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Intention

God values family relationships: marriage and parenthood

Scripture

“Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction.” Malachi 4:5-6

Reflection

It is interesting that these are the very last verses of the Old Testament. They serve as a bridge to the New. The story of God’s grand purposes for humanity is closely connected with something God very strongly values: family relationships. Indeed, this is one of the grand themes of Scripture.

Since our three-in-one God is the primary and original family, His desire for us is a replication of such loving and committed relationships. So strongly committed is God to this that a clear indication of the end of all things is the restoration of family ties. Elijah, whose ministry had been one of restoration and repentance, is a fitting figure here.

Two things, in particular, can be said about these verses. One, our struggle to stand for marriage and family in a world that mocks and scorns both will not be easy. It will be an ongoing battle.

As Peter Adam commented about Elijah: “God had sent Elijah at a very low point in the history of the people of God, when most had deserted God, and those who continued to serve God were very discouraged. Elijah had a lonely and tempestuous ministry, but stood firm for God in the church and in the world.”

We must do the same today as we see marriage and family under such ferocious attack.

Second, the curse promised at the end of this passage must be seen in the light of the One who bore the curse of God for us. The curse that we all deserve for our sin and rebellion fell upon Christ at Calvary. He bore the curse for us, as it says in Galatians 3:10-14, so that our relationship with Father God might be restored.

Above all else, God wants us to be restored to Him in a right relationship through Christ. And then He wants us to see renewed and restored relationships with one another, beginning with the most basic ones: family relationships. That has always been a priority for God.

And it runs throughout all of Scripture.

God created marriage and family in the opening chapters of Genesis. The Old Testament closes with the promise of family restoration. The New Testament opens with the stories of two families: those of John the Baptist and Jesus. And the New Testament finishes with the glorious wedding between Christ and His bride, the church.

The overarching story of God is one grand narrative: It starts with the eternal and faithful love relations within the Trinity and then works itself out in two main ways: God and His love relationship with humanity; and loving, committed relationships within the family unit, cemented by marriage.

We have a marriage in the garden in Genesis 2, and we have the marriage of the Lamb in Revelation 19. We do not get a loftier and more majestic picture of God’s heart for marriage and family than this.

Prayer

Father God, thank You that at the very core of Your being is love and that You have had eternal love relations within the Godhead. And thank You that You have wanted to see that extended to your creation.

Sadly, we rejected You early on, but You did not give up on seeking us, wooing us, and working to restore us to Yourself.

And thank You that You gave us earthly marriage and family to be a picture of Your even greater Triune love relationship. Amen.

31 Days Prayer Points

1. Pray for the restoration of FAMILY, FATHERHOOD and MOTHERHOOD in our nation. Malachi 4:6
2. Pray for healing for MARRIAGES, protection for CHILDREN and restoration of the sanctity of LIFE. Isaiah 58:12
3. Pray for Revival, Renewal and Reformation for Australia, that our nation might return to God. 2 Chronicles 7:14

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