From Malachi to a Puppet

The Minor Prophets: Malachi

Insights I take from reading through the minor prophets

From Malachi to a Puppet

What the Bible is Teaching me from Malachi


Have you ever stopped singing in music worship ... not because the singing's off-key, not because the projector slide's messed up, not because you don't know the tune ... have you ever stopped singing because you realize that you don't believe in what you're singing? Have you ever stopped praying because you don't believe in what you're saying? I have. On numerous occasions. Jesus puts an emphasis on the words we speak (Lk 6:45), and I don't want to be caught red-handed with words I promised or worshiped with that I don't truly mean. 


In Malachi the people of Israel struggled with one thing: they didn't mean what they said. They said they would worship God, but they neglected to come to Temple. When they came to Temple they said they would offer their best sacrifices, but instead they gave their blind animals (1:8), their crippled and diseased. They said they would honor God in their marriages, but they didn't "guard their hearts" (2:16) and they succumbed to adultery. They said they would tithe but they didn't.


In short, Israel (during the time of Malachi) was wanting all the blessings of a covenant relationship with God without during the work. Sometimes I feel like the current church is the same. We feel jipped by God because life and church and church-life are not going how it should go, but in the end, we have no one really to blame but ourselves. As God says throughout the OT prophets, "Return to me ... and I will return to you" (Jer 15:19; Zech 1:3; Mal 3:7). If we want to see God's blessings in our life, we need to bless Him with our lives first. 


I really take this to heart. Because God is talking to His Church, His people, people who according the Bible are exactly like me. And they still mess up, royally. God even feels a need to convince them about how He feels about them. Right at the beginning of Malachi God says, "I have always loved you" (1:2). It reminds me that even as a Christian, its expected that I mess up. Not one follower of our God in the history of the Bible was perfect. And it reminds me, that even though I'm one of God's people and He has blessed me with a grace that I can't possibly repay, even I need to sometimes be reminded that God loves me personally, and He always has, even when I sin against Him (Ps 51:4). The key is, as a flawed and sometimes failing Christian am I returning to God? For He will only return to me, if I return to Him. 






There once was a man and his puppet. The puppet would do shows on a brightly lit stage for children that came into the shop. And the man would stand above the stage on a platform, holding the strings and helping the puppet dance for kids, bringing the children joy. 


But one day the puppet got fed up with his master, and wanted to do things his own way. The show was a disaster. For the man refused to look at the puppet that was rebelling against him, and the puppet refused to look at or obey the man, and the dance was pitiful. The props were flying all over the place as the flailing puppet moved around knocking things over in wild movements, tugging his limbs against the man's strings. The children left the show and the shop as the joy faded not only from the faces of the children, but from the puppet and the man as well. Everyone was unhappy. 


After the failed performance the puppet sat there, pouting in the shadows of the overturned props on-stage.  The man noticed that the puppet was sulking and said, "Why are you sad?" 
And the puppet replied with spit and anger, "Because you ruined the show!" 
The man was silent for a while. 
But puppet continued his tirade, "you're always the one pulling the strings, you're always the one that puts on the show, you're always the one who wants it done this and that way!" 
The man replied softly, "But I know the children. I know what's best for them and I know what's best for you. I know your limitations and I know what you can do. I created you, puppet."
"Well, why can't you just do it my way?!" the Puppet retorted.
The man replied, "Return to me and I will return to you."
The puppet was indignant and refused to say another word.


The next day it was time for the show again, and some children came, but not as many as before. The show, like the night before ... was a disaster, for the puppet refused to be guided by the man's strings, and the man refused to work with the puppet that was unwilling to be guided. The children stayed for a few minutes of laughing at the puppet that was tugging against the man's strings, but the children bored quickly from the lack of dance and story and slowly dribbled out of the shop, leaving it dark and quiet again. 
The puppet then immediately shouted to the man, "Look at this empty shop! You've ruined it again!"
The man replied, "Return to me and I will return to you." 
The puppet said nothing. 


The next day was the same except no children came. And the puppet was very sad and started crying. The man looked down on the puppet and said, "Why are you crying?"
The puppet replied, "I wanted to do the show. I just wanted to do it my way ... why are you working against me?"
The man said again, "Return to me and I will return to you."
The puppet said nothing but instead looked at his wooden hand, painted white years ago by the man with such care. And on the  puppet's hand he saw that there was a gap in the middle where a thin, clear string was knotted around tightly. And the puppet followed the string from his hand all the way up, above the stage and the lights, all the way up to the wooden cross that the man held. And it was there on that wooden cross that all the puppets' strings were attached to. 
The puppet looked up at the man and said, "But what does it matter if I "return" to you? You're holding the strings after all! You've held them the whole time! Every show, both bad and good has happened because of you!"
The man smiled and answered, "If you return to me, if you let me guide you ... you will see what kind of show we can make. I promise you: return to me, and I will return to you." 


The next day, the sun rose and set, and no children came through the shop doors. The puppet held his limbs tight, but the man's words reverberated through his mind: "Return to me and I will return to you." With empty seats and darkness over the shop, the puppet closed his eyes and finally let go. He stopped fighting the strings. The puppet let the man's movements flow through the strings connected to every limb in his body from his hands to his feet to his knees to his eyes and he danced and danced, the most beautiful dance he'd ever done, and the dance wasn't for anyone in the shop. The puppet danced to simply to be used by the man who pulled the strings. At the end of the dance, the puppet looked out at the audience seats and a small crowd had gathered to see the beautiful movements of the puppet that they had seen through the shop window. The puppet stared out in awe, speechless. The children cheered and clapped and for those children who couldn't clap the mothers clapped for them. And the puppet turned slowly away from them, knelt down and bowed to the man up top. For the work all along was due not to the puppet but to the man. It was to the man that credit was due. 


So when you are tired of fighting against the strings and restrictions that God would have you do ... 
Remember, remember, the gentle promise, "Return to me and I'll return to you."