Malachi 4:4-6

4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. 5 Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads.
9 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates. 10 When the LORD your God brings you into the land he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give you--a land with large, flourishing cities you did not build, 11 houses filled with all kinds of good things you did not provide, wells you did not dig, and vineyards and olive groves you did not plant--then when you eat and are satisfied, 12 be careful that you do not forget the LORD, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. Deuteronomy 6:4-12 (NIV)

16 Be careful, or you will be enticed to turn away and worship other gods and bow down to them. 17 Then the LORD's anger will burn against you, and he will shut the heavens so that it will not rain and the ground will yield no produce, and you will soon perish from the good land the LORD is giving you. 18 Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 19 Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 20 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates, 21 so that your days and the days of your children may be many in the land that the LORD swore to give your forefathers, as many as the days that the heavens are above the earth. Deuteronomy 11:16-21 (NIV)

29 Jesus replied, “You are in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God. 30 At the resurrection people will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven. 31 But about the resurrection of the dead--have you not read what God said to you, 32 ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not the God of the dead but of the living.”  Matthew 22:29-32 (NIV)

1 On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. 2 They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 3 but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. 5 In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? 6 He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: 7 ‘The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’” 8 Then they remembered his words. Luke 24:1-8 (NIV)

MALACHI 4:4-6

4 “Remember the law of my servant Moses, the decrees and laws I gave him at Horeb for all Israel. 5 See, I will send you the prophet Elijah before that great and dreadful day of the LORD comes. 6 He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers; or else I will come and strike the land with a curse.” Malachi 4:4-6 (NIV) 

Remember, remember, remember as we are so “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.” Flawed flesh is so prone to forgetfulness, amen? God knows how apt we are to wander away from Him and His Word. Indeed, God’s call to remembrance is perfectly consistent with what He has instructed His people to do from the very beginning! Also, it is interesting to note, that Israel was always prohibited from separating the idea of following God from the idea of following God’s flawless Law. They are one and the same. This is just as true for us on this side of the cross. Jesus affirmed this in Matthew:

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) 

Throughout His Word, particularly in the Old Testament, God has given us a road map for success – not to worldly riches and fame, but a road map to pleasing Him and living the abundant life – which, btw, is what we all long for, though we may not necessarily or readily realize it. We are not only to meditate upon His Word but we are also commanded to do it! Hearing and heeding is the key to this so great an endeavor of life to the full. Scripture tells us:  

6 “Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their forefathers to give them. 7 Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. 8 Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:6-9 (NIV) 

1 Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. 2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. 3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers. Psalm 1:1-3 (NIV) 

2 “‘Has not my hand made all these things, and so they came into being?’ declares the LORD. ‘This is the one I esteem: he who is humble and contrite in spirit, and trembles at my word.’” Isaiah 66:2 (NIV)

10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. John 10:10 (NIV) 
 
Sadly, we often resemble the Israelites as when God speaks through the Prophet Jeremiah:

16 This is what the LORD says: “Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls. But you said, ‘We will not walk in it.’ 17 I appointed watchmen over you and said, ‘Listen to the sound of the trumpet!’ But you said, ‘We will not listen.’” Jeremiah 6:16-17 (NIV) 

Oh Lord, please keep us from being so obstinate and hard headed – seeking always to think we know what is best for our lives over what is God’s best. This is particularly true when things are going swimmingly well and we become so fat and sassy and lax about our relationship with Him. We often begin to take matters into our own hands – ourselves and others being our first resort not the Lord. We end up depending upon the created rather than the Creator of all things. Now how dumb is that? This, of course, gets us nowhere fast. More often than not, we don’t begin to cry out or to turn to Him until circumstances occur that are not of our choosing. It is then we begin to question whether God really loves us or even cares about us. We belly ache and cry and wonder why He is not blessing – not too dissimilar to the Israelites in Malachi’s day. Therefore, over and over in Scripture God calls us to continually remember. To look up. To seek His face. To dwell on what He has done in the past – how He has provided, how He has led and guided. How He has loved and cared for us carrying us on eagle’s wings and keeping us standing. To meditate on His precepts and consider His ways. Knowing that if He was faithful then, He will be faithful now. As we have already learned by the Prophet Malachi:

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

“It is impossible for that man to despair who remembers that his Helper is omnipotent.” Jeremy Taylor

“So if you find yourself in a difficult spot, remember: you are there by God’s appointment, in His keeping, under His training, and for His time. And all evidence to the contrary, there’s no better place to be.” Robert J. Morgan

Read: Michael Youssef’s Faithful in Our Wandering (1) and Michael Youssef’s Faithful In Your Story (2)

God desired that His inspired written Word would prove to be the anchor for the soul of the Israelite nation when tempests came and the angry billows rolled. He desires that for us as well. Remember what Paul writes in 2 Timothy:

16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 (NIV)

God, Who controls all things, has a wonderful plan for our lives and it is a plan not to harm us but to give us a hope and a future. It is a good and pleasing and perfect plan but that does not mean that it is not hard and difficult – amen? Indeed, it can be quite oxymoronic at times in that it is a sweet blend of easy and hard, comfort and discomfort, health and sickness, wealth and poverty, friendships and friendless, fame and anonymity, life and death and on and on the list goes. After our salvation, His agenda in what He allows in the lives of His children is to lovingly conform us into the image of His Son – whatever that takes. 

We are all so different. It is not too dissimilar in raising our own children. They are all different and each is to be raised according to their own bents – instruction given in accordance to what is proper for them. As Proverbs states:

6 Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it. Proverbs 22:6 (NIV) 

That is why it is so uber important to know our children well. Our Father God Who knows each of His children precisely and pristinely in every aspect has a plan for each one of us and they are all differing albeit the outcome is toward the same end goal – to be like Christ in all His abundance of love and joy and peace and patience and kindness and goodness and faithfulness and gentleness and self-control. We must learn NOT to “kick against the goads” of God’s best for our lives and quit complaining when our circumstances are not of our choosing. We are to train our hearts and our eyes to look for the beauty in the ash, for the patches of God light in the forest of darkness we may be presently walking in. His way is good, His way is what we want, whatever road He may take us down. He will always give us sufficient grace to meet our every need – always. All else will be found wanting and as Solomon states: “Vanity, Vanity.” This is a message for all times.  

“God wants us to reconnect with the powerful and timeless things He has done in the past, enabling us to build on them rather than always starting over. He not only desires that we be encouraged by remembering His past faithfulness, but also to realize that the promises and anointings released during those seasons are still available today.”  Dutch Sheets

Read: The Sweetest Words For The Deepest Wounds – Marshall Segal (3)

Read: God knows What You Don’t Have – Abigail Dodds (4)

“Remember Whose you are and Whom you serve.”  Oswald Chambers 
Next, in Verses Five and Six, Malachi looks forward in hope anticipating Israel’s restoration. The prophet had announced in Malachi 3:1 that the forerunner to the Messiah would come:

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. Malachi 3:1 (NIV)

We know that the forerunner here he speaks of for Jesus’ first advent is John the Baptist who came in the spirit of Elijah to call the nation back to God. The nation responded by murdering John and crucifying Christ. But he says here in Verses 5 and 6 that there would be yet another person, another forerunner, to come before the dreadful Day of the Lord. We do not know exactly who this will be. Scripture states Elijah which is possible or a symbolic one which is also possible. Scripture also states this “Elijah” will come before the Great Tribulation. We also know that according to Revelation 11 there will be two witnesses armed with miraculous powers to smite the earth with plague and judgment during the Great Tribulation. Many think these two witnesses will be Elijah and Moses. Their actions stated in Revelation 11 are reminiscent of their actions when they walked on this earth. Both Moses and Elijah appeared with Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration. We are told in Revelation:

3 And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth. 4 These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth. 5 If anyone tries to harm them, fire comes from their mouths and devours their enemies. This is how anyone who wants to harm them must die. 6 These men have power to shut up the sky so that it will not rain during the time they are prophesying; and they have power to turn the waters into blood and to strike the earth with every kind of plague as often as they want. Revelation 11:3-6 (NIV) 

“Numerous and varied interpretations have been given concerning the two witnesses. Some have suggested that they are not literal individuals. However, in view of the fact that they die and are resurrected, the implication is that they are actual people. Another problem is their identification. A common interpretation is that they are Moses and Elijah because the judgments inflicted by Moses and Elijah in the Old Testament are similar to those of these two witnesses (11:5-6). Further support is given the identification of Elijah because of the prediction (Malachi 4:5) that he will appear ‘before that great and dreadful day of the Lord comes.’ Christ said this prophecy of Elijah was partially fulfilled in His lifetime (Matthew 17:10-13; Mark 9:11-13; cf. Luke 1:17). And both Moses and Elijah were involved in the transfiguration (Matthew 17:3), which anticipated the Second Coming. But a problem with this suggested identity is that Moses had already died once. Some have identified the two witnesses as Enoch and Elijah inasmuch as they did not die but were translated (cf. Hebrews 9:27). While there is room for considerable discussion of these various views, the fact is that the passage does not identify the two witnesses.” The Bible Knowledge Commentary

We also know this forerunner which Malachi mentions cannot ultimately be John the Baptist because this day of which he attests to ends with the fathers turning their hearts to their children and children turning their hearts to their fathers. If this prophecy was completely fulfilled in John, we might ask why Jesus was still rejected by the Jews. So what is he talking about here? Although Jesus stated in Matthew 11 that the Baptist is the forerunner, something happens in Matthew 17 to prove that yet another Elijah will fulfill Malachi’s prophecy. In Matthew 17 Jesus leads the disciples Peter, James and John up to the Mount of Transfiguration, where both Elijah and Moses appear, talking with the Lord. Peter, of course, wants to set up rooms at the Motel 6 for all three of them, but a voice from heaven rebukes his misunderstanding. As Jesus’ face shines like the sun, the disciples are awestruck, clearly understanding Jesus’ true identity. The disciple cite this verse in Malachi, to which Jesus replies:

11 Jesus replied, “To be sure, Elijah comes and will restore all things.” Matthew 17:11 (NIV) 

One commentator suggests of this verse:

The key here is “will restore” because at the time Jesus was speaking, John the Baptist is already dead. Therefore, we know that he cannot be the Elijah of Malachi 4:5. In addition, Elijah is going to reestablish all things. John the Baptist was hindered from doing this because of the wickedness of the people’s hearts not to mention that the Holy Spirit did not permanently indwell believers with power from above to provide this heart change. Thus perhaps Jesus is stating that He is the Elijah-like figure, initiating His kingdom at His resurrection and completing it at His second coming when He will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their father – a time of great repentance.  

It is interesting to note that when Malachi speaks of turning the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers is an action only God can perform. He is the Master of the human heart and is the only One Who can transform it. We are told by Paul in 2 Timothy 3:1-5 this regarding the last days:

1 But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. 2 People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, 4 treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God-- 5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them. 2 Timothy 3:1-5 (NIV)

We discover in verse two that people will be disobedient to their parents and in verse three when it states without love it is without natural love, without familial love, bond or affection, heartless and brutal; this is characteristic of spiritually perilous times.

Of the verses in Malachi 4:5-6 The Bible Knowledge Commentary states:

“In Malachi 4:5 God promised through Malachi that the Prophet Elijah would come and minister before the day of the Lord. This is the only passage in the Prophets that speaks of a future ministry for Elijah. Matthew specifically states that John the Baptist was the messenger who prepared the way for the Lord in Malachi 3:1. But should John the Baptist also be considered the fulfillment of the prophecy about Elijah in Malachi 4:5-6? Before John the Baptist was born an angel of the Lord predicted that he would minister ‘in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.’ This would seem to put together the two prophecies in Malachi and to see John as fulfilling both of them. However, while he freely admitted that he was the one who prepared the way for the Lord, John expressly denied that he was Elijah. Even when Jesus called John ‘the Elijah who was to come,’ He conditioned that designation with the phrase, ‘if you are willing to accept it’ in Matthew 11:14. A solution to the problem seems to be offered in Matthew 17. After Elijah appeared with Christ in His transfiguration, the disciples asked about Elijah's future coming. Jesus, speaking apparently after John’s death, affirmed that ‘Elijah comes and will restore all things’ in Matthew 17:11. This future expectation indicates that Malachi 4:5-6 was not fulfilled in the ministry of John. Israel did not accept John the Baptist as the Elijah-like restorer of all things, so another Elijah-like forerunner is yet to come before the day of the Lord. However, Jesus went on to say, ‘Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him’ (Matthew 17:12), and the disciples understood He was talking about John the Baptist. The solution to all this seems to be that though John did not fulfill Malachi 4:5-6 (for Elijah is yet to come), Elijah was a type of John in that there is a great deal of similarity between Elijah in 4:5-6 and the messenger John the Baptist in Malachi 3:1. It is difficult to determine whether the Elijah to come is Elijah himself (as possibly indicated in Matthew 17:11) or someone in the spirit and power of Elijah (as John was, so that Christ referred to him as simply Elijah, Matthew 17:12). In Revelation 11:1-13, the Apostle John speaks of the two witnesses in the Tribulation. As a result of the ministry of the two witnesses many people will repent, thus uniting the hearts of... fathers with their children. This repentance will mean that they will not experience God’s judgment in the day of the Lord.”

Now I know that you all have to be thoroughly confused (as am I!)! What we do know is that an Elijah – like prophet will return before the great and dreadful Day of the Lord comes. It could be Jesus Who is Priest, Prophet and King, Who comes to usher in and rule in the millennium, Who has the power to turn the hearts of the people before the dreadful Day of the Lord or it could be Elijah himself or it could be someone else. But it obviously has not been fulfilled.

Spurgeon writes of the second coming of the Lord Jesus the following:

Read: Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening – October 15 Morning Page 578.

Malachi ends his prophecy by stating: “Otherwise, I will come and strike the land with a curse.” The final words from God to the people for 400 years is a warning that utter destruction will come. They can be sure of it. The final words are a curse, which left some rabbis uncomfortable with the ending (I guess so!). G. Campbell Morgan noted:

“The Jew always understood this as a message of love, and the Rabbis in the Synagogue from then until the coming of Christ, and in the days of Christ, and until this day, never end Malachi with its last verse. They conclude with the fifth verse. Reading the last: ‘And He shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children; and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse;’ they revert back to the fifth verse: ‘Behold, I will send you Elijah, the prophet, before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.”

The rabbis sought to avoid the full force of that dread word by repeating verse five. But God did not want His word muted. He wanted it to wail out its woe down through the silent centuries. He wanted it to haunt the minds of men, to echo down the years. However, this discomfort does not subside with the end of the Old Testament. As God would have it, in a similar manner, He states essentially the same thing in Revelation 22:12-13:

12 “Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done. 13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.” Revelation 22:12-13 (NIV) 

The same promise of judgment is given to the people in Revelation, bringing with it either a day of rejoicing or a day or mourning, depending on whether you are among the righteous or among the wicked. On this side of the cross the determining factor will be whether or not we have received the righteousness of Christ through repentance and faith. It is worth noting as well that God does not look lightly on those who take things out of the Bible to suit their own desires, lifestyles and what their itching ears want to hear – of what good is that? 

We can only imagine the destruction of life that would take place if the sun faded the way a candle burns out. Life would cease to exist, causing a shift in the functionality of our planet and solar system. Severe storms would erupt all over the world because of the climate change. Temperatures would plunge, and the land would be covered with a thick layer of snow and ice. The earth might break free from its orbital path and fly off into total darkness. Such is the fate of people who do not have Jesus as their Savior. According to Malachi 4:2, however, the sun of righteousness will come with healing in His garments:

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) 

As we have talked about before, in the New Testament, Jesus Christ meets a woman who reaches out to Him out of complete desperation. She was certain that by touching the hem of His garment, she would be healed. Jesus, seeing the woman’s actions, commends her faith.

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)

The key words “edge of His cloak” is a reference to the hem of Jesus’ garment. Matthew knows that the audience of his Gospel is made up of Jews who know the Old Testament. They would have known immediately why she desired to touch His garment. In doing so she was confessing that Jesus Christ was the sun of righteousness from Malachi 4. He was God Himself.

Jesus Christ is the light to our soul, “the sun of righteousness,” in the same way that the sun is light and life to the planet. Jesus Himself declared, “I am the light of the world.” The question for all of us is, has that light shone in our hearts today?

Thus the Old Testament ends and it ends with the dread word “curse”. God intended that that word not be muted no matter what the Rabbi’s wanted. His desire was for it to echo down the years. A curse or Christ – that choice was God’s final message to the Old Testament Jew.  

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