“Then those whose lives honored God got together and talked it over. God saw what they were doing and listened in. A book was opened in God’s presence and minutes were taken of the meeting, with the names of the God-fearers written down, all the names of those who honored
God ’s name.
God-of-the-Angel-Armies said, “They’re mine, all mine. They’ll get special treatment when I go into action. I treat them with the same consideration and kindness that parents give the child who honors them.
Once more you’ll see the difference it makes between being a person who does the right thing and one who doesn’t, between serving God and not serving him.”
Malachi 3:16-18 MSG
I love that name of God…God-of-The-Angel-Armies! It’s a name not to mess with. It’s a name that commands respect and honor. It’s a name that has all the armies of angels at His beckoned call.
And in Malachi, we see that the God-of-The-Angel-Armies is listening in to the ones who honored Him, as they opened a book in God’s presence, which had all the names of the God-fearers written down. Then, the God-of-The-Angel-Armies proclaims, “They’re mine. All mine.”
That utterance alone gives me comfort. That alone gives me joy. God, of all power and might, declares that I, a God-fearer, am His. And He does it with exuberance. (Like kids, when they have something they really, really like, and someone tries to take it away.)
Then, He uses the parent/child relationship, as an analogy. God gives us special treatment, like we do our children, when we honor and respect Him. And that’s direct from the God-of-Angel-Armies!
God wants us to know what a difference it makes being a person who does the right thing, compared to one who does the wrong thing. One who serves Him, compared to those who don’t.
That’s because He loves us as our Abba Father…always looking for a way to give His children special treatment. He has already claimed us as His!!
