God’s NAME shall be GREAT among the NATIONS!
October 7
Bible Reading: Malachi Chapters 1-4
God’s NAME shall be GREAT among the NATIONS!
"For from the rising of the sun,
even to its going down, my name shall be great among the Gentiles; in every
place incense shall be offered to My name, and a pure offering; for My name
shall be great among the nations," says the Lord of hosts. (Malachi
1:11)
The
point of this above statement from God is that a day is coming in the future when
God will receive the honor of all the nations (see Psalms 50:1; 113:3; Isaiah
45:6; 59:9). The people of Israel were dishonoring God during Malachi’s time
and in fact, they were despising His holy name (Mal. 1:6). So God proclaims
that He will find others who will magnify His name (Matt. 3:9). God’s name shall
be great among the Gentiles and He will vindicate His name among the nations even
as His own people will not honor Him (Isaiah 66:19, 20).
In
contrast to the current worship that was not acceptable to Him (vv. 7, 8);
Jehovah God declares that in the future He will receive pure worship among the
nations, and His name will be great among all the peoples of the world. God is
not pleased with the insincere worship and the polluted sacrifices of the
priesthood and people during the days of Malachi. So God promises the future
triumph of His glorious kingdom as one
day He will receive praise from all the nations! The promise of this verse
is being fulfilled even now as Christ
gathers His children from among the nations (Rev. 5:9, 10), but it will be literally
fulfilled in the future as the nations gather to worship God in purity (Rev.
21:27). God’s great plan is to make His
name great among the nations (v. 11).
One
way that God is making His name great
and known by every person and nation
is by working behind the scenes as He orchestrates the rise and fall of
governments all around the world. "For
there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are
appointed by God." (Romans 13:1) God is sovereign and He dethrones and
installs rulers and governments in such a way that moves His plan forward. "For exaltation comes neither from the
east nor from the west nor from the south. But God is the Judge: He puts down
one, and exalts another." (Psalms 75:6-7)
Another
way that God is making His name great
and known among the nations is
through us (His disciples), as we have been commissioned to preach the gospel in every nation (Matt.
28:19-20) and be a witness of the
saving knowledge of Jesus Christ (Acts 1:8). That means that we should both take the gospel to all the nations on
the earth, and also live the gospel
right where we are - in our homes, our workplaces, and our communities.
Six
times the Lord refers to His name (vv. 6, 11, 14), which means His character
and His reputation. He wants His name to be magnified in all the earth (v. 5),
and with or without our help, God is
going to make His name great among the nations. That has been His purpose
from the very beginning and throughout history. Someday in the future, every
person on earth will know that the name of Jesus Christ is great and everyone
will admit (either in joy or in shame) that He alone is Lord. In the meantime, let
us do our part through our words and deeds to make the name of Jesus Christ
both known and great among the people living in our area of influence every day
of our lives!
