(The previous post covered God's warning to the priests that they were the cause of the evil that had come by dealing treacherously with the wives of their Marriage Covenants.)
Malachi 3
1 Behold, I send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant, whom ye desire, behold, he cometh, saith Jehovah of hosts.
("My messenger" referred to John the Baptist who prepared the way for Christ. This was referenced by Jesus in Matthew 11:14. Christ was referenced as the "messenger of the covenant.")
2 But who can abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner's fire, and like fuller's soap:
4 and he will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi, and refine them as gold and silver; and they shall offer unto Jehovah offerings in righteousness.
(Christ is a Purifier. Again, precious metals were purified/refined by fire.)
4 Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto Jehovah, as in the days of old, and as in ancient years.
5 And I will come near to you to judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against the false swearers, and against those that oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and that turn aside the sojourner from his right, and fear not me, saith Jehovah of hosts.
6 For I, Jehovah, change not; therefore ye, O sons of Jacob, are not consumed.
(God does not change. He is always completely Right and always completely Just.)
7 From the days of your fathers ye have turned aside from mine ordinances, and have not kept them. Return unto me, and I will return unto you, saith Jehovah of hosts. But ye say, Wherein shall we return?
8 Will a man rob God? yet ye rob me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings.
(God was dealing with the priests. In these verses, God stated that the problem of ignoring God's commands began with their fathers. As we have seen throughout both the major and minor prophet sections of the Old Testament, God was focused on His people confessing and repenting, not on justifying themselves. The specific example God referenced was being robbed by Israel by her not giving tithes and offerings, not giving the first-fruits.)
9 Ye are cursed with the curse; for ye rob me, even this whole nation.
10 Bring ye the whole tithe into the store-house, that there may be food in my house, and prove me now herewith, saith Jehovah of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.
11 And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast its fruit before the time in the field, saith Jehovah of hosts.
12 And all nations shall call you happy; for ye shall be a delightsome land, saith Jehovah of hosts.
13 Your words have been stout against me, saith Jehovah. Yet ye say, What have we spoken against thee?
(God explained the benefit to tithes and offerings: He would bless Israel and rebuke the devourer. God would make Israel profitable and prevent unprofitable circumstances. Israel's words were stout against God. Stout meant "to grow against; hardened.")
14 Ye have said, It is vain to serve God; and what profit is it that we have kept his charge, and that we have walked mournfully before Jehovah of hosts?
(They equated serving God to unprofitability. God already showed why/how Israel would be profitable by following just one of God's commands.)
15 And now we call the proud happy; yea, they that work wickedness are built up; yea, they tempt God, and escape.
16 Then they that feared Jehovah spake one with another; and Jehovah hearkened, and heard, and a book of remembrance was written before him, for them that feared Jehovah, and that thought upon his name.
17 And they shall be mine, saith Jehovah of hosts, even mine own possession, in the day that I make; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him.
18 Then shall ye return and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not.
(God would make it obvious to everyone, through profitability, who served Him and who did not.)
Malachi 4
1 For, behold, the day cometh, it burneth as a furnace; and all the proud, and all that work wickedness, shall be stubble; and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith Jehovah of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.
(This verse primarily meant judgment on Jerusalem but also was showing eternal judgment of the proud and wicked. God wanted Israel to realize that the ultimate profit was spiritual, not physical. Everything physical will burn. However, spiritual things will be refined and purified by the fire. Spiritual things will exist eternally.)
2 But unto you that fear my name shall the sun of righteousness arise with healing in its wings; and ye shall go forth, and gambol as calves of the stall.
(To those who feared God, the "Sun of righteousness" will bring healing (repair/life). This referred to Christ's physical return to earth at the end of the Tribulation. However, the word "wings" was kanaph which meant "an edge or extremity." When Christ came to earth the first time, there was healing in His "wings"...in the edges of the garment He wore. See Matthew 9:20-21.)
3 And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I make, saith Jehovah of hosts.
4 Remember ye the law of Moses my servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel, even statutes and ordinances.
5 Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and terrible day of Jehovah come.
(Elijah the prophet would be physically sent to Israel during the final 3 1/2 years of the Tribulation as one of the Two Witnesses. However, Elijah would spiritually be sent to Israel which referred to John the Baptist. Elijah was spiritually sent to Israel about three years before the end of the 69th Week of Daniel and Elijah would be physically sent to Israel about three years before the end of the 70th Week of Daniel.)
6 And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers; lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.
(This blatantly referred to John the Baptist. See Luke 1:17. The last verse of the Old Testament pointed towards the first act involving the Holy Spirit in the New Testament: the circumstances surrounding the conception of John the Baptist.)
(We've seen the Old Testament consisted of five books of the Torah, twelve books of the historical section, five books of the poetic section, five books of the major prophet section, and finally twelve books of the minor prophet section...thirty-nine books in all. The Book of Malachi was the twelfth of the twelve books that made up the minor prophet section of the Old Testament. Malachi was a contemporary of Haggai and Zechariah. Likewise, Malachi encouraged the returning Jews not to sin any more. The Book of Malachi contained critical Doctrine and concluded by blatantly pointing to John the Baptist. However, there were around four hundred years between the events of the Old Testament and the events of the New Testament. These four hundred years were known as "The Silent Period.")
If you are interested in reading an explanation of the time between the Old Testament and the New Testament, click the following link: The Silent Period
Otherwise, here is the link to begin the New Testament: Day 283
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