Malachi 4:4-6 meaning

Malachi 4:4 applies the previous point, that the righteous will triumph over the wicked. Malachi reminds the people how to be among those who are righteous: Remember the law of Moses My servant, even the statutes and ordinances which I commanded him in Horeb for all Israel (v 4).

In the preceding passage, Malachi informed his generation that the Suzerain/ruler God of Israel would defeat all the arrogant evildoers and give victory to the righteous, who fear Him and follow His ways (Malachi 4:1−3). Now in Malachi 4:4−6, he urges the whole community to obey all the divine commands of the Mosaic law (the Torah), as they awaited the Day of the LORD. This puts them on the winning side of history.

The prophet spoke on God’s behalf using the first-person pronoun (Moses My servant, I commanded him) to allow the Judeans to hear the message directly from their Suzerain (or covenant Ruler). He began with an imperative: Remember the law of Moses (v. 1).

The verb Remember means more than to recall. It means to heed and act upon the knowledge we have about something. In our passage, it means to keep or obey the law of Moses, the stipulations that Yahweh gave to Moses as the terms of His covenant/treaty relationship with Israel, a covenant they vowed to keep (Exodus 19:8). The Judeans were a subset of Israel, having split off after the reign of King Solomon (1 Kings 12:16-17).

The LORD then described Moses as My servant, a term referring to the subordination of servant to Master. Moses was God’s servant (Exodus 14:31; Joshua 8:31). He was the mediator between God and His covenant people, Israel. Thus, here, the LORD asked His people to obey the Mosaic Law, even the statutes and ordinances, which I commanded him in Horeb.

Horeb is another name for Mount Sinai (Exodus 3:1, Deuteronomy 18:16). These statutes and ordinances not only include the Ten Commandments but also the other decrees God made there. These are contained in the first five books of the Old Testament.

In the strict sense, the term statute (Hebrew, “ḥuqqîm”) refers to an edict decreed by an authority. The term ordinance (Hebrew, “mišpāṭîm”) refers to legal procedures or commands issued by a judge. Hence, in addition to the term law, Malachi (and other books of the Bible) use statutes and ordinances to refer to the whole legal corpus or the full stipulations of the covenant/treaty between the LORD and His people (Deuteronomy 6:1, 17, 20).

The people of Israel agreed to enter this covenant/treaty and vowed to keep their part of the agreement (Exodus 19:8). God promised that if they would keep their vows then He would bless them with great blessings (Deuteronomy 29:1-14). Many of the promised blessings would be the natural consequences of a community that follows God’s commands, which would lead to a self-governing community.

God’s self-governing structure is based on three primary tenets: rule of law, consent of the governed, and love of neighbor. The rule of law is based on God’s laws, which are for the benefit of the people. Consent of the governed is leaders voluntarily leading and the people voluntarily serving (Judges 5:2). Love of neighbor is most easily measured by whether people tell the truth to one another, protect one another’s property and person, and seek the welfare and benefit of neighbors as much as for themselves (Leviticus 19:18). It is common sense that a community that practices these self-governing principles will flourish.

But in addition to positive natural consequences of following in God’s self-governing ways, God also promised divine blessings, such as bringing the rain to Judah in its seasons (Deuteronomy 28:12).

Moses received these commands from God in Horeb. Mount Horeb (also known as Mount Sinai) is where Yahweh revealed Himself to Moses and gave him the Ten Commandments (Exodus 19:18, 20:1-17). Moses mediated this covenant/treaty between God and the people. Most covenant/treaties of this nature in this era were made between a superior and inferior king. But God made His covenant directly with the people; the commands applied to all Israel. 

This covenant/treaty was for all generations. It did not only cover the generation living in Moses’s day. When God makes a promise, He never breaks it (Romans 11:29). His promises extend to all generations (Romans 11:26-28).

Malachi encourages the LORD’s covenant people to keep the divine precepts of His covenant/treaty with Israel so that they could be among the righteous. This tells us at least two things:

1. That the covenant/treaty precepts lay out a way of living that makes one righteous. To be “righteous” is to live in accordance with God’s (good) design for the world. God designed His creative order to work in harmony, with humans loving and serving one another. His precepts lay forth what it looks like to “love your neighbor as yourself” (Leviticus 19:18).
2. The LORD’s admonition to Remember the law of Moses My servant, even the statutes and ordinances which I commanded him indicates that the natural order of humans is to fail to remember and to slide into exploiting rather than loving others.

According to the prophet Malachi, the Jews of his generation had dishonored God by offering unblemished animals (Malachi 1:7−14). They also swindled the people, perhaps through selling blemished animals for the price of unblemished (Malachi 1:14). They had also profaned God’s sanctuary by engaging in pagan sexual practices (Malachi 2:10−11). Further, they failed to bring their full tithes to Him, as prescribed in His statutes (Malachi 3:8−9).

Therefore, God called the people to fully obey His commandments and receive His blessings and favor. This infers that God is willing for disobedient people to repent and He will still bless them. This is consistent with passages like 2 Peter 3:9, which says that God is slow to judge and extremely patient because He desires all to come to repentance.

The Apostle Paul lays out an argument that the law of Moses does not bring righteousness, raising an apparent contradiction to this passage (Romans 7:5, 8:2-3). However, Paul also defends the law, saying that it is right and good (Romans 7:12). The problem is not with God’s law, but with the human heart.

That is why Paul says that righteousness only comes by faith (Romans 1:16-17, 10:9). And Paul asserts that when believers walk in the Spirit they fulfill the law, since the law’s intent was to bring life and light to people, to lead people to love and serve one another (Romans 8:4). Submitting to God’s Spirit heals the human heart of sin, and allows us to walk in His ways, fulfilling the purpose of His laws.

The next verse, Malachi 4:5, is the next to last verse in the Old Testament: Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the LORD (v. 5).

The “day of the LORD” is found in numerous places in scripture. It refers to a time specially set aside for God. In most cases it refers to a time of judgment. Following are some verses about the “day of the LORD” that help provide context for the term:

• Isaiah 13:6: the “day of the LORD” is said to be “destruction from the Almighty” showing God’s hand of judgment.
• Isaiah 13:9 says in the “day of the LORD” God will “exterminate its sinners” from the land showing God will bring righteousness to Israel.
• Isaiah 58:13 refers to the sabbath as the holy day of the LORD showing that the day of the LORD is set apart (sanctified) as holy to God.
• Joel 1:15: “destruction from the Almighty” is said to be what will occur on the “day of the LORD” due to God’s judgment.
• Joel 2:1, 11, 31, 3:14: the “day of the LORD” describes a terrible time of war and destruction. It is said to be “great and very awesome.” It is a time when those who call on the name of the LORD will be given escape. Joel 3:16 says the “heavens and the earth tremble But the LORD is a refuge for His people.”
• Amos 5:18-20 describes the “day of the LORD” as being something that will be the opposite of what the people expect. For them it will be “darkness not light.” This is similar to Malachi, where the people thought God needed to come and judge others when it was they who were being unrighteous (Malachi 2:17).
• Obadiah 1:15 pronounces judgment on Edom, saying the “day of the LORD” “draws near on all the nations,” showing that the “day of the LORD” is to judge and bring righteousness to all nations, not just Israel.
• Zephaniah 1:7, 14-15 prophesies the “day of the LORD” as being when the “LORD has prepared a sacrifice” and “A day of wrath is that day, A day of trouble and distress.” Again here the “day of the LORD” has judgment as well as deliverance.
• Malachi 4:5: the Lord says He will send “Elijah the prophet” before the “great and terrible day of the LORD,” likely referring to the advent of Jesus.

It appears that Malachi 4:5 introduces the next books of the Bible, which are the four Gospels of the New Testament. It is generally believed that Malachi was written roughly four hundred years prior to the first advent of Jesus. Therefore, these four books are yet four hundred years in the future when Malachi pronounces these final statements in Malachi 4:5-6.

This shows the providential nature of the Bible, which was written by “men [who were] moved by the Holy Spirit [and] spoke from God” (2 Peter 1:21). The Holy Spirit moved Malachi to write these last words of the Old Testament, knowing that God’s written prophetic revelation was about to go silent for about four centuries.

Thus, the next books of the Bible would resume virtually where Malachi left off, with the introduction of John the Baptist, who is introduced in Matthew 3:1, Mark 1:2, Luke 1:5, and John 1:15. If Mark was ordered as the first book of the New Testament, the sequence would essentially say “I am going to send you Elijah” in Malachi 4:5-6 followed by “And here he is, John the Baptist” in Mark 1:

• Malachi 4:5-6:
  “Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the LORD. He will restore the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers, so that I will not come and smite the land with a curse.”

• Mark 1:1-3:
  “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. As it is written in Isaiah the prophet: ‘BEHOLD, I SEND MY MESSENGER AHEAD OF YOU, WHO WILL PREPARE YOUR WAY; THE VOICE OF ONE CRYING IN THE WILDERNESS, ‘MAKE READY THE WAY OF THE LORD, MAKE HIS PATHS STRAIGHT.’”

John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. John the Baptist is a manifestation of Elijah the prophet because “It is he who will go as a forerunner before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah” (Luke 1:17).

The New Testament identifies John the Baptist as the messenger who would “clear the way before” the Lord (Isaiah 40:3, Malachi 3:1, Matthew 11:14). The covenant people of Judah at the time of Malachi might have been encouraged by God’s promise, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet. They would have properly interpreted this as the LORD promising He will send His Messiah.

However, subsequent generations might also have gotten discouraged because of the long delay in time, the centuries between the promise and the fulfillment. But in due time Jesus came as the Messiah, the one for whom John the Baptist prepared the way. However, His visitation was not recognized (Luke 19:41-44).

The Apostle Peter predicts the same will be the case for Jesus’s promise to return to earth a second time. The angels told the Apostles that Jesus would return to earth, and “will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven” after they had watched Jesus be taken up into a cloud (Acts 1:9, 11). This corresponds with Jesus’s statement to the Apostles that He would return “coming on the clouds” (Matthew 24:30).

Peter says in the last days, men will mock because of the long delay in Jesus’s return (2 Peter 3:4). But Peter points out that to God a day is as a thousand years and a thousand years as a day (2 Peter 3:8). Further, the reason God has delayed is so that more people might come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9).

In the Gospel of John, John the Baptist told “the priests and Levites from Jerusalem” that he was not Elijah (John 1:21, 23). Moreover, his ministry did not appear to fulfill what Malachi predicts, saying that Elijah would restore the hearts of the fathers to their children and vice-versa, while the people of John the Baptist’s generation did not receive Jesus when He came to them the first time (John 1:11-12).

Therefore, Malachi’s prophecy that the LORD will send you Elijah will have a dual fulfillment. John the Baptist fulfilled it partially. But its complete fulfillment awaits the last days, when Jesus comes to earth again.

At that time, Elijah, or someone else in his spirit and power, will appear and complete the prophecy. Elijah could be one of the two witnesses spoken of in Revelation 11:1-7, since he never died and it is appointed unto man once to die (Hebrews 9:27).

The two witnesses of Revelation 11 bear resemblance to Elijah because they can create drought by drying up the rain, as Elijah did (1 Kings 17:1). Perhaps Elijah comes back to earth and resumes his ministry, then dies and is promptly resurrected and raptured to heaven (Revelation 11:7, 11-12).

It is interesting to note that both Elijah and Moses came down from heaven to speak with Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration (Luke 9:30). This could also provide a hint that Elijah is one of the two witnesses of Revelation 11.

Malachi began Verse 5 with the particle Behold to get the attention of his audience. This was appropriate since God (through Malachi) is announcing I am going to send you Elijah the prophet. The return of an ancient prophet as famous as Elijah is a big deal, and deserves a Behold.

John the Baptist, like Elijah, was a minister of the Lord. He urged the people to repent to prepare them for the arrival of the Messiah (Matthew 11:14). Although the text states that John the Baptist came in the spirit and power of Elijah, he was not actually Elijah come down from heaven. We know this because we are told details and circumstances of John the Baptist’s birth (Luke 1:5-25). Also, when Elijah did appear we are told directly (Luke 9:30).

The prophet Elijah was a miracle worker who lived in the ninth century BC during the reigns of Ahab and Ahaziah, kings of Israel. He opposed idolatry and proved that the LORD was superior to the pagan god, Baal (1 Kings 17−2 Kings 2). He was one of the few Old Testament saints who did not die. Instead, “he went up by a whirlwind to heaven” (2 Kings 2:11).

According to Malachi, Elijah would precede the coming of the great and terrible day of the LORD. Given that John the Baptist is a partial fulfillment of this prophecy, this would indicate that the advent of Jesus is a key part of the great and terrible day of the LORD. 

The Apostle Peter spoke of the first coming of Jesus and the signs that occurred in and around His advent as being a fulfillment of the “great and glorious day of the LORD.” He quotes a prophecy from Joel which predicts the “great and glorious day of the LORD” and indicates that the things the people have seen in and around Jesus are a fulfillment of that passage (Acts 2:20).

So it seems likely that the partial fulfillment of this prophecy in Malachi 5 about the coming of Elijah—John the Baptist’s ministry—preceded a partial fulfillment of the prophecy of Joel and Malachi of the coming of the great and terrible day of the LORD, which is the first advent of Jesus. 

The day of the LORD usually is depicted as a time of judgement. During Jesus’s first advent to earth, God judged Satan, the ruler of this world (John 16:11). Jesus defeated sin and death, giving believers victory through faith in Him (1 Corinthians 15:56-57). However, Jesus did not come to judge humans in His first advent (John 12:47). He will do that in His second advent, when He returns.

There will be a final fulfillment of the great and terrible day of the LORD when God’s judgment on the earth will be complete. Jesus says at the time of the end there will be “a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will” (Matthew 24:21). This will precede His second coming when He will defeat evil and bring righteousness to the earth.

That day of judgment when Jesus returns a second time will be both great and terrible. It will be great because it will be a monumental event. Wickedness will be overthrown and replaced with righteousness. Jesus, God’s Messiah, His messenger (as in Malachi 3:1) has already defeated wickedness and judgment in a spiritual sense, through His death and resurrection.

In the future, Jesus will bring a full manifestation of righteousness to the earth when He fully inaugurates His kingdom (2 Peter 3:13). It is hard to think of anything greater than God’s Messiah/messenger Jesus overcoming sin and death, overturning the disastrous effects of the Fall, and restoring the earth to the full harmony of His original design (Hebrews 1:13, 2:9, Revelation 21:1, 5).

The day of judgment will not only be great but also be terrible. The Hebrew word translated terrible is often translated “fear” or “fearful.” The wicked will have ample reason to fear because they will be consumed by God’s judgment fire, the fire of His furnace (Malachi 4:1). Jesus also said the day would be fearful for His people, telling them to flee to the mountains when they see the “abomination of desolation as spoken of in the prophet Daniel” (Matthew 24:15-16). Although He will deliver His people, it will still be a frightful time.

In the day of the LORD, He will reveal His supreme power and authority over human power and existence (Malachi 3:2). During that time, God will judge the wicked and deliver the righteous.

In the last verse of the Old Testament and the book of Malachi, the LORD says,

“He will restore the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers, so that I will not come and smite the land with a curse” (v. 6).

Context indicates that He refers to Elijah who is to come. The LORD will send Elijah to do a work on earth that will spare it from God’s judgement upon the land. The end of the Old Testament is a promise that God will restore human families.

The Hebrew word translated hearts describes the seat of the intellect, including intent (Genesis 20:5) and thoughtful consideration (Deuteronomy 4:20, 39). It is also a seat of values, as in Leviticus 26:36, where courage failed because of faintness in the heart, indicating that the heart contains the inherent value to live rather than die (Numbers 15:39).

Thus, to restore the hearts of the fathers to their children and vice-versa means to cause a spiritual renewal in the hearts of the people, prompting them to turn to God. The evidence that hearts have turned to God is that the hearts of the fathers turn to their children, indicating a healing of families.

John the Baptist preached repentance, and his baptism was a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins (Mark 1:4). Jesus provided a way for all sins to be forgiven, since every sin was nailed to the cross with Him (Colossians 2:14). It seems the manifestation of this broad revival will be for fathers to begin to prioritize seeking welfare for their sons. In turns, the sons will seek the welfare of their fathers. 

This infers a number of things:

• A reemphasis on family, and the stability of families.
• An elevation of the importance of fatherhood in families.
• A new commitment of fathers to seek the best interest of their sons.
• Fidelity of fathers to their wives.
• A resulting bond between son and father.

It would seem essential that a reemphasis on fidelity in marriage would precede all these things. This is consistent with God’s call to Judah in Malachi 2:14, 16 for the men to honor their wives and remain faithful to them.

This repentance and elevation of fatherhood and family will have a substantial positive result: so that I will not come and smite the land with a curse. Of course, the implication is that if the fathers do not turn their hearts toward their families, then God will strike the land with a curse.

The term translated as curse is used to describe adverse consequences for choosing to walk apart from God’s ways. In many cases the effects of the curse are the natural cause-effect consequences God built into His creation. In Romans 1:24, 26, 28, the Apostle Paul describes the “wrath of God” as being God removing His hand of protection and turning people over to the natural consequences of their choices. There is a progression from them being turned over to lust, to falling into addiction, to losing mental soundness.

It is observable that men who have fidelity with their wives escape sexual addictions and the strife that attends adultery. It is also observable that husbands and wives who remain faithful to one another provide a greater environment of flourishing for their children.

God set forth in the covenant/treaty He made with Israel the “cursings” or adverse consequences to Israel for failing to keep their covenant vows. Deuteronomy 28:1-14 describes the blessings the LORD promises to Israel for keeping its covenant vow. Deuteronomy 28:15-68 describes the cursings Israel will incur for failing to keep its vow.

Some of the cursings are natural consequences, some are divine interventions. All are a result of the choices of the people. In Deuteronomy 30:19-20, Moses made it clear that the choice was up to the people whether they would experience blessings or cursings. Moses exhorted the people of Israel to choose life (and follow God’s ways of loving one another) rather than choosing death (by breaking their covenant vow and following the exploitative ways of paganism).

Likewise, Malachi encouraged his audience to make a good choice. He exhorts them to choose to live righteously so that they would not be consumed when He comes in judgment (Malachi 4:1, 4). Obedience to the provisions of His covenant/treaty will prompt Him to spare His people’s lives. Clearly it is their choice, but God exhorts them to make the best choice that creates the best outcomes.

The book of Malachi encourages all the post-exilic Jews to abandon their evil ways and to turn to follow the ways set forth by their Suzerain/ruler God, their covenant partner and source of their blessings. Malachi makes this point by contrasting the faithfulness of the LORD with the faithlessness of His covenant people. Throughout the book, God manifests His steadfast love for Israel.

Malachi could be called “The book of the Messenger.” Malachi is Hebrew for “messenger.” Malachi is a message spoken by a messenger who prophesies for the LORD, bringing forth His message. The messenger has prophesied that God will send His messenger, the Messiah, to judge and redeem the earth. Before the advent of the Messiah, God will send Elijah as a messenger to prepare the way for the Messiah, God’s messenger.

So, the messenger prophesies that the messenger will prepare the way for the Messenger. Each proclaims the way of the LORD, that those who hear and heed might gain His full blessings.

Like all the other writings of the Bible, the book of Malachi is still as relevant for believers today as it was for the Israelites. It reminds us that God is in control and always keeps His promises. At times, life may seem unfair. Wickedness may seem to prevail. At other times it might seem that God is delaying too long. But Malachi exhorts believers to focus on what we can control, believing that God has our best interest at heart, choosing a perspective that His ways are for our best, and living faithfully following His commands and the leading of the Holy Spirit.

The fact that so many of God’s prophecies have miraculously come to pass can give us assurance that all of His promises will come to pass. The LORD will one day fulfill His promises to unite His people and restore justice on the earth. Each of us should ensure that when He returns we are found faithful (1 Corinthians 4:2-5).