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N.B. Unless otherwise stated, all Bible texts quoted in this post are taken from TEV. For OT texts, however, I have used YHWH instead of "the LORD" whenever the name of God, the tetragrammaton, occurs while YHWH Sabaoth is used for "the LORD of hosts".
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I am about to send my messenger, who will clear the way before me. Indeed, the Lord you are seeking will suddenly come to his temple, and the messenger of the covenant, whom you long for, is certainly coming,” says the LORD who rules over all*. (Malachi 3:1, NET Bible)
* YHWH Sabaoth, or the LORD of hosts.
Two Messengers
In Malachi 3:1, two messengers are mentioned. Firstly, the one referred to as, "my messenger", who will prepare or clear the way before YHWH Sabaoth, the LORD of hosts. And secondly, one who is called "the Lord (adon) you are seeking" who will suddenly come to his temple. He is called "the messenger of the covenant whom you long for" and the people of God delights in him (NASB).
In order to understand this prophecy properly, it is helpful to compare the name of the prophet, Malachi, with the use of the term, "my messenger".
In Malachi 1:1, it is written that the Word of YHWH came to Israel by the hand of Malachi. In Hebrew, the word malach means messenger, and it's the same word used to refer to angels, while malachi means "my messenger". Thus, the name of the prophet, Malachi is a personal name which simply means "My Messenger" - a fitting messenger indeed sent personally from God himself to carry this prophecy about two future messengers.
The First Messenger
Turning back to Malachi 3:1, we find that the same term "my messenger", malachi, used in reference to the first messenger, refers to a person who will be sent to clear the way before God. Interestingly, this malachi is also later referred to as Elijah the Prophet in chapter 4:5, a reference explained by the angel of YHWH when announcing the birth of John the Baptist to Zechariah in Luke 1:17,
"He will go ahead of the Lord, strong and mighty like the prophet Elijah. He will bring fathers and children together again; he will turn disobedient people back to the way of thinking of the righteous; he will get the Lord's people ready for him."
Similarly, the reference to this first malachi as Elijah was further explained by our Lord Jesus himself in Matthew 11:10,14
For John is the one of whom the scripture says: 'God said, I will send my messenger ahead of you to open the way for you.' . . . and if you are willing to believe their message, John is Elijah, whose coming was predicted.
It is obvious, therefore, that the prophecy of this first messenger was fulfilled in the ministry of John the Baptist in the NT.
The Second Messenger
Moving on to the second part of Malachi 3:1, however, we find that the second messenger, in contrast to the first malachi is given the title, "adon", meaning a master of slaves, or a lord over people:
Indeed, the Lord (ha-adon) you are seeking will suddenly come to his temple, the messenger (ha-malach) of the covenant whom you long for is coming, says YHWH..
Now, adon is a term in Hebrew which carries the connotation of a human master or human lord, and like the term malachi, the addition of the suffix -i, adoni, carries the meaning of "my Lord"e.g. Adoni Zedek means My Lord the Righteous, while Adoni Bezek means My Lord the Lightning.
In the OT, Joshua 10:1 carries an account of the capture and execution Adoni Zedek, a King of Jerusalem by Joshua's men, while Judges 1:4-7 tells us of Adoni Bezek, the cruel Caananite king who, in his days had captured seventy other kings, cut off their thumbs and big toes and forced them to pick up food scraps under his table. Finally, YHWH gave Adoni Bezek into the hands of Judah and Simeon who gave him a taste of his own medicine by cutting off his thumbs and big toes, before bringing him to die in Jerusalem.
It is clear, from the second part of 3:1, that this second messenger, adon, or master, is the long awaited Messiah, our Lord Jesus Christ, whose path was to be cleared before him by the first messenger, who was John the Baptist.
This adon is the Lord whom Israel had been seeking. He is the human King, the messenger of God's covenant whom Israel longed for, and who would come suddenly to his temple.
A Drastic Change
According to Malachi's prophecy, the coming of this adon, the Messiah, will bring about a drastic change to Israel. When we look more closely into Malachi 3:3-5, we can see at least three sweeping changes that is to come about among God's own people:
A Change for Purification
Malachi 3:2
But who will be able to endure the day when he comes? Who will be able to survive when he appears? He will be like strong soap, like afire that refines metal.
When the Adon comes he will bring about a painful change of purification - a purification likened to refiners' fire and launderers' soap. This is a purification that removes wickedness and evil from Israel. And it's so severe that Malachi appeared to ask, "Who can endure it? Who can stand it?"
Surprisingly, it is the priests, the Sons of Levi, who will have to be purified under this painful removal of sin by soap and by fire. Not any sinner, nor wicked man nor any evil enemy of God in the land. Instead, they are the very priesthood of God, chosen among the people to serve God.
Malachi 3:3
He will come to judge like one who refines and purifies silver. As a metal-worker refines silver and gold, so YHWH's messenger will purify the priests, so that they will bring to YHWH the right kind of offerings.
It reminds us also that in the NT, Christians are called to belong to the priesthood of God too. Twice in the first epistle of Peter, the apostle reminded the church that they are a "holy priesthood" and a "royal priesthood" of God (1 Peter 2:5, 9)
Brothers and Sisters in Christ, today our Lord, Adon, Jesus Christ has already come in obedience to God, his Father and our Father. He has died for us, that we may also likewise die together with him. And God who has raised him from the dead, the same God, YHWH, has also raised us to a new life of obedience to serve Jesus the Messiah as our Adon, our master forever.
In this way we have become part of our God's holy and royal priesthood. And as priests, we too are called to be pure - a purity brought about by our endurance of various trials in life, in the course of following our Lord Jesus Christ. The apostle Peter wrote about this when telling us to look forward to the abundant blessings that God has kept for us in heaven, in 1 Peter 1:6
Be glad about this, even though it may now be necessary for you to be sad for a while because of the many kinds of trials you suffer.
He goes on to explain in v.7 that trials are necessary, and are meant to prove how genuine our faith is, comparing it to the purification of gold by fire - so that our faith may endure until the return of our Lord Jesus, when we will receive "praise and glory and honour" from God .
Their purpose is to prove that your faith is genuine. Even gold which can be destroyed is tested by fire; and so your faith, which is much more precious than gold, must also be tested, so that it may endure. Then you will receive praise and glory and honour on the Day when Jesus Christ is revealed.
Indeed, this purification continues every day of our lives, working in us like launderer's soap and refiner's fire! Let us strive to remain part of this purified priesthood.
A Change for Restoration
Malachi 3:4
Then the offerings which the people of Judah and Jerusalem bring to YHWH will be pleasing to Him, as they used to be in the past.
The drastic change that the Adon will bring about is also a change to restore all the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem to a state where they will be acceptable again - a state described in verse 4 here "as in the former years" or "as they used to be in the past"
This acceptable offering, or sacrifice, is expounded in great detail in the book of Hebrews in the NT, where the Messiah, the Son of God is described as having entered into the most holy place of God's temple and has offered himself as a "once for all" sacrifice for the sins of the world.
Hebrews 10:11 says, "Every Jewish priest performs his services every day and offers the same sacrifices many times, but these sacrifices can never take away sins." The subsequent verses then go on to explain,
Christ however, offered one sacrifice for sins, an offering that is effective for ever, and then he sat down at the right-hand side of God. There he now waits until God puts his enemies as a footstool under his feet. Hebrews 10:12-13
Finally, in verse 14, the writer concludes, "With one sacrifice, then, he has made perfect for ever those who are purified from sin."
Thus, today we acknowledge our Lord Jesus Christ, whom we call Adoni, as our one single sacrifice for all our sins, effective for ever. This is the sacrifice that is acceptable and pleasing to YHWH, by which we are made perfect by our Lord and are purified from sin.
A Change for Judgment
Malachi 3:5
YHWH Sabaoth says, "I will appear among you to judge, and I will testify at once against those who practise magic, against adulterers, against those who give false testimony, those who cheat employees out of their wages, and those who take advantage of widows, orphans and foreigners - against all who do not respect me."
Finally, the coming of the Messiah, Adoni, brings about a final and ultimate judgment upon all peoples. Note that while verse 3 says earlier that the Adon would come to judge and purify the priests of God, here in verse 5 the prophecy states clearly that it is YHWH himself who eventually come to his people for judgment.
Indeed, YHWH will testify quickly against those who practise sorcery, against the adulterers and false witnesses and against those who cheat poor labourers of their wages, including those who oppress widows and orphans, and who deny justice to alien peoples!
Dear Christians, behold, our God, Adonai YHWH, who will judge those who do not fear Him!
Conclusion
Brothers and sisters, let us remind ourselves that we have been purified from sin by the acceptable, once-for-all, sacrifice of our Lord and Master, our Adoni, Jesus the Messiah.
Let us fear YHWH, our God and Father in heaven before whom we must stand on Judgment Day!
To be continued in the next post: A Prophecy of Two Messengers - its fulfilment.
