Thursday
You have wearied the Lord with your words. “How have we wearied him?” you ask. By saying, “All who do evil are good in the eyes of the Lord, and he is pleased with them” or “Where is the God of justice?”
“See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire will come,” says the Lord Almighty.
But who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiner’s fire or a launderer’s soap. He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver. Then the Lord will have men who will bring offerings in righteousness, and the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem will be acceptable to the Lord, as in days gone by, as in former years.
“So I will come near to you for judgment. I will be quick to testify against sorcerers, adulterers and perjurers, against those who defraud laborers of their wages, who oppress the widows and the fatherless, and deprive aliens of justice, but do not fear me,” says the Lord Almighty.
(Malachi 2:17-3:5, NIV)
The writings of Malachi probably came out of the period following the return of the exiled Jews from captivity. Nehemiah administered the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem, and worship was reinstituted in the reconstructed temple. Despite this resettlement in the “promised land,” the Jews expressed doubt about the love and justice of God and, as a result, their worship degenerated into meaningless ritual.
Today’s verses begin with the people’s questions about God and, in response, Malachi prophesies that a messenger will come to prepare the way for the Messiah and then the Messiah will follow. But the description given of the Messiah is a frightening one, for he is depicted as a “refiner’s fire” before whom no one can stand. In the subsequent elaboration of the judgment of God that the Messiah will bring, Malachi identifies several sins and characterizes the injustice that God sees in the exploitation of the most vulnerable people in Hebrew society – widows, orphans, and foreigners, those categories of people without any legal standing. There were no advocates for these people, and God was angry because they were being deprived of justice.
The Gentle King, the Good Shepherd, would also be a Righteous Judge who would purify his people and bring judgment on everyone. He would be the Prince of Peace, but not of a peace built on injustice. The Holy God will not let injustice go unpunished. As John the Baptist proclaimed, “He [Jesus] will clear the threshing floor… burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire” (Matthew 3:12).
Prayer
Holy God, we praise you for your righteousness and your justice. Let us not lose confidence in you or in your control of human events. We are sinners in fear of your judgment. Purify us through the blood of your Son. Amen.