“For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up,” saith the Lord of hosts, “that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.
But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall.
And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this,” saith the Lord of hosts.
– Malachi 4:1-3, KJV (Quotation marks added)
Unaddressed injustices always bothered me.
This was true before surviving my first wife’s infidelity and remains true to this day. It bothers me to watch the wicked thumb their noses at God as if trampling on others is okay.
I feel this way about how the poor are treated.
I feel this way about how vulnerable children are treated.
And I especially feel this way about how faithful partners (plus their innocent children) are treated.
This passage from Malachi is oddly comforting in that regard. It is a reminder that God will settle accounts one way or another. If folks refuse to repent in this life, it will not end well in the next.
Does this mean I hate my ex or adulterous people in general?
No.
I still hope that all cheaters–my ex included–repent of their adultery and finds freedom from God’s wrath on such matters. My desire is that all experience God’s forgiveness and grace.
But that does not happen for those who reject repentance.
They may seem to prosper while rejecting such repentance in this life. However, this passage from Malachi makes it clear. The wicked do not win, though.
God’s just nature demands a reckoning, and it will arrive.
Make no mistake.
“…all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly…” Malachi
Pride and the related attitude of entitlement, it blocks genuine repentance. I think repentance is impossible for those who do whatever they want to and feel justified to do so. Pride has disabled the conscience that God gave them.
But if a person becomes truly humble in their heart and their conscience is burdened with their own sins and moral failures (i.e. does not justify), the blood of Jesus Christ on the cross is powerful enough to cleanse every kind of sin, including past adultery and even worse sins than that. Real, lasting forgiveness and a changed heart is possible.
All of us who are believers have felt the relief and peace that comes from repenting and having faith in the Lord. So sad that some people scorn Him.
Amen.