Malachi 3 Devotional
by Pastor Lawrence Bowlin

The Lord’s prophet Malachi brings three more charges against the Jews in this chapter. The first is actually mentioned in the last verse of the previous chapter, in 2:17, when the Lord accuses them of wearying Him by their false accusations. The second accusation, in 3:7, denounces them for having turned away from the Lord and His statutes. And the third complaint, found in 3:13, accuses them of speaking harsh words against God. As with the previous charges, the majority of God’s people show no signs of genuine repentance. Instead of admitting their offenses, they immediately challenge God’s accusations by saying in effect, “How so?” The Lord then elaborates on each charge in response to their questions.

In regards to the first questioned charge of God’s people wearying the Lord, Malachi says that they have wearied Him by saying, “Everyone who does evil is good in the sight of the Lord, and he delights in them.” Or by asking, “Where is the God of justice?” God’s response to this challenge is found in 3:1ff, where the Lord informs them that He is sending his messenger ahead of Him to prepare the way before Him, their king, by removing every obstacle in His path. We’ll find out in chapter four that this messenger is in the mold of Elijah the prophet. But it is not this messenger that is the highlight of Malachi’s oracle here; rather, it is the messenger of the covenant, who is the Lord Himself.

In response to their accusations of His injustice, the Lord himself in whom they supposedly delight, will come quickly to deliver His justice, but who of them, or who of us, can stand when He appears? When the Lord comes, He will be like a refiner’s fire and like a fuller’s soap using fire or lye to purify and cleanse His people by removing all the blemishes, including all the wicked in the land. So even those who complained of God’s injustice and His partiality toward the wicked are not safe. His purifying work would even purify the sons of Levi, removing every blemish from that sanctified lineage in order that all of Judah might bring righteous offerings unto the Lord that are pleasing in His sight. Additionally, the Lord promises to swiftly bring judgment against all sorcerers, adulterers, liars, oppressors and the like just as is promised in the book of Revelation.

Although, God’s justice is not always seen immediately, we are assured again and again in Scripture that the Day of the Lord is both certain and comprehensive, for then everything and everyone will fall under His scrutiny.

But even as Malachi gives them this terrifying vision of trial by fire, he assures the true sons of Israel that they will not be consumed, and that even though they have turned aside from the Lord and His commands, which is the second accusation, He still holds out His hands to them saying “return to me, and I will return to you.” But again, these people disingenuously question the message saying, “How shall we return?” The Lord then points out one of the ways that they have turned away from His commands. Living in His royal kingdom in the Promised Land, they were to give him regular tribute in recognition of His gracious provision to His vassals, and that tribute came in the form of the tithe, which was collected to support the work of worship in God’s temple and the work of mercy to the impoverished in the land. Just as the people had offered unto the Lord lame sacrifices, so they were giving only a portion of the tithe, in a sense merely throwing loose change unto the Lord, whatever they had left in their pockets, instead of giving him the first of the produce of the land in recognition of His gracious provision. Being under the law in the Promised Land, they were subjected to the blessings and curses of the law at Mt. Sinai, thus, they were experiencing something of God’s curse for having withheld what the Lord required of them. Here, the Lord promises to remove the curse of drought and pestilence from the land if they would repent of their miserly ways toward God, their benefactor and king, and instead open the floodgates of heaven with blessings from above.

Although, we are not subject to the same Mosaic stipulations as they and have received every spiritual blessing through faith in Christ Jesus alone (Eph. 1:3), there is still a matter of enjoying those blessings as we look to the Lord by faith trusting Him to provide for our needs and acknowledging His gracious provision in our lives. If the Law of God required the tithe as a floor rather than a ceiling for giving, surely the grace of God does not make scrooges of those indwelt by the Spirit today.

The Jews were unwilling to give wholeheartedly unto God because they falsely believed that there was no benefit in doing so thinking that the Lord blessed the wicked the same as the righteous. This is the third charge Malachi makes against them that they said “it is vain to serve God,” inferring that there is no profit to keeping his charge. The Lord’s response to this accusation is by informing them of His book of remembrance. Just as the Persian Kings kept records of those who had benefited the kingdom in order to remember to reward their good deeds (think on the book of Esther), so too the Lord keeps a record book of those who truly fear the Lord and esteem His name in love. The Lord assures them that on the Day of the Lord, He will recognize them as His treasured possession, sparing them from the fiery judgment.

There is nothing wrong with asking questions about God’s justice and rewards. It is important for us to know something of how God works in the world today and of how He will work on the final day. The problem was not that the Jews were asking questions, but that they were doubting and defending themselves from God’s rebukes and even accusing God of sin Himself. The difference between those who fear the Lord and those who do not always comes down to faith. The faith of the elect is plainly seen in their trust of the Lord and His Word, resting in His goodness, His justice and His love, even when they don’t immediately see His hand at work in their midst. Those who do not have this strong faith in the Lord are continually looking to their circumstances in order to construct their personal theology of God. The believer, on the other hand, looks to God’s revelation in His Word trusting in His promises and believing that the Lord is who He says He is and will do what He says He will do.