Day 237 - Malachi 4 Psalm 44 Malachi 4

last chapter of Malachi, closes the Old Testament. God paints two different pictures of the future: one of healing and one of emptiness. He leaves us with a message of promise pointing us towards John the Baptist, and ultimately to Jesus. God always has a plan. After Malachi, there’s a long silence in the Bible—about 400 years—before Matthew begins. During this time, no new prophets were speaking God’s words like before, but God was still at work, setting the stage for Jesus. The Jewish people went through many changes. First, they were ruled by the Persians, then conquered by Alexander the Great and the Greeks. Greek culture and language spread everywhere, which later made it easier for the good news about Jesus to travel quickly. After the Greeks, the Romans took over. The Romans built roads and kept order, which also prepared the way for the message of Christ to reach many nations. During this time, new groups in Judaism formed, like the Pharisees and Sadducees, who we’ll meet in the Gospels. The Jewish people longed for God to send the Savior He had promised. Even though heaven seemed quiet, God was carefully preparing everything. Finishing the Old Testament helps us see that Jesus was part of God’s plan all along, and every moment was leading to Him. Psalm 44 is a memory and a prayer. The people remember how God fought for their ancestors, but now, in their current struggles, they feel forgotten. This is something we can relate to, sometimes life feels unfair, and we wonder why God seems silent. Yet, like the psalmists, we are invited to keep calling out to Him, remembering that His past faithfulness is proof that He has not changed. God is good all the time.