The Day of the Lord by Jan Darnell

Week 38--September 19-25
Scripture Reading: Zephaniah; Haggai; Zechariah; Malachi; Psalm131-134; Key passage for devotion: Malachi 4:2

“But for you who fear My name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings; and you will go forth and skip about like calves from the stall.”Malachi 4:2

It is impossible to read through the Old Testament, especially the prophetic books, or even the New Testament, without realizing that God must judge against sin. Yet we are given hope. Both the Old and New Testaments also reveal our Creator to be the initiator of forgiveness, redeeming us so we can be saved from His wrath to come. “He is just and endowed with salvation” (Zech. 9:9).

Two years ago one of my sons fell in love with a sweet girl. She was cute, very quiet and seemingly innocent. Beneath the surface however, her blood circulated through the chambers of a confused and misguided heart. She was a Proverbs 5:3, “strange woman” even though she confessed to be a Christ follower and involved herself in Church ministry. What an odd thing. We would have never guessed.

One day, I found a letter written to my son by this sweet young lady. It was a shockingly graphic and seductive letter of her sordid desires. Now, please understand that I usually remain calm when confronted by the situations my seven children sometimes get into. I have learned in raising them that there are two sides to every story...always. But this was different. Lightning struck without the thunder. The fire alarm went off so loudly, I could not even think except to send up a quick prayer, “God help me to do the right thing.” Then my feet hit the floor running.

As if I were responding to a life threatening fire, I threw my emergency gear on, slid down the fireman’s pole and drove as fast as I could to reach my son with sirens blaring. Can you picture it? Do you have children? Nothing could stop me. My child was in trouble.

What does all this have to do with the small prophetic books of Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi? Well, each of these books reveal God coming one day with an unstoppable zeal to deliver His people from the clutches of evil. He will initiate a consuming wrath that extinguishes both sin and the unrepentant sinner into oblivion. That day is called the Day of the Lord. Old and New Testaments describe it as the end of all chaos and the beginning of a reign of righteousness and peace. God’s children, born by His blood and grace through faith, will be rescued prior to this Day of the Lord according to 1 Thessalonians 5:9. Redemption is the purpose of salvation. Jesus died that we be saved from the wrath of this final Day and healed of injustice instead. (2 Thess. 2:1-14, Ro. 5:1)

As in the days of Noah’s flood, The Day of the Lord will be a complete global judgment that removes all who have rejected God’s salvation and chosen destructive, unrighteous lifestyles instead. (Mt. 24:37) Why would God destroy everything? Sin must be obliterated for the sake of peace. (Is. 9:6-7)

Malachi, the last book of the Old Testament, says “Behold, the day is coming, burning like a furnace; and all the arrogant and every evildoer will be chaff; and the day that is coming will set them ablaze, says the LORD of hosts, so that it will leave them neither root nor branch. But for you who fear My name the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings; and you will go forth and skip about like calves from the stall” (Mal. 4:1-2). Revelation, the last book of the New Testament, begins with “the time is near” (Rev. 1:3) and ends with, “Yes, I am coming quickly.” Amen. (Rev. 22:20).

You see, this Day of the Lord is the hope set before the Church and one that should strengthen us in any situation of distress. And sin brings plenty of distress to our daily lives. But there is a day coming that will disclose God’s zeal for us and establish His eternal Kingdom of righteousness. It is called the Day of the Lord. And it is coming!

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