The Day is Coming

Malachi 4:1-6

February 1, 2004 PM

 

Anticipation - great event, birthday, Christmas, homecoming, holiday, vacation; funeral, surgery, meeting with the principal, appointment with the IRS.  Anticipation is a part of biblical revelation - hope for believers, wrath for unbelievers.

 

I. Dual effects of the day

 

Debate continues on the precise meaning of "the day."  Is it a single, pinpointed day?  Is it a series of days or events that all bear similar purpose and so collectively is called, "the day?"  Is it at the end of human history?  Is it referring to Judah's day of judgment as a nation?

 

I believe the best approach to understanding this is called "the principle of successive fulfillment," (T. V. Moore, Geneva Series Commentary, 396).  There are numerous places in Scripture where a singular statement refers to multiple events of similar purpose.  Statements referring to God's judgment, in particular, generally point to divine judgments at points of time and then ultimately at the end of time.  Other prophets used the same term, "the day," and saw it as bearing upon an ultimate fulfillment.  For instance, the 9th century prophet Joel spoke, "Alas for the day!  For the day of the Lord is near, and it will come as destruction from the Almighty."  And again, "Blow a trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm on My holy mountain!  Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, for the day of the Lord is coming; surely it is near" (1:19,2:1).  Then he goes on to describe it in terms of darkness and gloom, mighty armies, consuming fire, no escape, the sun and moon growing dark, the stars losing their brightness, and as a day that none can endure!  His view of it was both immediate (the Assyrian invasion) and ultimate judgment. 

 

Zephaniah, in the 7th century, does the same thing.  He warns, "Be silent before the Lord God!  For the day of the Lord is near."  Then he describes it as a day of cataclysmic events with great judgment transpiring (the Babylonian captivity).  But then follows with what seems to point to an ultimate day of judgment.  "Near is the great day of the Lord, near and coming very quickly...A day of wrath is that day, a day of trouble and distress, a day of destruction and desolation, a day of darkness and gloom...Neither their silver nor their gold will be able to deliver them on the day of the Lord's wrath.  And all the earth will be devoured in the fire of His jealousy, for He will make a complete end, indeed a terrifying one of all the inhabitants of the earth" (Zephaniah 1:7-18, especially 7, 14-15, 18; cf. Isaiah 13:6, Ezekiel 30:3, Obadiah 15).

 

Zechariah did the same thing in Zechariah 14:1-8 (Kaiser, Communicator's Commentary, 485).  Prophetically, we have a linear view of judgment rather than a punctilliar view.  It is a long process that finally reaches its grand crescendo at the final day.  So what is the purpose with such a view of judgment?  

(1) It is to remind us that divine judgment is not constrained by neatly mapped prophetic calendars.  

(2) It is a call to readiness in view of the Lord Almighty who judges.  

(3) It is a warning by God's mercies against presumption with our spiritual condition.  Having seen 

     this, in Malachi's prophecy the judgment he speaks of has dual effects.


1. A dreadful day for those in rebellion against the Lord, v. 1

 

Keep in mind what Malachi has been doing throughout this prophecy.  He has been calling pretenders, deceivers, and hypocrites into account.  God will not be duped by mere profession of religion.  Going through the motions of spirituality will never pass muster in the day of the Lord.

 

So his first description identifies the horrors of judgment.  How do we grasp the scene of the divine wrath that has been stored up due to the breaching of His holiness over and over?  We lack the language to describe such horror!  So the words used picture the severity of such a day in language that makes the best sense to the hearers.  These people understood what it was like to live in drought and scorching heat.  The sun would burn with such intensity in the barren lands that the stubble of the fields would begin to flame up.  Driven by winds the fires would rage across the land uncontrollably.

 

We saw something of this last fall in California as fires raged through the parched forests and fields, consuming entire communities in its path.  Malachi's language probably makes great sense to those who have lived through such times.

 

(1) "Burning like a furnace"

Furnaces were used to heat ore and metal to burn away all the impurities.  That which was not genuine gold or silver was burned away by the intensity.  So, too, those who are mere pretenders will burn in God's judgment.

 

(2) "And all the arrogant and every evildoer will be chaff"

What happens to "chaff" in the flame?  It referred to the husks of grain that were separated from the grain.  Because they were so dry they flamed quickly into destruction.  The arrogant alludes to the previous section, 3:13-15, where Malachi reproves those who spoke arrogantly against God.  The issue of ongoing sin is found in "every evildoer," the ones who pursue their own desires contrary to God's law.

 

(3) "And the day that is coming will set them ablaze," says the Lord of hosts, "so that it will leave them neither root nor branch."

The finality of judgment is the point.  It is one thing for God to chasten His children with a view to refining them for greater purity of life and service.  It is a different issue, when it comes to judgment.  There's no second chance:  no root or branch remains for sprouting again.  In other words, when God judges, it is over.  We know the repetitious statements of judgment in the New Testament point out that judgment does not mean annihilation but an eternal condition of experiencing God's righteous wrath.  His judgment is always pictured more severe and horrible for those who have heard the gospel truth but have spurned it.  This may be an Old Testament passage but it has a New Testament warning:  Presumption with your soul, delaying response to Christ's offer of forgiveness, and the arrogance of going your own way in the face of God's tender mercies in Christ meant you are in danger of judgment.  Jesus declared that those who have not believed are condemned even now!  "He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God" (John 3:18).  Judgment is not simply a future possibility.  It is a present reality.  That is the message in our text that calls for any among us who delay turning to Christ to linger no more.

 

2. A liberating day for those in relationship to the Lord, vv. 2-3

 

"But for you who fear My name" uses the same language we saw in our last study to refer to the righteous or the people of God.  It is a fear of reverence, awe, and trust.  It is a fear that comes from having recognized our own wretchedness before God as sinners but now having trusted in God's provision of righteousness through Christ alone.  In such fear there is:

 

(1) Forgiveness, pictured by "the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings."  Rather than destruction in the face of God's righteous judgment, there is healing by God's righteous judgment on your behalf in Christ on the cross.  The judgment you and I deserve was meted out to Christ, who bore it in our stead out of God's mercy.  And now healing comes - "for we are healed by His stripes," as Isaiah 53 tells us.

 

(2) Joy, pictured by the skipping calf, is what takes place in those who realize that judgment has already passed in Christ.  If you've ever been on a farm or ranch setting and witnessed what happens when a penned up calf is let out of its stall, then this picture is quite clear!  It is one of exuberant joy, profound, overflowing, unabated, incomparable joy!  That is what is ours in Christ!  Jesus gave us His joy - that joyous satisfaction of relationship with the Father through the Son, the joy of realizing no barrier stands between you and God's favor, the joy of knowing that you belong to the Lord (3:17).

 

(3) Triumph, is seen in v. 3.  These few, struggling believers had witnessed evil having its day.  But in light of the day of the Lord there is triumph.  God hears their cries in the midst of oppression.  Perhaps there's some allusion to the New Testament teaching of believers judging the nations, as "they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day which I am preparing."  Or it may also refer to the ultimate triumph of the gospel through the ages.  The nations that have oppressed God's people have step by step, age by age, been brought into nothingness - like ashes under the feet.  The point is this:

(a) Judgment will vindicate faithfulness to the Lord - that He indeed is Lord God before whom all will 

     bow.

(b) Judgment has finality to it.

(c) Believers need not fear the fires of judgment but glory in the grace shown to them in Christ.


II. Remember and Believe

 

He ends with an exhortation to remember, and the promise of divine mercy before judgment.

 

1. Remember the law

 

Remembering the Law of Moses had a distinct three-fold effect:

 

(a) It was a reminder of God's choice of Israel - I Am the Lord your God who brought you out of Egypt," as the law's preamble states.  It calls them to recall God's favor and initiative in their lives.  Should we not remember the same in Christ?  Meditating on Ephesians 1 and Romans 8 and John 6 and 10, along with many other passages, reminds us that He chose us before we chose Him.  That points to the sheer foundation of grace in our salvation.

 

(b) It was a reminder of Israel's sin and rebellion.  As they remembered they also had to see how spiritually bankrupt they were as a theocratic nation.  Though they had entered into covenant with the Lord they had abrogated the covenant by their sin and rebellion, highlighted by their idolatry through the centuries.  But is this not an important consideration for us as well?  We are not a theocratic nation but we still have the responsibility as humans to obey the moral laws of the Creator.  Yet as we remember the law we also must remember that we have been rebels against God and His law.  Such breaking of God's law serves to remind us of what Paul explained of its purpose to us.  It shuts all of us up under sin to give us the promise by faith in Christ (Galatians 3:22).  And it has therefore been our tutor to bring us to Christ (Galatians 3:24).

 

(c) It is a reminder of what pleases God in terms of obedience.  The law sets forth the moral nature and reflection of our Lord.  He is a moral being not an amoral one.  We were not only created in His image but as Christians, we are redeemed so that we might truly bear His image in the world.  That divine image cannot be seen apart from our attention to its moral nature.  So God has not left it up to us to figure and feel our way through this.  He has given us His moral law to guide our steps in obedience to Him.  Throughout the New Testament we find the law clarified and expounded by Christ and the apostles in terms of what pleased God.

 

2. Prepare for the promise, vv. 5-6

 

Jesus Christ called John the Baptist "Elijah," a clear reference to this prophetic word (Matthew 17:9-13).  Here is the assurance that before God sends judgment He first shows mercy.  Oh the tender nature of our God is shown here, even toward rebels and enemies!  So what did John do?  He set the stage for Christ's public ministry and His preparation for heading to the cross.  In this case we see the prophet's linear picture of judgment.  Even at the cross there was judgment.  Jesus had also condemned those who rejected Him - that is, He judged them by their refusal to believe.

 

John the Baptist served as a merciful gift from God to turn the people away from their superstition, their misunderstanding, and their presumption.  He preached a baptism of repentance, calling upon his hearers to realize the immanence of divine judgment and to flee the wrath to come.  Many who followed Christ had first begun the journey of discipleship under John the Baptist's austere preaching.  Note a few things that are very much appropriate for us:

 

(1) God is faithful to His promises, as He sent John 450 years later to fulfill this promise.  That's 4 � centuries of waiting, but the Lord did as He said.  Ponder God's faithfulness to His Word.

 

(2) Even in the face of judgment there is mercy with the Lord.  Those who try to create a different view of God - one void of anger or wrath or judgment - must see that He is a God of justice.  Yet justice does not negate His mercy.  He is both just and merciful.  That was John's message.  That is the message in the gospel.  Repent for the axe is laid to the tree.

 

(3) Turning hearts of fathers to their children and children to their fathers demonstrates the power of the gospel and relationship to the Lord.  He bridges the generation gaps.  He conquers the old wounds and rebellion and dishonor even in the family.  It is a transformation of rebel hearts into loving hearts.  And that is the very mark of being a disciple of Christ (John Benton, Losing Touch with the Living God, 131).

 

Conclusion

 

The clear message is for all of us to be certain of our relationship to God through faith in Christ.  Judgment is not fantasy but reality that culminates in finality.  But the Lord has shown great mercy to us in Christ through His provision of eternal healing at the cross.

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