Malachi 3:1-5

This is the God we serve:

8 “Remember this, fix it in mind, take it to heart, you rebels. 9 Remember the former things, those of long ago; I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me. 10 I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say: My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please.” Isaiah 46:8-10 (NIV) 

13 Then the LORD said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Will I really have a child, now that I am old?’ 14 Is anything too hard for the LORD? I will return to you at the appointed time next year and Sarah will have a son.” Genesis 18:13-14 (NIV) 

1 Then the LORD answered Job out of the storm. He said: 2 “Who is this that darkens my counsel with words without knowledge? 3 Brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer me. 4 Where were you when I laid the earth's foundation? Tell me, if you understand. 5 Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know! Who stretched a measuring line across it? 6 On what were its footings set, or who laid its cornerstone--7 while the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy?” Job 38:1-7 (NIV)

6 Then the LORD spoke to Job out of the storm: 7 “Brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer me. 8 Would you discredit my justice? Would you condemn me to justify yourself? 9 Do you have an arm like God's, and can your voice thunder like his? 10 Then adorn yourself with glory and splendor, and clothe yourself in honor and majesty.” Job 40:6-10 (NIV) 

10 See, the Sovereign LORD comes with power, and his arm rules for him. See, his reward is with him, and his recompense accompanies him. 11 He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young. 12 Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, or with the breadth of his hand marked off the heavens? Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket, or weighed the mountains on the scales and the hills in a balance? 13 Who has understood the mind of the LORD, or instructed him as his counselor? 14 Whom did the LORD consult to enlighten him, and who taught him the right way? Who was it that taught him knowledge or showed him the path of understanding? 15 Surely the nations are like a drop in a bucket; they are regarded as dust on the scales; he weighs the islands as though they were fine dust. 16 Lebanon is not sufficient for altar fires, nor its animals enough for burnt offerings. 17 Before him all the nations are as nothing; they are regarded by him as worthless and less than nothing. 18 To whom, then, will you compare God? What image will you compare him to? 19 As for an idol, a craftsman casts it, and a goldsmith overlays it with gold and fashions silver chains for it. 20 A man too poor to present such an offering selects wood that will not rot. He looks for a skilled craftsman to set up an idol that will not topple. 21 Do you not know? Have you not heard? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood since the earth was founded? 22 He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth, and its people are like grasshoppers. He stretches out the heavens like a canopy, and spreads them out like a tent to live in. 23 He brings princes to naught and reduces the rulers of this world to nothing. 24 No sooner are they planted, no sooner are they sown, no sooner do they take root in the ground, than he blows on them and they wither, and a whirlwind sweeps them away like chaff. 25 “To whom will you compare me? Or who is my equal?” says the Holy One. 26 Lift your eyes and look to the heavens: Who created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one, and calls them each by name. Because of his great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing. 27 Why do you say, O Jacob, and complain, O Israel, “My way is hidden from the LORD; my cause is disregarded by my God”? 28 Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. 29 He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. 30 Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; 31 but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. Isaiah 40:10-31 (NIV) 

MALACHI 3:1-5

1 “See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come,” says the LORD Almighty. 2 But who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiner's fire or a launderer's soap. 3 He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver. Then the LORD will have men who will bring offerings in righteousness, 4 and the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem will be acceptable to the LORD, as in days gone by, as in former years. 5 “So I will come near to you for judgment. 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 aliens of justice, but do not fear me,” says the LORD Almighty. Malachi 3:1-5 (NIV) 

At the ending of Chapter 2 the sneering skeptics had wearied the Lord by asking “Where is the God of justice?” To put it mildly they had lost their awe of God and had failed miserably to consider His majestic holiness and total otherness. By their words and their ways they equated themselves on His level of Omnipotence and Omniscience – BIG mistake! Sadly, oftentimes we find ourselves doing the same things do we not? We whine and complain and pray towards our own specific ends and like Sarah, take matters into our own hands, go our own ways and then He goes and upends everything and gets right out of that box we have so neatly put Him in – albeit He was never in that box the first place! I am reminded of His Words in Isaiah:

13 The Lord says: “These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is made up only of rules taught by men. 14 Therefore once more I will astound these people with wonder upon wonder; the wisdom of the wise will perish, the intelligence of the intelligent will vanish.” 15 Woe to those who go to great depths to hide their plans from the LORD, who do their work in darkness and think, “Who sees us? Who will know?” 16  You turn things upside down, as if the potter were thought to be like the clay! Shall what is formed say to him who formed it, “He did not make me”? Can the pot say of the potter, “He knows nothing”? Isaiah 29:13-16 (NIV) 

We would do well to remember:

9 For the eyes of the LORD range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him. 2 Chronicles 16:9 (NIV) 

Read: When God Does Not Draw Near – Marshall Segal (1)

Now Malachi delivers to his listeners God’s message - He would send a herald before His coming to prepare the way for the Lord. The people in Malachi’s day – as very often we are - were so clueless that they didn’t even know they needed preparing. I am reminded of Isaiah’s words in Chapter 40 regarding God’s messenger:

3 A voice of one calling: “In the desert prepare the way for the LORD; make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God. 4 Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain. 5 And the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all mankind together will see it. For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.” Isaiah 40:3-5 (NIV) 

Malachi foresaw the coming of John the Baptist, who founded his ministry on the glorious vision of the prophets. He was the last and the greatest of the old covenant prophets. He was given the unique privilege of ministering at the close of the old dispensation and at the beginning of the new, and it was John the Baptist who presented Jesus to Israel:

29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! 30 This is the one I meant when I said, ‘A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’ 31 I myself did not know him, but the reason I came baptizing with water was that he might be revealed to Israel.” John 1:29-31 (NIV)

Like Jeremiah and Ezekiel, John was born into a priestly family but was called of God to be a prophet. He was also a martyr, for he gave his life in the work God called him to do. There is simply no guess working here in regarding the messenger as all the Gospel writers point to him as being John the Baptist. Matthew tells us:   

1 In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the Desert of Judea and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.” 3 This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah: “A voice of one calling in the desert, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.’” Matthew 3:1-3 (NIV) 

But what preparation was necessary? How does the Baptist prepare the way for the coming of the Lord? The Jews believed that a person prepared for the Lord’s arrival with one’s own body. That is, an individual removed distractions or impediments that would hinder holiness and in turn, hinder intimacy with God. It is the same today. When we seek to draw near to Him we must turn from other distractions – as loud as they may be - as well as continually purge our iniquities through the blood of Jesus in repentance. And we receive grace giving way to grace. Don’t miss out on these blessings ladies! We are the losers when we do!

Read: Do You Refuse To Be Blessed? Marshall Segal (2)    

The Essene sect – also known as the Qumran community, typified this process. They were scribes who set themselves apart by living in the desert and taking care to preserve God’s Word. They meticulously saved the Scriptures in clay pots buried in the desert. This is where the scrolls of Isaiah were found between 1946 and 1956 at the site known as Wadi Qumran near the Dead Sea in the West Bank (of the Jordan River). 

Many scholars suggest that the Baptist was an Essene as there were a number of similarities between the Essenes and John. First, like the Essenes, John the Baptist separated himself from the rest of society by living and preaching in the wilderness which was a barren desert. Living in these difficult and impoverished conditions demonstrated that John, like the Essenes, did not cling to the things of this world. Rather, he focused on preparing the way for the coming of the Lord. Secondly, the Essenes were known for their ritual baptisms. To maintain their cleanliness and, therefore, their ritual holiness before the Lord, the Essenes baptized themselves in a mikvaot, a purification bath, which was necessary for the induction of a new member.  

While there are some similarities there are a number of differences we should also address: Although John segregated himself from society, he eventually emerged from the desert. The Essenes, on the other hand, remained in the desert until the Roman military massacred them in AD 68. Also, John baptized people once, in response to their repentance. In this way, he prepared the way of the Lord. The Essenes, on the other hand baptized themselves continuously – at least three times a day. Lastly, and more importantly, the Baptist recognized Jesus as the Messiah, whereas the Essene community overlooked Jesus and continued to wait for the coming of their “Teacher of Righteousness”. 

The “messenger of the covenant” is the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. His entry into the temple precincts during the week of His passion is the fulfillment of this prophecy. The Baptist prepares the way of the Lord by summoning the people of Israel to repentance. With the scene set, God, in the form of man, enters His temple and evaluates His people. The word “suddenly” here does not mean quickly rather it refers to the way that He will come - at a moment when the Israelites would least expect it. The Jews were going through the routine in the temple of exchanging money. The merchants are corrupt, but perhaps of even more consequence, they are meeting in the court of the Gentiles and thereby keeping foreigners from worshiping the Lord of all. Suddenly, Jesus, with whip in hand, overturns the tables and says, “It is written, My house will be called a house of prayer. But you are making it into a den of thieves.” What is Jesus actually saying here? At least in part He’s communicating, “This is my Father’s house and I’m claiming ownership of it. The warning has been given. What you see is a foreshadowing of the cleansing that is on the horizon. Although the people had heard the words of Malachi, sadly, they did not heed them. It reminds me of Paul’s words to the believers in 1 Corinthians:

19 Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 (NIV)

Our bodies are His temples and we belong to Him.  

God both proclaims the message and purifies His people. Jesus came first to redeem, He will come the second time to refine. He came first to bring grace, not government; He came as the One who is the Savior, not the Sovereign. God is gracious. His desire is to save. John tells us:

16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” John 3:16-17 (NIV)

Yet, God has made it clear that the Son will judge all mankind. He will execute justice and judgment on this earth. If we will not have Him as our Savior, we will have Him as our Judge. John tells us:

22 Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son. John 5:22 (NIV) 

Four centuries of divine silence had come and gone, and after generations of violence the people had finally settled down to a comfortable religious routine in which traditions carried more weight than Truth. Smug Pharisees rubbed shoulders with aristocratic liberal Sadducees; Herodians preached rebellion against Rome; Essenes fasted in the deserts. People gave lip service to feast days and fast days. Rich Jews from the diaspora made annual pilgrimages to Jerusalem so they could scrub their souls and see the sights.
 
The loud and forceful voice of the Baptist stirred the hearts of many, but the religious elite wrote him off as a fanatic. Here and there a godly Simeon or Anna would appear watching and waiting for the coming of the Christ, and John the Baptist caused some excitement by pointing out a village carpenter as the Messiah. But the God-Man made no move. Weeks passed and He was forgotten. Then one day He strode into the temple. Driving out merchants, upsetting the tables of the money-changers and castigating them for turning His Father’s House into a den of thieves.  

I can’t help but compare them to ourselves. We have settled down to a comfortable religious routine oftentimes where tradition one ups Truth. We often fall into a daily pattern of life which consists of little thought towards being alert or self-controlled regarding our Lord’s inevitable return which Scripture states will come upon us like a thief on the night:

1 Now, brothers, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, 2 for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. 3 While people are saying, "Peace and safety," destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. 4 But you, brothers, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief. 5 You are all sons of the light and sons of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness. 6 So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be alert and self-controlled. 1 Thessalonians 5:1-6 (NIV)

The Messiah’s second coming will be sudden and unexpected, and its purpose will be the judging of sinners and the establishing of His kingdom on earth. Jesus tells us in Matthew:

36 “No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 37 As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 38 For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; 39 and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 40 Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. 41 Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left. 42 Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. 43 But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. 44 So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.

45 Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time? 46 It will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns. 47 I tell you the truth, he will put him in charge of all his possessions. 48 But suppose that servant is wicked and says to himself, ‘My master is staying away a long time,’ 49 and he then begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with drunkards. 50 The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. 51 He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” Matthew 24:36-51 (NIV) 

Read: The Reality Of Hell Michael Youssef (3)

The first prophecy refers to our Lord’s first coming in grace and mercy, but this prophecy speaks of His second coming in judgment. When He comes, He will prove that God is just by purifying His people and judging rebellious sinners. Jesus Christ being the “Messenger of the Covenant” fulfilled all the demands of the covenant in His life, suffered the penalties in His death, and rose from the dead to usher in a new covenant of grace. All the covenants in Old Testament history unite in pointing to Jesus Christ and His marvelous work of redemption. 

Malachi assures the people that the Messiah brings with Him the refiner’s fire. What is a refiner’s fire? It is a fire used to refine precious metals. Gold, silver, copper, and other metals are heated until they liquefy. The dross or impurities float to the top where the refiner can skim them off. Once the process is complete, the metal is free of impurities and the refiner can see his reflection. The metal is of greater worth and usefulness when refined as are we.  

For Christians there are two forms of purification. The first takes place while we are on earth. Did you know that God’s divine instrument for molding and making us into the image of His Son is pain and suffering? He disciplines those whom He loves. Hebrews tells us:

5 And you have forgotten that word of encouragement that addresses you as sons: “My son, do not make light of the Lord's discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, 6 because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son.” 7 Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? 8 If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons. 9 Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! 10 Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. 11 No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. Hebrews 12:5-11 (NIV)

We are being purged here on earth from impurities as God conforms us into the image of His Son, but we will finally be purified at the mercy seat. Every believer will experience testing, as through fire, before glorification. We know that Malachi refers to the second coming of Christ because it is judgment that is in view here. He intends to purify, and He intends to clean – ridding us of all pollution. Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians:

10 By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds. 11 For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, 13 his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man's work. 14 If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. 15  If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames. 1 Corinthians 3:10-15 (NIV)
 
Only that which glorifies our Lord will stand the test of divine fire. The sin nature with which we have been cursed will be destroyed and we will be conformed to the image of Christ. He will make us into living sacrifices acceptable to the Lord.

It is therefore so important for us to daily examine the landscape of our spiritual lives. Scripture consistently reminds readers to examine themselves. Examination of works today is better than elimination of blessings tomorrow. It does us well to remember that the goal of God is to conform us into the image of His Son. It is not to make us happy. It is not to keep us healthy. It is not to make us wealthy. It is to conform us into the image of His Son:

28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. 29 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30 And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified. Romans 8:28-30 (NIV) 

God will come near to us to judge us. He is the only One who can be trusted to act as an honest and discerning witness of the transgressions of His people. The list of sins mentioned in verse 5 are all contrary to God’s law. He is charging the nation for participating in four prohibited acts, each of which stems from not fearing the Lord: sorcery, adultery, lying, and oppressing vulnerable members of society. 

Sorcery refers to when the people look to other places, whether to foreign gods or simple magic, for power and might. The people desire something or someone other than God, which exposes their ack of fear toward him. Like sorcery, both adultery and lying were explicitly prohibited in the Ten Commandments. The covenant people, marked by the fear of the Lord, were to remain faithful to their partner and honest before God. In these sins, the people’s hearts were revealed.

By oppressing the most vulnerable in society, Israel betrayed that they had forgotten their history. Throughout the Old Testament, God reminded Israel to care for the helpless because Israel had been a helpless nation in Egypt, yet the Lord set His heart to care for her:

21 “Do not mistreat an alien or oppress him, for you were aliens in Egypt.” Exodus 22:21 (NIV) 

In oppressing the weak, the Israelites displayed conscious amnesia of the grace the Lord had extended to them.

You see, the fear of the Lord preserves us for the Day of Judgment. It teaches us to live in light of God’s grace and mercy. Without this proper fear, we are prone to forget the radical nature of the good news of the gospel and to wander from our covenant God. “Prone to wander, Lord I feel it, prone to leave the God I love. Take my heart Lord, take and seal it seal it for thy courts above” as the song Come Thy Fount Of Every Blessing states.   

The good news of Malachi 3:1-5 is that there was a “Messenger of the Covenant” who would come. He upheld the covenant between God and Israel in His life, and He sealed the covenant in His blood at the cross. Every time Christians take the Lord’s Supper they proclaim that the messenger has come and He will come again. We look back at His faithfulness, resting in the promise of His grace. In the courtroom of heaven, Jesus’ blood will be our plea. And by His power, looking forward to His return, we live with a reverential fear of the Lord, doing good works which will be tested and approved by fire, fully pleasing to God just as our King Jesus.

These are Beth’s personal notes, due to this fact sources are not often stated.