Mal. 3:1-7, 16-18; 4:1-2 - T. Constable Expository Notes
III. JUDAH EXHORTED TO FAITHFULNESS 3:10-7
The Lord addressed the entire nation of Israel in this address, not specifically the priests as in the former one. His concern, as expressed through His messenger Malachi, was the peoples' indifference toward His will. They were blaming their social and economic troubles on the Lord's supposed injustice and indifference to them (Malachi 2:17). Furthermore they were being unfaithful to one another, especially their wives whom the husbands were apparently abandoning for foreign women. These conditions profaned the temple and the Mosaic Covenant (Malachi 2:10-15 a). The Lord's command, which lies in the center of the section (as in the first and third exhortations), was for the people to stop their treachery toward one another (Malachi 2:15-16). Thus the major emphasis of this second main section of Malachi is social responsibility (love for and relationship with people), whereas the major emphasis of the first major section was theological (love for and others. Instead of an initial statement or charge followed by a question of feigned innocence, this oracle begins with three questions asked by the prophet. However, as at the beginning of each of the other oracles, the point is presented at the outset." [Note: Blaising, p. 1580.]
v. 1: "Behold, I am sending My messenger, and he will clear a way before Me. And the Lord, whom you are seeking, will suddenly come to His temple; and the messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight, behold, He is coming," says the LORD of armies. - The Lord's response to the cynical Israelites was to point them to the future. He predicted the coming of His messenger (cf. Isaiah 40:3-5). There is no question about who this was because Jesus identified him as John the Baptist (Matthew 11:10; cf. Mark 1:2; Luke 7:27). This future messenger would clear the way in preparation for Yahweh (cf. Isaiah 40:3; John 1:23). Clearly Jesus Christ is Yahweh since John the Baptist prepared the way for Jesus. Perhaps most intriguing of all the issues raised by the fourth disputation is its implicit identification of the 'messenger of the covenant' as Yahweh himself. No other passage in the Old Testament so clearly assigns divine prerogatives and nomenclature to the figure of the Messiah (though the term masiah is not itself employed by Malachi). When one examines how this disputation describes the identity and actions of the 'messenger of the covenant,' one can only conclude that he is divine." [Note: Stuart, p. 1347.]
▪ Then the Lord, whom the Israelites were seeking, would suddenly come to His temple (cf. Ezekiel 43:1-5; Zechariah 8:3). Though Jesus entered the temple in Jerusalem many times during His earthly ministry, this sudden coming was not fulfilled then (cf. Malachi 3:2-5). It will occur when He returns to set up His messianic kingdom.
▪ The fact that he will come suddenly is ominous, for suddenness was usually associated with a calamitous event (e.g. ; Isaiah 47:11; Isaiah 48:3; Jeremiah 4:20, etc.)." [Note: Baldwin, p. 243. Cf. Revelation 1:1; Revelation 22:6.]
▪ The messenger of the covenant" is another name for the Lord who would come following the appearance of the first messenger promised in this verse. He would be the divine Messiah. "Messenger" means "angel," and the Angel of the Lord is in view here. The "covenant" is the New Covenant that God promised to make with the Jews in the future (cf. Jeremiah 31:31-34; Ezekiel 36:22-36; Ezekiel 37:26). Another view is that the covenant in view is the Mosaic Covenant and, behind it, the Abrahamic Covenant. [Note: Clendenen, p. 386.]
▪ The Jews delighted in this Messenger because His coming had been a subject of messianic prophecy and an object of eager anticipation from early in Israel's history (Genesis 3:15; pass.). Sovereign Yahweh promised His coming again here. The Jews had been expressing disbelief that God would intervene and establish justice in the world (Malachi 2:17), but God promised He would.
E. Negative motivation: the coming messenger of judgment 3:1-6: Like the first address (Malachi 1:2 to Malachi 2:9), this one ends with more motivation. Unpleasant things would happen if the people failed to change in their dealings with one another. The warning centers around the coming of another messenger whose arrival would bring judgment in the future. This section contains four predictions (Malachi 3:1 a, Malachi 3:1 b, Malachi 3:3, Malachi 3:5).
vv. 2-3: "But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He is like a refiner's fire, and like launderer's soap. 3 And He will sit as a smelter and purifier of silver, and He will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, so that they may present to the LORD [d]offerings in righteousness. - When the Lord came suddenly to His temple, no one would be able to stand before Him. Elsewhere the prophets foretold that this time would be a day of judgment on the whole world marked by disaster and death (Malachi 4:1; Isaiah 2:12; Joel 3:11-16; Amos 5:18-21; Zechariah 1:14-17). Here Malachi said no one would be able to endure His coming because He would purify the priesthood, the people who stood closest to Him. As a fire He would burn up the impurities of the priests, and as a laundryman's soap He would wash them clean (cf. Deuteronomy 4:29; Isaiah 1:25; Jeremiah 6:29-30; Ezekiel 22:17-22; Zechariah 3:5). The Levitical priests would then be able to offer sacrifices to Yahweh in a righteous condition rather than as they were in Malachi's day (cf. Malachi 1:6 to Malachi 2:9; Isaiah 56:7; Isaiah 66:20-23; Jer. 33:18; Ezek. 40:38-43; Ezek. 43:13-27; Ezek. 45:9-25; Zech. 14:16-21). The multiple figures of cleansing and the repetition of terms for cleansing stress the thoroughness of the change that the Lord's Messenger would produce.
▪ Christ's atoning death meant that the entire sacrifice-based system could be brought to an end, its assigned purposes having been fulfilled." [Note: Stuart, p. 1354.]
v. 4: Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the LORD as in the days of old, and as in former years. - After this cleansing of the priests, Judah and Jerusalem (i.e., all Israel) would be able to offer sacrifices that would please the Lord, in contrast to the present ones that did not (cf. Malachi 1:13-14). They would be acceptable like the offerings the priests offered earlier in Israel's history, before the priesthood had become corrupt.
v. 5: "Then I will come near to you for judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, the adulterers, against those who swear falsely, those who oppress the wage earner in his wages or the widow or the orphan, and those who turn away the stranger from justice and do not fear Me," says the LORD of armies. - At that time the Lord assured His people that He would draw near to them, but it would be for judgment. He would quickly judge all types of sin that they practiced, whereas in Malachi's day, and now, He waits to judge (cf. 2 Pet. 3:9-10). The Levites would not be the only Jews He judged; all the Israelites living then would come under His judgment ( Ezek. 20:34-38). He would judge them for all types of activity forbidden for His people: sorcery; adultery; lying; oppression of employees, widows, and orphans; mistreatment of aliens; even all forms of irreverence for Him. This was His answer to their claim that He was unjust (Mal. 2:17).
v. 6: "For I, the LORD , do not change; therefore you, the sons of Jacob, have not come to an end. - The Lord concluded by reminding His people of one of His character qualities that should have made them fear Him and have hope. He does not change, and that is why they would not be consumed totally. He was faithful to His covenant promises in the Abrahamic and Mosaic Covenants; He would never destroy them completely but would chasten them and finally bless them. By calling the Jews "sons of Jacob," the Lord was connecting their behavior with that of their notorious patriarch. Promises are only as good as the person who makes them, so the fact that Yahweh does not change strengthens the certainty of their fulfillment (cf. Deut 4:31; Ezek 36:22-32). The Apostle Paul gave the same reason for expecting Israel to have a future (Rom 3:3-4; 11:1-5; 11:25-29).
▪ The statement that Yahweh does not change (cf. 1 Samuel 15:29; Hebrews 13:8) may seem to contradict other statements that the Lord changed His mind (e.g., Exodus 32:14). This statement that He does not change refers to the essential character of God. He is always holy, loving, just, faithful, gracious, merciful, etc. The other statements, that He changes, refer to His changing from one course of action to another. They involve His choices, not His character. If He did not change His choices, He would be unresponsive; if He changed His character, He would be unreliable. [Note: See Thomas L. Constable, Talking to God: What the Bible Teaches about Prayer, pp. 145-46; Robert B. Chisholm Jr., "Does God 'Change His Mind'?" Bibliotheca Sacra 152:608.
JUDAH EXHORTED TO RETURN AND REMEMBER (THE ECONOMIC ANGLE) 3:7-4:6: The Lord had said that Israel's earlier history was a time when the priests and the people of Israel pleased Him (Malachi 3:4). Now He said that those early days were short-lived (cf. Exodus 32:7-9). In contrast to His faithfulness (Malachi 3:6), they had been unfaithful.
▪ This third and last hortatory speech in Malachi differs from the previous two in its construction. Whereas the former two both began with positive motivation and ended with negative motivation, this one begins and ends with commands. Whereas the central section in each of them was a command surrounded by evidence for needed change, this one centers on the evidence that is flanked by motivations. Thus this speech, and the entire book, ends with a climactic command to remember the Law (Malachi 4:4-6).
▪ The focus of the first speech was on the peoples' relationship to God (divine responsibility), the focus of the second one was on their relationship to one another (social responsibility), and the third one is on their relationship to their possessions (economic responsibility).
v. 7: "From the days of your fathers you have turned away from My statutes and have not kept them. Return to Me, and I will return to you," says the LORD of armies. "But you say, 'How shall we return?' - From Israel's early history the people had deviated from the straight path that Yahweh had prescribed for them to walk in the Mosaic Covenant. They had disobeyed covenant stipulations. The almighty Lord called His people to return to Him with the promise that if they did He would return to them (cf. Deuteronomy 4:30-31; Deuteronomy 30:1-10). A command to "return" to the Lord, in Malachi 3:7, occurs at the beginning of this speech, and a promise that the Lord would "return" to them, in Malachi 4:6, ends the speech. The response of the people was that they did not know how to return. The Mosaic Covenant specified how they were to return, by trusting and obeying Yahweh, so their question indicated a reluctance to change their ways.
▪ How should we return?' is not an earnest entreaty for information but a self-serving declaration of innocence. The people, in effect, are saying, 'What need do we have to return since we never turned away to begin with?'" [Note: Merrill, p. 437.]
▪ They were like the stereotypical husband who has failed to recognize that his relationship with his wife has deteriorated." [Note: Clendenen, p. 413.]
First command: return to the Lord with tithes 3:7-10a; and Motivation: the coming day 3:16-4:1-2: In the first two hortatory speeches of the first motivation sections are positive and the second ones are negative. In this last speech the first is mainly positive, but the second is a mixture of positive and negative, though mainly negative.
v. 16: Then those who feared the LORD spoke to one another, and the LORD listened attentively and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before Him for those who fear the LORD and esteem His name. - Upon hearing the Lord's rebuke through His prophet, some of Malachi's hearers who genuinely feared the Lord got together. Evidently they discussed Malachi's message and agreed among themselves that they needed to repent. They even wrote down their commitment on a scroll.
▪ Almost surely this was a scroll that contained their names as signatories to some sort of statement of their commitment to Yahweh in faith that they were disassociating themselves from the prevailing sins, that his promises were reliable, and that his covenant was to be kept. In other words, it was a covenant renewal document." [Note: Stuart, p. 1382.]
▪ Yahweh paid attention to their heart attitude and heard what they said.
▪ How can an individual remain faithful to God in a faithless world? Malachi gave three tips for developing a lifestyle of faithfulness:
(1) Vow to be faithful to God, even if those around you are not. Consider writing your own 'scroll of
remembrance.'
(2) Surround yourself with a group of likeminded individuals for encouragement. This group 'talked with each other' (Malachi 3:16) as they encouraged each other to remain faithful (see Hebrews 10:25).
(3) Remember that God's day of reckoning will come someday. Keep a long-range perspective (1 Corinthians 3:12-15)." [Note: Charles H. Dyer, in The Old Testament Explorer, p. 841.]
v. 17: "And they will be Mine," says the LORD of armies, "on the day that I prepare My own possession, and I will have compassion for them just as a man has compassion for his own son who serves him." - Almighty Yahweh announced that He would honor those who feared Him as His own on the day He prepared His own possessions. This probably refers to the day of the Lord (cf. Malachi 3:2; Malachi 4:1; Malachi 4:3) when He will resurrect Old Testament saints and judge them (cf. Daniel 12:2). This will be when Jesus Christ returns to rule and reign on the earth. The faithful will receive a reward in His kingdom for their submission (Daniel 12:3). He also promised to spare them as a man spares his own son. When Jesus Christ judges Old Testament saints, He will separate the sheep from the goats (Matthew 25:31-46). Here God described the sheep as His sons. He will spare them the humiliation and punishment that will be the lot of those who did not honor Him (Malachi 3:14-15).
v. 18: So you will again distinguish between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve Him. - In that day it will be clear who behaved righteously and who behaved wickedly because Jesus Christ will reward the righteous and not reward the wicked among the Israelites. Then the true and the false servants of the Lord will be manifest. In Malachi's day, and in ours, the true motives of God's people are not obvious, but in the future they will become clear for many to see
JUDAH EXHORTED TO RETURN AND REMEMBER (THE ECONOMIC ANGLE) 3:7-4:6: The Lord had said that Israel's earlier history was a time when the priests and the people of Israel pleased Him (Malachi 3:4). Now He said that those early days were short-lived (cf. Exodus 32:7-9). In contrast to His faithfulness (Malachi 3:6), they had been unfaithful.
▪ This third and last hortatory speech in Malachi differs from the previous two in its construction. Whereas the former two both began with positive motivation and ended with negative motivation, this one begins and ends with commands. Whereas the central section in each of them was a command surrounded by evidence for needed change, this one centers on the evidence that is flanked by motivations. Thus this speech, and the entire book, ends with a climactic command to remember the Law (Malachi 4:4-6).
▪ The focus of the first speech was on the peoples' relationship to God (divine responsibility), the focus of the second one was on their relationship to one another (social responsibility), and the third one is on their relationship to their possessions (economic responsibility).
II. Mal. 4:1-2:
v. 1: "For behold, the day is coming, burning like a furnace; and all the arrogant and every evildoer will be chaff; and the day that is coming will set them ablaze," says the LORD of armies, "so that it will leave them neither root nor branches. - The Lord now elaborated on the day to which He had just referred (Malachi 3:17). There is no chapter division in the Hebrew Bible; all of chapter 4 appears as the end of chapter 3. This day of the Lord would be a day of judgment. The Lord compared it to a fiery furnace in which all the arrogant and every evildoer (a hendiadys meaning every arrogant evildoer) would burn like chaff (or stubble; cf. Malachi 3:2-3; Malachi 3:15). Fire language is common in connection with divine judgment and anger (e.g., Genesis 19:24-28; Psalms 2:12; Psalms 89:46; Isaiah 30:27; Jeremiah 4:4; Jeremiah 21:12; Amos 1:4; Amos 1:7; Amos 1:10; Amos 1:12; Amos 1:14; Amos 2:2; Amos 2:5). That day would set them ablaze in that the Lord would set them ablaze in that day. He would so thoroughly purge them that they would be entirely consumed, like a shrub thrown into a hot fire is totally burned up, from root to branch (a merism of totality). The judgment of wicked unbelievers is in view (cf. Matthew 25:46). Later revelation clarified the time of this judgment, namely, the end of the Millennium (Revelation 20:11-15). Because God would deal with the unsaved wicked so severely, His people needed to repent remembering that He will deal with all sinners severely.
▪ This verse gives no basis for the error of annihilationism. It describes physical death, not the state of the soul after death. The unsaved are in conscious eternal woe (Revelation 14:10-11; Revelation 20:11-15), as the saved are in conscious eternal bliss (Revelation 21:1-7)." [Note: The New Scofield Reference Bible, p. 982.]
v. 2: But for you who fear My name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings; and you will go forth and frolic like calves from the stall. - In contrast, the Israelites who feared Yahweh (Malachi 1:14; Malachi 3:5; Malachi 3:16-17) would experience a reign of righteousness compared here to sunshine (cf. Isaiah 60:1-3). The sun can blister, but it can also bless, and its blessing effect is in view here. The prophet evidently visualized the sunrays like the wings of a bird stretching over the earth. This righteous day would have a healing effect on the inhabitants of the earth, healing them, and the planet, from the harmful effects of past millennia of sin (cf. Isaiah 53:5).
▪ Some expositors have understood "the sun of righteousness" to be a messianic title, but it seems best to view it as a description of the day of blessing that Messiah will bring, the Millennium. The New Testament never referred to Jesus Christ as "the sun of righteousness." The figure of vigorous calves cavorting in open pasture after having been cooped up in a stall pictures the joy and freedom that the righteous will enjoy in that day (cf. Isaiah 65:17-25; Hosea 14:4-7; Amos 9:13-15; Zephaniah 3:19-20).
DONOVAN EXEGSIS-Mal. 4:1-2
NOTE: There are two systems for numbering the three verses following Malachi 3:18: Some translations follow the Septuagint (Greek language) tradition, which numbers these verses as 3:19-20; Others follow the Hebrew language tradition, which numbers these verses as 4:1-2.
CONTEXT: The Hebrew word mal'ak means " messenger"-similar to the Greek word angelos in the New Testament. We cannot know whether mal'ak in 1:1 is intended as a proper name, Malachi-or is simply means messenger. Scholars are divided on that matter.
▪ This book was written after the Jewish people returned from the Babylonian Exile and rebuilt the temple (1:10) but probably prior to the reforms of Ezra and Nehemiah.
▪ The book of Malachi was placed at the end of the Old Testament so that it would appear right before the book of Matthew. The book of Malachi says, "Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and terrible day of Yahweh comes" (4:5). The book of Matthew portrays John the Baptist as an Elijah-like prophet. Jesus says that John the Baptist was Elijah (Matthew 11:-13-14; 17:10-12).
▪ That section begins with a reminder by the Lord that the people have said, "It is vain to serve God;' and 'What profit is it that we have followed his instructions?" (3:14). They complained, "Now we call the proud happy; yes, those who work wickedness are built up; yes, they tempt God, and escape" (3:15).
▪ However, the Lord then remembers those who revered the Lord, promising, "They shall be mine," says Yahweh of Armies, "my own possession in the day that I make, and I will spare them, as a man spares his own son who serves him. Then you shall return and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him who serves God and him who doesn't serve him" (3:17-18).
▪ Those verses lead into our reading, which describes in more detail how the Lord will treat the wicked (v. 1) and the righteous (vv. 2-3).
MALACHI 4:1. ALL WHO WORK WICKEDNESS WILL BE STUBBLE
"For behold, the day is coming, burning like a furnace; and all the arrogant and every evildoer will be chaff; and the day that is coming will set them ablaze," says the LORD of armies, "so that it will leave them neither root nor branches.
"For, behold, the day comes" (v. 1a). The day in question is the Day of the Lord-an eschatological (end of time) event that will bring judgment to the guilty and deliverance to the faithful. There are numerous references in the prophets to the Day of the Lord (Isaiah 13:6, 9; Jeremiah 46:10; Ezekiel 13:5; 30:3; Joel 1:15; 2:1, 11, 31; 3:14; Amos 5:18, 20; Obadiah 1:15; Zephaniah 1:7, 14; Malachi 4:5). Most of these references emphasize God's wrath, but some (like this one) also include a note of vindication for the righteous.
"it burns as a furnace" (v. 1b). "Fire language is commonly used in connection with divine judgment and anger.... Destruction by fire is a type of covenant curse.... The phrase 'burn like a furnace' alludes to the hottest fires people in ancient times saw, the confined fires of the large beehive-shaped metal-working furnaces" (Stuart, 1386).
"and all the proud, and all who work wickedness, will be stubble" (v. 1c). People have been struggling with the problem of evil people prospering and good people suffering-a fact of life that goes counter to the traditional Deuteronomic theology that says that the good prosper and the bad suffer. As noted above, the people have complained, "Now we call the proud happy; yes, those who work wickedness are built up; yes, they tempt God, and escape" (3:15).
But God assures them that a new day is coming-a day when the Lord will right the wrongs-when evildoers "will be stubble"-when the Lord will annihilate evildoers, burning them up so that no remnant remains, "neither root nor branch."
This kind of imagery hearkens back to 3:1-2, where the Lord promised that the "messenger of the covenant" (3:1) would appear like a "refiner's fire, and like launderer's soap" (3:2). While the refiner's fire is intended to purify rather than to destroy, it is good news for the righteous and bad news for the unrighteous. A refiner refines metal by melting it over a hot fire. As metal melts, pure metal remains at the bottom while impurities float to the top to be drawn off and discarded. A visit to a metal refinery would be educational. Metal refineries are hot, dirty, dangerous places. The process by which metals are purified is uncomfortable at best and deadly at worst.
So it will be when the Lord comes. He will use fire to separate the pure from the impure so that the impure can be drawn off and cast aside. By this refining process, the Lord will remove the unrighteous people from the community and make the rest of his people worthy of his presence.
MALACHI 4:2a. YOU WHO FEAR MY NAME SHALL RISE
But for you who fear My name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings;
Those who fear the Lord's name will have a vastly different experience than evildoers. They will see the sun of righteousness rising. They will experience healing from its wings.
MALACHI 4:2b. YOU WILL GO OUT, AND LEAP LIKE CALVES
and you will go forth and frolic like calves from the stall.
These verses are not included in the lectionary reading, but they constitute the end of this disputation so the preacher needs to be aware of them.
"You will go out, and leap like calves of the stall" (v. 2b). Healthy calves tend to be frisky and playful. They are a joy to watch as they leap and run for the sheer pleasure of it. They inspire a bit of envy among those of us who are no longer so nimble or energetic. But God promises that those who fear the Lord's name will be nimble and energetic-frisky and playful. They will feel like happy children once again.
Mal. 3:1-7, 16-18; 4:1-2 Extra Commentary
Malachi 3:1 "Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts."
"My messenger" plays on the name of the prophet. It does not refer to a heavenly messenger. Neither does it refer to a spiritual being nor to the Angel of the Lord, but to an earthly messenger of the Lord, the same one called Elijah (in 4:5-6). This clause is quoted a number of times in the New Testament and is uniformly applied to John the Baptist, the only prophet besides Jesus who was the subject of prophecy.
Certainly, we know that John the Baptist was a messenger sent to proclaim the coming of the Lord.
It was a custom of the Near Eastern kings to send messengers before them to remove obstacles to their visit. Employing a wordplay on the name of Malachi, (the Lord's messenger), the Lord Himself announced He was sending one who would "clear the way before Me." This is the voice of one "calling" in the wilderness (Isaiah 40:3; and Elijah of 4:5), who comes before the Lord.
Luke 7:26-28 "But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? Yea, I say unto you, and much more than a prophet." "This is [he], of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee." "For I say unto you, Among those that are born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist: but he that is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he."
To come suddenly does not mean immediately, but instantaneously and unannounced. It usually refers to a calamitous event. When all the preparations are completed, the Lord will come, not to Zerubbabel's temple, nor in partial fulfillment to Herod's temple, but finally to that millennial temple which Ezekiel describes (in Ezekiel chapters 40 to 48). The unexpected coming of Christ, partially fulfilled at His first advent, will be accomplished in full at His second coming.
Jesus was brought to the temple on the 40th day to dedicate Him. Simeon and Anna, both old in years, recognized Jesus as the promised Messiah, when He was brought to the temple. Jesus was Emmanuel (God with us). He is the Mediator of the New Testament. John is the messenger to proclaim Jesus, and Jesus is the messenger to proclaim God.
"Messenger of the covenant": Probably not the messenger just mentioned. Rather, because this Messenger "will come to His temple," it is most likely a reference to the Lord Himself, the One who has the authority to reward or judge His people on the basis of their faithfulness to His covenant with them. The title may reflect earlier Old Testament references to His "angel," which is literally "messenger".
"In whom you delight": This is likely sarcastic. These sinful people were not delighting in God then, nor would they when He came in judgment on their hypocritical worship and cleansed the temple. All the ungodly will be destroyed at His return (Rev. 19:11).
Malachi 3:2 "But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he [is] like a refiner's fire, and like fullers' soap:"
The coming of Jesus (Messiah), at His physical birth did not bring peace. Families were separated, because
some believed He was Messiah, and others did not believe. This will have a greater fulfillment, when He comes as King and Lord.
The sheep will be separated from the goats at that time. The refiner's fire and the fullers soap both get rid of the dross. The Christians are tried as by fire, to see what they are made of. They are washed and made white as snow, when they receive the righteousness of Christ.
Instead of bringing rewards, His coming is likened to two purifying agents, fire to burn off dross and alkali to whiten, an indication of the true condition of their hearts. The fire will burn off the dross of iniquity; the soap will wash out the stain of sin. His coming will be one in which He removes all impurities. No one will escape this cleansing. Importantly, He will come purifying and cleansing, but not necessarily destroying.
Malachi 3:3 "And he shall sit [as] a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the LORD an offering in righteousness."
This is the fire that burns up all the dross, and leaves the pure silver (redeemed).
1 Corinthians 3:13 "Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is."
2 Timothy 2:20-21 "But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honor, and some to dishonor." "If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honor, sanctified, and meet for the master's use, [and] prepared unto every good work."
The fire of God takes out all of the evil, so the vessel will be pure.
Since the Levitical priests were instrumental in leading the nation astray and a new group of pure priests was required for the work of the millennial temple, the cleansing of the nation would begin with them. Then they can "present to the Lord" what is righteous as called for in the millennial sacrifices.
"Offering in righteousness:" Given from cleansed hearts in a right condition before God, their offerings will be "in righteousness." These millennial sacrifices will be a memorial for the redeemed nation of Israel, commemorating Christ's sacrifice at Calvary.
Malachi 3:4 "Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the LORD, as in the days of old, and as in former years."
Only after the priesthood is purged and when the people are cleansed, will they be able to offer what pleases the Lord as in the days of Solomon (2 Chronicles 7:8-10); Hezekiah (2 Chronicles 30:26); Josiah (2 Chronicles 35:18); and Ezra (Neh. 8:7).
After the sin is purged away, then God will accept their offerings from a pure heart.
Malachi 3:5 "And I will come near to you to judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against false swearers, and against those that oppress the hireling in [his] wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and that turn aside the stranger [from his right], and fear not me, saith the LORD of hosts."
What is a refining process for the remnant of repentant Jews who acknowledge their Messiah, preparing them to enter the kingdom and worship in the millennial temple, will be for others utter destruction. All the iniquitous behavior in the verse are evidence that these are people who "do not fear" God.
They had asked, "where is the judgment?" Now, He tells them, it will extend to all of the people, as well as to the priests. They had asked a question and here is the answer, "I will come near to you to judgment".
God judges His own family first. Then, He judges the sinful of this world. The sins, listed above, are those He really hates.
Notice, He starts with sorcerers. These were pertaining to magic and witchcraft. Many of these sins, they had learned from their heathen neighbors. The sins, listed here, are sins against God and their neighbors.
1 Corinthians 6:9-10 "Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind," "Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God."
There is no need to explain each sin. It is enough to know, that these sins will keep us out of heaven.
Verses 6-12: These verses form a parenthesis between two messages concerning God's justice and judgment. What the Jews have labeled as God's injustice is not God's being unrighteous or unfair, but His being mercifully patient. A genuine call of repentance is then issued (verse 7), and the fruit of it described (verse 10).
Malachi 3:6 "For I [am] the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed."
Contrary to God's having become unjust and thus not acting on behalf of Israel, in light of their history of rebellion, Israel's existence was due only to the Lord's unchanging character and unswerving commitment to His covenant promise with the patriarchs.
God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He never changes. The things that were a sin in the sight of God 2000 years ago are a sin now. The sons of Jacob are not consumed, because of God's covenant.
God not only is the same in judgment, He stays the same in the calling we have on our lives. When God calls you, He never changes His mind about wanting you for that purpose.
Malachi 3:7 "Even from the days of your fathers ye are gone away from mine ordinances, and have not kept [them]. Return unto me, and I will return unto you, saith the LORD of hosts. But ye said, Wherein shall we return?"
If you study the wilderness wanderings, you will discover how unfaithful they really have been. God has forgiven them over and over. The Ten Commandments that God spoke from the mountain to the people before Moses went to the mountain to get them engraved on stone, was spoken aloud to them all.
They broke the very first commandment, when they built the golden calf. God forgave them, and started them out again. It was their lack of faith that caused them to wander 40 years. They were disobedient, and God let the faithless die off, before He allowed their descendants to go into the Promised Land.
They may experience God's goodness again, and be blessed, if they repent. In view of the Lord's coming to refine and purify, Malachi presents a powerful challenge to repent.
Yet, apparently unwilling to admit the sins on their part needing repentance, the invitation to return is met with another cynical query, asking how they can return when, from their perspective, they haven't left, God has. The truth was God hasn't changed and neither have they; He was as righteous as ever and they as unrighteous.
I could give many more examples. Even in this lesson, God wants them to repent, and turn to Him. They are so calloused with sin, they are not even
Malachi 3:16 "Then they that feared the LORD spake often one to another: and the LORD hearkened, and heard [it], and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the LORD, and that thought upon his name."
Malachi ended with an encouraging word for the faithful remnant.
There was a group who feared and reverenced God. This did not go unnoticed. Those who remembered God will be remembered on judgment day, when they stand before the Lord. When He opens the books, He will say, "Well done, thy good and faithful servant".
In the hearts of the true and righteous worshipers who loved and served God in Israel, all the talk of judgment produced fear that they too, might be swept away when God's wrath came. To encourage the godly remnant, Malachi noted how the Lord had not forgotten those "who fear the Lord and who esteem His name."
The book may be a reference to the "book of life" in which the names of God's children are recorded. The Persians had a custom of recording in a book all acts of a person that should be rewarded in the future. The psalmist knew of such a book as well (Psalm 56:8).
Malachi 3:17 "And they shall be mine, saith the LORD of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him."
"Mine" is emphatic in the Hebrew. The godly remnant will belong to Him and will be His special treasure, or "possession". In the midst of judgment, He will spare them.
We Christians, have been bought and paid for by the precious blood of Jesus. We belong to Jesus. We have taken on the name of Christ (Christian).
Matthew 25:34 " Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:"
John 10:27-29 "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:" "And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any [man] pluck them out of my hand." "My Father, which gave [them] me, is greater than all; and no [man] is able to pluck [them] out of my Father's hand."
Malachi 3:18 "Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not."
The distinction between the godly and ungodly will be evident for all when the righteous Lord is present, ruling from the throne of David in Jerusalem.
Romans 6:16 "Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?"
The following Scripture tells what happens to the righteous (wheat), and what happens to the chaff (wicked).
Matthew 3:12 "Whose fan [is] in his hand, and he will thoroughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire."
Malachi 4:1 "For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch."
The first three verses continued the thought of the closing verses of the previous chapter, elaborating on God's punishment of the wicked and his deliverance of the godly. This eschatological reference to the day of the Lord is injected four times into the prophet's final words. It anticipated the return of the Lord Jesus in judgment.
Burning like an oven: Adding to the imagery of a refining fire, Malachi spoke of God's judgment as a destructive fire that swiftly and totally consumes with excessive heat, with the proud of (3:15). The destruction of the roots, normally protected by their subsurface location, provides a vivid, proverbial picture of its totality. All who refuse to repent will be cast into the fire of hell (Rev. 20:11-15).
This is speaking of that Day of Judgment on all the earth. God is associated with fire many times.
Hebrews 12:29 "For our God [is] a consuming fire." God judges with His fire. Sometimes, the fire is speaking from a spiritual nature, and sometimes, it is literal.
Matthew 13:30 "Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn."
God gives everyone ample time to turn from their sin. When they do not, He destroys them.
2 Peter 3:7 "But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men."
Malachi 4:2 "But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall."
"Sun of righteousness": While the wicked will be devoured by the heat of his wrath, those who fear him will feel his warmth with healing in his "light". The reference is to the Messiah, "The Lord our righteousness. Healing: The reference should not be limited to the physical recovery from the harm done by the wicked. This sickness is inextricably linked with sin, with healing coming only through the suffering of the Servant.
"Like calves of the stall". Calves, when confined to a stall for extended periods of time, leap for sheer joy when turned loose into the sunlight. The picture is one of a joyful, vigorous, and carefree life.
This is that great day of separation. This speaks of those who have put their faith and trust in Jesus, receiving their rewards. This is when the Sun of righteousness brings healing and warmth to those of His own. There will be no more sorrow. We will be filled with the Light of God at this time.
Luke 17:24 "For as the lightning, that lighteneth out of the one [part] under heaven, shineth unto the other [part] under heaven; so shall also the Son of man be in his day."
Revelation 11:18 "And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth."
Revelation 21:4 "And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away."
