The Purging

Malachi 2:17–3:7 NIV

You have wearied the Lord with your words. “How have we wearied him?” you ask. By saying, “All who do evil are good in the eyes of the Lord, and he is pleased with them” or “Where is the God of justice?” “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. 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. He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver. Then the Lord will have men who will bring offerings in righteousness, and the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem will be acceptable to the Lord, as in days gone by, as in former years. “So I will come to put you on trial. I will be quick to testify against sorcerers, adulterers and perjurers, against those who defraud laborers of their wages, who oppress the widows and the fatherless, and deprive the foreigners among you of justice, but do not fear me,” says the Lord Almighty. “I the Lord do not change. So you, the descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed. Ever since the time of your ancestors you have turned away from my decrees and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you,” says the Lord Almighty. “But you ask, ‘How are we to return?’

Introduction: If you have been tuning in, you may have been wondering. How is Malachi the batton passer to the New Testament? That’s today’s message… We will be asking that question, but also the question from 2:17, “Where is the God of Justice?”

So far Malachi has established that...

15 - We are not pure.

16 - a. God loves his people - Committed to them.

b. The people do not respond in kind by not bringing their best and just doing the minimum. They disregard God. - Priests specifically mentioned

c. This leads to a break down in commitment, care, and love towards others.

17 - Cut Corners

* Stop reading our Bible, Relationship with Jesus

* We Stop Praying – Prayer in School

* We stop Gathering with the Body of Christ

* We Cut Corners in our Relationships

* We stop letting the H.S. fight our sin for us.

* We give into the Enemies lies, into discouragement.

But they are wondering, “Where is the God of Justice?”

Who is the problem, God or the People

But God gives his answer....

18 - Jesus came to purify us.

Malachi is speaking the words of God to the people of Israel, yet he reveals that one was coming soon who would embody the fullness of God to humanity (v. 1). This was the great hope and expectation of God’s people. They were longing for the Lord and for a messenger who would reveal the fulfillment of God’s covenant to his people (v. 1). They wanted someone to lead them and to clarify God’s word for them. This is the work of the Messiah, the one that God had promised

Elijah - Would Come and then the Lord would come. - Elijah in the Passover Meal.

Malachi 4:5–6 NIV

“See, I will send the prophet Elijah to you before that great and dreadful day of the Lord comes. 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.”

Jesus said that John the Baptist was Elijah who would come. Matthew 11:14, Luke 1:17, Mark 9:11-13.

Malachi is the reason that the Gospels start with John the Baptist.

Elijah to prepare the way - A call to turn back to God - Baptism of water, The Lord to come to purge the evil and injustice out of Israel - Like a refiners Fire. - John Said Jesus came to Baptize with fire and the Spirit.

- The work of the Lord would be purifying, like fire that refines precious metals (v. 3). He would be the embodiment of all that God desired for his people in the flesh, with them, revealing the sin of humanity, and offering cleansing and purity through his work (vv. 3–4). While this process would undoubtedly be difficult and painful (v. 2), the trial is nothing less than the loving hand of God producing his heart in the lives of his children. No longer would God’s people languish in doubt and despair, unassured of their standing before him. But his messenger would secure their standing, returning them to the place of acceptance that brings delight to the heart of the Father

- The final stage of gold production -- refining -- involves removing impurities that remain after the smelting process. Refining companies receive doré bars, as well as scrap gold, and reliquefy the metal in a furnace. Workers add borax and soda ash to the molten metal, which separates the pure gold from other precious and less precious metals. A sample is then taken to a lab for tests, or assays, that measure the gold content. In most cases, the gold is 99.9 percent pure. Workers cast the gold produced during refining into bars.

What happens next depends on how the gold will be used. Pure gold is generally too soft for most practical applications, so other metals are nearly always added to it. When gold is combined in this way, it forms an alloy. Scientists and goldsmiths often use colors to designate the various gold alloys that are possible. For example, white gold is made by combining gold with nickel, silver or palladium. Red or pink gold is an alloy of gold and copper. And blue gold is the result of mixing gold with iron.

What Jesus Does as the Refining Fire Illustration. - Purifying us from sin.

God cares about every part of his people’s lives. He desires to redeem and purify our thoughts, intentions, actions, and motives to reflect his heart and glory. The depths of God’s love for his people is shown through the nature of his coming. God in the flesh, living, dying, and rising from death was the ultimate revelation of God’s love for his people. The salvation he promised has now been fulfilled, blessing his people eternally and making them a blessing to the world

But there is a call and Invitation in Malachi, and it is the same call that John the Baptist gives.

21 - Turn to Him.

Repentance

vs. 7 - Return to me, and I will return to you.

Malachi 3:16–4:3 LEB

Then those who revered Yahweh spoke with one another. And Yahweh listened attentively and heard, and a scroll of remembrance was written before him of those who revere Yahweh and ponder his name. “They will be mine,” says Yahweh of hosts, “on the day that I am acting, my treasured possession. I will have compassion on them as a man has compassion on his son who serves him. You will return and see the difference between the righteous and the wicked, between the one who serves God and the one who does not serve him. “For look! The day is about to come, burning like an oven, and all the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble. The coming day will consume them,” says Yahweh of hosts. “It will not leave behind for them root or branch. 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 fattened calves. You will trample down the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day that I am going to act,” says Yahweh of hosts.

Second part of purification - Fire Consumes them.

The Story of the O.T., shows us that it is impossible for humans to be faithful to the covenant on their own, they longed for Jesus to come to purify them once-for-all. For the Christian then returning to God is - Confessing to God that we are not faithful, Honoring God’s provision for our faithfulness - Jesus’ sacrifice, Submit to the Jesus’ purifying work in us from the inside out - Allowing him to remove our sin and fill us with the Holy Spirit, and then live in gratitude towards our salvation by keeping in step with the Spirit.

Conclusion: Will you turn to be purified?

Reference the Reformed Confessions: The Reformed Confessions are statements of faith written to clarify the Gospel at times when the Church was in crisis. Heidelberg Catechism: Q&A 1, 2, 20-23, 32, 37-38, 43, 45, 53, 56, 59-61, 76, 81, 84, 86-90, 114-115, 122-124, 126 Belgic Confession: Articles 22-24 Canons of Dort: Head I, Article 2-6, 13; Head II, Article 3; Head V, Article 13