Israel has returned from exile and God is calling to His people to come back to Him. God has always wanted to have a relationship with His people. Now that they are back home they must make a choice to live in covenant with Him. 

Psalm 15 is a Psalm that was read and sung before a person went into God's sanctuary. It was meant to prepare a person to be the kind of individual that God allows into His presence. The person described in Psalm 15 is a person of integrity through and through.  

Malachi foretells of a time when God's messenger will come and then the Lord will quickly come to the Temple. We know that Malachi is referring to John the Baptist and the coming of Jesus. We learn from Malachi that great and wonderful changes are coming in the future. 

The men of Israel had broken the covenant with God by mistreating their wives and being faithless. God calls them to repentance. The men of Israel were not only divorcing their wives but were remarrying to pagans. God wants a strong commitment to the covenant of marriage and he wants us to raise faithful children. 

The Levitical Priesthood has failed the people of Jerusalem, and on a larger scope the people of Israel, miserably. They are conniving, self-interested "men of God" who have placed on God as their lowest priority. Malachi's disputation against them from Yahweh is nothing short of holy wrath. Blessed are we who live in an age where our Priest is not man, but King Jesus!

Israel had returned home from Babylonian Exile but things were in a bad place. Had Israel learned anything from their exile? Malachi comes on the scene 100 years after their return and challenges the people with six disputations from God. The book of Malachi is just as relevant today to an American Church that is in a spiritual condition similar to Israel during the time of Malachi. 

David's Psalm is about those that appear to go through the motions of religion but in their hearts, they do not believe. In their life, they are "virtual atheists."

Elisha comes to Damascus to fulfill what was spoken to Elijah in 1 Kings 19. He will come to anoint Hazael as king over Syria. In doing this we get a picture into the untested heart of a man that will do evil things. Elisha carries out God's command but he does so weepingly. 

In this week's podcast, we see King Jehoram restoring land to the woman who had formerly had the life of her son restored by Elisha. Due to the mediation from Gehazi this woman is continually being restored by God and gives further evidence that God cares for all his children.

King Jehoram wants Elisha dead because of a famine Elisha "brought" upon Israel. Elisha tells the commander of Israel's armies that it will end the next day but he won't be alive to enjoy it. Four lepers, in the meantime, discover the Syrian army has fled and they bring the spoils left behind back to Israel which ends the famine.