Friday, September 7

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Malachi 4:1-6

“Surely the day is coming; it will burn like a furnace. All the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble, and that day that is coming will set them on fire,” says the Lord Almighty. “Not a root or a branch will be left to them. But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings. And you will go out and leap like calves released from the stall. Then you will trample down the wicked; they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day when I do these things,” says the Lord Almighty.

“Remember the lay of my servant Moses, the decrees and laws I gave him at Horeb for all Israel.

“See, I will send you the prophet Elijah before that great and dreadful day of the Lord comes. He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers; or else I will come and strike the land with a curse.

So now we come to the end of the book called Malachi; the end of the 12 books referred to as the “Minor Prophets”, and the end of the entire Old Testament. I think it’s safe to assume that if God has been involved at all in the writing of the story, and we believe that he has, then we should pay special attention to how he chooses to wrap it all up!

In the end, the prophet says, there are only two destinations available to us: judgment or deliverance.

“Surely the day is coming; it will burn like a furnace. All the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble, and that day that is coming will set them on fire,” says the Lord Almighty. “Not a root or a branch will be left to them. But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings.

Several years ago Andy Stanley wrote a great little book entitled “The Principle of the Path.” The main point of the book, as I recall, was that every path has a destination. This is true not only for the roads on which we drive our cars – for example, if I drive west on Rt. 38 I always come to Elburn and never to Elgin – but it is also true for the spiritual paths of our lives. 

Malachi is reminding us that if we live as if God does not exist or is not paying attention, our destination will be inevitable judgment before his absolute holiness and righteousness.

But if we honor and respect his name; if we live in accordance with his word; if we seek his forgiveness and grace, our destination will be deliverance and joy.

Notice the promise of healing:

But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings.

Some translations actually capitalize “Sun of Righteousness” because many scholars believe this is a reference to the coming Messiah who will bring salvation to his people. I believe this is a reference to the coming of Jesus Christ and his ultimate sacrifice for the sins of the world. 

Malachi concludes with yet another reference to the coming of the Messiah, Jesus Christ:

“See, I will send you the prophet Elijah before that great and dreadful day of the Lord comes. He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers; or else I will come and strike the land with a curse.

Some believe the reference to Elijah is a reference to the ministry of John the Baptist who would prepare the way for the coming of Christ. Others think this is a reference to Jesus the Messiah himself.

Either way, the message of the prophet is clear.

There are two paths and two destinations for every human being. One leads to the issues the prophet has been addressing; doubting God’s love and goodness; broken marriages and families; and ultimately judgment. The other leads to repentance, forgiveness and salvation. 

What is required is a “turning of the heart.”

He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers…

I believe we can summarize the 12 books of the minor prophets, which spanned some 400 years in the history of God’s people, like this:

“It’s time to turn your hearts!”

God is holy and God is good. 

God has always loved us.

We have often been led astray by lesser gods; we have often fallen into selfish and sinful ways; but God loves us too much to ignore our sin. He is paying attention and one day will judge all things. He sends his messengers with his word inviting us to turn our hearts toward him once again.

Will you turn your heart toward him today?

Pastor Brian Coffey