 Hi, Krisha. Good to have you online and Good morning to those of you who are here in the class. So we'll get started Okay, we have four Old Testament books left So Today we were supposed to do Zephaniah and Haggai But I do not want to cover Zephaniah with Haggai because Haggai and Zechariah have a lot in common They both have a similar theme. So today we will look at Zephaniah and Malakai and tomorrow we'll deal with the Haggai and Zechariah because they both have a similar theme so today we are now starting off with Zephaniah and Just to give a little background about who Zephaniah is one of the most familiar kings of you know Southern Judah was Hezekiah because he was a godly man and You know, there are good things that happened during his reign. So Hezekiah of course had many sons Now the main air to the throne was of course Manasseh But apart from Manasseh, he also had many other sons. So Manasseh was probably the oldest There was also another son named Amaraya. So Manasseh gives birth to the next king who is called Amen And as we know both Manasseh and Amen were very wicked and evil kings We do learn in second chronicles chapter 32 that Manasseh repents of his sinfulness and He commits himself to the Lord, you know later on in life But his son Amen when he comes to the throne, he is completely evil In fact, he gets assassinated after just two years of being on the throne So these are some of the things that we see happening through Manasseh's lineage So you have Hezekiah giving birth to Manasseh and Manasseh gives birth to Amen and Amen's son is Josiah. That is the way the lineage works. And as we know because you know Amen gets assassinated just after two years of being on the throne When Josiah is placed on the throne is just an eight-year-old child So basically someone else would have been taking care of the administration while the boy Grows up. So it's around 16 years of age that Josiah, you know Starts to take a active interest in godly things and also probably probably starts, you know Learning how to take on the administration and the royal Role and all of that. So all of these things are happening through Manasseh's Lineage on the other hand as we know, Hezekiah also had many other sons so one of his other sons was someone named Amaraya and Amaraya gives birth to Gedalaya and The grandson of Gedalaya is this person that we are talking about prophet Zephaniah So Zephaniah was a part of the royal extended family He's not just someone who came from a you know Prophetic background or a priestly background. He came from a royal background. So Age-wise, they probably were almost the same age Not exactly sure how that works out because technically speaking Zephaniah belongs to one generation younger than Josiah, but you know depending on who married whom at what age and Depending on when they finally had a baby So because of all of those, you know, factors which are involved at least age-wise It looks like Zephaniah and Josiah would probably have been almost the same age. Josiah probably was a little older But if you're looking in terms of the number of generations involved Josiah would be The great grandson of Hezekiah. So Hezekiah's great grandson would be Josiah On the other hand Zephaniah would be a great great grandson. Okay, so those are just the details So Zephaniah being such a godly person and you know having that call of God upon his life He might have played a role in influencing Josiah because in his early childhood We don't see any indications of Josiah being godly But then by the time he reaches 16 years of age That is when he really begins to take the things of God very seriously So who knows, you know Zephaniah might have played a role in the spiritual growth of Josiah. Okay, so that could be possible and So About 20 years are now left for Judah to fall, you know for Jerusalem to be captured So in the last 20 years is when Zephaniah is doing his ministry and his prophesying is telling people even now It is not too late if you would only like to listen, you know to what God is saying So that is when he begins prophesying about 20 years before the fall of Jerusalem. He starts his prophecies About eight years after he begins his prophecies Josiah dies we we covered that I think in the last class the foolishness of Josiah He goes to fight against Pharaoh Nekko when there was no need to do that Pharaoh Nekko in fact says to him God is asking me to go and do I know fight this battle Why are you standing in my way and yet Josiah chooses to disguise himself Enter into the battle and he you know gets himself killed So Josiah basically dies 12 years before the capture Just Zephaniah has started his ministry 20 years before the fall of Capture of Jerusalem So these are the you know, this is a timeline that we can kind of Approximately get looking at the book itself the book of Zephaniah Just to have a brief idea of the structure all the three chapters are mainly talking about the Judgment on the day of the Lord the terrible judgment that is going to come upon the land In the last portion of chapter 3, you know the about 10 or 11 verses is basically where there is hope offered Where you know God speaks about how he will restore Israel one day Otherwise most of the three chapters are mainly about judgment He He arranges the judgments in an alternate manner He first of all starts by talking about universal judgment That would be chapter one versus one to three is universal judgment Then one four to two three will be judgment upon Judah Then again after talking about Judah, he goes back to the other nations He talks about judgment upon different nations in chapter two versus four to fifteen Among those verses you also have you know the prophecy about Nineveh falling So maybe we could actually read out that particular Verse simply because we've already talked about Nineveh how Nineveh fell all of those details So if someone could read out Zephaniah chapter 2 verse 13 Yes Nineveh will be utterly desolate and it will become as dry as a desert and we have talked about how this was true How you know the archaeologists could not even discover Nineveh until you know in the 19th century So So he begins by giving Words of universal judgment Then he talks a little bit about judgment upon Judah Then he moves into judgment upon the surrounding nations And next again he comes back to words of judgment upon Jerusalem And finally in the end, you know chapter 3 versus 8 to 10 He talks about how the nations will be judged and how the nations will also be cleaned By the Lord how they will be cleansed by the Lord. Okay, so That's the portion and then finally he comes into the last Section where some words of restoration are offered Maybe we could look at one of those Chapter 3 was 20 if someone could read out Yes, so The last few verses end with hope where God says one day even though you are in a pathetic condition now I will honor you in that in that last You know in those last days is what Zephaniah says through the Lord Coming to maybe one or two passages that we can quickly look at Uh, if if we if someone could read out chapter 1 versus 4 to 6 Zephaniah 1 4 to 6 Yeah, that that that's So we see that uh Zephaniah is prophesying and saying that the people have turned back from following the Lord They're not following him anymore. He says they do not seek the Lord nor inquire of him So whom are they seeking for guidance whom are they going to for inquiring? You know What to do what decision to take they are doing all this inquiring on their rooftops It's explained that they are worshiping the stars of heaven the constellations and basing all their decisions on the way Those stars are arranged. They're basically using astrology for their decision making They're not turning to the Lord. That is the way they are living Also, what what else are they doing? They are bowing down and swearing by the Lord You know as as if they are honoring God and they're worshiping him But at the same time, they're also swearing by mulek This um, uh, some versions will say melcom some versions will say mulek. This is basically your Um, you know pagan god of fire So it is it is basically to this pagan god of fire that you know, they would offer human sacrifices Babies be put in that fire to be burnt and roasted because that is that you know makes the demons happy So that's basically what was going on So all of this was very very terrible in God's eyes and he was speaking out words of prophecy against these people Uh, so which means at this point of times if Josiah has not yet started his work of revival and reformation So this must be during the early years of his rule, you know where um, um, he has not yet had that Encounter with the Lord which you know, we started his transformation process So in the early years of Josiah's rule the same things which had been happening, you know in the time of amen And of course in the time of manase for a while he stops all of that once he repents his repentance was true Not a fake repentance. Uh, not like those people of nene way only lasted a few years This man manase he does try to remove all of those practices But then his son amen brings everything back and so um, a lot of worship to this fire god of mulek a lot of Babies being murdered all of this is going on in the land And uh, Zephaniah is speaking out against all of those things So he probably had a very in great influence on Josiah. Josiah's change transformation Is coming to the lord and then you know, he Josiah goes to the extent of bringing about a revival in the entire land So Zephaniah probably had a part to play in all of these things um Yeah some of the Okay, yeah, we don't we won't get into the details of the kind of idol worship that was going on But yeah, there are all kinds of details regarding that Um, maybe if someone could read out Zephaniah chapter two verse four Okay, here. There is a judgment being brought against one of the uh, you know surrounding Areas which has not at not under the control of uh, juda right now. So Zephaniah is prophesying and he says these are the things which god will do Gaza will be completely abandoned. It will be completely deserted Ash cologne will be completely reduced to ruins Because you know, um, that place will be judged Uh, and as for ash dot, you know by midday, it will be emptied basically That's just a figure of speech It means that very very quickly, you know before the day even ends very very quickly ash dot will be emptied out And then also a place named acron is mentioned and how that place will be uprooted Now these are all areas which are, you know, if you were to mention these places to someone living in Jerusalem at that time They would immediately know those names You're talking about places which like just very immediately around the Jerusalem region And the nice thing is that because joseph really completely 101 percent sets heart on the lord Once he begins his walk with god. He there's no looking back. He is completely committed So because of what of the attitude of joseph We see that some of these places actually come back To juda right now You know zephaniah is literally speaking out the prophecies and as he is speaking these things are actually beginning to happen So right in the lifetime of joseph himself He sees some of these places being brought back into his kingdom. He's able to you know, um Conquer these places and bring them back. How do we know that? Uh, because archaeologists have found a written record Where somewhere near the fortress of ash dot Now when you uh, when based on that written record, we discover that a juda height governor had been appointed over that area So why is a juda height governor being appointed? It means that joseph was victorious in his battle in bringing that place back into juda's uh fold He was able to succeed in doing that So we get to know that ash dot and the areas all around ash dot have now come back to juda because of that of that, you know uh archaeological record which was found um, um, they The archaeologists call those things ostracons. That's just basically a clay plate A clay tablet on which you know, there's a record of you know, who is the king at that time So obviously joseph is the king and it says who is the governor and the name of the juda head governor is given All of those details are there on that Thing which was discovered Uh, also another detail that you know, we get because of historical records um Okay, just to go back a little bit Uh, you know, it's that we'll have we'll get an understanding of what we are saying Hezekiah if you remember, uh, he stopped The assyrians when they became powerful they came and tried to attack all the places Along with all the other kingdoms which are giving tribute to assyria. Hezekiah also starts giving tribute But then after a while he stops and then when he stops giving a tribute The assyrian king senna sherib is very very angry. You know Anyway, he's already had victory over the northern kingdom, you know, nicely You know, he's managed to wipe out the northern kingdom So he comes to the southern kingdom and he in fact Takes many of the cities, but he's not able to touch juda because of the story that we know I mean, he's not able to touch jerusalem, sorry He he takes many cities of juda But he's unable to touch jerusalem in particular because you know hezekiah we remember right he goes before the To the temple of god and he puts down that letter which has been written says lord Look, this is the thread that they are making now you have to help us if you remember all those details so, um At that particular time Many of the cities were captured Except for jerusalem which senna sherib could not touch So among the other juda hide cities which were captured A lot of people were taken away as slaves. Uh, so a lot of the You know, you know people of juda were turned into slaves by senna sherib And they were made to work in different places one of the places where they were made to work was Over here in acron, you know where it says in the prophecy acron will be uprooted it says So acron was the place where a lot of these people who had been captured From the other cities they were taken as slaves and they were made to work in acron as slaves in the olive oil fields Okay, that area was filled with olive oil fields and the assyrians were using them to You know take care of all their labor. We get to know this through records which have been found over there, you know in that um in that region and so If josea was successful in taking over ash dod It most probably means that he was also able to set free all those slaves who were working in acron Because you see all these things are mentioned in one single place it says at midday ash dod will be emptied and acron uprooted So maybe if the entire area of ash dod and the surrounding regions have now been taken over And he has placed a juda head governor over there chances are that even acron also He was able to successfully uproot and he he probably set free all the slaves over in that place So they were spiritual victors which began to come the minute josea set his heart on the lord and began to follow him Okay, so all along Yeah through all of these prophets god went on promising and saying even now if you will change your ways Even now if you will repent and come back to me see what i will do None of the kings were interested in seeing what god what god can do But here you have one man who said okay fine lord i want to follow you And then you know right he discovers that scroll which you know which had been lost for so many centuries He finds it in the temple when he starts reading it and seeing that he has not even followed Half the commandments given over there. He tears his ropes and this The judgment of god is going to come up on me. Oh my goodness. I need to know change my ways He he starts sending messengers all over the country and saying, you know what? This is what yavei expects us to do and we have not even been doing this. Let us start doing it now This is the heart of repentance that this man has where he genuinely wants to follow the lord And then god shows what he can do see imagine in another 20 years Jerusalem is Could be wiped out because god's judgment will come But just 20 years before the judgment you could just say a happily going one place after another Capturing it bringing it back I mean look at the way god blesses even in the midst of judgment even in the midst of you know impending destruction The righteous god will take care of So it's all depends on what kind of a walk you wish to have with the lord So whatever god has said will happen will happen god said the end times will come God said there will be persecution god said that there will be trials So yes, all of those things will be there and you know if we if we are serving the lord We too will be impacted. We too will be persecuted But even in the middle of it We will see god's hand of faithfulness in an amazing manner And we will marvel and say oh my even in these terrible times Look at the way god is taking care of his people So we will of course see persecution, but we will also see an amazing hand of provision and amazing hand of blessing And protection in spite of all the things that are going on We see that even in the early church. They were getting arrested. They were getting beaten up We also see miracles where people were just walking out of prison, you know without any any permission No, nobody gave any permission god opened the gates. They walked out of the gate So you will see persecution happening But you will also see amazing works of god because god's hand is with his people So here we see Josiah Achieving great things in a time when you know destruction is almost upon them Because of his faithfulness towards god Now Zephaniah is one prophet who talks about, you know, um, the You know, we talked about right when we talked about the structure of Zephaniah In the very beginning he starts off by talking about the universal judgment Which will come in the end times on the day of the lord Um, maybe we actually read out those verses Zephaniah chapter one verses two and three Okay, so Here it's talking about the end times when god will wipe out everything Including it says over here the birds and the and the fish And the beasts all of it all of it will be wiped out And uh, generally what people say is, you know, what does god have against the animal life? Why is he attacking the animals? Why couldn't he have just paid them? Uh, but uh, what they fail to understand the spiritual aspect of what's going on when Humans began to sin and they brought sin and death into the world It's not just human beings who were corrupted Even all of creation was stained and contaminated by sin because of what the humans had done And uh, so even the animals and the birds they also are contaminated By the sinfulness which man has brought into the world. So they are actually innocent victims But they are contaminated by sin So in the end time god is going to be wrapping up everything because you know, all of this which is contaminated and stained Needs to be wiped out and then he will bring in this new, you know, the new heaven and the new earth Where they where they will be no longer any corruption or contamination. It'll be completely pure Completely holy. So for him to bring in that he first has to remove this whatever this leftover and You know, we see that god's ideal was never for, you know creation to be corrupted by sin, right because that is why When jesus christ comes for the For you know to rule in the millennium kingdom when he takes over for those 1000 years when satanism, you know Tied up and he can't he can't do anything For those 1000 years god shows what he originally had in mind when he put his creation, you know on the earth And even in the garden of eden Because in those in in that 1000 years the animals start behaving the way They were meant to behave when they were first created when god first made the animals and birds and said it is good at that time Meant to live in a very different way But because of sin they too became corrupted and even animals began to kill animals other animals and you know They would kill humans and all of that But when we look at isaiya, you know chapter 11 which talks about that we see that originally when god created Beasts and birds and fish they were never meant to be attacking other birds and beasts and fish It was never that was never god's plan. Maybe we could actually just look at that isaiya chapter 11 Versus 7 to 9 It says here that they will neither harm nor destroy Okay, that was god's idea and nobody would be harming anyone. No one would be destroying anyone else So you would basically have the cow and the bear, you know eating together They're not trying to kill each other. Of course the cow can't kill the bear But the bear of course will you know has the power to do that So it says over here the cow will feed along with the bear and the cow does not have anything to be afraid of Because the cow knows the bear is not going to feed on it The bear is going to find some something some vegetation to eat In fact, that's clarified, you know in the next phrase where it says the lion will eat straw So you'll have people arguing and saying oh, how the digestive system is different completely different It's not meant to be eating grass, but it's grass it will die So It just makes me think my goodness was the sin which humans brought into the world so terrible that it actually led to a physical reconstruction of the entire digestive system of animals. Isn't that terrible to think that creation got warped and messed up to such an extent that creatures which were meant to eat grass You know began to change to an extent where they could no longer live on vegetation But they would have to you know wreak out violence against other creatures to be able to live It's a very horrible thought. So we think oh, you know Adam and Eve sinned and they brought sin into the world and we don't really understand the Seriousness of what they brought into the world It's something very very terrible that they did and the the spiritual implications of what they had done Is just too great And that is why it says before the foundation of the world itself god prepared the lamb He knew he knew that these things are going to happen and the lamb of god will have to be slain So all this was arranged before even anything was created because god knew That what adam and eve would be would do is something that terrible I really wonder if people go up to heaven in the first look at adam and eve what the reaction is To that couple that set off a whole bunch of events which just changed everything So, yeah, okay. Let me not get carried away. Let's come back to what we are looking at So zephaniah is one of the persons more than any other prophet He's the one who goes on talking about days the law in the end times when once again Or god wanted in the very beginning that will be restored. Okay So all that is there now will be destroyed and god will restore everything back to the way he wanted it to be originally So zephaniah talks a lot about the day of the lord Coming to malakai and just because we are coming to malakai does not mean that you don't have a class tomorrow We most definitely have a class tomorrow. We will be looking at Haggai and Sekaraya But for today, we will look at malakai So malakai Was written After these people come back from captivity the exiles have returned back home And the exiles are very happy living their own life and they are not really following the lord anymore Okay, it's rather sad because you see they are the few people who made a commitment and came back to Jerusalem They could have lived comfortably over there, but they made that sacrifice. They came back over here Now that is the problem with the human heart It does not stay with the lord unless the lord has renewed it That is the experience which we have as believers So we can't excuse the excuse which the old testament people did They had not yet been given that heart of stone had not yet been taken away That heart of flesh which is from god had not yet been given to them So they behave the way they did we cannot use that excuse we have We had a new creation on the inside. We have the very spirit of god on the inside So what they could do that we are simply definitely not allowed to So, you know god is angry with them for the way they have been behaving And so in the book of malakai We he basically talks about their spiritual, you know deterioration and he warns them and says That again a time of judgment will come upon them if they do not repent of their evil ways So malakai is basically around the time of Ezra and Nehemiah They come back they bring a lot of reforms. They try to change everything Set everything up nicely so that the people can live comfortably and live in god's presence But here the people are back to all kinds of disobedience They are no longer idol worshipers. That's one lesson they have learned They're they're quite a you know thick-headed people and they're still you know sinful But one basic fact they have understood Idol worship is one thing god is not going to tolerate So irrespective of what whether other sins are being committed or not This is one thing that has now been washed out of their system. Okay, so However, they are you know being very careless about their attitude and about the way they are You know treating the lord. So it's basically those sins that malakai is addressing So in the book of malakai chapters one two and three He talks about the sins which the people are doing He talks about the priests and the way they are doing their priestly duties So carelessly so uninterestedly, you know, like a kind of routine not really honoring him respecting him Um, there's this portion where it talks about how Um, yeah, we don't have tits. Well, very lovely passages, but there's no time to go into all of them So we will not but yeah, you know, he he talks about the way the priests are Not taking their priestly roles seriously at all not honoring god in the way he should be honored And of course malakai is very very famous for the uh entire, you know teaching on tithes and offerings You know, these two best friends need to be separated So I'm just assuming the dead ones If one of them could come and sit over here in future, then we could have some Okay, so, um Yeah, we was I uh, yeah chapters one two three is he talks about the sins of the people and then uh chapter four Uh, is where he too talks about the great and terrible day of the lord That would be in verse five. Okay chapter four verse five. He talks about the judgment of god, which will come So those are the basic things that we find in the structure of malakai um Two very important prophecies that you know malakai is well known for That would be found in your chapter three versus one to four So if we could have someone read out malakai chapter three versus one to four Okay Wow These four verses are prophesying about whom Who whom are they talking about these four verses? Whom is um malakai prophesying about Anyone else? For he will be like a refiners fire or a laundry soap He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver. So is that john the baptist? So there are two prophecies being I mean the prophecies one it's talking about two two people So in verse one we have The person who will come and do the preparing of the way So I will send my messenger who will prepare the way before me Then suddenly or rather in the world would be unexpectedly the lord you are seeking will come to his temple So first you'll have the messenger coming along who of course is john the baptist Once the messenger prepares the way Unexpectedly when people are not expecting it the lord himself will arrive at the temple And then he will be like a refiners fire He will point out all the defects of these Pharisees and all you know who are thinking that they're very very foley So he will be like a refining fire He will point out the wrong that is there and people who are interested in repenting will turn to him You know so all of those things so over here the prophecy is about john the baptist and the messiah who will be Coming to both are mentioned um Just okay, we have about eight minutes left anyone has any questions for this we can yes Noa, huh Yes, so in the time of noa god makes a promise Saying that now onwards i will never again bring a worldwide event where they would be complete destruction of the entire Planet i know i would never allow that again is the promise that god makes to noa and so now at the end of time when you know this this entire chapter or phase of Of human existence is completely finished god keeps his promise till the end of it And now at the end of it all when a new era will be coming in only then as god bring a worldwide destruction where you know everything will be wrapped up and So in all the thousands of years in between god does keep his word We never again have a great flood happening We never see you know fire coming down and wiping out everything So we don't see that god does keep his word So as long as this current era has lasted god has kept his word But you know, there is something more awaiting us There would be a brand new chapter where you would have a new heaven and a new world. So of course, uh, the Promise that he makes is only for this era where you would still need sacrifices Either the animal sacrifices of the old instrument or the sacrifice of jesus who has come and you know completed The need for any other sacrifices All of this is the era of sin His sin is still there and creation is still groaning For that time when the sons of men will be revealed sons of man will be revealed I know so there all this is still going on So in this era god says i will not bring about that level of judgment again and god does keep his promise, but New era will come and there will not be any need for any sacrifice because on that day Uh, you know, you will have only the righteous the god and There will be no sin. There will be no impurity. So, um So He keeps his covenant Promise which he made in that sense Up to the end of this current age And once the new age comes then of course, he would reveal details about that at that time Uh, you all of us will be there in the meeting when it happens. So we can get the details at that time. Okay, so Um So just to you know, uh, look at a little more details about all the things that, um Malakai is speaking about uh, you know the Because in in the book of nehemiah, we get to know a little bit of detail about what these people were doing They are no longer, you know Idol worshipers, but there are other things which they are doing You know other sinful deeds that are going on and when we look at nehemiah chapter 13 We get a little idea of what was happening because it was around this time that my malakai was, you know doing his Um ministry work Uh, so if we were to look in nehemiah chapter 13, uh, we see that Very clearly the book of moses is read out That would basically be your first five books of the old testament that was read out And it's very clearly told to the people, you know, i'm looking at nehemiah 13 verse 1 The people were very very clearly told that no ammonite or moabite should ever be admitted into the assembly of god Obviously, of course, this is not referring to ruth even though ruth is a moabite test So god never ever stops someone who genuinely repents and comes to him But rather he's talking about people who have chosen to follow some other gods and not follow yawai So such people will not be admitted into the assembly. God is what is said So it says in verse 3 when the people heard about this They actually remove and get rid of many of the people I know many of the ammonites and moabites who are living in their land And continuing to follow those ammonite gods and those moabite gods The people make a conscious effort to get rid of all of those people But shortly after that nehemiah has to go back to uh Persia, okay, so when he goes over there on work here the people, you know Start going back into their old habits and their old practices So that is around the time that malachi begins prophesying. He says what is going on over here is not correct So what what actually is going on? Eliaship the priest imagine at least a priest should have some sense This eliaship the priest even though he's in such a responsible and important position In fact, it says in verse 4 he has been placed in charge of the of all the storerooms of the house of god We talked about earlier The main temple of course was you know, you have the holy of holies Then you have the holy place and then you have the courtyard where you have the altar That is your immediate central temple structure Now all around that they built many many other buildings because you have to store all the grains which are brought I mean imagine how many, you know Tons of grain is brought in every year and you have the animals which are brought in all those things need to be stored What about the people who are guarding the temple, you know, because there's golden silver over there, right? So someone needs to guard so the guards will be over there So while the guards are on duty, they would have to be living somewhere, right? They would have to have quarters. So you'll have quarters for the guards So you have an entire Lot of construction work which came up around the actual main temple So that whole thing is basically called temple complex The entire temple complex Consists not only of just the temple immediate temple But also of all the buildings which are around it and all of it is considered, you know Sacred ground because after all it's all directly connected to the temple and Elias is in charge of a lot of A lot of the storage areas So after Nehemiah goes back on duty, you know back to Persia What does this man do because he's in these very good terms with somebody named Tobaya If you remember when we were doing Nehemiah and Desi Kil we looked Tobaya and Sanbalat were the two people who created most of the problems We're trying to reconstruct the temple and also when they were trying to build the walls These two men are the ones who created a lot of persecution and trouble for the people So Tobaya is one of those persons and he is an Ammonite Elias is a close friend of Tobaya You know imagine you're a priest and you have that kind of friends It shows right he never had someone I think because someone very clearly says do not walk with the You know wicked instead, you know walk in the ways of God and meditate on his law and delight in it But here is a man who's walking with the wicked. He's walking with people like Tobaya And what does he do? He wants to show his love and friendship to him. He actually brings this Ammonite man and He puts him in In the temple in the temple area in the storage area makes an ex quarters for him over there Imagine so when Nehemiah comes back. He is so angry. He says How could you take an Ammonite and put him right here in the temple complex? When it says so clearly that no Ammonite or Amor but should even be allowed into God's presence and so these are the kind of you know a very Carelessness and indifference about the things of God had crept into the hearts of the people and that is the kind of Lethargy spiritual laziness which Malachi is addressing They're not even bothering to bring proper tithes and offerings to the temple So these are the issues which Malachi addresses, you know, um, when he is Speaking judgment against the people. Okay, so, uh, there are of course many many other It talks about how they were not following the Sabbath rules It of course again talks about some people who had not yet given up their wives who are still following idol worship They're still holding on to those wives. All of those things are also Mentioned. Okay. So Nehemiah 13 gives us a little background about what exactly was going on during the time of Malachi All right, so these are just some of the things that we could look at So tomorrow we will cover Haggai and Zechariah because they both Uh, together talk about, you know, why have you stopped the temple construction? Why are you not resuming it? So it basically talks about that whole temple construction Uh, you know that particular time when they were still rebuilding the new temple So we'll cover those two together tomorrow. So let's just close with a word of prayer Lord, we just thank you so much for all the lessons that we could learn from today's Books we pray a lot that you would help us to follow the good which is there And we pray that we know the the bad examples will be a warning to us And we will be careful not to be like those people Lord. We thank you for Zechariah, even though he was part of the royal family His heart was for you and he chose to Follow your calling and be a prophet and Lord because of him Josiah was probably changed and his life was transformed. So we pray a lot that we too Would be like Zechariahs who will lead to the Spiritual growth and transformation of some person who can then bring about a mighty change We pray oh lord that we would be like Malachi That one person who was raising his voice and speaking out Even when all the others had grown very lazy in their spiritual walk I pray oh lord that we would Set a standard for those around us help us a lot to live that kind of a life Thank you lord in jesus name amen Thank you so much