Malachi 3:12-18, The Book of Remembrance

Does God need to keep books or lists in order to remember things of importance? Of course not. It is an action of His part that is for our benefit. We need such tools to help us remember, so God is depicted as doing the same thing. I like what one commentator said,

This idea of God’s keeping written records appears frequently in Scripture (cf. Ex 32:32; Ps 69:28; Isa 4:3; Da 12:1; Lk 10:20; Php 4:3; Heb 12:23; Rev 3:5; 13:8; 17:8; 20:12, 15; 21:27). Perhaps the most beautiful expression of the idea is in Isa 49:16: “See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands.”

Yahweh makes use of this concept, as Malachi lets us know, to assure both the righteous and the unrighteous of His absolute justness.

¹³ “Your words have been violent against me,” says Yahweh. But you say, “How have we spoken against you?” ¹⁴ You have said, “It is useless to serve God. What is the profit of our keeping his charge or of walking as in mourning before Yahweh of hosts? ¹⁵ And now we call the arrogant blessed. Evildoers not only prosper but they put God to the test and they escape.”

¹⁶ Then those who feared Yahweh spoke with one another. Yahweh paid attention and heard them, and a book of remembrance was written before him of those who feared Yahweh and esteemed his name. ¹⁷ “They shall be mine, says Yahweh of hosts, in the day when I make up my treasured possession, and I will spare them as a man spares his son who serves him. ¹⁸ Then once more you will see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve him.

God has another charge against the wicked in Israel. They challenge His fairness, His justness. They claim He is rewarding evildoers with prosperity, and they facetiously call these evildoers “blessed.” So they declare that it is useless to serve God. Their volunteer fasting (“walking as in mourning”) is not paying off.

They have been doing their righteousnesses as a way of demanding God’s favor toward them but He has not rewarded them for it. But God sees their hearts, that there is no genuine worship there. And from Yahweh’s charge against them it would seem that this is the attitude of everyone in Israel.

But Yahweh recognizes those who actually fear Him. They have spoken with one another of true worship and Yahweh has been paying attention, making, in fact, a book of remembrance about them that will be read on the day of judgment when all God’s people are made His treasured possession and all the wicked are condemned. Then these wicked ones will see God’s justness and fairness.

We don’t always see God’s justice displayed in this life. The full display of His justice is reserved for the final judgment. This is what Asaph learned when he questioned God’s justice and he repented of his wicked attitude (Psalm 73).