Malachi 4 is the second reading. This chapter contains a warning for the wicked, but for the righteous this passage drips with wonderful promise of prosperity and blessing. This is the famous passage about turning the hearts of the fathers to the children, and vice versa. The Sun of Righteousness will arise, and there are a number of things promised to those who fear the name of God:

• Healing
• Go out
• Grow fat
• overcome wicked

Whatever infirmities afflict us now, when the Sun of Righteousness arises, He will heal us. Whatever is keeping us bed-ridden will be done away with. We will have strength, and will “go out”. We will not be confined to our rooms, or our houses, or our churches, but we will go out into our neighborhoods, our cities, our states, our countries, our world. We will proclaim the good news, people will see us. City on a hill kind of exposure. We will not fear exposure, we will not have our light hidden under a bushel.
Then we will grow fat. We will prosper. God will bless us in our endeavors. We will succeed in business, we will not hunger or thirst for lack of provision. David said in Psalm 37:25 that he has never seen the righteous forsaken, or their descendants begging for bread. We will be prosperous, and will leave something for our kids! We will not just have enough for ourselves, but our grandchildren will be provided for.

Also, we will grow spiritually fat. I don’t mean soft, I mean healthily storing away energy for times of hardship. This does not mean that we can neglect our daily time with the Lord, and does not come against the mannah principle of needing daily sustenance from God. What this means is that we will have a wealth of understanding of who Christ is, and we can draw upon these reserves, a tree planted by the river, who always has the source of life right there. The leaves are always green, the fruit is borne in due season. When hardship comes, we can stand firm in our sure foundation, putting our confidence in Christ.

Lastly, we will overcome the wicked. Developing this spiritual depth (Deep calls to deep) will involve going to the secret place, seeking refuge in God. There is a place of refuge and rest in the storm, and the wicked will rage even more the closer into our refuge we go. But their raging is in vain, because we are in a safe place, dwelling under the shadow of the Almighty. Psalm 91 talks about this hidden place, and also talks about how many dangers and trials are happening even as refuge is sought. A safe place in the middle of an even safer place is pointless. A strong tower in the middle of a garden is silly. God prepares a refuge in the presence of our enemies, right in the heart of the valley of the shadow of death (Psalm 23). The garden is in the strong tower.

Next up - 1 Kings 17

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