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The One to Come

¹ "See, I am going to send one with news, and he will make the way ready before Me. Then all at once the Lord you are looking for will come to His house. The one with the news of the agreement, whom you desire, is coming," says the Lord of All. ² "But who can live through the day of His coming? Who can stand when He shows Himself? For He is like a fire for making gold pure, and like a strong cleaner. ³ He will sit as one who melts silver and makes it pure. He will make the sons of Levi pure. He will make them pure like gold and silver, so that they may bring the right gifts to the Lord. ⁴ Then the gifts of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the Lord, as they were in the past. ⁵ Then I will come to judge you. I will be quick to speak against those who use witchcraft, and those who do sex sins, and those who make false promises. I will speak against those who do not pay a man what he has earned, and who make it hard for the woman whose husband has died and for children who have no parents. And I will speak against those who turn away the stranger and do not fear Me," says the Lord of All.

⁶ "For I, the Lord, do not change. So you, O children of Jacob, are not destroyed.

Giving to God a Tenth Part

⁷ "From the days of your fathers you have turned aside from My Laws and have not obeyed them. Return to Me, and I will return to you," says the Lord of All. "But you say, ‘How are we to return?' ⁸ Will a man rob God? Yet you are robbing Me! But you say, ‘How have we robbed You?' You have not given Me the tenth part of what you receive and your gifts. ⁹ You are cursed, for you are robbing Me, the whole nation of you! ¹⁰ Bring the tenth part into the store-house, so that there may be food in My house. Test Me in this," says the Lord of All. "See if I will not then open the windows of heaven and pour out good things for you until there is no more need. ¹¹ I will speak sharp words to the destroyer for you, so that it may not destroy the fruits of the ground. And your vine in the field will be sure to give its grapes," says the Lord of All. ¹² "All the nations will say that much good has come to you, for you will be a happy land," says the Lord of All.

The People Complain

¹³ "Your words have been spoken in pride against Me," says the Lord. "Yet you say, ‘What have we said against You?' ¹⁴ You have said, ‘It is of no worth to serve God. What do we get by doing what He says, or by walking in sorrow before the Lord of All? ¹⁵ So now we say that it is good to be proud. Not only are sinners doing well, but they put God to the test and get away with it.'"

The Book to Be Remembered

¹⁶ Then those who feared the Lord spoke often to one another, and the Lord listened to them. And the names of those who worshiped the Lord and honored Him were written down before Him in a Book to be remembered. ¹⁷ "They will be Mine says the Lord of All, "on that day that I gather My special people. I will have loving-pity on them as a man has loving-pity on his own son who serves him." ¹⁸ Then you will again see the difference between those who are right and good, and those who are sinful. You will see the difference between one who serves God and one who does not serve Him.