of the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. We understand what is taking place here. He understand that we are coming into the presence of God. That’s the reason we act the way we do. We don’t joke around in church or stuff like that. This is why we fold our hands when we pray, why we kneel at the communion rail, why we make the sign of the cross and the like. What we do and how we act confesses something about what we believe is truly happening in our worship. The Most Holy Triune God is making Himself present among us unholy sinners so that He might make us Holy.
Now to hit again on the previous point, many of you here today are military veterans. We have Army, Navy, and Air Force all at St. John. I’m not sure if we have any Marines, but I could be wrong. But one commonality among all of you who served were your CO’s. You all had commanding officers above you during your time in the service. And if your CO or if say a General would walk in the room, you wouldn’t pretend like you were fishing buddies, or tease him, and address him in such a way that would be disrespectful or irreverent. If he requested that something be done, it got done. For example, if the General walked into the room and said, “It’s cold in here,” everyone with a lower rank would jump up immediately to turn up the thermostat. He doesn’t have to say, “I want it to be five degrees warmer in here,” but everyone knows that he means. What the General wants, what he wills to happen, happens.
This is the way it works with God. What He wants, what He intends to happen, that which He wills, comes to pass. So when He says through the Prophet Malachi, “Behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven, when all the arrogant and all evildoers will be stubble,” this ought to cause some concern, some uneasiness and dissonance in us, because all of us are by nature sinful and unclean. All of us are prone to evil and hateful thoughts and actions. Therefore, repent. Fear God’s holy name and repent. He is the Lord of hosts. If you reject Him you will be burned and crushed into stubble. Instead, repent. Receive His holy absolution and forgiveness. Because He also says, “But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings. You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall and you shall tread down the wicked for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet, on the day when I act.” On the day that the Lord acts, when He comes again, He will come again in glory, bringing redemption for all those who repent and fear His name. But for the evildoers, He will come in wrath and they will burn like stubble and ashes that are tread underneath the feet of the righteous. It will happen. Because what God wills, occurs. It comes to pass.
But in the meantime, before that day, we all must suffer the earthly distress of nations in perplexity. We are living in the end of days. We know this because there are distress of nations. North Korea and many countries in the Middle East are run by madmen. There are wars and rumors of more wars. The seas are roaring and there are people fainting with fear because of what they see on the news. The powers of the heavens and earth are now being shaken. This is how we know that we are living in the last days.
God has promised these things will happen and lo and behold, they are. What He wills, what He promises, will and is coming to pass. This should not surprise us. But in all this, He leaves us with a comfort beyond all comforts. These terrible things that happen and are happening in our world are all signs that prove He is coming soon for Jesus Himself says, “Now when these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.” The prince of this world and the powers that are at work in the world will not have the last word. Jesus is at hand. He will break forth into the world and this will cause incredible joy to all believers. This second coming was not the only coming of Christ that He promised and then fulfilled. God once spoke through the Prophet Isaiah, “The virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.” He also has lots of other names as well, “Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” He Himself promised He would come, and He did. He has promised He will come again and bring redemption for all who call upon His name, and He will.
This should cause us immense comfort! Because our God is a God who keeps His promises. There hasn’t been a promise He has not kept. There hasn’t been a prophecy that has not been fulfilled or that will not be fulfilled before the Last Day. So watch yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life, and that day come upon you suddenly like a trap. But stay awake at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place, because God has promised that they will take place. What He wills to happen, will occur. Take watch over yourself and your actions, your thoughts, and the way you treat others. Pray that you may have strength to endure all that this world throws at you and to stand before the Son of Man and also to greet Him come Christmas morning.
In +Jesus’ name.
