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Commentaries and Other Bible Study Helps - Prayer Tents - Prayer Tents
2:17-3:5 Fourth Disputation: The Lord Is a Witness against Adultery and Other Moral Offenses. The prophet begins by accusing the people of wearying the Lord with their cynical complaints: "Everyone who does evil is good in the sight of the Lord, and he delights in them" and "Where is the God of justice?" Now that they had returned to the Promised Land and the temple had been rebuilt, many were distressed at the apparent failure of the prophetic promises of restored prosperity, international prominence, and wealth (Haggai 2; Zech. 1:16ff.; 2:1-13; 8:1-9:17). Instead, Israel was experiencing only continued social and political oppression and economic privation (Neh. 1:3; 9:36ff.; Mal. 3:10ff.). Still worse, it had been promised that God would return to Jerusalem and to his temple, which he would again inhabit with his own glorious presence (e.g., Zech. 1:16ff.; 2:4ff., 10-13; 8:3-8; 9:9-17). Since Moses' tabernacle and Solomon's temple were filled with the visible glory of God as soon as they were completed, it was hoped that the same would happen with the rebuilt temple (Ex. 40:34ff.; 1 Kings 8:10ff.; Ezek. 43:1-12). Indeed, Hag. 2:9 promised that the rebuilt temple would be filled with an even greater measure of glory than Solomon's. But far from enjoying such radiant glory, the temple of Malachi's day was devoid of any visible manifestation of God. Yet it would not always be so, for Malachi promised, "the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple" (Mal. 3:1). Simeon witnessed at least a partial fulfillment of this prophecy when he encountered in the temple the infant Jesus, who had come "for glory to your people Israel" (Luke 2:32). The NT unfolds further fulfillment, for only the glory of God in the person of Jesus Christ would be this greater glory (Luke 2:29-32; John 1:14; 2 Cor. 4:6).
3:1 From the "delight" mentioned in this verse, it appears that Israel had repeated the error of their forebears in the days of Amos (Amos 5:18) by supposing that the Lord's appearance would be unmitigated good news. When he comes, it will be not only for blessing, as they assume, but also for judgment--he will come to be a "witness" (the term in Mal. 3:5 is the same as in 2:14) against all evildoers, including these blasphemous cynics! In preparation for this fearful epiphany, the Lord promises, "Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me." "My messenger," who "will prepare the way," is distinguished in 3:1a from the divine Lord of hosts, who is the speaker and to whom the pronouns "I," "my," and "me" refer. So the messenger in v. 1a is someone different from the Lord of hosts. And despite the fact that "my messenger" and "Malachi" are the same in Hebrew, the future-oriented context of vv. 1-5 and the parallel between 3:1 and 4:5 make clear that "my messenger" is not Malachi. Nevertheless, the play on Malachi's name suggests that his own ministry of preparation was intended to foreshadow the work of this promised messenger in 3:1a. But in v. 1b, another idea is in view, for v. 1b speaks in poetic parallelism, in which two lines express the same idea in different words. Therefore, the Lord whom you seek is the same person as the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, and thus this coming "messenger of the covenant" is the same divine being as "the Lord," who also is desired and will come. Then in the following verses, the ministry described in vv. 2-4 also indicates the divine nature of this coming Lord. The NT confirms this interpretation by its identification of John the Baptist as the promised messenger of v. 1a, who prepares the way for the Lord who is predicted in v. 1b (see Matt. 11:10-14 par.).
3:2-5 When the Lord comes, he will perform two complementary works: he will purify some sinners (vv. 2-4) and judge others (v. 5). The images used for that purifying work, the refiner's fire and fullers' soap, stress both its thoroughness and its severity. The heat of the refiner's fire was intense in order to separate the dross from the molten pure metal. Similarly, the fuller washed clothes using strong lye soap, after which the clothes would be placed on rocks and beaten with sticks. If sinners prefer the Lord's cleansing work to his judgment, this is the price that must be paid (cf. Heb. 12:7-11).
