We conclude the short book of Malachi today. Yesterday we found the Lord promising a day of judgment in which it will become apparent who was righteous and who was wicked. He continues speaking of the day of judgment in today's passage, but He also has a message of hope. Those who fear Him need not fear that day. Those who fear Him need not fear anyone or anything. In addition, the promised Messiah is still coming. Although the Lord has rebuked Israel for a number of things in the book of Malachi, God's promise to send a Redeemer still stands.
Between the book of Malachi, the last book of the Old Testament, and the book of Matthew, the first book of the New Testament, are four hundred years of silence. During that time no prophets are called into the Lord's service. No priests receive a fresh message from the Lord. God's silence is going to accomplish what His words of warning and admonition have not: it's going to get the people's attention. When a man named John the Baptist comes preaching and prophesying in a manner similar to that of Elijah, the nation will be ready to hear what he has to say. This will be proof to them that God has not rejected them. Indeed, He is about to visit the children of Israel in a way He never has before....in person. The book of Malachi closes by predicting the rise of John the Baptist and the coming of the Messiah. Tomorrow we will move on into the gospel according to Mark and will study the fulfillment of Malachi's prophecies.
"'Surely the day is coming; it will burn like a furnace. All the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble, and the day that is coming will set them on fire,' says the Lord Almighty. 'Not a root or a branch will be left to them.'" (Malachi 4:1) The Lord is speaking here of His final judgment in the end times. No root or branch will be left to the wicked because they will never spring up again. There will be no unrighteousness in the kingdom of God.
Verse 1 contains some scary information, but those who fear the Lord don't have to fear the day of judgment. "'But for you who revere My name, the sun of righteousness will arise with healing in its rays. And you will go out and frolic like well-fed calves. Then you will trample on the wicked; they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day when I act,' says the Lord Almighty." (Malachi 4:2-3) Like calves let out of the barn at sunrise, those who have been faithful to God will enjoy the freedom and joy of the eternal kingdom. No dark days will ever come. "There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." (Revelation 21:4b)
In addition to no longer being subject to disease and death, God's people will no longer be subject to enemies, not even our chief enemy the devil. The Lord promises in verse 3 that the righteous will trample the wicked underfoot, and there is no one who needs trampling underfoot more than Satan. "The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet." (Romans 16:20a)
"Remember the law of My servant Moses, the decrees and laws I gave him at Horeb for all Israel." (Malachi 4:4) The Lord counsels the people to remember the law and to be obedient to it, for nothing new will be said to them for four centuries. Moses was the mediator of the old covenant, but when God speaks again, a new Mediator and a new covenant will be in view. The people are to hold fast to what they have already been taught until the Messiah comes.
"See, I will send the prophet Elijah to you before that great and dreadful day of the Lord comes. He will turn the hearts of the parents to their children, and the hearts of the children to their parents; or else I will come and strike the land with total destruction." (Malachi 4:5-6) A day of judgment is ahead, but a day of grace is coming first. Those who accept the day of grace will not have to endure the day of judgment. A prophet is going to prepare the way for the Messiah, a prophet who will possess the same type of power and spirit as the prophet Elijah. This prophecy will be fulfilled when John the Baptist preaches that the kingdom of God is near and that the people need to repent. John will point to the Lord Jesus Christ as the One who will baptize not with water as John does, but with the Holy Spirit and with fire. John will affirm the identity and the deity of Jesus of Nazareth by saying of Him, "Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!" (John 1:29)
It's hard for us in modern times to sit still in silence for four minutes, much less for four centuries. Imagine what that must have been like! Imagine how welcome a prophet like John must have been and how eager the people were to hear his words. His message will be, "Every person is a sinner. Every person needs a Savior. Let me show you who He is."
I hope you can join us as we begin the gospel according to Mark tomorrow. He is another man who, like John, makes little of himself but instead points us to the One who can truly help us. He too will say, "Every person needs a Savior. Let me show you who He is."
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