COMMENTARY ON MALACHI
LESSON NUMBER 18
Mal 3:2 “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: 3And 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.”
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (Malachi 3:2-3)
THE REFINER WILL COME!
INTRODUCTION
Having soundly rebuked the priests for their unfaithfulness, the Lord is now turning their attention to His own faithfulness. He is also confirming that their work, while essential within the framework of the covenant under which they operated, was not the primary work. It is what God Himself is doing that is fundamental. The relationship of men to that work is also their primary responsibility. Men are never to imagine that God is present for the basic purpose of meeting their need, or seeing to their comfort and success. All self-centeredness is traced to the erroneous postulate that what happens to men is the primary thing. Everything that is “in the world” is based upon their false premise: “the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world” (1 John 2:16). This threefold breakdown of “the world” postulates the centrality of self, and is the fountain from which all disobedience and sin originate. It is not possible to sin without thinking that self is preeminent. In this passage God is confirming that what He has determined to do is the very reason for the existence of the world, everything in it, and humanity itself. Correctness of both motives and life is measured by the personal awareness and understanding of this. The approach to life is to be developed and maintained with what God is doing in mind. Here, the purpose of God centers in a solitary Person – “the Messenger of the covenant” (3:1). That Messenger will fully answer the basic longings of those who receive Him: they will “delight in” Him. His locus of operation will not be the arena occupied by the mass of humanity, but will be “His temple” – the place where the Almighty makes Himself known and works. In other words, the context in which the Messiah is comprehended is the purpose of God, not the dilemmas of men. This is a purpose that is neither developed nor altered by the desires of men.
WHO MAY ABIDE THE DAY OF HIS COMING?
Malachi 3:2 “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.”
This word concerns “the messenger of the covenant” – the One who makes known what the Lord has intended, and what He is doing. This is a reference to the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the only One who “knows the Father” (Matt 11:27). This has particular regard to the covenant, which is elsewhere referred to as “the promise” (Rom 4:13-20; Gal 3:14-19,22,29). Further, participation in this promise is summarized in these words: “And this is the promise that He hath promised us, even eternal life” (1 John 2:25).
WHO MAY ABIDE? Other versions read “endure,” NKJV “be faced,” BBE “able to think of,” DOUAY “able to resist,” NJB “is bearing,” YLT and “who can live.” LIVING Keep in mind, this is referring to Christ’s appearance in the form of a Man – when He first “came into the world” (1 Tim 1:15). Who will be able to endure THAT coming – or who will be able to profit from it? Who will be capable of thinking of it correctly, and of properly assessing the entrance of “the Messenger of the covenant” into the world? Jesus Himself said of that entrance, “For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind” (John 9:39). That circumstance is the reason for this question.
THE DAY OF HIS COMING. This is the day He came into the world – particularly when He was manifested to the world (John 2:11; 1 John 1:2; 3:5). Who will be able to see that time correctly, and to perceive what God was really doing? John declared one of the reasons for that coming: “For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil” (1 John 3:8). That is the day of reference. Who would be able to endure it?
WHO SHALL STAND? That day – the time when Jesus was manifested, or made known – was a time that would be the undoing of some. Speaking of that initial revelation, Simeon announced that “the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed” (Lk 2:25). Jesus said of those who did not perceive Him, “your sin remaineth” (John 9:41). That appearing revealed that some who were Jewish leaders were actually the children of the devil (John 8:44). They were unable to “stand” when “the Messenger of the covenant” came into the world. For them, the initial coming of the Lord meant condemnation, for “this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil” (John 3:19).
WHEN HE APPEARETH. There was something disconcerting about the appearance of Christ – when He was made evident to the people. When He was born, it awakened a spirit of murder in Herod (Matt 2:16). When He ministered among the people, doing good and healing all who were oppressed of the devil (Acts 10:38), “the chief priests . . . were sore displeased” (Matt 21:15). They “sought to lay hands on Him” (Matt 21:45), and “consulted how they might take Jesus by subtlety and kill Him” (Matt 26:3). They were not able to abide the day of His coming, or stand when He appeared. For them, the appearance of a Savior meant their own condemnation. I think this aspect of Jesus’ ministry is largely unknown in our time. This is partly owing to the lack of a proper proclamation of Him, as well as the refusal to accept Him in the capacity in which God sent Him into the world.
HE IS LIKE A REFINERS FIRE. Here the heavenly “Messenger” is not likened to a refiner, but to the fire a refiner uses. He is not likened to a fuller, or launderer, but to the soap that such a person uses. This is another aspect of the Lord being “a consuming fire” (Deut 4:24; 9:3; Heb 12:29). That is, when this Messenger is made known, or comes, defilement will not be able to remain. The Psalmist wrote, “A fire goeth before Him, and burneth up His enemies round about” (Psa 97:3). When Daniel saw a vision of the Lord he noted, “A fiery stream issued and came forth from before Him “ (Dan 7:10).
LIKE FULLER’S SOAP. This has to do with cleansing from iniquity – removing the filth that is caused by sin (Jer 2:22). From the standpoint of effect, it has to do with making something “white as snow” – removing all impurities (Mk 9:3).
The presence of the Lord will bring purity – one way or another. Either it will bring holiness to the individual, or that person will be destroyed. Defilement will not stand in the presence of the Lord. The Lord must be presented to the people in this manner. If the people want Jesus, then they must prepare themselves to either be purged or destroyed, purified or removed. His presence has a cleaning effect – like a refiner’s fire or fuller’s soap. Those who imagine that they can possess Jesus, yet remain defiled, are simply wrong – and there is no way to make that truth more palatable. This is how Jesus will come “the second time,” in “flaming fire” (2 Thess 1:8). Men glibly talk about being “seeker friendly,” as though the main objective is to be friendly toward sinners. While there may very well be a speck of truth in this, it certainly is not a primary view of the matter. It is actually God who is the ultimate Seeker, and He is looking for those who tremble at His word (Isa 66:2), and whose heart is perfect toward Him (2 Chron 16:9). For such people, He will purge them from their iniquity, but for the others, He will ultimately purge them from His presence. That is the real Lord!
HE SHALL SIT AS A REFINER
3:3a “ 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 . . .”
The real “Messenger” does not acclimate Himself to the ungodly, learning to live with their infirmities and weaknesses. He does not leave them as they are, or allow what alienated them from Him to remain with them. Remember, this is Malachi’s revelation of the coming Messiah – the One who would declare and implement the New Covenant. A Savior who does not fit this description is a spurious one – invented by the devil himself.
HE SHALL SIT AS A REFINER. Other versions read, “sit as a smelter,” NASB “take His seat, testing,” BBE “will be like a Refiner and Purifier,” CSB “sit down to try and fine,” GENEVA “He will act like,” GWN “take His seat as Refiner and Purifier,” NJB and “He will sit and closely watch as the dross is burned away.” LIVING
By saying “sit as,” the Lord means that this is the role of the Messiah. This is His ministry, or purpose. This is why He will come. He a Messenger, but not merely a Messenger. He comes to DO something as well as say something. Those who have grown accustomed to being defiled are not under the care of the Savior – for He sits as a Refiner and Purifier. You may be sure, He does not fail in His work, for then He would be disobedient to the One who sent Him! I understand that this kind of Jesus is being presented to the people – a Savior who does not really refine and purify the people. But that is not the real Jesus! Just as surely as Jesus was seated to reign (Psa 110:1-2; Acts 2:34-36), He was also seated to refine and purify. There really is no such thing as a reigning Jesus who does not refine and purify, perfecting, and cleansing. Apostolic doctrine consistently associates the Lord Jesus with cleansing, washing, and purifying (1 Cor 6:11; Eph 5:26; Tit 2:14; Heb 1:3; 1 John 1:7; Rev 1:5).
HE SHALL PURIFY THE SONS OF LEVI. This has particular regard to the priests who, in Malachi’s day, were defiled and worthy only of rebuke. The prophesy is saying that a day was coming when those who represented the Lord would no longer be defiled. The defilement of the priesthood was an aspect of the Law being “weak through the flesh” (Rom 8:3). However, the Messenger of the covenant would not declare a covenant after that order. Unlike the Old Covenant, the New would not be weakened by the condition of those who served within it. That condition would not be because defilement would then be tolerated, but because the “Messenger of the covenant” would “purify the sons of Levi” – the priesthood.
HE SHALL PURGE THEM AS GOLD AND SILVER. Both gold and silver are purged, or purified, by having their impurities removed through the refiner’s fire. This is something the “Messenger of the covenant,” the Lord Jesus Christ would do. From a covenantal point of view, it is said of the covenant of reference, “their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more” (Jer 31:34; Heb 8:12; 10:17). This would also fulfill another promise made by Jeremiah: “And I will cleanse them from all their iniquity, whereby they have sinned against Me; and I will pardon all their iniquities, whereby they have sinned, and whereby they have transgressed against Me” (Jer 33:8). The question is, how will all of this be accomplished? The purifying of the people was not a simplistic process accomplished by a Divine fiat, or word.
First, the sin had to be judged, for it had reproached God and driven a wedge between man and God. Therefore, God gathered the sins of humanity and laid them upon Christ (Isa 53:6). Having bore our sins in His body on the tree ( Pet 2:24), Jesus took them away – all of them (John 1:29). This was accomplished through God’s own judgment, who cursed Jesus the sin-bearer (Gal 3:13). That work was a very real judgment of sin. Now, God could not only justify sinners, but be righteous in doing so (Rom 3:26).
Second, the individuals involved must be forgiven, which involved the purging of their conscience – a process in which a sense of defiling guilt was removed from the transgressors. Therein, ”the knowledge of salvation” was granted to the forgiven ones (Lk 1:77), and the conscience cleansed, or purged (Heb 9:9-14; 10:22; 1 Pet 3:21).
Third, the matter of the dominating propensity to sin must be dealt a devastating blow. The sinner must be converted (Acts 3:19), and his nature changed (Ezek 36:36), so that he was a new creation (2 Cor 5:17; Eph 2:10). The people themselves must be refined, or made pure. They could not be left the way they were. That is fundamental in this matter.
THE MANNER OF THE NEW COVENANT. Under the Old Covenant, the priests were a selective group of people – the Levites. Ideally speaking, the Jews were intended to be a “kingdom of priests,” wholly devoted to the Lord (Ex 19:6). God told them they would be called “the Priests of the Lord,” and “the Ministers of the sanctuary” (Isa 61:5). However, because of the unchanged nature of the people, this could not be accomplished under the First Covenant. Therefore the Lord took the Levites from among the people, making them His ministers (Num 3:12; 8:18; 18:6). But it is not so in Christ. Now, in Christ Jesus, all of the people are called “priests” (Rev 1:5; 5:10; 20:6), a “holy priesthood” (1 Pet 2:L5), and “a royal priesthood” (1 Pet 2:9). Therefore, the promise of our text is gloriously fulfilled in them.
THAT THEY MAY OFFER AN OFFERING IN RIGHTEOUSNESS
2:3b “ . . . that they may offer unto the LORD an offering in righteousness.”
There is a purpose that is served by the people being refined, having personal impurity removed from them, as well as the lingering guilt of iniquity. The ultimate aim was not simply to forgive the people of their sins. To have a clean and pure people is not the end of the matter. Rather, it is an ordained means to an appointed end. If this objective is not met, there is no good reason for sins to be forgiven and people to be made pure.
THAT THEY MAY. Other versions read, “so that they may,” NASB “Then the Lord will have men who,” NIV “until they,” NRSV and “so that they can.” CSB The dreadful situation was that Malachi was testifying to a body of priests and people whose offerings God would not accept (Mal 1:10). Isaiah also told the people to stop their religious service, because it was offensive to God (Isa 1:11-13). Jeremiah also testified to this offense, asking what purpose was served by their offerings (Jer 6:20). Amos did the same (Amos 5:21-23).
To have a people whose offerings God will not accept, is itself an unacceptable situation. There is, in such a case, no sustainable purpose served by having a special people. If the people are incapable of pleasing the Lord, who can present a sound reason for the Lord being identified with them? Here we learn something about the Lord Himself. In order for men to be received by Him, they must be made suitable to serve Him.
OFFER UNTO THE LORD. The purpose of the refining, or purifying, is that the people might “offer unto the Lord.” An unrefined people, therefore, are unsuitable to bring an offering to the Lord. The only reason God received sacrifices from some of the Israelites was in prospect of the coming “Messenger of the covenant” – the promised Seed of Abraham. Solemnly, God told Israel that when they came before Him, “none shall appear before Me empty” (Ex 23:15; 34:20; Deut 16:16). This is perfectly reasonable “seeing He giveth to all life, and breath, and all things” (Acts 17:25). He has been too gracious for this to be ignored.
AN OFFERING IN RIGHTEOUSNESS. Other versions read, “offerings in righteousness,” NASB “present right offerings to the Lord,” RSV “offerings to ADONAI uprightly,” CJB “acceptable offerings,” GWN “due sacrifice,” NAB “a proper offering,” NET and “Do their work for God with pure hearts.” LIVING
There is a twofold sense found in the reasoning of this statement – a sense that is garbled by some of the versions. Expressions like “right offerings,” RSV “acceptable offerings,” GWN “due sacrifice,” NAB and “proper offering” NET come short of the meaning. First, the Refiner would refine the ones making the sacrifice, and not the sacrifice itself. The point is that if the one offering the sacrifice is not purged, the sacrifice is rendered unacceptable. This is why, on the day of atonement, the high priest offered a sacrifice “first for himself,” and only then for the others (Lev 16:6,11; Heb 7:27; 9:7).
In this text, the “righteousness” of reference does not refer to the sacrifice itself, but to the one offering it. While imperfect high priests were allowed to offered sacrifices under the Law, those sacrifices were not sufficient to take away sin, or purge the conscience of the ones committing the sin. The whole system was tentative, designed to portray the coming High Priest, who would Himself be the offering as well as the One offering it. That sacrifice would be fully acceptable to God, and have eternal efficacy for those who accepted it by faith.
THE REAL SITUATION. A Lord who is not served by His people is not perceived as Lord to them, for there is no such thing as a Lord who is not served by His own. Further, in Christ Jesus, priests who do not offer to God are no priests at all. It also ought to be noted, that those who are made “priests unto God” are to be holy. It is required of them. Thus believers are commanded, “Be ye holy in all manner of conversation,” or “be holy in all your conduct,” (1 Pet 1:15-16). Hands that are lifted up to the Lord are to be “holy hands” (1 Tim 2:8). Holiness is to be aggressively pursued, “without which no man shall see the Lord” (Heb 12:14). We are reminded that God has called us “unto holiness” (1 Thess 4:7), so how could anyone in an unholy state possibly justify that condition?
Any attempt to serve the Lord apart from holiness contradicts this prophecy by Malachi. He clearly states that “the Messenger of the covenant” will sit as a Refiner, purifying the priests in order that they might bring offerings to God in righteousness. God “cannot lie” (Tit 1:2). If it is possible for those in Christ to be fundamentally unrighteous, yet deliver offerings to God in righteousness, then this prophecy is not true, and God has lied. In such a case, Christ’s ministry has been misrepresented, and His sacrifice has not been effective.
It ought to be abundantly apparent that such things cannot possibly be true – not in any sense. If salvation and Divine acceptance are based upon the record that God has given of His Son (1 John 5:10-11), then that record cannot be flawed. If the church is built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets (Eph 2:20), it is impossible for that foundation to have theological cracks in it, or not be precise in every one of its revealed details.