Avoid Being Listed Among The Following People

Malachi 3:5
“So I will come to put you on trial. I will be quick to testify against sorcerers, adulterers and perjurers, against those who defraud laborers of their wages, who oppress the widows and the fatherless, and deprive the foreigners among you of justice, but do not fear me,” says the LORD Almighty.

Contemporary English Version
The LORD All-Powerful said: I’m now on my way to judge you. And I will quickly condemn all who practice witchcraft or cheat in marriage or tell lies in court or rob workers of their pay or mistreat widows and orphans or steal the property of foreigners or refuse to respect me.

New Living Translation
“At that time I will put you on trial. I am eager to witness against all sorcerers and adulterers and liars. I will speak against those who cheat employees of their wages, who oppress widows and orphans, or who deprive the foreigners living among you of justice, for these people do not fear me,” says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies.

Good News Translation
The LORD Almighty says, “I will appear among you to judge, and I will testify at once against those who practice magic, against adulterers, against those who give false testimony, those who cheat employees out of their wages, and those who take advantage of widows, orphans, and foreigners–against all who do not respect me.

There is a list of groups you shouldn’t be found among them. Which is this list of groups? Which are these groups? Who blacklisted these people? What are the consequences of being found among them? Avoid being listed among such people!

God speaks to Israelites through the prophet Malachi. God promises in our text today to appear among the Israelites in order to judge them. Being judged is not a bad thing unless you are sure or suspect that the judgment will not be in your favor. Judgment exonerates and also condemns. Judgment ends a matter and settles it for good. God tells Israel that I will come to put you on trial. If you were put on God’s trial today, will you be condemned or will you be acquitted?

God says that when He comes to judge, He will very quickly without delay witness against several groups that He lists. Why would He quickly testify against them? Why quickly? Quickly because God has already done an investigation in the past and the conclusion is that they are wrong, therefore, now is the time for quick and instant action!

He will act quickly because these groups are so bad, they shouldn’t be allowed to spread their evil to others. They are so bad that God has to act against them quickly, at once, and immediately! God quickly gets rid of these people and also does this to serve as an example to others that evil doesn’t pay. God acts against these groups immediately. Avoid being listed among such people!

The groups that God lists are not in an exhaustive list. This list is an example of what is not right. However, a good Bible student will notice that this list is similar to many other lists in scripture except for group four which does appear elsewhere in scripture but it’s not common in scripture. The following are the groups in our text today. Avoid being listed among such people!

1. Sorcerers / Witches and the like 2. Adulterers /fornicators and the like 3. All calibers of liars 4. Dishonest payment for work done and the like 5. Those who oppress widows, orphans, foreigners and anyone else who can be oppressed 6. Those who are irreverent

Avoid being listed among witches, witch doctors, diviners, and their customers. Do not practice nor subscribe to their business. God will quickly put an end to anyone who practices or procures such services. Avoid being listed among such people!

Avoid being listed among the sexually immoral. Sex before marriage and outside marriage is wrong, whichever way it is coined or looked at, it is wrong. Avoid being listed among such people!

Avoid being listed among liars. People who can’t be trusted. People who lie casually and comfortably. People who lie for profit or self-preservation. Whatever reason we have for lying is unacceptable. Avoid being listed among such people.

Avoid being listed among people who have issues with paying those who work for them. They pay less than they should. They pay less than they promised. They delay pays for their workers, etc. Domestic workers under our care, how do we pay them? Casual workers, who we assign one-off jobs, how do we pay them? Business people, whose services we contract, how do we pay them? God notes any unfairness and promises a swift response. Avoid being listed among such people!

Avoid being listed among oppressors. Oppressors who threaten, intimidate, harass and harm those who are weak. God knows how much power we have compared to those we are up against. God sides with the weak and mistreated. God promises to act swiftly against oppressors. Avoid being listed among these people!

Avoid being among the irreverent. Those who casually and lightly go about the holy things of God. Those who use phones in worship to engage in entertainment and social media communication. Those who by their presence, dressing, and conduct, degrade the place of worship to a commonplace. Those who generate and share jokes about God. Such people offend God. Avoid being listed among such people!

Save us from such people and any others, and from being listed among them, in Jesus’ name. Amen!

1. Rei Kesis YouTube Channel (subscribe, click on notification and share) –http://youtube.com/reikesis
2. Rei Kesis books on Amazon (Amazon will sell and deliver anywhere in the world. For those in Kenya you can buy from any ABC close to you. ABC is Adventist Book Center) –https://www.amazon.com/s?k=rei+kesis&ref=nb_sb_noss
3. Rei Kesis daily blog –https://reikesis.com/