What Is the “Book of Remembrance” in Malachi 3:16?
Let’s read the verse in question:
Then those who feared the LORD talked with each other, and the LORD listened and heard. A scroll [book] of remembrance was written in his presence concerning those who feared the LORD and honored his name.
Contextually, Malachi was saying that the LORD had not forgotten “those who feared the LORD and honored his name” amidst the 50,000 exiles who had returned from Babylon as opposed to those who had succumbed to a spirit of complacency and indifference. Their names were written in a “book of remembrance,” which brings to mind the Persian practice of recording in a book all the actions of a person that should be rewarded in the future. Here’s an example from Scripture:
That night the king could not sleep; so he ordered the book of the chronicles, the record of his reign, to be brought in and read to him. 2 It was found recorded there that Mordecai had exposed Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king’s officers who guarded the doorway, who had conspired to assassinate King Xerxes.
Remember, Babylon was part of the Persian Empire, which is where the exiles stayed for 70 years.
David also spoke of such a book:
Record my misery; list my tears on your scroll — are they not in your record?
Malachi 3:16 could be applied to all believers in the simple sense that God remembers those who honor him. Even if faithful people feel forgotten, acts of loyalty to the LORD – which indifferent people treat with cynicism – will be rewarded in due time.
Related Topics:
Is Christianity a “RELATIONSHIP With God”?
INTIMACY WITH GOD and Its Benefits
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