Malachi 3 v. 1 - 10 A Promise Keeping God - God Promised
1. THE MESSENGER - v. 1 "Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts." i.e. A:-
(a) Promised Messenger - "I will send" - Matthew 3 v. 1 - 3 "In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea, And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight."
(b) Prepared Messenger - "my messenger" - Luke 1 v. 13 - 17 "But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John. And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth. For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother's womb. And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God. And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord."
(c) Preaching Messenger - "my messenger" - Matthew 3 v. 3 "prepare ye the way of the Lord"
(d) Preparing Messenger - "make his paths straight"
Matthew 11 v. 10 "For this is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee."
Matthew 3 v. 2 "And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."
We see the call for repentance, - "repent ye" command of repentance - "ye", cause for repentance - the kingdom of heaven - Here is the privilege, profit, prize,
care in repentance - "is at hand"
2. THE MESSIAH - v. 1 & 2 "Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts. But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner's fire, and like fullers' soap:" i.e.
His coming will be:-
(a) Sudden - "shall suddenly come" - Matthew 24 v. 27 "For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be."
(b) Surprising - in its moment - (unexpected), in its manner, in its meaning
(c) Scrupulous - i.e. accurate according to scripture - "even the messenger of the covenant" Matthew 24 v. 35 "Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away."
(d) Sure - v. 1 "behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts"
Note:-
Revelation - "behold", proclamation - "he shall come", declaration -"saith the Lord",
justification - "of hosts"
(e) Searching - v. 2 "But who may abide the day of his coming? " Why?
There is:-
(1) Power There - "day of his coming"
(2) Praise There - "who shall stand - when he appeareth"
(3) Purity There - "a refiner's fire"
(4) Purpose There - "like fuller's soap" i.e. cleansing
Matthew 11 v. 2 - 5 "Now when John had heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples, And said unto him, Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another? Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and show John again those things which ye do hear and see: The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them."
i.e. if first coming dramatic, what of his second coming?
3. THE MESSAGE - v. 3 - 5 "And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the LORD an offering in righteousness. Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the LORD, as in the days of old, and as in former years. 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 false swearers, and against those that oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and that turn aside the stranger from his right, and fear not me, saith the LORD of hosts."
i.e. Its a message of:-
(a) Purification - v. 3 "he shall purify the sons of Levi"
1 Peter 4 v. 17 & 18 "For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?"
Note the :-
Promise of it - "for the time is come", Purpose of it - "Judgement must begin at the house of God", Process of it - "if it first begin at us", Problem with it - "what shall the end be"
(b) Preparation - v. 3 "And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the LORD an offering in righteousness."
(c) Presentation - v. 4 "Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the LORD, as in the days of old, and as in former years."
(d) Prevention - v. 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 false swearers, and against those that oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and that turn aside the stranger from his right, and fear not me, saith the LORD of hosts."
Note:- The Judge - "I will be a swift witness" i.e. the Lord himself
The Judged - sorcerers, adulterers, false swearers, oppressors
The Judgement - "to judgement"
4. THE MERCY - v. 6 & 7 "For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed. Even from the days of your fathers ye are gone away from mine ordinances, and have not kept them. Return unto me, and I will return unto you, saith the LORD of hosts. But ye said, Wherein shall we return?"
Note it is:- (a) A Constant Mercy - "I change not"
Since God is unchanging -
1. Nothing that really matters has changed - sin, salvation, eternity, truth
2. His character is consistent - i.e. he always cares, calls, cleanses, covers
3. His promises are sure - i.e. of provision, of presence, of pardon, of promotion
4. His love is constant
5. His salvation is unchangeable
(b) A Consistent Mercy - "I am the Lord"
(c) A Conditional Mercy - v. 7 "Even from the days of your fathers ye are gone away from mine ordinances, and have not kept them. Return unto me, and I will return unto you, saith the LORD of hosts. But ye said, Wherein shall we return?"
She wouldn't let me save her
(d) A Complete Mercy - i.e.-A Moral Restoration v. 7 "Even from the days of your fathers ye are gone away from mine ordinances, and have not kept them. Return unto me, and I will return unto you, saith the LORD of hosts. But ye said, Wherein shall we return?"
A Material Restitution v. 10 "Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD 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." i.e. - note the place - "storehouse", proportion "all the tithes", purpose "prove me"
A Miraculous Realization i.e. Faith rewarded v. 10 "Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD 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."
Foes Rebuked v. 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 her fruit before the time in the field, saith the LORD of hosts."
Fruitfulness Renewed - v. 12 "And all nations shall call you blessed: for ye shall be a delightsome land, saith the LORD of hosts."
