Commentari biblici

Malachi 3:1. God Himself takes up (Malachi 3:1-6) the challenge, “Where is the God?” &c.

my messenger] They had been provided, in the priests, with a standing order of “messengers” of Jehovah (Malachi 2:7). From time to time His special “messengers”, the prophets (Haggai 1:13), had been sent to them. The last of such prophets, bearing as his only name, “Jehovah’s messenger”, was now exercising his office among them. But a yet more special “messenger” is to inaugurate that coming of Jehovah which they profess to desire. See Matthew 11:10; Mark 1:2; Luke 7:27.

Prepare the way] Comp. Isaiah 40:3; and for the nature of the preparation, “by preaching of repentance”, Matthew 3:1-12.

the Lord] “He who had before spoken of Himself in the first person (“I will send”), now speaks of Himself in the third person.” Maurer. For a similar change of person, which is not uncommon in Hebrew, see Malachi 2:16 above. “We are sure He which spake those words was (Jehovah) the Lord of hosts; and we are as sure that Christ is that Lord before whose face John the Baptist prepared the way.” Pearson on the Creed. Article, Our Lord.

ye seek … ye delight in] A reference, not without irony, to the demand of Malachi 3:17, “where is” &c.

his temple] He, then, who comes is the Lord of the Temple. Haggai 2:9.

even the messenger of the covenant] The R.V., by printing “and” in the text instead of “even” (which however it retains in the margin), and also by the punctuation which it adopts, leaves room for the view that “the messenger of the covenant” is to be identified, not with “the Lord”, but with “the messenger” spoken of at the beginning of the verse, who is to “prepare the way” before Him: “And the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in, behold he cometh, saith the Lord of hosts”. The weight of argument, however, seems clearly to preponderate in favour of identifying the “Messenger of the Covenant” with “the Lord”, who shall “suddenly come to His temple”. For thus the idea of the messenger, which pervades this prophecy (see Introd. pp. 13, 14) culminates (as do the Old Testament ideas of the prophet, the priest and the king) in the Messiah, who is in the highest sense the Messenger of God to man. The Angel, or Messenger, whose presence in the Church was recognised from the beginning (Acts 7:38; Exodus 23:20-21; Exodus 32:34; Exodus 33:2; Exodus 33:14; Isaiah 63:9), follows up these “preludings of the Incarnation” by being “made flesh and dwelling amongst us”. The covenant, which was before the Law (Galatians 3:17) and yet by virtue of its later introduction “a new covenant” (Jeremiah 31:31-34; Hebrews 8:7-13), He comes, in fulfilment of promise and prophecy (Isaiah 42:6; Isaiah 55:3), as its Messenger and Mediator (Hebrews 12:24), to inaugurate and ratify with His blood (Matthew 26:28; Hebrews 13:20); while He vindicates His claim to be “the God of judgment” whom they desired, by the work of discriminating justice which He performs (Malachi 3:2-5).

2. a refiner’s fire] Comp. Matthew 3:12.

fullers’ sope] “The process of fulling or cleansing cloth, so far as it may be gathered from the practice of other nations, consisted in treading or stamping on the garments with the feet or with bats in tubs of water, in which some alkaline substance answering the purpose of soap had been dissolved. The substances used for this purpose which are mentioned in Scripture are nitre, Proverbs 25:20; Jeremiah 2:22, and soap, Malachi 3:2.… The juice also of some saponaceous plant, perhaps Gypsaphila struthium, or Saponaria officinalis, was sometimes mixed with the water for the like purpose, and may thus be regarded as representing the soap of Scripture.” Dict. of Bible, Art. Fuller. But probably borax is meant.

3. he shall sit] The expression gives “pictorial effect” (Hengst.) to the description. Comp. “He shall stand and feed” &c., Micah 5:4, for a similar “pictorial effect”.

The figure of the fuller is dropped and the idea, common to both figures, prosecuted under this alone.

the sons of Levi] “Judgment must begin at the house of God.” 1 Peter 4:17. Those who had been first in offending (Malachi 1:6 to Malachi 2:9) shall first be dealt with. The judgment of the people at large as offenders also (Malachi 2:10-17) shall follow (Malachi 3:5).

purge them] The word is used of “straining” wine, Isaiah 25:6; but more frequently, as here, of refining precious metals. Job 28:1; 1 Chronicles 28:18; 1 Chronicles 29:4; Psalm 12:7.

The accumulation of words, refine, purify, purge, gives force to the description.

that they may offer … an offering] More exactly, and they shall offer … offerings, R.V.; the plural being doubtless adopted to denote, what the Hebrew expresses, the continuous act of offering.

in righteousness] Not only in outward conformity with the Law, as contrasted with “the lame and the sick” (Malachi 1:8; Malachi 1:13) but in pure affection of heart and holiness of life. Comp. Luke 1:6. On the similar expression “sacrifices of righteousness”, Psalm 4:5 [Hebrews 6], Dean Perowne observes, “The phrase occurs first in Deuteronomy 33:19, and denotes either (a) sacrifices that God will accept, because they are offered not merely according to the ritual of the Law, but with clean hands and pure hearts (Isaiah 29:13); or (b) fitting sacrifices, such as past sin requires, in order to put it away.” In the first of these senses it is used here.

4. former] i.e., as margin and R.V., ancient. See ch. Malachi 2:5-6; Jeremiah 2:2-3.

5. to judgment] This is the answer to the challenge of the people at large, “Where is the God of judgment?” The “messenger” shall be sent. The Lord of the temple shall suddenly follow him (Malachi 3:1). His first work shall be to purify the priesthood (Malachi 3:2-4). That accomplished, He shall open His solemn assize for the people generally (Malachi 3:5).

a swift witness] What need of further witnesses, when the Judge Himself is Witness also! “How great the dread of judgment, when He is witness and Judge! Witness too He is against all ‘sorcerers’ and ‘adulterers’, for these crimes are perpetrated in secret, and shall thus be brought forth to light, that they be hid no longer.” Jerome, quoted by Rosenmuller. We have a similar example of the identity of Judge and Witness, Psalm 50:6-7.

By “swift” is denoted not only the alacrity of the witness, but the suddenness with which the judgment falls: “not only that which happens without delay, but also that which bursts unexpectedly, after an interval of time, upon those who forgetful of warnings are living in security. In that sense the day of final judgment is predicted as αἰφνίδιος and sudden, Luke 21:34.” Rosenm. Comp. “suddenly”, Malachi 3:1 above.

from his right] These words are added both in A.V. and R.V. The fuller, though somewhat different expression, “turn aside (‘pervert’ A.V., ‘wrest’ R.V.) the judgment of the stranger”, occurs Deuteronomy 24:17; Deuteronomy 27:19. All the sins enumerated in this verse are condemned in terms in the Law.

fear not me] To this as to their root all the sins already mentioned are traced up, while at the same time many who were free from gross outward sins are by this condemned.

6. For I am the Lord, I change not] Rather: For I, the Lord, change not: therefore (lit. and) ye, sons of Jacob, are not consumed. The unchangeableness of Him, whose name, Jehovah, “I am,” is the exponent of His nature, is appealed to as the ground (“for”) of His dealings with Israel. He changes not in His promises and purposes of grace (Romans 11:29); therefore, in spite of their rebellions and provocations, the sons of Jacob are still preserved. It is the same argument that is expanded in Psalm 89:28-37.

Ch. Malachi 3:7 to Malachi 4:3. Renewed Rebukes, Threatenings and Promises

Ch. Malachi 3:7-12. Rebuke in the matter of Tithes and Offerings

7. Even from the days of your fathers] Omit even, with R.V. The connection with Malachi 3:6 is well given by Pusey: “Back to those days and from them, ye are gone away from My ordinances. ‘I am not changed from good; ye are not changed from evil. I am unchangeable in holiness; ye are unchangeable in perversity.’ ”

gone away] Rather, turned aside, R.V., as the same word is translated elsewhere, e.g. Deuteronomy 17:20; Deuteronomy 28:14; Joshua 23:6; and with the metaphor completed, turned aside from the way, Exodus 32:8; Deuteronomy 9:12.

Return unto me] Comp. Zechariah 1:3, where the word (turn, A.V.) is the same.

8. ye have robbed] Rather, rob; lit. are robbing: it is still going on.

tithes] By the Law of Moses (1) “the tenth of all produce, as well as of flocks and cattle, belongs to Jehovah and must be offered to Him” (Leviticus 27:30; Leviticus 27:32); and (2) this tenth is “assigned to the Levites as the reward of their services” (Numbers 18:21; Numbers 18:24). Nehemiah in his day had to deal once and again with the evil here rebuked. Notwithstanding the “sure covenant” into which they had entered (Nehemiah 9:38 with Nehemiah 10:32-39), he had occasion, on his return to Jerusalem after an absence of a few years, to reform them again in this very particular (Nehemiah 13:10-14).