#1194 Malachi 3 I Send My Messenger

 

“Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts. 2 But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner's fire and like fullers' soap. 3 He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, and they will bring offerings in righteousness to the Lord. 4 Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the Lord as in the days of old and as in former years.

5 “Then I will draw near to you for judgment. I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, against the adulterers, against those who swear falsely, against those who oppress the hired worker in his wages, the widow and the fatherless, against those who thrust aside the sojourner, and do not fear me, says the Lord of hosts.

Robbing God

6 “For I the Lord do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed. 7 From the days of your fathers you have turned aside from my statutes and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts. But you say, ‘How shall we return?’ 8 Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me. But you say, ‘How have we robbed you?’ In your tithes and contributions. 9 You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me, the whole nation of you. 10 Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need. 11 I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it will not destroy the fruits of your soil, and your vine in the field shall not fail to bear, says the Lord of hosts. 12 Then all nations will call you blessed, for you will be a land of delight, says the Lord of hosts.

13 “Your words have been hard against me, says the Lord. But you say, ‘How have we spoken against you?’ 14 You have said, ‘It is vain to serve God. What is the profit of our keeping his charge or of walking as in mourning before the Lord of hosts? 15 And now we call the arrogant blessed. Evildoers not only prosper but they put God to the test and they escape.’”

The Book of Remembrance

16 Then those who feared the Lord spoke with one another. The Lord paid attention and heard them, and a book of remembrance was written before him of those who feared the Lord and esteemed his name. 17 “They shall be mine, says the Lord of hosts, in the day when I make up my treasured possession, and I will spare them as a man spares his son who serves him. 18 Then once more you shall see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve him. Malachi 3 ESV

Malachi 3 ESV Fuller's Soap

McKay - The imagery (He will clear the way) is drawn from the practice of ancient kings, who would inform their subjects in a province of their empire that they were about to come on a state visit, so that adequate arrangements might be made. This would include ‘preparing the way’ for the royal procession, by removing from it anything that would impede progress. It would thus be straight, level and free of obstacles (Isa. 40:3–4; see also Isa. 57:14; 62:10). The preparations that had to be made before the coming of the LORD were, of course, spiritual rather than physical. This was achieved through John’s ministry, which called for repentance because the kingdom of heaven was near (Mt. 3:2). He had a wide impact (Mk. 1:5), and provided the basis for Christ’s ministry (Jn. 1:35–37; Acts 19:4). That such a forerunner was necessary was also a warning to the people of Malachi’s day that whatever they might think, they were not ready for the arrival of their king. - Precept Austin

I send my messenger - In order to have a kingdom then you need a king, and this particular kingdom was to be ruled by the promised Messiah, the Son of David, this is Who is the prophet is speaking for. Speaking of the messenger, he says, "he is coming, says the Lord of Hosts." Lord of Hosts is used as a name for God, and the messenger is John the Baptist, who is preaching to a people that need to repent. The Lord whom you seek, is Christ, because He is coming to "His temple". The temple tells the story of God's redemptive plan, which is Christ, the atoning sacrifice. He is the approach to God, our peace with Him.

…11Jesus replied, “Elijah does indeed come, and he will restore all things. 12But I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but have done to him whatever they wished. In the same way, the Son of Man will suffer at their hands.” 13Then the disciples understood that He was speaking to them about John the Baptist.… Matthew 17: 11-13

But who can endure - Have you ever asked yourself this? These people have in their minds the expectation of Messiah, and a hope for Messiah to come, for they are in the times after the captivity, and rebuilding has been a great struggle. They still have fear of their surroundings, their neighbors, some have fear of their own brethren, and they would like for someone to come and make it right. They have been under Babylonian rule, then Persian, and will be going into Greek rule, followed by Roman rule, and they would love to have their own king to go out and fight for them, to remove foreign sovereignty. But there is a problem, and Malachi, Zechariah, Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel etc. have brought it up, that every advantage they have in being Jews, the law, the prophets, the covenants, is also to their disadvantage, if they put much on heredity, on ritual, yet not have the reality of a broken and contrite heart, for this only will be found acceptable in the sight of our Lord. All the sins for which God judged the nations are in their own hearts, so how will they stand before a holy God, who can endure?

…42They were asking, “Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How then can He say, ‘I have come down from heaven?’ ” 43“Stop grumbling among yourselves,” Jesus replied. 44“No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day.… John 6: 42-44

…7To you who believe, then, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe, “The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,” 8and, “A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense.” They stumble because they disobey the word— and to this they were appointed. 9But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, to proclaim the virtues of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.… 1 Peter 2: 7-9

…2O Lord, hear my voice; let Your ears be attentive to my plea for mercy. 3If You, O LORD, kept track of iniquities, then who, O Lord, could stand? 4But with You there is forgiveness, so that You may be feared.… Psalm 130: 2-4

Like fuller's soap - Full means to whiten, and it is the art of removing stains, pressing clothes through soap to make white again. We would say launder today, and still use soap along with bleach to remove stain and whiten.

…21I had planted you like a choice vine from the very best seed. How could you turn yourself before Me into a rotten, wild vine? 22Although you wash with lye and use an abundance of soap, the stain of your guilt is still before Me,” declares the Lord GOD. Jeremiah 2: 21-22

…13Then one of the elders addressed me: “These in white robes,” he asked, “who are they, and where have they come from?” 14“Sir,” I answered, “you know.” So he replied, “These are the ones who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. 15For this reason, they are before the throne of God and serve Him day and night in His temple; and the One seated on the throne will spread His tabernacle over them.… Revelation 7: 13-15

…2After six days Jesus took with Him Peter, James, and John, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. There He was transfigured before them. 3 His clothes became radiantly white, brighter than any launderer on earth could bleach them. 4And Elijah and Moses appeared before them, talking with Jesus.… Mark 9: 2-4

He will purify the sons of Levi - In the last chapter we saw the most beautiful words that our God had to say about Levi, but we know that the priesthood often took a turn away from this integrity. It will be a monumental and magnificent feat, to identify the sons of Levi, and then to refine them into what they were intended to be, servants to the glory and majesty of God, the actors upon the stage of His redemptive story. They must protect and know His word, tell it like it is, not bring their own strange fire or superstitions. They may not add or take away, and to this office they must be zealous for God's honor, not just when they are in their ceremonial ephod, but let the life also express the office, this is integrity. 

Then I will draw near to you for judgment - After God refines them, prepares them, gives them a heart of flesh to replace their heart of stone, removes the dross from among them, then they will look on their Redeemer with humility, realizing that they had fulfilled against Him all that the prophet Isaiah foretold.

Comment: Zechariah is not speaking of the church but of literal Israel, those Jews who are alive just prior to the Second Coming of the Messiah. The "one-third" are the "Many (who) will be purged, purified and refined." (Da 12:10)

MacArthur: From the midst of their fiery refinement, the elect remnant of Israel will see Jesus Christ, their Messiah and call on Him as their Savior and Lord. Israel will thus be saved and restored to covenant relationship with the Lord. (Read MacArthur's sermon on "The Cleansing of Israel")

Jamieson (one of the best, literal older commentaries - much better than Matthew Henry on prophecy) - It hence appears that the Jews’ conversion is not to precede, but to follow, their external deliverance by the special interposition of Jehovah; which latter shall be the main cause of their conversion, combined with a preparatory inward shedding abroad in their hearts of the Holy Spirit (Zec 12:10–14); and here, “they shall call on My name,” in their trouble, which brings Jehovah to their help (Ps 50:15). - Precept Austin

I will be a swift witness - Omniscience and Omnipotence, the perfect Judge; the evidence will all be there, and He shall not waver or make an unrighteous deliberation. It will be quick and to the point, as gasoline before fire.

…22Because of them, all the exiles of Judah who are in Babylon will use this curse: ‘May the LORD make you like Zedekiah and Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire!’ 23For they have committed an outrage in Israel by committing adultery with the wives of their neighbors and speaking lies in My name, which I did not command them to do. I am He who knows, and I am a witness, declares the LORD.” Jeremiah 29: 22-23

Against the sorcerers - This was strictly forbidden by God. Everyone is drawn to power, would like to see the future, be healed, have revenge on their enemies, and this is promised by sorcerers, fortune tellers and shaman etc., who would have you consult them and or the dead by them. Some versions of this have found their way into the church, just like it did with the Jews. There are hybridizations of  Catholicism and African tribal magic which is called voodoo, and the majority of the Pentecostal churches that I have attended accept teachers who pretend at being prophets, but are like cheap, knockoff fortunetellers with a prosperity gospel. God will remove all this dross. People today still use narcotics, alcohol, deprivation, chanting, immoral sexual acts, and even adrenaline to stimulate a "spiritual" experience. Since the gage of how real something is to them is based upon who is saying it, how they feel, how entertained they were, or how excited they became, well the door is wide open for them to accept all manner of things that God has called wrong, regardless of our feelings. 

9When you enter the land that the LORD your God is giving you, do not imitate the detestable ways of the nations there. 10Let no one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, practices divination or conjury, interprets omens, practices sorcery, 11casts spells, consults a medium or spiritist, or inquires of the dead.… Deuteronomy 18: 9-11

18To the angel of the church in Thyatira write: These are the words of the Son of God, whose eyes are like a blazing fire and whose feet are like polished bronze. 19I know your deeds— your love, your faith, your service, your perseverance— and your latter deeds are greater than your first. 20But I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess. By her teaching she misleads My servants to be sexually immoral and to eat food sacrificed to idols.…

…21Even though I have given her time to repent of her immorality, she is unwilling. 22Behold, I will cast her onto a bed of sickness, and those who commit adultery with her will suffer great tribulation unless they repent of her deeds. 23Then I will strike her children dead, and all the churches will know that I am the One who searches minds and hearts, and I will repay each of you according to your deeds.… Revelation 2: 18-23

…14Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life and may enter the city by its gates. 15But outside are the dogs, the sorcerers, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood. 16“I, Jesus, have sent My angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the bright Morning Star.”… Revelation 22: 14-16

Adulterers - This is interesting after the divorce discussed in the prior chapter, and the comparison with the sorcery above. Idolatry and seeking a sorcerer would be adultery towards God, as the relationship of marriage is used often to reflect our covenant relationship to God. These that cheat on spouses need repent, their unrepentance, the churches new approach of not confronting, but "loving them through it", flies in the face of God and has to be one of the cruelest acts against the mind of someone who needed conviction but was handed fluff. You don't love them, you love for them to like you, and telling them the truth would get in the way of your popularity, and so I wonder, what is it that you believed?

10If a man commits adultery with another man’s wife— with the wife of his neighbor— both the adulterer and the adulteress must surely be put to death. 11If a man lies with his father’s wife, he has uncovered his father’s nakedness. Both must surely be put to death; their blood is upon them.… Leviticus 20: 10-11

Swear falsely - Say on oath that something is true that is not.

…11You must not steal. You must not lie or deceive one another. 12You must not swear falsely by My name and so profane the name of your God. I am the LORD. 13You must not defraud your neighbor or rob him. You must not withhold until morning the wages due a hired hand.… Leviticus 19: 11-13

16 “If a malicious witness rises up against a man to accuse him of 2wrongdoing,

17 then both the men who have the dispute shall stand before the Lord, before the priests and the judges who will be in office in those days.

18 “The judges shall investigate thoroughly, and if the witness is a false witness and he has accused his brother falsely,

19 then you shall do to him just as he had intended to do to his brother. Thus you shall purge the evil from among you.

20 “The rest will hear and be afraid, and will never again do such an evil thing among you. Deuteronomy 19: 16-20

Those who oppress the hired worker in his wages...widow and the fatherless - I knew a man who was prominent in the church, esteemed and allowed to teach young people, but I worked for him, and he was deceitful, often I had to argue for my wages. I had another boss like that, and he witnessed to everyone who walked through his door, but in the end both men I found to be great excuses for my atheism, it seemed to argue in it's favor. When I met my own father, he and his wife claimed to be great people of the faith, Christians of many years, but it was sad to hear my daughter say, "if I didn't know anyone else who was a Christian, I would run the other way", and this is the "light" that Israel had become to the world, and God will remove it first from His church and then from the world. How can we proclaim the gospel and yet rob people of their wages, how can we say we are followers of Christ when we walk in the opposite direction, turning men away?

…7Give these instructions to the believers, so that they will be above reproach. 8 If anyone does not provide for his own, and especially his own household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever. 9A widow should be enrolled if she is at least sixty years old, the wife of one man,… 1 Timothy 5: 7-9

…22You must not mistreat any widow or orphan. 23If you do mistreat them, and they cry out to Me in distress, I will surely hear their cry. 24My anger will be kindled, and I will kill you with the sword; then your wives will become widows and your children will be fatherless.… Exodus 22: 22-24

Are not consumed - Because of God's unchanging nature and His being the instituter and upholder of the covenant, Israel is still alive. 

…18Then Balaam lifted up an oracle, saying: “Arise, O Balak, and listen; give ear to me, O son of Zippor. 19God is not a man, that He should lie, or a son of man, that He should change His mind. Does He speak and not act? Does He promise and not fulfill? 20I have indeed received a command to bless; He has blessed, and I cannot change it.… Numbers 23: 18-20

And thereby put Me to the test - A man cannot test God of his own vain design, but when He gives the invitation to test Him in what He has commanded, that is obedience. In the days of the law there was a direct correlation. Christ even said to take His yoke because His burden was easy and His yoke was light; it is a beautiful invitation but so few take Him up on it. Israel was stealing from God, wanting all the benefits of being His children, but not paying the commanded tithe. Some were going hungry because of this while others had abundance, and the widows and orphans were overlooked. Often the churches today will put much into buildings and programs to get more people through the door, yet when they could help one of the least of these His little ones, they instead refer them to Caesar. As Christians we are taught to pay our taxes, and though we are not taught to tithe, we are told to give out of the abundance of our hearts. If you trust the state to do it, then your eyes are closed, they haven't the foggiest when it comes to money, especially that which they do not earn but demand, and will then use to pay others to vote for them. 

…16By this we know what love is: Jesus laid down His life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. 17 If anyone with earthly possessions sees his brother in need, but withholds his compassion from him, how can the love of God abide in him? 18Little children, let us love not in word and speech, but in action and truth.… 1 John 3: 16-18

It is vain to serve God - As if they were guilty of doing so.

Then those who feared the Lord - Received wisdom.

11Just then the angel of the LORD called out to him from heaven, “Abraham, Abraham!” “Here I am,” he replied. 12“Do not lay a hand on the boy or do anything to him,” said the angel, “for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your only son from me.” 13Then Abraham looked up and saw behind him a ram in a thicket, caught by its horns. So he went and took the ram and offered it as a burnt offering in place of his son.… Genesis 22: 11-13

A book of remembrance was written - The names of the saints are recorded in a book.

…23I wish that my words were recorded and inscribed in a book, 24by an iron stylus on lead, or chiseled in stone forever. 25But I know that my Redeemer lives, and in the end He will stand upon the earth.… Job 19: 23-25

1That night sleep escaped the king; so he ordered the Book of Records, the Chronicles, to be brought in and read to him. 2And there it was found recorded that Mordecai had exposed Bigthana and Teresh, two of the eunuchs who guarded the king’s entrance, when they had conspired to assassinate King Xerxes. 3The king inquired, “What honor or dignity has been bestowed on Mordecai for this act?” “Nothing has been done for him,” replied the king’s attendants.… Esther 6: 1-3

…14Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death—the lake of fire. 15And if anyone was found whose name was not written in the Book of Life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. Revelation 20: 14-15