“The Lord whom you seek will suddenly come into his temple; and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the LORD of hosts.” Malachi, the last prophet and the last book of the Old Testament, rang with that expectation. And the people were looking to the temple. They had a beautiful sight to look to: all marble and gold, the pride of Jerusalem.
The Lord came suddenly, but not to the temple they were looking toward. The glory they expected appeared behind them, in the skies over Bethlehem.
They were longing for the “day of the Lord” that Amos and other prophets assured them was coming. Instead, the Lord himself came. It’s a familiar story, but it should always surprise us.
For a .pdf download of this week’s challenge, with Old and New Testament scripture passages, thought questions, and activities, click below:
(This is a continuation of a series of posts about the “whole story” of the Bible. I plan to run one every week, on Tuesdays, with a printable PDF. The printable includes a brief 2-3 paragraph introduction, Bible passages to read, a key verse, 5-7 thought/discussion questions, and 2-3 activities for the kids. Here’s the Overview of the entire Bible series.)
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