Malachi 3:1-6 meaning

Malachi 3:1-6 now asserts that God will send His Messiah, His messenger, to bring righteousness to the earth. The last chapter ended with a question the people were asking, “Where is the God of justice?” God will answer that the God of justice will soon come to bring justice to the earth, and He will remove the impurities and filth of injustice; He will be like a refiner’s fire and a launderer’s soap.

Malachi 3 opens with Behold to draw special attention to what is about to be said. Then, He stated, I am going to send My messenger, and he will clear the way before Me (v. 1). The term for messenger is “malʾāḵ” in Hebrew. The expression My messenger (Hebrew “malʾāḵî”) is a wordplay and could be speaking about a prophet named Malachi. As a title it can denote either an angel or a human functioning as an envoy of God, so could be an alias for a prophet.

The reference to My messenger would appear to fit the interpretation that this is a prophecy about the coming of John the Baptist in the spirit of Elijah. John would clear the path for the Messiah by bringing a baptism of repentance (Isaiah 40:3, Luke 3:3-4). This seems to be affirmed in Malachi’s last words of his book,

“Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the LORD.”
(Malachi 4:5)

In the ancient Near East, people often sent a representative ahead of a visiting monarch to inform local inhabitants of his arrival so they could remove all obstacles from the path on which he would travel (Isaiah 40:3). In Malachi, the LORD would send His messenger to pave the way for Him.

The I and Me refer to God Himself. The messenger will prepare the way and it will be God who will come. This predicts that the Messiah will be God. This is also predicted in other places, such as Zechariah 12:10, where the Lord says Israel will look upon Him whom they have pierced. This ties to Jesus having His side pierced while on the cross (John 19:34).

The prophet Malachi continues saying “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 (v. 1). 

Again, the word messenger is “malak” in Hebrew, a word play on Malachi. We might think of it as Malachi telling the people that the malachi (messenger) is going to prepare the way for the malachi (messenger) of the covenant who is the Messiah. We can tell that the second messenger is the Messiah because this “malak” is the Lord, whom you seek and is modified by in whom you delight. 

This messenger of the covenant is going to come to Israel and bring justice. This is the answer to the question in the previous verse, Malachi 2:17. The people sought the LORD to bring justice (the Lord, whom you seek). God promises He Himself will come. This then prophesies both the coming of John to prepare the way and of Jesus who is God in human flesh come to bring righteousness to the earth.

The Hebrew term for Lord is “ʾādôn.” It can refer to a human being or God. It means “master” and conveys the idea of authority. The Bible often uses it to speak of a human master (Genesis 18:12; 24:12; 31:35). In Malachi, the prophet used it to refer to the LORD (“Yahweh” in Hebrew) as Israel’s supreme ruler. In a parallel line, Malachi described God as the messenger of the covenant, meaning the one who enforces the covenant by blessing the righteous and judging the evildoers, per the terms of the covenant (Deuteronomy 28).

This prediction that God was sending the messenger of the covenant was fulfilled in part by Jesus, the Messiah, which the Jews were seeking. Jesus has already brought righteousness by living a perfect life and dying for the sins of the world (John 3:16). Jesus also brought righteousness to Israel through His physical presence on earth (John 1:14). He will come again and complete the fulfillment of Malachi 3:1-2 when He returns to cleanse the earth and set up His kingdom (Revelation 19:11).

Malachi told the people that God was the messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight. The question asked by the people in the last verse of Chapter 2 (Malachi 2:17) indicates that the Judeans desired a divine visitation. They longed for the day when the LORD would intervene directly in human affairs to punish the wicked and reward the righteous (Amos 5:18). However, it seems they wanted God to intervene on their behalf on their terms, without them keeping their part of the terms of their covenant agreement (Malachi 2:8, 17).

Since they rationalized to themselves that they were pious, they said they eagerly awaited the Messiah’s arrival. The prophet assured them that, indeed, Behold, He is coming. As Malachi reported the divine message, he added the phrase, says the LORD of hosts, to confirm the nature of his message and add credibility to it. However, when the Messiah comes, He is not going to do as they expect. When He comes, He is going to refine them with fire.

The term hosts (Hebrew, “Sabaoth”) means “army” and denotes the angelic armies of heaven (1 Samuel 1:3). In prophetic literature, the phrase LORD of hosts often describes God’s power as a warrior leading His army to defeat His foes (Amos 5:16, 9:5, Habakkuk 2:17). Here in Malachi, it demonstrates God’s power as the supreme warrior who has complete control over all human affairs. As the creator and sustainer of the world, God has the right to reign over the earth, including bringing about justice. That justice will involve refining His people and cleansing them of unrighteousness (Malachi 3:2).

We can note in Malachi 3:1 that the LORD will answer the people’s request (“Where is the God of justice?”) from the previous verse (Malachi 2:17) and be the sender of His messenger of the covenant who is the Lord, whom you seek. The LORD promises that He will respond to their petition by sending His anointed One, the Messiah, the messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight. When Jesus came to earth the first time, He inaugurated a new covenant in His blood (Luke 22:20).

Then using two rhetorical questions, the prophet told the people the coming of the LORD was going to affect them as well, contrary to what they thought. First, he declared, But who can endure the day of His coming? (v. 2).

The implied answer to this rhetorical question is “No one can endure the day of His coming.” In a parallel line, he asked, Who can stand when He appears? (v. 2). Again, the implied answer is “No one can stand.”

There will be a time when God’s messenger comes to earth and appears, meaning He will be seen by the people. The expected answer again is “Nobody will be able to stand when He appears.” This shows a clash in perspective between God and the people. The people asked “Where is the God of justice?” in the last verse of Chapter 2, seeking the LORD to bring justice to the people and nation of Judah.

But what the people did not expect is that when the LORD appears, His advent of justice is going to apply to them as well. It would seem that their perspective in saying, “Where is the God of justice?” in Malachi 2:17 infers that they believe they are righteous and need God to come clean up the unrighteousness around them. But God disavows them of this notion and makes it clear that when God sends His messenger to bring justice to the earth it will affect them as well, for they too are unrighteous. Indeed, the Apostle Paul quoted Psalm 14:3 to assert this very point, that all have sinned, including himself (Romans 3:9-10).

The prophet Malachi used two comparisons to explain why God’s justice will apply to them as well: For He is like a refiner’s fire, and like fuller’s soap (v 2).

This word picture depicts a metalworker refining ore. He is carefully melting and heating his metal in a furnace to purify it. The metal is precious. The goal is not to destroy but to purify and make it even better, more valuable. A fuller is one who cleans laundry. God’s messenger will be like the soap, cleansing impurities. Again, the goal is not to destroy or ruin the clothing, but to cleanse it so that it is more useful to the owner who will wear it.

Judgement is portrayed as fire throughout scripture (Isaiah 66:16, Hebrews 10:27). When God sends judgment fire on His enemies the fire of His judgment is consuming (2 Kings 1:10). We might consider that those who are not God’s people are like the impurities that are burned away by the refiner’s fire. What remains is the precious metal.

When God sends judgment fire on His people the purpose is to refine them and cleanse them of impurities. However, they will still feel the fire (in this case. the challenge of the test). And they will not endure without being substantially changed. God’s refining work will have its impact. The New Testament presents the event of each believer standing before the judgment seat of Christ as being a time of refining:

“Now if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each man’s work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man’s work. If any man’s work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward. If any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.”
(1 Corinthians 3:12-15)

The “day” spoken of in this passage from 1 Corinthians is the day when the deeds of each believer are judged. What is depicted here is that deeds not done for the LORD and His kingdom are like “wood, hay, straw” burned in the fire. Nothing remains, all is loss. This is like a refining process. The person themself is “saved, yet so as through fire.” The image is that each one of us is like a lump of ore that needs to be refined and purified in order to become all God made us to be.

If those who are believers in Jesus allow God to refine us in this life through the daily setting aside of self and serving in obedience, we become like “gold, silver, precious stones” in this life. If we do this we receive a great “reward” when our good deeds are revealed by the refining judgment fire of Jesus. That reward can include serving with Jesus in His administration in the new earth (Revelation 3:21).

God is also like fullers’ soap that removes impurities and unclean elements from clothing (Jeremiah 2:22). Prior to the industrial age, clothing was cleansed through pressing and rubbing the cloth in water with detergent. This would not be comfortable or convenient for the clothing but would result in it being cleansed of impurities. In the same way, God’s cleansing process is not going to make the Judeans comfortable. They will not endure and remain soiled and filthy. They are going to have a “bath,” whether they like it or not, and be cleansed.

Isaiah the prophet states that there are some who can “live with continual burning,” that is, the “consuming fire” of God. This is one who “walks righteously and speaks with sincerity” (Isaiah 33:14-15). This would be because that righteous person has been cleansed and is walking in purity. This might remind us of the image of the faithful Hebrews walking unharmed in the fiery furnace with the Angel of the Lord (Daniel 3:22-26).

In the future, just as a refiner removes the impurities of his metal through a furnace or as fullers use soap to remove impurities from their clothes, so God would cleanse His covenant people (Isaiah 1:25; Ezekiel 22:17−22). The New Testament predicts this as well, as Paul says, “all Israel will be saved” (Romans 11:26).

Indeed, 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 (v. 3).

The sons of Levi refer to the descendants of Levi. Since the time of Moses, the LORD chose the line of Levi to serve Him as priests to teach the Israelites the divine stipulations and make intercessory prayers and sacrifices on their behalf (Deuteronomy 33:9-10). In Malachi’s day, the priests failed to honor God in their duties. As stated in the first two chapters, the priests were neglecting their duty to teach the people in righteousness. They failed to train the Jewish people to follow His covenant/treaty. One of the main purposes of God’s covenant was to guide the Israelites to build a culture of loving one another rather than exploiting their neighbors (Malachi 2:8-9). But the priests of Malachi’s day had led the people to live in unrighteousness.

Since the priests had not done their job, God will send His messenger, the Messiah, to do the cleansing. And He will sit as a smelter and purifier of silver. This might picture Jesus, God’s anointed Messiah, sitting and teaching His disciples. The Sermon on the Mount begins by Jesus taking a seat in order to teach (Matthew 5:1). Jesus’s words are the life-giving words of life that purify and refine. We still have smelters today that burn away impurities to make metal pure and useful for the one doing the smelting. This is both an ancient and enduring image.

God will purify all His people in His great judgment. But here the focus is on purifying the sons of Levi. This is presumably because a) it is they who are questioning God, such as asking Him “Where is the God of righteousness?” in Malachi 2:17 and b) it is they who are in need of cleansing, that they might properly lead the people (Malachi 2:8-9). The goal is to make the Levites like gold and silver. These are metals that are highly valuable. The implication is that it is highly valuable to God to have leaders who train the people and lead them in righteousness.

But one day, the LORD will purify the priests so they may present to Him offerings in righteousness (v 3).

In the previous chapters, the LORD cited the priests as being corrupt because they were offering sacrifices that were blemished, perhaps because the process of offering sacrifice had become corrupted (Malachi 1:8, 13). The noun offering (Hebrew, “minḥāh”) primarily denotes a grain offering the Israelite worshiper presented to the LORD as a gift to show his gratitude and dedication (Leviticus 2; Judges 3:17-18; 2 Samuel 8:6; 1 Kings 4:21, 2 Kings 17:3).

In the previous chapter, Malachi told his audience that the LORD of hosts would not accept the offerings from those who had defiled His sanctuary with practices of foreign gods (Malachi 2:12−13). This indicated deep corruption among the priests. Here in Malachi 3, the prophet Malachi speaks of a day in the future when the LORD would purify the Levites so they could present acceptable sacrifices to Him, sacrifices proceeding from a heart of worship and obedience (1 Samuel 15:22, Hebrews 10:5-7).

He singled out the Levitical priests because they were the religious leaders of the Jewish people and were responsible to lead both by training and by example. Their poor leadership led to the decline of the nation. Thus, the cleansing process must start with them. Once purified, they will conduct their religious duties faithfully and lead the people in righteousness.

After purifying the Levitical priesthood, the leaders of the nation, the LORD will purify the general population who will also present acceptable offerings to Him: Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the LORD as in the days of old and as in former years (v. 4).

The offering here is both of Jerusalem, the site of the temple and altar, as well as Judah, which is the nation. The inference is that the offering of the people is pleasing to the LORD because of the obedience of the people. It seems God purified the leaders, who in turn led the people to serve Him.

This could be, in part, speaking of a future time when the Maccabees would deliver Israel from having its temple defiled by its Greek rulers, a time when Israel gained independence under priestly rule for a period (167-37 BC). This could also be speaking of a future Messianic Kingdom when Jesus Christ will rule the earth for one thousand years (Revelation 20:6). It could be both, as prophecies typically have multiple fulfillments. There has not been an altar or a temple in Jerusalem upon which to sacrifice since the destruction of the last temple in 70 AD. During the era of the Messianic Kingdom, there will once again be a temple in Jerusalem with a righteous priesthood reestablished (Ezekiel 44:15).

The city of Jerusalem is the capital city of Israel. It was also the capital of Judah, which was the southern kingdom when Israel divided after the death of Solomon (1 Kings 12:16-17). The prophet referred to both Judah and Jerusalem to speak about the people in the capital and the country making offerings to the LORD. This would entail the entire nation.

The phrase as in the days of old corresponds to the phrase as in former years. Malachi used them in parallel to remind his audience of when the Israelite priests served the LORD faithfully and “turned many from iniquity” (Malachi 2:6). They were genuine in their service to God and became models that successive generations could follow.

At this point, the LORD resumed His speech, telling His covenant people what He would do upon His arrival: 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 alien and do not fear Me,” says the LORD of hosts (v. 5).

It appears that the first order of business will be for the LORD to cleanse and purify His people. Then the LORD will get to the business of cleansing the land of injustice, as the priests desired (Malachi 2:17). God will be a swift witness against those who lead the people in wickedness, in the exploitative and indulgent ways of paganism.

To be a witness against someone indicates a trial. In God’s covenant/treaty with Israel, He set forth that no one should be convicted without the testimony of multiple witnesses (Deuteronomy 17:6, 19:15, Matthew 18:16). Being a witness that is swift seems to carry the idea that God is a witness who is ready, able, and willing to bear witness against these wicked people. He will bear witness against them without delay.

God next provides a list of offenders that He will judge. The list begins with His eagerness to testify against the sorcerers. A sorcerer is a person who accesses occult powers (Deuteronomy 18:9−10). In His covenant/treaty with Israel, God forbade such practices. Occult powers were linked to the pagan religious orientation to seek indulgence and to exploit others. This was in direct opposition to God’s covenant command for His people to love their neighbors as themselves (Leviticus 19:18).

To seek sorcery and occult power in order to command, control, punish, or exploit others would be the opposite of the first and greatest command, to love God with all our being (Deuteronomy 6:4, Matthew 22:37-39). The pursuit of occult power is, ultimately, a pursuit of power for self. This is pride, the opposite of faith (Habakkuk 2:4). It is from this most basic decision that flows all other behaviors.

If we decide to trust ourselves and seek power over others through occult worship, that decision naturally leads to behavior that is both self-indulgent and exploitative. The most fundamental choice we make as humans is whether we “seek power for and trust ourself” or “seek to trust God and love and follow Him.” God is clear in His covenant/treaty with Israel that their best interest is served by following Him.

The behaviors that follow from seeking to indulge self and to exploit others is predicable, and includes:

• Adulterers—those who break their marital vow and seek pleasure at the expense of another.
• This was one of the corrupt practices being conducted by the priests in the time of Malachi (Malachi 2:14).
• those who swear falsely,
• The priests of Malachi’s time were not speaking truly (Malachi 2:7-8) 
• those who oppress the wage earner in his wages, the widow and the orphan 
• those who turn aside the alien and do not fear Me
• The priests of Malachi’s era were leading the people astray by treating others with partiality (Malachi 2:9-10).
• This would imply that the partiality God condemned in the prior chapter includes taking advantage of the powerless in Judah.
• The wage earner who has pay withheld from their employer
• The widow and the orphan who are in need of assistance.
• Those who turn aside the alien—those that come to Israel to seek help and do no receive it are included in the condemnation of those who are treated with partiality.

Leviticus 20:10 says an adulterer is a man who has sexual intercourse with the wife of another man (Exodus 20:14; Deuteronomy 5:18; Ezekiel 16:32). The Mosaic Law prohibits such an act because it is uniquely disruptive to marriage and family. For this reason, God will testify against adulterers when He comes in judgment. Jesus condemned the practice of divorcing wives without there being just cause, calling it adultery (Matthew 5:31-32).

God will also take action against those who swear falsely. To swear means to vow to keep a promise and is a serious business (Ecclesiastes 5:4-5). Swearing falsely breaks trust and tears the social fabric that binds together a community. God’s covenant/treaty ways lead to a society that trusts one another, setting the table for mutual collaboration and benefit. Lack of trust leads to lack of cooperation.

Swearing falsely, or lying, is also a transgression against the LORD, the oath guarantor. It violates God’s creative design which reflects Him; He who is the definition and embodiment of truth (John 14:6). Jesus, God’s messenger, chastised the Jews for speaking untruly and not believing His words of truth (John 8:44-45).

The LORD would condemn those who practiced societal injustice. He will be against those who oppress the wage earner in his wages. In ancient Israel, a laborer was often of a lower status than his employer. His life depended on his daily wages because he lived from paycheck to paycheck. Someone would hire him for the day to do a job and pay him in the evening because he needed the money to provide food for his family.

Thus, withholding his wages is putting his family members at risk of not having their basic needs met (Deuteronomy 24:14−15). Since the LORD is a God of justice, He would judge the oppressor. He would also judge those who mistreat the widow and the orphan, and those who turn aside the alien and do not fear Me, says the LORD of hosts (v 5).

A widow is a woman who has lost her husband by death and remains unmarried. As such, she was without the protection and provision of a husband and could easily be victimized and reduced to poverty in an era when human muscle-power was the primary means of protection, as well as economic earning.

In the Bible, an orphan usually refers to a child without a father. Such a person was especially vulnerable because he did not enjoy the protection of a father. This vulnerability is equally true for the alien.

An alien is a person from a foreign country. As a foreigner living in Israel, he did not always enjoy the same privileges given to Israelite citizens. However, the Mosaic Law granted him full participation and acceptance into the Israelite community if he agreed to comply with the Israelite rituals (Exodus 12:48-49). Thus, as a full-fledged member of the covenant community, the alien was to receive equal status under the law (Deuteronomy 24:17).

Similar instructions relating to widows and orphans appear in the New Testament:

“Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.”
(James 1:27)

James calls God’s covenant/treaty agreement with Israel the “perfect law of liberty” (James 1:25). Living according to God’s commands sets us free from the indulgence and exploitation that accompanies the contrasting ways of paganism.

The list of wicked behaviors described in verse 5 characterized the life of those who did not fear the LORD. To fear anything is to prioritize concern for consequences that stem from that thing. To fear God begins with a recognition and belief that He is the creator of all things, knows how everything works, and has our best interest at heart. Therefore, if we fear God we recognize that failing to heed the “Owner’s Manual” instructions will lead to disfunction and harm. The Bible asserts that both knowledge and wisdom begin with the fear of the LORD (Proverbs 1:7, 9:10).

To fear God is to care about what He requires and to seek His approval above all others. Fearing God is in our own self-interest, leading to our greatest possible benefit (Deuteronomy 5:29, 6:2). Someone who fears God strives to speak and act in a way that pleases Him, recognizing that our greatest possible rewards come from gaining His approval (Hebrews 11:6).

God’s acceptance of His people is granted by grace, and is unconditional (Deuteronomy 7-8, Ephesians 2:8-9). But God only approves behavior that is constructive for His people; He does not approve of His children engaging in self-destructive behavior. The Judeans were engaging in self-destructive behavior that was bringing injustice to their society while complaining about injustice (Malachi 2:17).

In Malachi’s day, many Judeans failed to fear the Lord. They were performing religious worship but not fearing the LORD (Malachi 2:11). For this reason, God would judge them and restore righteousness in His land. The prophet added the formula, says the LORD of hosts, to remind his audience of the divine nature of his message.

In the next verse, the LORD gave the reason for His decision to punish the wicked and restore peace in Israel: For I, the LORD, do not change, therefore you, O sons of Jacob, are not consumed (v. 6).

The Bible is emphatic that the LORD is God and does not change. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8). Therefore, His character never changes. He is always good and never evil and He always distinguishes between good and evil. God never supports wrongdoing because He is a just God (Deuteronomy 32:4).

He always remains faithful to His covenantal promises. God says therefore you, O sons of Jacob, are not consumed, not fully destroyed. This is in spite of Israel’s rebellious history. At the time of Malachi, they had broken their covenant vow to keep God’s command. God would wash them with His refining fire, but they would be purified, not consumed. 

This basic idea is repeated in the following verses from Hebrews that addresses believers; the immediate context is Hebrews 10:25 which encourages believers in Jesus to meet regularly and stir one another up to love and good works. The author of Hebrews then serves up a warning for those who fail to do good deeds while thinking that religious worship will cover their willful disobedience:

“For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a terrifying expectation of judgment and the fury of a fire which will consume the adversaries.”
(Hebrews 10:26-27)

Hebrews was written to Jewish believers in Jesus. They might have recognized that this verse conveys much the same concept as contained in Malachi. The Judeans in the time of Malachi were serving up sacrifices to the LORD while also participating in sexual immorality in pagan worship (Malachi 2:11). They expected their sacrifice to cover their sins, so they could appease the LORD while also indulging in pagan ways of exploiting others. Then when their manipulative practices spread in the culture and led to broad exploitation and injustice they asked, “Where is the God of justice?” (Malachi 2:17).

Hebrews 10 makes the same basic assertion, saying that going to the temple to offer a sacrifice while sinning willfully will just bring judgment. It is the same “fury of fire” that will “consume the adversaries” but it will not consume God’s people. Rather it will be the fire of refinement, just as in Malachi 3:2. It is refining fire, but it is judgment fire just the same. It is judgment that can be avoided through living in obedience to God’s commands. But it will refine not consume the people of God.

The Apostle Paul exhorted the Gentile believers in Corinth to be diligent to live as faithful witnesses so that their deeds on earth will bring reward rather than loss (1 Corinthians 3:12-15). Paul asserts that it is possible for someone to have all their works burn up in the fire of Christ’s judgment:

“If any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.”
(1 Corinthians 3:15)

Even though all the deeds are burned, the person remains. This is again, because, while God’s judgment fire consumes His adversaries, it refines His people, For He is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap. Jesus Christ, God’s “messenger” (“malaki”) will cleanse His people, just as this passage asserts. This will include Gentile believers in Jesus, who are grafted into the root of the olive tree that is Israel (Romans 11:17).

The Suzerain/ruler God of Israel will keep His covenant promise to love and protect His people, the people of Israel, even though they had broken His covenant agreement (Deuteronomy 7:7-8). As a part of His covenant with Israel, the LORD promised that even when He invokes the curse provisions that He outlined in the covenant (such as sending them into exile), He will continue to protect and restore them (Deuteronomy 32:36, 43).

But this judgment only occurs because of their disobedience. The better path is to turn to Him and walk in faith, believing that His ways of loving others is in our true best interest. This is why in the next section, the LORD will exhort the people of Judah by saying “Return to Me” (Malachi 3:7).