God's Righteous Messenger

Well, probably all of us are aware of the school shooting in Florida that occurred just a couple weeks ago. And if you're like me, the news of 17 lives being ruthlessly gunned down filled you with a sense of indignation, a longing for God to bring justice on earth. And most every day, we can look at the world news and be confronted with terrible atrocities. And surely in your own life, you have experienced injustice, whether great or small. And surely in the face of injustice, it is right for us to long for justice and to look to God to provide it. We know that the martyrs in heaven even now cry out, O sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth? We can be mindful of David, who in Psalm 59 prayed, You, Lord God of hosts, our God of Israel, rouse yourself to punish all the nations, spare none of those who treacherously plot evil. And the psalmist in Psalm 94 similarly prays, O Lord, God of vengeance, O God of vengeance, shine forth. Rise up, O judge of the earth. Repay to the proud what they deserve. O Lord, how long shall the wicked, how long shall the wicked exult? Right, so there is even a way in which it can be right to humbly ask God, how long? You know, Lord, why have you allowed this? When will you bring justice? But when does such questioning become sinful? Right? When does such questioning of God cross the line? Well, one of the ways we can be sure that we've crossed the line is if we begin to question God's character. If we let the lie that maybe God isn't really just, maybe God's not really faithful, if that creeps into our minds, we've crossed the line. And that is exactly what Israel was doing in Malachi's day. We turn here to the fourth of six disputations which make up the book of Malachi. And just to remind you where we've been a little bit, Malachi is prophesying sometime near the time of Ezra and Nehemiah. So sometime in the 400s BC. So, Judah was exiled to Babylon in 586, and then Cyrus conquered Babylon and, you know, gave the decree that the Israelites could return in about 538. And then the temple, the second temple, had been rebuilt by 516. And then Ezra comes in 458 and Nehemiah in 445. And I think a likely date for Malachi is probably around 460, so just prior to the coming of Ezra. And at this time, the situation for the Jewish people is pretty rough. You know, they are just returning from exile. There are these marauding raiders, and there's likely no walls in Jerusalem for protection. And the people are poor. I mean, they've just come back from exile. Life is hard. They're surrounded by enemies. And you can imagine that, you know, at first, they probably return with much hope and excitement. Right, because they could look back at the prior prophets and see these promises that God would bring them back from exile and that there would be this Davidic king who would be raised up to establish an everlasting kingdom of righteousness and glory forever. And at first it probably seemed to them like, you know, these things are coming into fulfillment. We're being brought back from exile. The temple is being rebuilt. You know, people are returning to Jerusalem. But then the years start going by and there's very little progress. You know, it's been something like 60 years since that temple was completed, and that new temple was nothing in comparison with the old temple in glory. The people have remained poor. The city of Jerusalem continues to lay in ruins. The ten northern tribes are lost, and the people continue to face oppression from enemies, and there's no sign of this Davidic Messiah. And so we find from the book of Malachi, the people's worship has grown lackluster, right? They're bringing blind and lame sacrifices. And the people are also beginning to complain, not to God, but about him. So we come at the beginning of this disputation in verse 17 to Israel's complaint. Okay, so verse 17, you have wearied the Lord with your words. But you say, how have we wearied him? By saying, everyone who does evil is good in the sight of the Lord, and he delights in them. Or by asking, where is the God of justice? Right, they're talking amongst themselves. And their attitude is, if God's even out there, he must not be good. He must not be just. In fact, he must even like evil people because there's all this evil and he's not doing anything about it. And so rather than responding to hardship with humble faith and desperate prayers, they respond with arrogant, faithless cynicism. And you know, the sad irony is that these very people who are maligning the character of God for being unjust are practicing injustice themselves, right? These are the very same people that we just talked about. They're mistreating their wives, right? These are the people that we can look forward in chapter three, verse five, and they're doing things like practicing sorcery, committing adultery, swearing falsely, oppressing the hired worker, the widow and the fatherless and thrusting aside the sojourner. Right? So they who would have the audacity to shake their fist at God for God being unjust in their estimation are practicing injustice themselves. And is not this inconsistency and this hypocrisy something that we see and experience ourselves? I mean, have you ever noticed that even liars become outraged when other people lie to them? You know, have you noticed that even adulterers get outraged when adultery is committed against them? Right, and the thief is outraged when another steals from him. You know, and even a murderer somehow expects that he and his family should live in peace. Right, friends, that is the inconsistency and the hypocrisy of our sin. And that reveals our pride when we respond by pointing our finger at God and saying, where is the God of justice? You know, and saying, Everyone who does evil is good in the sight of the Lord and he delights in them. And that's why Malachi tells him, your words are wearisome to God because he hears and he knows and he understands. And so the question is, well, how will God respond to this complaint? And we come to God's response, which constitutes verses one to five of chapter three. And God's response is basically this. The Messiah is coming and he will purify my people and he will judge my enemies. So the Messiah is coming to purify my people and judge my enemies. Listen as I read chapter three verses one to five again. God says, behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple, and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts. But who can endure the day of his coming and who can stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner's fire and like fuller's soap. He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver and he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver and they will bring offerings in righteousness to the Lord. Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the Lord as in the days of old and as in former years. Then I will draw near to you for judgment. I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, against the adulterers, against those who swear falsely, against those who oppress the hired worker and his wages, the widow and the fatherless, against those who thrust aside the sojourner, and do not fear me, says the Lord of hosts. So note the three aspects of the reply. In verse one, He says the Messiah is coming. In verses two to four, he says that the Messiah will purify his people. And then in verse five, it's saying that God, through the Messiah, will judge his enemies. And God is saying, look, I am faithful, right? I am the Lord, I do not change, and I will keep my promises. The Messiah will come and will bring about true righteousness on earth. And he's saying, I am just. I will judge evil. But I'm also merciful and I will judge evil in my time because there is the Messiah coming who will purify a people for myself, who will be zealous for good works. And if you are not purified, then you will be judged. That's the message. So let's look at each aspect of this more closely. So first, the Messiah is coming, verse one. So God says, behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me, and the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple, and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts. And what should stand out to us here is how specifically and remarkably God announces the identity of the Messiah and the circumstances of his coming, even though this is more than 400 years ahead of time, right? This shows us the faithfulness of God. So first, we have a prediction that there will be a forerunner to the Messiah, right? Behold, I will send my messenger and he will prepare the way before me. So this is predicting a forerunner to the Messiah who will prepare the way before him. And of course, this is fulfilled in John the Baptist. This verse is actually quoted multiple times in the New Testament, explicitly referring to John, showing the fulfillment. In fact, in Matthew chapter 11, Jesus is talking to the crowds about John the Baptist and says, this is he of whom it was written. And then he quotes Malachi 3.1. And in fact, I even get the sense that John may have been mindful of this passage in Malachi, which speaks of him as a forerunner to a Messiah who will be like a refiner of fire. Because remember what John says of Jesus, right? He says, behold, he who comes after me is mightier than I, and his sandal strap I am not worthy to lose. I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. So we have this prediction of the forerunner. Second, we see a remarkable statement concerning the identity of the Messiah. So God says, behold, I will send my messenger and he will prepare the way before me, right? This is God. And then it says, and the Lord, that is Adonai, whom you seek will come suddenly to his temple, right? And it's obviously God's temple. So this Lord whom they seek is also referring to God. And then it says, and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming. So we need to ask the question, who is the messenger of the covenant? Well, it's not referring back to the first messenger, the forerunner, because grammatically it's parallel with the Lord whom you seek. You know, this could also be translated, then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple, the messenger of the covenant whom you want. Right, so the Lord and the messenger of the covenant are parallel. They describe the same person. Which means that the messenger of the covenant is identified with God himself. But how can God be the messenger of his own covenant? I mean, to be a messenger implies you have been sent. And God, how can God be sent? Right, I mean, that is a remarkable mystery to come from the lips of a Jew like Malachi, whose whole life he has been, you know, raised up to know the Lord our God, the Lord is one. And yet, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, here he is prophesying a divine Messiah, who is sent by God. And we find the perfect fulfillment of this. In God the Father, sending God the Son, and Jesus, the Messianic Son of David, being God Himself. Coming as the Messiah and the Savior. Douglas Stewart, a commentator I've relied on in studying Malachi, commented, no other passage in the Old Testament so clearly assigns divine prerogatives and nomenclature to the figure of the Messiah. All right, so we see the faithfulness of God showing us ahead of time what he would do, right? And we learn from this, not only is Jesus God, but he's the messenger of the covenant. Jesus comes as the messenger of a new and better covenant, a covenant in his own blood, a covenant we will remember and celebrate today as we partake of the Lord's Supper. And one other thing to note here about the coming of Christ, but look at the way Malachi prophesied the manner of Christ's coming. He says, the Lord whom you seek will come suddenly to his temple. You know, think about Simeon and Anna. Right, Simeon on that day when the Spirit prompts him, go to the temple. And he goes into the temple. And suddenly, here come Joseph and Mary and somehow Simeon is made aware this is the one. And he takes the Messiah in his arms, the one he has been waiting for, for all these years, the one who has been awaited for all, for century after century. Suddenly he's here. And think about Anna, right? I mean, who's been a widow for the bulk of 84 years, day and night praying and fasting and going to the temple. And like that, you know, that very hour she sees the Savior, her Redeemer, and she begins to tell all who are waiting for redemption in Jerusalem. And, you know, I think this is so important to think about the suddenness of the fulfillment of God's promises. Because so often, you know, we we doubt things when we don't see that steady working toward What we think, you know, if things don't seem to be working toward the solution we think is promised, we lose heart. And really what that is, is doubting God's power. Right, I mean, think about Abraham. Right, God says, I'm gonna make a great nation of you. And you think, okay, I'm gonna have children and it's all gonna be, he doesn't have any kids. It's not until he's 99 that Sarah gets pregnant and then suddenly they have a child. Right, or think about Joseph. I was thinking about this this week as we were teaching the kids from Southwood. He has these dreams when he's 17 indicating his whole family is going to bow down to him. And you think, okay, so that's God's promise and now he's going to kind of work his way up. He spirals down. I mean, he gets sold as a slave. Then he gets falsely accused and he gets thrown in a dungeon. And he seems as far as he could possibly be from anybody bowing down to him. And then suddenly, by the power and the intervention of God, all these things work out so that he meets the Pharaoh and he is appointed as the second most powerful person on the face of the earth, like that. And friends, consider this idea in light of the return of Christ. Right? I mean, as in contrast with those scoffers we read about in Peter, you know, who say, where's the promise of his coming? All things have continued just like they always have. And Peter says, they forget about the flood and they don't consider that with the Lord, one day is as a thousand years and a thousand years is as one day, but Jesus will come as a thief in the night. Right, and Paul tells the Corinthians in chapter 15, in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, the last trumpet will sound and the dead will be raised imperishable and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable and this mortal body must put on immortality. When the perishable puts on the imperishable and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written, death is swallowed up in victory. Oh, death, where is your victory? Oh, death, where is your sting? Oh, brothers and sisters, in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, right, Jesus will return just as suddenly as when he came, right? And suddenly, you know, no matter how dark is the night, no matter how long it seems to last, all that he has promised will be so sure and so real We'll be thinking, why did I ever doubt? Why did I question the faithfulness and the power of God? Right, take heart, God is faithful. He will keep his promises. And Jesus will return just as suddenly as he came. So, let's look next at what Jesus came to do. All right, so as we've said, Malachi prophesies that the Messiah is coming to purify his people. Okay, so verses two to four. And remember, Malachi's preaching to people who are complaining about God's justice. But the idea of the Messiah coming is something that seems very delightful and very exciting to them. This is the Lord whom they seek, the messenger of the covenant in whom they delight. And yet Malachi says, yes, the Messiah is coming. Then verse two, but who can endure the day of his coming? And who can stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner's fire and like fuller's soap. Jesus is like fire and like lye. Because lye was what they used for soap back then. You see, it's not just that Jesus is like the refiner and the launderer, though the metaphor shifts and we'll look at that in verse 3. But here it says that Jesus himself is like the fire and the lye. You know, the holiness of his character is like fire. The purity of his person is like lye. By nature of who he is, the false and the ungodly cannot stand before him. They will be separated from the people of God like fire separates dross from silver or lye separates dirt from fabric. We see that the very character and the nature of Jesus is to irresistibly draw some while utterly repelling others. And Malachi's warning his fellow Israelites, some of you are among those who'd be utterly repelled. Who can endure the day of his coming and who can stand when he appears, right? If you are not gold or silver, you can't endure the fire. If you're proud, if you're unrepentant, you can't endure the coming of Christ. But if you're humble and if you're lowly, then the coming of Christ will mean your salvation. I think an old preacher, Charles Simeon, captured this well, commenting on this verse. He writes, many in that and every age have professed a great regard for the law of God, while they have really hated it in their hearts, and have shown their utter enmity to God under the semblance of zeal for his honor. On the other hand, Many, who have been despised of their fellow creatures on account of some enormities they may have committed, have really possessed a broken and contrite heart, and have proved incomparably more willing to submit to Jesus than any self-applauding Pharisee ever was. Now to discover these hidden dispositions of the heart was one intent of our Lord's coming. He was set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel, and for a sign that should be spoken against, that the thoughts of many hearts should be revealed. And this was the very effect produced by him. For the scribes and Pharisees, filled with conceit of their superior knowledge and goodness, cast him out with abhorrence. While many publicans and harlots believed on him to the saving of their souls, this very effect also still follows from the preaching of his gospel. The precious are separated from the vile, and men, though unconscious of it themselves, are led to manifest their real characters as careless galleos, atheistical scoffers, proud Pharisees, or humble believers. So friends, we should see the discriminating effect of Christ's coming. He came to burn away the dross and purify the people of God, to renew Israel, because he is the messenger of a new and a better covenant. And those many Israelites who rejected him were broken off. They have no standing or share in the new covenant or the renewed Israel. But as many as received him have been grafted in, even among us, the Gentiles. And we, the church, are now the purified people of God, right? United by a shared love for Jesus. It must be our love for Christ that unites us. Nothing else can. That's why we need a regenerate membership. Because we need to be people united by love for Jesus above everything else. He comes as fire and lye. But then secondly, look at verse three, where Malachi now shifts the metaphor a bit. And he says, you know, not only is Jesus like the refining fire, but he's also like the refiner. It says in verse three, he will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, and they will bring offerings in righteousness to the Lord. Right, so not only is Jesus like the fire by the sheer nature of his character and the holiness of his person, but he's also like the refiner that takes precious metals and intentionally, skillfully purifies them so that they will become beautiful and undefiled. Right, this isn't something haphazard or accidental, but purposeful. And this is a picture of the individual attention Jesus gives to purifying each and every one of his people. Like a refiner, purifying precious metal. Now you might say, wait a second, this says he will purify the sons of Levi. So how do we just apply this to Christians like us? Well, first of all, we should note that Jesus did purify the literal sons of Levi. Acts 6 verse 7 says, And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith. Right, so there's one sense in which, yeah, those ungodly priests of Malachi chapter two who are offering blind, lame sacrifices are superseded by sons of Levi and priests in Acts chapter six who hear the word of God and believe and offer themselves in love for Jesus and no doubt had great knowledge of the word of God to help teach the early church. But secondly, And more importantly, we need to see that the Levitical priesthood has been eclipsed by an even greater priesthood in Christ. You see, Jesus comes as the priest, according to the order of Melchizedek, who doesn't minister in a mere earthly tabernacle. And he doesn't just bring the blood of bulls and goats, but he is our great high priest who offers his own blood in the heavenly tabernacle and stands forever to be our intercessor. And now, through faith in Christ, he has made all of us a royal priesthood and a holy nation so that we can go before God. You know, not like the old covenant priest who had to stay outside the veil, but he's torn the veil. And we can go into the very presence of God as dearly beloved children. And we can offer not the blood of bulls and goats, but we can offer our bodies as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to God. And this corresponds with verse four. As Malachi says, then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem, that is then the offering of all of God's people will be pleasing to the Lord as in the days of old and as in former years. And so the point is Jesus will purify each one of his people like a refiner and purifier of silver and gold. And this metaphor of refining is such a good one because the process is painful. I mean, to purify gold or silver, I mean, you have to submit it to harsh treatments, to the flames of fire, because only the gold and the silver can withstand the fire. But the dross will burn away. And in the same way, Jesus looks at us as his precious, treasured possession, and he skillfully, intentionally brings trial into our life, which only our faith and our hope and our love can withstand, so that the sinful dross of our lives can be burned away and we can be progressively sanctified and set apart to trust him. So that our faith will be tested and made firm and so that we will stand blameless on the day of judgment. So brothers and sisters, as Peter tells us, when you face fiery trials, don't be surprised as if some strange thing were happening to you. Don't despair as if maybe God doesn't really love me. but rather know that God is being faithful to do exactly what he has promised right here in his word. And that he is doing so out of love for you, to prepare you for everlasting bliss and eternity with him in heaven. And think about this too. You know, these trials, this purification is happening so that offerings can be brought in righteousness to the Lord and so that these offerings will please the Lord. And friends, think about the fact that God tests us and He purifies us so that we can please Him. And the more we love Jesus, I mean, the more joyous is that thought, that we can actually please the Lord with our lives. That we have forgiveness through His blood and that now as His children, we can learn to walk in a way that brings Him honor and glory and brings pleasure to God. So let that motivate us. So we've seen so far Israel's complaint, where is the God of justice? And we've seen the first two parts of God's reply. The Messiah is coming and he's coming to purify his people. And now finally in verse five, we have the last part of God's reply, which is saying ultimately through the coming of the Messiah, then I will judge my enemies. And it starts off, then I will draw near to you for judgment. Now the shock in this verse is the you. Because Israel expects of them. They're waiting, when are you gonna come and judge them? And God says, no, I am gonna come judge you. Judgment is coming. And judgment will be without partiality. Judgment will fall on all. And the problem is that you yourselves will be liable to that judgment because of your sin. Right, and so God warns them. He says, I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers. You know, those who practice magic and pursue demonic arts, against the adulterers, those who commit sexual immorality, those who pursue the ungodly divorces that were talked about before, against those who swear falsely. You know, not only lying, but even swearing, perhaps by the name of God. and then doing contrary to that, against those who oppress the hired worker and his wages. So hired workers were poor people that owned no land. And so they were dependent on others to be able to work. They probably had no savings, would, you know, have to live hand to mouth. And there would be people that would delay paying them, you know, even knowing they have no savings and how are they going to eat? And then there would be other people that would pay them just as little as they possibly could because they know, well, you have no other option. So the hired workers would be willing to work for nothing because it was their only option. And rather than paying them what they deserved, a just wage, you know, they're just trying to squeeze out all the money, all the labor they can, just oppressing these people. And then those who oppress the widow and the fatherless, right? The people who have no voice in society, who can do nothing in return. You know, to just exploit and to ignore and to trample over them. And against those who thrust aside the sojourner, right? And God is constantly reminding Israel, you were sojourners in the land of Egypt. And so how hypocritical for you to turn around and then thrust out the sojourner, forgetting who you yourselves were. And then he says, and those who do not fear me. And that sums the whole thing up. Right? They do not fear the Lord. Let me quote Douglas Stewart, that commentator again on fearing God. He says, fearing God is not a matter of being terrified of him as if he is always angry or arbitrary and capricious in his dealings so that one should always be wary of what he might do. Rather, Believers fear God's wrath if he is not obeyed. Thus fear functions as a shorthand for fearing the consequences of disobeying. And often for just not believing in or taking Yahweh seriously. And I think that perfectly captures Israel's problem. They don't take Yahweh seriously. They don't take his promises seriously. They're quick to lose heart and say, well, I don't see the Messiah, so it's not gonna happen. They don't take God's law or justice seriously, right? Some of them go off, you know, and they just practice evil. And others of them think, oh, well, we can, you know, we can be good enough. We can earn our own standing, ignoring what the law actually says. And they don't take God's offers of mercy seriously either. They go off trying to establish their own righteousness rather than recognizing the free mercy and grace that God offers to all who will repent and turn to him. And so God's warning them, I will be a swift witness against you because of your faithlessness, because you will not fear me. And is this not exactly what happened when Jesus came? I mean, Jesus himself comes and before Pilate, he says, I have come for this purpose to bear witness to the truth. Right. And and Jesus did, in fact, bear witness to the evil and the apostasy of the Jewish nation. Right. He tells the unbelieving Jews, look, if God were your father, you would love me, for I came from God. But you are of your father, the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. I mean, Jesus bore witness to this when he went to his temple. And like that refining fire that he is, he flips tables and he drives people out with whips. And he bore witness of this when he spoke of Jerusalem, saying, oh, Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it. How often will I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not. And then the disciples say, oh, Jesus, look at these. great stones for the temple. And Jesus says to them, truly, I say to you, there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down. And in A.D. 70, that is exactly what happened, right? The Romans came and utterly destroyed Jerusalem and demolished the temple. And in all of that, God has borne swift witness against those who have professed his name, but practiced evil and rejected their own Messiah. And yet, like so many prophecies, that's really only the initial fulfillment. Because Malachi's words find their ultimate fulfillment in the greater judgment. In the final judgment when we all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. When the books are opened and he bears witness against each one of us according to our deeds. And the God of perfect justice finally enforces it once and for all. without partiality. And what's going on here is a bit like looking at a mountain range, you know, where that peak of Jesus's first coming and that peak of his second coming are viewed from Malachi's perspective almost as if they're side by side, right? Because that first coming ensures the second. And we can look back and see if Jesus has come, just as God said, he will most definitely come again. And so brothers and sisters, the question for us, have we taken God seriously? Do we fear the Lord? Have we taken him seriously enough to believe that he will in fact be faithful to do everything he has promised? And have we taken him seriously enough to know that we've all violated his law and that we will be held accountable? But have you taken seriously enough his promise that there is mercy for all who run to Jesus Christ, right? And that through faith in him, your sins can be fully forgiven. Right, God is to be taken seriously in his justice, but he is also be taken seriously in his promises of mercy. He means that, that whoever turns from sin and believes in Jesus will be forgiven. This is the fullness and the freeness of his grace. And friends, if we have taken that promise seriously, we can end right back where we began. You know, it is right to look forward to that day of justice, not because we think we're just and all those other people aren't, but because we trust our God. We know He will bring justice, and we know that we will stand forgiven because of the blood of Christ, and that on that day, after judgment, Christ will reign forever, and there will be perfect righteousness forever and ever, and we will always be with the Lord. And it is with that hope that we can prayerfully and patiently wait. Let's pray.