Malachi 3:1-18

My *Messenger

Malachi

Gordon Churchyard

Chapter 3

v1 ‘Look at me! I will send my *messenger. He will prepare the way for me. Then, suddenly, the *Lord that you are looking for will come to his *temple! So, the *messenger of the *covenant will come. (He is) the person that you desire’, says the *LORD of Everything. ‘He really will come. v2 But nobody will be able to stay on the day when he will come. And nobody will stand when he will appear. He will be like a fire that burns the dirt away. And (he will be like) soap that people use in a laundry. v3 And he will be (like someone) that sits to clean dirty silver and to make it pure. And he will make the *Levites holy. He will make them pure like gold and silver. And they will offer to the *LORD gifts that are very good. v4 And the *LORD will accept with pleasure what (the people in) Judah and Jerusalem offer. It will be as it was long ago.

v5 So, I will come near to you. I will be your judge. And I will be a witness who opposes:

• the people that use magic

• the people that are *adulterers

• the people that speak lies

• employers who do not pay a fair wage to their employees

• the people that are very unkind to widows and to children without fathers

• the people that are not fair to foreigners

• and the people that do not respect me.’

(This is what) the *LORD of Everything says.

Notes

This is a section about whether God is a fair judge.

2:17 Isaiah 43:24 tells us that *sin makes God tired. Sin is ‘not to obey God’s rules’. God becomes tired when people upset him by their evil deeds. He never becomes tired when he hears people’s prayers. What are the *sins here? There are two:

• When people say that there is no difference between right and wrong.

• When people say that God is not a fair judge.

Really, they are saying that there is no God! Zechariah 8:3 made promises about 50 years before. But nothing seems to have happened. But Malachi 3:1 says that something will happen! Later, Malachi says that there is a real difference between right and wrong (Malachi 3:16-18).

3:1 God says, ‘Look at me! I will send malachi.’ ‘Malachi’ is a *Hebrew word that means ‘my messenger’, or ‘a person who brings my message’. It probably means anybody who helps to ‘prepare the way of the *LORD’ (Isaiah 40:3). Mark used these verses to describe John the *Baptist (Mark 1:2-4).

When the preparations are complete, the *Lord will suddenly come to his *temple. ‘Suddenly’ tells us that it may not be a pleasant experience. Verses 2-5 agree with this idea. See what Jesus did in the *temple (John 2:12-17). Jesus cleared out the *temple because the people’s behaviour was *unholy. So perhaps ‘the person that you desire’ is irony. ‘Irony’ is a special way to use words. Someone uses irony to say the opposite of what they really mean.

The *Hebrew word ‘malachi’ can also mean ‘my *angel’. So some Bible students think that ‘malachi of the *covenant’ is the *angel in Exodus 3:2 and Isaiah 63:9. This *angel helped to make the *covenant. But other Bible students think that it is the *Lord Jesus himself. When Jesus came, Ezekiel 43:1-5; Haggai 2:7 and Zechariah 2:10 all became true.

3:2 When the *Lord comes to his *temple, four things will happen:

• Nobody will be able to stay, or remain.

• Nobody will be able to stand. Everybody will fall down.

• He will burn away the dirt in everybody that makes them *unholy.

• He will be like soap and water and he will wash them clean.

But when people cannot stay (or stand), the *Lord will burn away the dirt. He will wash them clean again. Then they can stay in front of him.

3:3 The fire that burns the dirt away (verse 2) describes a *refiner. A *refiner is a man who makes metals pure. In Bible times, he used fire. Today, he uses fire, chemicals and electricity. The dirt that a *refiner burned away included metals like tin and lead. But pure silver and gold remained. The *refiner did this because metals like silver are not pure in the earth. Fire will not burn silver and gold away. The *Levites were the *tribe (or large family) that worked in the *temple. Some of them were priests. Other Levites helped the priests, or taught people about the Bible. They lived in 48 towns all round Judah (the south part of the *Jews’ country) and Israel (the north part). ‘Very good’ at the end of the verse is ‘right’ or ‘righteousness’. Righteousness is something that is very, very good. Really, only God has it, but he shares it with his people.

3:4 First the *LORD will make his priests clean. Then the people will also offer to God gifts that please him.

3:5 God will be both witness and judge. He is the only person able to do both. Everything in the list spoils society. Read Something to do number 6. God will do everything in this verse. Then, people will know that there is a fair God (Malachi 2:17). An *adulterer is a man that has sex with another man’s wife. Also, it is a woman that has sex with another woman’s husband.

v6 ‘Because I, the *LORD, never change, therefore nobody has completely destroyed you, the family of Jacob. v7 But from the time of your fathers you have refused to obey my laws. You have not obeyed my laws. Return to me and I will return to you’, says the *LORD of Everything. ‘But you ask, “How shall we return?”

v8 A man should not rob (from) God. But you are robbing me! But you ask, “How do we rob you?” (It is because you have not) offered (me your) *tithes. v9 Because you are robbing me, there is a *curse on all of you, the whole nation. v10 Bring the whole *tithe into the *storehouse. Then there will be food in my house. Test me now in this way’, says the *LORD of Everything. ‘Then I will open for you windows in heaven. I will pour *blessings over you until there is no room for any more! v11 And I will prevent *pests. They will not continue to damage or to destroy the crops on your land. Also, *grapes will not fall off the *vines (before they are ripe)’, says the *LORD of Everything. v12 ‘Then all the nations will say that you have my *blessing. And your land will be delightful’, says the *LORD of Everything.

Notes

This is a section about people who are sorry because of their wrong actions.

Verse 6 The word ‘because’ may link this verse with verse 5. The ‘family of Jacob’ means all the *Jews. Some Bible students translate this verse: ‘But I, the *LORD, never change; and you are still the sons of Jacob.’ Here, ‘sons of Jacob’ means that they were like Jacob. He cheated his brother Esau (Genesis chapter 27). This other translation includes the idea that the *Jews were cheating God.

Verse 7 Here are words from Zechariah 1:3:

‘Return to me’, says the *LORD of Everything. ‘Then I will return to you’, says the *LORD of Everything.

But the *Jews did not think that they had done anything wrong. So they asked, ‘How shall we return?’ Their question may mean ‘We will not return!’

Verse 8 This verse links with the name ‘Jacob’ in verse 6. The word ‘Jacob’ means ‘cheat’ in the Hebrew language. The *Jews cheated God because they were robbing him. Their question ‘How do we rob you?’ may mean, ‘We are not robbing you!’ But they were robbing God when they did not give him their *tithes. A tithe is a tenth part of something. They should have given to God a tenth part of their crops every year.

The rules were:

• The *Jews gave a tenth to the *LORD (Leviticus 27:30).

• The *LORD let the *Levites use this for themselves (Numbers 18:24).

• The *Levites gave a *tithe to the priests (Numbers 18:28).

Verse 9 One of the proverbs says: ‘Someone that shares his possessions becomes rich. But he that does not share becomes poor.’ (See Proverbs 11:24.) This is the *curse on the whole nation. The note on Malachi 2:2 explains ‘*curse’.

Verse 10 A storehouse is a building where people store things. When they bring the *tithe to the *temple, there will be food for the priests and the *Levites. Then God will open the ‘windows of heaven’. This is only a picture, because there are no windows in the sky. But God says that it will be like this. It will be as if God is pouring *blessings on his people from above! The note on Malachi 2:2 explains ‘blessings’.

Verse 11 Here God says how he will bless his people. Pests (insects and diseases) will not destroy the crops. And *grapes will not fall off the *vines before they are ripe. *Grapes grow on *vines and people make wine from the *grapes.

Verse 12 There will be plenty of everything, but this is not all! The land itself (probably this means the people) will be delightful. Read 2 Corinthians 9:6-12.

v13 ‘You have said unkind things against me’, says the *LORD. ‘But you say, “What have we said against you?” v14 You have said, “It is of no use to serve God. We gained nothing when we obeyed his requests. We went about like people at a funeral in front of the *LORD of Everything. v15 But now we say that the proud (people) have received a *blessing. And people that do evil (things) certainly become powerful. They even oppose God and escape.” ’

v16 Then the people that respected the *LORD talked with each other. They each (spoke) to a friend. And the *LORD listened (to them). And he heard (what they said). Then (an *angel) wrote a book in front of him to keep them in memory. It was about those people that respected the *LORD. They gave honour to his name. v17 ‘And they will be mine in the day when I will make a special *treasure’, says the *LORD of Everything. ‘And I will not punish them, as a man does not punish his son that serves him. v18 And again you will see the difference between good people and bad people. (You will see the difference between) people that serve God and people that do not (serve him).

messenger ~ someone who brings a message.
Hebrew ~ the language that the Jews spoke.
Jew ~ a person who was born from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children. It is also a name for one of Israel’s people.
messenger ~ someone who brings a message.
Lord ~ master; also a name for God.
LORD ~ the covenant name of God.
covenant ~ agreement, especially, an agreement between God and the people.
temple ~ the house of a god; the Temple in Jerusalem was God’s house.
covenant ~ agreement, especially, an agreement between God and the people.
Lord ~ master; also a name for God.
LORD ~ the covenant name of God.
covenant ~ agreement, especially, an agreement between God and the people.
Levites ~ the tribe (or large family) that worked in the temple. Some of them were priests. Other Levites helped the priests, or taught people about the Bible.
tribe ~ a large family that started many centuries ago, with just one mother and father.
temple ~ the house of a god; the Temple in Jerusalem was God’s house.
adulterer ~ a man who has sex with another man’s wife; or, a woman who has sex with another woman’s husband.
sin ~ not to obey God’s rules.
Baptist ~ John the Baptist was born just before Jesus was born; John put people into water to show that they wanted to obey God.
unholy ~ not suitable for God.
angel ~ a special servant of God.
refiner ~ someone that makes metals pure by fire.
tribe ~ a large family that started many centuries ago, with just one mother and father.
Jew ~ a person who was born from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their children. It is also a name for one of Israel’s people.
tithe ~ a tenth part.
curse ~ a wish that bad things and death will happen; in Malachi it does not mean bad language.
storehouse ~ a building where people store things.
blessing ~ something good that happens to people; the opposite of a curse.
curse ~ a wish that bad things and death will happen; in Malachi it does not mean bad language.
pests ~ insects and diseases that destroy crops.
grape ~ a fruit; people make wine from grapes.
vine ~ a small tree on which grapes grow.
grape ~ a fruit; people make wine from grapes.
grape ~ a fruit; people make wine from grapes.
treasure ~ something very valuable.