Malachi 1:4 Whereas Edom said, We are impoverished, but we will return and build the desolate places; thus said the LORD of hosts, They shall build… To separate our lives from God is folly; to live in opposition to Him is madness. Many not only disregard Him, but also oppose Him. I. WHO ARE THESE FOOLISH BUILDERS? 1. Those who seek to build up a reputation with deceits. 2. Those who build up the fortunes of their houses with unrighteousness. 3. Those who build up a religious life without faith in Christ, the only foundation. 4. Those who build up their characters with evil principles and deeds. 5. Those who build up high positions by treachery and tyranny. II. CONSIDER THE CERTAINTY OF THEIR OVERTHROW. Woe be to the work that has God against it. It cannot stand. Think of His power, knowledge, and absolute control of all things. Everything that He does not smile upon must perish. History confirms this. Kingdoms created with great magnificence and might, but built in defiance of His laws, have, like Edom, fallen. Theological systems, and ecclesiastical despotisms that have been built up in opposition to Him, have been overthrown. Biography also confirms this. No life that has been spent in opposition to Him, however apparently influential, but has crumbled away like a falling tower. When God says, "I will throw down," none can save. Experience also confirms it. Learn not to lay a stone in life without God. We should enter upon no work without first securing His aid and blessing. We can only erect a structure that will stand for ever, as we build in God's way, and under the influence of the Spirit of Jesus. (W. Osborne Lilley.) Parallel Verses KJV: Whereas Edom saith, We are impoverished, but we will return and build the desolate places; thus saith the LORD of hosts, They shall build, but I will throw down; and they shall call them, The border of wickedness, and, The people against whom the LORD hath indignation for ever. |
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