Sunday School

Malachi 4 Study Guide

Posted lucentwarrior
  • I think most of this passage might still actually be future.  For me, that makes the passage a lot more complicated.
  • The context is the again the perceived injustice, that is, that the wicked are not being punished nor the righteous blessed.  This concept really starts in the last verse of Chapter 2, and continues through the rest of the book. Chapter 3:16-18 is definitely part of this section…
  • Maybe start by paraphrasing this whole chapter:
    • In the day that God makes up his treasured possession, you will again see the difference in how God treats the righteous and wicked (3:16-18)
    • This will be because the day of judgment is coming. This day of the Lord will make the wicked like stubble in an the oven.  But for the righteous, it will be blessing like the warm rays of the sun. (or you could argue that Jesus is the Sun here.)
    • The righteous will finally rejoice and trample the wicked.
    • Don’t forget the mosaic law–it still applies
    • Elijah: God will send him again before the great and awesome day [of judgment] comes.  His job is to turn the fathers to their children and children to their fathers. But if not, God will curse the land.
  • Now to explain… This day of wrath/blessing must still be future because so far we have not seen the fulfillment of this kind of a day.
    • IMO, this is different from Malachi 3:1, where the messenger comes to prepare the way before the Lord who will suddenly come to his temple. Malachi 3:2 and following must then be referring again to this same great and awful day of the Lord.
  • Why this admonition to remember the mosaic law? (Malachi 4:4)
    • Much of this prophecy is still centuries in the future.  God was reminding the present day Jews to stay faithful to the things they knew.
    • This is a good reminder to us who have a really good revelation (Scripture), but we tend to neglect it’s instruction.
    • Rabbit trail: I think this verse is a really interesting window into how God worked with men to reveal his word (Moses’ law, but the statutes that God commanded him).
  • Now, how to explain this section about Elijah…
    • One possible explanation is that John could have been the Elijah spoken of here, but he was not accepted, so the primary Elijah in view here will come when Jesus comes prior to the Millennial reign. Following is Constable’s exact quote explaining this view:

    • The Lord promised to send His people Elijah the prophet before the great and terrible day of the Lord arrived. An angel later told John the Baptist’s parents that their son would minister in the spirit and power of Elijah (Luke 1:17). Yet John denied that he was Elijah (John 1:21-23). Jesus said that John would have been the Elijah who was to come if the people of his day had accepted Jesus as their Messiah (Matt. 11:14). Since they did not, John did not fulfill this prophecy about Elijah coming, though he did fulfill the prophecy about Messiah’s forerunner (3:1).

    • This interpretation has in its favor Jesus’ words following the Transfiguration, which occurred after John the Baptist’s death. Jesus said that Elijah would come and restore all things (Matt. 17:11). Whether the original Elijah will appear before the day of the Lord or whether an Elijah-like figure, similar to John the Baptist, will appear remains to be seen. Since Jesus went on to say that Elijah had come and the Jews failed to recognize him, speaking of John (Matt. 17:12-13), I prefer the view that an Elijah-like person will come.

    • What John did for Jesus at His first coming, preparing the hearts of people to receive Him, this latter-day Elijah will do for Him at His second coming.  Evidently the two witnesses in the Tribulation will carry out this ministry (Rev. 11:1-13). Who the witnesses will be is a mystery. Evidently one of them will be an Elijah-like person. These men will do miracles as Elijah and Elisha did.

  • At any rate, the primary Elijah must not be John the Baptist because we haven’t seen this great and awesome day of the Lord (judgment day).
  • Turning the hearts of the fathers… possibly meaning literally that fathers and children throughout the land would have their hearts turned to each other.?? (seems unlikely). One commentator thinks it is meant turning the hearts of the children to the father’s mentioned throughout Malachi (Levi, Moses, Elijah), but I’m not sure how that works with turning the father’s hearts to their children?? Or you could take the interpretation of the NET Bible interpreters: He will encourage fathers and their children to return to me.
  • Curse/decree of utter destruction.
    • This is the idea of something “devoted to destruction” (KJV often uses that wording for H2764). Definition and occurrences.  Examples:
      • Leviticus 27:24
      • Joshua 6:17
      • 1 Samuel 15:21
      • Malachi 4 uses remarkably similar language to 2 Peter 3.  This helps me think this is still future.  At any rate, it brings out some key lessons for us.
      • Here a couple takeaways I see:
        • This idea of doing what we know already (e.g. the Mosaic law for OT believers). God has revealed his will to us in Scripture…we are also waiting to see our redemption. We must faithfully continue in what we know to do until He arrives to settle right and wrong forever.
        • The power of that day of judgment will either burn us like stubble or make us grow like the sun’s rays.
        • 2 Peter 3 says two things (at least). That we should not forget that judgment will surely come (even when it looks like everything is continuing as in the past).  Then, in view of this coming judgment, we should be diligent to be found by him without spot or blemish, and at peace. (2 Peter 3:14)