Set to dark modeSet to dark modeMalachi 3 Commentary
Please choose a passage
Malachi tells the post-exilic Judeans that they weary the LORD by saying they are seeking justice while doing evil. God says He will send His messenger, the Messiah (Anointed One), to be like a refiner’s fire and purify His people. He will cleanse the priests as well as the nation. In the meanwhile, He exhorts them to repent and return to Him.
The LORD reminds the Jews of their history of rebellion and urges them to repent and return to Him so that they may experience His blessings, as promised in their covenant/treaty into which they entered with Him.
The LORD now chastises Judah for neglecting to bring the entire tithe offering that He prescribed—which was to be given voluntarily. He exhorts them to bring the entire tithe in offerings to Him and watch how He will bestow blessings upon them.
The LORD rebukes His people for speaking arrogantly against Him because they say the evil are prospering and God is blessing them rather than the righteous. The inference is an accusation that God is not keeping His covenant promise to bless Israel if they follow His ways. As we have seen in prior sections, the fundamental problem is that the people have a wrong perspective about themselves—they have in fact not been obeying God’s covenant commands.
Some people decide to honor and follow the LORD. God pronounces “they will be mine” and become His treasured possessions. They will benefit from His compassion and, on return, to again distinguish between the godly and the ungodly.
In Malachi 3, the LORD promises that He will, as requested, bring justice to Judah; but that will include cleansing the Judeans of unrighteousness. God will send His Messiah to come to them as a refining fire. This is apparently a surprise to the people, because they think they are doing great; in fact, their general view is that God is letting them down for not rewarding them appropriately.
God continues to offer them the opposite perspective, noting that in addition to the priests offering blemished worship (Chapter 1) and bringing pagan sexual practices into His sanctuary and divorcing their wives (Chapter 2), the people are robbing Him by withholding their tithes. They are also speaking arrogantly against Him, saying that He is letting them down.
A brief summary of the sections of Malachi 3 follows:
- Malachi tells the post-exilic Judeans that they weary the LORD by saying they are seeking justice while doing evil. The LORD says He will send His messenger, the Messiah, to be like a refiner’s fire and purify His people. He will cleanse the priests as well as the nation. In the meanwhile, He exhorts them to repent and return to Him (vv. 1–6).
- The LORD reminds the post-exilic Jews of their history of rebellion and urges them to repent so they may experience His blessings (v. 7).
- The LORD chastises Judah for neglecting to bring the entire tithe offering that He prescribed—which was to be given voluntarily. He exhorts them to bring the entire tithe in offerings to Him and watch how He will bestow blessings upon them (vv. 8–12).
- The LORD rebukes His people for speaking arrogantly against Him because they say the evil are prospering and God is blessing them rather than the righteous. The inference is an accusation that God is not upholding His covenant promise to bless Israel for keeping His ways. As we have seen in prior sections, the fundamental problem is that the people have a wrong perspective about themselves—they have in fact not been obeying God’s covenant commands. (vv. 13–15).
- Some people decide to honor and follow the LORD. God pronounces “they will be mine” and become His treasured possessions. They will benefit from His compassion and will be able to discern between the godly and the ungodly (vv. 16-18).
© 2025 The Bible Says, All Rights Reserved.
Set to dark mode