“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, whom you desire, behold, he comes!” says Yahweh of Armies. “But who can endure the day of his coming? And who will stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner’s fire, and like launderers’ soap; and he will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi, and refine them as gold and silver; and they shall offer to Yahweh offerings in righteousness.
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“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, whom you desire, behold, he comes!” says Yahweh of Armies. “But who can endure the day of his coming? And who will stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner’s fire, and like launderers’ soap; and he will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi, and refine them as gold and silver; and they shall offer to Yahweh offerings in righteousness. Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasant to Yahweh, as in the days of old, and as in ancient years. I will come near to you to judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against the perjurers, and against those who oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and who deprive the foreigner of justice, and don’t fear me,” says Yahweh of Armies. “For I, Yahweh, don’t change; therefore you, sons of Jacob, are not consumed. From the days of your fathers you have turned away from my ordinances, and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you,” says Yahweh of Armies. “But you say, ‘How shall we return?’ Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me! But you say, ‘How have we robbed you?’ In tithes and offerings. You are cursed with the curse; for you rob me, even this whole nation. Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house, and test me now in this,” says Yahweh of Armies, “if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there will not be room enough for. I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast its fruit before its time in the field,” says Yahweh of Armies. “All nations shall call you blessed, for you will be a delightful land,” says Yahweh of Armies.
Parallel Translations
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“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, whom you desire, behold, he comes!” says Yahweh of Armies.
“But who can endure the day of his coming? And who will stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner’s fire, and like launderers’ soap;
and he will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi, and refine them as gold and silver; and they shall offer to Yahweh offerings in righteousness.
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Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts.
But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner’s fire, and like fullers’ soap:
And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the LORD an offering in righteousness.
Show all 3 translations
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Behold, I send My messenger, and he shall clear the way before Me; and the Lord, whom ye seek, will suddenly come to His temple, and the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in, behold, he cometh, saith the LORD of hosts.
But who may abide the day of his coming? And who shall stand when he appeareth? For he is like a refiner's fire, and like fullers' soap;
And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver; and there shall be they that shall offer unto the LORD offerings in righteousness.
Examined in Scripture Analysis
Messianic Prophecies (1)
Passages read as foretelling the Messiah, with the fulfillment reading and the counter-reading set side by side.
Cross-references (109)
- Zechariah 13:9 (vv2–3) I will bring the third part into the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will test them like gold is tested. They will…
- Malachi 4:5 (v1) Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and terrible day of Yahweh comes.
- Isaiah 1:25 (v3) I will turn my hand on you, thoroughly purge away your dross, and will take away all your tin.
- Isaiah 4:4 (v2) when the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and shall have purged the blood of Jerusalem from within it, by…
- Luke 1:76 (v1) And you, child, will be called a prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways,
Show all 100 cross-references
- 1 Corinthians 3:13-15 (v2) each man’s work will be revealed. For the Day will declare it, because it is revealed in fire; and the fire itself will test what sort of…
- Mark 1:2-3 (v1) As it is written in the prophets, “Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way before you: the voice of one…
- Proverbs 17:3 (v3) The refining pot is for silver, and the furnace for gold, but Yahweh tests the hearts.
- Revelation 6:17 (v2) for the great day of his wrath has come; and who is able to stand?”
- Isaiah 63:9 (v1) In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them. In his love and in his pity he redeemed them. He bore…
- Matthew 11:10-11 (v1) For this is he, of whom it is written, ‘Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way before you.’ Most certainly…
- Luke 7:26-28 (v1) But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and much more than a prophet. This is he of whom it is written, ‘Behold, I send…
- 1 Peter 2:7-8 (v2) For you who believe therefore is the honor, but for those who are disobedient, “The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief…
- Luke 21:36 (v2) Therefore be watchful all the time, praying that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will happen, and to stand before…
- Hebrews 12:10 (v3) For they indeed, for a few days, punished us as seemed good to them; but he for our profit, that we may be partakers of his holiness.
- Psalms 2:7 (v2) I will tell of the decree: Yahweh said to me, “You are my son. Today I have become your father.
- Daniel 12:10 (v3) Many will purify themselves, and make themselves white, and be refined; but the wicked will do wickedly; and none of the wicked will…
- Malachi 2:7 (v1) For the priest’s lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the law at his mouth; for he is the messenger of Yahweh of Armies.
- Luke 3:17 (v2) whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly cleanse his threshing floor, and will gather the wheat into his barn; but he will burn up…
- Acts 19:4 (v1) Paul said, “John indeed baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying to the people that they should believe in the one who would come…
- Isaiah 40:3-5 (v1) The voice of one who calls out, “Prepare the way of Yahweh in the wilderness! Make a level highway in the desert for our God. Every valley…
- Malachi 4:1 (v2) “For, behold, the day comes, it burns as a furnace; and all the proud, and all who work wickedness, will be stubble; and the day that comes…
- Luke 3:9 (v2) Even now the ax also lies at the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that doesn’t produce good fruit is cut down, and thrown into the…
- John 6:42-44 (v2) They said, “Isn’t this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How then does he say, ‘I have come down out of heaven?’ ”…
- Ephesians 5:26-27 (v3) that he might sanctify it, having cleansed it by the washing of water with the word, that he might present the assembly to himself…
- Hebrews 10:28-29 (v2) A man who disregards Moses’ law dies without compassion on the word of two or three witnesses. How much worse punishment do you think he…
- Revelation 2:23 (v2) I will kill her children with Death, and all the assemblies will know that I am he who searches the minds and hearts. I will give to each…
- Psalms 66:10 (v3) For you, God, have tested us. You have refined us, as silver is refined.
- Jeremiah 2:22 (v2) For though you wash yourself with lye, and use much soap, yet your iniquity is marked before me,” says the Lord Yahweh.
- Amos 5:18-20 (v2) “Woe to you who desire the day of Yahweh! Why do you long for the day of Yahweh? It is darkness, and not light. As if a man fled from a…
- John 1:6-7 (v1) There came a man, sent from God, whose name was John. The same came as a witness, that he might testify about the light, that all might…
- Romans 9:31-33 (v2) but Israel, following after a law of righteousness, didn’t arrive at the law of righteousness. Why? Because they didn’t seek it by faith,…
- Romans 11:5-10 (v2) Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace. And if by grace, then it is no longer of…
- Titus 2:14 (v3) who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify for himself a people for his own possession, zealous for…
- Hebrews 12:25 (v2) See that you don’t refuse him who speaks. For if they didn’t escape when they refused him who warned on the earth, how much more will we…
- Exodus 23:20 (v1) “Behold, I send an angel before you, to keep you by the way, and to bring you into the place which I have prepared.
- Isaiah 1:18 (v2) “Come now, and let’s reason together,” says Yahweh: “Though your sins are as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow. Though they are red…
- Matthew 17:10-13 (v1) His disciples asked him, saying, “Then why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?” Jesus answered them, “Elijah indeed comes…
- Luke 1:16-17 (v1) He will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. He will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, ‘to turn the…
- Luke 2:34 (v2) and Simeon blessed them, and said to Mary, his mother, “Behold, this child is set for the falling and the rising of many in Israel, and for…
- Luke 11:52-54 (v2) Woe to you lawyers! For you took away the key of knowledge. You didn’t enter in yourselves, and those who were entering in, you hindered.”…
- John 8:41-48 (v2) You do the works of your father.” They said to him, “We were not born of sexual immorality. We have one Father, God.” Therefore Jesus said…
- John 8:55 (v2) You have not known him, but I know him. If I said, ‘I don’t know him,’ I would be like you, a liar. But I know him and keep his word.
- Revelation 1:5-7 (v2) and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us, and…
- Psalms 110:1 (v1) Yahweh says to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool for your feet.”
- Proverbs 25:4 (v3) Take away the dross from the silver, and material comes out for the refiner;
- Matthew 3:1-3 (v1) In those days, John the Baptizer came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, saying, “Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand!” For…
- Matthew 3:7-12 (v2) But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for his baptism, he said to them, “You offspring of vipers, who warned you to…
- Matthew 21:31-44 (v2) Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said to him, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Most certainly I tell you that the tax…
- Matthew 25:10 (v2) While they went away to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding feast, and the door was shut.
- Luke 3:16 (v3) John answered them all, “I indeed baptize you with water, but he comes who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy…
- John 4:23-24 (v3) But the hour comes, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such to be his…
- John 15:22-24 (v2) If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have had sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin. He who hates me, hates my…
- Acts 7:52-54 (v2) Which of the prophets didn’t your fathers persecute? They killed those who foretold the coming of the Righteous One, of whom you have now…
- Romans 12:1 (v3) Therefore I urge you, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your…
- Philippians 2:17 (v3) Yes, and if I am poured out on the sacrifice and service of your faith, I rejoice, and rejoice with you all.
- 1 Peter 1:7 (v3) that the proof of your faith, which is more precious than gold that perishes even though it is tested by fire, may be found to result in…
- 1 Peter 2:9 (v3) But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, that you may proclaim the excellence of…
- Revelation 3:18 (v3) I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, that you may become rich; and white garments, that you may clothe yourself, and that the…
- Psalms 69:30-31 (v3) I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify him with thanksgiving. It will please Yahweh better than an ox, or a bull that…
- Isaiah 48:10 (v3) Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver. I have chosen you in the furnace of affliction.
- Ezekiel 22:14 (v2) Can your heart endure, or can your hands be strong, in the days that I will deal with you? I, Yahweh, have spoken it, and will do it.
- Haggai 2:7-9 (v1) and I will shake all nations. The precious things of all nations will come, and I will fill this house with glory, says Yahweh of Armies.…
- Malachi 1:6-11 (v3) “A son honors his father, and a servant his master. If I am a father, then where is my honor? And if I am a master, where is the respect…
- Mark 9:3 (v2) His clothing became glistening, exceedingly white, like snow, such as no launderer on earth can whiten them.
- Luke 11:37-47 (v2) Now as he spoke, a certain Pharisee asked him to dine with him. He went in, and sat at the table. When the Pharisee saw it, he marveled…
- John 9:39-41 (v2) Jesus said, “I came into this world for judgment, that those who don’t see may see; and that those who see may become blind.” Those of the…
- Romans 15:16 (v3) that I should be a servant of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles, serving as a priest of the Good News of God, that the offering up of the…
- Hebrews 13:15-16 (v3) Through him, then, let’s offer up a sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of lips which proclaim allegiance to his…
- 1 Peter 2:5 (v3) You also, as living stones, are built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God…
- 1 Peter 4:12-13 (v3) Beloved, don’t be astonished at the fiery trial which has come upon you to test you, as though a strange thing happened to you. But because…
- Psalms 4:5 (v3) Offer the sacrifices of righteousness. Put your trust in Yahweh.
- Psalms 50:23 (v3) Whoever offers the sacrifice of thanksgiving glorifies me, and prepares his way so that I will show God’s salvation to him.”
- Psalms 107:21-22 (v3) Let them praise Yahweh for his loving kindness, for his wonderful deeds to the children of men! Let them offer the sacrifices of…
- Psalms 116:17 (v3) I will offer to you the sacrifice of thanksgiving, and will call on Yahweh’s name.
- Psalms 141:1-2 (v3) Yahweh, I have called on you. Come to me quickly! Listen to my voice when I call to you. Let my prayer be set before you like incense; the…
- Isaiah 7:14 (v1) Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin will conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
- Isaiah 9:6 (v1) For a child is born to us. A son is given to us; and the government will be on his shoulders. His name will be called Wonderful Counselor,…
- Isaiah 61:6 (v3) But you will be called Yahweh’s priests. Men will call you the servants of our God. You will eat the wealth of the nations. You will boast…
- Isaiah 66:19-21 (v3) “I will set a sign among them, and I will send those who escape of them to the nations, to Tarshish, Pul, and Lud, who draw the bow, to…
- Jeremiah 6:28-30 (v3) They are all grievous rebels, going around to slander. They are bronze and iron. All of them deal corruptly. The bellows blow fiercely. The…
- Jeremiah 33:18-22 (v3) The Levitical priests won’t lack a man before me to offer burnt offerings, to burn meal offerings, and to do sacrifice continually.”…
- Ezekiel 22:18-22 (v3) “Son of man, the house of Israel has become dross to me. All of them are bronze, tin, iron, and lead in the middle of the furnace. They are…
- Ezekiel 44:15-16 (v3) “ ‘ “But the Levitical priests, the sons of Zadok, who performed the duty of my sanctuary when the children of Israel went astray from me,…
- Hosea 14:2 (v3) Take words with you, and return to Yahweh. Tell him, “Forgive all our sins, and accept that which is good: so we offer our lips like bulls.
- Malachi 2:1-8 (v3) “Now, you priests, this commandment is for you. If you will not listen, and if you will not take it to heart, to give glory to my name,”…
- Matthew 23:13-35 (v2) “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you devour widows’ houses, and as a pretense you make long prayers. Therefore you will…
- Luke 2:21-32 (v1) When eight days were fulfilled for the circumcision of the child, his name was called Jesus, which was given by the angel before he was…
- Luke 3:3-6 (v1) He came into all the region around the Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for remission of sins. As it is written in the book of…
- Luke 19:47 (v1) He was teaching daily in the temple, but the chief priests, the scribes, and the leading men among the people sought to destroy him.
- John 1:15-23 (v1) John testified about him. He cried out, saying, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed me, for he was before…
- Acts 7:38 (v1) This is he who was in the assembly in the wilderness with the angel that spoke to him on Mount Sinai, and with our fathers, who received…
- 2 Timothy 4:6 (v3) For I am already being offered, and the time of my departure has come.
- Revelation 1:6 (v3) and he made us to be a Kingdom, priests to his God and Father—to him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.
- Revelation 7:14 (v2) I told him, “My lord, you know.” He said to me, “These are those who came out of the great suffering.They washed their robes, and made them…
- Revelation 19:8 (v2) It was given to her that she would array herself in bright, pure, fine linen: for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.
- Genesis 48:15-16 (v1) He blessed Joseph, and said, “The God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, the God who has fed me all my life long to this day,…
- Hosea 12:3-5 (v1) In the womb he took his brother by the heel; and in his manhood he contended with God. Indeed, he struggled with the angel, and prevailed;…
- Luke 2:11 (v1) For there is born to you today, in David’s city, a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
- Luke 2:38 (v1) Coming up at that very hour, she gave thanks to the Lord, and spoke of him to all those who were looking for redemption in Jerusalem.
100 distinct cross-references across this passage (109 total citations).
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain On vv1–3 Here the Prophet does not bring comfort to the…
Here the Prophet does not bring comfort to the wicked slanderers previously mentioned, but asserts the constancy of his faith in opposition to their blasphemous words; as though he had said, “Though they impiously declare that they have been either deceived or forsaken by the God in whom they had hoped, yet his covenant shall not be in vain.” The design of what is announced is like that of the declaration made elsewhere,
“Though men are perfidious and false, yet God remains true, and cannot depart from his own nature.” (Numbers 23:19.)
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God then does here gloriously triumph over the Jews, and alleges his own covenant in opposition to their disgraceful slanders, because their wicked murmurings could not hinder him to accomplish his promises and to perform in due time what they thought would never be done; and he adopts a demonstrative adverb in order to show the certainty of what is said.
Behold, he says, I send my messenger, who will clear the way before my face This passage ought doubtless to be understood of John the Baptist, for Christ himself so explains it, than whom no better interpreter can be found; and since John the Baptist was the messenger of Christ, the beginning of the verse can be applied to no other person. Afterwards the Father himself speaks as we shall see: but as he who appeared in the flesh is the same God with the Father, it is no wonder that he speaks, and then that the words which follow are spoken in the person of the Father.
There is here a striking allusion to Moses, whose office it was to intercede, that God might not in his just wrath destroy the whole people; for as then the majesty of God was more than could be borne without an intercessor, so that the people through fear cried out “Speak thou to us lest we die,” (Exodus 20:19,) so also now does Malachi teach us, that there is need of an intercessor, by whom God’s wrath might be mitigated, which the Jews had extremely provoked. This office John the Baptist undertook, who prepared the Jews to hear the voice of Christ.
By saying that he would send a messenger to clear his way, he indirectly reproved the Jews, by whom many hindrances were thrown as it were in the way; as though he had said, “They prevent by the obstacles they raise up the redemption and the promised salvation to be revealed: there will therefore be the need of a messenger to clear the way.” For the Jews had introduced impediments, as though they designedly wished to resist the favor which had been prepared and promised to them. But how the Baptist performed his work by clearing the way, is evident from the fortieth chapter of Isaiah, as well as from the Gospels; and hence may be gathered what I have already said — that God by his fidelity and mercy struggled with those obstacles which the Jews had raised up to prevent the coming of Christ.
He afterwards adds, And presently shall come to his temple the Lord, whom ye seek. After having said that he would open a way for his favor, he now adds, come shall the Lord. He introduces here, not Jehovah, but the Lord, אדון, Adun; and hence he speaks distinctly of Christ, who is afterwards called the Angel or Messenger of the covenant. But the word אדון, Adun, commonly used for a Mediator, as in Psalm 110, and also in Daniel 9:17; where it is expressly said, “Hear, O Jehovah, for the sake of the Lord,” למען אדוני, lamon Aduni; the word is the same as here, come then shall the Lord. The reason for this mode of speaking was, because Christ was shown to them under the type which re presented him. As then the kingdom of David was a representation of the kingdom of Christ our Lord, it is no wonder that the Prophets designate him by this title, especially those who were the nearest to the time of Christ’s manifestation. But he is promised by another title, the angel or messenger of the covenant; but it means not the same here as in the first clause. He called John the Baptist at the beginning of this verse a messenger, the messenger of Jehovah; and now he calls Christ a messenger, but he is the messenger of the covenant; for it was necessary that the covenant should be confirmed by him. The title of John the Baptist was then inferior to that of Christ; for though he was God manifested in the flesh, yet this did not prevent him from being God’s minister and interpreter in order to confirm his covenant; and we know that the office of Christ consists in confirming and sealing to us the covenant of God, not only by his doctrine, but also by his blood and the sacrifice of his cross.
Malachi then promises here to the Jews both a king and a reconciler, — a king under tee title of Lord, — and a reconciler under the title of the messenger of the covenant: and we know it was the main thing in the whole doctrine of the law, that a Redeemer was to come, to reconcile the Church to Cod and to rule it.
And he says that the Mediator was sought and expected by the Jews; and through him God was to be propitious to them: but this was not said but ironically. The faithful indeed at this day have all their desires fixed on Christ, after he has been revealed in the flesh, until they shall partake at his last coming of the fruit of his death and resurrection; and under the law we know that the groaning and the sighings of the godly were towards Christ: but Malachi here, by way of contempt, checks these unreasonable charges, by which the Jews accused God, as though he had disappointed their hope and their prayers. For we have said, and the fact is evident, that God had been presumptuously and shamefully impeached by them, as though he meant not to fulfill his promises: hence the Prophet says ironically, and sharply too, that Christ was expected by the Jews, for they murmured, because God had too long deferred his coming: “O! where is the Redeemer? when will he be revealed to us?” Since then they thus pretended that they earnestly expected the coming of Christ, the Prophet upbraids them with this, and justly too, for they had expressly manifested their unbelief.
Behold, he comes, saith Jehovah of hosts Here he introduces the Father as the speaker, as it has been already stated; and the particle הנה, ene, behold, is used for the sake of removing every doubt; and then he confirms what he says by the authority of God. He might have asserted this in his own person as a teacher; but in order to produce an effect on the Jews by the majesty of God, he makes him the author of this prophecy. It follows —
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv1–3 Meaning, Messiah, Ps. 40:1, 7; Dan. 9:17, 25.
Meaning, Messiah, Ps. 40:1, 7; Dan. 9:17, 25.
This is meant of John Baptist, as Christ expoundeth it, Luke 7:27.
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That is, Christ, by whom the covenant was made and ratified, who is called the Angel or messenger of the covenant, because he reconcileth us to his father and is Lord or king, because he hath the government of his Church.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv1–3 Mal 3:1 Behold, I will send my messenger, and…
Mal 3:1 Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts.
Ver. 1. Behold, I will send my messenger] It is well observed by the learned, that this whole prophecy of Malachi, though distinguished, as now, into several chapters, yet is but one entire sermon, at once delivered. Those atheists that asked in the precedent verse (and they did it with an accent too, that they might not be slighted), "where is the God of judgment?" are here fully answered; and that they might the better attend, they have it with a note of pregnancy, "Behold, I will send," &c. q.d. differtur quidem iudicium sed non aufertur. Tandem veniet, profecto veniet. Judgment comes not as soon as you call for it; but come it will, be sure it will. For, behold, I send, in the present tense, my messenger, the Baptist, and, at his heels, as it were, Messiah, the Prince, who shall reform and rectify all disorders. "For judgment," saith he, "come I into the world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind," Joh 9:39. And then, you that call for judgment shall have enough of it; when ye see my messsenger, harbinger, or herald, know that I am hard at hand. "Behold": this is set here as the sound of a trumpet before some proclamation, to arouse men’s attention.
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I will send] Heb. I do send, or, am sending; though the thing was not done till four or five hundred years after; but in God’s purpose and promise it was a done thing already. All things are present with him, for he is a pure act; his whole essence is wholly an eye, or a mind; he is all things eminently, exemplarily, and contains all things in himself. Hence he knows temporal things after an eternal manner, mutable things immutably, contingent things infallibly, future things presently. Hence he calleth things that yet are not, as if they were, Rom 4:17; and this, as in the works of creation, renovation, resurrection, so in the accomplishment of his promises, which we must not antedate, as we are apt to do; but learn to live by faith, Hab 2:2. Possibly the calendar of heaven hath a post-date to ours. Strive to be strong in faith, and glorify God.
My messenger] Not Christ, as Eusebius doted (lib. 5, de Demon. Evang. cap. 28), nor Messiah, the son of Joseph, that is, of the tribe of Joseph, as Rabbi Abraham would have it (for the Jews foolishly expect two Messiahs, one the son of David, and the other the son of Joseph), nor an angel of heaven, as Rabbi David interprets it, according to Exo 23:20; but John Baptist, as our Savidur expounds himself Mat 11:10, who is here called Christ’s messenger, or angel, by reason of his office: one by whom he would manifest his mind to his people. "He was a burning and a shining light," Joh 5:35, or lamp, and shone for a season, till the Sun of righteousness came in place: as lights and candles are of good use till the sun riseth. See 1Sa 3:8.
And he shall prepare the way] Expurgabit, everret, emundabit. He shall clear the way, sweep it, accoutre or dress it. He shall remove all rubs and remoras out of the way, he shall pare and pave a path for Christ into the soul, open those everlasting doors, that the King of glory may come in; he shall make "ready a people for the Lord," Luk 1:17. Man’s heart is full of mountains and valleys, Luk 3:5. These must be levelled ere Christ can be admitted: and that is not done but by repentance unto life. As John Baptist was Christ’s forerunner into the world; so must repentance be his forerunner into the heart: for he that repenteth not, the kingdom of heaven is far from him; so that he cannot see it (as the Hebrew word here used imports he must do), for his lusts that hang in his light, פנח viam aperture et oculis intuentium conspicuam faciet.
And the Lord whom ye seek] Dominator, that Lord paramount, of whom David speaketh, Psa 110:1, and for whose sake Daniel desireth to be heard, Dan 9:17. Messiah the Prince, Dan 3:25, the Prince and Saviour, Act 5:31, Lord and Christ, Act 2:36, the God of judgment, whom they called for, Mal 2:17, and whom they are said to seek for. As God, he is not very far from any of us, saith Paul, Act 17:27, not so far as the bark is from the tree; for in him we all live, and move, and subsist. And as Godman, he
shall suddenly come to his temple] Suddenly, that is, in the fulness of time (which is but a short time in respect to the long expectation of the patriarchs), and speedily after John Baptist’s birth; suddenly also, because unexpectedly to the most, who stood amazed at his preaching, and said, Whence hath this man this wisdom, and these mighty works? Is not this the carpenter, &c.? To his temple he came, when presented there to be circumcised, Luk 2:21-39, when he put forth a beam of his Divinity there, in his disputation with the doctors, Luk 2:46-49. But especially when he purged the temple; 1. By his doctrine, Mat 5:1-12; Mat 15:1-20; and 2. By his discipline, Joh 2:14-16; Joh 12:12; at which time, "Tell ye the daughter of Sion," saith God, "Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, meek, and sitting upon an ass," Mat 21:5; not upon a stately palfrey, {a} as an earthly potentate. And that was the very cause that these in the text, that are said to see him when they had him among them, could by no means think well of him, in respect of his mean and despicable condition. They had a certain notion of the Messiah, and were in expectation of him, and of temporal deliverance and felicity by him, of which, when disappointed, they were as blank as the time they saw the hoped issue of their late Jewish virgin turned to a daughter; or when they saw Mahomet eat of a camel; whom till then, when they saw him arising in such power, they were ready to cry up for their long looked for Messiah (Dr Hall’s Peacemaker).
Even the messenger of the covenant] viz. Of the covenant of grace; for in Christ God reconciled the world to himself. And of this covenant Christ is the angel, or messenger, because, 1. He revealeth it, and we must take heed how we slight it, Heb 2:3, shift it, Heb 12:25 2. He mediateth it, 1Ti 2:5, and in and by him it hath accomplishment, 2Co 1:20. Hence, Isa 9:6, he is called the Prince of peace, and, according to the Septuagint there, the Angel of the great counsel: Mεγαλης της βουλης αγγελος. Let all that would receive mercy from God get into Christ, and so into covenant; for as the mercy seat was no larger than the ark, so neither is the grace of God than the covenant of grace; and as the ark and mercy seat were never separated, so neither are such from God as are found in Christ.
Whom ye delight in] They delighted in his day, the better sort of them, though afar off, Joh 8:56; they anticipated him, and were recognised by him, Heb 11:13. They promised themselves, through Christ, malorum ademptionem, honorum adeptionem, freedom from all evil, and fruition of all good. Hence he is called, "the desire of all nations," Hag 2:8. The Church in the Canticles saith he is totus desiderabilis, altogether desirable, Son 5:16. The Church in Isaiah desires him with her whole soul, Isa 26:9; Isa 64:1; as impatient of further delays, crieth out, "Oh that thou wouldest rend the heavens and come down, that the mountains might flow down at thy presence." "Drop down, ye heavens, from above, and let the skies pour down, righteousness: let the earth open, and let them bring forth salvation," &c., Isa 45:8. Lo, what earnest rantings and disquieting ways were in those ancient believers after Christ, what continual sallies, as it were, and egressions of affection.
Behold, he shall come] He shall, he shall; nay, he is even come already: for so the Hebrew hath it, Hinneh ba, behold, he is come; methinks I even see him. A like text there is Hab 2:3. The duty required is, wait; the promise is delivered doubled and tripled: It shall speak, it will come, it will surely come. Nay, doubled again: It shall not lie, it will not tarry. It is as if God had said, Do but wait, and you shall be delivered, you shall be delivered, you shall be delivered; you shall, you shall. Oh the rhetoric of God! oh the certainty of the promises! A Lapide’s note is not here to be passed by. This word "Behold" signifieth that this coming of Christ in the flesh should be, 1. New, admirable, and stupendous. 2. Sure and certain. 3. Desirable and joyful. 4. Famous and renowned.
Saith the Lord of hosts] And that is assurance good enough; for hath he said it, and shall he not do it? Here is firm footing for faith; and men are bound to rest in God’s Ipse dixit. He spoke for himself. Abraham did, and required no other evidence, Rom 4:16-22. He cared not for the deadness of his own body or of his wife’s womb. He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief. No more must we, if we will be heirs of the world, with faithful Abraham. God’s truth and power are the Jachin and Boaz, the two pillars whereupon faith must repose; believing God upon his bare word, and that against sense, in things invisible, and against reason, in things incredible.
{a} A saddle-horse for ordinary riding as distinguished from a war-horse; esp. a small saddle-horse for ladies. ŒD
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv1–3 The former chapter, as we have it cast, ended…
The former chapter, as we have it cast, ended with an inquiry made by vicious and ungodly priests and people, who either doubted or denied the present government. or future judgment of God over the world. This being reproved ill the last verse of the second chapter, now God condescends to give a very full and particular answer to this question, for the instruction and consolation of the good, whatever use the evil will make of it.
Behold: this note in this place, and on this occasion, requires our best attention; consider it well, therefore, all ye that inquire with doubt, and all ye that inquire who belief, that he will come, who is God of judgment.
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I will send; or, I am sending, I will shortly send: it is Christ who here speaketh, and who sendeth.
My messenger; John Baptist, the forerunner of Christ, as evidently appears from Mat 11:10; Mar 1:2; Luk 7:27,28. He is this messenger, whom some by mistake have taken to be an angel; but though the word so signifieth, it doth also signify a messenger, and so it is very fifty rendered in this place: see Mal 1:1.
He shall prepare the way before me, by preaching repentance because the kingdom of heaven was at hand, by baptizing, by calling them to believe on the Messiah, who should now ere long be revealed, &c.: so John Baptist made ready the people to entertain Christ, and to believe in him. This was he who came in the spirit and power of Elias, and such a one the Jews expected.
The Lord; Messiah, who is Lord and Christ, Act 2:36; Lord of lords, Rev 17:14; 19:16.
Whom ye seek; you ungodly disputers seek, but not aright, for you seek, i.e. inquire whether there be such a God of judgment. Beside these, there are others also, who did seek, i.e. humbly, longing and praying that he would come, and waiting, assured that he will come: it is these chiefly intended.
Shall suddenly come, after the coming of his forerunner: this suddenly in the text is not very fitly interpreted of a time so long as between this prophecy and the coming of Christ, but it very well suiteth to the time between John Baptist’s appearing to prepare the way, and Christ’s appearing now the way was prepared.
To his temple; that temple which was the second temple at Jerusalem, lately built by Zerubbabel and Joshua, into which the Messiah was to come; and so he did. There old Simeon met him, there he disputed with the doctors, thither he went to drive out buyers and sellers, and this according to what was foretold of him, Hag 2:7; and all the religious Jews, who lived and died before the desolation of this second temple, did believe, and did confess, that the Messiah would come whilst that house did stand. He is then come, for that temple hath been ruined long since by the Romans.
The messenger of the covenant; the Angel of the covenant, not Elias, but Christ, the Messiah, in whose blood the covenant of grace was confirmed, for whose sake it is performed to us.
Whom ye delight in; you Jews, among whom few there are who do not please themselves to think of his coming, for the expectation of the best among the Jews was fixed on salvation, as that they hoped for by Christ. Others expected great but worldly advantage by his coming and setting up his kingdom among them.
Behold; behold again, saith the prophet, consider thoroughly what is foretold.
He shall come, at the time, to the place, in the manner foreshowed.
Saith the Lord of hosts; all confirmed by the word of the great God.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain On v1 The first words of this chapter seem a direct…
The first words of this chapter seem a direct answer to the profane atheistical demand of the scoffers of those days which closed the foregoing chapter: Where is the God of judgment? To which it is readily answered, "Here he is; he is just at the door; the long-expected Messiah is ready to appear; and he says, For judgment have I come into this world, for that judgment which you have so impudently bid defiance to." One of the rabbin says that the meaning of this is, That God will raise up a righteous King, to set things in order, even the king Messiah. And the beginning of the gospel of Christ is expressly said to be the accomplishment of this promise, with which the Old Testament concludes, Mar 1:1, Mar 1:2. So that by this the two Testaments are, as it were, tacked together, and made to answer one another. Now here we have,
I. A prophecy of the appearing of his forerunner John the Baptist, which the prophet Isaiah had foretold (Isa 40:3), as the preparing of the way of the Lord, to which this seems to have a reference, for the words of the latter prophets confirmed those of the former: Behold, I will send my messenger, or I do send him, or I am sending him. "I am determined to send him; he will now shortly come, and will not come unsent, though to a careless generation he comes unsent for." Observe, 1. He is God's messenger; that is his office; he is Malachi (so the word is), the same with the name of this prophet; he is my angel, my ambassador. John Baptist had his commission from heaven, and not of men. All held John Baptist for a prophet, for he was God's messenger, as the prophets were, and came on the same errand to the world that they were sent upon - to call men to repentance and reformation. 2. He is Christ's harbinger: He shall prepare the way before me, by calling men to those duties which qualify them to receive the comforts of the Messiah and his coming, and by taking them off from a confidence in their relation to Abraham as their father (which, they thought, would serve their turn without a saviour), and by giving notice that the Messiah was now at hand, and so raising men's expectations of him, and making them readily to go into the measures he would take for the setting up of his kingdom in the world. Note, God observes a method in his work, and, before he comes, takes care to have his way prepared. This is like the giving of a sign. The church was told, long before, that the Messiah would come; and here it is added that, a little before he appears, there shall be a signal given; a great prophet shall arise, that shall give notice of his approach, and call to the everlasting gates and doors to lift up their heads and give him admission. The accomplishment of this is a proof that Jesus is the Christ, is he that should come, and we are to look for no other; for there was such a messenger sent before him, who made ready a people prepared for the Lord, Luk 1:17. The Jewish writers run into gross absurdities to evade the conviction of this evidence; some of them say that this messenger is the angel of death, who shall take the wicked out of this life, to be sent into hell torments; others of them say that it is Messiah the son of Joseph, who shall appear before Messiah the son of David; others, this prophet himself; others, an angel from heaven: such mistakes do those run into that will not receive the truth.
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II. A prophecy of the appearing of the Messiah himself: "The Lord, whom you seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the God of judgment, who, you think, has forsaken the earth, and you wot not what has become of him. The Messiah has been long called he that should come, and you may assure yourselves that now shortly he will come." 1. He is the Lord - Adonai, the basis and foundation on which the world is founded and fastened, the ruler and governor of all, that one Lord over all (Act 10:36) that has all power committed to him (Mat 28:18) and is to reign over the house of Jacob for ever, Luk 1:33. 2. He is the Messenger of the covenant, or the angel of the covenant, that blessed one that was sent from heaven to negotiate a peace, and settle a correspondence, between God and man. He is the angel, the archangel, the Lord of the angels, who received commission from the Father to bring man home to God by a covenant of grace, who had revolted from him by the violation of the covenant of innocency. Christ is the angel of this covenant, by whose mediation it is brought about and established as God's covenant with Israel was made by the disposition of angels, Act 7:53; Gal 3:19. Christ, as a prophet, is the messenger and mediator of the covenant; nay, he is given for a covenant, Isa 49:8. That covenant which is all our salvation began to be spoken by the Lord, Heb 2:3. Though he is the prince of the covenant (as some read this) yet he condescended to be the messenger of it, that we might have full assurance of God's good-will towards man, upon his word. 3. He it is whom you seek, whom you delight in, whom the pious Jews expect and desire, and whose coming they think of with a great deal of pleasure. In looking and waiting for him, they looked for redemption in Jerusalem and waited for the consolation of Israel, Luk 2:25, Luk 2:38. Christ was to be the desire of all nations, desirable to all (Hag 2:7); but he was the desire of the Jewish nation actually, because they had the promise of his coming made to them. Note, Those that seek Jesus shall find pleasure in him. If he be our heart's desire he will be our heart's delight; and we have reason to delight in him who is the messenger of the covenant, and to bid him welcome who came to us on so kind an errand. 4. He shall suddenly come; his coming draws nigh, and we see it not at so great a distance as the patriarchs saw it at. Or, He shall come immediately after the appearing of John Baptist, shall even tread on the heels of his forerunner; when that morning-star appears, believe that the Sun of righteousness is not far off. Or, He shall come suddenly, that is, he shall come when by many he is not looked for; as his second coming will be, so his first coming was, at midnight, when some had done looking for him, for shall he find faith on the earth? Luk 18:8. The Jews reckon the Messiah among the things that come unawares; so Dr. Pocock. And the coming of the Son of man in his day is said to be as the lightning, which is very surprising, Luk 17:24. 5. He shall come to his temple, this temple at Jerusalem, which was lately built, that latter house which he was to be the glory of. It is his temple, for it is his Father's house, Joh 2:16. Christ, at forty days old, was presented in the temple, and thither Simeon went by the Spirit, according to the direction of this prophecy, to see him, Luk 2:27. At twelve years old he was in the temple about his Father's business, Luk 2:49. When he rode in triumph into Jerusalem, it should seem that he went directly to the temple (Mat 21:12), and (Mat 21:14) thither the blind and the lame came to him to be healed; there he often preached, and often disputed, and often wrought miracles. By this it appears that the Messiah was to come while that temple was standing; that, therefore, being long since destroyed, we must conclude that he has come, and we are to look for no other. Note, Those that would be acquainted with Christ and obtain his favour must meet him in his temple, for there he records his name and there he will bless his people. There we must receive his oracles and there we must pay our homage. 6. The promise of this coming is repeated and ratified: Behold, he shall come, saith the Lord of hosts; you may depend upon his word, who cannot lie, he shall come, he will come, he will not tarry.
III. An account given of the great ends and intentions of his coming, Mal 3:2. He is one whom they seek, and one whom they delight in; and yet who may abide the day of his coming? It is a thing to be thought of with great seriousness, and with a holy awe and reverence; for who shall stand when he appears, though he comes not to condemn the world, but that the world through him might have life? This may refer,
1. To the terrors of his appearance. Even in the days of his flesh there were some emanations of his glory and power, such as none could stand before, witness his transfiguration, and the prodigies that attended his death; and we read of some that trembled before him, as Mar 5:33.
2. To the troublous times that should follow soon after. The Jewish doctors speak of the pangs or griefs of the Messiah, meaning (they say) the great afflictions that should be to Israel at the time of his coming; he himself speaks of great tribulation then approaching, such as was not since the beginning of the world, nor ever shall be, Mat 24:21.
3. To the trial which his coming would make of the children of men. He shall be like a refiner's fire, which separates between the gold and the dross by melting the ore, or like fuller's soap, which with much rubbing fetches the spots out of the cloth. Christ came to discover men, that the thoughts of many hearts might be revealed (Luk 2:35), to distinguish men, to separate between the precious and the vile, for his fan in his hand (Mat 3:12), to send fire on the earth, not peace, but rather division (Luk 12:49, Luk 12:51), to shake heaven and earth, that the wicked might be shaken out (Job 38:13) and that the things which cannot be shaken might remain, Heb 12:27. See what the effect of the trial will be that shall be made by the gospel.
(1.) The gospel shall work good upon those that are disposed to be good, to them it shall be a savour of life unto life (Mal 3:3): He shall sit as a refiner. Christ by his gospel shall purify and reform his church, and by his Spirit working with it shall regenerate and cleanse particular souls; for to this end he gave himself for the church, that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word (Eph 5:26) and purify to himself a peculiar people, Tit 2:14. Christ is the great refiner. Observe, [1.] Who they are that he will purify - the sons of Levi, all those that are devoted to his praise and employed in his service, as the tribe of Levi was, and whom he designs to make unto our God spiritual priests (Rev 1:6), a holy priesthood, Pe1 2:5. Note, All true Christians are sons of Levi, set apart for God, to do the service of his sanctuary, and to war the good warfare. [2.] How he will purify them; he will purge them as gold and silver, that is, he will sanctify them inwardly; he will not only wash away the spots they have contracted from without, but will take away the dross that is found in them; he will separate from them their indwelling corruptions, which rendered their faculties worthless and useless, and so make them like gold refined, both valuable and serviceable. He will purge them with fire, as gold and silver are purged, for he baptizes with the Holy Ghost and with fire (Mat 3:11), with the Holy Ghost working like fire. He will purge them by afflictions and manifold temptations, that the trial of their faith may be found to praise and honour, Pe1 1:6, Pe1 1:7. He will purge them so as to make them a precious people to himself. [3.] What will be the effect of it: That they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness, that is, that they may be in sincerity converted to God and consecrated to his praise (hence we read of the offering up, or sacrificing, of the Gentiles to God, when they were sanctified by the holy Ghost, Rom 15:16), and that they may in a spiritual manner worship God according to his will, may offer the sacrifices of righteousness, (Psa 4:5), the offering of prayer, and praise, and holy love, that they may be the true worshippers, who worship the Father in spirit and in truth, Joh 4:23, Joh 4:24. Note, We cannot offer unto the Lord any right performances in religion unless our persons be justified and sanctified. Till we ourselves be refined and purified by the grace of God, we cannot do any thing that will redound to the glory of God. God had respect to Abel first, and then to his offering; and therefore God purges his people, that they may offer their offerings to him in righteousness, Zep 3:9. He makes the tree good that the fruit may be good. And then it follows (Mal 3:4), The offering of Judah and Jerusalem shall be pleasant unto the Lord. It shall no longer be offensive, as it has been, when, in the former days, they worshipped other gods with the God of Israel, or when, in the present days, they brought the torn, and the lame, and the sick, for sacrifice; but it shall be acceptable; he will be pleased with the offerers, and their offerings, as in the days of old and as in former years, as in the primitive times of the church, as when God had respect to Abel's sacrifice and smelled a savour of rest from Noah's, and when he kindled Aaron's sacrifice with fire from heaven. When the Messiah comes, First, He will, by his grace in them, make them acceptable; when he has purified and refined them, then they shall offer such sacrifices as God requires and will accept. Secondly, He will, by his intercession for them, make them accepted; he will recommend them and their performances to God, so that their prayers, being perfumed with the incense of his intercession, shall be pleasant unto the Lord; for he has made us accepted in the Beloved, and in him is well pleased with those that are in him (Mat 3:17) and bring forth fruit in him.
(2.) It shall turn for a testimony against those that are resolved to go on in their wickedness, Mal 3:5. This is the direct answer to their challenge, "Where is the God of judgment? You shall know where he is, and shall know it to your terror and confusion, for I will come near to you to judgment; to you that set divine justice at defiance." To them the gospel of Christ will be a savour of death unto death; it will bind them over to condemnation and will judge them in the great day, Joh 12:48. Let us see here, [1.] Who the sinners are that must appear to be judged by the gospel of Christ. They are the sorcerers, who died in spiritual wickedness, that forsake the oracles of the God of truth to consult the father of lies; and the adulterers, who wallow in the lusts of the flesh, those adulterers who were charged with dealing treacherously (Mal 2:15); and the false swearers, who profane God's name and affront his justice, by calling him to witness to a lie; and the oppressors, who barbarously injure and trample upon those who lie at their mercy, and are not able to help themselves: they defraud the hireling in his wages and will not give him what he agreed for; they crush the widow and fatherless, and will not pay them their just debts, because they cannot prove them, or have not wherewithal to sue for them; the poor stranger too, who has no friend to stand by him and is ignorant of the laws of the country, they turn aside from his right, so that he cannot keep or cannot recover his own. That which is at the bottom of all this is, They fear not me, saith the Lord of hosts. The transgression of the wicked plainly declares that there is no fear of God before his eyes. Where no fear of God is no good is to be expected. [2.] Who will appear against them: I will come near, says God, and will be a swift witness against them. They justify themselves, and, their sins having been artfully concealed, hope to escape punishment for want of proof; but God, who sees and knows all things, will himself be witness against them, and his omniscience is instead of a thousand witnesses, for to it the sinner's own conscience shall be made to subscribe, and so every mouth shall be stopped. He will be a swift witness; though they reflect upon him as slow and dilatory, and ask, Where is the God of judgment, and where the promise of his coming? they will find that he is not slack concerning his threatenings any more than he is concerning his promises. Judgment against those sinners shall not be put off for want of evidence, for he will be a swift witness. His judgment shall overtake them, and it shall be impossible for them to outrun it. Evil pursues sinners.
IV. The ratification of all this (Mal 3:6): For I am the Lord; I change not; therefore you sons of Jacob are not consumed. Here we have, 1. God's immutability asserted by Himself, and glorified in: "I am the Lord; I change not; and therefore no word that I have spoken shall fall to the ground." Is God a just revenger of those that rebel against him? Is he the bountiful rewarder of those that diligently seek him? In both these he is unchangeable. Though the sentence passed against evil works (Mal 3:5) be not executed speedily, yet it will be executed, for he is the Lord; he changes not; he is as much an enemy to sin as ever he was, and impenitent sinners will find him so. There needs no scire facias - a writ calling one to show cause, to revive God's judgment, for it is never antiquated, or out of date, but against those that go on still in their trespasses the curse of his law still remains in full force, power, and virtue. 2. A particular proof of it, from the comfortable experience which the people of Israel had had of it. They had reason to say that he was an unchangeable God, for he had been faithful to his covenant with them and their fathers; if he had not adhered to that, they would have been consumed long ago and cut off from being a people; they had been false and fickle in their conduct to him, and he might justly have abandoned them, and then they would soon have been consumed and ruined; but because he remembered his covenant, and would not violate that, nor alter the thing that had gone forth out of his lips, they were preserved from ruin and recovered from the brink of it. It was purely because he would be as good as his word, Deu 7:8; Lev 26:42. Now as God had kept them from ruin, while the covenant of peculiarity remained in force, purely because he would be faithful to that covenant, and would show that he is not a man that he should lie (Num 23:19), so, when that covenant should be superseded and set aside by the New Testament, and they, by rejecting the blessings of it, lay themselves open to the curses, he will show that in the determinations of his wrath, as well as in those of his mercy, he is not a man, that he should repent, but will then be as true to his threatenings as hitherto he had been to his promises; see Sa1 15:29. We may all apply this very sensibly to ourselves; because we have to do with a God that changes not, therefore it is that we are not consumed, even because his compassions fail not; they are new every morning; great is his faithfulness, Lam 3:22, Lam 3:23.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv1–3 Behold, I will send my messenger,.... These are the…
Behold, I will send my messenger,.... These are the words of Christ, in answer to the question put in the last verse of the preceding chapter Mal 2:17, "Where is the God of judgment?" intimating that he would quickly appear, and previous to his coming send his messenger or angel; not the angel of death to destroy the wicked, as Jarchi thinks; nor an angel from heaven, as Kimchi; nor Messiah the son of Joseph; as Aben Ezra; nor the Prophet Malachi himself, as Abarbinel; but the same that is called Elijah the prophet, Mal 4:5 and is no other than John the Baptist, as is clear from Mat 11:10 called a "messenger" or "angel", not by nature, but by office; and Christ's messenger, because sent by him and on his errand; and which shows the power and authority of Christ in sending forth ministers; his superior excellency to John, and his existence before him, or he could not be sent by him, and so before his incarnation; for John was sent by him before he was in the flesh, and consequently this is a proof of the proper deity of Christ: and the word "behold" is prefixed to this, in order to raise the attention of those that put the above question, and all others; as well as to show that the message John was sent upon was of the greatest moment and importance; as that the Messiah was just ready to appear, his kingdom was at hand, and the Jews ought to believe in him; though it also respects the coming of the Messiah, spoken of in the latter part of the text:
and he shall prepare the way before me; by declaring to the Jews that he was born, and was in the midst of them; by pointing him out unto them; by preaching the doctrine of repentance, and exhorting them to believe in him; and by administering the ordinance of baptism in general to all proper subjects, and in particular to Christ, by which he was made manifest to Israel; See Gill on Mar 1:2 the allusion is to kings and great men sending persons before them when on a journey, to give notice of their coming, and provide for them:
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and the Lord, whom ye seek; this is the person himself speaking, the Son of God, and promised Messiah, the Lord of all men, and particularly of his church and people, in right of marriage, by virtue of redemption, and by being their Head and King; so Kimchi and Ben Melech interpret it of him, and even Abarbinel (q) himself; the Messiah that had been so long spoken of and so much expected, and whom the Jews sought after, either in a scoffing manner, expressed in the above question, or rather seriously; some as a temporal deliverer, to free them from the Roman yoke, and bring them into a state of liberty, prosperity, and grandeur; and others as a spiritual Saviour, to deliver from sin, law, hell, and death, and save them with an everlasting salvation:
shall suddenly come to his temple; meaning not his human nature, nor his church, sometimes so called; but the material temple at Jerusalem, the second temple, called "his", because devoted to his service and worship, which proves him to be God, and because of his frequency in it; here he was brought and presented by his parents at the proper time, for the purification of his mother; here he was at twelve years of age disputing with the doctors; and here Simeon, Anna, and others, were waiting for him, Luk 2:22 and we often read of his being here, and of his using his authority in it as the Lord and proprietor of it; and of the Hosannas given him here, Mat 21:12 the manner in which he should come, "suddenly", may refer to the manifestation of it, quickly after John the Baptist had prepared his way by his doctrine and baptism:
even the messenger of the covenant; not of the covenant of works with Adam, of which there was no mediator and messenger; nor of the covenant of circumcision, at which, according to the Jews, Elias presides; nor of the covenant at Sinai, of which Moses was the mediator; but of the covenant of grace, of which Christ is not only the Surety and Mediator; but, as here, "the Messenger"; because it is revealed, made known, and exhibited in a more glorious manner by him under the Gospel dispensation, through the ministration of the word and ordinances. De Dieu observes, that the word in the Ethiopic language signifies a prince as well as a messenger, and so may be rendered, "the Prince of the covenant", which is a way of speaking used in Dan 11:22,
whom ye delight in; either carnally, as they pleased themselves with the thoughts of a temporal prince, and of great honour and grandeur under him; and as they would have done, had he submitted to have been made a king by them in this sense; or rather spiritually, and so is to be understood of such who had a spiritual knowledge of him, and joy in him; who rejoiced and delighted in the contemplation of his person, offices, righteousness, and salvation:
he shall come, saith the Lord of hosts; this expresses the certainty of his coming, being said by himself, who is the Lord of hosts, the Lord of armies in heaven and in earth, the King of kings, and Lord of lords. This passage is, in some Jewish writers (r), interpreted of the world to come, or times of the Messiah.
(q) Mashmiah Jeshuah, fol. 76. 4. (r) Bemidbar Rabba, sect. 16. fol. 219. 4.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv1–3 A promise of the coming of the Messiah, and…
A promise of the coming of the Messiah, and of his fore- runner, ver. 1-6. A reproof of the Jews, and charge to amend, ver. 7-12. A description of the wicked, ver. 13-15. And of the righteous, ver. 16-18.
I - The Messiah. My messenger - John the Baptist. The Lord - The Messiah. Whom ye seek - Whom ye, who truly fear God, long and wait for. Suddenly come - After the coming of his fore- runner. To his temple - That which was the second temple at Jerusalem, lately built by Zerubbabel and Joshua. The messenger - The angel of the covenant, the Messiah, in whose blood the covenant between God and man was confirmed. Whom ye delight in - You Jews, among whom, few there are, who do not please themselves to think of his coming, tho' from various motives.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv1–3 In allusion to the custom of sending pioneers to…
CHAPTER III
In allusion to the custom of sending pioneers to prepare the
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way for the march of an eastern monarch, the coming of
Christ's forerunner is described, and then the coming of
Christ himself, 1;
with the terrible judgments which were to accompany that event,
in order to refine and purify his people and his priests, 2-6.
The following verses reprehend them for withholding the legal
tithes and offerings, with large promises in case of their
repentance and amendments, 7-12.
The prophet expostulates with the people for their hard and
profane speeches against the conduct of Providence, and
declares God will one day make a fearful and final distinction
between the righteous and the wicked, whose different
characters are in the mean time carefully recorded, 13-18.
NOTES ON CHAP. III
Verse 1. Behold, I will send my messenger] מלאכי Malachi, the very name of the prophet. But this speaks of John the Baptist. I, the Messiah, the Seed of God, mentioned above, will send my messenger, John the Baptist.
He shall prepare the way] Be as a pioneer before me; a corrector of civil abuses, and a preacher of righteousness.
And the Lord, whom ye seek] The Messiah, whom ye expect, from the account given by the prophet Daniel, in his seventy weeks, Da 9:24.
Shall suddenly come to his temple] Shall soon be presented before the Lord in his temple; cleanse it from its defilement, and fill it with his teaching and his glory.
The Messenger of the covenant] He that comes to fulfil the great design, in reference to the covenant made with Abram, that in his seed all the families of the earth should be blessed. See the parallel texts in the margin, and the notes on them.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv1–3 Mal 3:1. Behold, &c. — To silence the cavils…
Mal 3:1. Behold, &c. — To silence the cavils of unbelievers, spoken of in the last verse of the preceding chapter, the prophet here foretels the coming of the Messiah, who should set things in order; and of his harbinger, who should prepare men for his reception. I will send my messenger — It is God who speaks here, for John the Baptist, who is here intended, was God’s messenger, and had his commission from heaven and not of men, Mat 21:25-26; being sent by the same divine authority by which the prophets were sent, and for the same purposes, namely, to call men to repentance and reformation; and he shall prepare the way before me — Before Jehovah, the fulness of whose Godhead dwelt in Christ bodily. Whoever compares this verse with Isa 40:3, &c., will easily see that both passages speak of the same person. The messenger here spoken of as sent to prepare the way before the Lord, who is described as coming immediately after this his forerunner, is represented in Isaiah as preparing the way of the Lord, who is spoken of as coming, and his glory as just ready to be revealed, Mal 3:5-9. Both passages, according to the evangelists, were intended of John the Baptist, and indeed are applicable to no other person whatever. He is promised under the name of Elias in the following chapter, whom all the Jews, both ancient and modern, expected should come as the forerunner of the Messiah. This messenger, or prophet, (see the note on chap. Mal 2:7,) here represented as the Lord’s harbinger, was to be as much inferior to the Lord himself, as servants are to a great person, of whose arrival they give notice. This John himself often confessed, Mat 3:11; Joh 1:26; Joh 3:28; and so much appears by the following words. Instead of the reading here, which is the literal translation of the Hebrew, we read in three places of the New Testament, (see the margin,) I send my messenger before thy face to prepare thy way before thee, namely, before the Messiah, to prepare his way before him; the Messiah acting in the name of his Father, the Father being in him and he in the Father, Joh 14:10-11. John prepared the way of Christ by calling men to the practice of those duties which would qualify them for the reception of the blessings of the Messiah’s kingdom; and by taking them off from all confidence in their relation to Abraham as their father, which they thought would ensure the favour of God to them without a Saviour; and by giving them notice that the Messiah was now at hand, and so raising their expectation of him that they might readily enter into his measures for the setting up of his kingdom in the world.
And the Lord, whom ye seek — That promised Lord or Shiloh, of whom you have such great expectations, and whose coming you so much desire; and who, if you obey him, will bring the greatest good to your state, and will also make foreign nations partakers of your blessings; shall suddenly come — That is, soon after the messenger, or unawares, as Christ’s first coming was, and second will be; to his temple — The second temple at Jerusalem, lately built by Zerubbabel and Joshua. All the Jews, before the birth of Christ, firmly believed that the Messiah was to come into that very temple, according to what the Prophet Haggai had expressly declared, Hag 2:8. The word here rendered Lord, אדון, is the same that is used by David, Psa 110:1, where he calls the Messiah his Lord, and properly means a basis, or foundation, and also a proprietor, and governor. It is a term peculiarly proper to Christ, who is at once the foundation and governor of his church, and was the Lord of that temple in which he was to make his appearance. Even the messenger [or angel] of the covenant — A phrase, says Secker, found nowhere else in Scripture. “It may mean the person by whose intervention the covenant is made, or by whom a covenant proposed by one party is sent to the other.” The same person is meant who is termed the angel of God’s presence, Isa 63:9; who delivered the law upon mount Sinai, as St. Stephen speaks, Act 7:38, and as the apostle’s words imply, Heb 12:25-26. He is both the revealer and mediator of the new covenant, which the prophets foretold would take place under the Messiah, Jer 31:31; Isa 42:6; Isa 55:3; even that blessed one that was sent from heaven to negotiate a peace and settle a correspondence between God and man; commissioned from his Father to bring man home to God by a covenant of grace, who had revolted from him by the violation of the covenant of innocence. By his mediation this covenant is procured and established; and though he is the prince of the covenant, as some read the clause here, yet he condescended to be the messenger of it, that we might, upon his word, have the fullest assurance of God’s goodwill to man. Whom ye delight in — Whose coming ye so much desire, the time of it being the subject of your earnest inquiry and diligent search, and the expectation of it your comfort and delight. Behold, he shall come — The promise is repeated, and that in the name of the Lord of hosts, to give the fullest assurance of its accomplishment. There were few among the Jews who did not please themselves to think of the Messiah’s coming, though from various motives; the pious among them doubtless expecting spiritual blessings, such as a further revelation of God’s will, and larger communications of his grace and Spirit; but the great bulk of the nation looking for mere worldly advantages under a temporal kingdom, which they expected he would set up.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv1–3 God answers their complaints of the absence of His…
God answers their complaints of the absence of His judgments, that they would come, but would include those also who clamored for them. For no one who knew his own sinfulness would call for the judgment of God, as being himself, chief of sinners. Augustine pictures one saying to God, “Take away the ungodly man,” and that God answers, “Which?”
Behold, I send My messenger before My face, and he shall prepare My way before Me - they, then, were not prepared for His Coming, for whom they clamored. The messenger is the same whom Isaiah had foretold, whose words Malachi uses Isa 40:3 : “The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straiqht in the desert a highway for our God. Luk 1:76. Thou, child,” was the prophecy on John the Immerser’s birth, “shalt be called the prophet of the Highest, for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare His way, to give knowledge of salvation unto His people, for the remission of their sins.” Repentance was to be the preparation for the kingdom of Christ, the Messiah, for whom they looked so impatiently.
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He who speaks, is He who should come, God the Son. For it was before Him Who came and dwelt among us, that the way was to be prepared. He speaks here in His divine nature, as the Lord Who should send, and Who should Himself come in our flesh. In the Gospel, when He was come in the flesh, He speaks not of His own Person but of the Father, since “indivisible are the operations of the Trinity, and what the One doth, the other Two do, since the Three are of one nature, power and operation.” Whence Christ, in order to give no excuse to the Jews to speak against Him before the time, refers it, as He does His life Joh 6:57. His doctrine Joh 7:16 words Joh 3:11; Joh 5:43; Joh 8:38, Joh 8:40, Joh 8:47, Joh 8:55; Joh 12:49; Joh 14:10, Joh 14:24 and works Joh 4:34; Joh 5:19-20, Joh 5:26, Joh 5:30, Joh 5:36; Joh 6:38; Joh 8:28; Joh 9:4; Joh 10:25, Joh 10:32, Joh 10:37-38; Joh 14:10-11 to the Father.
“Those works, which do not relate to that which b uniquely belongs to each Person, being common, are ascribed now to One Person, now to Another, in order to set forth the One Substance in the Trinity of Persons.” Thus, John says Joh 12:41. Isaiah spoke of the unbelief of the Jews, when he “saw” the “glory” of God the Son “and spake of Him,” and Paul says Act 28:25. that the “Holy Spirit spake” then “by” him.
And he shall prepare the way before Meo - “The same is God’s way here, and Christ’s there, an evident proof that Christ is one God with the Father, and that, in Christ, God came and was manifest in the flesh.” The prophets and all who turned men to righteousness, or who retained the knowledge of the truth or of righteousness or of God in the world, did, in their degree, prepare the way for Christ. But John was His immediate forerunner “before His Face,” the herald of His immediate approach; from where he is called “the end of the law, and the beginning of the Gospel,” “the lamp before the Light, the voice before the Word, the mediator between the Old and the New Testament;” “the link of the law and of grace; a new morning star; a ray, before the true Sun should burst forth,” the end of night, the beginning of day.
And the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to His temple - He, Whose Coming they sought for, was Almighty God, “the God of Judgment.” He who should come, was “the Lord,” again Almighty God, since, in usage too, none else is called “the Lord,” as none else can be. The temple also, to which He was to come, the temple of God, is His own. “The messenger, or the Angel of the covenant,” plainly, even from the parallelism, is the same as “the Lord.” It was “one,” for whom they looked; one, of whose absence they complained; Mal 2:17, “where is the God of judgment?” one, who should come to His temple , one whose coming they sought and prepared “to have pleasure in;” one, of whom it is repeated, “lo, He cometh,” one, in the day of whose coming, at whose appearing, it was asked, “who shall stand?” “All Christian interpreters are agreed that this Lord is Christ Act 2:36, whom God hath made both Lord and Christ, and Act 10:36. Who is Lord over all; by whom all things were made, are sustained and governed; Who is (as the root of the word implies) the basis and foundation, not of any private family, tribe or kingdom, but of all; 1Co 8:6. by whom are all things and we by Him: and whose we are also by right of redemption; and so He is Rev 17:14; Rev 19:16. Lord of lords and King of kings, deservedly called the Lord.” As then the special presence of God was often indicated in connection with “the Angel of the Lord,” so, here, He who was to come was entitled the Angel or messenger of the covenant, as God also calls Him the covenant itself.
Isa 42:6, “I will give Thee for a covenant of the people, a light of the Gentiles.” He it was Isa 63:9, “the Angel of His presence,” who saved His former people, in whom His “Name was,” and who, by the prerogative of God, would Exo 23:21, “not pardon their transgressions.” He should be Heb 12:24; Heb 8:6, “the Mediator of the new and better covenant” which is promised Jer 31:32-33; Heb 8:9, “not according to the covenant, that I made with their fathers, in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt,” which “My covenant they broke, although I was a husband unto them, saith the Lord; but this shall be the covenant, that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord, I will put My law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts, and will be their God and they shall be My people.”
Whom ye seek, are seeking, whom ye delight in - , i. e., profess so to do; “He will come,” but will be very different from Him whom ye look for, an Avenger on your enemies. Judgment will come, but it will begin with yourselves.
Shall suddenly come - o “unawares, when men should not think of them; whence perhaps it is that the Jews reckon the Messiah among what shall come unawares.” As, it is here said of His first Coming, so it is said of His second Coming (which may be comprehended under this here spoken of) that except they diligently watch for it Luk 21:35, “it shall come upon them unawares Mar 13:36. suddenly Mat 24:44. in such an hour as they think not.” “The Lord of glory always comes, like a thief in the night, to those who sleep in their sins.”
Lo, He will come - : he insists again and calls their minds to that Coming, certain, swift, new, wonderful, on which all eyes should be set, but His coming would be a sifting-time.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv1–3 My angel, viz., John the Baptist, the messenger of…
My angel, viz., John the Baptist, the messenger of God, and forerunner of Christ. (Challoner) --- His purity and office procure him this title. (Worthington) --- Afterwards Christ himself shall come, for the ruin and for the resurrection of many, Luke ii. 34. Hence threats and promises are intermixed. The evangelists read his face, making the Father speak, whereas the Son is introduced by the prophet, who however presently changes the person. It is all the same which person of the blessed Trinity speaks, as all act together. (Calmet) --- Testament. The Messias, the mediator of the covenant with mankind, (Worthington) with Abraham, and Moses. The latter calls him the prophet; (Deuteronomy xviii. 18.) and Zacharias, alluding to this text, explains angel in the same sense, Luke i. 76. --- Temple. The ancient Jews were convinced that the Messias would come to the temple of Zorobabel, and be its chief glory, Aggeus ii. 8. (Calmet) --- Their descendants put off the coming for some long time, though the prophet says presently, or on a sudden. (St. Jerome; Basnage vi. 26.) --- Some take this temple to be the womb of the bless Virgin [Mary]. (St. Cyril; St. Augustine, City of God xviii. 35.) (Calmet) --- The Baptist was conceived, born, and preached first; and shortly after Christ appeared. (Worthington)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv2–3 (Mal 4:1; Rev 6:16-17). The Messiah would come, not,…
(Mal 4:1; Rev 6:16-17). The Messiah would come, not, as they expected, to flatter the theocratic nation's prejudices, but to subject their principles to the fiery test of His heart-searching truth (Mat 3:10-12), and to destroy Jerusalem and the theocracy after they had rejected Him. His mission is here regarded as a whole from the first to the second advent: the process of refining and separating the godly from the ungodly beginning during Christ's stay on earth, going on ever since, and about to continue till the final separation (Mat. 25:31-46). The refining process, whereby a third of the Jews is refined as silver of its dross, while two-thirds perish, is described, Zac 13:8-9 (compare Isa 1:25).
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv1–3 Jehovah accepts the challenge implied in the question and…
Jehovah accepts the challenge implied in the question and replies in Mal_3:1 ff., that he will appear speedily in a terrible judgment, that will result in the utter annihilation of the wicked, and in the purification and exaltation of the faithful. But before he himself appears he will send a messenger to prepare his way.
Behold, I will send — Better, Behold, I am about to send. The Hebrew construction implies the imminence of the event (G.-K., 116p).
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My messenger — As the coming of an earthly king is heralded by a forerunner, so the coming of Jehovah will be heralded by a messenger. This messenger is not to be identified with “the messenger of the covenant” in this same verse, nor is he identical with the prophet, as if he declared himself to be the forerunner of Jehovah; on the other hand, he is identical with Elijah mentioned in Mal_4:5.
Prepare the way — By removing every obstacle, so that Jehovah can move along smoothly. This forerunner is needed the more because Jehovah will come suddenly. The prediction is based upon Isa_40:3 ff.
The Lord — God himself. This title, which denotes the divine sovereignty, is frequently used by Isaiah, as here, to introduce threats. The change from the first person to the third is not uncommon in prophetic discourse.
Whom ye seek — Points back to Mal_2:17, where they are represented as inquiring where he is (compare Isa_5:18).
Suddenly — Unexpectedly (compare Mal_3:5; Luk_21:34).
To his temple — From which his activities will proceed once more (compare Amo_1:2; Isa_2:2-4). The coming will be in fulfillment of the prophecies of Haggai (Hag_2:9) and Zechariah (Zec_2:5; Zec_2:10; Zec_8:3; compare Eze_43:7).
Even the messenger of the covenant — According to this translation the messenger of the covenant is identical with the Lord; if so, he would be the same as the “angel of Jehovah,” who sometimes is identical with Jehovah himself (see on Zec_1:11). This identification is favored by the parallelism and the entire context, which knows of the coming of only one person to judgment. Why the title is applied to Jehovah is not quite clear; some have seen here an allusion to the new covenant of Jeremiah (Jer_31:31-34); Smend explains it as a title describing Jehovah as the one living in the midst of the covenant people (compare Dan_11:22; Dan_11:28; Dan_11:30). Both these interpretations seem far-fetched. It seems much better to bring the expression into connection with the covenant mentioned in Mal_2:10, and alluded to several times in chapter 2. Jehovah, appearing for judgment, is called the messenger of the covenant, because by means of the judgment he seeks to re-establish the covenant (compare Mal_3:3-5), which priests and people have so shamefully desecrated.
Whom ye delight in — Identical in meaning with “whom ye seek” in the parallel clause; like it, it refers back to Mal_2:17. There they express a wish for the appearance of Jehovah; this wish will be granted, though the sequel may not be to their liking (compare Amo_5:18-20). R.V. reads, “and the messenger of the covenant,” as if the messenger and the Lord were two distinct persons. Those who accept this translation, which the Hebrew permits, identify this messenger either with the messenger who is to be the forerunner of Jehovah, or with a being not mentioned otherwise. To identify the two messengers with one another is not possible, since the one precedes Jehovah while the other accompanies him. The other view sees in the messenger of the covenant the patron angel of the covenant nation (Dan_10:13; Dan_10:20), who will appear with Jehovah and will sit by the side of Jehovah when he comes to dwell in the midst of the people. This is not an impossible interpretation; but on the whole the first interpretation discussed, which identifies the messenger of the covenant with the Lord, is to be preferred.
Behold, he shall come — The promise that Jehovah will come is reiterated for the sake of emphasis, and receives additional strength from the closing formula, “saith Jehovah of hosts.”
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv1–3 Mal_3:1. God Himself takes up (Mal_3:1-6) the challenge, “Where…
Mal_3:1. God Himself takes up (Mal_3:1-6) the challenge, “Where is the God?” &c.
my messenger] They had been provided, in the priests, with a standing order of “messengers” of Jehovah (Mal_2:7). From time to time His special “messengers”, the prophets (Hag_1:13), had been sent to them. The last of such prophets, bearing as his only name, “Jehovah’s messenger”, was now exercising his office among them. But a yet more special “messenger” is to inaugurate that coming of Jehovah which they profess to desire. See Mat_11:10; Mar_1:2; Luk_7:27.
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Prepare the way] Comp. Isa_40:3; and for the nature of the preparation, “by preaching of repentance”, Mat_3:1-12.
the Lord] “He who had before spoken of Himself in the first person (“I will send”), now speaks of Himself in the third person.” Maurer. For a similar change of person, which is not uncommon in Hebrew, see Mal_2:16 above. “We are sure He which spake those words was (Jehovah) the Lord of hosts; and we are as sure that Christ is that Lord before whose face John the Baptist prepared the way.” Pearson on the Creed. Article, Our Lord.
ye seek … ye delight in] A reference, not without irony, to the demand of Mal_3:17, “where is” &c.
his temple] He, then, who comes is the Lord of the Temple. Hag_2:9.
even the messenger of the covenant] The R.V., by printing “and” in the text instead of “even” (which however it retains in the margin), and also by the punctuation which it adopts, leaves room for the view that “the messenger of the covenant” is to be identified, not with “the Lord”, but with “the messenger” spoken of at the beginning of the verse, who is to “prepare the way” before Him: “And the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in, behold he cometh, saith the Lord of hosts”. The weight of argument, however, seems clearly to preponderate in favour of identifying the “Messenger of the Covenant” with “the Lord”, who shall “suddenly come to His temple”. For thus the idea of the messenger, which pervades this prophecy (see Introd. pp. 13, 14) culminates (as do the Old Testament ideas of the prophet, the priest and the king) in the Messiah, who is in the highest sense the Messenger of God to man. The Angel, or Messenger, whose presence in the Church was recognised from the beginning (Act_7:38; Exo_23:20-21; Exo_32:34; Exo_33:2; Exo_33:14; Isa_63:9), follows up these “preludings of the Incarnation” by being “made flesh and dwelling amongst us”. The covenant, which was before the Law (Gal_3:17) and yet by virtue of its later introduction “a new covenant” (Jer_31:31-34; Heb_8:7-13), He comes, in fulfilment of promise and prophecy (Isa_42:6; Isa_55:3), as its Messenger and Mediator (Heb_12:24), to inaugurate and ratify with His blood (Mat_26:28; Heb_13:20); while He vindicates His claim to be “the God of judgment” whom they desired, by the work of discriminating justice which He performs (Mal_3:2-5).
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv1–3 (1) I will send.—Or, I send. It is the…
III.
(1) I will send.—Or, I send. It is the participle used as the prophetic present. (Comp. Note on Mal_1:11.)
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My messenger.—Heb., Malachi, my angel, or my messenger, with a play on the name of the prophet. In Mal_2:7, he calls the priest the angel or messenger of the LORD. There can be little doubt that he is influenced in his choice of the term by his own personal name (see Introd.). This “messenger,” by the distinct reference to Isa_40:3, contained in the words, “and he shall prepare,” &c., is evidently the same as he whom [the deutero-] Isaiah prophetically heard crying, “In the wilderness, prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.” Moreover, from the nature of his mission, he is proved to be identical with the “Elijah” of Mal_4:3. These words had their first, if not their perfect fulfilment in John the Baptist (Mat_17:12).
The Lord.—This word “Lord” occurs eight times with the definite article, but always, except here, with the name of God following it: viz., Exo_23:17, followed by “Jehovah;” Exo_34:23, by “Jehovah, the God of Israel;” in Isa_1:24; Isa_3:1; Isa_10:33; Isa_19:4, by “Jehovah Zebaoth;” and in Isa_10:16, by “the Lord of Zebaoth.” And here, as elsewhere, it must mean God Himself, because He is said to come “to his temple,” and because He is said to be He “whom ye seek:” i.e., “the God of judgment” (Mal_2:17).
Even—i.e., “namely,” for so the Hebrew conjunction “and” is frequently used: e.g., Exo_25:12; 1Sa_28:3.
The messenger (or angel) of the covenant.—This expression occurs only in this passage. Identified as He is here with “the Lord,” He can be no other than the Son of God, who was manifested in the flesh as the Messiah. In the word “covenant” there is, perhaps, some reference to the “new covenant” (Jer_31:31), but the meaning of the word must not be limited to this.
Delight in.—Rather, desire.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv1–3 Behold, I will send (I send) my messenger. God…
Behold, I will send (I send) my messenger. God answers that he is coming to show himself the God of judgment and justice. Are they ready to meet him and to bear his sentence? Who this "messenger" is is disputed. That no angel or heavenly visitant is meant is clear from historical considerations, as no such event took place immediately before the Lord came to his temple. Nor can Malachi himself be intended, as his message was delivered nearly four, hundred years before Messiah came. The announcement is doubtless founded upon Isa_40:3, and refers to the same person as the older prophet mentions, who is generally allowed to be John the Baptist, the herald of Christ"s advent. (Mat_11:10 Joh_1:6) Prepare the way before me. The expression is borrowed from Isaiah, loc. cit. (comp. also Isa_57:14 Isa_62:10) He prepares the way by preaching repentance, and thus removing the obstacle of sin which stood between God and his people. Whom ye seek. When ye ask, "Where is the God of judgment?" Shall suddenly come to his temple. The Lord (ha-Adon) is Jehovah, as in Exo_23:17 Isa_1:24 Isa_3:1, etc. There is a change of persons here, as frequently. Jehovah shall unexpectedly come to his temple (to) as King and God of Israel. (comp. Eze_43:7) There was a literal fulfilment of this prophecy when Christ was presented in the temple as an infant. (Luk_2:22, etc.) Even the messenger of the covenant. He is identified with the Lord; and he is the covenant angel who guided the Israelites to the promised land, and who is seen in the various theophanies of the Old Testament. The Divinity of Messiah is thus unequivocally asserted. In him are fulfilled all the promises made under the old covenant, and he is called (Heb_9:15) "the Mediator of the new covenant." Some render," and the Messenger," etc., thus distinguishing the Angel of the covenant from the forerunner who prepares the way. But this is already done by the expressions, "My Messenger," and "the Lord." Whom ye delight in. Whose advent ye expect with eager desire.
HOMILIES BY R. TUCK Ver. 1. Preparation work.
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"Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me." It is fully recognized that the allusion here is to the ministry of John the Baptist. In him was realized the fulfilment of the promise that Elijah should come again. Our Lord declared that Elijah had come, in his time, and had not been recognized. And the disciples understood him to speak of John the Baptist. The more familiar figure of a "preparer of ways" is that given in Isa_40:3, Isa_40:4. In vision the prophet sees the march of a triumphant king and army. The heralds pass on before, ordering the removal of every obstacle, making level and safe the roadway, and proclaiming with sound of trumpet the speedy coming of the great king. If John was the Lord"s herald or messenger, he certainly was a very strange one. There was nothing whatever about him that suggested the herald; no gay clothing, no bannered trumpet. He did not hurry through the land, proclaiming his message in every market place. He tarried by the banks of the Jordan, a quiet man, dressed only in cheap camel"s hair garments, and satisfied with a leather thong for a girdle. The mission entrusted to him was distinctly and only a mission of preparation. But that work was complete in itself, and of the utmost importance in relation to the after work of the Redeemer. The subject suggested is the mission of those who effect no results, but only prepare the way for those who achieve results.
I PREPARATION WORK IS ESSENTIAL. The secret of the failure of many enterprises that looked hopeful is found in the fact that they were not efficiently prepared for. The Reformers before the Reformation were preparers of the Reformation. A building depends upon the skill with which the lines for its walls are dug, and the concrete foundations laid. David did an invaluable work when he gathered the material for the temple which he might not build. Two things may be, opened out.
1. The man prepared for can never do the preparer"s work. He is not fitted for it. And yet he is wholly dependent on that preparer"s faithfulness. With reverence we may say that our Lord could not do John"s work, yet John"s work must come before his.
2. Material preparations often precede spiritual missions. There is are moving of obstructions, a mastering of difficulties, and a smoothing of roads, which must precede the free exertion of moral and spiritual influences.
II PREPARATION WORK IS REALLY COMPLETE WORK. It always is relative to the man who does the preparations. It does not seem to be when we are judging the whole work. A man does his life work well who just completes the preparations entrusted to him. But there is no encouragement of manifest results; and men entrusted with preparation work have to be men of faith. R.T.
The unexpectedness of the advent.
"Shall suddenly come" Two messengers are spoken of in this verse. John, the messenger, prepares the way for Jesus; and Jesus, the Messenger, prepares the way for God. Each was a sent and commissioned one. The coming to the temple is a figure of speech, and means coming to the people, not our Lord"s actually entering into the temple. The people of Israel were the temple of the Lord, and of that true temple the material building was a sign. The point indicated in the expression of the text is that Messiah came with surprising suddenness upon the preparing work of John the Baptist. Only some six months of heralding when the King came. The suddenness may be illustrated along three lines.
I THERE WAS GENERAL EXPECTATION OF MESSIAH. But it was general and vague, and in no way definite and precise. It anticipated the coming of some great One, but when he was coming, or for what he was coming, none seemed quite to know. So when he did come everybody was surprised. They did not think of his coming then, or in that particular way. Stapfer says that "the expectation of Messiah was visionary indeed. It was confused, capricious, fantastic, and at the same time precise and minute in detail, just like a dream. The very name he was to bear was doubtful.
II THERE WAS GENERAL DELUSION RESPECTING MESSIAH. We are familiar with the idea of his delivering Israel from the Roman yoke, and restoring the kingdom of David, but this was quite the most sober form of the delusion of the age. Extravagant ideas so occupied men"s minds that they could give no room to the idea of a spiritual Saviour from sin. Misconceiving the images under which Christ"s coming had been foreshadowed, the people were expecting an earthly deliverer, a champion who would free them from foreign bondage, and they would gladly have spread their garments, waved their palm branches, and shouted their hosannas, if he had come to them as a conquering King. John broke into their delusions by his demand of repentance. Jesus broke into them still further by his ministry to sufferers and sinners. Suddenness and surprise characterized his going to and fro among the people, healing the sufferers and preaching the gospel of the kingdom. Suddenness was needed to awaken them out of their delusions. The world had to be startled into thought.
III THERE WAS GENERAL UNPREPAREDNESS FOR MESSIAH. The servants had not put the house ready for the Master. The priests had not. The scribes had not. Those who had prepared themselves were private persons who had very little influence on society. The unpreparedness is typified in this, "There was no room for him in the inn." His coming was not sudden to Simeon and Anna, because they were prepared through the revealed Word. R.T.
HOMILIES BY D. THOMAS Vers. 1-4. Christ as a spiritual Reformer.
"Behold, I will send my messenger," etc. This passage seems to be an answer to the question of the sceptic in the last verse of the preceding chapter, "Where is the God of judgment?" It informs us that he will come, but that a preparatory work is necessary. It points to the advent of John the Baptist, the herald of that great Messiah predicted by ancient prophets, and who was the "Desire of all nations". (Hag_2:7, Authorized Version) The passage points to Christ as the great spiritual Reformer of the world, and teaches that as a Reformer
I HE IS GLORIOUS. This appears:
1. From the fact that a Divine messenger was sent to prepare the way for him. This messenger who did the preparatory work was John the Baptist, to whom Isaiah (Isa_40:3-5) referred when he spoke of a voice crying in the wilderness. This man was not only the greatest of all the prophets, but Christ tells us he was more than a prophet. He presented to his age, on the banks of the Jordan, in words of flame and a voice of thunder, an epitome of all the teaching of the previous prophets. He denounced sin, he urged repentance. But this man, great as he was, only prepared the way for the true Reformer.
2. From the description that is here given of him. He is here represented as the Proprietor of the temple, and as the "Messenger of the covenant." Christ is the world"s spiritual Reformer. He revolutionizes the thoughts, the emotions, the aims, and habits of mankind. No one else has ever done this, and no one else ever can do it.
II HE IS AWE INSPIRING. "Who may abide the day of his coming, and who shall stand when he appeareth?" In the presence of this Reformer, whose eye will penetrate into the depths of every soul, unrenewed men everywhere will stand aghast and tremble at their own moral enormities. When he appeared to them he would not flatter their theocratic nation"s prejudice, but he would subject their principles to the fiery test of his heart-searching truth. Listen to what John the Baptist, his herald, said of him: "And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees, therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down and east into the fire. I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire: whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire." Even Peter, in his awe inspiring presence said, "Depart from me; for I am a sinful man!
III HE IS THOROUGH. "He is like a refiner"s fire, and like fuller"s soap." Two figures are here employed to indicate how thorough his reformation is. The smelter"s fire, which burns out the corrupt ingredients that are mixed with the gold and silver; and the fuller"s soap, whose alkaline salt cleanses all polluted garments from their dirt. In Christ"s reformation, everything that is wrong, that is impure, is worked out of the human soul.
IV HE IS PERSISTENT. "He shall sit as a Refiner and Purifier of silver." He is intent upon the work, and makes no slight or passing business of it. As a refiner of gold and silver sits over the burning crucible until he sees his own face reflected in the metal, so Christ will continue his work until it is fully accomplished.
V HE IS SUCCESSFUL. "He shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness. Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the Lord, as in the days of old, and as in former years." He will constitute for men one day a "holy priesthood," a priesthood that will render to the Almighty offerings that are holy and acceptable to him.
CONCLUSION. Blessed be the Eternal Father for sending such a Reformer into this corrupt world, One in every way qualified for the work, One who has reformed millions now in Paradise, is still reforming thousands on this earth, and will one day work out the moral reformation of the race. "He will not fail nor be discouraged, until he hath set judgment rectitude in the earth". D.T. (Isa_42:4)
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On vv1–3 Behold, I will send My messenger.
Mal_3:1-6
Behold, I will send My messenger.
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Messiahs messenger
The coming of the Messiah was in the time of the worlds deepest wants. As in all instances of national degeneracy, two special causes bore their fruit in Malachis time.
1. Neglect of the Divine ordinances. No Divine law has ever been given that was not essential to human well-being. A neglect of the Divine standard is consequently a sin against ones self. There is not a Bible precept that is unreasonable, and therefore it is unreasonable to give no heed to what is written. In this respect the sufferings of Israel were self-imposed.
2. Decay of spiritual life. It is hardly possible to realise the depth of wickedness portrayed by the prophet.
The priests despised the name of Jehovah. The people had robbed God, and declared it a vain thing to serve Him. In a twofold way we observe the relation of such a lack of service to the national life. This sin resulted in the alienation of the hearts of the children from their parents. It is a mark of national decay when the children make light of their fathers, when they scoff at former virtues. Again, sin against God always carries with it wrong-doing against man. Love cannot be localised upon men while withheld from God. The man who cannot truly honour God will not truly honour man. Our deeds declare our religion. Well did the prophet ask, Who may abide the day of His coming? Who shall bear the tests of His judgment? The prophesied coming of Elijah referred to John the Baptist. There is something sublime in the rugged character that confronted a degenerate nation. He only who knows the Divine greatness and power can have courage to rebuke the self-conceit that resists God. The life of the Baptist interprets the two great lessons of the prophecy in our text calling for notice.
1. Our hope rests in the unchanging God. The idea of changeableness in the one trusted destroys all faith in its very essence. It is unhuman to love the being that to-morrow may turn against us. But for this Divine characteristic no sinner could stand in Gods sight. It was this truth against whose bright background Israels sin is of the deepest guilt.
2. The suicide of unbelief. God added no terrors to Israels sufferings in the fiery day. They had but to remember their words, His blood be on us, and on our children. Unbelief can stay the exercise of Divine mercy towards the individual, but it cannot keep back its own retribution. It can give blindness to the heart, but it cannot blot out the Divine judgment. Against the darkness of the prophets picture there is another, of brighter meaning. There is a healing power in the beams of the Sun of Righteousness. Light takes the place of darkness. The righteous shall not be as flowers to fade and to die, but rather, strong and a source of joy, like the herds that feed in richest pastures. Jehovah is that blazing sun of glory. Unbelief brings a sunset of terror, while righteousness is itself the sunrise of everlasting joy. (Sermons by Monday Club.)
The appearance of the Great Deliverer
The event announced is the appearance of that Great Deliverer who had for many ages been the hope of Israel, and was to be a blessing to all the families of the earth. Concerning this desire of nations, Malachi here delivers no new prediction; but, by an earnest asseveration, uttered in the name and, as it were, in the person of the Deity, he means to confirm that general expectation which his predecessors had excited.
1. The characters under which the person is described whose coming is foretold. The Lord, or Proprietor. It denotes dominion. The Lord shall come to His temple. That is Jehovahs. Then the Christ whose coming Malachi announces is no other than the Jehovah of the Old Testament. From many texts it may be gathered that the promised Messiah is described by the more ancient prophets as no other than the everlasting God, the Jehovah of the Israelites. The Messenger of the covenant. Not the Mosaic. Another covenant is spoken of as the new and the everlasting covenant. Of this covenant, so clearly foretold, and so circumstantially described by the preceding prophets, Jeremiah and Ezekiel, Malachi thinks it unnecessary to introduce any particular description. The Messenger of the covenant is Jehovahs servant, for a message is a service; it implies a person sending, and a person sent; in the person who sendeth there must be authority to send,--submission to that authority in the person sent. But the servant of the Lord Jehovah is the Lord Jehovah Himself; not the same person with the sender, but bearing the same name because united in that mysterious nature and undivided substance which the name imports. The same person therefore is servant and Lord. Another character of the Messiah must be added. He is the Messenger whom they delight in But this expression here is ironical; the words express the very reverse of that which they seem to affirm. There is more or less of severity in this ironical language, by which it stands remarkably distinguished from the levity of ridicule, and is particularly adapted to the purposes of invective and rebuke. It denotes conscious superiority, sometimes indignation, in the person who employs it; it excites shame, confusion, and remorse in the person against whom it is employed,--in a third person, contempt and abhorrence of him who is the object of it. Irony is the keenest weapon of the orator.
2. The particulars of the business upon which the person announced is said to come. It is reducible to these--the final judgment, when the wicked shall be destroyed; a previous trial or experiment of the different tempers and dispositions of men, in order to that judgment; and something to be done for their amendment and improvement. The trial is signified under the image of an assayers separation of the nobler metals from the dross with which they are blended in the ore. The means used for the amendment and improvement of mankind, by the Messiahs atonement for our sins, by the preaching of the Gospel, and by the internal influences of the Holy Spirit,--all these means, employed under the Messiahs covenant, for the reformation of men, are expressed under the image of a fullers soap, which restores a soiled garment to its original purity. One particular effect of this purification is to be, that the sons of Levi will be purified. The worship of God shall be purged from all hypocrisy and superstition, and reduced to a few simple rules, the natural expressions of true devotion. And then shall this offering of Judah and Jerusalem (that is, of the true members of Gods true Church) be pleasant unto the Lord. All these prophecies were fulfilled, or will yet be fulfilled, in Jesus of Nazareth. (Bishop Horsley.)
Messiah and His forerunner
1. John the Baptist as a kind of connecting link between the law and the Gospel. He displayed much of the austerity of the prophets of old. He may be said to have taught that the law was about to be swept away as a covenant of works; there was not to be introduced any system but one of strict and self-denying morality As he preached a baptism of repentance, and not one of mere ceremonial purification, it became evident that the long twilight of figure and type was about to be succeeded by the clear day of spiritual and heart work religion. John occupied a most singular position: commissioned neither to enforce the law nor to proclaim the Gospel. He may be called a man of two worlds. He stood mysteriously between the law and the Gospel, being neither instructed to marshal the shadows nor privileged to exhibit the substance. And yet with all this John was not ignorant of the atoning sacrifice which Jesus was to offer. From the lips of John flowed the first announcement of an expiatory sacrifice. Behold the Lamb of God. But the preaching of the Gospel includes a vast deal more than the showing forth of the doctrine of the dying Redeemer. Upon this doctrine, as a foundation, rests every other; but the superstructure is not to be confounded with the foundation. Christ must be preached as a risen, a living, and a glorified Saviour. John was a messenger sent to prepare Christs way. But in every case the herald of an illustrious personage announces but part of the business on which that personage comes.
2. Notice the titles here given to Christ: the Lord (Adonai), and the Messenger of the covenant. There is much in the latter title which has to do with the offices of Christ. His special business was, enacting a fresh covenant between God and the human race. The only covenant God could make is one whereby He promises blessings and at the same time prescribes conditions. The whole drawing up of the covenant must be, so to speak, with God. God proposes it, and the only thing which man can have to do is merely to embrace it. (Henry Melvill, B. D.)
My messenger
I. The greatness of John the Baptist.
1. The angel said he should be great in the sight of the Lord (Luk_1:18). He was a prophet, and more than a prophet.
2. What is a prophet? A teacher? Yes, but one who is taught directly by God. He not only predicts the future, but he is the revealer of Gods will for the present.
3. John was more than a prophet. This is explained in three ways.
(1) He was prophesied of.
(2) He was more than a prophet in the richness of his illumination.
(3) Through his nearness to Christ--going before the face of the Lord.
4. The praise of Christ is the purest indication and guarantee of the excellence of His forerunner.
II. The greatness of His work.
1. He had to make ready the way of the Lord in souls, by preaching repentance.
2. The most remarkable part of his office was that of pointing out and bearing witness to the Light.
III. Lessons.
1. Observe how God uses human agency in the accomplishment of His purposes.
2. The preparation is the same in all approaches of the Lord.
3. The work of the Baptist reminds us of the importance of preparation before Holy Communion, when Christ comes hiddenly to us. (The Thinker.)
Christs coming
These words were spoken to the unbelieving priests of Malachis days, who professed that they could see no tokens of the presence of God among His people. The Lord describes--
I. The preparation for His coming. John the Baptist prepared the way of the Lord--
1. By his singular birth.
2. By his awakening ministry.
3. By direct testimony. He saw and bare record that this was the Son of God.
II. The time of His coming. Suddenly, or immediately after the preparation of His way by the messenger. How remarkably did the facts agree with the prediction!
III. The dignity of His coming. No mere man could use such authoritative words. He shall prepare the way before Me.
IV. The special business of His coming. Messenger of the covenant. Equal with the Father, as touching His Godhead, Christ is at the same time inferior to the Father as touching His manhood, in order that He might become the Messenger of heaven to a lost world. He came to reveal and to fulfil His own part in a gracious covenant of redemption for guilty sinners.
V. The certainty of His coming. The unbelieving Jews doubted it; even the faithful were despondent; the prediction is therefore attested by a most solemn assurance, Behold, He shall come, saith the Lord of hosts. (J. Jowett, M. A.)
The Messenger of the covenant delighted in
This passage cannot speak of any intervention of the Deity, like that which the nation of Israel had often experienced; here was a prediction of the Messiah to come. His Divine nature is declared, and yet, when He is spoken of as the Messenger of the Almighty, we see Him as distinct from God in His human nature. He is the Lord who should come to His own temple; and He is the Messenger or Servant of the Lord of hosts. He is not the Messenger of the Mosaic covenant. That had long previously been established under Moses, as its mediator. Isaiah writes of another covenant, an everlasting covenant. The national covenant must pass to give way to a better. Of this new covenant, to receive the elect remnant of the Jews, and to gather around them all the elect people of the Gentiles--of this covenant it is here said, that the Messiah to come was to be the Messenger; He should establish the covenant; He should be its source; He should be its Mediator; He should be the very substance of the covenant. It was His blood formed that covenant; when He made an atonement for transgression He rendered it possible, because it became just and right that the Almighty should again enter into a covenant of peace with His rebellious creatures. Look at Christ under this character, the Messenger of the covenant,--Him who was sent of God to establish and confirm it. He, in order to bring His people into covenant with God, has been their substitute in suffering. He would also secure us every best blessing. He has become our wisdom, He has also become our sanctification. He is also our perfect example. He becomes an advocate for each of His offending people. And He is our High Priest, touched with the feeling of our infirmities. The prophet tells of the reception which the Saviour was to meet. Whom ye delight in. And good reason have we to delight in this Messenger of the covenant, if indeed we have tasted of His love. We may delight in what He has done, what He does, and what He will do for us. (Hon. and Rev. B. W. Nod, M. A.)
Englands ideal future, and our duty with regard to it
In these words Malachi proclaims to the Jews in Jerusalem the ideal future. Every nation lives in its past. It derives inspiration for noble and worthy conduct, from the memory of illustrious heroes whose names adorn its roll of fame. The Jew appealed to the magnificent episodes in the earlier history of His people, when God had signally and miraculously interposed on Israels behalf. And He drew from this historical source arguments for a renewed faith in God, for a purified religious and national life. But every nation in whom there still throbs the pulse of a vigorous life lives also in an ideal future. It believes in its individual destiny. That destiny may not be clearly defined. It does not need clear definition to exert its power in shaping the course of a nations history. The presence of a great idea is sufficient of itself to shed a guiding light upon a nations onward track. Israel possessed a great leading idea with respect to its future, that, namely, of the coming of a Messiah. The nation held this idea under different forms at different periods of its history. In the latest of the prophets, in Malachi, there is a departure from the traditional picture of the nations future. Malachi no longer speaks of the coming of an earth-born prince. He speaks of a heaven-born Messenger, who should carry into effect the covenant long established between Jehovah and His people. The Messenger of the covenant, who should sit as a Refiner and Purifier of silver, who should separate the evil from the good; who should, like a glorious sun new risen upon the world with healing in his beams, bring new life and invigoration to all earnest souls, to all who feared the name of God. The moment in the nations history which this verse brings before us is that when it is face to face with its apparently destined future, as that future is disclosed by the inspired voice of Malachi. The purpose for which the prophet draws his picture is, that he may rouse the conscience of the different classes of the people; and lead them to reconsider seriously, and in Gods sight, their national, religious, and domestic duties. He derives from his contemplation of the ideal future of his nation an incentive for present action. Let us draw from a contemplation of the near future of our own country a motive and stimulus for present guidance and action.
1. Contrast Malachis vision of the future of Israel with the ideal future of our own country. What is the mightiest force at present working in our national life? It is the progress of popular government, the rule of the country by the people of the country. The nineteenth century was the age of the growth of democratic institutions, of the spread of democratic ideas. This is the one grand force in our national life which contains within itself inexhaustible energies, the capacity for almost unlimited development. Nothing can successfully oppose its course. The tide of popular development will sweep forward. It is destined to attain vaster proportions. Shall we, as religious, God-fearing men, loving our country and humanity, caring for posterity, fail to recognise in this tendency of our age the summons of God to renewed earnestness, to intensified zeal? Shall we say that these vast political movements and issues have no voice for our conscience, no bearing on our Christian duty and Christian faith? The great Hebrew prophet Malachi rebukes us.
2. Look at our duty as Christian men, as Christian workers, in the light of the political destiny of our country. We should--
(1) Accept it fearlessly, and with full faith in God.
(2) Let the Christian Church determine that the movement shall be under the direction of Christian men.
(3) The necessity of promoting education and enlightenment becomes ever more clear.
(4) A new impetus is given to the preacher of the Gospel by the contemplation of this magnificent future of our country. (A. J. Griffith.)
Did Jesus come again
What manner of personage would He be did He condescend to appear among us? Should we know Him merely by His bearing and character? We must believe that, as in Judea of old, Christ would meet men with all consideration and courtesy. All, or almost all, the good manners which we have among us--courtesies, refinements, self-restraint, mutual respect--we owe to Christ, to the influence of His example, and to that Bible which testifies of Him. Conceive--but which of us can conceive?--His perfect tenderness, patience, sympathy, graciousness, and grace, combined with perfect strength, stateliness, even awful ness, when awe was needed. He alone, of all personages of whom history tells us, solved in His own words and deeds the most difficult paradox of human character,--to be at once utterly conscious and utterly unconscious of self; to combine with perfect self-sacrifice a perfect self-assertion. He condescended, in His teaching of old, to the level of Jewish knowledge at that time. We may therefore believe that He would condescend to the level of our modern knowledge; and what would that involve? It would leave Him, however, far less than Himself, at least Master of all that the human race has thought or discovered in the last eighteen hundred years. He might speak as never yet man spoke on English soil, might speak with an authority, originality, earnestness, as well as eloquence which might exercise a fascination, purifying though painful as a refiners fire; a fascination equally attractive to those who wished to do right, and intolerable to those who wished to do wrong. But how long would His influence last? As before, there might come a day when His hearers and admirers would become fewer through bigotry, envy, fickleness, cowardice, etc. And so the world, the religious world as well as the rest, might let Him go His way, and vanish from the eyes and minds of men, leaving behind little more than a regret that one so gifted and so fascinating should have proved--so unsafe and so unsound a teacher. (Canon Charles Kingsley.)
The Lord coming to His temple
Here before us is a twofold prediction. We have a forerunner of Christ announced in it, and then Christ Himself.
I. A forerunner of Christ.
1. His mission from God. Behold I will send My Messenger--there is his Divine mission. Reference is to John the Baptist. Observe the honour it puts upon him. It not only describes him as in the mind of God before his appearance, and as specially appointed by God to his office, but it makes him, like his great Master Himself, the subject of prophecy, and an object of expectation for ages to the Church. It was no personal pre-eminence that so peculiarly distinguished this man. It was this--he was nearer to Christ; he testified more plainly and fully of Him.
2. The work this forerunner was sent to perform. He shall prepare the way before Me. Jehu came, sustaining the character and doing the work of the herald of Christ. The preaching of the Baptist should not only lead men to expect the Messiah, but should prepare their hearts to receive Him. What was it that first led some of you to seek Christ and welcome Him? Was it not a consciousness of sin, a sense of Gods anger, a dread of merited destruction? Now examine Johns preaching, and you will find it calculated to produce just these effects.
II. A prediction of Christ.
1. The names applied to Christ. He is the Lord. He comes to His temple. Thus the Holy Spirit asserts the Redeemers Godhead. Another name is applied to Christ, a lowly one the Messenger of the covenant. He sustains in relation to the covenant a similar character to that which John sustained towards Himself. He is Gods servant, sent into our world on an errand connected with Gods covenant of grace. The covenant is the term applied by Jehovah to the promises He has given His people to bless and save them. It shows them the stability of these promises, and the fixed purpose of God to perform them. And Christ is called the Messenger of this covenant, because He it is who makes it known. He, in His human nature, is the instrument employed by Jehovah in carrying it into effect. Observe the happy blending together in these two names of the Redeemers greatness and lowliness--the Lord of hosts, and yet a servant.
2. The appearing of Christ in our world. Mark the place--His temple. Mark the predicted manner of His appearing--suddenly. Mark the certainty of His advent--He shall come. Put three questions.
(1) What reception have you given to this heaven descended Saviour?
(2) With what feelings and expectations do you come up to this house of the Lord?
(3) How stand you prepared for the future coming of the Lord? (C. Bradley, M. A.)
The advent of Christ
In the days of Malachi there were many who, as the prophet says, even wearied the Lord with their words. They said that God delighted in the wicked as much as in the good, and denied that He would ever put any difference between them. Where, said they, is the God of judgment? Notice--
I. What the prophet says respecting our Lords advent. Jesus is here described under the most august titles. He is the Lord, the supreme Ruler and Governor of heaven and earth. Yet, notwithstanding His equality with the Father as God, He assumes the form of a servant, and comes as the Messenger of the covenant. In this office He was an object of desire and delight long before He came into the world. He was the Desire of all nations. The circumstances of His advent were minutely foretold.
1. He was to be preceded by a herald or messenger. This messenger was John. The conduct of the Baptist excited universal attention, and very general admiration.
2. The temple was the place to which especially He was to come.
3. His advent, though so long predicted, was to be sudden. The manner of His appearance was so contrary to the worldly notions entertained respecting Him that He was overlooked and even rejected as an impostor.
II. The effects which the prophet describes as attending the advent of the Saviour.
1. As the characters of those to whom He was to come were very various, so His advent was to prove discriminating. To discover the hidden dispositions of the heart was one intent of our Lords coming. This effect still follows from the preaching of the Gospel. Men, though unconscious of it them selves, are led to manifest their real characters, either as careless Pharisees or atheistical scoffers or humble believers.
2. As a consequence of this discriminating effect of our Saviours advent it will also prove destructive. A refiners fire will consume the dross, and fullers soap will purge the filth of that to which it is applied. So will our Lord eventually destroy many of those to whom He comes. Their sins are aggravated by His coming.
3. There are many whom the advent of Christ will have the effect of purifying. How comfortable it should be for those who are enduring trials of affliction below, to know that while they are in the furnace the Refiner Himself sitteth over them, watching the process with all due solicitude, and taking care that they shall lose nothing but their dross. Two questions.
(1) What reception have you given to Christ since His first coming?
(2) What preparation have you made for His future advent? (G. Preston.)
The coming of Messiah
I. HIS FORERUNNER. John was to make ready a people prepared for the Lord, and accordingly he aroused their attention, he removed their prejudices, he awakened their consciences., he announced the nearness of Messiahs approach, proclaimed the nature of His reign, convinced them of sin, and showed them that they stood in need of a much greater salvation than deliverance from the Roman yoke.
II. His character. He is described in three ways.
1. By His person--the Lord. The word used is Adonai, a name for God, but not an incommunicable one like the name of Jehovah; for we find it sometimes applied to kings and superiors, It properly signifies authority and dominion. How fully does this apply to Him. He must have had a previous claim to dominion before He acquired this by obedience and suffering unto death.
2. By His office. The Messenger of the covenant. Of the covenant of grace. He is the Mediator, and the Surety, and the Messenger of this covenant, because He was not only to procure its blessings, but to bestow them. Messenger of the covenant is His inferior title. It shows His infinite condescension and grace. His people will never suffer His glory to be injured by His goodness.
3. By the estimation in which He was holden. Whom ye delight in. This will apply even to the carnal Jews, who did look for a Messiah. Much more does it apply to spiritual Jews.; He was desired and delighted in by all the people of God from the beginning.
III. His advent. Suddenly come to His temple. He was now to come incarnate--clothed in a body like our own. Two things are mentioned with regard to His advent: the one regards the manner in which He was to come. Suddenly; which may mean both soon and unawares. The other regards the place to which He was to come, His temple, Fulfilled by His presentation in the temple, and subsequent visits to it, and teaching in it.
IV. The awfulness of his coming. Who may abide? Observe the awfulness--
1. In the occasional emanations and displays of His majesty.
2. In His detection of characters.
3. In the calamities which were to renew the rejection of Him.
V. The operations of his grace. Like a refiners fire, etc. The fullers soap takes stains out without destroying the texture of the cloth, and gives it clearness and freshness of appearance: and the refiners fire severs the dross from the ore, and instead of injuring it, prepares it for circulation or use, and makes it shine. Thus the Lord does with all the subjects of Divine grace. The incarnation of our Saviour regards two classes of men. To the one it is injurious, and to the other beneficial. (William Jay.)
The Lords coming to His temple
Taking John the Baptist as only the precursor of the Lord Jesus, let us look at what is here predicated of Him.
1. It is declared, He shall suddenly come to His temple. His temple implies that He was Lord of the temple. The Jewish people anxiously looked forward to His coming, but greatly mistook its object. They little thought what a searcher of heart and correcter of wrong He would be.
2. Notice how He acted in respect to His temple when He came.
(1) One of His early acts was to cast out them that bought and sold there.
(2) Observe His righteous indignation against evil wherever He met with it.
(3) This was the proximate cause, no doubt, why the Jews put Him to death.
3. Notice the result of His coming as respects others.
(1) It would subject mens characters to a severe trial. Fire separates between the gold and the dross: and the fullers soap fetches the spots out of the stained cloth. How would this be done? By the preaching of the Word. By His dealings with His people. (Stephen Jenner, M. A.)
Purifying through the Lords coming
I. Through his first coming. The prophet Malachi announces the Saviour as one who on His appearing will set on foot a great purifying among the people of Israel. Christs forerunner, John the Baptist, of whom our text speaks, alluded to this. With the greatest earnestness he insisted on purification of heart. The forgiveness of sins, through faith in Christ, is the great purification, through which we are presented pure and holy before God. Thus has Christ laid in Himself a foundation for the purifying and sanctifying of our entire race.
II. Through His daily, invisible coming the Lord exercises His purifying office for our salvation. What Christ did in person at His first coming in the flesh He does now by His Holy Spirit. Even the gold that has been purified needs a continuous purifying. The stain of earthliness still clings too readily even to the pure heart, the flesh always lusts against the spirit; and sin, so long as we tarry in the body, is a foe always cleaving to and burdening us. Therefore does the Lord come even to believing souls with many a crucible of affliction, in which He again and again cleanses the gold from dross, that it may be fitted for His temple. But He often exercises His purifying office inwardly by a gracious coming to our hearts. He then comes with a specially blessed sense of His love, by which we are made ashamed and dissolve in love, such fire of love removing impurity.
III. At His second coming in glory the lord will destroy all anti-Christian ways, and all human pride that raises itself against Him. The day of His first coming the people might, well abide. He had veiled His glory under our weak flesh, Who would not rather in the day of grace be purified by the inner fire of Christs and the Spirits love and grace? To-day is the season of grace, to-morrow perhaps not. (S. C. Kapff.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain On v1 CRITICAL NOTES.] Messenger] The prophet, in first instance; applied…
CRITICAL NOTES.] Messenger] The prophet, in first instance; applied to the Baptist (Mat_11:10; Luk_7:27). Prepare] Clear away, like a pioneer before an Eastern prince. Suddenly] Unexpectedly.
Mal_3:2.] Judgment will begin at the coming of the Lord. Who] i.e. no one can endure it (cf. Joe_2:11). Abide and stand] As opposed to falling under judgments. The double figure has one meaning. The smelter’s fire burns corrupt ingredients of metals (cf. Zec_13:9; the lye or alkaline salt cleanses the dirt out of clothes (cf. Isa_4:4).
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Mal_3:3.] As smelter the Lord sits], tempering the fire and keenly watching the process. Levi’s] sons, the objects of the trial, to be purified. When priests morally cleansed, offer sacrifices in righteousness.
Mal_3:4.] The whole nation will be pleasant to God as in old time.
Mal_3:5. I] whom ye challenged (ch. Mal_2:17) will be a judge and eyewitness against sins named.
HOMILETICS
THE COMING OF THE LORD.—Mal_3:1-5
These words are an answer to the sceptical question of the people—“Where is the God of judgment? If there be a God, why does he permit good to be overcome of evil? Why does he delay his coming to rectify things which seem wrong, to make life plainer, and his people easier?” The prophet replies, He will come; I am his messenger; be warned by me, lest you be caught unprepared.
I. The coming of the Lord is a certain event. “He shall come, saith the Lord of Hosts.” Do not judge of this event by what you see. Remember the prediction, which can never be falsified by the unbelief and contempt of man, or by the events of nature.
II. The coming of the Lord will be an unexpected event. “The Lord shall come suddenly.” He may come when men are not prepared for him, when they do not anticipate the appearance of the Judge of all the earth. “This suddenness is repeated in all the acts and judgments of the Lord. The Lord of glory always comes as a thief in the night to those who sleep in their sins” [Schmieder]. Therefore “be ye also ready.”
III. The coming of the Lord will be a solemn event. “Who may abide the day of his coming?” It will be very different from that which carnal Jews expected. He comes not to flatter national pride, nor gratify personal wishes, but to subject their principles and actions to a severe trial. He was to test them by fire.
1. A day of magnificence to the temple. He will come “to his temple,” to beautify and adorn it by his glory, to purify it for his worship by judicial expulsion of all who profane it (Mat_21:12-13).
2. A day of solemnity to the world. “Who shall stand when he appeareth?” (a) He will judge the wicked (Mal_3:5). (b) He will purify the godly (Mal_3:4). To some the day will be a revelation of wrath, to others a manifestation of grace, to all a solemn trial. Hence question not God’s justice, murmur not at his delay, but prepare for the decisive day. “The day of the Lord is great and very terrible, and who can abide it?”
IV. The coming of the Lord is an event of which men are warned. “Behold, I will send my messenger.” Lest men should be unprepared, warning is given, messenger after messenger is sent to prepare the way. The moral condition of men is not what God desires. In the ministers of the gospel God urges to repentance, helps to remove hindrances and to prepare for the presence of Christ. “To make ready a prepared people (supplied like an army with all necessaries) for the Lord” (Luk_1:17).
THE MESSENGER OF THE COVENANT.—Mal_3:1
Observe the character under which the Messiah is here presented to our notice. He is described in three ways. First, by his person: “The Lord.” The word signifies authority and dominion. He is King of kings and Lord of lords, “Ruler in Israel,” and “Governor among the nations.” Though all power is given to him as Mediator, yet he had a previous claim to dominion before his obedience and death. Secondly, he is described by his office: “The Messenger of the covenant.” The covenant of grace, “ordered in all things and sure,” to which David fled for refuge and solace, and in which he found all his salvation and desire. He is the “Mediator,” the “Surety,” and the “Messenger” of the covenant, because he not only procures and possesses its blessings, but bestows them. He announces and makes them known, prefaces all invitations and disclosures with a declaration of his commission from the Father. This inferior title does not detract from his glory as “the Lord,” but displays it, magnifies it, because it shows infinite condescension and grace. Thirdly, he is described by the estimation in which he was holden: “Whom ye delight in.” Carnal Jews, mistaken, viewed him as a temporal prince, did “seek” him, and “delighted” in him. It applies, in a nobler sense, to spiritual Jews. He was desired and delighted in by all the people of God from the beginning. To seek and delight in him will always characterize the redeemed—those who believe in him; for “to them that believe he is precious.” All that is desirable, all that is delightful to us we find in him. He is our “sun” in darkness, our “shield” in danger, our “physician” in sickness, our “righteousness,” our “bread,” the “water of life,” and “all in all.” Let the hearts of them rejoice, therefore, that seek the Lord [W. Jay].
THE REFINER AND THE CRUCIBLE.—Mal_3:2-3
I. The severity of the trial.
II. The agency by which the trial is wrought. “He,” that is, the Lord, is “like a refiner’s fire.” He alone appoints it; he alone effects it. He is present all through the operation.
III. The utility of the trial.
1. It is a sign of preciousness. We never prune the bramble, nor try the worthless.
2. It is a test of genuineness.
3. It is a medium of purification.
4. It is a preparation for service [C. Stanford].
HOMILETIC HINTS AND OUTLINES
Mal_3:1. This word “Behold” signifieth that this coming of Christ in the flesh should be—1 New, admirable, and stupendous.
2. Sure and certain.
3. Desirable and joyful.
4. Famous and renowned [Trapp].
Mal_3:2. Who may abide the day? There is something awful even in reference to Christ’s coming in the flesh. First, in the occasional emanations and displays of his majesty. Herod “was troubled, and all Judæa with him.” With a whip only he rushed into the temple and drove out the money-changers. On the mount of transfiguration, in the garden, at death, and in his resurrection were displays of majesty. Secondly, it may be exemplified in his detection of character. All through his ministry his eyes were a flame of fire. He silenced those who ensnared him, knew all men, and needed not that any should testify of man. Thirdly, it may be exemplified in the calamities which were to follow the rejection of him. They said, “His blood be upon us,” and it fell upon them, and rests upon them now. But their unspeakable sufferings were only emblems of those more dreadful punishments to which they are exposed “who have trodden under foot the Son of God,” &c. For there is another coming and appearance of Christ. Only those who have a better righteousness than their own can stand [W. Jay].
Mal_3:3-4. The refining process.
1. The objects of it. “The sons of Levi.” The purest Church and the holiest saints need refining. Gold, the thing valued most, is tried or proved by fire; but God’s people are more precious than gold.
2. The method of it. “He sits” tempering the fire, and making it just the right heat, neither too hot nor too cold, keeping the metal in the fire the exact time, for none of heaven’s pure ore will be destroyed. What tenderness, care, and anxiety.
3. The design of it. To “purify,” that they may offer an offering in righteousness. Right service springs from purified men. There may be gilt, but not gold. Hence “the fining-pot is for silver, and the furnace for gold; but the Lord trieth the hearts.”
Mal_3:5.
1. Monstrous evils in their source. They “fear not me.”
2. Monstrous evils in their detection. “I will be a swift witness against” them in providence and the ministry of the gospel.
3. Monstrous evils in their results. “I will come near to you, “though you cry, Where is the God of justice? &c.
ILLUSTRATIONS TO CHAPTER 3
Mal_3:1-5. Come.The last day will assign to every one a station suitable to his character; ranks will then be adjusted, and precedency set right; then virtue will be rewarded and vice punished [Wilson]. A due consideration of this important subject is calculated to rouse our minds, and to set on work those two grand engines and mighty springs of activity—viz., hope and fear [Ib.].
Mal_3:3. Refiner. A few ladies once met in Dublin to read the Scriptures and converse together. One lady said that the fuller’s soap and the refiner of silver were only the same image intended to convey the same view of the sanctifying influences of the grace of Christ. “No,” said another, “they are not just the same image; there is something remarkable in the expression in this verse: ‘he shall sit,’ ” &c. All thought it possibly might be so. This lady was to call upon a silversmith, and report to them what he said on the subject. She went, without telling the object of her visit, and begged to know the process of refining, which he fully described to her. “But do you sit while you are refining?” asked she. “O yes, madam; I must sit with my eyes steadily fixed on the furnace, since if the silver remain too long it is sure to be injured,” said he. “And how do you know when it is sufficiently refined?” “Whenever I see my own image reflected in it, I know the process is completed.” She at once saw the beauty and comfort of the expression [Whitecross].
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Sermon Bible 1900 · Public Domain On v1 Mal 3:1-3
Mal 3:1-3
Interpreting this prediction by the event, let us read what it says,—
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I. As to the manner of the Saviour’s coming. (1) He was to come announced by a forerunner. (2) He was to come to fulfil a great commission. (3) He was to come suddenly.
II. Consider what is said of a certain work that the Messiah was coming to accomplish. Looking into the text, we find that it sets before us: (1) The severity of the trials through which Christians may be called to pass. It is a trial by fire. Fire is the symbol of all that our nature most shrinks from, yet it is the symbol of what our nature must pass through. (2) The agency by which the trial is wrought. It is the Lord; therefore let no man’s heart fail him: "He" shall do all this. (a) He alone appoints it. (b) He alone effects it. (c) He is present all through the operation of the trial. (3) The utility of the trial. (a) It is a sign of preciousness. You never try that which is unquestionably worthless. Do you cast a stone into the crucible? Do you winnow chaff? Do you plough a rock? While the Refiner is subjecting dross to the high heat of adversity, it is only because, mixed with it, He detects a Divine particle which cost the sacrifice of Calvary, which transcends the worth of worlds, and which is destined to shine for ever. (b) It is a test of genuineness. Trial is the grand revealer of character, the certain analyst of life. There are depths of undiscovered character in us all. "No man knows what he is until he is tried." (c) It is a medium of purification. The dust, the stones, the grains of sand which fire finds in the silver it will not leave there. (d) It is a preparative for service. Powers of great usefulness can be educated in no other way. Powers of endurance are unknown, where there has been nothing to endure. Powers of rule belong alone to those who have learned to rule by learning to obey. (e) It is the precursor of glory. Cling to the joyful creed, so radiantly distinct in our Gospel revelation, that trial alone belongs to earth, glory alone belongs to heaven; that, "absent from the body," the soul is at once "present with the Lord."
C. Stanford, Symbols of Christ, p. 175.
References: Mal 3:1-3.—W. Jay, Thursday Penny Pulpit, vol. iv., p. 37. Mal 3:1-4.—Homiletic Quarterly, vol. iv., p. 397. Mal 3:2.—Clergyman’s Magazine, vol. xii., p. 31; Spurgeon, Morning by Morning, p. 289; J. Keble, Sermons for Saints’ Days, p. 133.
Mal 3:3
Under the image of the text is symbolized the whole course of the sanctification of the elect, until, through the searching discipline of God, they attain the perfection to which they are predestined Our Lord’s Passion has caused an entire revolution in the experiences and views of mankind. As the Cross, once an object accursed, is now elevated among material forms to be the object of highest reverence; even so suffering in the flesh, from being regarded as the mark of Divine displeasure, is become a means of closest union with God, a seal of His love, a law of highest sanctity. The laws which regulate our purification move along two different lines, each having its counterpart in the passion of our Lord.
I. One form of spiritual chastening is found in the internal discipline, the self-imposed effort involving secret pain, with which the soul, strengthened by the grace of God, subdues its natural emotions in meeting and overcoming trial. To nerve our hearts and overcome in the hour of temptation, and choose the higher course, is the very condition of our sanctification.
II. The outward circumstances in which we are placed have, moreover, their own special office as a further means of spiritual chastening. We are girt about with innumerable influences, from which we cannot escape, which act upon us unceasingly from hour to hour. The fall has caused that close fellowship, that keen sensibility, which were to have been the rich enhancement of every pure joy, to be the occasions of a searching discipline, and ofttimes the aggravations of suffering, in proportion to the prevalence of sin and the multiform workings of our common infirmity.
III. Two incidental results from the imagery employed in the text, to strengthen and encourage the soul in its course of trial. (1) It may have been that the custom of the refiner watching the furnace, to see his face reflected on the surface of the burning mass, as the test of its attaining the required purity, was in the mind of the Spirit when selecting this image, to denote the mystery of our sanctification. Such a custom is a beautiful exemplification of the momentous truth that the object of all spiritual discipline is the restoration of the likeness of God. (2) Silver, in its pure state, is the brightest of all metals. The selection of silver in the text conveys the blessed promise of the exceeding glory with which, even now, humanity is being clothed, as it passes out of great tribulation, its robes washed white in the blood of the Lamb.
T. T. Carter, Sermons, p. 275.
I. Look first at the process: "He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; and purge them as gold and silver." From this we see clearly that one important truth is assumed, and that is the inherent preciousness of man. That which is not of more or less value no one will take the pains to purify. The Scriptures nowhere, from the beginning, allow you to suppose that they treat man as an insignificant creature. When they introduce him at first it is in great stateliness, as the crown and flower of creation, the last in the ascending series of earthly creatures, and the best. When he fell from holiness and happiness he did not fall from his lordship. That still remained, though often sadly perverted and degraded, a lordship of tyranny and wrong.
Our Saviour constantly and anxiously keeps man to the front and at the top of all other things. He set His seal upon the infinite worth of man by taking his nature. The cradle of Bethlehem is the mirror in which man can see his own face as the image of the invisible God. If we were worthless Christ would not sit as a refiner and purifier of silver. He sees the dross, and He sees the metal, and He does not cast away the metal because of the dross, but He seeks to cast out the dross from the metal.
II. "He shall purify." Here we see the great aim and purpose of the Gospel. So far as man’s own life and character are concerned, there is no other of higher end that the Gospel can contemplate than this—our purification. This is the end of our Saviour’s incarnation, the end of His teaching, the end of His atoning death, the end of His intercession, the end of all His discipline and providence with respect to us; this is His will, even our sanctification.
It is clear, from the words of our text, that among the agencies through means of which this purity is to be accomplished, one is that of trial—trial as if by fire. It is an unspeakable joy to the Christian to know that, as he must be tried in the fire, he is to be tried under the eye, and hand, and heart of his Saviour. We know that a process over which He presides will be conducted with infinite wisdom. He alone knows the nature of the evil which has to be separated, and He alone knows the kind of trials to send.
E. Mellor, The Hem of Christ’s Garment, p. 72.
References: Mal 3:3.—Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. xxvii., No. 1575; Homiletic Quarterly, vol. vi., p. 329; F. D. Maurice, Sermons, vol. v., p. 205.
Mal 3:6
We can all of us, perhaps, look back to occasions when, if God had been pleased suddenly to call us away, in the state in which we were living at that moment, we could only have put our hands upon our lips and confessed that the sentence was perfectly just. Why are we here, the survivors of the thousands and tens of thousands who have gone before us? Every one will at once say, "It is the long-suffering of God." But why is He long-suffering?
The solution which the prophet, or rather which God Himself, gives of this matter is twofold—one sovereignty "I am the Lord;" and the other unchangeableness, "I change not."
I. The sovereignty of God is a subject full of comfort to a balanced mind. It lays the base of every man’s salvation in the free electing power of God, which is manifested to the individual soul by the outgoings of the Holy Spirit producing certain emotions and feelings in the man’s mind. Therefore it is that God loves us with such an unwearied love,—because His love preceded our love, and He loved us from all eternity. Sovereignty is the cause of forbearance. Mercy is, by the consent of all nations, the prerogative of the throne. Christ is exalted that He may give remission of sins. His cross justifies the act of forgiveness, and His throne makes it.
II. "I change not." In the hand of God there is a chart laid down and accurately mapped before the foundation of this world was laid. Nothing occurs in this earth which is not the transcript of that chart. It comes from one mind—it is wrought out by one man—it illustrates one truth, and it reaches to one appointed end. Changing pilgrims through this changing scene, fix your eyes upon the changeless. Rest yourselves on these two grand ideas—the foundation of all life and of all peace for ever,—"I am the Lord, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed."
J. Vaughan, Fifty Sermons, 7th series, p. 236.
References: Mal 3:6.—Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. i., No. 1; Ibid., Morning by Morning, p. 307; Preacher’s Monthly, vol. ii., p. 461; vol. v., p. 332; J. H. Evans, Thursday Penny Pulpit,vol. iii., p. 447; F. Silver, Ibid., vol. x., p. 221.
Mal 3:7
I. This is one of those verses which show most clearly and graciously the forethought of our heavenly Teacher, in providing for us the Old Testament: (1) in that words spoken on a particular occasion to the Jews are made to convey a heavenly warning and message to Christians of all generations at all times; (2) in that Almighty God here, as in many other places, furnishes comfort and instruction beforehand to that bitterest of cares and doubts, the care and doubt which must hang over those who feel that they have grieved His Spirit, received in baptism, by wilful sin, and having been partakers of the heavenly gift, have fallen away and trodden Christ, His grace, His warnings, His example, under foot.
II. "Wherein shall we return?" Instead of submitting at once to God’s reproof, the Jews of Malachi’s time make answer, and pretend to argue the matter with Him; they go on as if they did not understand what was said, as if their conscience did not smite them at all. The reply in the text, "Wherein shall we return?" may be taken in the like sense, as if they who were reproved were not aware of any particular reason why they should be called to repentance. Or it may be understood in a milder and better meaning, as spoken by a person really in doubt, wishing to repent, but hardly knowing how to begin. Either way, it is a manner of speaking and thinking which one meets with every day in our times. For the benefit of both sorts of answerers, God’s wisdom has condescended to point out, by what follows in the prophet, the right course to be pursued. The particular sin which he here reproves in them is their robbing God of His tithes; and when they say, "Wherein shall we return?" this is His Divine command, "Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in Mine house," etc. That is, Make a courageous effort and force yourself to do those things which are most contrary to the particular sins against which conscience warns you. Do not stand waiting and hesitating, and asking how you must set about the work of repentance, but at once begin exercising yourself in whatever most contradicts the bad tendencies which you cannot help being aware of. Only let us begin courageously and at once, and persevere humbly and patiently; for the journey is great for us, the time is short, and we, alas! are far behind.
Plain Sermons by Contributors to "Tracts for the Times" vol. iv., p. 311.
References: Mal 3:7.—M. Dix, Sermons Doctrinal and Practical, p. 286; Preacher’s Monthly, vol. viii., p. 176; Plain Sermons by Contributors to "Tracts for the Times," vol. x., p. 231; J. Keble, Sermons for Christmas to Epiphany, p. 236.
Mal 3:8
I. (1) Heaven is not the only domain of God’s vast property. All here on earth belongs to Him as well. If all belongs to God, then comes in the liability to commit robbery against Him. For, it may be, that there shall be no general habitual sense and acknowledgment of His sovereign claims; no feeling that all does so belong. This is the comprehensive spirit and principle of the wrong toward Him, and will go into many special forms; this state of mind is a general refusal to acknowledge His law. (2) Coming to a more particular account of what may justly be called "robbing God," we may say that it is so, for anything to be suffered to have a stronger power over us than His will, so that that shall obtain from us what His will obtains not; whether it be our own inclinations—or the opinions of men—or the spirit, customs, example of the world.
II. A few plain particulars should be specified of what we cannot withhold from God without this guilt. (1) One plainly at first sight is, a very considerable proportion of thought concerning Him. (2) Fear, of the deepest, most solemn kind, is due to God. (3) Will a man refuse the gentler affections—love, gratitude, humble reliance? These affections are to be given—to go out—to something. And are they just to go out to a few inferior objects close around us, and stop there, quite absorbed? Is it to the perfect excellence, the supreme goodness, the transcendent beauty, that the soul of man is to be indifferent and insensible? (4) Each and every precept of God’s law tells of something we may refuse Him, namely, obedience; and a temptation stands close by each.
III. It is not for His own sake (in any sense intelligible to us) that God requires our homage, service, and obedience. It is for our sake; because all the things He requires will be for our good, here or hereafter, not only because He will so, but by the nature of the case. To be conformed to the will of God,—to be delighted in performing services to Him,—to be animated with the love of holiness and all that is good, and hatred of sin—this would be to be happy (in heaven itself), and therefore required. In robbing God men iniquitously and fatally rob themselves.
J. Foster, Lectures, 2nd series, p. 339.
References: Mal 3:8.—W. Baird, The Hallowing of our Common Life, p. 22. Mal 3:8-18.—Preacher’s Monthly, vol. ii., p. 293.
Mal 3:10
I. God has ever connected the enjoyment and use of certain blessings with the observance of His ordinances, and with obedience to His requirements.
II. Although God has thus connected blessedness with obedience, and with the observance of His ordinances, the people of God have often neglected them,—neglected institutions founded for their benefit and neglected Divine precepts and prohibitions.
III. Such neglect often brings spiritual adversity and sometimes exposes to sore affliction.
IV. Our awaking to the knowledge that we have not all that God has promised, and to the consciousness of spiritual adversity, should be immediately followed by searchings of heart.
V. The discovery of the neglect and the disobedience as the cause of our particular adversity should be instantly followed by supplying the omission. To this God speaks by the text, "Prove Me." Prove Me, not by asking Me for some new commandment but by obeying the old neglected commandment—not by seeking new paths, but by returning to the old paths.
S. Martin, Westminster Chapel Pulpit, 4th series, No. 2.
References: Mal 3:10.—Preacher’s Monthly, vol. iii., p. 362; J. N. Norton, Every Sunday, p. 329. Mal 3:14.—Fountain, Aug. 5th, 1880.
Mal 3:16
In the text the prophet describes the method used by good men to confirm themselves in their faith. "They that feared the Lord," he says, "spake often one to another." It was their surest means, by God’s grace, of resisting the temptation, of their enemy, and so it is ours. It was the greatest earthly blessing of their lives, and so it is of ours. An earthly blessing indeed it ought scarcely to be called, for it reaches from earth to heaven. The communion of saints which is begun here will go on for ever and ever; only that whereas now they who fear the Lord speak to one another of Him, hereafter He will himself join their company, and they shall be one with Him and in the Father.
It has been well observed, that when Christ sent forth His seventy disciples during His own lifetime to preach the Gospel through the cities of Judah, He sent them forth two and two together. What the Apostles needed in their journeys as preachers of the Gospel, we need equally on our journey through life. The great object for which Christians were formed into a Church or society was that they might afford to one another a mutual comfort and support. But even where the feelings of Christian brotherhood were strongest towards the whole society of Christians, still there was room for individual friendships of a yet closer kind; where the comfort and support would be yet dearer and more effectual.
I. Consider the support—comfort—to be derived from our communion with the Church or society of Christians. Every Christian ought to feel that between himself and a man who is also a Christian there is a natural connexion of the closest kind. How often do we see that similarity of tastes in some worldly matters bring two persons together, in spite of every difference of station, of manners, and even of general character. How much more should this be the case, when the point of agreement is that one thing needful, in comparison with which everything else fades into nothing!
II. The text should be true of the society of Christians in general, but it is, and ought to be, much more so of those who take sweet counsel together, and are bound to one another by the closest ties of personal friendship. He who is without Christian friends loses the most powerful earthly instrument by which he is saved from temptation and encouraged to good. Few men, if any, can keep their hearts fixed as they ought to do, on God and on Christ. They cannot encourage as they should do the workings of the Holy Spirit within them, without sometimes speaking out of the abundance of their heart, and pouring forth to others the thoughts which most engross them. Therefore it is the interest, and if it be the interest in spiritual matters it is the duty, of every Christian to endeavour to secure the blessing of a Christian friend.
T. Arnold, Sermons, vol. i., p. 190.
I. The prophet Malachi lived some time after the restoration of the Jews to their own country, and the building of the second temple, when they had been brought back from the captivity in Babylon. He was the last of all the prophets, and flourished about four hundred years before the coming of Christ. Of this period of four hundred years, therefore, the Bible tells us nothing; nor, as far as the Jews are concerned, can we learn much about it from any other quarter. We know only that they were left during this time just under similar circumstances to those in which we ourselves are living now. I mean, that they were left in a state of trial, to see how far they would make use of the means of grace already given; that the revelation of God was for the time completed; miracles were at an end and prophecies were at an end; there was in their hands the volume of the Law and the Prophets, and in that written word alone were they to seek for the knowledge of God’s will. At the same time they were taught to look forward to some future day when God should again visit them in a more open manner, and should establish a state of things far better and more perfect than that which actually existed. We see at once how exactly this corresponds with the condition in which we ourselves are placed now. The history of the Bible mentions further a third case similar to the two which I have noticed: the state, namely, of the Jews, for another period of nearly three hundred years, from the death of Joshua to the beginning of the ministry of Samuel.
II. Twice then already have the servants of God had their term of patient waiting; twice have they had to struggle with the temptations of the world, with no other weapons than the shield of faith and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. And twice has experience shown that their faith and their struggles were not in vain; and that the Lord in whom they trusted was able and willing to save them to the uttermost. If we are longer waiting for the fulfilment of the promise, yet its language is more positive and clear than it ever was before, and the blessings to which it directs our hope are of a nature far more valuable. He who looks for complete certainty and the removal of every difficulty in the way of our belief in Christ, is confounding earth and heaven together. There we shall enjoy perfect knowledge, and our service will be one of untroubled love; but here we must walk by faith, not by sight, and the enemy of our souls will never cease his assaults against them.
T. Arnold, Sermons, vol. i. p. 181.
Religious conversation.
I. "Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another." (1) Then. The context tells us that the time spoken of was an evil time. So prevalent was sin, so bold, and apparently so prosperous, that people were beginning to say, "It is vain to serve God." (2) "They that feared the Lord." It is a sufficient description of the good, be they many or few, that they are those who fear God. In times of difficulty and discouragement they spake often one to another. It does not expressly say what about; but it is implied that they spoke to one another as those that feared the Lord; as those who had a common cause, and that common cause the cause of good, the cause of God. They tried the experiment of sympathy, of combined counsel, and combined action too.
II. Religious conversation should begin in God’s worship. Here at least we can communicate one with another on the common basis of the fear of God, and take in large supplies of strength and faith at the very Fountain-head of both.
III. Another way in which all who fear God ought also to speak often one to another is in the privacy of true friendship, when to one faithful ear you can confide something of your personal difficulties and temptations, and exchange that sympathy which is always strengthening, even where it may seem to be rather the confession of weakness.
IV. "The Lord hearkened and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before Him." Let us remember that for every idle word we speak we shall give account in the day of judgment. Of all the sayings written down from Christ’s lips in the Book of God, none surely is so terrible in its sound as that which declares: "By thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned."
C. J. Vaughan, Memorials of Harrow Sundays, p. 316.
Consider:—
I. The comfort and value of Christian friendship. Who is there that has ever analyzed his emotions that has not felt how large a portion of his joys spring from the fount of sympathy? In solitariness there is no happiness; and there is hardly to be found in Scripture a more touching exhibition of the solicitude of our Divine Parent for our happiness than is to found in these words: "God setteth the solitary in families." The friendships of the world are bound only by the ropes of selfish sand, and mayhap, when reliance strains upon them, will give way. But the blessed communion of saints is formed of the golden links of a holy love and godly principle. A friendship which coheres by virtue of a mutual love of Christ can never be sundered.
II. The prevailing power of intercessory prayer. Herein it is that Christian friendships are so incomparably superior to the friendships of the world. Happy is the man who can reckon among his friends one, two, three, who are in favour with God, and who can go with him and for him to the throne of grace, and who have interest, so to speak, in the court of heaven. When the secrets of this mysterious world are laid open at a future day we shall be astonished to find what the intercessory prayers of the "hidden ones" have done, and how kings and statesmen, how churches and pulpits, have been influenced by the electric touches of these secretly spoken supplications which have gone up from the hearts of kneeling cottagers, and have entered into the ears of the Lord God of Sabaoth.
R. Glover, By the Waters of Babylon, p. 91.
I. Godliness is here presented as the firm basis of confederation and communion.
II. The godly spoke (1) of God’s holy name; (2) of His awful power; (3) of His precious promises; (4) of His immutable truth.
J. Baldwin Brown, The Sunday Afternoon, p. 20.
Reference: Mal 3:16.—W. Arnot, Good Words, 1862, p. 441.
Mal 3:16-17
There are three main features of this description in the text.
I. The book of remembrance. Probably the rudiment of this idea is to be found in Ezr 6:1-5. There was a roll found on a critical occasion, "in the palace which is in the province of the Medes," the remembrance of which the Jews would not willingly let die. But what chiefly concerns us is the fundamental thought. The Lord knew these men by name. Those who, like them, stake all on fidelity to God, who seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, are the upper ten thousand of the universe, the peerage of heaven, through eternity.
II. There is the recognition of their sonship. "I will spare them as a man spareth his own son that serveth him."
III. The day shall come when the book shall be brought forth, when the names shall be read out before an assembled universe, and shall shine as headstones of beauty in the new creation through eternity.
J. Baldwin Brown, The Sunday Afternoon, p. 29.
The text is an evident and happy illustration of the advantages of Christian fellowship. It would appear that in the olden time Christian fellowship, or the communion of saints, was: (1) commonly practised; (2) divinely noticed; (3) blessed by reward.
I. One great purpose of the Saviour’s incarnation and of the call and authority of His disciples was to establish a Gospel Church. The central thought—the great necessity of churchmanship—is union with Christ, participation in the benefit of His dying, transformation through the influence of His Spirit. But this spiritual change is effected in human hearts. Human hearts have in them chords of sympathy and a strong social instinct, so that, by inevitable and congenial affinity, like will yearn for like. Hence arises organization, the gathering together of those who think alike, who acknowledge the same supreme obligation, who are inspired by the same majestic hope, and who travel to the same assured and glorious recompense of reward.
II. (1) One purpose which seems essentially involved in the possession of spiritual Christianity is the bearing witness for Christ. This would seem to necessitate an organized system of testimony. (2) Another thing which seems to necessitate Church membership is respect for the memory of Christ; and for the ordinances which He appointed of perpetual obligation in His Church. His object was to separate a people, not merely as the recipients of His truth, but as the instruments of its extension, and at once its depositary and its herald. He appointed, moreover, initiatory and confirmatory sacraments: Baptism as the gate of entrance; the Eucharist as the banquet of the faithful, and as the renewal of the consecrating vow. But the sacraments are dispensed in the Church, and in the Church only. (3) Again, the Church exists for purposes of spiritual aggression. She is to preach the Gospel of the kingdom for a witness unto all nations. It is manifest that this work, to which its charter of incorporation binds it, can be accomplished only by associated efforts. It is our duty to avow ourselves of the Church rather than of the world, and to throw in whatever we possess of energy, and influence, and zeal with one or other of the troops which are displaying the common standard of the Cross.
W. Morley Punshon, Sermons, 2nd series, p. 267.
Reference: Mal 3:16, Mal 3:17.—W. Arnot, Good Words, 1862, p. 443.
Mal 3:17
I. Notice the finding of the jewel. Just as the diamond and the gold are hidden among the rocks and earth, mud and sand, and are only found by great labour and trouble, so God’s jewels are lost and hidden among vile sins and earthly habits, and shut up in hard, stony hearts; it is with great trouble He discerns them. He sent His Son down from heaven to seek His lost jewels; and He had to come and work in the muddy river-beds and in the dark earth and rocky mines to find them.
II. The fashioning of the jewel. Jesus finds His jewels and snatches them out of their sins, but they are not yet fit to be worn by God. He has to give them over to a most skilful Artificer who purifies and polishes them, and forms them into jewels fit for God to wear. This is the Holy Ghost. The Holy Spirit uses a great variety of means to fashion God’s jewels: (1) Water; water is used to cleanse the diamond and the gold. What is the water which the Holy Ghost uses? It is the Word (Eph 5:25-27). (2) Fire; the fire which the Holy Spirit uses is affliction. Affliction melts hearts, and then they flow into God’s mould.
III. The wearing of the jewel. Kings and great people who have many jewels keep most of them locked fast; but on great occasions, such as a coronation day, they bring them all out. So there is a day coming when God is to gather together all His jewels and wear them before all eyes. (1) He will rejoice in the beauty of His jewels. (2) He will rejoice in them as a display of His wealth of love.
J. Stalker, The New Song, p. 131.
References: Mal 3:17.—Homiletic Quarterly, vol. i., p. 403; Preacher’s Monthly, vol. vi., p. 295; H. V. Macdona, Penny Pulpit, No. 568; Preacher’s Monthly, vol. i., p. 447; vol. iv., p. 311. Mal 3:18.—Spurgeon, Sermons, vol. xxiv., No. 1415.
The Sermon Bible, ed. William Robertson Nicoll (1888–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Alexander MacLaren 1905 · Public Domain On v1 Mal 3:1 - Mal 3:12.
Malachi
THE LAST WORD OF PROPHECY
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Mal 3:1 - Mal 3:12.
Deep obscurity surrounds the person of this last of the prophets. It is questioned whether Malachi is a proper name at all. It is the Hebrew word rendered in Mal 3:1 of our passage ‘My messenger,’ and this has led many authorities to contend that the prophecy is in fact anonymous, the name being only a designation of office. Whether this is so or not, the name, if it is a name, is all that we know about him. The tenor of his prophecy shows that he lived after the restoration of the Temple and its worship, and the sins which he castigates are substantially those with which Ezra and Nehemiah had to fight. One ancient Jewish authority asserts that he was Ezra; but the statement has no confirmation, and if it had been correct, we should not have expected that such an author would have been anonymous. This dim figure, then, is the last of the mighty line of prophets, and gives strong utterance to the ‘hope of Israel’! One clear voice, coming from we scarcely know whose lips, proclaims for the last time, ‘He comes! He comes!’ and then all is silence for four hundred years. Modern critics, indeed, hold that the bulk of the Psalter is of later date; but that contention has much to do before it can be regarded as established.
The first point worthy of notice in this passage, then, is the concentration, in this last prophetic utterance, of that element of forward-looking expectancy which marked all the earlier revelation. From the beginning, the selectest spirits in Israel had set their faces and pointed their fingers to a great future, which gathered distinctness as the ages rolled, and culminated in the King from David’s line, of whom many psalms sung, and in the suffering Servant of the Lord, who shines out from the pages of the second part of Isaiah’s prophecy. This Messianic hope runs through all the Old Testament, like a broadening river. ‘They that went before cried, Hosanna! Blessed is He that cometh.’
That hope gives unity to the Old Testament, whatever criticism may have to teach about the process of its production. The most important thing about the book is that one purpose informs it all; and the student who misses the truth that ‘the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy’ has a less accurate conception of the meaning and inter-relations of the Old Testament than the unlearned who has accepted that great truth. We should be willing to learn all that modern scholarship has to teach about the course of revelation. But we should take care that the new knowledge does not darken the old certainty that the prophets ‘testified beforehand of the sufferings of Christ and of the glory that should follow,’ Here, at the very end, stands Malachi, reiterating the assurance which had come down through the centuries. The prophets, as it were, had lit a beacon which flamed through the darkness. Hand after hand had flung new fuel on it when it burned low. It had lighted up many a stormy night of exile and distress. Now we can dimly see one more, the last of his order, casting his brand on the fire, which leaps up again; and then he too passes into the darkness, but the beacon burns on.
The next point to note is the clear prophecy of a forerunner. ‘My messenger’ is to come, and to ‘prepare the way before Me.’ Isaiah had heard a voice calling, ‘Prepare the way of the Lord,’ and Malachi quotes his words, and ascribes the same office to the ‘messenger.’ In the last verses of his prophecy he calls this messenger ‘Elijah the prophet.’ Here, then, we have a remarkable instance of a historical detail set forth in prophecy. The coming of the Lord is to be immediately preceded by the appearance of a prophet, whose function is to effect a moral and religious reformation, which shall prepare a path for Him. This is no vague ideal, but definite announcement of a definite fact, to be realised in a historical personality. How came this half-anonymous Jew, four hundred years beforehand, to hit upon the fact that the next prophet in Israel would herald the immediate coming of the Lord? There ought to be but one answer possible.
Another point to note is the peculiar relation between Jehovah and Him who comes. Emphatically and broadly it is declared that Jehovah Himself ‘shall suddenly come to His temple’; and then the prophecy immediately passes on to speak of the coming of ‘the Messenger of the covenant,’ and dwells for a time exclusively on his work of purifying; and then again it glides, without conscious breach of continuity or mark of transition, into, ‘And I will come near to you in judgment.’ A mysterious relationship of oneness and yet distinctness is here shadowed, of which the solution is only found in the Christian truth that the Word, which was Grod, and was in the beginning with God, became flesh, and that in Him Jehovah in very deed tabernacled among men. The expression ‘the Messenger {or Angel} of the covenant’ is connected with the remarkable representations in other parts of the Old Testament, of ‘the Angel of Jehovah,’ in whom many commentators recognise a pre-incarnate manifestation of the eternal Word. That ‘Angel’ had redeemed Israel from Egypt, had led them through the desert, had been the ‘Captain of the Lord’s host.’ The name of Jehovah was ‘in Him.’ He it is whose coming is here prophesied, and in His coming Jehovah comes to His temple.
We next note the aspect of the coming which is prominent here. Not the kingly, nor the redemptive, but the judicial, is uppermost. With keen irony the Prophet contrasts the professed eagerness of the people for the appearance of Jehovah and their shrinking terror when He does come. He is ‘the Lord whom ye seek’; the Messenger of the covenant is He ‘whom ye delight in.’ But all that superficial and partially insincere longing will turn into dread and unwillingness to abide His scrutiny. The images of the refiner’s fire and the fullers’ soap imply painful processes, of which the intention is to burn out the dross and beat out the filth. It sounds like a prolongation of Malachi’s voice when John the Baptist peals out his herald cry of one whose ‘fan was in His hand,’ and who should plunge men into a fiery baptism, and consume with fire that destroyed what would not submit to be cast into the fire that cleansed. Nor should we forget that our Lord has said, ‘For judgment am I come into the world.’ He came to ‘purify’; but if men would not let Him do what He came for, He could not but be their bane instead of their blessing.
The stone is laid. If we build on it, it is a sure foundation; if we stumble over it, we are broken. The double aspect and effect of the gospel, which was meant only to have the single operation of blessing, are clearly set forth in this prophecy, which first promises purging from sin, so that not only the ‘sons of Levi’ shall offer in righteousness, but that the ‘offerings of Judah and Jerusalem shall be pleasant,’ and then passes immediately to foretell that God will come in judgment and witness against evil-doers. Judgment is the shadow of salvation, and constantly attends on it. Neither Malachi nor the Baptist gives a complete view of Messiah’s work, but still less do they give an erroneous one; for the central portion of both prophecies is His purifying energy which both liken to cleansing fire.
That real and inward cleansing is the great work of Christ. It was wrought on as many of His contemporaries as believed on Him, and for such as did not He was a swift Witness against them. Nor are we to forget that the prophecy is not exhausted yet; for there remains another ‘day of His coming’ for judgment. The prophets did not see the perspective of the future, and often bring together events widely separated in time, just as, to a spectator on a mountain, distances between points far away towards the horizon are not measurable. We have to allow for foreshortening.
This blending of events historically widely apart is to be kept in view in interpreting Malachi’s prediction that the coming would result in Judah’s and Israel’s offerings being ‘pleasant unto the Lord as in former years.’ That prediction is not yet fulfilled, whether we regard the name of Israel and the relation expressed in it as having passed over to the Christian Church, or whether we look forward to that bringing in of all Israel which Paul says will be as ‘life from the dead.’ But by slow degrees it is being fulfilled, and by Christ men are being led to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God.
The more directly Messianic part of this prophecy is closed in Mal 3:6 by a great saying, which at once gives the reason for the coming and for its severe aspect of witness against sin. The unchangeableness of God, which is declared in His very name, guarantees the continued existence of Israel. As Paul says in regard to the same subject, ‘The calling of God is without change of purpose’ {on His part}. But it is as impossible that God should leave them to their sins, which would destroy them, as that He should Himself consume them. Therefore He will surely come; and coming, will deliver from evil. But they who refuse to be so delivered will forfeit that title and the pledge of preservation which it implies.
A new paragraph begins with Mal 3:7, which is not closely connected with the promises preceding. It recurs to the prevailing tone of Malachi, the rebuke of negligence in attending to the legal obligations of worship. That negligence is declared to be a reason for God’s withdrawal from them. But the ‘return,’ which is promised on condition of their renewed obedience, can scarcely be identified with the coming just foretold. That coming was to bring about offerings of righteousness which should be pleasant to the Lord. This section {Mal 3:7 - Mal 3:12} promises blessings as results of such offerings, and a ‘return’ of Jehovah to His people contingent upon their return to Him. If the two sections of this passage are taken as closely connected, this one must describe the consequences of the coming. But, more probably, this accusation of negligence and promise of blessing on a change of conduct are independent of the previous verses. We, however, may fairly take them as exhibiting the obligations of those who have received that great gift of purifying from Jesus Christ, and are thereby consecrated as His priests.
The key-word of the Christian life is ‘sacrifice’-surrender, and that to God. That is to be stamped on the inmost selves, and by the act of the will, on the body as well. ‘Yield yourselves to God, and your members as instruments of righteousness to Him.’ It is to be written on possessions. Malachi necessarily keeps within the limits of the sacrificial system, but his impetuous eloquence hits us no less. It is still possible to ‘rob God.’ We do so when we keep anything as our own, and use it at our own will, for our own purposes. Only when we recognise His ownership of ourselves, and consequently of all that we call ‘ours,’ do we give Him His due. All the slave’s chattels belong to the owner to whom he belongs. Such thorough-going surrender is the secret of thorough possession. The true way to enjoy worldly goods is to give them to God.
The lattices of heaven are opened, not to pour down, as of old, fiery destruction, but to make way for the gentle descent of God’s blessing, which will more than fill every vessel set to receive it. This is the universal law, not always fulfilled in increase of outward goods, but in the better riches of communion and of larger possession in God Himself. He suffers no man to be His creditor, but more than returns our gifts, as legends tell of some peasant who brought his king a poor tribute of fruits of his fields, and went away from the presence-chamber with a jewel in his hand.
Alexander MacLaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture (1904–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
J. R. Dummelow 1909 · Public Domain On v1 The Speedy Judgment
3
The Speedy Judgment
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1. This v. is closely connected with the preceding. It is the answer to the question, 'Where is the God of judgment?' The messenger is evidently a prophet or a succession of prophets: cp. Deu_18:9-22. The phrase he shall prepare the way before me is probably borrowed from Isa_40:3-5, where the thought is that a highway must be prepared on which 'the Glory of the Lord' may lead Israel to the land of Canaan. Zechariah (Zec_8:8) had promised that Jehovah would come to His Temple. The promise in Malachi's days had not yet been fulfilled, but Jehovah would 'hasten it in its time.'
2. Malachi shows himself here a true son of the older prophets. Jehovah cannot ignore sin; the day of his coming must therefore be a day of judgment: cp. Amo_5:18-20; Isa_33:14-16.;
3. He shall purify the sons of Levi] The judgment will begin at the house of God. 4. Malachi, like other-late OT. writers, here idealises the past: cp. Isa_2:5; 1Ki_4:20, 1Ki_4:21.
6. I change not] better, 'I have not changed.' The therefore in the following clause is wrong: the Heb. has 'but you' (emphatic) 'are not consumed.' As this yields no antithesis, it is not improbable that there is a corruption in the text. The argument seems to be, 'I have not changed, but you have not kept your part of the covenant; you have not performed my words.'
7. Cp. Zec_1:2.
9. Cp. Neh_13:10.
11. The devourer] i.e. locusts: cp. Joe_1:4; Amo_4:2.
13. The godly are here addressed, and in their lack of faith are reminded that 'the Lord is mindful of His own.'
14. Cp. Psa_73:13; Isa_58:3.
16. The change from direct address to narrative utterly spoils the connexion. LXX gives, 'This' (i.e. the complaint of Mal_3:14-15) 'have they spoken who fear the Lord; and the Lord hath hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance hath been written before Him concerning those that fear the Lord,' etc.
17. In that day when I make up my jewels] RV 'in the day that I do make, even a peculiar treasure': better, 'in the day that I shew myself active' (so in Mal_4:3), 'even a peculiar possession.' For the last words cp. Deu_7:6; Deu_14:2; Deu_26:18.
18. Malachi here treats the prosperity of the ungodly with more freedom than some of the OT, writers, He does not deny it, nor does he affirm that it is illusory or transitory, but that it cannot abide the crisis of 'the Day of the Lord.' Ye] the murmurers; those who were disturbed by the prosperity of the wicked (Mal_2:17).
J. R. Dummelow, A Commentary on the Holy Bible (Macmillan, 1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain On v1 The f.c. of Mal 3:1 is quoted of John…
Lord
The f.c. of Mal 3:1 is quoted of John the Baptist; Mat 11:10; Mar 1:2; Luk 7:27 but the second clause, "the Lord whom ye see," etc., is nowhere quoted in the N.T. The reason is obvious: in everything save the fact of Christ’s first advent, the latter clause awaits fulfilment Hab 2:20. Mal 3:2-5 speak of judgment, not of grace. Malachi, in common with other O.T. prophets, saw both advents of Messiah blended in one horizon, but did not see the separating interval described in Matthew 13. consequent upon the rejection of the King Mat 13:16; Mat 13:17. Still less was the Church-age in his vision; Eph 3:3-6; Col 1:25-27. "My messenger" Mal 3:1 is John the Baptist; the "messenger of the covenant" is Christ in both of His advents, but with especial reference to the events which are to follow His return.
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Arno C. Gaebelein 1922 · Public Domain On v1 4. The Announcement of the Messenger and the Day…
4. The Announcement of the Messenger and the Day of the Lord
CHAPTER 3:1-6
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In this chapter and in the next we have the prophecies of Malachi as to the Messiah and His forerunner. The last verse of the preceding chapter belongs rightly to this chapter. “Ye have wearied the Lord with your words. Yet ye say, Wherein have we wearied Him? When ye say, Every one that doeth evil is good in the sight of the Lord, and He delighteth in them; or, Where is the God of judgment?” It is this last bold question, produced by their arrogant pride and self security which opens the way for the prophetic message in this chapter. “Where is the God of judgment?” The answer is, “Behold, I will send My messenger, and he shall prepare the way before Me; and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to His temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in; behold, He shall come, saith the Lord of hosts.” The first announcement of the messenger, who goes before the Lord, is quoted in Mat 11:10; Mar 1:22; Luk 1:76; Luk 7:27. Isaiah, too, had spoken a similar prophecy in Isa 40:3. This prophecy was fulfilled in the person of John the Baptist, as the herald of His first coming; still this prophecy considered in the light of the prophecy in the next chapter, concerning the coming of Elijah, remains yet to be fully accomplished. John the Baptist was not Elijah; Elijah is still to come and do his work preceding the coming of the Lord. The messenger is followed by the Lord, the Messenger, or Angel (the meaning of the Hebrew word) of the Covenant. The word Lord is here the word Adon with the article, always used of God. It is the Lord God who comes, and His official title is “The Angel of the Covenant.” Many expositors have blundered here in that they imagined the word covenant means the new covenant of which the Lord Jesus is the Mediator Heb 9:15. But it is not the truth. The Messenger of the Covenant is the same “Angel of the Lord” who appeared frequently in Israel’s past history, and generally in the form of a human being. The Angel of the Lord is the Son of God in His preincarnation manifestations, and He is announced here as the Angel of the Covenant. The nation believed in His coming, and in the question “Where is the God of judgment?” they had asked for Him. That there was a partial fulfillment of this prophecy when our Lord, the Messiah of Israel, came unexpectedly in the temple, must not be overlooked, but that it was the fulfillment of these words is not true. It will be accomplished in the day of His Return, preceded by another messenger. Their question “Where is the God of judgment?” will then be fully answered, and what it will be we read in the next two verses (Mal 3:2 and Mal 3:3). He will purge the nation of the dross, beginning with the sons of Levi. It is the same as in Zec 13:9. John the Baptist announced the same also, and when he gave his inspired testimony of the purging of the threshing floor and the burning of the chaff with unquenchable fire Mat 3:12 he referred not to the first coming of Christ, but to His second coming.
As the result of this judgment in store for the nation, when the sorcerers, the adulterers, the false swearers, and the oppressors will be dealt with, we read in the fourth verse (Mal 3:4) “Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the Lord, as in the days of old, and as in former years.”
Arno C. Gaebelein, The Annotated Bible (1913–1922) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain On v1 The Great Day of the Lord.
The Great Day of the Lord.
Jehovah’s Messenger and the Angel of the Covenant.
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v. 1. Behold, I will send My messenger, the special prophet spoken of Isa 40:3, the passage upon which the present statement is evidently founded, and he shall prepare the way before Me, Mar 1:3; and the Lord whom ye seek, for whose coming they were so anxiously waiting, shall suddenly come to His Temple, to dwell in the midst of His people, of His Church, even the Messenger of the Covenant, the great Angel of the Lord, the Son of God Himself, whom ye delight in, namely, all those who still desire the covenant of the Lord with His people to he fulfilled. Behold, so the announcement is once more made with impressive solemnity, He shall come, saith the Lord of hosts. This is the preaching of repentance in order to prepare the hearts for the great advent of Jehovah.
v. 2. But who may abide the day of His coming? be able to endure that Day of Judgment upon the disobedient and secure? Cf Mat 3:8-12; Luk 3:9. And who shall stand when He appeareth? Cf Joe 2:11. For He is like a refiner’s fire, which separates the dross from the pure metal, and like fullers’ soap, thoroughly to cleanse the garment of His Church from all impurities;
v. 3. and He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, the entire Messianic period being a time of testing and of judgment, Joh 9:39, culminating in the day of the final Judgment; and He shall purify the sons of Levi, for the judgment begins at the house of God, and purge them as gold and silver that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness, so that all the members of the New Testament priesthood, in fact, might serve Him in holiness and righteousness.
v. 4. Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the Lord, the entire Church worshiping Him in spirit and in truth, as in the days of old, when the children of Israel were still in truth His Church, and. as in former years. Cf Tit 2:14; 1Pe 2:5.
v. 5. And I will come near to you to judgment, namely, the judgment of wrath upon the wicked; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, the transgressors of the First and Second Commandments, and against the adulterers, those disregarding the Sixth Commandment, and against false swearers, with reference both to the Second and the Eighth Commandments, and against those that oppress the hireling in his wages, by withholding them altogether or by underpaying him, the widow, and the fatherless, as being without a natural protector, and that turn aside the stranger from his right, Cf Deu 27:19, and fear not Me, saith the Lord of hosts, this last point indicating the source of all iniquity—lack of the fear of the Lord.
v. 6. For I am the Lord, I change not, the name Jehovah itself indicating that He is the same from everlasting to everlasting; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed, literally, "and ye, the Sons of Jacob, ye are not yet consumed," that is, the Lord will keep the true spiritual Israel safe while He sends His judgment upon the wicked in their midst. Even so the Church of Christ in the New Testament is preserved in the midst of hypocrisy and deceit, and the wicked will finally be destroyed.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On v1 General Information:
General Information:
Yahweh begins speaking again to the people of Israel in verse 1, but the prophet Malachi begins speaking in verse 2.
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See
"Look" or "Listen" or "Pay attention to what I am about to tell you"
he will prepare the way before me
Here getting people ready to welcome Yahweh is spoken of as if a road were being cleared for Yahweh to travel on. (See: Metaphor)
Then the Lord, whom you seek ... The messenger of the covenant in whom you delight
Some modern versions translate this in a way that implies that these two expressions refer to the same person. Other modern versions leave this matter ambiguous. We recommend that translations leave this matter ambiguous, as the ULB and UDB do.
The messenger of the covenant
Almost all versions leave ambiguous the sense of this expression. But translators may need to make explicit the relationship between "messenger" and "the covenant." The UDB presents "the messenger" as one promised by the covenant that Yahweh had with Israel. Another choice is to present the messenger as a person who will either confirm that covenant or announce a new covenant.
But who will be able to endure the day of his coming? Who will be able to stand when he appears?
These rhetorical questions imply that no one will be able to resist Yahweh when he comes. They can be combined into one statement. AT: "However, no one will be able to resist Yahweh when he comes to judge them." (See: Rhetorical Question)
the day of his coming
Here "day" stands for "time." AT: "the time when he comes"
be able to stand
Here standing represents resisting someone's attack or accusations. (See: Metaphor)
For he will be like a refiner's fire and like laundry soap
This sentence gives the reason why no one will be able to resist God when he comes. God's power to judge the people and to stop them from sinning is spoken of as if it were the power of strong soap to clean clothes, or the power of fire to melt an object. These are ways of saying that God's power to do these things cannot be stopped. (See: Simile)
he will purify the sons of Levi
Forgiving the sons of Levi and persuading them not to sin any longer is spoken of as if it were purifying metal. AT: "he will correct the sons of Levi and forgive them for having sinned" (See: Metaphor)
the sons of Levi
Here "sons" refers to descendants. The male descendants of Levi were the priests and workers in the temple. (See: Metaphor)
He will sit
Here sitting implies the action of a metalworker, who sits down in order to purify small amounts of gold or silver. It also implies the action of a king, who sits down to judge people and give decrees. (See: Simile and Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)
He will refine them like gold and silver
Here persuading people not to sin any longer is spoken of as if a metalworker were making gold and silver more pure. (See: Simile)
they will bring offerings of righteousness to Yahweh
Here "of righteousness" means "motivated by righteous desires to worship God." AT: "they will bring acceptable offerings to Yahweh in order to worship Yahweh"
translationWords
lord
temple
covenant
Yahweh of hosts
endure
pure
Levi
righteous
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv1–2 3:1 my messenger (Hebrew mal’aki): This is a wordplay…
3:1 my messenger (Hebrew mal’aki): This is a wordplay on Malachi’s name. The messenger may be either an angel or a human being functioning as a divine courier. Jesus identified John the Baptist by pointing to this passage (see Matt 11:10; Mark 1:2; Luke 7:27). • Malachi’s audience probably would have understood the messenger of the covenant to be a divine being (cp. Exod 23:20-23). The Christian church has understood Jesus Christ to be the messenger of the new covenant.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.