The book of Nehemiah has an interesting end. Nehemiah has completed rebuilding the wall, he has finished his reforms, the people have heard the Word of the Lord, and the observance of the festivals have been restarted, but there is still a problem.Nehemiah returns to Jerusalem to find the people continuing to live in disobedience. He works to correct their behavior, but it is once again apparent that being in the right place and knowing the right rules isn’t capable of fixing what is wrong in the human heart. After all his hard work to rebuild and reform Jerusalem, Nehemiah ends with a simple prayer for the Lord to remember him and the good he did, instead of the shortcomings.

Next, we are reading a short book of prophecy, Malachi. You may want to take a few minutes to The Bible Project video, “How to Read the Bible: Episode 4 The Prophets.” The author identifies himself as Malach, which means messenger, and most scholars believe that he is a contemporary of Nehemiah and Ezra. Malachi addresses issues with insincere worship, poor practices by the priests, divorce, and injustice, but in doing so he points out God’s love for His people and their lack of love for Him. The book picks up the theme we saw at the end of Nehemiah, freedom from blatant idolatry doesn’t necessarily lead to hearts that truly love the Lord. Malachi encourages the people to leave behind their dead religion, and to experience a renewal from the Lord by remembering God’s law and His promises.