Malachi 1:5

And your eyes shall see,.... The destruction of the Edomites, and their fruitless attempts to rebuild their desolate places; and the difference between them and the Israelites, who were returned to

And your eyes shall see, and ye shall say, The LORD will be magnified from the border of Israel. And your eyes shall see, and ye shall say, The Lord will be magnified from the border of Israel.

You Jews who are now returned from captivity, and are blest with a rebuilt temple and city, who are settled in civil and sacred concerns, your eyes shall see; some of you must needs, more will, and all might, observe what I have said, that my love is toward you, whom I plant, build up, and prosper, while I root up, pull down, and destroy your neighbouring kindred Edom. Ye shall say; you should in point of duty, and some of you will take notice of it, and confess it. The Lord will be magnified; or, Let the Lord be magnified, let his name be great and his praise great for his free love to Israel, for his great displeasure against the border of wickedness, for his truth in both. From the border of Israel; let Israel from all his borders give God this praise. You Jews who are now returned from captivity, and are blest with a rebuilt temple and city, who are settled in civil and sacred concerns, From the border of Israel; let Israel from all his borders give God this praise.

Malachi 1:5 And your eyes shall see, and ye shall say, The LORD will be magnified from the border of Israel.Ver. 5. And your eyes shall see] "The righteous shall see and fear, and shall laugh at him," and say, "Lo, this is the man," &c., said David of Doeg the Edomite, Psalms 52:7. And the same is here promised by God to his people as a pledge of his love, and a special privilege: others should hiss at Edom, and say by way of byword, "This is the border of wickedness," &c., but the saints should make more of it (a bee can suck honey out of a flower, so cannot a fly), they should busy their eyes, and regard the work of the Lord; yea, they should so consider the operation of his hand, as to say sensibly, "Let the Lord be magnified. Blessed be the glory of the Lord from his place," Isaiah 5:12 Psalms 35:27 Ezekiel 3:12. God hath delivered me out of all trouble, saith David, and mine eye hath seen his desire upon mine enemies. The Edomites stood looking on and laughing at the Israelites’ destruction, Obadiah 1:12-13. God saw this, and it displeased him (as he is wondrously sensible of the least indignity done to his people); he therefore pays them home in their own coin, and promiseth his Israel that they shall rejoice when they see the vengeance, they shall wash their feet in the blood of these wicked ones; become more cautious by their just destruction, Psalms 58:10. Learn we hence, First, to have our eyes open upon the judgments of God, whether general or personal; that nothing of this nature pass our observation, lest we incur the curse denounced, Isaiah 5:12, and be made examples to others, because we would not be warned by the example of others. Lege historiam ne fiat historia. Sodom and Gomorrah are thrown forth (as St Jude hath it) for an example; suffering the vengeance of eternal fire. And Herodotus saith, that the ruins and rubbish of Troy are set forth for an example of this rule, that national sins bring national plagues, and that God greatly punisheth great offences. Ingentia, beneficia, flagitia, supplicia. Let him that looketh upon me learn to fear God. Eμετιςορεωνευσεβηςεστω. These words were engraven upon the standing picture of Sennacherib (after that God had by an angel slain his army, and sent him back with shame to his own country), as the same Herodotus testifieth. Secondly, learn we how far forth we may look upon the overthrow of the wicked with delight: viz. not as our own private, but as God’ s professed enemies; not simply as their ruin, but as it is a clearing of God’ s glory, and of our integrity, Psalms 9:16 1 Samuel 25:39; not out of private revenge, but pure zeal for God and his cause. I say pure zeal; for it is difficult to kindle and keep quick the fire of zeal without all smoke of sinister and self-respect.

(5) And your eyes shall see.—Comp. such expressions as Psalms 37:34; Psalms 52:6; Psalms 91:8. As with the individual, so with a nation: to stand in safety and be a witness to the destruction of the enemy is looked on as a sign of God’s favour. The Lord will be magnified . . . Israel.—Some render, let the Lord be magnified, as in Psalms 35:27; Psalms 40:16; others, the Lord is great: i.e., has exerted His greatness. The latter seems the more appropriate rendering here. From the border.—Some say, beyond the border. This translation is not in accordance with the usage of the expression, which means simply “over” or “above.” (Comp. Jeremiah 4:6.) The meaning seems to be this: The Lord, whose protecting presence hovers specially over the border of Israel, is now great, in that He has restored Israel, but hath destroyed the nationality of the wicked descendants of the godless Esau. “Border of Israel” is purposely used in contrast to “border of wickedness.” Malachi 1:6; Malachi 2:9.—The priesthood rebuked. A close connection subsists between the different parts of this section; it ought therefore to be read as one continuous paragraph. The sub-divisions of it are Malachi 1:6-14; Malachi 2:1-9.

Verse 5. Your eyes] Ye Israelites shall see, in your succeeding generations, that - The Lord will be magnified] By his kindness in Israel, and his judgments beyond.

5. your eyes shall see] Unharmed and in safety yourselves you shall witness the overthrow of Edom (comp. Psalms 91:7-8). will be magnified from] Rather, be magnified over. It is an ascription of praise (comp. Psalms 48:1) to God who extends, as it were, His tutelary care over Israel, while utter destruction overtakes Edom. The contrast with Edom is emphasized by the insertion of the personal pronoun, “ye (Jews) shall say.”

And your eyes shall see - Malicious pleasure in looking on at the misery of Judaea and Jerusalem, had been a special sin of Edom: now God would show Judah the fruit of its reversal, and His goodness toward themselves.

JEHOVAH’S LOVE OF ISRAEL, Malachi 1:2-5.The contents of these verses form the basis of all subsequent appeals, for they emphasize the fatherly love of Jehovah toward the Hebrews, which entitles him