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Introduction:
Many other writers have done what I would deem a better summary of this passage than this humble preacher could do, for instance, Wiersbe summarized these verses eloquently as dealing with the Lord's Messenger, Jesus Christ and His: Unannounced Coming (3:3) to an Unprepared People (3:1) who represented an Unclean Nation (3:2b-4) worthy of God's Unsparing Judgment (3:5) because He is an Unchanging God (3:6).
The Alliterated John Phillips summarized these verses as:
2. The Lord’s Coming (Mal 3:1–4:6)
1.
To Deal Judgmentally with Sinners (Mal 3:1–15)
1.
Their Ungodly Actions (Mal 3:1–6)
1. Lord’s Coming in Grace (3:1a–b)
1.
The Message for the Times (Mal 3:1a)
2. The Messiah in the Temple (Mal 3:1b)
2. Lord’s Coming in Government (Mal 3:1c–6)
1.
His Immediate Reception (Mal 3:1c)
2. His Imperial Resolve (Mal 3:2–5)
1.
To Refine (Mal 3:2–3)
2. To Revive (Mal 3:4)
3. To Remove (Mal 3:5)
3. His Immutable Righteousness (Mal 3:6)
[John Phillips, Exploring the Minor Prophets: An Expository Commentary, The John Phillips Commentary Series (Kregel Publications; WORDsearch Corp., 2009), Mal 1:1–4:6.]
Main Thought: The bottom line is that we are sinners in need of God's intervention to keep us from receiving the just wages of our depravity.
Sub-intro: Connect the previous verses of Chapter Two with our study here in regards to the importance of morality and ethics before God and man.
Note that in this passage, we don't have to look very far to find elements pertaining to both the first and second advents of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Body:
I. Christ's Incarnation Expected (Mal.
3:1).
Note - J. Vernon McGee provides a clear distinction between the two messengers here:
Here in one verse we have two messengers.
The first messenger who is to go before and to prepare the way is John the Baptist.
The second is “the messenger of the covenant,” the Lord Jesus Christ.
[J.
Vernon McGee, Thru the Bible Commentary, electronic ed., vol. 3 (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1997), 1016.]
A. A Personal Messenger.
"I will send MY messenger...before ME"
B. The Preparatory Messenger.
"he shall prepare the way"
C. The Seeking of this Messenger.
"the Lord whom ye seek"
Note Malachi's Sarcasm for their hypocrisy.
D. The Suddenness of His Arrival.
"shall suddenly come"
suddenly, surprisingly Nu 12:4; = befitʾōm 2 C 29:36; petaʿ pitʾōm all of a sudden Nu 6:9, pitʾōm lefeta‘ in an instant Is 30:13; paḥad pitʾōm sudden terror Pr 3:25.
[William Lee Holladay and Ludwig Köhler, A Concise Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament (Leiden: Brill, 2000), 300.]
E. The Proprietorship of This Messenger.
"to HIS temple"
F. The Promised Messenger.
"Even the messenger of the covenant"
"Behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts"
G.
A Pleasing Messenger.
"whom ye delight in"
Illustration: Simeon & Anna (Luke 2); watching for Messiah.
There is a Remnant who remain faithful.
The opening verses of this chapter stir the heart like the call of a trumpet.
We remember how literally they were fulfilled in the presentation of our Lord in the Temple by his parents.
Unnoticed by the crowds, jostled amid the press, borne in the arms of poverty, the King suddenly came to his Temple, even the Messenger of the Covenant.
Only two faithful retainers, Simeon and Anna, were there to welcome him.
But there is another and more personal reference.
Let us keep the doors of our hearts wide open to the coming of the King.
There may be no blare of trumpet, no flash of jewel, no cry of herald, but into your heart’s secret shrine he will come.
Is not this just what we need?
Make haste, great Lord of all, and in our poor hearts do thy blessed work, that we may be refined as gold and silver, and offer to thee an offering in righteousness.
Then will it be a delight to bring all the tithes into the storehouse.
[F.
B. Meyer, Through the Bible Day by Day: A Devotional Commentary, vol. 4 (Philadelphia: American Sunday-School Union, 1914–1918), 223.]
II.
Christ's Inauguration Expounded (Mal.
3:2-4).
A. Abiding at His Appearing (v.
2a).
Note that unlike the Jews of Malachi's day, we as under the grace of God have been purged of our sins in the sight of God and can live our lives in the power of Christ in a way that we need not be ashamed at His appearing.
B. His Refining and Purifying Presence (v.
2b-3a).
Illustration - The Silver Smith, "Sir, how do you know when the Silver is ready?"
"When I see myself in its reflection."
C. Purging of the Priesthood (v.
3b).
Application:
Malachi asked, “But who may abide in the day of His coming?” and then described what Messiah would do when he came: He would purify the Jewish nation, especially the priests, and bring swift judgment to the sinners who arrogantly disobeyed His Law.
In the Law of Moses, God provided three ways for people and things to be cleansed and made acceptable to God: water, fire, and blood.
There is no mention here of blood because Jesus Christ died for sinners at His first coming.
But he would wash the unclean nation like a launderer washes dirty clothes.
He would purify the tribe of Levi the way a jeweler purifies precious metal in his furnace.
“In that day there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness” (Zech.
13:1).
Once the nation is cleansed, and the priests are purified, then they can become an acceptable sacrifice to the Lord (Mal.
3:4), and He will be pleased with them.
The priests in Malachi’s time were offering sacrifices that were unacceptable (1:7–8), and the priests themselves were unacceptable, but in that great day, God’s Messenger would make His people “living sacrifices” that would be acceptable to the Lord (Rom.
12:1).
[Warren W. Wiersbe, Be Amazed, “Be” Commentary Series (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1996), 155–156.]
III.
Criminal Injustices Eradicated (Mal.
3:5).
A. A Witness Against the Oppressors:
1. Sorcerers
sorcery and magic
The attempt to discover or influence the future by means forbidden by God, including the use of divination, astrology or witchcraft.
Such practices are strongly condemned in Scripture.
Examples of magic and sorcery
Magic practices Rev 18:23 Babylon, here, represents the world as the centre of seduction.
Divination Zec 10:2
Spiritism Isa 8:19-20 See also 2Ch 33:6
Astrology 2Ch 33:3-5 pp 2Ki 21:3-5
Examples of those who practised sorcery
Egyptian magicians: Ex 7:11; 8:18
Balaam: Nu 22:6; 23:23
2Ki 21:6 Manasseh, king of Judah; Isa 47:9-13 the Babylonians; Ac 8:9-11 Simon of Samaria; Ac 13:6-8 Bar-Jesus of Cyprus; Ac 19:19 people in Ephesus
All sorcery and magic is strongly forbidden
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