The prophet now addresses the few people in Israel who had remained faithful to God but who were lamenting the perceived lack of action on God’s part to bring appropriate judgment upon the rebellious among them. They had wrongly concluded that God was unwilling to judge sin. Malachi speaks of that day when all wrongs will be made right - the day of the coming of the Messiah - the Lord Jesus Christ.
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1. Repent of your presumption - 2:17
I can almost see a modern day adult Sunday school class, sitting around on a Sunday morning, bemoaning the sinfulness of our age, and talking about how the second coming MUST be around the corner, and wondering why the Lord delays.
Malachi uses an “anthropomorphism,” that is, he uses human language to say that God was tired, He was fed up as it were, with these people. They did not think they had wearied God, but they had.
The fact is that there are a number of reasons why God might delay judgment. Chief among them being that He wants to give people a chance to repent and get right with Him. Peter explains this:
“The Lord does not delay and is not tardy or slow about what He promises, according to some people’s conception of slowness, but He is long-suffering (extraordinarily patient) toward you, not desiring that any should perish, but that all should turn to repentance.” - 2 Peter 3:9 (Amplified)
The prophet says their request for instant judgment was presumptuous - if they really wanted the justice of God then they would be in trouble, too (3:2). The fact was that just like there were those who needed to repent of waywardness; they needed to repent of their hardheartedness.
The rebellious and wayward were not the only ones that God was giving time to repent; they had some things that God was giving them time to repent of, too. Namely, their lack of compassion and their judgmental spirit toward those who in rebellion.
Their eyes needed to be opened to the compassion of God above them; the need of those around them; and the callousness within them.
“Let my heart be broken with the things that break God’s heart.” - Bob Pierce, World Vision founder
That is what needed to be the prayer of the people in Malachi’s day. Does it need to be your prayer, too?
2. Resolve to be patient - 3:1-5
Malachi pointed them to the coming of the Messiah, which would bring judgment to the wicked and reward to the righteous; and the justice and righteousness the people said they were longing for.
Now, the Old Testament prophets knew the facts about the Messiah, but they did not fully comprehend the time sequence concerning the events of His coming.
They did not know there was going to be a second coming of the Messiah - it just appeared that there would be only one to them. For example, the Old Testament prophets would speak how the Messiah would suffer and die, but also of how He would reign victoriously.
Peter explains they couldn’t put this together; but with the resurrection of Jesus and the promise of His return, we can now look back on the Old Testament passages and better understand them.
“This salvation was something even the prophets wanted to know more about when they prophesied about this gracious salvation prepared for you. They wondered what time or situation the Spirit of Christ within them was talking about when he told them in advance about Christ’s suffering and his great glory afterward.” - 1 Peter 1:10-11 (NLT)
Old Testament prophets saw the 1st & 2nd comings of Christ as one event. Kind of like a person seeing what looks to be one mountain peak, but there is another peak behind it with a valley in between.
While both comings of Christ are mentioned in this prophecy, it is the second coming of Christ, when all wrongs will be made right, that the prophet has in view; and Malachi shares three truths about the coming of the Messiah that will bring about ultimate justice to this world.
A. The Preparation for His coming - v. 1
The name of the prophet, Malachi, means, “my messenger.” The prophet was the Lord’s messenger. We have also seen the priests referred to as the Lord’s messengers. Now we see the word used twice, once for John the Baptist and once for Jesus.
Here is where we see both the first coming of Christ mentioned along with the second coming. In the first part of this verse, John the Baptist is the Messenger spoken of. This is a reference to the first coming of Christ. In the second part of the verse, the Messenger is Jesus, and is a reference to the second coming of Christ.
Ironically, both times are times of judgment. The first time Christ came, He took upon Himself the judgment for the world’s sins. The second time He comes, He, Himself, will judge all who refused to accept His sacrifice for their sins. In this, we see the preparation that was needed before the coming these folks were looking for could take place -
Christ had to be judged for mankind’s sin, before He would judge mankind’s sin.
Christ had to first be nailed to a cross of judgment; before He would be seated on a judgment throne.
God has graciously provided the possibility of man’s forgiveness; and now patiently provides opportunity for man’s repentance.
Before the justice of God could prevail in this world; God wanted to first see that forgiveness was provided for this world.
B. The Purpose for His coming - vs. 2-4
The purpose for the second coming of Christ is two-fold:
1) Refinement - vs. 2-3a
When the Lord comes to exact judgment, He does not begin with those whom Malachi’s audience thinks He should begin with. No, His focus is on the people of God (v. 3). The mention of the Levites (priests) in verse 3, reminds us of what we are told in the book of Revelation:
“And they sang a new song: ‘You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth.’” - Revelation 5:9-10 (NIV)
When Christ returns for His people, He will complete whatever is lacking in us, making us like Him, our Great High Priest, in everyway. Why? So that we might worship Him properly.
2) Restoration - vs. 3b-4
“But in keeping with His promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness.” - 2 Peter 3:13 (NIV)
Movers left a grandfather clock, without its pendulum, sitting in the living room. The seconds ticked on in a frenzied manner. Without the pendulum all the intricate mechanism rattled on with a noticeable lack of precision. Here is a picture of the world today. God has created all things to move in proper balance, but men refuse the Lord Jesus Christ, who alone can give this world it needs. Nothing will move with perfection until He comes again. But when He does come, oh, what perfection will then abound!
“To see the world’s rebels turned into friends of God is, after all, a God-centered goal. It looks beyond benefit to men. For in coming to Christ their hearts will be changed. They will be made new men throughout. As friends they will do what they would not do as foes. They will lay down their arms and raise their songs of praise: they will worship their Creator. They will adore Him whom they once despised. They will praise the Lord!” - Tom Wells
C. The Promise concerning His coming- v. 5
The fact was, that in the divine plan of redemption, the Messiah had to come and first pay for the sins of the world so that judgment would be poured out on Him on behalf of all people. Thus, He would not come to judge in the days of Malachi, but in His own time.
But make no mistake, now that we are on this side of the cross, we are closer than ever to the coming of Christ whereby He will make all things right and all things new! That is what Malachi speaks of here.
Conclusion: What are we to do until the Lord comes again and rights all wrongs? As Jesus expressed it in the parable of the ten servants, “Occupy till I come.” - Luke 19:13 (KJV)
Walk submissively, worship triumphantly, witness urgently, work fervently, and watch expectantly. We must make sure we are ready and that others around us are ready. We are to represent Him; we are to seek justice; we are to model righteousness; and we are to call everyone we possibly can to repentance and faith in Christ.
