“For behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven, when all the arrogant and all evildoers will be stubble. The day that is coming shall set them ablaze, says the Lord of hosts, so that it will leave them neither root nor branch. 2 But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings. You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall. 3 And you shall tread down the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet, on the day when I act, says the Lord of hosts.
4 “Remember the law of my servant Moses, the statutes and rules that I commanded him at Horeb for all Israel.
5 “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. 6 And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction.” Malachi 4 ESV
Malachi 4 The Great Day Of The Lord
The day is coming - This is a signal in reference to the Day of the Lord, which comes up in both the Old and New Testaments. Malachi's listeners would be familiar with this language as they looked forward to Messiah, often looking past the fact that He must first come and suffer.
Day of the Lord Passages:
1“At that time Michael, the great prince who stands watch over your people, will rise up. There will be a time of distress, the likes of which will not have occurred from the beginning of nations until that time. But at that time your people—everyone whose name is found written in the book—will be delivered. 2And many who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake, some to everlasting life, but others to shame and everlasting contempt. 3Then the wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness will shine like the stars forever and ever.… Daniel 12: 1-3
…19I will show wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and billows of smoke. 20The sun will be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the coming of the great and glorious Day of the Lord. 21And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’… Acts 2: 19-21
Burning like an oven - The description is clear, God's holiness, His otherliness, is not something anyone can stand before. As was asked previously, "who can stand?" People in the latter days, at the Day of the Lord, will ask for the rocks to fall on them, no one who remains in their sin will want to see the coming Day of the Messiah, for the Lamb is now the Lion of Judah, the great, mighty and righteous Judge of all the earth.
…28Therefore, since we are receiving an unshakable kingdom, let us be filled with gratitude, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe. 29“ For our God is a consuming fire.” Hebrews 12: 28-29
When all the arrogant and all evil doers - Pride has not helped anyone in relation to God, for He needs no man, and it is a sad part of our culture today, that pride, puffing out the chest, and arrogance are considered virtues. He is coming to judge sin, and those attached to it. It is so downplayed today that there is even alternative gospels for those who want the benefits of Christ, His justification, yet not sanctification, for there is no room for repentance in their minds. They call what God calls evil, good, and good they refer to as evil, too exclusive in their minds is the gospel that delivers from sin and only allows for One way to be right with God.
…22Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ 23 Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you workers of lawlessness!’ 24Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.… Matthew 7: 22-24
5“Lord,” said Thomas, “we do not know where You are going, so how can we know the way?” 6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. 7If you had known Me, you would know My Father as well. From now on you do know Him and have seen Him.”… John 14: 5-7
…118You reject all who stray from Your statutes, for their deceitfulness is in vain. 119All the wicked on earth You discard like dross; therefore I love Your testimonies. 120My flesh trembles in awe of You; I stand in fear of Your judgments.… Psalm 119: 118-120
John MacArthur agrees writing that "The first 3 verses continue the thought of the closing verses of the previous chapter, elaborating on God’s punishment of the wicked and His deliverance of the godly (cf. Mal 3:1–5). This eschatological reference to the Day of the Lord (cf. Is 13:6; Joel 2:11, 31; Zep 1:14) is injected 4 times into the prophet’s final words (Mal 3:17; 4:1, 3, 5). It anticipated the return of the Lord Jesus in judgment (cf. Rev 19:11–21)." (MacArthur Study Bible)
But for you who fear My name - This is evident not only in their profession, for that did not help those in Matthew 7 copied above, but such as fear him also start to hate sin, mourn over it, and hold God's word in highest regard. You cannot fear or love God but show no interest in His word.
1Of David. I give You thanks with all my heart; before the gods I sing Your praises. 2I bow down toward Your holy temple and give thanks to Your name for Your loving devotion and Your faithfulness; You have exalted Your name and Your word above all else. 3On the day I called, You answered me; You emboldened me and strengthened my soul.… Psalm 138: 1-3
14If you ask Me for anything in My name, I will do it. 15If you love Me, you will keep My commandments. 16And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Advocate to be with you forever—… John 14: 14-16
…3By this we can be sure that we have come to know Him: if we keep His commandments. 4If anyone says, “I know Him,” but does not keep His commandments, he is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 5But if anyone keeps His word, the love of God has been truly perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him:… 1 John 2: 3-5
Sun of righteousness shall rise - Spurgeon captures this wonderfully.
Spurgeon - What a change of figures! To the wicked “an oven”! (See Mal 4:1.) To God-fearing men a “Sun”! Our text was fulfilled at our Lord’s first coming. It awaits a far larger fulfilment at His Second Coming. It is always true as a general principle, and it is felt to be true when the Lord Jesus spiritually draws near to His people. - Precept Austin
Remember the law of My servant Moses - The Mosaic law consisted primarily of the Ten Commandments, and too often today people act as though there was something wrong with God's law, and to mention it makes you a "legalist", but the law of God was good. It was unable to save though, and this is a legalism that those who hate the law are guilty of as well. "If you do this then God will be obliged to save you, say this prayer, believe what you like but be sincere, be inclusive, unity is worth sacrificing the truth." The Pharisees and Sadducees of Jesus day thought that they could come to God based upon their own merit, heritage, and even added to the law, straining at gnats, but swallowing whole camels. The law was a beautiful teacher, revealing to us that no one keeps the law, and God, Who looks upon the heart, says, there is none righteous, not even one. The law is the first part of the gospel, it convicts men of sin, driving those, who the Holy Spirit regenerates, to the only One Who perfectly lived out and fulfilled the law.
…5See, I have taught you statutes and ordinances just as the LORD my God has commanded me, so that you may follow them in the land that you are about to enter and possess. 6Observe them carefully, for this will show your wisdom and understanding in the sight of the peoples, who will hear of all these statutes and say, “Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.” 7For what nation is great enough to have a god as near to them as the LORD our God is to us whenever we call on Him?… Deuteronomy 4: 5-7
5 This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 6 If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. 8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. 1 John 1: 5-10
17Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets. I have not come to abolish them, but to fulfill them. 18For I tell you truly, until heaven and earth pass away, not a single jot, not a stroke of a pen, will disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. 19So then, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do likewise will be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever practices and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.… Matthew 5: 17-19
Behold - Pay attention, be amazed!
I will send you Elijah the prophet - So in verse 4 we have Moses and now we have the promise of Elijah. Moses representing the law, and Elijah, the prophets. So a little background on Elijah. I included some different links to his name above, which cover different times and aspects of his ministry. He came during the time of the divided kingdom, and was especially known for his standing against the rulers of the northern kingdom, Ahab and Jezebel. The northern kingdom had been separated from Judah for some time and it also separated itself spiritually by not going to the temple of the Lord in Jerusalem, but instead setting up calves to worship under the direction of their first king Jeroboam, whose name becomes a synonym for apostasy. Ahab later comes to be king and marries an import from Tyre, Jezebel, who is a wicked, idolatrous queen. She sets up her own prophets and temple for her god, Baal, and the true God sends Elijah to close up the heavens, so there is no rain for some 3.5 years. At the end of this drought, Elijah challenges the 400 prophets of Baal, and their god, who is an idol of their hands and imagination, cannot answer, but Jehovah answers Elijah with fire. He kills the prophets of Baal, yet Jezebel does not change, and wants to take his life. Now the messenger from Malachi 3 is revealed a little more, he comes as Elijah, whom we know to be John the Baptist, but it gets more wild than this.
…2“Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her forced labor has been completed; her iniquity has been pardoned. For she has received from the hand of the LORD double for all her sins.” 3A voice of one calling: “Prepare the way for the LORD in the wilderness; make a straight highway for our God in the desert. 4Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill made low; the uneven ground will become smooth, and the rugged land a plain.… Isaiah 40: 2-4
1In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea 2and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.” 3This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah: “A voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for Him.’ ”… Matthew 3: 1-3
Before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes - So we know Elijah has to come first and that the Apostles refer to John the Baptist as fulfilling the prophecy of Isaiah, "a voice of one calling", a man preaching repentance. Jesus also ties him to the prophecies of Malachi.
…13For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John. 14And if you are willing to accept it, he is the Elijah who was to come. 15He who has ears, let him hear.… Matthew 11: 13-15
…4Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here. If You wish, I will put up three shelters—one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” 5While Peter was still speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Listen to Him!” 6When the disciples heard this, they fell facedown in terror.…
…7Then Jesus came over and touched them. “Get up,” He said. “Do not be afraid.” 8And when they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus. 9As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus commanded them, “Do not tell anyone about this vision until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.”…
…10The disciples asked Him, “Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?” 11 Jesus 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: 4-13
And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children - It is a ministry of reconciliation, preaching repentance and baptizing as a sign of a desire to be clean, to come back into fellowship with God. Many came to hear John preach, but he was no friend to the religious elite, nor was he liked by the wife of King Herod, for he preached against her and his adulterous relationship.
…4because John had been telling him, “It is not lawful for you to have her.” 5Although Herod wanted to kill John, he was afraid of the people, because they regarded John as a prophet. 6On Herod’s birthday, however, the daughter of Herodias danced before them and pleased Herod…
…7so much that he promised with an oath to give to her whatever she asked. 8 Prompted by her mother, she said, “Give me here on a platter the head of John the Baptist.” 9The king was grieved, but because of his oaths and his guests, he ordered that her wish be granted… Matthew 14: 4-9
…4John wore a garment of camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. 5 People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region around the Jordan. 6Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River.…
…7But when John saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his place of baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? 8Produce fruit, then, in keeping with repentance. 9And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham.… Matthew 3: 4-9
Much like Elijah, who had Jezebel and Ahab, so John has Herodias and Herod to contend with. Elijah is taken up to heaven on a chariot though, and is one of only two men in scripture that do not see death, the other being Enoch. Both men warn of God's judgment, urging people to repent, and neither had much regard for the political or religious establishment of their day. If you look at Matthew 17:12 above, Jesus says Elijah has come, the one preaching the Day of the Lord, coming before the King of kings as a herald to a people needing to repent. If you read Isaiah 53, Psalm 22 or Zechariah 12, you will quickly come to see what Christ is talking about in Matthew 17, He has to suffer first, and all this was fulfilled, but it gets even crazier. Israel missed the day of her first visitation, but there will come a day when they will look on Him Whom they pierced, and mourn for Him. John does not call himself Elijah when asked, and so I want you to see this, that this is was a near and then present fulfillment of that time, but there will come another Day of the Lord, as we know Christ and the apostles spoke of a future event, when Christ comes not to die, for that is "finished", but to judge. Preceding His second coming there will be two witnesses, and I believe they have something to do with Moses, the law, and Elijah, the prophets, mentioned here. They will perform similar signs and wonders. Some say it is strange that John is not actually Elijah, that the people of that day expected an actual return of the OT prophet, that this ministry was not so easily transferrable, but you forget about Elisha. Elijah passed his ministry along to his apprentice, Elisha, who asked for a double portion of his spirit, which was granted and evidenced by miracles. Elijah and Moses stood with Jesus upon the mount of transfiguration, and many suppose this, along with Malachi, is a sign that these two will be sent here as the witnesses spoken of in Revelation 11. I believe there will be two literal witnesses, but I am not dogmatic about Moses and Elijah being sent back, yet they will follow in this same vein, the law and the prophets. It is difficult to be dogmatic because of John the Baptist and Elisha, yet they will bring drought and much worse as they preach repentance and God's very close and coming judgment.
…2There He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light. 3Suddenly Moses and Elijah appeared before them, talking with Jesus. 4Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here. If You wish, I will put up three shelters—one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”… Matthew 17: 2-4
19And this was John’s testimony when the Jews of Jerusalem sent priests and Levites to ask him, “Who are you?” 20 He did not refuse to confess, but openly declared, “I am not the Christ.” 21“Then who are you?” they inquired. “Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” He answered, “No.”… John 1: 19-21
I was given a reed like a measuring rod and was told, “Go and measure the temple of God and the altar, with its worshipers. 2 But exclude the outer court; do not measure it, because it has been given to the Gentiles. They will trample on the holy city for 42 months. 3 And I will appoint my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth.” 4 They are “the two olive trees” and the two lampstands, and “they stand before the Lord of the earth.” 5 If anyone tries to harm them, fire comes from their mouths and devours their enemies. This is how anyone who wants to harm them must die. 6 They have power to shut up the heavens so that it will not rain during the time they are prophesying; and they have power to turn the waters into blood and to strike the earth with every kind of plague as often as they want.
7 Now when they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up from the Abyss will attack them, and overpower and kill them. 8 Their bodies will lie in the public square of the great city—which is figuratively called Sodom and Egypt—where also their Lord was crucified. 9 For three and a half days some from every people, tribe, language and nation will gaze on their bodies and refuse them burial. 10 The inhabitants of the earth will gloat over them and will celebrate by sending each other gifts, because these two prophets had tormented those who live on the earth.
11 But after the three and a half days the breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet, and terror struck those who saw them. 12 Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “Come up here.” And they went up to heaven in a cloud, while their enemies looked on.
13 At that very hour there was a severe earthquake and a tenth of the city collapsed. Seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and the survivors were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven.
14 The second woe has passed; the third woe is coming soon. Revelation 11 NIV
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