So here we come to the final words
of God in the Old Testament. Of course, Malachi wasn’t the final prophet under
the Old Covenant. According to Jesus,
“[All] the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John.” But for about 400
years, the Lord was silent towards the nation of Israel.
Just a quick note here: In the
traditional Hebrew texts, the book of Malachi only has three chapters, not
four. We mentioned this yesterday, but it bears repeating and emphasizing: The
entirety of chapter 4 is really a continuation of the thought in chapter 3.
Chapters 3 and 4 (or just a long chapter 3 to the Jews) are all about the Day
of the Lord. Right then it looked like the arrogant evildoers were ignoring the Lord, doing things their own way, and wrecking others’ lives while they were
doing it. It seemed like God’s people were getting trampled while evil people
were prospering. But contrary to how it looked, he was watching and would
one day separate those who belong to him from those who don’t, and those two groups will
head towards two very different destinies.
We’ve discussed
this before, but let me just summarize for a moment about who this “Elijah” is
who Malachi mentions before he wraps it up. Is this referring to John the
Baptist? Well, yes and no. When John was specifically asked by the if he was
Elijah, he emphatically denied
it. But when Jesus was asked about him, the Lord enigmatically said
that “[If] you are willing to accept it, he is the Elijah who was to come.” The
best explanation is that when the religious leaders were asking John, they were
thinking in terms of him being the literal, physical return of Elijah (who'd
never died). This is what John was denying. But John came
in the spirit and power of Elijah:
dressing like him, talking like him, living an austere lifestyle like him. And
it seems that Jesus was saying that John was the fulfillment of today’s passage
if Israel accepted John’s message (i.e., about Jesus being the Messiah).
So what can we learn from this?
In verse 4, just before he closes
this book, he reminds them to hold onto the teachings of Moses. Until the
Messiah came, they were to hold onto the last instructions he'd given them.
Tough times were ahead. The Greeks and the Romans, in a very few years, would
invade and persecute the nation. A lot of people would die. The temple they'd
worked so hard on would be desecrated by pagans. For many, hope would flicker
and they’d be tempted to give up.
“Elijah” would come before the Lord
initiated the end of all things. This prophet would “turn the hearts of the
parents to their children, and the hearts of the children to their parents.” In
other words, the social order that God instituted at the beginning would come
back into place. I think that this sign of order coming out of chaos is a sign
of widespread repentance. The issue, as always, is each person’s relationship
with the Lord. Once that’s taken care, a good sign that it’s taking place is
that family relationships are restored as well.
By the way, there’s an alternative
translation of vs. 6: The NET Bible—with good translation reason—renders it as “He will
encourage fathers and their children to return to me.” In other words, all
generations will be united in coming back to the Lord. Quite frankly, this makes
a bit more sense to me. That would fit in with the theme of the rest of the
Bible: Restoration of the “vertical” relationship with the Lord is both necessary
and sufficient for restoration of “horizontal” relationships of family,
society, etc.
However you translate and interpret
the first part of verse 6, it’s important to hear his final warning. If we
don’t listen to God’s first messenger(s), then the Lord will “speak” to us in
ways which are much harsher. He will strike the earth with a “curse” (which is how it's traditionally translated). This is
the same word Moses used
when referring to giving something completely over to the Lord by burning/destroying
it completely, hence the way the new NIV translates it.
The image—and the choice—is rather
stark. In dark days, God still expects faithfulness from his people. When it
looks like the evil are winning, that’s when you must hold onto his truth
even tighter than ever. Wait for his promises to be fulfilled. Wait for his
coming. When he does, you’ll be vindicated for every ounce of trust you’ve put
in him. It’ll be worth it.
Father God, it gets really hard waiting
sometimes. If not for your grace, I would've fallen long ago into apathy or
even worse. Please renew my trust, my faith, my obedience. Lord Jesus, may you
find me faithful when you come.
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