Malachi 3:16-17

The Holy Spirit inspired this plan and offers God’s deep encouragement for the woman with a heart desperate to be refreshed and a spirit longing for true peace. May this four-day plan be a cool drink of water for you and equip you to rest in God’s deep, deep love for you.

The Essential 100® Bible Challenge is a simple tool to read through the Big Story of God's Word. The reading plan is based on 50 Old Testament and 50 New Testament passages. Continue with the tenth part "The Prophets." ®Produced by American Bible Society in partnership with Scripture Union, Inc.

We can either allow our hardships to drag us down into hopelessness, or in our hardships, we can allow the gospel to lift us up into the New Testament hope that we have in Christ.

Somberly closing the Old Testament, Malachi shows that a thousand years after Sinai, unfaithfulness, greed, and injustice continue to plague God’s people. Moreover, Malachi’s ministry initiates centuries of prophetic silence. Despite the growing darkness, however, Malachi prophesies a coming messenger who would prepare the way of the Lord. Four hundred years later, a new era of redemption dawned when the cries of John the Baptist echoed in the wilderness.