The Great Day of Yahweh
This is a transcript. It may contain small inaccuracies.
Take your Bibles with me, and let us return one last time to the book of Malachi, Malachi chapter 4. We are concluding our studies in the book of Malachi, and it's been an exciting study, and I'm so thankful to the Lord for His Word here in this book. Starting next week, Lord willing, we will look at dealing with sin for a few messages, a couple of messages perhaps, and then following that, we will begin a new study in the books of 1 and 2 Thessalonians, and I'm really excited to spend that time together in the Word of God.
And the Word of God reads, "For behold, the day is coming, burning like a furnace; and all the arrogant and every worker of wickedness will be chaff; and the day that is coming will set them aflame", says Yahweh of hosts, "so that it will leave them neither root nor branch. 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. And you will tread down the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day which I am preparing," says Yahweh of hosts.
"Remember the law of Moses, My servant, even the statutes and judgments which I commanded him in Horeb for all Israel. Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and awesome day of Yahweh. And he will 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, devoting it to destruction."
Really, if you were to look at the book of Malachi, the book of Malachi is really an affirmation of the faithfulness of God. God is faithful. An affirmation of the faithfulness of God. Now, at first reading, it may not sound like what is being emphasized here is the faithfulness of God because the book ends on the note of judgment, as was read in your hearing. But make no mistake about it. This is an affirmation of the faithfulness of God. "Great is Thy faithfulness," would be a fitting hymn to sing, to proclaim.
The faithfulness of God in His holiness. The faithfulness of God in His sovereignty. In the fact that He will rule what He has made. The faithfulness of God in terms of His power, His might, His knowledge, His wisdom. All of this being put on display through the promise of justice.
God is faithful to judge. He is the Judge of all judges. God is faithful in terms of justice.
You remember, this is one of the ways that the people have sinned against Yahweh. They had claimed that His justice was in doubt. In fact, their claim was even stronger than that. They implied that God's justice is a lie.
Malachi 2, verse 17: "You have wearied Yahweh with your words. But you say, 'How have we wearied Him?' In that you say, 'Everyone who does evil is good in the sight of Yahweh, and He delights in them,' or, 'Where is the God of justice?'"
Remember that, right? God, You claim to be God of justice, but we look at our world, we don't see Your justice. We don't see it. We look at how things are for us right now, we look at the surrounding nations, and we wonder, where is the God of justice? Some justice.
Well, now Malachi ends the book, this book of prophecy, with the promise that not only will Israel see the justice of God, the entire world will see the justice of God. It's a reminder that God's judgment may be delayed, but it's never in doubt. Never in doubt. Never. Never.
James Montgomery Boyce said this, and I quote: "Because God was unchanging in His holiness and justice, it follows that the inevitability of His judgment upon the wicked is unchanging also. The final chapter of Malachi virtually shouts for us to see this, for it begins, 'Surely the day is coming.' Verse 1." And he goes on to say, "The judgment of God may be postponed. For the most part, it has been postponed for the long years of human history—postponed but not forgotten. Delay is not elimination. Judgment will come."Judgment will come.
And Malachi has already declared that this judgment will be delivered. It will be delivered in the presence of the Messiah. He Himself personally will judge. He is the Judge. The day of the Lord, the final day, the great day, is the day when God Himself brings justice.
Go back to chapter 3 and you'll see it. Verse 1: "Behold, I am going to 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 Yahweh of hosts. But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He is like a smelter's fire and like fullers’ soap. And He will sit as a smelter and purifier of silver, and He will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, so that they may present to Yahweh offerings in righteousness. Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to Yahweh as in the ancient days and as in former years. Then I will draw near to you for judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers and against the adulterers and against those who swear falsely and against those who oppress the wage earner in his wages, the widow and the orphan, and those who turn aside the sojourner and do not fear Me, says Yahweh of hosts. For I, Yahweh, do not change; therefore you, O sons of Jacob, are not consumed."
Faithful. Faithful. Absolutely faithful in terms of the promises. You know those promises. The free grace promises that He's made concerning His people. And perfectly faithful when it comes to His promise to judge.
What we have here in chapter 4, the very end of the book, is really a restatement of those truths. It's a reaffirmation of what God has already promised.
Again and again, there's that reaffirmation here. And in fact, it would be the final word until the first coming of the Messiah would come to pass. The last word until the Elijah, who would introduce the messenger of the covenant, would come on the scene—John the Baptist.
So tonight we conclude the book of Malachi by looking at the day, the great day of Yahweh.
Verse 1: "For behold, the day is coming." Oh, the day is coming. It's coming. Delay is not a denial. It's coming. The day is coming. The great day of Yahweh is coming. Behold. And we're going to look at the day, and we're going to see this day in terms of four relationships that are associated with that day, four relationships spoken of in our text. And here's relationship number one. Again, this day in connection with these relationships.
Relationship number one: we see the day of Yahweh, the great day of Yahweh, and its relationship, first, to arrogant evildoers. The day and its relationship to arrogant evildoers. Verse 1: "For behold, the day is coming," – now watch the language – "burning like a furnace; and all the arrogant and every worker of wickedness will be chaff; and the day that is coming will set them aflame, says Yahweh of hosts, so that it will leave them neither root nor branch."
So here's the question: What will the day of the Lord mean for the arrogant evildoer? What will it mean to them? The arrogant—that is, those who arrogantly defy the living God, disregard His Word, reject His offers of mercy, ultimately then rejecting His Son. What will the day hold for all those people? All the evildoers—evildoers by nature, evildoers by choice.
Well, the text declares several things that this day will mean for them. Look at it together. First of all, it's going to be, number one, a day of certain judgment. It will be a day of certain judgment for the arrogant evildoer. The verse begins with the word, "Behold." "For behold, the day is coming." Behold—in other words, take note, take note of this. Look at this. Don't miss it. Don't bypass it. The day is coming. In fact, the day is on its way.
And then He goes on to describe what that day is going to mean for those who are being mentioned. The day is coming. God's judgment is certain. And that's something that God should be worshiped for. That's something that, if men would ever admit it, it's something that humanity really longs for in some sense. Men, of course, are twisted when it comes to the idea of justice. But mankind, in general terms, cries out for justice. Mankind realizes that wrong should be punished.
Now, man gets the right wrong and the wrong right because of the fall, because of depravity. But instinctively, he knows there must be some kind of justice in the universe. And yet, when it comes to the justice spoken of concerning the God of the Bible, man does not, in general, rejoice in it because he has a guilty conscience. Because he has a guilty conscience. He knows himself to be a sinner. He knows himself to be accountable to the God of justice.
So, he either expresses doubt that this day will actually occur, or he dreads it. Or he dreads it. He may not doubt it, but he doesn't want to think about it. He may not doubt it, but he doesn't want to speak of it. He wants to just live his life acting as if it will never come. It will never arrive because he fears it through the knowledge of his sin.
And we'll see it in just a moment, but the good news for you and for me, His sheep, is that where we stand on the grace of God—if we stand on the grace of God in Christ Jesus—there is no fear of holy justice. There is no fear of holy justice. Because God, as Holy Judge, has already judged all of our sins in the body of His Son on the tree. All of them. All of them. Every single one of them. Jesus paid it all. All. All of it.
And when the Judge has justified you, when the Judge has declared you right with Himself in His Son, there is absolutely nothing left to condemn you. Therefore, now, there is no condemnation to those who are in Christ. There's nothing and no one left to condemn you. There's nothing left to condemn you.
Romans 8 declares this wonderful truth in verse 33: "Who will bring a charge against God's elect?" Who? Who? Stand up. Stand up. Who is it? If you're there, you know, you want to bring a charge, bring a charge. Well, stand. Well, who? There's no one. No one.
And I love the way that Paul reasons here. He says, "God is the one who justifies." God is the one who justifies. It is God who justifies. Did you grasp that? I mean, this is incredible. It's the One who's going to judge that has declared you right with Himself. So, if the Judge declares you right with Himself, then who is left to condemn you? Who? The verdict is already in.
He goes on to write in verse 34, Romans 8: "Who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died." The Judge of all the earth is the One who laid down His life for you, he's saying. "Yes, rather, who was raised," which is to say that His offering on behalf of wretched sinners was what? Sufficient. It was sufficient. It was accepted. It was successful. There's nothing left to condemn you.
Paul continues, "Who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us." I mean, in every way, Paul was stacking up these explanations to say that if you know the Lord Jesus Christ, we know Him as Lord and Savior, you have no reason whatsoever to fear holy justice because it has been fully satisfied by God Himself, in your case, in the body of His Son on the tree. Period. Paragraph. Amazing, isn't it?
But if you don't stand in the grace of God, if you don't stand in the grace of God, you have every reason to fear that day, to be trembling, to be gripped with trepidation, to be overcome with fear and panic. Because men and women will then be judged, and everything that you've ever done in life has been recorded, and one day you will answer for every single one of those deeds and words and motivations. In fact, the Bible says here that that day for the wicked, for the arrogant, is going to be a day like the language of Malachi—like a furnace, like an oven, like a furnace. Malachi 4 verse 1: "For behold, the day is coming, burning like a furnace." But beloved, it's not just a day of certain judgment. I want us to see also that it's going to be a day of consuming judgment.
Consuming judgment. Look at the text: "Burning like a furnace; and all the arrogant and every worker of wickedness will be" – here it is – "chaff." Chaff. They themselves are spoken of here as being burned up. What that day will mean for them is absolute devastation. Everything they think that they've achieved, everything they think commends them—that is, they glory in it, they take pride in it—everything they place their confidence in, the strong towers as it were they built in their minds, everything that they currently enjoy and find satisfaction and pleasure in.
You know, I don't have time to think about God or His church or His Word, I'm just too busy enjoying my life and, you know, building my career and building my fortune and pursuing pleasures. So everything that they've enjoyed, everything that they worship in the place of the Creator that they dishonor, everything they think of as a legacy, as a future, as the reason for existence—it will all be consumed by the justice of God. All of it. All of it. All of it. All of it.
The verse describes them as completely consumed. There will be nothing, nothing left. And the day that is coming—verse 1—"will set them aflame, says Yahweh of hosts, so that it will leave them neither root nor branch." What is under the earth, what is visible to the eye, will be consumed. It'll all be gone. It's all burned up. It's like they've been thrown into a fiery furnace.
And obviously, it's not teaching annihilationism. The Bible goes on to make clear that there is eternal torment, that the lost will know in the wrath of God—this eternal torment forever and ever and ever—and not even a drop of relief. But what it is to say is that everything that they thought they've gained in this world will be completely incinerated. It is a certain judgment. It is a consuming judgment.
And thirdly, I want us to see it's also a complete judgment—a complete judgment—because what is stressed in this verse, in the verse, is that it's every single one of them.
Do you see it? Look at verse 1 again: "For behold, the day is coming, burning like a furnace; – and here it is – "and all" – all, it's complete, every single one – "all the arrogant and every worker of wickedness will be chaff." No one excepted. No one, no one, no one left out. No one left out. No one left out. No one, no one, no one. All of the insolence, the presumptuous, all of those who do wickedness— not one unforgiven sinner will emerge from that day without everything that they put their trust in being consumed. No one is off the hook. Not one in the whole world will escape this judgment. This is what the day means for the arrogant. This is what the day means for the evildoer.
But now we see a second relationship as we think about that day. In verses 2 and 3, we see the day now in its relationship to those who—it's a different category—who fear God, the God-fearers. And you can see the contrast. You can see the difference, the stark contrast. What will that day mean for those who fear Yahweh? What will that day mean for those who fear God's name?
Verse 2: "But"—and this is a but of distinction—"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. And you will tread down the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day which I am preparing, says Yahweh of hosts."
For those who fear the name of God, you see this day represents what? Vindication. It represents vindication. God will vindicate His own name. But at the same time that He vindicates His name, He will also vindicate those who have feared His name. You do realize this: that if we fear the name of God, this means we reverence the living God in this world, and we share His reputation in this world, right? So those who hate the name of God, hate you. That's what Jesus said, right? Those who revile the name of God, revile you.
And on this day, God will remember all of those who have feared His name – every single one of them – all of those who have gladly counted it a privilege and an honor and a joy and a delight to be associated with His name—so that that day will be a vindication, not just of His name, but also of His people who are associated with His name, who are called by His name.
The judgment of God is not only certain, it is distinguishing. The judgment of God hits its target, and what is distinguished in the day is the wicked from the righteous. And what distinguishes the wicked from the righteous is, as we saw this morning, the grace of God. The grace of God. It is God's grace that has produced the difference. It is salvation that has produced the difference.
There are people who are arrogant and evildoers, and there are people who are characterized by reverencing the name of God, fearing God's name, and salvation has produced the reverence, and grace has produced salvation.
In the third chapter, as I said, this is really a repetition of what is taught earlier in the prophecy. Malachi 3:18, it says this, "So you will return and see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve Him." That day will make a distinction. And so God gives a promise to His people that the day, that day for them will mean something quite different than for the arrogant, for the evildoer. And what will that day mean for the people of God? What will the day of judgment mean for the people of God? God-fearers? Well, first of all, it will be the dawn of righteousness for the God-fearer. It will be the dawn of righteousness.
Look at verse 2. He says, "But for you who fear My name, the sun of righteousness will rise." I mean like the sun rising in the morning, the darkness of the wicked world will dissipate. It will be put away, and the sun of righteousness will arise in the person of Jesus Christ our Lord. The darkness will be put away by Him, and the light of God will shine upon the people of God. The breaking of the day, the breaking of sunlight, the breaking in of righteousness will take place.
Whereas this world has been under a curse, the curse will be gone, and righteousness will dwell in the earth, and the dawn of righteousness will appear.
But it will also be a day at the same time of restoration. Restoration. Look at verse 2. "The sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings." Healing. Loss will be replaced by gain. Sickness will be replaced by health. Tears will be replaced with laughter. The scorn that has been heaped up upon the people of God by the wicked will be replaced with praise and reward from our good and gracious God.
And it's also going to be a day as a result of great celebration. It's going to be a day of great celebration. Look at the text. "And you will go forth and skip about like calves from the stall." What an image that is. What a lovely image. Like a calf skips out of its stall, exhibiting its joy and its freedom and its liberation, so the people of God will skip about with joy. Delight. I rejoice to tell you tonight, you've never known a joy like the joy of that day. And it will be a special day.
One thing that's amazing about children is their sense of wonder. Have you ever thought about that? Everything is new. Everything is wonderful. Everything is amazing. And they have this awe, this wonder. When is the last time you were amazed at anything? Watch little kids amazed at every new thing, every new experience, every new opportunity, and then notice how wonder leaves our lives the longer we live in this sin-infected world. But on that day, on that day, you will meet with wonder again, and the wonder will never ever go away. Never. It's going to be everlasting.
It's going to be a day of celebration, a day of vindication as well, as we see. A day of vindication. Because He says in verse 3, "And you will tread down the wicked, for there will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day which I am preparing, says Yahweh of hosts." He first presents the image of them being burned up, like being put in a furnace—the wicked, that is—and then He pictures the righteous walking over their ashes. Those who have so often been walked on by the wicked will walk into eternity over the ashes of those who have been consumed by the judgment of God. That's the imagery. Triumph. Vindication.
This is why, beloved, Christians in this age are not to be characterized by seeking vengeance. That's why. That's why all the outcry you hear in our world right now, even by professing Christians, that it sounds like what we're after is some sort of vindication, some sort of getting even, some sort of earthly temporal justice in response to ways that people have been mistreated and all the rest—and of course there's a place for temporal justice. That falls in the realm of civil concern. But in terms of the concern of God's people, we have a gospel concern, beloved. Don't ever, ever lose sight of that. We have a gospel concern. It is the salvation of the souls of men and women. That's where our focus is, and we leave our mistreatment in the hands of the One who judges justly. We love our enemies. We pray for those who spitefully use us. We demonstrate the love of Christ by not responding in like manner, not reviling those who revile, not giving what they gave us, but rather loving them with the love of Jesus. This is our calling in this age—a gospel concern—because we can leave it to God to make the wrongs right, and He will one day. That's what He's picturing in these verses. One day the wrongs will be made right. They will be.
So this day of vindication will also be a day of deliverance. Deliverance. Look at verse 3, "And you will tread down the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet." That's vindication. But who vindicates? Notice: "On the day which I am preparing." Do you see who vindicates? Says Yahweh of Hosts. This will come to us from the hand of who? God. Our God. This represents the action of God. God will do this, beloved. Again, let me say this. Vengeance belongs to Him. Not to you, not to me. To Him. I referenced this earlier, but 1 Peter chapter 2 verse 23 says this, speaking of Jesus: "Who being reviled, was not reviling in return; while suffering, He was uttering no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously." That's our calling during this age. Peter says in verse 21, "For to this you have been called." That's our calling. But God announces and encourages us and comforts us with the knowledge that the day will come when He will execute justice. It's coming.
So we see the day in its relationship to the arrogant and evildoer—a day of certain judgment, a day of consuming judgment. And then we look at this day in relationship to those who fear the name of Yahweh, and it's going to be a great day of deliverance, and vindication, and celebration, and restoration.
Well, let's look at the third relationship. Third relationship. Look at verse 4: "Remember the law of Moses My servant, even the statutes and judgments which I commanded him in Horeb for all Israel." The day of the Lord in its relationship to the law of Moses.
Now, the reference—this reference to the law of Moses—well, what is its purpose? What is its purpose in this context? And I want to submit to us, there are a couple of lesser things that we can point to, and then I want to mention what I think to be the primary reason we find it here. So let's begin from the lesser to the primary.
First of all, we can say this: this reference to the law of Moses reminds us that the day of the Lord has a special meaning to the people of God. Special meaning to the people of God. Think about it. Who gave revelation to Israel? Who gave them His law? Well, Yahweh did. The I Am, Yahweh. Who is now giving them information, revelation about the day that's coming? Well, God is giving them information, revelation about the day that's coming. God Himself. Once again, they're being reminded by the very fact of revelation, by the very fact of communication from Yahweh, from God. They're being reminded of His gracious relationship that God has established with His people. And the same God who's telling them about the future is the God who gave them the law, who is in this covenant relationship with them, communicated through Moses.
In other words, Israel has been loved by God, and through this message, they're being loved by God as well. Remember how this book began, right? Chapter 1: "I have loved you, says Yahweh" – right? – I've loved you. And in their sin, what did they say? Well, "how have You loved us?" Really? "How have You loved us?" Out of all the people on the face of the planet, God was giving this revelation to them. And I think about how God has communicated to us in the New Testament. Out of all the people on the face of the earth, of all the noble, all of the powerful, all of the wise, all the movers and shakers in society, as we saw this morning in the first century, to whom did God give His word? But local churches who will receive those letters—common, everyday people. Amazing grace, isn't it? So this day has special meaning to the people of God as the people of God.
But secondly, the fact of the reference—the law of God—also confirms the truthfulness of what they received in that law of Moses. It confirms the truthfulness of what they received in that law. That law contained and included promises of blessing and cursing. Faithfulness to Yahweh means blessing. Unfaithfulness to Him means what? Curses. And if anybody's in doubt about whether that's true or not, He's pointing them to the very end of the age and He's saying, it will all be proven true. All of it. All of it. Everything I've given you, it's an expression of My love for you, and everything I've given you, you can stake your eternity on it. It's going to be demonstrated to be true in the end. You wonder where the God of justice is? You wonder? Just wait, and you will see that everything I communicated to you through My servant Moses—it's all true. That would be another reason that you find this reference.
But I think the primary reason why you find this reference is because if you ask, how do you respond to this news? How? How do you respond to this news? You're telling us about the day, the great day of Yahweh. You're telling us about what it means for the arrogant evildoers. You're telling us what it means for those who fear Your name. Now, if you ask, how do we respond to this, the answer is what? To renew covenant faithfulness. That's the answer. To renew covenant faithfulness.
You have My laws. I gave them to you through My servant Moses at Horeb. So with this news in mind, believe Me, submit to Me, obey Me, follow Me. Love Me. Notice He says, "Remember the law of Moses My servant, even the statutes and judgments which I commanded him in Horeb for all Israel." He says, I want you to remember all these things. I commanded you to remember.
One commentator writes this concerning this verse, and I quote, "This command can refer to A, mental acts of remembering or paying attention to something, or to B, mental acts combined with appropriate external actions, in other words, recalling and obeying, or to C, acts of reciting or repeating something verbally." He goes on to say, "In light of Malachi's insistence on obedience, meaning B seems to be the force of this command. Recall it to mind and do it. In light of the future that's coming, believe the Lord, be loyal to the Lord, listen to the Lord, obey the commands of God."
And so the relationship with God involves the right relationship to His word. Preparing for the day means receiving His words, believing His words, and walking in His words.
Well, let's look at the fourth relationship, verses five and six—the day of the Lord and its relationship to the ministry of Elijah. "Behold", – verse five – "I'm going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and awesome day of Yahweh. And he will 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, devoting it to destruction."
I want to begin with what's in the middle of those two verses. Look at it—the idea of the hearts of the fathers being turned to their children, the hearts of the children being turned to their fathers. Isn't it interesting that out of all of the ways that Yahweh through Malachi could give voice to what repentance looks like, He describes it in those terms? The heart of fathers being turned to children, and the heart of children being turned to fathers.
The question is why? Why? Why? Well, think of the fifth commandment. It implied that the home was essentially where children are really taught. The home—begins with the home. There in the home, authority and submission, love and loyalty, obedience and trust could be learned as nowhere else. And with the word of God as guide in the home, all the ripple effects—society could be changed. We don't believe God if we don't believe Him at home. We don't really believe God if we don't believe Him in our marriages. We don't really believe God if we don't believe Him in the raising of our children. So where you find genuine faith, and genuine repentance, and genuine sorrow for sin, a genuine submission to God, where's it going to show up? Where's it going to show up? It's going to show up in what someone calls the schoolhouse of the community, which is the home. The home.
As one commentator put it, "The point is that fathers and sons would no longer live self-serving lives, but fathers will take their sons to heart, and sons will take to heart their fathers, considering the effects of their actions on one another in the course of their lives,".
So let me ask you, really, in light of this text, can you love the Lord and not love your kids? Can you love the Lord and not love your parents, kids? So where you see genuine repentance, the fruit of genuine repentance is as near to us as our nearest relationships. Don't imagine that serving God starts off way out there somewhere. It starts as near to you as your own heart, and you will know whether or not your heart is in a godly place by whether or not you care for others. And if you care for others, you're going to care for them in your own home first. This is where your ministry is first. Your first ministry is your home. Show me a society where sin is running rampant, and where selfishness reigns, and I'll show you a society where parents don't really care about their kids, and kids don't really care about their parents. And so the result of the prophet's ministry, the result that is aimed at, is a repentance that will inevitably show up at the most fundamental level—at home. And the Lord is saying that He's going to send Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day comes, verse five.
Here's what makes that statement interesting. The New Testament makes clear that in some sense, John the Baptist fulfilled that promise, and we saw that together, right, studying the Gospel of John. Jesus said so. But the question is, as we look at the results of John's ministry and we ask, was there this kind of repentance? And though there were indicators of some sort of outpouring of repentance through John's ministry—there were many, many people being baptized by John—but if you ask, was that lasting? Did it prove to be genuine?
Well, then we look at what the nation did with their Messiah, and we have to conclude that in large measure, there wasn't a genuine repentance at that time in the first coming. For if there had been, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory as they did. They would not have rejected their Messiah. And Christ seemed to imply that though John did fulfill in some sense this Elijah-like prophet—he was a type of Elijah—there is still another one who comes in the future as well.
Matthew 17, verse 11, listen to what He said there: "And He answered and said, 'Elijah is coming and will restore all things; but I say to you that Elijah already came, and they did not recognize him, but did to him whatever they wished.'" Notice, that means that John's ministry was in some large ways rejected because they didn't recognize him and they did to him whatever they wished. "So also the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hand." Verse 13: "Then the disciples understood that He had spoken to them about John the Baptist."
So Christ clearly identifies John with Elijah. He came with the spirit and power of Elijah—John the Baptist—Luke 1:17. But do you notice He says, "Elijah is coming and will restore all things"?
Then we read in Revelation 11, in the 14 verses of Revelation 11, that there will be two powerful witnesses during the tribulation period. And as those two witnesses are described, there is an Elijah and a Moses kind of ministry described there.
In Matthew 17, after Elijah appeared with Christ in His transfiguration, the disciples asked about Elijah's future coming. Jesus, speaking after John's death (Matthew 14:1-2), affirms that "Elijah is coming and will restore all things."
This future expectation indicates, then, that Malachi 4:5–6 was not fulfilled in the ministry of John the Baptist. Israel did not accept John the Baptist as the Elijah-like restorer of all things. So another Elijah-like forerunner is yet to come before the day of the Lord. However, Jesus went on to say, "Elijah has already come." They did not recognize Him, and the disciples understood that He was talking about John the Baptist.
So here's the explanation to all of this. Though John did not fulfill Malachi 4, verses five and six, for Elijah is yet to come—John was like Elijah, one who had the same type of ministry. But, beloved, what Malachi 4 declares is that when the Elijah comes before the great and awesome day of Yahweh, that great day of the Lord comes, "he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers."
And then the book ends with what has been described as a dread, dreaded alternative. End of verse six: "Lest" Lest—that ought to arrest the attention of the reader and the hearer—"lest I come and strike the land, devoting it to destruction."
Those who do not repent will be devoted to destruction. Did you read the language? Did you hear the language? "Devoted to destruction"? The entire land, all the earth, where there is not repentance—using the language of the Hebrew word ‘herem’—accurately translated, "devoted to destruction." Something abominable. The idea there of devoted for destruction, like something under the ban, like what would take place in a holy war. Wherever there hasn't been repentance, there will be that which is devoted to destruction.
The Lord will indeed come in judgment. And He will judge the wicked. And all the wicked who refuse to repent will be devoted to destruction. But those who know Him and fear His name—they'll be delivered from that awesome and final day of retribution.
Here's the bottom line: it's going to be distinguishing judgment. Some will be dealt with as sons, some will be dealt with as the sinners who have declared war on a holy God, and therefore God has declared war on them and devoted them to destruction.
And so I want to ask this evening in closing: where are you at in that divide? Where are you at in that divide? When you think of a day when justice will be done, when vengeance will be the Lord's, when the judgment that has been delayed will certainly arrive and will consume the Lord's adversaries—do you deny it? Do you not want to think about it? Do you doubt it? Do you dread it? Or do you know, as Romans 8:33 declares, for you, there is nothing to fear?
Nothing because perfect love, right, casts out fear. Perfect love casts out fear. You know—you know that you are loved by God in His Son, in His beloved Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, because you have bowed the knee to Jesus and you confessed Him as your Lord, as your Savior, and all of your sins have been already judged completely, entirely, fully in the body of God's Son on the tree, so that now your focus is on declaring the good news of salvation to as many sinners as you can on your way to glory, and praying that God will save many in these days. Where are you at in that divide? Young people sitting in the back, where are you at in that divide? All of us here.
If you don't know Christ, I exhort you, even tonight, as you hear this message proclaimed, I exhort you to repent. And where there's true repentance, there's fruit, there's fruit inevitably. Just as the effect of Elijah's ministry would be the turning of the hearts of fathers to their children and the children to their fathers, so if you truly repent, you—not only you, but we—will know it, because your life will be different. Your life will be different.
You will follow the Shepherd. You will love the Shepherd. You will believe the Shepherd. You will proclaim the Shepherd. Your life will be different, and it will be as near to you as your own life and your own home. If you don't know Christ, would you repent? Would you turn from your sins, and would you put your faith in the Son of God tonight?
And if you know Christ, would you wake up? Would we wake up, beloved, all of us? Would you wake up and realize what you're here for? And how long all of this lasts? Teach us to number our days, right? And what eternity is. Would you wake up? Would you live your life in the light of that great day? And would you rejoice in the thought that the day is coming when, like a calf skipping out of the stall, the Sun of Righteousness will rise on us, all His children, and the darkness will be put away by the Son of God Himself, and it will be a day of great celebration, a day of great vindication? Will you look forward to that day and live in the light of that day now? Aren't you grateful that we can? Aren't you grateful, beloved, that we can? Oh, that day, when freed from sinning, we will see His lovely face.
Let's pray.
And the Word of God reads, "For behold, the day is coming, burning like a furnace; and all the arrogant and every worker of wickedness will be chaff; and the day that is coming will set them aflame", says Yahweh of hosts, "so that it will leave them neither root nor branch. 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. And you will tread down the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day which I am preparing," says Yahweh of hosts.
"Remember the law of Moses, My servant, even the statutes and judgments which I commanded him in Horeb for all Israel. Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and awesome day of Yahweh. And he will 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, devoting it to destruction."
Really, if you were to look at the book of Malachi, the book of Malachi is really an affirmation of the faithfulness of God. God is faithful. An affirmation of the faithfulness of God. Now, at first reading, it may not sound like what is being emphasized here is the faithfulness of God because the book ends on the note of judgment, as was read in your hearing. But make no mistake about it. This is an affirmation of the faithfulness of God. "Great is Thy faithfulness," would be a fitting hymn to sing, to proclaim.
The faithfulness of God in His holiness. The faithfulness of God in His sovereignty. In the fact that He will rule what He has made. The faithfulness of God in terms of His power, His might, His knowledge, His wisdom. All of this being put on display through the promise of justice.
God is faithful to judge. He is the Judge of all judges. God is faithful in terms of justice.
You remember, this is one of the ways that the people have sinned against Yahweh. They had claimed that His justice was in doubt. In fact, their claim was even stronger than that. They implied that God's justice is a lie.
Malachi 2, verse 17: "You have wearied Yahweh with your words. But you say, 'How have we wearied Him?' In that you say, 'Everyone who does evil is good in the sight of Yahweh, and He delights in them,' or, 'Where is the God of justice?'"
Remember that, right? God, You claim to be God of justice, but we look at our world, we don't see Your justice. We don't see it. We look at how things are for us right now, we look at the surrounding nations, and we wonder, where is the God of justice? Some justice.
Well, now Malachi ends the book, this book of prophecy, with the promise that not only will Israel see the justice of God, the entire world will see the justice of God. It's a reminder that God's judgment may be delayed, but it's never in doubt. Never in doubt. Never. Never.
James Montgomery Boyce said this, and I quote: "Because God was unchanging in His holiness and justice, it follows that the inevitability of His judgment upon the wicked is unchanging also. The final chapter of Malachi virtually shouts for us to see this, for it begins, 'Surely the day is coming.' Verse 1." And he goes on to say, "The judgment of God may be postponed. For the most part, it has been postponed for the long years of human history—postponed but not forgotten. Delay is not elimination. Judgment will come."Judgment will come.
And Malachi has already declared that this judgment will be delivered. It will be delivered in the presence of the Messiah. He Himself personally will judge. He is the Judge. The day of the Lord, the final day, the great day, is the day when God Himself brings justice.
Go back to chapter 3 and you'll see it. Verse 1: "Behold, I am going to 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 Yahweh of hosts. But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He is like a smelter's fire and like fullers’ soap. And He will sit as a smelter and purifier of silver, and He will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, so that they may present to Yahweh offerings in righteousness. Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to Yahweh as in the ancient days and as in former years. Then I will draw near to you for judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers and against the adulterers and against those who swear falsely and against those who oppress the wage earner in his wages, the widow and the orphan, and those who turn aside the sojourner and do not fear Me, says Yahweh of hosts. For I, Yahweh, do not change; therefore you, O sons of Jacob, are not consumed."
Faithful. Faithful. Absolutely faithful in terms of the promises. You know those promises. The free grace promises that He's made concerning His people. And perfectly faithful when it comes to His promise to judge.
What we have here in chapter 4, the very end of the book, is really a restatement of those truths. It's a reaffirmation of what God has already promised.
Again and again, there's that reaffirmation here. And in fact, it would be the final word until the first coming of the Messiah would come to pass. The last word until the Elijah, who would introduce the messenger of the covenant, would come on the scene—John the Baptist.
So tonight we conclude the book of Malachi by looking at the day, the great day of Yahweh.
Verse 1: "For behold, the day is coming." Oh, the day is coming. It's coming. Delay is not a denial. It's coming. The day is coming. The great day of Yahweh is coming. Behold. And we're going to look at the day, and we're going to see this day in terms of four relationships that are associated with that day, four relationships spoken of in our text. And here's relationship number one. Again, this day in connection with these relationships.
Relationship number one: we see the day of Yahweh, the great day of Yahweh, and its relationship, first, to arrogant evildoers. The day and its relationship to arrogant evildoers. Verse 1: "For behold, the day is coming," – now watch the language – "burning like a furnace; and all the arrogant and every worker of wickedness will be chaff; and the day that is coming will set them aflame, says Yahweh of hosts, so that it will leave them neither root nor branch."
So here's the question: What will the day of the Lord mean for the arrogant evildoer? What will it mean to them? The arrogant—that is, those who arrogantly defy the living God, disregard His Word, reject His offers of mercy, ultimately then rejecting His Son. What will the day hold for all those people? All the evildoers—evildoers by nature, evildoers by choice.
Well, the text declares several things that this day will mean for them. Look at it together. First of all, it's going to be, number one, a day of certain judgment. It will be a day of certain judgment for the arrogant evildoer. The verse begins with the word, "Behold." "For behold, the day is coming." Behold—in other words, take note, take note of this. Look at this. Don't miss it. Don't bypass it. The day is coming. In fact, the day is on its way.
And then He goes on to describe what that day is going to mean for those who are being mentioned. The day is coming. God's judgment is certain. And that's something that God should be worshiped for. That's something that, if men would ever admit it, it's something that humanity really longs for in some sense. Men, of course, are twisted when it comes to the idea of justice. But mankind, in general terms, cries out for justice. Mankind realizes that wrong should be punished.
Now, man gets the right wrong and the wrong right because of the fall, because of depravity. But instinctively, he knows there must be some kind of justice in the universe. And yet, when it comes to the justice spoken of concerning the God of the Bible, man does not, in general, rejoice in it because he has a guilty conscience. Because he has a guilty conscience. He knows himself to be a sinner. He knows himself to be accountable to the God of justice.
So, he either expresses doubt that this day will actually occur, or he dreads it. Or he dreads it. He may not doubt it, but he doesn't want to think about it. He may not doubt it, but he doesn't want to speak of it. He wants to just live his life acting as if it will never come. It will never arrive because he fears it through the knowledge of his sin.
And we'll see it in just a moment, but the good news for you and for me, His sheep, is that where we stand on the grace of God—if we stand on the grace of God in Christ Jesus—there is no fear of holy justice. There is no fear of holy justice. Because God, as Holy Judge, has already judged all of our sins in the body of His Son on the tree. All of them. All of them. Every single one of them. Jesus paid it all. All. All of it.
And when the Judge has justified you, when the Judge has declared you right with Himself in His Son, there is absolutely nothing left to condemn you. Therefore, now, there is no condemnation to those who are in Christ. There's nothing and no one left to condemn you. There's nothing left to condemn you.
Romans 8 declares this wonderful truth in verse 33: "Who will bring a charge against God's elect?" Who? Who? Stand up. Stand up. Who is it? If you're there, you know, you want to bring a charge, bring a charge. Well, stand. Well, who? There's no one. No one.
And I love the way that Paul reasons here. He says, "God is the one who justifies." God is the one who justifies. It is God who justifies. Did you grasp that? I mean, this is incredible. It's the One who's going to judge that has declared you right with Himself. So, if the Judge declares you right with Himself, then who is left to condemn you? Who? The verdict is already in.
He goes on to write in verse 34, Romans 8: "Who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died." The Judge of all the earth is the One who laid down His life for you, he's saying. "Yes, rather, who was raised," which is to say that His offering on behalf of wretched sinners was what? Sufficient. It was sufficient. It was accepted. It was successful. There's nothing left to condemn you.
Paul continues, "Who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us." I mean, in every way, Paul was stacking up these explanations to say that if you know the Lord Jesus Christ, we know Him as Lord and Savior, you have no reason whatsoever to fear holy justice because it has been fully satisfied by God Himself, in your case, in the body of His Son on the tree. Period. Paragraph. Amazing, isn't it?
But if you don't stand in the grace of God, if you don't stand in the grace of God, you have every reason to fear that day, to be trembling, to be gripped with trepidation, to be overcome with fear and panic. Because men and women will then be judged, and everything that you've ever done in life has been recorded, and one day you will answer for every single one of those deeds and words and motivations. In fact, the Bible says here that that day for the wicked, for the arrogant, is going to be a day like the language of Malachi—like a furnace, like an oven, like a furnace. Malachi 4 verse 1: "For behold, the day is coming, burning like a furnace." But beloved, it's not just a day of certain judgment. I want us to see also that it's going to be a day of consuming judgment.
Consuming judgment. Look at the text: "Burning like a furnace; and all the arrogant and every worker of wickedness will be" – here it is – "chaff." Chaff. They themselves are spoken of here as being burned up. What that day will mean for them is absolute devastation. Everything they think that they've achieved, everything they think commends them—that is, they glory in it, they take pride in it—everything they place their confidence in, the strong towers as it were they built in their minds, everything that they currently enjoy and find satisfaction and pleasure in.
You know, I don't have time to think about God or His church or His Word, I'm just too busy enjoying my life and, you know, building my career and building my fortune and pursuing pleasures. So everything that they've enjoyed, everything that they worship in the place of the Creator that they dishonor, everything they think of as a legacy, as a future, as the reason for existence—it will all be consumed by the justice of God. All of it. All of it. All of it. All of it.
The verse describes them as completely consumed. There will be nothing, nothing left. And the day that is coming—verse 1—"will set them aflame, says Yahweh of hosts, so that it will leave them neither root nor branch." What is under the earth, what is visible to the eye, will be consumed. It'll all be gone. It's all burned up. It's like they've been thrown into a fiery furnace.
And obviously, it's not teaching annihilationism. The Bible goes on to make clear that there is eternal torment, that the lost will know in the wrath of God—this eternal torment forever and ever and ever—and not even a drop of relief. But what it is to say is that everything that they thought they've gained in this world will be completely incinerated. It is a certain judgment. It is a consuming judgment.
And thirdly, I want us to see it's also a complete judgment—a complete judgment—because what is stressed in this verse, in the verse, is that it's every single one of them.
Do you see it? Look at verse 1 again: "For behold, the day is coming, burning like a furnace; – and here it is – "and all" – all, it's complete, every single one – "all the arrogant and every worker of wickedness will be chaff." No one excepted. No one, no one, no one left out. No one left out. No one left out. No one, no one, no one. All of the insolence, the presumptuous, all of those who do wickedness— not one unforgiven sinner will emerge from that day without everything that they put their trust in being consumed. No one is off the hook. Not one in the whole world will escape this judgment. This is what the day means for the arrogant. This is what the day means for the evildoer.
But now we see a second relationship as we think about that day. In verses 2 and 3, we see the day now in its relationship to those who—it's a different category—who fear God, the God-fearers. And you can see the contrast. You can see the difference, the stark contrast. What will that day mean for those who fear Yahweh? What will that day mean for those who fear God's name?
Verse 2: "But"—and this is a but of distinction—"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. And you will tread down the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day which I am preparing, says Yahweh of hosts."
For those who fear the name of God, you see this day represents what? Vindication. It represents vindication. God will vindicate His own name. But at the same time that He vindicates His name, He will also vindicate those who have feared His name. You do realize this: that if we fear the name of God, this means we reverence the living God in this world, and we share His reputation in this world, right? So those who hate the name of God, hate you. That's what Jesus said, right? Those who revile the name of God, revile you.
And on this day, God will remember all of those who have feared His name – every single one of them – all of those who have gladly counted it a privilege and an honor and a joy and a delight to be associated with His name—so that that day will be a vindication, not just of His name, but also of His people who are associated with His name, who are called by His name.
The judgment of God is not only certain, it is distinguishing. The judgment of God hits its target, and what is distinguished in the day is the wicked from the righteous. And what distinguishes the wicked from the righteous is, as we saw this morning, the grace of God. The grace of God. It is God's grace that has produced the difference. It is salvation that has produced the difference.
There are people who are arrogant and evildoers, and there are people who are characterized by reverencing the name of God, fearing God's name, and salvation has produced the reverence, and grace has produced salvation.
In the third chapter, as I said, this is really a repetition of what is taught earlier in the prophecy. Malachi 3:18, it says this, "So you will return and see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve Him." That day will make a distinction. And so God gives a promise to His people that the day, that day for them will mean something quite different than for the arrogant, for the evildoer. And what will that day mean for the people of God? What will the day of judgment mean for the people of God? God-fearers? Well, first of all, it will be the dawn of righteousness for the God-fearer. It will be the dawn of righteousness.
Look at verse 2. He says, "But for you who fear My name, the sun of righteousness will rise." I mean like the sun rising in the morning, the darkness of the wicked world will dissipate. It will be put away, and the sun of righteousness will arise in the person of Jesus Christ our Lord. The darkness will be put away by Him, and the light of God will shine upon the people of God. The breaking of the day, the breaking of sunlight, the breaking in of righteousness will take place.
Whereas this world has been under a curse, the curse will be gone, and righteousness will dwell in the earth, and the dawn of righteousness will appear.
But it will also be a day at the same time of restoration. Restoration. Look at verse 2. "The sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings." Healing. Loss will be replaced by gain. Sickness will be replaced by health. Tears will be replaced with laughter. The scorn that has been heaped up upon the people of God by the wicked will be replaced with praise and reward from our good and gracious God.
And it's also going to be a day as a result of great celebration. It's going to be a day of great celebration. Look at the text. "And you will go forth and skip about like calves from the stall." What an image that is. What a lovely image. Like a calf skips out of its stall, exhibiting its joy and its freedom and its liberation, so the people of God will skip about with joy. Delight. I rejoice to tell you tonight, you've never known a joy like the joy of that day. And it will be a special day.
One thing that's amazing about children is their sense of wonder. Have you ever thought about that? Everything is new. Everything is wonderful. Everything is amazing. And they have this awe, this wonder. When is the last time you were amazed at anything? Watch little kids amazed at every new thing, every new experience, every new opportunity, and then notice how wonder leaves our lives the longer we live in this sin-infected world. But on that day, on that day, you will meet with wonder again, and the wonder will never ever go away. Never. It's going to be everlasting.
It's going to be a day of celebration, a day of vindication as well, as we see. A day of vindication. Because He says in verse 3, "And you will tread down the wicked, for there will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day which I am preparing, says Yahweh of hosts." He first presents the image of them being burned up, like being put in a furnace—the wicked, that is—and then He pictures the righteous walking over their ashes. Those who have so often been walked on by the wicked will walk into eternity over the ashes of those who have been consumed by the judgment of God. That's the imagery. Triumph. Vindication.
This is why, beloved, Christians in this age are not to be characterized by seeking vengeance. That's why. That's why all the outcry you hear in our world right now, even by professing Christians, that it sounds like what we're after is some sort of vindication, some sort of getting even, some sort of earthly temporal justice in response to ways that people have been mistreated and all the rest—and of course there's a place for temporal justice. That falls in the realm of civil concern. But in terms of the concern of God's people, we have a gospel concern, beloved. Don't ever, ever lose sight of that. We have a gospel concern. It is the salvation of the souls of men and women. That's where our focus is, and we leave our mistreatment in the hands of the One who judges justly. We love our enemies. We pray for those who spitefully use us. We demonstrate the love of Christ by not responding in like manner, not reviling those who revile, not giving what they gave us, but rather loving them with the love of Jesus. This is our calling in this age—a gospel concern—because we can leave it to God to make the wrongs right, and He will one day. That's what He's picturing in these verses. One day the wrongs will be made right. They will be.
So this day of vindication will also be a day of deliverance. Deliverance. Look at verse 3, "And you will tread down the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet." That's vindication. But who vindicates? Notice: "On the day which I am preparing." Do you see who vindicates? Says Yahweh of Hosts. This will come to us from the hand of who? God. Our God. This represents the action of God. God will do this, beloved. Again, let me say this. Vengeance belongs to Him. Not to you, not to me. To Him. I referenced this earlier, but 1 Peter chapter 2 verse 23 says this, speaking of Jesus: "Who being reviled, was not reviling in return; while suffering, He was uttering no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously." That's our calling during this age. Peter says in verse 21, "For to this you have been called." That's our calling. But God announces and encourages us and comforts us with the knowledge that the day will come when He will execute justice. It's coming.
So we see the day in its relationship to the arrogant and evildoer—a day of certain judgment, a day of consuming judgment. And then we look at this day in relationship to those who fear the name of Yahweh, and it's going to be a great day of deliverance, and vindication, and celebration, and restoration.
Well, let's look at the third relationship. Third relationship. Look at verse 4: "Remember the law of Moses My servant, even the statutes and judgments which I commanded him in Horeb for all Israel." The day of the Lord in its relationship to the law of Moses.
Now, the reference—this reference to the law of Moses—well, what is its purpose? What is its purpose in this context? And I want to submit to us, there are a couple of lesser things that we can point to, and then I want to mention what I think to be the primary reason we find it here. So let's begin from the lesser to the primary.
First of all, we can say this: this reference to the law of Moses reminds us that the day of the Lord has a special meaning to the people of God. Special meaning to the people of God. Think about it. Who gave revelation to Israel? Who gave them His law? Well, Yahweh did. The I Am, Yahweh. Who is now giving them information, revelation about the day that's coming? Well, God is giving them information, revelation about the day that's coming. God Himself. Once again, they're being reminded by the very fact of revelation, by the very fact of communication from Yahweh, from God. They're being reminded of His gracious relationship that God has established with His people. And the same God who's telling them about the future is the God who gave them the law, who is in this covenant relationship with them, communicated through Moses.
In other words, Israel has been loved by God, and through this message, they're being loved by God as well. Remember how this book began, right? Chapter 1: "I have loved you, says Yahweh" – right? – I've loved you. And in their sin, what did they say? Well, "how have You loved us?" Really? "How have You loved us?" Out of all the people on the face of the planet, God was giving this revelation to them. And I think about how God has communicated to us in the New Testament. Out of all the people on the face of the earth, of all the noble, all of the powerful, all of the wise, all the movers and shakers in society, as we saw this morning in the first century, to whom did God give His word? But local churches who will receive those letters—common, everyday people. Amazing grace, isn't it? So this day has special meaning to the people of God as the people of God.
But secondly, the fact of the reference—the law of God—also confirms the truthfulness of what they received in that law of Moses. It confirms the truthfulness of what they received in that law. That law contained and included promises of blessing and cursing. Faithfulness to Yahweh means blessing. Unfaithfulness to Him means what? Curses. And if anybody's in doubt about whether that's true or not, He's pointing them to the very end of the age and He's saying, it will all be proven true. All of it. All of it. Everything I've given you, it's an expression of My love for you, and everything I've given you, you can stake your eternity on it. It's going to be demonstrated to be true in the end. You wonder where the God of justice is? You wonder? Just wait, and you will see that everything I communicated to you through My servant Moses—it's all true. That would be another reason that you find this reference.
But I think the primary reason why you find this reference is because if you ask, how do you respond to this news? How? How do you respond to this news? You're telling us about the day, the great day of Yahweh. You're telling us about what it means for the arrogant evildoers. You're telling us what it means for those who fear Your name. Now, if you ask, how do we respond to this, the answer is what? To renew covenant faithfulness. That's the answer. To renew covenant faithfulness.
You have My laws. I gave them to you through My servant Moses at Horeb. So with this news in mind, believe Me, submit to Me, obey Me, follow Me. Love Me. Notice He says, "Remember the law of Moses My servant, even the statutes and judgments which I commanded him in Horeb for all Israel." He says, I want you to remember all these things. I commanded you to remember.
One commentator writes this concerning this verse, and I quote, "This command can refer to A, mental acts of remembering or paying attention to something, or to B, mental acts combined with appropriate external actions, in other words, recalling and obeying, or to C, acts of reciting or repeating something verbally." He goes on to say, "In light of Malachi's insistence on obedience, meaning B seems to be the force of this command. Recall it to mind and do it. In light of the future that's coming, believe the Lord, be loyal to the Lord, listen to the Lord, obey the commands of God."
And so the relationship with God involves the right relationship to His word. Preparing for the day means receiving His words, believing His words, and walking in His words.
Well, let's look at the fourth relationship, verses five and six—the day of the Lord and its relationship to the ministry of Elijah. "Behold", – verse five – "I'm going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and awesome day of Yahweh. And he will 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, devoting it to destruction."
I want to begin with what's in the middle of those two verses. Look at it—the idea of the hearts of the fathers being turned to their children, the hearts of the children being turned to their fathers. Isn't it interesting that out of all of the ways that Yahweh through Malachi could give voice to what repentance looks like, He describes it in those terms? The heart of fathers being turned to children, and the heart of children being turned to fathers.
The question is why? Why? Why? Well, think of the fifth commandment. It implied that the home was essentially where children are really taught. The home—begins with the home. There in the home, authority and submission, love and loyalty, obedience and trust could be learned as nowhere else. And with the word of God as guide in the home, all the ripple effects—society could be changed. We don't believe God if we don't believe Him at home. We don't really believe God if we don't believe Him in our marriages. We don't really believe God if we don't believe Him in the raising of our children. So where you find genuine faith, and genuine repentance, and genuine sorrow for sin, a genuine submission to God, where's it going to show up? Where's it going to show up? It's going to show up in what someone calls the schoolhouse of the community, which is the home. The home.
As one commentator put it, "The point is that fathers and sons would no longer live self-serving lives, but fathers will take their sons to heart, and sons will take to heart their fathers, considering the effects of their actions on one another in the course of their lives,".
So let me ask you, really, in light of this text, can you love the Lord and not love your kids? Can you love the Lord and not love your parents, kids? So where you see genuine repentance, the fruit of genuine repentance is as near to us as our nearest relationships. Don't imagine that serving God starts off way out there somewhere. It starts as near to you as your own heart, and you will know whether or not your heart is in a godly place by whether or not you care for others. And if you care for others, you're going to care for them in your own home first. This is where your ministry is first. Your first ministry is your home. Show me a society where sin is running rampant, and where selfishness reigns, and I'll show you a society where parents don't really care about their kids, and kids don't really care about their parents. And so the result of the prophet's ministry, the result that is aimed at, is a repentance that will inevitably show up at the most fundamental level—at home. And the Lord is saying that He's going to send Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day comes, verse five.
Here's what makes that statement interesting. The New Testament makes clear that in some sense, John the Baptist fulfilled that promise, and we saw that together, right, studying the Gospel of John. Jesus said so. But the question is, as we look at the results of John's ministry and we ask, was there this kind of repentance? And though there were indicators of some sort of outpouring of repentance through John's ministry—there were many, many people being baptized by John—but if you ask, was that lasting? Did it prove to be genuine?
Well, then we look at what the nation did with their Messiah, and we have to conclude that in large measure, there wasn't a genuine repentance at that time in the first coming. For if there had been, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory as they did. They would not have rejected their Messiah. And Christ seemed to imply that though John did fulfill in some sense this Elijah-like prophet—he was a type of Elijah—there is still another one who comes in the future as well.
Matthew 17, verse 11, listen to what He said there: "And He answered and said, 'Elijah is coming and will restore all things; but I say to you that Elijah already came, and they did not recognize him, but did to him whatever they wished.'" Notice, that means that John's ministry was in some large ways rejected because they didn't recognize him and they did to him whatever they wished. "So also the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hand." Verse 13: "Then the disciples understood that He had spoken to them about John the Baptist."
So Christ clearly identifies John with Elijah. He came with the spirit and power of Elijah—John the Baptist—Luke 1:17. But do you notice He says, "Elijah is coming and will restore all things"?
Then we read in Revelation 11, in the 14 verses of Revelation 11, that there will be two powerful witnesses during the tribulation period. And as those two witnesses are described, there is an Elijah and a Moses kind of ministry described there.
In Matthew 17, after Elijah appeared with Christ in His transfiguration, the disciples asked about Elijah's future coming. Jesus, speaking after John's death (Matthew 14:1-2), affirms that "Elijah is coming and will restore all things."
This future expectation indicates, then, that Malachi 4:5–6 was not fulfilled in the ministry of John the Baptist. Israel did not accept John the Baptist as the Elijah-like restorer of all things. So another Elijah-like forerunner is yet to come before the day of the Lord. However, Jesus went on to say, "Elijah has already come." They did not recognize Him, and the disciples understood that He was talking about John the Baptist.
So here's the explanation to all of this. Though John did not fulfill Malachi 4, verses five and six, for Elijah is yet to come—John was like Elijah, one who had the same type of ministry. But, beloved, what Malachi 4 declares is that when the Elijah comes before the great and awesome day of Yahweh, that great day of the Lord comes, "he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers."
And then the book ends with what has been described as a dread, dreaded alternative. End of verse six: "Lest" Lest—that ought to arrest the attention of the reader and the hearer—"lest I come and strike the land, devoting it to destruction."
Those who do not repent will be devoted to destruction. Did you read the language? Did you hear the language? "Devoted to destruction"? The entire land, all the earth, where there is not repentance—using the language of the Hebrew word ‘herem’—accurately translated, "devoted to destruction." Something abominable. The idea there of devoted for destruction, like something under the ban, like what would take place in a holy war. Wherever there hasn't been repentance, there will be that which is devoted to destruction.
The Lord will indeed come in judgment. And He will judge the wicked. And all the wicked who refuse to repent will be devoted to destruction. But those who know Him and fear His name—they'll be delivered from that awesome and final day of retribution.
Here's the bottom line: it's going to be distinguishing judgment. Some will be dealt with as sons, some will be dealt with as the sinners who have declared war on a holy God, and therefore God has declared war on them and devoted them to destruction.
And so I want to ask this evening in closing: where are you at in that divide? Where are you at in that divide? When you think of a day when justice will be done, when vengeance will be the Lord's, when the judgment that has been delayed will certainly arrive and will consume the Lord's adversaries—do you deny it? Do you not want to think about it? Do you doubt it? Do you dread it? Or do you know, as Romans 8:33 declares, for you, there is nothing to fear?
Nothing because perfect love, right, casts out fear. Perfect love casts out fear. You know—you know that you are loved by God in His Son, in His beloved Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, because you have bowed the knee to Jesus and you confessed Him as your Lord, as your Savior, and all of your sins have been already judged completely, entirely, fully in the body of God's Son on the tree, so that now your focus is on declaring the good news of salvation to as many sinners as you can on your way to glory, and praying that God will save many in these days. Where are you at in that divide? Young people sitting in the back, where are you at in that divide? All of us here.
If you don't know Christ, I exhort you, even tonight, as you hear this message proclaimed, I exhort you to repent. And where there's true repentance, there's fruit, there's fruit inevitably. Just as the effect of Elijah's ministry would be the turning of the hearts of fathers to their children and the children to their fathers, so if you truly repent, you—not only you, but we—will know it, because your life will be different. Your life will be different.
You will follow the Shepherd. You will love the Shepherd. You will believe the Shepherd. You will proclaim the Shepherd. Your life will be different, and it will be as near to you as your own life and your own home. If you don't know Christ, would you repent? Would you turn from your sins, and would you put your faith in the Son of God tonight?
And if you know Christ, would you wake up? Would we wake up, beloved, all of us? Would you wake up and realize what you're here for? And how long all of this lasts? Teach us to number our days, right? And what eternity is. Would you wake up? Would you live your life in the light of that great day? And would you rejoice in the thought that the day is coming when, like a calf skipping out of the stall, the Sun of Righteousness will rise on us, all His children, and the darkness will be put away by the Son of God Himself, and it will be a day of great celebration, a day of great vindication? Will you look forward to that day and live in the light of that day now? Aren't you grateful that we can? Aren't you grateful, beloved, that we can? Oh, that day, when freed from sinning, we will see His lovely face.
Let's pray.
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