 Yeah, we are covering the book of Zechariah. So before the break, we started to look at some of the prophecies about the Messiah which are given in this book of Zechariah. We looked at Zechariah 9.9, which talks about how the Messiah will come when He comes and we saw that He would come riding on a donkey rather than on a war horse to bring judgment. Another important prophecy that we can look at is to be found in Zechariah chapter 14 verses 3 and 4. If someone could read out for us, Zechariah 14 verses 3 and 4 please. Zechariah 14 verses 3 and 4. Then the Lord will go out and fight against those nations as when He fights on a day of battle. On that day His feet shall stand on the Mount of Olives that lies before Jerusalem on the east and the Mount of Olives shall be split in two from east to west by a very wide valley. So that one half of the Mount shall move northward and the other half southward. Now in this passage, Zechariah 14 passage, it talks about the end times when the nations will want to fight against God. The nations which do not want to submit to the Lord and honor Him and obey Him, all these nations will gather against God to fight against Him. On that day it says, the Lord will come and He will stand on the Mount of Olives and the Mount of Olives will split into two is what it says. And this actually is talking about the second coming of Christ. If we were to look at Acts chapter 1, maybe we can just look at verses 11 and 12. Acts chapter 1, if someone could read out verses 11 and 12, then we will see the link between these two passages. Acts chapter 1 verses 11 and 12. And said, men of Galilee, why do you stand looking unto heaven? These Jesus who was taken up from you into heaven will come in the same way as you saw Him go into heaven. Well, also, ma'am? Well, yeah, well. Then they returned to Jerusalem from the Mount called Olives, which is near Jerusalem a Sabbath day's journey away. So we see here in Acts chapter 1 verse 12 that Jesus ascended into heaven from the Mount of Olives. And now in Zechariah, we are told in chapter 14 that one day when He comes back, He will come back and stand on the Mount of Olives. So Zechariah 14, 3 and 4 is actually a prophecy talking about the second coming of Jesus when He will descend onto the Mount of Olives. This one particular verse in Zechariah, which has been touched upon in many of the New Testament verses, that would actually be Zechariah chapter 12 verse 10. Almost every phrase in that particular verse is repeated in some New Testament verse or the other. So let's look at that. Zechariah chapter 12 verse 10. Shall I read, ma'am? Yeah. Zechariah chapter 12 verse 10. And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and place for mercy. So that when they look on me, on him whom they have placed, they shall mourn for him as one mourn for an only child and we bitterly over him as one who's over a firstborn. The terms and phrases which are used over here in this particular verse, they are repeated in the New Testament because all of these terms and phrases are actually talking about Jesus. For instance, it says, they will look on me the one they have pierced. So in John chapter 19 verses 36 and 37, we see the fulfillment of that. How when Jesus was hanging on the cross, the soldiers come to him and they pierce him with a spear. And at that time, water and blood comes out from the side. So in Zechariah chapter 12 verse 10, this particular thing is actually referred to. It talks about the one that they have pierced and that phrase is used also in Revelation chapter 1 verse 7. If someone can read out that, Revelation 1 verse 7. Revelation chapter 1 verse 7, behold, he's coming with the clouds and every eye will see him. Even those who pierced him and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so, amen. So here it says, look, he's coming with the clouds. That of course, it's not talking about the second coming. Every eye will see him. Even those who pierced him and all the peoples of the earth will moan because of him. This is exactly what was prophesied in Zechariah 12.10 where it says, they will look on me the one they have pierced and they will moan. So at that time, when the second coming happens, then the nations will realize that this is indeed the living God. And then they will moan and say, oh, why did we not submit to him? Why have we continued to pierce him in a metaphoric sense? So those who have accepted the Lord, they are now in the kingdom of God. But those who have rejected him, when they see with their eyes, the king of kings descending, they will recognize that it was them, their sinfulness which pierced him. And now they will moan and think, why did we do that? Because of that, judgment is now coming upon us. So both in John chapter 19 and Revelation 1, it talks about how Jesus was pierced. The phrase about him being an only child, that phrase is found in John 3.16 where you have how Jesus is described over there as God's one and only son. So that phrase is also to be found in Zechariah chapter 12. And then the very last portion where it says, grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a first born son. That term first born son, that also is mentioned in the New Testament in Colossians chapter 1 verse 15. Yeah, if someone could read out that, Colossians 1, 15. Colossians 1, 15 is the image of the invisible God, the first born of all creation. Exactly. So that particular phrase, the first born is used in Zechariah chapter 12 verse 10. So Zechariah is just this last few chapters, chapters 9 to 14 are filled with lots of prophecies about the Messiah who will come, about how He will come, what the events which will take place when He comes. All those details are described and these details were given about the Messiah. You know, many, many hundreds of years before Jesus came onto the earth. So these are all accurate prophecies about the Messiah. There's one more passage that maybe we could look at Zechariah chapter 11. Now, this is not a passage which is very popular, not many people talk about it, but it's interesting. The story which is conveyed in this Zechariah chapter 11 is quite significant. So maybe we will look at this particular passage, Zechariah chapter 11. If you look at the NIV Bible, the heading will say two shepherds. But then some people, they think about this passage as a story of four shepherds. Let's begin by looking at Zechariah chapter 11 verse 3, which gives us some kind of an introduction. So Zechariah chapter 11 verse 3, if someone could read out. The sound of the well of the shepherds for their glory is ruined. The sound of the roar of the lions for that thicket of the Jordan is ruined. All right. Here in this verse, you have shepherds who are wailing and crying. And in this verse, you also have young lions being mentioned. Lions which are roaring, they are mentioned. And of course, it also talks about the shepherds. So obviously we have to understand the sheep also must be there with the shepherds. So if you combine the picture of the lions which are roaring with the picture of the shepherds who are wailing, what do you think has happened to the sheep? Obviously it means that probably the roaring lions have attacked the sheep and therefore the shepherds are wailing and crying. So this is the introduction that we are given. So the shepherds are weeping because something very bad has happened to the sheep. And then with that introduction, the passage starts talking about a set of events. This is basically the set of events which take place. Now what we read over here in verse 11, chapter 11 verse 3 is actually the conclusion of the entire story. So the end of the story, the shepherds wail and the shepherds weep. But what happens to the beginning of the story that would be verse 4 onwards. So Zechariah chapter 11 verse 4 onwards, we start being told a story about shepherds and sheep. Maybe we can have someone read out verse 5, Zechariah 11 verse 5. Those who buy them slaughter them and go unpunished and those who sell them say, Placed be the Lord. I have become rich and their own shepherd have no pity on them. So in Zechariah 11 verses 4 to 6, it talks about shepherds who are evil. It talks about shepherds who don't care about their sheep. So maybe we can talk about these shepherds as the first category of shepherds. Shepherds who are cruel. Shepherds who have no heart for the sheep. Shepherds who don't care what happens to the sheep. And what are these particular shepherds doing over here in the imagery which is used in this particular portion verses 4 to 6. They are taking the sheep which God has given to them and rather than looking after the sheep, they are selling the sheep to the slaughterhouse so that they know that they can make money from the sheep. So these leaders were appointed to look after the sheep but rather than looking after the sheep, they are selling the sheep to be slaughtered so that they can make money from this kind of a deal. So this is the kind of shepherds that are there and the sheep are being slaughtered and the situation is very, very serious. And then this is what happens in verses 7 to 14. Maybe we can have someone read out verse 7. Sakurai 11 verse 7. So I became the shepherd of the flock, whom to be slaughtered by the sheep traders. And I took two steps, one I named Fever and the other I named Union and I tended the sheep. So even as this sheep are suffering under these evil, cruel shepherds, a good shepherd comes along and he says, I will take over this sheep because the flock are being marked for slaughter, the flock are being oppressed. So I will take over the sheep and I will look after them. So this new shepherd, the good shepherd, what does he do? He has two staffs, he has two rods with him. He calls one Fever and he calls the other one Union. Basically it's to indicate that from now on my Fever will rest upon the sheep. I will look after them, I will take care of them. And then the other staff, the other rod is named Union in the sense he will bring all the sheep together and make them into one single flock. Now we know even as we are reading these verses, what comes to our mind? It brings to us a picture of Jesus the shepherd, right? Because he cares for the sheep, he rescues the sheep which are being slaughtered by the false leaders and he is a good shepherd. And then we see something in verses 8 onwards from verses 8 to 14. If we could have someone read out for us maybe 8 to 10. Yeah, what is the response of the sheep? Are the sheep very, very happy to be having such a nice shepherd? What is the response of the sheep? Verses 8 to 10. In one month I destroyed the three shepherds but I became impatient with them and they also detested me. So I said I will not be your shepherd. What is to die? Let it die. What is to be destroyed? Let it be destroyed and let those who are left reborn the flesh of one another. And I took my staff favor and I broke it, enrolling the covenant that I had met with all the peoples. And then verse 14? Then I broke my second staff union, enrolling the brotherhood between Judah and Israel. So a good shepherd has now come. He has destroyed these bad shepherds who were there and he has taken over the flock. But the flock is not grateful. The flock are not even happy that a good shepherd is now looking after them. And it says the flock detested me and I grew weary of them and I said I will not be your shepherd. Let the dying die and the perishing perish. So even though this good shepherd wanted to bring good to the sheep, the sheep rejected him. The sheep did not want him. And so he takes these two staffs, you know the shepherd staff which are there with him. He takes the shepherd, the staff which is called favor and he breaks it because he's saying I'm now breaking the covenant which I made with you. He takes the other staff which is called union. He breaks that as well as a symbol that Judah and Israel will no longer be joined together but they would be divided. So even as we are reading this particular portion, the picture which comes to our mind is how God wanted to bring all the Israelites together under his... But the people instead of appreciating what God is offering them, what do they do? They say we want a human king. We don't want to have you as our shepherd. We want a human shepherd and so God allows them to go to the human shepherds. The kings who are placed over them and the kings have no sincerity. The kings do not honor the Lord until finally a stage comes where Israel and Judah are divided. So we get that image from this particular portion. Let's move on a little further into verses 15 and 16. So what happens now if someone can read out verses 15 and 16. Now it talks about how God is now going to turn over these sheep who are not at all interested in him. He's going to turn them over to one very evil shepherd who will take advantage of them. A foolish shepherd who will not care for them and so the Lord turns the people over to this kind of a shepherd. Now even as we are going through this particular passage, how do you think the Israelite people would have understood it in the Old Testament times when Zechariah first gave them the story of these four shepherds. So you have the evil shepherds first category, then you have a good shepherd who comes but the sheep don't care for him. And so this good shepherd turns the people over to a foolish shepherd who's the third category. And because of the way this foolish shepherd leads the people, the sheep are now in a very, very bad condition. And so you have the first shepherds, the shepherds who are watching all of this, they weep and they wail and they cry and they say, Oh, the sheep are being lost, the sheep are being destroyed. So even as the people of Israel listened to this prophecy, it would have reminded them of their Israelite history, how God offered to be their king, but they did not want him to be their shepherd. So what did they do? They said, we want to go, we want to have human kings. And the human kings began to take advantage of the people, put taxes on them, exploit them rather than looking after them, especially King Solomon who said that he wanted to lead the people in a godly manner in a wise manner, but who became so greedy for wealth and power that he began to impose heavy taxes on the people and cost them to suffer a lot. As a result of which, when his son came to the throne, the kingdom was divided into Judah and Israel. The bond between these two portions of the kingdom was completely broken. So these are some of the details which should have come to the minds of the people when they first listened to this prophecy. But there are implications in this chapter even for New Testament people because when we read these verses about the Good Shepherd, it reminds us of Jesus. It reminds us of how he has chosen to gather all the people under him as one single flock. And then it says over here in the Zechariah 11 passage that the flock did not want to stay under the Good Shepherd. They grew weary of him and they wanted to go away to other shepherds. And if you take it in the New Testament context, then when God says, the sheep which are not interested in coming under my covering, I will allow them to be taken by a foolish shepherd. We could say that maybe in this prophecy, God is talking about how one day he will allow an Antichrist to come and take over all the people who are not interested in coming under the covering of the Good Shepherd. So there's an Old Testament interpretation which can be given to this prophecy. There is also a more detailed interpretation which can be given if we are looking at it in the context of the New Testament. This especially one small portion verses 12 and 13 which make it appear that we should actually look at this passage in the sense of the New Testament. So let's read out those two verses 12 and 13. If someone could read out verses 12 and 13. Then I said to them, if it seems good to you, give me my wages. But if not, keep them and they wade out as my wages, 30 pieces of silver. Then the Lord said to me, throw it to the porter, the lordly price at which I was priced by them. So I took that 30 pieces of silver and threw them into the house of the Lord to the porter. Now what does this remind us of this portion about the 30 pieces of silver which were paid to the Shepherd? What does that remind us from the New Testament? Any thoughts? Exactly. So you have a Good Shepherd who comes to offer himself to the people and say, I will be your Shepherd. So those of you who believe in me come under my covering. But what do the people say? The people say, no, we don't want the Shepherd. We want to have the Pharisees. We want to have other leaders because this Good Shepherd, his standards are very high. We don't want to follow him. So here in the Zechariah 11 passage, the Shepherd says, alright, if the people don't want me, fine. You give me my wages, I'll go away. You know, let the some foolish Shepherd look after the sheep later on. And so at that point in this particular story, which is being told to us, the Shepherd is paid 30 pieces of silver. And the Shepherd says, what a small amount they have paid me. I mean, what I did for them is so great. What I wanted to, you know, the favor which I wanted to show them was so great. But they valued me only as worthy of 30 pieces of silver. And so in the story the Shepherd says, you know, it's like worthless almost. I'll take this amount and just throw it to the potter. And we see this being fulfilled in New Testament times where, you know, the Pharisees, they value Jesus for us being valuable enough for maybe about 30 pieces of silver. So they say to Judas, you know, I think your master is maybe about this much in value. So we're willing to pay this much for you to betray him. Are you willing? And Judas, you know, grabs that amount. But then later when he is convicted of his sinfulness, he throws those pieces of silver in the potter's feed. So you find a parallel, you know, between the Zechariah 11 passage and the events which took place in the New Testament. And so today our duty as the church of God is to bring as many people as possible under the covering of the Good Shepherd. Because if we do not bring the people under the covering of the Good Shepherd, then they will choose to go after foolish shepherds. The foolish shepherds will be shepherds who do not care for the people and they will allow the people to be torn by the lions. In other words, to be torn by the evil forces by Satan and his demons. So we have been sent out on a mission to bring people under the Good Shepherd so that they are not deceived and oppressed and betrayed by the evil dark forces. Of Satan. So this is what, so this parallelism is brought out through the Zechariah 11 passage which indirectly actually talks about Jesus the Good Shepherd. Okay, so those are just some of the things that we looked at from the book of Zechariah. Let's move into the book of Malachi, the very last book of the Old Testament. Now in the book of Malachi, yeah, we have a response here. Sanjay pointed out that it is Judas. Yes, the students in the class and all of our students online are all awake and paying attention. That's very encouraging. Thank you. So book of Malachi. Now the book of Malachi was approximately, I mean Malachi did his ministry approximately maybe at the time of Nehemiah and also maybe a little beyond that. So after Nehemiah came to Jerusalem, rebuilt the walls after that he tries to bring about many reforms. He tries to encourage the people to return to the Lord to faithfully observe the Sabbath to give up all their foreign wives who are idol worshippers. He tries to bring about all of these reforms and then in Nehemiah chapter 12, chapter 13 he has to go back to Persia on some official work. So when he goes back to Persia, the people backslide and they get back into their old sinful ways. So when Nehemiah comes back in chapter 13, the people have stopped observing the Sabbath. The people are now not paying their tithes. So a lot of wrong practices have crept in and Nehemiah is very, very angry and he scolds the people and he says, you know, why have you turned away from the Lord? And so all of those things happen. So approximately around that time, Malachi was, you know, used by God to talk to the people. And in the book of Malachi, there are six disputes which are mentioned. It's like two or six disputes between God and the people. So the first dispute is covered in chapter one, the first few verses, the first five verses where the Lord says to the people, you know, I have always loved you and the people say, huh, how have you loved us? You know, you're not doing any great miracles for us. So then God says, maybe we can actually read out those verses. Yeah, Malachi chapter one versus two and three if someone could read out please. If I have loved you since the Lord, but you say, how have you loved us? He's not a South Jacob's brother. He clears the Lord. Yet I have loved Jacob, but it's how I have hated. I have led West Hill country and left his heritage to Jacob's of the desert. So in spite of everything that God has done for the exiles after bringing them back, the people are not grateful. And so the Lord reminds them and tells them, I have loved you. I have shown you favor and the people they dispute against God. And they say, in what way have you loved us? In what way have you been good to us? And the Lord says, did I not choose you as my people, as my covenant people? Because you see, when Esau and Jacob were still in the womb of their mother, God decided that he would choose Jacob and his descendants as part of his covenant. And in those days, in the time of Genesis especially, the elder son would have received first priority. But God chooses to show mercy to the younger son, even though Jacob is going to be the second twin, even though Jacob is born second. So God is basically pointing out the fact that from the beginning, even though Jacob was not the first son, God chose the younger son and decided to show him mercy and make him part of his covenant. And we see that actually mentioned even in Romans chapter 9, if someone could read out Romans chapter 9 verses 10 to 13. Romans chapter 9 verses 10 to 13. Romans chapter 9 verses 10 to 13. And not only so, but also when Rebekah and Rebekah had conceived children by one man or for Father Isaac, though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad. In order that God's purpose of election might continue. Not because of works, but because of his call. She was told, the older will serve the younger as it is written. Jacob, I loved you, but Esau, I hate it. Now over here, it's very, very clearly clarified for us in Romans chapter 9. God did not choose Jacob because Jacob had done something good. God did not choose Jacob because he was superior in any way. The two babies were still inside the womb. The two babies had not done anything good. They had not done anything bad. They were not even born yet. At that time itself, God chooses the younger child just to show mercy, just to appoint him as the covenant child simply out of his grace and mercy. And so God gave them the greatest favor of becoming the covenant people of God, even though their ancestor Jacob was actually the younger son. Actually did not deserve that kind of privilege. So God says, at that time, I could have chosen Esau. And Esau and his descendants would have been my people. But in my mercy and kindness, I chose your ancestor Jacob. So in fact, no, Paul brings up that point in Romans chapter 9 to make a point because the Jewish people were very upset and they were saying, you know, this Jesus is bringing all the pagans into our community. And he's saying that they are part of the community of the living God. And so they were very, very angry. And so Paul says, why are you Jews protesting so much about the gentiles who are coming into the kingdom of God? Your ancestor also didn't deserve any special treatment. Your ancestor was the younger son. So he should not have got any special privilege. But God in his mercy and grace chose the younger son and made him the covenant child. So now in the same way, God is showing mercy to this gentiles and bringing them into the kingdom. So then in the same way, you people received special treatment. Now God is giving the same special treatment even to the gentiles. So he tries to bring out this point in Romans chapter 9. And so he says, what then shall we say is God unjust? Not at all. For he says to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I have mercy and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion. So God chose Jacob and showed him compassion and made him the covenant person through whom his descendants would be established. Even though Jacob had no special qualifications over and above Esau when they were both in the womb. So God says, from that time my favor has been upon you Israelites and you have not appreciated that. So the Lord, this can happen even with us just because we are not having all our prayers answered. Just because God is not giving us all the miracles that we are asking for. Like these people, we may say to the Lord in what way have you loved us? In what way have you been kind to us? We can have that attitude of bitterness where rather than being grateful for the status which God has given us, we can say, oh my prayer is unanswered. In what way have you loved us? So we could be critical, but this passage reminds us that God is pointing out the status, the highest status that has been granted to us as children of God. So sometimes our focus is on the unanswered prayers and we forget what we have been made. Imagine we who were sinners, destined for hell. We have now been brought into a covenant with the living God. You know, our future is guaranteed. We will one day be with Him and for eternity we will always stay with Him. What a privilege has been given to us. So we should not be grumbling about unanswered prayers and saying, oh, you have not given me this. Oh, you did not do that particular thing in the way I asked you to do it. In what way have you loved us? It's such a silly allegation to make against God. We look at the kind of privilege, the covenant status that has been granted to us. So here these people, these exiles who have come back to Jerusalem, rather than being grateful to the Lord, they say to Him, in what way have you loved us? And this is the Lord's reply. He reminds them and shows them, you know, I chose the younger son, even though there was nothing special about him, just out of my compassion and mercy. So right from that time, my favour has rested upon you people and you need to be grateful for that. The second dispute is something that God raises up against the priests. So in Malachi chapter 1 verse 6, yeah, maybe we can actually read out Malachi chapter 1 verse 6 if someone could read out. A son honours his father and a servant his master. If then I am a father, where is my owner? And if I am a master, where is my fear? Says the Lord of host to you. O priests who despise my name, but you say, how have we despised your name? So now the Lord is coming to the second dispute which he has against the people. He says, a son honours his father, a slave honours his master, but you people have no honour for me at all. You know, so he says, and he's talking specifically to the priests and he says, you priests are showing contempt for my name. You know, a slave, he honours his master, but you people have no honour for me, even though you're supposed to be my priests. You're in fact showing contempt for my name. And the priests, they reply and say, in what way have we shown contempt? In what way have we, you know, dishonoured you? And so then God talks about the kind of offerings which these priests are accepting. The people are bringing leftovers to the temple. Rather than giving their best to the Lord as an offering, they are bringing defective animals to be offered, you know, in the Torah, in the first five books. Very clearly God gave instructions on what kind of animals should be offered as a sacrifice. But here the people are bringing defective animals and what are the priests doing? The priests should correct the people, right? They should say what you're doing is wrong. What you're doing is dishonourable. But rather than correcting them, they are accepting those defective animals and they are offering the sacrifices. And so this is what the Lord says in Malachi chapter 1, verses 12 and 13. If someone could read out Malachi 1, 12 and 13. But you profane, it when you say that the Lord's temple is polluted and its fruit, that its food may be despised. But you say what a weariness this is and you snot at it says the Lord of force. You bring what has been taken by violence or is lame or sick and this you bring as your offering. Shall I accept that from your hand says the Lord? The Lord says over here in these verses, you people are so disinterested in serving me that when you know when these defective animals are brought, you just know you sniff and you say in a very contemptuous manner, oh what a burden. It's like they're not even interested in correcting the people. They just take those defective animals, they sacrifice it because it's a ritual which they have to do. So the Lord says is this the attitude with which you are serving me? You're not even honouring me, either honouring the Lord's name or in fact even honouring him in front of the people. And this can be the attitude of us believers when we are serving the Lord sometimes. We almost act like us if we are doing God a favour and we say oh what a burden to serve him. And so whatever we can do, we just do it half heartedly because it has to be done after God is God so we have to serve him. So what to do? It's such a headache, so much work, such a strain. But you know because we have to do it, let's do it. Whatever is possible, we'll just put together some effort and give him whatever we can give. Now if we were to do that, it would be the same as what these people were doing in the time of Malakai. The priests rather than correcting the people and saying why are you bringing defective offerings, take them back, bring your best. Instead of correcting the people, they were just simply taking whatever was being offered placing it on the Lord's table, sacrificing it and then saying oh the Lord's table is defiled. So the Lord says, do not speak in that manner because he says in verse 8, if this kind of sacrifice was given to the governor you think the governor would have accepted it? When the governor himself won't accept such sacrifices, why are you offering such sacrifices to me, the living God? So here this passage teaches us that serving the Lord should not be a burden. We should not be sniffing contentiously and saying what to do? This is a burden that we have to bear. No, serving the living God is not a burden. It is an honor, it is a privilege. We should be giving him our very best and if we are leaders with people under us, we should be encouraging them and correcting them and urging them to give their best to the Lord as well. So the whole attitude of the people who were serving the Lord at that time was very, very wrong and God touches upon this aspect. The third dispute that the Lord brings against the people is that they are now getting into a lot of divorces. They are breaking up their marriages, the people whom they have, you know, the Israelite women whom they have married, they are now rejecting them because they are attracted by the foreign women and their foreign gods. So rather than staying faithful within their own marriages, they are divorcing their wives and they can go and marry these foreigners and once they marry the foreigners, they also start following those foreign gods. So God is upset about that as well and in fact the Lord says that, you know, they should be faithful to the person that they have originally married. So they are committing adultery at a human level. They are also committing spiritual adultery against God. So at a human level, they are divorcing the wife whom they have, you know, married and made a promise to stay faithful to. So in that sense, they are committing adultery against the wife of their youth, but they're also committing spiritual adultery because they're going after the gods of these foreign wives. They are following those foreign gods rather than serving the Lord. So the Lord criticizes them of their human adultery at the human level and also about the spiritual adultery which they are committing against Him. That's the third dispute that the Lord brings against them in the book of Malachi. And then in the fourth book, the people, they make a dispute and they make an allegation against God and they say, oh, the Lord is not bringing any justice. There's a lot of injustice happening in the land and God is not doing anything about it. And so when they make this particular allegation, this is what the Lord replies to them. That would be Malachi chapter 3 verses 1 to 4. There the Lord says, you are accusing me of injustice. You're saying that I'm not doing anything about it, but the Lord says a day will come. He says, I will send my messenger who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple, the messenger of the covenant whom you desire will come. So again, this is a prophecy that God makes about how John the Baptist will come and prepare the way for the Messiah. And then suddenly when the people are not expecting it, the Messiah himself will come into his temple and it says, he will be like a refiner's fire. So he will purify a people for himself. So he will remove violence and unrighteousness and he will establish justice. So that's regarding the fourth dispute and the prophecy that is connected to that. A fifth dispute which the Lord brings that's regarding the people not giving their tithes. A lot of preaching is done regarding that. So we will set that aside. The last dispute is basically in Malachi chapter 3 verses 13 to 17 where the people say it is futile to serve God. They basically say, where's the point in serving God? Wicked people are prospering. So if we are wicked, we will also prosper. We don't have to follow God to prosper. We can become prosperous by following wicked ways. And this is what the Lord says. I think we would actually need to read these verses. So even if we go a little over time, please let us read these verses. Malachi chapter 3 verses 15 to 17 to 18. The reason I'm asking us to read out this is because it very much applies to us. Malachi chapter 3 verses 15 to 18 if someone can read out please. Malachi chapter 3 verse 15 to 18. And now we call the arrogant blessed, evildoers not only prosper but they put God to the test and they escape. Then those who feared the Lord spoke with one another. The Lord paid attention and heard them and a book of remembrance was written before him of those who feared the Lord and esteemed his name. They shall be mine. Says the Lord of hosts. In the day when I make up my present possession and I will spare them as the man spares his son who serves him. Then once more you shall see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked between one who serves God and one who does not serve him. So the people of this time were saying oh where's the point in serving God? It's a waste to serve God because evil people are prospering. So we can become prosperous by doing evil. Where's the need to follow God and then be blessed and this is the words of the wicked people and then it says in verse 16 then those who feared the Lord talked with each other and the Lord listened and heard what they were saying. The evil people were saying oh where's the point in following God? Anyway even following evil also will prosper us but the people who were good the people who were godly they were talking something different and it says over there God listened to what they were saying. He heard the righteous words which they were speaking and then it says a scroll of remembrance was written in his presence concerning these people who are fearing him scroll of remembrance was written in his presence concerning them concerning these people who are honouring his name. So we can be people who are talking and saying where's the point in serving God? Where's the point in doing all this ministry work? What will come out of it? I will not get rich I will not become famous we can be talking those things or we can be talking righteous things and saying it is good to follow the Lord it is honourable to you know worship him and glorify him and the Lord listens to what is coming out of our mouths and it says a scroll of remembrance is written for those who are following the Lord the Lord records the names of those who are speaking the right things about him who are honouring him with their words and their attitudes and the Lord says a day will come when I will show compassion to them and I will reward them because they have sincerely followed me. So even today in the church we have two types of people we have the grumblers we have the ones, the critics who are constantly criticising God criticising the church criticising the work that is being done you know they are the grumblers and God listens to what they are saying and is not pleased and then there are other category of people in the church who are speaking things which will honour God and glorify him and it says that such people he makes a record of them and one day when the time comes he will reward them he will show compassion to them he will make them his treasured position is what it says in verse 17 and it says on that day people will see the distinction between the evil and the good on that day people will see the way I bless those who follow me and honour me with their words. So these are all important attitudes which the Lord touches upon in the book of Malakai so book of Malakai is something that maybe we should spend a little time meditating upon in our quiet time look at these six things which God talks about how are you in your attitude regarding these six things because these are six things which you need to apply to your Christian work and if you are correct in these six areas of your life then indeed like the Lord says he will make you his treasured position and he will reward you when the time comes so that's a thought for us to take away even as we are finishing this book alright is there a question here? yeah no question so yeah let's close with the word of prayer Lord we just thank you so much for all that we could cover in the Old Testament Lord we pray that we will be both hearers and doers of your word so all our Lord all the things that you have taught us so far you enable us a Lord to apply them so that we will be your treasured position so that Lord even as we honour you in your time a Lord you will reward us for our faithfulness towards you thank you Lord in Jesus name Amen thank you so much