The Last Words in The Old Testament Malachi 3:24 “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord: And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.”
The more I looked at the passage the more the question hit me, “I know this is speaking at least in part of John the Baptist so how exactly did John the Baptist turn the hearts of the children to their fathers and the hearts of the fathers to their children? I mean wasn’t this the “You brood of vipers guy”?”
So I re-read as much on John the Baptist as I could, yes it certainly speaks of John the Baptist, the Angel even quoted it when he told his Father, Zachariah that John was coming and what he would do. Luke 1:17 “And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord. ” The only place I saw where John mentioned children and fathers is when he told the Pharisees in Matthew 3:9 “and do not think to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones.” Although a great passage an a bit of a clue I would find later, I didn’t see it.
So I read every commentary I could find and the result was mass confusion, clearly my only hope to solve this Biblical riddle was prayer and the Holy Spirit. I just happened to be fasting a bit at the time as well on a completely different matter but I do so love drawing up into the Father’s lap and listening at times like this. When this started to unfold for me what an eye opener on all sorts of dots that connect you get a father picture worth spending some time with.
The Lord led me to study John’s last name, “The Baptist” and that I needed to study the Jewish version of baptism prior to John called a Mikvah, “gathering of the waters” This Mikvah is a direct connection to what Jesus taught Nicodemus.
“Born Again—a Jewish Term
The term “born again” originates in Judaism. It refers to a Gentile who had undergone a formal conversion to Judaism. The Talmud (oral law) states:
“When he comes up after his immersion, he is deemed an Israelite in all respects.” (Yevamot 47b)
Rabbi Yose says in the Talmud, “One who has become a proselyte is like a child newly born.” (Yevamot 48b)”
Going back to John; remember the prostitutes and the tax collectors were coming out to the wilderness to be immersed/baptized. These people had repented, decided to turn back to God and John’s immersion offered them a fresh start, a purifying that would get them going in the right direction.
Now here’s where the dots connected for me; who needs a father like a new born and what father doesn’t love his newborn? Jesus himself taught Nicodemus in John 3-5: Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?” Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.
The Jews that got to see the Kingdom first were the ones that went out to the wilderness to seek repentance and John’s Baptism. Those were the people humble enough to ask for a Father and so God gave to the thirsty and hungry. I am personally blown away seeing the plan of God through John’s Baptism in this way.
Those who came out to the wilderness looking for God, through John’s Baptism included most of the 12. Those who were seeking came when John the Baptist introduced them to what they really needed after their bath, they need a Savior after being born of water, they need the Spirit. Jesus would wash their feet, the dirtiest parts actually with His blood and thus like Elijah immersed the sacrifice first on Mt. Carmel making it holy set apart and ready for the fire of God to come down as it did on Pentecost.
Just think of Godly people you know, ones who you know are born again, and I will bet the farm that if they are parents their hearts are for their children to know and enjoy Christ and that their parents would also love our Savior. After all it is the 5th Commandment. Oh by the way the curse mentioned Malachi 6; that is the same word as the devoted things that Achan hid in his tent that got him stoned. Those who hide bitter root judgements against their parents, that’s the curse Malchi is warning us. To understand that I would suggest watching this video it is so worth the hour you will gain so much… I promise
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