In our last lesson, we examined the return of Israel to their homeland under leaders like Ezra and Nehemiah. God's people saw worship resumed, the temple rebuilt, and the walls and city reconstructed. While there was a brief "return" of sorts, we find that the hearts of His people were not truly restored. Malachi is the final book of the Old Testament. It is well-placed as it was written by a prophet with a message to those who had returned from exile. Malachi was followed by centuries of prophetic silence from the Lord until the angels heralded the birth of Jesus. There is a clear message that they are still not living in unity with their God. Their exile did not fundamentally change anything about them or their hearts. They were still consumed with everything except their God. They were bitter with how He was handling them, or maybe more broadly, how He was handling everything. In thinking about our study of the gospel storyline through the Bible, we find a fitting key verse of the book in Malachi 3:6, "For I am the Lord, I change not..." As we close our study of the Old Testament, we will find the unchanging nature of God and the unwavering purpose of His plan.

Scripture References: Malachi 4:1-6, Malachi 3:1-18, Malachi 2:1-17, Malachi 1:1-14

More Messages from James Sumpter

From Series: "Author and End: The Gospel Throughout the Bible"

"Author & End" will follow the Gospel throughout the entire Bible, and we will discover that Jesus Christ is the Author and Finisher of our faith. In lesson 1 of our series, we see that the "ends of the Gospel" have been the purpose of God from the very beginning.

In our last lesson, we examined the return of Israel to their homeland under leaders like Ezra and Nehemiah. God's people saw worship resumed, the temple rebuilt, and the walls and city reconstructed. While there was a brief "return" of sorts, we find that the hearts of His people were not truly restored. Malachi is the final book of the Old Testament. It is well-placed as it was written by a prophet with a message to those who had returned from exile. Malachi was followed by centuries of prophetic silence from the Lord until the angels heralded the birth of Jesus. There is a clear message that they are still not living in unity with their God. Their exile did not fundamentally change anything about them or their hearts. They were still consumed with everything except their God. They were bitter with how He was handling them, or maybe more broadly, how He was handling everything. In thinking about our study of the gospel storyline through the Bible, we find a fitting key verse of the book in Malachi 3:6, "For I am the Lord, I change not..." As we close our study of the Old Testament, we will find the unchanging nature of God and the unwavering purpose of His plan.

Scripture References: Malachi 4:1-6, Malachi 3:1-18, Malachi 2:1-17, Malachi 1:1-14

More Messages from James Sumpter | Download Audio

In our last lesson, we examined the return of Israel to their homeland under leaders like Ezra and Nehemiah. God's people saw worship resumed, the temple rebuilt, and the walls and city reconstructed. While there was a brief "return" of sorts, we find that the hearts of His people were not truly restored. Malachi is the final book of the Old Testament. It is well-placed as it was written by a prophet with a message to those who had returned from exile. Malachi was followed by centuries of prophetic silence from the Lord until the angels heralded the birth of Jesus. There is a clear message that they are still not living in unity with their God. Their exile did not fundamentally change anything about them or their hearts. They were still consumed with everything except their God. They were bitter with how He was handling them, or maybe more broadly, how He was handling everything. In thinking about our study of the gospel storyline through the Bible, we find a fitting key verse of the book in Malachi 3:6, "For I am the Lord, I change not..." As we close our study of the Old Testament, we will find the unchanging nature of God and the unwavering purpose of His plan.

Scripture References: Malachi 4:1-6, Malachi 3:1-18, Malachi 2:1-17, Malachi 1:1-14

More Messages from James Sumpter | Download Audio

From Series: "Author and End: The Gospel Throughout the Bible"

"Author & End" will follow the Gospel throughout the entire Bible, and we will discover that Jesus Christ is the Author and Finisher of our faith. In lesson 1 of our series, we see that the "ends of the Gospel" have been the purpose of God from the very beginning.