Malachi 3 - The Justice of God
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
There are no minor prophets - only shorter books!
Who was Malachi?
Malachi 1:1 “1 A pronouncement: The word of the Lord to Israel through Malachi.”
Malachi - means My Messenger
Hebrew - no capitalization, so it’s up to interpretation as to whether it’s a name or not
Malachi is a book for the discouraged! It records Malachi’s preaching somewhere around 400 BC at the end of the history recorded in the OT. The people of Judah had returned from exile in Babylon in and after 537 BC. Over the next decades the wall of Jerusalem was rebuilt, the foundation of the temple was laid and eventually (in 516 BC) the building of a new temple was finished. Haggai and Zechariah gave help in the early stages of the work. Ezra went to help them in 458 BC; then a few years later in 445 BC Nehemiah went there as a governor appointed by the Persians.
Malachi seems to have lived at the very end of this period. The optimism of the early days had given way to much discouragement. ‘Restored’ Judah was not so restored as the people had hoped it would be. The Persians were still the governing authority over the land, which was only about 30 × 40 kilometres in size. (1/3 the size of Rhode Island; 60% of the size of Greenville County; 1/20th the size of ancient Israel in David’s day) By 400 BC there had been seven Persian rulers over Israel, and it did not seem that domination by pagan rulers would ever cease.
(The Persians ruled until Alexander the Great; there was only a brief time of independence before the Romans came and conquered Israel)
The book of Malachi is evidence that the people were severely discouraged and felt guilty and unloved (1:2–5). The priests who were supposed to be the teachers of the people had become careless and disinterested in what they were meant to be doing. The sacrificial system was despised (1:6–2:9). The people never went back to the idolatry which was typical of the time before the exile, but they got close to doing so.
The men were marrying foreign women. In doing so, they were abandoning their Israelite wives and taking pagan women into their lives. These women would have had little interest in Yahweh, the God of Israel’s history and the God of Israel’s future. The men were taking idolatrous partners even if they were not guilty of idolatry directly. It was the same old story. Just as in the period before the exile, foreign ways seemed more interesting than Israel’s faith (2:10–16). When people drift from God in discouragement they start complaining about the justice of God and that was another complaint in Malachi’s time (2:17–3:6). Malachi wanted the people to return to God, but the people were complacent and felt no spiritual need. An easy way for Malachi to show their half-heartedness was to point out how they have been withholding from God the tithe of their produce, which was required by the Mosaic law. It made obvious their resistance to God and his ways (3:7–12). The truth was they were thinking that serving God was a waste of time (3:13–15).
The bulk of the book of Malachi is characterized by the sceptical questions that the people were asking:
1:2 In what way have You loved us?
1:6 In what way have we despised your name?
1:7 How have we defiled you?
2:17 In what way have we wearied him?
3:7 In what way shall we return?
3:8 In what way have we robbed you?
In Malachi 1:2–3:15, six sections revolve around these questions:
The love of God (1:2–5)
The name of God (1:6–2:9)
Faithfulness (2:10–16)
The justice of God (2:17–3:6)
Returning to God (3:7–12)
Serving God (3:13–15)
In Summary:
Malachi was written for a certain people at a certain time with certain characteristics
Do we have those characteristics in our society? In our church? In ourseleves?
1. A Cynical Complaint
1. A Cynical Complaint
17 You have wearied the Lord with your words. Yet you ask, “How have we wearied him?” When you say, “Everyone who does what is evil is good in the Lord’s sight, and he is delighted with them, or else where is the God of justice?”
Minor Prophets, Hosea-Malachi Commentary
The “righteous skeptics” assumed that the principle of divine retribution had been revoked or even inverted because it appeared that evildoers were thriving while God’s faithful languished under the “corporate curse” of the law of Moses (
Why doesn’t God judge sin immediately?
1. Patience that opens a window for repentance (2 Peter 3:9 “9 The Lord does not delay his promise, as some understand delay, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish but all to come to repentance.” )
2. Kindness meant to soften hard hearts (Romans 2:4 “4 Or do you despise the riches of his kindness, restraint, and patience, not recognizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance?”
3. Allowing sin to reach its full measure (Genesis 15:16 “16 In the fourth generation they will return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure.” )
4. Testing and refining the faithful - Wicked prosper “for a season” (Ps 73) while the righteous learn trust (Jas 1:2-4).
2. The Judge Is on His Way
2. The Judge Is on His Way
Malachi 3:1–4 “1 “See, I am going to send my messenger, and he will clear the way before me. Then the Lord you seek will suddenly come to his temple, the Messenger of the covenant you delight in—see, he is coming,” says the Lord of Armies. 2 But who can endure the day of his coming? And who will be able to stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiner’s fire and like launderer’s bleach. 3 He will be like a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver. Then they will present offerings to the Lord in righteousness. 4 And the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem will please the Lord as in days of old and years gone by.”
v.1 Who is “my messenger” (Malachi)? None other than John the Baptist
Matthew 11:10 “10 This is the one about whom it is written: See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you; he will prepare your way before you.”
So then...who is “the Lord (Adoni) you seek”? This is Jesus - the “Messenger of the covenant” (note capitalization)
This is one of those enigmatic Old Testament passages in which God and his unique angel/messenger (“the angel of the LORD”) are spoken of as if they are one and the same (Gen 16:7–14; 18:1–19:1; 22:12; Exod 3:1–6). From a Christian perspective its meaning is (understood) only in the New Testament through the coming of Jesus, God’s Son, the Sent One [Haggai, Malachi (1) The Coming Lord (3:1–2)]
What about the delight?
Their “delight” is largely self-interested. They imagine the coming Lord will confirm their piety, not expose their hypocrisy.
God answers with a two-stage arrival: a forerunner (John the Baptist) and the Lord Himself
v.2 Two illustrations
Metallurgy - gold, silver
Cleaning - “launderer’s bleach”
Both of these are kind of hard on the subject matter - but the result is a good one!
v.3 “the sons of Levi” - spiritual leadership
Much of Malachi focuses on the priests; they will be purified
v.4 “the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem” - the surrounding people likewise are impacted
(i) God wants purified Levites (spiritual leaders)
(ii) God wants ‘offerings in righteousness’ (spiritual sacrifices)
(iii) God wants a return to the original plan for his people
Looking further ahead, we know from Hebrews that the Lord who did come as the mediator of the new covenant was of the tribe of Judah, not of Levi. He was not a Levitical priest, but a special priest directly and personally appointed by God to an eternal priesthood, to offer the sacrifice of himself once for all on the cross. The result of his ministry was that all who came to God through him could offer their responsive sacrifices in gratitude for his one sacrifice for sin. - [The Message of Malachi: ‘I Have Loved You,’ Says the Lord 2. God’s Response (3:1–5)]
Note the Telescoping prophecy:
What did Jesus do in the temple during his first visit?
What will Jesus do when he returns for his second coming (Revelation)?
3. Certain Judgment, Unchanging Mercy
3. Certain Judgment, Unchanging Mercy
5 “I will come to you in judgment, and I will be ready to witness against sorcerers and adulterers; against those who swear falsely; against those who oppress the hired worker, the widow, and the fatherless; and against those who deny justice to the resident alien. They do not fear me,” says the Lord of Armies. 6 “Because I, the Lord, have not changed, you descendants of Jacob have not been destroyed.
v.5 “in judgment”
The Branch Exposition of the Bible: A Preacher’s Commentary of the Old Testament 3:2b–5. Refining Judgements
What might the judgements be? Malachi does not tell us. But our knowledge of the scriptures will give us some ideas here. God can ‘hide his face’ (
“sorcerers, adulterers, etc.”
There is (i) sorcery, making contact with evil spirits. There is (ii) adultery, immorality that involves another man’s wife. (iii) There is perjury, lying, deceit, false testimony. (iv) And under the heading of ‘oppression’ must be included every kind of ill-treatment of needy people. God wants his people purified from all of this and taken back to his original plan for their holiness and righteousness. Instead of sorcery, he wants the pure and enthusiastic worship of himself, Yahweh, the God who redeems by the blood of the Lamb. Instead of immorality he wants purity and a relaxed, pure friendship between men and women within his church. Instead of deceit he wants the pure, unafraid, unperverted truth of the gospel. Instead of oppression he wants to bring into being the love of everyone everywhere that is the mark of the people of God when we are as we ought to be. [Branch]
A further word about adultery:
Haggai, Malachi (3) The Vindicating Lord (3:5–6)
The view of what may be the majority of Old Testament scholars is that adultery in the Old Testament and in ancient Israel was defined as “sexual intercourse between a married or betrothed woman and any man other than her husband. The marital status of the woman’s partner is inconsequential since only the married or betrothed woman is bound to fidelity. The infidelity of a married man is not punishable by law but is criticized” (as in
Christian Standard Bible Chapter 31
9 If my heart has gone astray over a woman
or I have lurked at my neighbor’s door,
10 let my own wife grind grain for another man,
and let other men sleep with her.
11 For that would be a disgrace;
it would be an iniquity deserving punishment.
12 For it is a fire that consumes down to Abaddon;
it would destroy my entire harvest.
A common theme throughout scripture of a sin that God hates. Not an unforgivable sin (e.g., David)
Hebrews 4:12–13 “12 For the word of God is living and effective and sharper than any double-edged sword, penetrating as far as the separation of soul and spirit, joints and marrow. It is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. 13 No creature is hidden from him, but all things are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give an account.”
1 John 2:28 “28 So now, little children, remain in him so that when he appears we may have confidence and not be ashamed before him at his coming.”
v.6 “I, the Lord, have not changed”
Joel, Obadiah, Malachi Original Meaning
Since her covenant God is steadfast, in spite of her own fickleness, Israel is “not destroyed” (NIV, NLT; “consumed,” NASB, RSV; cf.
This is the anchor for the whole dispute (2:17–3:6). The people charge, “Where is the God of justice?” (2 : 17). God’s answer climaxes with His immutability: “I have never stopped being just—or merciful.”
Applications
1. God’s justice is never on vacation (2:17)
2. Judgment starts with God’s people (3:2-3)
3. God’s immutability secures our hope (3:6)
