Malachi 4

“Surely the day is coming; it will burn like a furnace. All the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble, and the day that is coming will set them on fire,” says the LORD Almighty. “Not a root or a branch will be left to them.” Malachi 4:1

The day spoken of here is the “day of the Lord.” This day is a persistent theme of the Old Testament prophets (e.g. Isa. 13:6; Ezek. 30:3; Joel 1:15; Amos 5:18; Obad. 1:15; Zep. 1:7; Zech. 14:1). We observe here that the coming day of judgment will burn like a furnace. The fires of the last- day make up an important Bible theme. The Lord will come again in blazing fire taking vengeance on his enemies (Psa. 50:3; Isa. 66:15; 2 Thess. 1:7-9). Probably the clearest passage about this last day fire is found in 2 Peter 3:7-13. In verse 3:7 we read: “…the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.”

Although the earth and heavens will be purged by fire in the last day, there is no idea in scripture that they will be destroyed. Several passages tell us that the earth is established forever (Psa. 78:69; 104:5; Eccl. 1:4). The Bible states that the last destruction of the earth will be similar to its destruction by water in Genesis chapters 7 & 8. In 2 Peter 3:13 that we noted above, we see that there will be a new heaven and new earth. The Greek word for “new” is kainos. It is interesting that we believers are new creations in Christ and the same Greek word is used of us (cf. 2 Cor. 5:17) as for the earth’s renewal. God did not destroy us, but he re-created us after the image of Christ and made us new creatures. Thus, the new earth will look very much like the old earth but the curse will be removed and it will reflect the glory of Christ throughout. Jesus did not only come to redeem human beings but he came to redeem the whole creation.

In 1 Corinthians 7:31, we are given more information about the earth’s passing. This scripture says: “…For this world in its present form is passing away.” It is the “present evil age” mentioned in Galatians 1:4 that will be totally destroyed and pass away. Along with this present evil age will be the present evil people of this age. They will be so destroyed that one will not be able to find a trace of their roots or branches. This is a picture without hope, a picture of total destruction. [1] The Psalmist says: “ A little while, and the wicked will be no more; though you look for them, they will not be found” (Psa. 37:10). The wicked will be removed from the earth but the righteous will inherit the earth forever.

The coming fire will totally destroy the wicked but the righteous will survive. The wicked will in a sense self-destruct as the heat is turned up. They have built their lives with flammable earthly materials while the righteous have built on the rock of Jesus with non-flammable and eternal materials. (1 Cor. 3:11-13). Psalm 37:29-31 speaks of the godly: “The righteous will inherit the land and dwell in it forever. The mouths of the righteous utter wisdom, and their tongues speak what is just. The law of their God is in their hearts; their feet do not slip.” Psalm 1:4 tells us that the wicked are like chaff that the wind blows away. Dear Christian friends, the Lord is making us fireproof through his holy word and his Holy Spirit. We need to let him do his work if it is hard and even if it hurts.

We get a rather graphic picture of the judgment and its effects on some carnal Christians. In 1 Corinthians 3:13, we read of each person’s work, “…their work will be shown for what it is…It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work.” Paul tells us in this passage that if our work survives, we will receive a reward and if it is burned up, we will suffer loss, although we ourselves will be saved like one escaping the flames. The spiritual things in our lives will survive this fire. However, all the fleshly things, in which we take so much pride and give so much attention, will go up in a puff of smoke. Simply, some Christians will survive the day of the Lord with their shirttails on fire.

We need to remember what we said earlier about prophecy seeing the whole spiritual mountain range together, whether peaks, hills or valleys. Malachi was seeing the day of the Lord and the end of the age, but he was also seeing the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in AD 70. The city of Jerusalem blazed like a furnace and its people were destroyed with it. We have reason to believe that God spared many righteous people in this holocaust. We know that the Christian community fled the city before the fire and settled safely in Pella, a city in today’s Jordan. According to the historian Josephus, close to a hundred thousand Jews were taken captive while eleven hundred thousand were destroyed in the siege. [2]

“But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its rays. And you will go out and frolic like well-fed calves” (4:2). The expression “sun of righteousness” appears only here in the Bible. Some liberal scholars have had trouble with the expression since the word for sun has a feminine pronoun with it. Coffman is amazed that these scholars cannot find Jesus here but they are able to find the Babylonian sun god. [3] Guzik says: “From the time of early Christians like Justin Martyr to today, Christians have regarded the Sun of Righteousness as a reference to Jesus.” [4]

Jesus no doubt wore a tallit or prayer shawl. Had he not worn one he would have broken the law (Num. 15:38). We know that Jews wore them in Jesus’ time for one was found in first- century excavations. From early times the Jews considered the four corners of the shawl as four wings. On one occasion a very sick woman came meekly and touched one of the corners or tassels of his shawl (tsit-tsit) and she was immediately healed. For her, the Sun of Righteousness arose and he had healing in his wings (cf. Lk. 8:43-48). While some doubt, other biblical passages seem to back up the understanding of God as sun (cf. 2 Sam. 23:4; Psa. 84:11; Isa. 9:2; 49:6).

Some scholars have had difficulty with this passage referring to Jesus since “healing” and “rays” or wings are both feminine. Texas Bible professor, Bob Utley points out how we see similar constructions in Isaiah 60:1-3,19-20. [5]

Calves being released from the stall make a lively picture. In my young days on the farm I seem to remember seeing released calves jumping and kicking up their heels with glee. Someday the righteous will no longer mope along loaded with burdens and prayer needs but will be jumping, leaping and praising God for their newfound freedom.

“‘Then you will trample on the wicked; they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day when I act,’ says the LORD Almighty” (4:3). As we have implied before, wickedness does not work. The doctrines of the wicked are doctrines of dust. The wicked will have no means of surviving the day of the Lord. How tragic will their cries be when they realize that they have spent their lives fighting against Jesus, who has just taken over rulership of the whole world.

Barnes reminds us of several scriptures that pertain to this eternally tragic situation. Isaiah 66:24 says: “And they [the righteous] will go out and look on the dead bodies of those who rebelled against me; the worms that eat them will not die, the fire that burns them will not be quenched, and they will be loathsome to all mankind.” Psalm 58:10 states: “The righteous will be glad when they are avenged, when they dip their feet in the blood of the wicked.” Psalm 107:42 reads, “ The upright see and rejoice, but all the wicked shut their mouths.” [6]

“Remember the law of my servant Moses, the decrees and laws I gave him at Horeb for all Israel” (4:4). For a people so prone to drift away from God, it was essential that they remember the laws of Moses. There would now come an approximate 400-year period where there would be no prophets to correct their course. They would not see another prophet until John the Baptist appeared just before the coming of Christ.

Sometimes the mention of the law makes certain Christians a little nervous. While it is true that we do not live with the law today, neither do we live without it. Jesus has come to make the law second nature to us. He has come to fulfill the law in us. He says in Hebrews, “…I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people” (Heb. 8:10). For instance, the natural laws are so engrained in us that when we come to a stop sign while driving, our foot just naturally slides onto the brake. We do not have to think about it at all. Jesus is doing something like that for us in the spiritual realm with the law.

“See, I will send the prophet Elijah to you before that great and dreadful day of the LORD comes” (4:5). Truly, Elijah was one of the greatest prophets who ever lived. Like Enoch and like Moses he had an unusual ending for his life. He was taken up to heaven in a whirlwind without passing through death. The people of Israel always felt that he would come again at the end of the age. When John the Baptist appeared and began to introduce Jesus as the Messiah, he came in the spirit and power of Elijah (Lk. 1:17). He even dressed and lived a lot like Elijah had lived before him. John denied that he was the prophet Elijah (Jn. 1:21). However, Jesus said that John was Elijah. Jesus said: “‘…To be sure, Elijah comes and will restore all things. But I tell you, Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but have done to him everything they wished. In the same way the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands.’ Then the disciples understood that he was talking to them about John the Baptist” (Matt. 17: 11-13).

So, John the Baptist was a type of Elijah. He did the same work of Elijah, that of healing family structures and drawing folks back to God. Wiersbe comments: “…for those who believed on Christ during his earthly ministry, John the Baptist performed the work of Elijah in their lives: he prepared them to meet the Lord…But Malachi 4:5 promises that Elijah himself will come…Many students believe that Elijah is one of the two witnesses whose ministries are described in Revelation 11:3-12 (They believe the other is Moses).” [7] How appropriate it would be for Moses and Elijah, who represent the law and the prophets, to be earth’s final witnesses. They both did appear with Jesus at his transfiguration (Mk. 9:2-4).

There is more to this story. In Matthew 11:14 Jesus says: “And if you are willing to accept it, he is the Elijah who was to come.” If the Jews had accepted John and followed his teaching he would have been accepted as the Elijah and the history of Israel and the world would have taken a new turn. Israel would have accepted her Messiah and saved herself two thousand years of suffering. In short, the kingdom of God would have come. Instead, they murdered John and crucified their Messiah. [8] As a result of their actions, Elijah must come again.

“He will turn the hearts of the parents to their children, and the hearts of the children to their parents; or else I will come and strike the land with total destruction” (4:6) It should be noted here that the word “destruction” appears in the Hebrew as “curse” ( che-rem ). This was a religious curse that required the total destruction of persons or things.

A lot of people, particularly the Jews, have not been too happy that their prophetic books end with a curse. Our English Old Testament ends with a curse as well. Some have tried to change this over the centuries. Of course, we Christians like the ending of our New Testament much better – “No longer will there be any curse…” (Rev. 22:3).

Thus, the order of these last verses has been slightly altered in both the Septuagint and in the Masoretic text. Baldwin says: “It is frequently argued that they represent two later additions to the book…The continued ethical emphasis, however, and the style of writing are in keeping with the rest of the book and point to Malachi as the likely author. From early times attempts have been made to avoid the harsh ending of the book.” [9]

In our day of shattered family structure, we can certainly look forward to the ministry of Elijah who will turn the hearts of parents back to their children and the disobedient back to wisdom (Lk. 1:17). Feinberg says, “We should view these final words with solemnity of heart, for chapter four gives us the last message of the Old Testament prophets.” [10] How important for us and for the Jewish people to hear again the message of Moses and the prophets. Jesus once said of the Jews in Luke 16:31: “ If they will not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rose from the dead.”

Footnotes

1. Jamieson, et. al., Commentary on Malachi, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible, v. 4:1.

2. Josephus Flavius, Wars of the Jews, Bk. 3, Ch. 6, Vs. 9.

3. Coffman, Commentary on Malachi, Coffman Commentaries on the Bible, v. 4:2.

4. Guzik, Enduring Word Bible Commentaries, vs. 4:2-3.

5. Utley, Free Bible Commentary, v. 4:2.

6. Barnes, Commentary on Malachi, Barnes’ Notes on the Whole Bible, v. 4:3.

7. Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary, OT, p. 1532.

8. Phillips, Exploring The Minor Prophets, p. 337.

9. Baldwin, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi, p. 251.

10. Feinberg, The Minor Prophets, p. 266.