Marcus Mecum - The Book of Rememberance
Well today I want to have you turn to Malachi 3, and I’m specifically going to locate a verse with you on the book of remembrance. Everybody say, «The book of remembrance». This is a concept that I’ve heard about but I’ve never connected it in the way that I have, which really helps us understand how important faithfulness is. It is such a critical thing in our life to learn that God rewards those who are faithful. Malachi 3, let’s look at that together, and we’ll start in, let’s say, verse 13. Verse 13. Says, «You have spoken arrogantly against me, ' says the Lord. 'yet you ask, 'what have we said against you'? 'you have said this that, 'it’s futile to serve God. What do we gain by carrying out his requirements and going about like mourners before the Lord Almighty'»?
This is specifically people’s disposition because they’re sad because verses before this are the famous verses that many people have heard on people robbing God in their tithes and their offerings. And so God’s people are telling God why. They’re really saying, «This is a sad subject to us, this is a depressing subject to us. We’re like mourners». Isn’t it funny that God, the Bible says, «Loves a cheerful giver,» but God’s people are mourning? They’re weeping when they hear about it. Which means there is a difference in how God sees it and how, many times, we see it.
And this is what they said why they were struggling so much, it says, «But we are seeing that the arrogant are blessed and that certain evil doers prosper, and even if they put God to the test they get away with it. Then those who feared the Lord,» number one, «Talked with each,» number two, «And the Lord listened and heard,» now watch this, «A book», one translation says, «A scroll,» most say, «A book of remembrance was written in his presence concerning those who feared the Lord and honored his name». They feared God, they talked with each other, they meditated or honored his name, and God wrote that in the book of remembrance.
Now, I’m gonna stop there but I wanna remind you that there are layers to scripture. First of all there would be the literal meaning that God is speaking specifically to the children of Israel. Secondly there’s going to be the meaning, or the application, to us today, and I’m hoping that you can find both with me as we look at this. So people here are talking about how they’ve given up on honoring God with their tithes and their offerings, and I think that that’s a good place to begin. Because, I can personally relate to that. I can relate to, at times in my life, thinking it’s not the appropriate time because of this thing or that thing, and I’ve given up in this area of my life. I wish I could say that I’ve never given up, but there have been times that I’ve pulled back on God when I probably shouldn’t have.
Now one of the reasons they didn’t see God as being faithful to them when they honored God in this area is because they looked out at the world and they saw evil doers, they saw wicked people that were being blessed and were prospering. And so they saw this contradiction and their conclusion was, «They don’t give, they don’t honor God, they’re living however they wanna live but yet it looks like they’re blessed. And here we are trying to honor God and it doesn’t seem like giving is making a difference». And so they gave up. They just said, «We’re done, we give up in this area, it does not work».
So the prophet Malachi brings up this subject about a book of remembrance to encourage people that are discouraged when it comes to their giving journey. And really this is about people that, like us all, have a tendency to be shortsighted. We don’t see the big picture, or maybe even we’ve just given up too soon. The Bible says, «Do not grow weary in doing well, in due time, in due season,» it’s not a quick thing but God honors those how know how to sow, they’ll also reap. The book of remembrance is only mentioned one time in the scripture and it’s here in the book of Malachi. But we’re going to see this thread or this idea all through scripture together.
Now, it is also not unusual to read about books that are in heaven in the Bible. That’s what the book of remembrance, is a book that is mentioned that is in heaven. We see for example the Word of God, the Bible says that, «Heaven and earth shall pass away but his word shall remain forever». John 1 says, «In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God and the word was God. He came flesh and we beheld his glory as the only son of the begotten». We would know that in Revelation 19:13 that Jesus' name in heaven, the way the angels refer to him is, «As the Word of God». So you have the word, that’s the obvious one. Secondly you have what’s called the «Book of the living». The Jewish people would call this «The book of destiny». It’s found in Psalms 139:16, «Your eyes saw my unformed body when I was made in secret. All my days ordained for me are written in your book».
Every human being on earth, your name is recorded in the book of destiny. God knows your name, God knows the number of the hairs on your head, he knows, according to this chapter, Psalms 139, the day you were conceived, he knows the shape and the form of your body. According to the Book of Acts, he knew the time and the places we would dwell so he knew that we would be right here, right now, in the earth, in this place, for a purpose. He has your personal information, he knows your DNA, he knows your fingerprints, he knows your talents, your gifts, your calling, your days on the earth.
It was predetermined according to Psalms 139, before the very first day of creation, before God’s created the heavens and the earth, before God said, «Let there be light,» God had already created you and planned for you to be here in this moment in this day. He knew you were coming, there’s a purpose for you being here in the earth in this day, in this hour.
Number three we have «The book of life». This is a very familiar one. We see this in Philippians 4:3, Revelation 3:5, it’s mentioned eight times in the New Testament. Jesus told the disciples in Luke 10:20, he said, «Do not rejoice that the demons are subject to you, but rather rejoice that your name is written in heaven». So everyone who confesses Jesus Christ is Lord, from the thief on the cross all the way to the last person before the imminent return of Jesus Christ happens, all of those people their name are written, by the billions, their name is written in the lamb’s book of life, and it’s there and at some point that book will be opened and God will find the names there of the people that gave their life to Christ.
Number four: «The book of tears». Psalms 56:8, «You collected all my tears in your bottle. You’ve recorded each one in your book». In heaven God actually has a way of keeping up with the number of the tears you’ve cried. In biblical times when someone would die, in the Roman culture they would take a mourner to go with the loved ones and they would grab the tears with a piece of cotton from people’s faces, they would ring the cotton out into a bottle, capture the tears, seal it, and give it back to the person so they could always remember and recall that day of great sorrow. So the Bible says God keeps track, there is a book where God keeps record of every tear that the saints have ever cried.
Number five is «The book of works». Revelation 20:12, this teaches us that the works that we do on the earth matter. When it comes to winning souls, when it comes to doing things that advance the Kingdom of God, your serving, your giving, your praying, your faith, exercising that to make a difference in the world around you matters and it’s recorded in the book of works. We will stand before the judgement seat of Christ. This is what’s referred to as «The bema judgement,» or «The believers judgment». You have the white throne judgement, this is the judgement where unbelievers will be judged. You will never experience the white throne judgement, you’ll stand before the judgement seat of Christ 'cause you’re saved, you’re on your way to heaven, but you will stand before Christ.
And this is considered more of a reward judgment where everything that you’ve done in his name will be rewarded. If you gave someone a glass of cold water in his name it’s rewarded, feeding the hungry, taking care of the orphan or the widow, visiting those in prison, caring for the poor. What you do to love on children and young people, and reach people, constantly as a church family, all of those things that you do, you will be rewarded. The book will be opened and there will be a reward for those things. It’s important that we remember we’re not saved by works but you will be rewarded for the works that you do in the earth. So it does matter, it is important, and you need to know that there is a record of that.
Number six: the «Book of seven seals». You see this, really, the middle ten chapters of the Book of Revelation go through this. Jesus opens each seal during the tribulation and each seal represents a particular judgment during the tribulation. So then we’re done with… What I’m trying to get you to see is that it’s not unusual to read in the Bible about books that are in heaven. I imagine that there are others but those are the ones we have that are mentioned in the Bible. The seventh one we read is the book of remembrance.
The word remembrance is the Hebrew word «Zikkaron» and it means a recorded momento, a memorable thing, a memorable writing. My favorite is a memorable scent, how our memory is connected to a smell or a scent. That’s the word zikkaron. The Hebrew root word of zikkaron is «Zakar» which means to mark, to make mention of, or to make noteworthy. So we know now that when you accept Jesus Christ as your Lord you surrender your life to him, you give your life to him, your name is written in the lamb’s book of life. Anything that you do in his name to advance his kingdom in the earth, that is recorded in the book of works and you’ll stand before Christ for the reward of those things that you do.
But here we read about what’s called the book of remembrance. And here’s the question that I want you to consider, what is God remembering? Why is God remembering it, who is he remembering it concerning, and why does that matter to us today? Well we would know that God remembering is not unique in the scripture. Genesis 8:1, the Bible talks about how the flood showed up, God had commissioned Noah to build the ark. After 150 days the Bible says, «God remembered Noah». It doesn’t mean that God had forgotten Noah, it’s the word zakar, it means that God had marked Noah. What had God mark, the whole world is experiencing the storm, the whole world is in danger, but God had marked Noah with the mark of protection in all that was going on.
In Genesis 30:22, «God remembered,» there that word is again, zakar, «God remembered Rachel and opened her womb». So God marked Rachel. Exodus 2:24, «God heard Israel’s cries in Egypt and remembered them». Zakar, again, God marked Israel. 1 Samuel 1:19, «He remembered,» zakar. He remembered Hannah when she was barren and she gave birth to a son. Why? God marked Hannah. Mark 14:3, the woman who broke the alabaster box of expensive perfume, verse 9 says, concerning her, that, «As long as the gospel is preached what this woman has done will be told as a memorial».
The word memorial in Hebrew is the same word as remembrance, which means God marked Mary when she broke open the alabaster box of expensive perfume. The scent filled the room and Jesus says, «That scent is unforgettable for me, I’ll never forget this moment». Mary was marked. So we see that God remembered these people. What was God remembering? What is God marking in their life? He’s remembering something very simple, their faithfulness. And he’s remembering it or marking it to bless them. Now someday when you get to heaven the book of works will be open, that’s not what the book of remembrance is about.
The book of remembrance God opened in every case that we see, from Malachi all through the scripture, every case that we see it was opened to bless somebody in a situation here on the earth. So this book is on earth as it is in heaven. That is this moment. This is Mark 10:29 and 30 where Jesus said, «If anyone has given up anything for my name, for the gospel’s sake,» whether it’s land or family, or houses, or whatever it may be, «That there’s the reward in this life and in the age to come».
That’s the book of works, but this life is the book of remembrance. The book of remembrance is simple, it’s about knowing that God does not forget. When you get discouraged, when you grow weary, when you’re tired, when you look around and you see the wicked and the ungodly and they seem to be prospering and you don’t feel like you are, and the devil lies to you and says your giving, your faithfulness does not matter. Remember God keeps track, God has a ledger, God keeps record of your faithfulness and you have been marked. What have you been marked for? You have been marked for God at a set time to bless you. We see this again in Acts 10 with Cornelius.
The Bible says in verse 22, and you see it again in verse 30 through 31. We could go through the whole chapter, but for time’s sake we’ll just point out that Cornelius was a man who feared God is what verse 22 says. That an angel came to him and he said to him, «Cornelius your prayers and your giving have come up as a memorial». There it is again, Hebrew word for memorial and remembrance is the same thing, it’s zikkaron, it means to be marked. In other words with Cornelius in Acts 10, this book, the concept, the idea, if you wanna take it there, is being opened and God remembers him. Remember the Bible says God remembered his giving, remembered his prayers, that he saw this man as righteous and he feared God.
So God is looking to mark us. According to Malachi 3:16 it says, «He remembers those that fear him,» he marks those who fear him. You see that in Acts 10, Cornelius feared God. It says in verse 16 that God remembers those who speak to one another about him. He marks them, they go in the book of remembrance which simply means in the Hebrew they witness, they tell other people about him. So God, the Bible says, listens and he hears when we do anything to let other people hear about the same grace, the same love, the same mercy, that you and I have experienced in God, when you do something for that, the Bible says God marks it, he remembers it, and he puts it in the book of remembrance.
You see Cornelius doing this in chapter 10, verse 24. He invites his friends and his families to come to hear the gospel that Simon Peter would present and preach to them. Then, finally, number three: God remembers those who honor his name or meditate on his name, and you see in Acts 10 that Cornelius prayed always. Now why was this book of remembrance mentioned? It’s because they believed that their giving didn’t matter. And so God says, «That’s not true. I know it doesn’t always look that way but I want to be clear that when you’re discouraged and you’re weary, I do not forget».
And in Acts 10 the Bible says also that Cornelius gave generously and God marked him. This was a moment that God blessed his entire house. Years before he was being faithful. He was outside of the covenant, he was a gentile. He in no way would’ve ever been grafted into that moment but God remembered and marked Cornelius and his family, and he blessed 'em. So God marks and blesses those who fear him, revere him, respect him, regard him. There’s no pride, there’s no ego, there’s humility, there’s a sense of openness, there’s a sense of God is great, I’m not, he’s big, I’m small, he’s strong, I have weaknesses. But there’s a sense that we regard him, fear him. Those who tell people about Jesus, those who meditate on his name, and finally those who give for the gospel to be advanced.
God marks those people and he blesses those people. And the book of remembrance is brought up to remind us that God remembers and God marks us. So we see it in malachI’s time, we see it in the Book of Acts in Cornelius' time that he prays, he gives, he fears, he tells people about Jesus, and the Bible says God marked him and blessed him. The book of Malachi goes on to say after verse 16 and verse 17 that they will be, these people that just simply fear him, tell people about him, talk about him, honor his name, they will be his treasured possession. This a word for the children of Israel that they were his peculiar treasure.
Now, we have to take it one step further, this is the application for us today. That today the Bible says that we, the church, are the spiritual seed of Abraham, that the gentiles, that would be anybody that’s not Jewish, that we have the chance now, according to Paul in Romans, to also now be the same treasured possession that Israel was in the Old Testament. All the special protections and provisions that you see that God was always there with them, the fire by night, the cloud by the day, the manna in the wilderness, the ability to conquer giants, and take territory.
All the blessing that you see on them the Bible actually teaches us why the blessing of Abraham was on them and it says this, that they could be a blessing, that the whole earth through them would be blessed. That’s you and me. We’re here today, God’s still blessing the earth, you and I have the scriptures, you and I have our Messiah. Had God not had a treasured position we would not have those things. So God marked them, God blessed them to bless the earth. In the same way Paul says in Romans, God marks us, he’s blessed us in the same way he did the original seed of Abraham. Now we’re the spiritual seed of Abraham and the purpose of that is through us the earth would be blessed.
2 Corinthians. Says, «We have this treasure in earthen vessel,» there’s the word «Treasure». That «The excellency of the power may be of God not of us». 1 Peter 2:9, «You’re a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people that you should show forth the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light». We are that treasured possession. God’s looking at the earth, «How am I gonna bless this? How am I gonna take care of this? How am I gonna work through that»?
He goes looking for his people that had been marked. They’re faithful, they’re honoring him, they understand winning souls, they understand staying in reverence before God, they understand living a life, honoring his name. They understand those things and because they’d been faithful the Bible says they’re put in a book of remembrance. So Cornelius fears God, he prays, he tells people about Jesus, and he gives, his lifestyle, his commitment, his generosity are all things that God marked to bless him.
So now let’s look at it. So according to the book of Malachi, according to the New Testament, those who fear God pray, give, tell people about Jesus, God does not forget you. God is faithful to mark the faithful. God has a book and all of that is in that book and throughout history we see that God opens that book, God has moments where he remembers us and he blesses us. God remembers every noteworthy moment of your faith. When you could’ve given up, and you chose not to. When you could’ve quit but you stood the test.
When you could’ve walked away but you said no way, «I’m not going to give up, I’m gonna stay trusting God». He marks you when you honor his name, when you meditate on his name. Anything you do in his name do not think that God forgets that, he absolutely remembers. He remembers your moments of generosity. You’re not crazy, you’re not dumb, you’re not stupid. He knows that it looks like the world sometimes is blessed but he’s saying, «Don’t be shortsighted». At some point, Malachi goes on to say, «There will be a clear distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who don’t». Stay the course. God has the book and he does not forget.