Day 19: Prepare
“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,” says the LORD
Almighty.” Malachi 3:1
In the ancient days
of the Old Testament, prophets were the messengers of God who would share the
words of the Lord with the people. Many of those prophets spoke and wrote of a
coming great king who would bring justice and reward the righteous. He would be
a king who would reign in righteousness and peace.
The prophet Malachi promised the people of Israel that a
messenger would come that would prepare the way for the Lord, who would prepare
the way for the great king. In ancient days when a royal procession was
traveling a messenger would go before them announcing their arrival and
removing any obstacles from the road they were to travel on. He prepared the
way before the king.
It is believed that Malachi was the last prophet of the Lord
before the birth of Christ, a span of 400 years in which God was silent. Then
in the first chapter of the Gospel of Luke we read the story of Zechariah, a
priest, who we learn was childless. But an angel of the Lord appeared to him
and told him that he would have a child, and that child would “go on before the
Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah…to make ready a people prepared for the
Lord.” (Luke 1:17)
We learn later in Luke 1 that Zechariah’s son was John the
Baptist (Luke 1:57-66) and then Luke tells us that “Zechariah, filled with
the Holy Spirit, prophesied:
“…And you, my
child, will be called a prophet of the Most High; for you will go on before the
Lord to prepare the way for him, to give his people the knowledge of salvation
through the forgiveness of their sins.” Luke 1:76-77
John the Baptist was the one Malachi (and also Isaiah –
Isaiah 40:3-5) spoke of, the messenger who would prepare the way before the
Lord by preaching repentance to make hearts ready to receive the Messiah. Jesus
himself would announce that John the Baptist was the one who fulfilled the
prophecy of Malachi and Isaiah. (Luke 7:27). John prepared the hearts of the
people to receive the Messiah, Jesus Christ.
Notice that Malachi 3:1 also speaks of another messenger – “the
messenger of the covenant”. The promised Messiah will bring the new
covenant promised by God (Ezekiel 36:25-28, Jeremiah 31:31-34). Jesus told us
that he was the messenger of the covenant – a covenant written with His blood.
We remember and celebrate our repentance and salvation when we prepare our
hearts for communion.
“While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he
had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take and
eat; this is my body.” By Mary Brack @www.foundonbrighton.com Then he took a
cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it,
all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for
the forgiveness of sins.” Matthew 26:27-28
Advent is a season of preparation, preparing our hearts to receive the coming king and to proclaim His coming to the world around us.
Let earth receive her King!
Let every heart prepare Him room.
And heaven and nature sing,
And heaven and nature sing,
And heaven, and heaven and nature sing.
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