Malachi chapter 4

The Sun of Justice will arrive.

 


 

THE SUN OF JUSTICE WILL ARRIVE

 

VERSE 1. “For behold, the day comes, burning like a furnace, when all the proud and all who work wickedness will be stubble. The day that comes will burn them up,” says the LORD of Hosts, “so that it will leave them neither root nor branch.

the day comes. It will be the Day of the LORD.

burning like a furnace. On Judgment Day, our lives will go through a cleansing fire. It will burn away all self-centered deeds from the history of our lives. Will any of your deeds survive? Read more »

 

VERSE 2. But to you who fear my name shall the sun of righteousness arise with healing in its wings. You will go out and leap like calves of the stall.

NASB translation. But for you who fear My name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings; and you will go forth and skip about like calves from the stall.

NAB translation. But for you who fear my name, there will arise the sun of justice with its healing rays.

the sun of righteousness. This phrase appears nowhere else in the Bible.

will rise. The Lord Jesus Christ rose from the grave. He suffered, died, and rose.

with healing in its wings. The Lord Jesus Christ has the ultimate healing: eternal salvation.

 

VERSE 3. You shall tread down the wicked; for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I make,” says the LORD of Hosts.

 

VERSE 4. “Remember the Torah of Moses my servant, which I commanded to him in Horeb for all Israel, even statutes and ordinances.

 

VERSE 5. Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and terrible day of the LORD comes.

NASB translation. Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord.

NAB translation. Lo, I will send you Elijah, the prophet, before the day of the LORD comes, the great and terrible day,

Elijah the prophet. By the time of Malachi, Elijah the prophet had been dead for centuries.

It would not seem likely that Elijah would be brought back in spirit form. It would not seem likely that Elijah would be reincarnated. Rather, this prophecy seems figurative.

Christians say it was fulfilled in John the Baptist.

Luke 7:19. John, calling to himself two of his disciples, sent them to Jesus, saying, “Are you the one who is coming, or should we look for another?”

 

VERSE 6. He will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children and the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the earth with a curse.”

NAB translation. to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers, Lest I come and strike the land with doom.

DT translation. And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.

John the Baptist turned many people to repentance. For fathers, that repentance meant turning their hearts toward their children. Read more »

The Old Testament concludes here.

 


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MALACHI

CHAPTERS: 01, 02, 03, 04

RESOURCES: Summary, Outline, Memorize

Unless otherwise noted, all Bible quotations on this page are from the World English Bible and the World Messianic Edition. These translations have no copyright restrictions. They are in the Public Domain.