CRITICAL NOTES.] Messenger] The prophet, in first instance; applied to the Baptist (Matthew 11:10; Luke 7:27). Prepare] Clear away, like a pioneer before an Eastern prince. Suddenly] Unexpectedly.
Malachi 3:2.] Judgment will begin at the coming of the Lord. Who] i.e. no one can endure it (cf. Joel 2:11). Abide and stand] As opposed to falling under judgments. The double figure has one meaning. The smelter’s fire burns corrupt ingredients of metals (cf. Zechariah 13:9; the lye or alkaline salt cleanses the dirt out of clothes (cf. Isaiah 4:4).
Malachi 3:3.] As smelter the Lord sits], tempering the fire and keenly watching the process. Levi’s] sons, the objects of the trial, to be purified. When priests morally cleansed, offer sacrifices in righteousness.
Malachi 3:4.] The whole nation will be pleasant to God as in old time.
Malachi 3:5. I] whom ye challenged (ch. Malachi 2:17) will be a judge and eyewitness against sins named.
HOMILETICS
THE COMING OF THE LORD.—Malachi 3:1-5
These words are an answer to the sceptical question of the people—“Where is the God of judgment? If there be a God, why does he permit good to be overcome of evil? Why does he delay his coming to rectify things which seem wrong, to make life plainer, and his people easier?” The prophet replies, He will come; I am his messenger; be warned by me, lest you be caught unprepared.
I. The coming of the Lord is a certain event. “He shall come, saith the Lord of Hosts.” Do not judge of this event by what you see. Remember the prediction, which can never be falsified by the unbelief and contempt of man, or by the events of nature.
II. The coming of the Lord will be an unexpected event. “The Lord shall come suddenly.” He may come when men are not prepared for him, when they do not anticipate the appearance of the Judge of all the earth. “This suddenness is repeated in all the acts and judgments of the Lord. The Lord of glory always comes as a thief in the night to those who sleep in their sins” [Schmieder]. Therefore “be ye also ready.”
III. The coming of the Lord will be a solemn event. “Who may abide the day of his coming?” It will be very different from that which carnal Jews expected. He comes not to flatter national pride, nor gratify personal wishes, but to subject their principles and actions to a severe trial. He was to test them by fire.
1. A day of magnificence to the temple. He will come “to his temple,” to beautify and adorn it by his glory, to purify it for his worship by judicial expulsion of all who profane it (Matthew 21:12-13).
2. A day of solemnity to the world. “Who shall stand when he appeareth?” (a) He will judge the wicked (Malachi 3:5). (b) He will purify the godly (Malachi 3:4). To some the day will be a revelation of wrath, to others a manifestation of grace, to all a solemn trial. Hence question not God’s justice, murmur not at his delay, but prepare for the decisive day. “The day of the Lord is great and very terrible, and who can abide it?”
IV. The coming of the Lord is an event of which men are warned. “Behold, I will send my messenger.” Lest men should be unprepared, warning is given, messenger after messenger is sent to prepare the way. The moral condition of men is not what God desires. In the ministers of the gospel God urges to repentance, helps to remove hindrances and to prepare for the presence of Christ. “To make ready a prepared people (supplied like an army with all necessaries) for the Lord” (Luke 1:17).
THE MESSENGER OF THE COVENANT.—Malachi 3:1
Observe the character under which the Messiah is here presented to our notice. He is described in three ways. First, by his person: “The Lord.” The word signifies authority and dominion. He is King of kings and Lord of lords, “Ruler in Israel,” and “Governor among the nations.” Though all power is given to him as Mediator, yet he had a previous claim to dominion before his obedience and death. Secondly, he is described by his office: “The Messenger of the covenant.” The covenant of grace, “ordered in all things and sure,” to which David fled for refuge and solace, and in which he found all his salvation and desire. He is the “Mediator,” the “Surety,” and the “Messenger” of the covenant, because he not only procures and possesses its blessings, but bestows them. He announces and makes them known, prefaces all invitations and disclosures with a declaration of his commission from the Father. This inferior title does not detract from his glory as “the Lord,” but displays it, magnifies it, because it shows infinite condescension and grace. Thirdly, he is described by the estimation in which he was holden: “Whom ye delight in.” Carnal Jews, mistaken, viewed him as a temporal prince, did “seek” him, and “delighted” in him. It applies, in a nobler sense, to spiritual Jews. He was desired and delighted in by all the people of God from the beginning. To seek and delight in him will always characterize the redeemed—those who believe in him; for “to them that believe he is precious.” All that is desirable, all that is delightful to us we find in him. He is our “sun” in darkness, our “shield” in danger, our “physician” in sickness, our “righteousness,” our “bread,” the “water of life,” and “all in all.” Let the hearts of them rejoice, therefore, that seek the Lord [W. Jay].
THE REFINER AND THE CRUCIBLE.—Malachi 3:2-3
I. The severity of the trial.
II. The agency by which the trial is wrought. “He,” that is, the Lord, is “like a refiner’s fire.” He alone appoints it; he alone effects it. He is present all through the operation.
III. The utility of the trial.
1. It is a sign of preciousness. We never prune the bramble, nor try the worthless.
2. It is a test of genuineness.
3. It is a medium of purification.
4. It is a preparation for service [C. Stanford].
HOMILETIC HINTS AND OUTLINES
Malachi 3:1. This word “Behold” signifieth that this coming of Christ in the flesh should be—1 New, admirable, and stupendous.
2. Sure and certain.
3. Desirable and joyful.
4. Famous and renowned [Trapp].
Malachi 3:2. Who may abide the day? There is something awful even in reference to Christ’s coming in the flesh. First, in the occasional emanations and displays of his majesty. Herod “was troubled, and all Judæa with him.” With a whip only he rushed into the temple and drove out the money-changers. On the mount of transfiguration, in the garden, at death, and in his resurrection were displays of majesty. Secondly, it may be exemplified in his detection of character. All through his ministry his eyes were a flame of fire. He silenced those who ensnared him, knew all men, and needed not that any should testify of man. Thirdly, it may be exemplified in the calamities which were to follow the rejection of him. They said, “His blood be upon us,” and it fell upon them, and rests upon them now. But their unspeakable sufferings were only emblems of those more dreadful punishments to which they are exposed “who have trodden under foot the Son of God,” &c. For there is another coming and appearance of Christ. Only those who have a better righteousness than their own can stand [W. Jay].
Malachi 3:3-4. The refining process.
1. The objects of it. “The sons of Levi.” The purest Church and the holiest saints need refining. Gold, the thing valued most, is tried or proved by fire; but God’s people are more precious than gold.
2. The method of it. “He sits” tempering the fire, and making it just the right heat, neither too hot nor too cold, keeping the metal in the fire the exact time, for none of heaven’s pure ore will be destroyed. What tenderness, care, and anxiety.
3. The design of it. To “purify,” that they may offer an offering in righteousness. Right service springs from purified men. There may be gilt, but not gold. Hence “the fining-pot is for silver, and the furnace for gold; but the Lord trieth the hearts.”
1. Monstrous evils in their source. They “fear not me.”
2. Monstrous evils in their detection. “I will be a swift witness against” them in providence and the ministry of the gospel.
3. Monstrous evils in their results. “I will come near to you, “though you cry, Where is the God of justice? &c.
ILLUSTRATIONS TO CHAPTER 3
Malachi 3:1-5. Come.The last day will assign to every one a station suitable to his character; ranks will then be adjusted, and precedency set right; then virtue will be rewarded and vice punished [Wilson]. A due consideration of this important subject is calculated to rouse our minds, and to set on work those two grand engines and mighty springs of activity—viz., hope and fear [Ib.].
Malachi 3:3. Refiner. A few ladies once met in Dublin to read the Scriptures and converse together. One lady said that the fuller’s soap and the refiner of silver were only the same image intended to convey the same view of the sanctifying influences of the grace of Christ. “No,” said another, “they are not just the same image; there is something remarkable in the expression in this verse: ‘he shall sit,’ ” &c. All thought it possibly might be so. This lady was to call upon a silversmith, and report to them what he said on the subject. She went, without telling the object of her visit, and begged to know the process of refining, which he fully described to her. “But do you sit while you are refining?” asked she. “O yes, madam; I must sit with my eyes steadily fixed on the furnace, since if the silver remain too long it is sure to be injured,” said he. “And how do you know when it is sufficiently refined?” “Whenever I see my own image reflected in it, I know the process is completed.” She at once saw the beauty and comfort of the expression [Whitecross].