Shavuot/Pentecost (2012?) - Links to Malachi 4 (4,5)
4 [Earnestly] remember the law of Moses, My servant, the statutes and the ordinances which I commanded him on [Mount] Horeb [to give] to all Israel. 5 Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes.
With Shavuot/Pentecost 2012 almost here, I wanted to draw attention to important links from Malachi 4 (a Book/chapter so rich in looking towards the Day of the Lord). I can only touch briefly on these aspects, but hopefully the potential connection is evident. In Judaism, Shavuot is a time for remembering the giving of Torah (Mosaic Law). The whole of Malachi 4 is highly important, but I would like to focus on verses 4 (the law of Moses) and 5 (the sending of Elijah). I have previously (19 March 2012) sent a letter to Five Doves on the Coming of Elijah - link below).
http://www.fivedoves.com/letters/march2012/denish319.htm
Moses and Elijah - Shared Experiences on Mountains!
We are very familiar with Elijah and Moses appearing with Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration. What is perhaps less known is that both Moses and Elijah spent forty days on Mount Sinai/Mount Horeb - Elijah once (1 Kings 19) and Moses twice (the first tablets were broken, while the second are preserved in the Ark of the Covenant). Moses spent 40 days on the mountain each time. The law was given on Mount Sinai, but when looking back the (probably) same mountain is often referred to as Mount Horeb (including in Malachi 4:4). So what is the link between Shavuot and Malachi 4? In verse 4 the Word emphasises the importance of remembering the Torah (the law of Moses, my servant). In verse 5, the sending (coming) of Elijah is the catalyst for this remembrance. Will there be an end-time Elijah? If so, is this coming of Elijah imminent? This coming may be from obscurity (then shall your light rise in darkness (Isaiah 58:10).
The ministry of Elijah (the Tishbite - we know little more about him), Elisha (co-opted from a farm, and working with oxen), John the Baptist and Jesus our Lord - all of these prophetic voices rose from obscurity (from a human standpoint).
Elijah’s 40 Days on Mount Horeb - and What Followed (1Kings 19)
After eating two meals provided by an angel, Elijah “went in the strength of that food 40 days and nights to Horeb, the mount of God”. The Lord passed by and three major events took place, but the Lord was not in these: a great and strong wind, that rent mountains and broke rocks in pieces (reminiscent of tornadoes or bombs in war), an earthquake and fire (possibly indicative of volcanic activity). While these were signs of God’s power, He came to Elijah in a gentle, still small voice. In the midst of all that is happening in the world, we need to listen for His Voice, for it is this Voice that the Church needs to hear. The gates of grace in the Church age may soon close, but there is time to listen for His Voice. In Revelation 3:20 (see below) the emphasis is: we open the door when we hear and recognise His voice, not when we hear the knock on the door
20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock.
If anyone hears My voice and opens the door,
I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.
On the strength of this still, small voice from the Lord, Elijah went and prophetically anointed two leaders (Jehu to be King of Israel, Hazael to be King of Syria) and Elisha to (in time) take his place as prophet. How amazing? The great revival chapter (1 Kings 18) comes before this time on Horeb, but in the restoration of all things a time of judgment may presage Joel’s outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Moses clearly came before Elijah, but perhaps Elijah will also play a role in the further restoration of the Jews to Israel (Isaiah 11:11), and with the other witness (possibly) Moses in Revelation.
Selected verses from 1 Kings 19
4 But he (Elijah) himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness and came and sat down under a lone broom or juniper tree and asked that he might die. 5 As he lay asleep under the broom or juniper tree, behold, an angel touched him and said to him, Arise and eat. 7 The angel of the Lord came the second time. 8 So he arose and ate and drank, and went in the strength of that food forty days and nights to Horeb, the mount of God.
11 And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; 12 And after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire [a sound of gentle stillness and] a still, small voice.
15 And the Lord said to him, Go, return on your way to the Wilderness of Damascus; and when you arrive, anoint Hazael to be king over Syria. 16 And anoint Jehu son of Nimshi to be king over Israel, and anoint Elisha son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah to be prophet in your place.
Maranatha! Jesus come!