Malachi 4:1-3

As believers in sweet Jesus, all of our hopes and security – past, present and future, are built on the Rock of Christ. In Psalms 18 King David multiplied metaphor after metaphor to describe all that the Lord was and had been and was going to be to him. He expressed his love for the Lord who had shown him mercy throughout his many struggles. He described the Lord as a Rock because He provided stability and security for him. David also compared God to a fortress. “Rock” and “fortress” picture a high place of refuge and defense to which one might flee for protection. To take refuge in the Lord is far better than hiding in a man-made fortress or even behind a huge rock. David also compared God to a shield and a stronghold, both military terms suggesting protection and deliverance from his enemies. As the Horn of his salvation God gave him strength. Animal horns were symbols of great strength. Because the Lord had defended and delivered David from all his enemies, He was worthy of David’s praise. He writes:

1 I love you, O LORD, my strength. 2 The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. Psalm 18:1-2 (NIV)

Jesus echoes King David’s sentiments at the end of the Sermon On The Mount:

24 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. 26 But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.” 28 When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, 29 because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law. Matthew 7:24-29 (NIV) 

MALACHI 4:1-3

1 “Surely the day is coming; it will burn like a furnace. All the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble, and that day that is coming will set them on fire,” says the LORD Almighty. “Not a root or a branch will be left to them. 2 But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings. And you will go out and leap like calves released from the stall. 3 Then you will trample down the wicked; they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day when I do these things,” says the LORD Almighty. 

Surely, the day of the Lord is going to come! Indeed, we can take that to the bank so to speak! In this world of sin, the wicked often triumph over the righteous, but in the coming doom there will be a complete reversal. It will be a fierce day of judgment for unbelievers in Christ Jesus. But for believers, Jesus is both a source of our comfort and an assurance of our salvation. Like King David stated: “He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.” Yet, for those who are far from God, Jesus will be the basis for judgment and condemnation. The book of Malachi concludes with God the Judge rewarding the righteous yet punishing the unrighteous which substantiates that He always fulfills his promises - always. Scripture states God is faithful to His promises – not one little word will fail:

14 “Now I am about to go the way of all the earth. You know with all your heart and soul that not one of all the good promises the LORD your God gave you has failed. Every promise has been fulfilled; not one has failed.” Joshua 23:14 (NIV) 

56 “Praise be to the LORD, who has given rest to his people Israel just as he promised. Not one word has failed of all the good promises he gave through his servant Moses.” 1 Kings 8:56 (NIV) 

13 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures through all generations. The LORD is faithful to all his promises and loving toward all he has made. Psalm 145:13 (NIV) 

17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.” Matthew 5:17-18 (NIV)

20 For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God. 2 Corinthians 1:20 (NIV)

To be sure, as we have seen, God will fulfill all His promises. He will either bestow blessings for obedience or on the other hand, He will fulfill His promises of consequences for disobedience. Malachi here begins by elaborating on the day of the Lord. As we have seen earlier in verses 3:2:

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. Malachi 3:2 (NIV)

The judgment on that fateful day is described as a judgment of fire. The fact that it will burn like a furnace stresses not only its intensity but also its judgmental purpose; it is not a fire that will burn out of control and, we are told, it will burn like a furnace. By God’s own mouth He states that He intends to cleanse and purify, and not coddle. 

King David also wrote of this in Psalms 18:

7 The earth trembled and quaked, and the foundations of the mountains shook; they trembled because he was angry. 8 Smoke rose from his nostrils; consuming fire came from his mouth, burning coals blazed out of it. 9 He parted the heavens and came down; dark clouds were under his feet. Psalm 18:7-9 (NIV)

God states this will happen and all the arrogant and the evildoers burn like straw. The word “arrogant” used here is synonymous with “prideful.” It means haughty and proud, carrying the idea of swelling up, becoming inflated with pride. God hates pride. Scripture tells us:

16  There are six things the LORD hates, seven that are detestable to him: 17 haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, 18 a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, 19 a false witness who pours out lies and a man who stirs up dissension among brothers. Proverbs 6:16-19 (NIV)

Pride may run rampant now, but there will come a day when all well be humbled on level ground. You can be certain of this. Peter tells us:

3 First of all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. 4 They will say, “Where is this ‘coming’ he promised? Ever since our fathers died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.” 5 But they deliberately forget that long ago by God’s word the heavens existed and the earth was formed out of water and by water. 6 By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed. 7 By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men. 2 Peter 3:3-7 (NIV) 

Joshua echoes Peter’s words as well for those who violate God’s covenant:

15 “But just as every good promise of the LORD your God has come true, so the LORD will bring on you all the evil he has threatened, until he has destroyed you from this good land he has given you. 16 If you violate the covenant of the LORD your God, which he commanded you, and go and serve other gods and bow down to them, the LORD's anger will burn against you, and you will quickly perish from the good land he has given you.” Joshua 23:15-16 (NIV) 

Just as we studied earlier in Malachi, God does not change – He is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow:

6 “I the LORD do not change.” Malachi 3:6 (NIV)

Read: City Aflame – November 2 – Robert Morgan’s On This Day (1) – Gives us a glimmer in miniature of what the end of the world will look like.

God warns all people “Surely the day is coming.” Beware, beware, red flag, red flag!!! Why will you die in your sins? God pleads to us through the pen of Ezekiel when he states:

30 “Therefore, O house of Israel, I will judge you, each one according to his ways, declares the Sovereign LORD. Repent! Turn away from all your offenses; then sin will not be your downfall. 31 Rid yourselves of all the offenses you have committed, and get a new heart and a new spirit. Why will you die, O house of Israel? 32 For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign LORD. Repent and live!” Ezekiel 18:30-32 (NIV)

It is God’s desire that none perish but all to come to repentance yet sadly many will not choose to turn to Him and be saved:

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)
 
Paul also tells us in 2 Thessalonians tragically how many will respond in refusal to the love of God. They refused to love His Truth and so be saved:

9 The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with the work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders, 10 and in every sort of evil that deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. 2 Thessalonians 2:9-10 (NIV) 

Yet despite this warning, this day will come as in Noah’s day – quickly, abruptly and with finality and take many by surprise. 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.” Matthew 24:36-42 (NIV) 

This “Day of the Lord” when God will punish all evildoers – those not resting in Christ’s righteousness - will be burned up the way fire engulfs stubble. It will be a real day, a terrible day, a day of wrath against the wicked. Just as in the days of Noah, life was going on as usual and then the flood suddenly occurred. Sweetly, over and over in Scripture, God keeps reminding His sinful people about that coming day. He gives warning after warning after warning. The righteous will be rescued in the coming day of judgment but all evildoers will perish – those who do not stand in the righteousness of Christ. The Old Testament Prophet Joel prophesizes of this as well along with Amos, Obadiah and Zephaniah: 

Joel:

15 Alas for that day! For the day of the LORD is near; it will come like destruction from the Almighty. Joel 1:15 (NIV)

1 Blow the trumpet in Zion; sound the alarm on my holy hill. Let all who live in the land tremble, for the day of the LORD is coming. It is close at hand-- Joel 2:1 (NIV)
 
11 The LORD thunders at the head of his army; his forces are beyond number, and mighty are those who obey his command. The day of the LORD is great; it is dreadful. Who can endure it? Joel 2:11 (NIV)

31 The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD. Joel 2:31 (NIV)

14 Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision. 15 The sun and moon will be darkened, and the stars no longer shine. 16 The LORD will roar from Zion and thunder from Jerusalem; the earth and the sky will tremble. But the LORD will be a refuge for his people, a stronghold for the people of Israel. Joel 3:14-16 (NIV)

Zephaniah tells us:

14 “The great day of the LORD is near-- near and coming quickly. Listen! The cry on the day of the LORD will be bitter, the shouting of the warrior there. 15 That day will be a day of wrath, a day of distress and anguish, a day of trouble and ruin, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and blackness, 16 a day of trumpet and battle cry against the fortified cities and against the corner towers. 17 I will bring distress on the people and they will walk like blind men, because they have sinned against the LORD. Their blood will be poured out like dust and their entrails like filth. 18 Neither their silver nor their gold will be able to save them on the day of the LORD's wrath. In the fire of his jealousy the whole world will be consumed, for he will make a sudden end of all who live in the earth.” Zephaniah 1:14-18 (NIV)

Read: Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening – November 1 (Evening) – Page 613 (2).

A day is fast approaching when God will restore all things, for nothing can get past Him who sees everything. In the meantime, as believers in the Lord Jesus, we must proclaim the gospel to a lost world. Christians are entrusted with the “secret things of God,” namely the gospel message. It is a responsibility for which believers are held accountable and we are to be faithful in this pursuit.  

1 So then, men ought to regard us as servants of Christ and as those entrusted with the secret things of God. 2 Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful. 1 Corinthians 4:1-2 (NIV) 

By virtue of the Great Commission to “Go and make disciples of all nations”, we are to be, as Apostle Paul states he was, ministers of reconciliation. He writes in 2 Corinthians:

14 For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. 15 And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again. 16 So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! 18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 20 We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. 21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. 1 As God’s fellow workers we urge you not to receive God’s grace in vain. 2 For he says, “In the time of my favor I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you.” I tell you, now is the time of God's favor, now is the day of salvation. 2 Corinthians 5:14-21 - 2 Corinthians 6:1-2 (NIV) 

“There is only one rescuer I know,” I told Sonia and the rest of the women, “with the power to free us from the darkest prison. That rescuer is the God I love, who loves us so much he left everything to come for us, to free us. He is the one who made us, each of us, for a unique purpose and a magnificent destiny. He makes right what the world makes wrong. His plans are for good, not for evil. His ways are straight and merciful. He came to give me a hope and a future — and to give you one too. His promises are true. His love is full of forgiveness and peace, joy and kindness, grace. He is the true rescuer. He saves us from any prison, whether physical or emotional or spiritual, the ones we’re forced into and the ones we fall into on our own. He chooses us. He can make all things new. He loves us without condition, unrelentingly, forever. He loves us broken, and he loves making us whole again. And he asks those of us who love him to love others the same way. To choose them. To be agents of his hope, his forgiveness, his grace. He asks us to join him in rescuing others. “That’s why I’m here,” I said. “That’s why I’ve come……………“If what you are telling me is true,” she yelled, “if what you say about your God is true — then where were you? Where have you been? Why didn’t you come sooner? Why didn’t you come sooner? I would not offer excuses…” From Undaunted_ _by Christine Caine

“Oh! that I had a trumpet voice to warn you. Oh! while you are dying, while you are sinking into perdition, may I not cry to you; may not these eyes weep for you! Take to heart, I beseech you, the realities of eternity. Oh, turn, turn! Why will you die? Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and ye shall be saved.” Charles H. Spurgeon

To be sure, we should be longing and looking for that day, for it is promised to us. This longing consumed the first-century apostles. They had an intense anticipation as if Jesus could come back at any moment. They were looking towards heaven whereas we often find ourselves seeking to make earth our heaven which, of course, it will never be. We are not to let the gap between Christ’s first and second coming overshadow the significance or imminence of His certain return.     

5 Wait till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men's hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God. 1 Corinthians 4:5 (NIV)

“The fundamental problem in the evangelical world is not inadequate technique, insufficient organization or antiquated music, and those who want to squander the Church’s resources bandaging these scratches will do nothing to stanch the flow of blood spilling from its true wounds. The fundamental problem in the evangelical world today is that God rests too inconsequentially upon the Church. His truth is too distant, His grace is too ordinary, His judgment is too benign, His Gospel is too easy and His Christ is too common.” David Wells

“I owe my conversion to Christ to an unknown person, who certainly was no minister in the ordinary acceptation of the term; but who could say this much, ‘Look unto Christ and be saved, all ye ends of the earth.’” Charles H. Spurgeon

“The Church as the body of Christ, as Christ living in the world, has a larger task than to support, nurture, and guide its own members. It is also called to be a witness for the love of God made visible in Jesus. Before his death Jesus prayed for his followers, ‘As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world’ (John 17:18). Part of the essence of being the Church is being a living witness for Christ in the world.” Henri Nouwen

Read: Desiring God article “Lord, Help Me See Their Destiny Four Prayers For Personal Evangelism” by Pastor Garrett Kell (3)

Read: Donna Evans’ Bible Bits on how the church should engage the culture (4).

We know that Christ has already come and that He is coming again. The question each one of us must ask ourselves is, “Am I prepared for His second coming?” In light of this, Peter tells us how we are to live our lives:

11 Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives 12 as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. 13 But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness. 14 So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him. 15 Bear in mind that our Lord's patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him. 2 Peter 3:11-15 (NIV) 

Paul adds in 1 Corinthians:

58 Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. 1 Corinthians 15:58 (NIV) 

In verse two we discover good news coming for believers and it is some very good news indeed! Malachi tells us:

2 But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings. And you will go out and leap like calves released from the stall. Malachi 4:2 (NIV) 

Those who fear the Lord’s name are the ones whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life or the book of remembrance. The “sun of righteousness will rise” conveys images of the brilliant morning sun projecting rays and providing warmth and comfort to those privileged to find solace under it. 
Reminiscent of the father of John the Baptist, Zechariah’s words in Luke:

76 “And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High; for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him, 77 to give his people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins, 78 because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven 79 to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace.” Luke 1:76-79 (NIV)

Malachi states the sun of righteousness will appear with healing in its wings (garments); that is, His arrival will be associated with the healing and restoring of His people. The sun of righteousness, God Himself, will possess healing in His wings. It was assumed in ancient Israel that the hem of the garment of righteous men contained healing properties. Remember the thought process of the woman in Jesus’ day with the issue of blood who believed if she could merely touch the hem of His garment and she would be healed? We see in Scripture she had the right thinking:

20 Just then a woman who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak. 21 She said to herself, “If I only touch his cloak, I will be healed.” 22 Jesus turned and saw her. “Take heart, daughter,” he said, “your faith has healed you.” And the woman was healed from that moment. Matthew 9:20-22 (NIV)

Yet this healing that Malachi refers to in this passage is not merely physical healing, but a spiritual restoration from sin and from separation from the Lord. Therefore, this sun of righteousness will come with jubilation and celebration. When He comes, “you will go out and playfully jump like calves from the stall.” The Israelites would take the calves in the winter and put them in stalls, and they would be locked up all winter long. We can only imagine the calves’ excitement the moment the stalls were opened and they were freed. Malachi says that the excitement of God’s people over His coming will resemble this jubilation.    

On that great day God will make the righteous victorious over their enemies by enabling them to trample the wicked under their feet. When believers by faith overcome the world as stated in 1 John 5:4:

3 This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, 4 for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. 1 John 5:3-4 (NIV)

when they suppress their own corrupt appetites and passions, when the God of peace bruises Satan under the feet of the righteous as stated in Romans 16:20, 20 The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you. Romans 16:20 (NIV)

Then they tread down the wicked. The saints’ triumphs are all because of God’s victories; it is not they who do this, but God who does it for them and through them.
  
Come Lord Jesus! 

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