From this last book in the Old
Testament, Malachi, we're reading in chapter 3. And there we'll
read the first three verses, then flip to chapter 4, and there
read also the first three verses that has our principal text in
it. So Malachi chapter 3, 1 through
3. Here are some prophecies of future
time from Malachi. All right, verse 1, chapter 3. Behold, I will send my messenger,
and he shall prepare the way before me. And the Lord, whom
you seek, shall suddenly come to his temple. Even the messenger
of the covenant, whom you delight in, behold, he shall come, saith
the Lord of hosts. But who may abide the day of
his coming? And who shall stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner's fire
and like fuller soap. And he shall sit as a refiner
and a 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 and offering in righteousness. Or I chapter 4,
the last chapter, also verse 1 through verse 3. For behold, the day cometh that
shall burn as an oven. And the proud, yea, and all that
do wickedly shall be stubble. And the day that cometh shall
burn them up, saith the Lord of hosts, that it shall leave
them neither root nor branch. But unto you that fear my name
shall the son of righteousness arise with healing in his wing
and you shall go forth and grow up as calves in the stall and
you shall tread down the wicked for they shall be ashes under
the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this, saith
the Lord of hosts." Now the second verse said, the Son of Righteousness,
S-U-N, shall arise with healing in his wings. Now, let us kind
of get our contextual bearings for this passage and subject
of the morning. And so I think that we might
consider, before we consider this particular text and this
particular verse, it might be well if we somewhat acquaint
ourselves and have sort of a snoptic view of the book of Malachi. its place in the Old Testament
prophet, that it is the last book in the Old Testament, the
closing book, if you will, but also look at the leading message
of the book or the messages that are contained in it and the people
to whom it was intended in the original writing. the particular
sins and shortcomings of that generation, its prophecies, if
indeed there are many, and the most important matter of all,
in any of the books, what, if anything, does the prophet have
to say about the coming of Messiah into the world, the Lord's anointed
one? Now, the first thing that we
might point out is that this book of Malachi has authenticity
in that it is quoted in the New Testament as a legitimate part
of the Old Testament canon by the spirit-led men in the New
Testament. The Lord referred to it. So did
the apostle and the writers in the New Testament. The Lord himself. in Matthew chapter 11 and verse
10 referred to Malachi chapter 3 and verse 1. And in Matthew
chapter 17 and verse 12, Malachi 4 and verse 6 is referred to
in the sending of Elijah. Also in Mark chapter 1 and 2
and chapter 9 verse 11 through verse 13. And of course, who
can forget that very strong passage from the Apostle Paul in Romans
chapter 9 and verse 13, as it is written, Jacob have I loved,
but Esau have I hated. Where is that written? In the
book of Malachi chapter 1 and verses 1 through 3. where the
prophet there reasons with the people. Were not Jacob and Esau's
brother, the prophet asked of them? Yes, were they brother,
and they were even twin, and Esau even came out first of the
two. And yet, I loved Jacob, and I
hated Esau, and I laid his mountains and his heritage way, so that
the Lord Jesus Christ himself and the apostle Paul, as we see,
do therefore consider that the prophet Amalickiah and his writings
are among the inspired word of God and belong to the canon of
the scripture. Canon, C-A-N-O-N, that means
having a right to be in the canon of the scripture. And then being
the last of the prophet, when then a certain and long time
silence fell upon the world until John the Baptist came, appearing
in his uniqueness and preparing the way for the Son of God, even
the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, one expositor that I read
described the book of Malachi in this way, that Malachi, he
said, is the link between the two great dispensations and the
transition from the Old Testament onto the New. And it was written
after they had returned again from their captivity, and the
temple had been refurbished, and the worship of God had been
set up among them again. But they soon corrupted the worship
of God and fell again into hypocritical ways. forgetting God's former
mercies toward them, even calling the love of God for them into
question. Malachi 1 and verse 2, wherein
have you loved us? God said to them, I have loved
you. And their reply is, where in
have you loved us? Where are the tokens and the
evidence of your love unto us? And so they impudently demand
instances of God's love toward them, even though they had had
many without number. As to the character of the people
in the day that Malachi wrote unto them, we see in this book
the attitude of that generation of people, and we see in them
that rotten seed of Phariseeism which had hatched out into the
full Phariseeism in the day that our Lord appeared among them
in his incarnation. They refused to acknowledge their
sins. Even when brought before them,
they denied them and impudently cast them aside. They denied. and that they were unaware of
any slackness in their service unto God at all. They were infected
with that very deadliest disease, in that they had no sense of
being sinners in the sight of God. And what Thomas More called
it, a spirit of proud, bigoted self-righteousness, they claim
the favor of God with insolent haughtiness, end of quotation. Nor does this overstate their
view of themselves, for you hear them answer the prophets every
charge that he brings against them. You see them in this book,
meet every accusation and deflect every indictment that the prophet
brought against them in the name of God Almighty. I'll give you
a few if you want to scan through the book of Malachi. I already
said chapter one and verse two. Where in have you loved us? Where is the evidence by our
situation and your dealings with us? Wherein have you loved us? Drop down to chapter 1 and verse
7. Wherein have we polluted thee? And the answer was, by offering
polluted bread upon mine altar. Chapter 2. And verse 14, wherefore
said the priest, have we not given forth thy counsel? Chapter 2 and verse 17, wherein
have we wearied thee? Wherein have we been a weariness
in our continued rebellion against you? Chapter 3, verse 8, wherein
have we robbed thee? And the prophet said, in tithes
and in offering. And in chapter 2, verse 1 through
10, the priests themselves were corrupt and unfaithful to the
teaching, the law, and the covenant of God. And this is pretty well
summed up in chapter 2 and verse 8. This word to the priest, you
are departed out of the way. You have caused many to stumble
at the law. You have corrupted the covenant
of Levi, said the Lord of hosts. So they stood guilty of unbelief. of disobedience, of corrupt teaching,
of perversion, being Levites, the priests had betrayed the
covenant that was made with their father Levi and their tribe as
the priestly order according to the worship in Israel and
their dissimilation. had led the people to become
corrupt as well. Corrupt religious leaders lead
the people they lead into corruption, like the blind leading the blind. I hear and I read these things
here in the book of Malachi, and I can't help but think how
it also resembles our very own generation. There is little sense
of sin and sinfulness in people in our day and time, not even
in the churches and among the people that call themselves the
children of God. And there is such little doctrine
coming out of the pulpits today. Almost anything goes. and is
welcome and is taught in church, and the doctrine of the scripture
is seldom heard in its purity and entirety. I thought that,
but then I began to reflect. This has been true with most
every generation that we could mention from the time of our
Lord until now. For example, the apostles had
to continually fight the battle for the purity of the gospel
and to fight off those that would pervert it. The Puritans felt
that they certainly lived in the day of Antichrist. You read
their writing, and they thought that Antichrist lived among them
and next door. Then I read that the Baptists
in the time of Keech and of Spurgeon and of John Gill, had the same
issue and made the same complaint. Then I read J.C. Ryle and found
that he thought the old Church of England had fallen into a
bad state as well. And others have also made that
cry of the faithful children of God. So lest we miss it, let's
remember that Malachi also made some prophecies of person and
of things that were to come in a future day. We read it in Malachi
3 and verse 1 where he speaks of two gray persons. or personages that were to appear
in a future time. Two of them in verse one. I will
send my messenger to prepare the way before me. Even the messenger
of the covenant whom you seek or whom you look for. Both are
called messenger. One is called my messenger and
the other is called the messenger of the covenant, and they're
not one and the same person. Now this word messenger, as it
is used here, can be rendered angel, and sometime is. For we
remember in Revelation 2 and 3, this message to the angel
of the church at this place, or at that. And it seems this,
that the first messenger is a clear reference to him that turned
out to be John the Baptist, my messenger, and he shall prepare
or clear the way before me for my coming. And the second messenger
is the Christ, the anointed, the Messiah, called here the
messenger of the covenant. I suppose because he not only
reveals but installs or brings into force the new covenant.
And this is the one that will come suddenly unto his temple. Now the first messenger, let's
look at them individually, matches both what is said and what is
done by John the Baptist. It's clear that this is a prophecy
of the work of John. Hear a passage earlier. from
the great prophet Isaiah, chapter 40, and verse 3. Quote, the voice
of him that cries in the wilderness, prepare ye the way of the Lord,
make straight in the desert a highway for our God, unquote. That certainly
is John. And in John chapter 1, John's
gospel, chapter 1, verse 19 through verse 28, when the Pharisees,
when the Jews from Jerusalem sent men, priests and Levites,
on a mission out to where John was preaching and baptizing. And they had a question for him.
Who are you? Who are you? And who are you?
And he said unto them in verse 20, very up front, I'm not the
Christ. Maybe they thought that because
of the prophecies that had been made in the Old Testament. Perhaps
they were in the mind of them, and if John had been a man of
great ego or great deceiver, he might have laid claim unto
that. But they ask him in verse 21,
are you Elijah? Are you that Elijah? Because
Elijah, you remember, had been caught up and never found. And
so because of what Malachi said, they might thought that he was
the appearance of Elijah. Malachi 4 and 5, I will send
you Elijah the prophet. But also in verse 21 there, well
then are you that prophet? And I have no doubt that they
refer to what Moses said, perhaps in Deuteronomy chapter 18, verse
15 and 18, I will send you a prophet like unto me. Him shall you hear? Him that will not hear will be
destroyed from among the people." And John said again, no, I'm
not that prophet or that particular one. So then they asked John,
well, then who in the Sam Hill are you? That we might give an
answer to them back in Jerusalem that have sent us unto you. You're not the Christ. You're
not Elijah. You're not that special prophet.
Then tell us, in your very own words, who do you consider yourself
to be? Of course, they mean not in regard
to his own personal or private life, but in regard to the things
of God. Because John was out there preaching
and performing a new thing among them baptizing. So they would
know by what authority and in what capacity are you doing these
things? Who are you? So John tells them
in verse 23 of that chapter. I'm the voice of one crying in
the wilderness, make straight the way of the Lord, just as
was said by the prophet Isaiah in chapter 40 and verse 3 that
we quoted. Now while we're discussing John,
let's read another passage from the book of Malachi. And this time would be the very
closing verses, the last two verses of Malachi chapter 4,
verse 5 and verse 6. Behold, I will send you Elijah
the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day
of the Lord. And he shall turn the heart of
the fathers to the children and the heart of the children to
their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse. Now, this is why the delegation
asked John whether he was Elijah. And by the way, Matthew, rather
James, Peter and John had just come off of the mountain one
time and seen Elijah there with the Lord on the Mount of Transfiguration. And the scripture predicted,
therefore, an appearance of Elijah. And was it literal Elijah that
was to appear among them? He was called up alive into heaven
and did not die. And they looked for him in the
valley and the mountain. And not only that, but John resembled Elijah, or they
resembled each other in their dress, their action, their way,
their preaching, and I'll tell you how. They were a hairy man. Both of them wore a leather girdle
about their loins. John in Matthew 3 and verse 4. And it was John Gill that pointed
out unto me that they resemble not just in their dress, but
in their temper, in their disposition as they ministered, and their
courage in reproving the sin of the people without fear, and
in their zeal for the cause of God and true, unadulterated religion. But John was not Elijah, reincarnated
for the reason for comparing him with Elijah is twice explained
clearly in the New Testament. How is this Elijah that was to
come? In Luke chapter 1, in the prophecy
of the angel of the Lord unto Zechariah and his wife, the parents
of John, the baptizer. For until then, they were both
old and childless because of the barrenness of his wife, Elizabeth. But the angel says to them, you're
going to have a son. His name is going to be called
John. And I'm going to flip to Luke
chapter 1, verse 15 through 17, and read that exchange and message
from the angel. The angel tells them that their
son will be great in the sight of the Lord, shall drink neither
wine nor strong drink, he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost
even from his mother's womb, and many of the children of Israel
shall he turn to the Lord their God. And he shall go before him
in the spirit and power of Elias to turn the hearts of the fathers
to the children, the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, and
to make ready a people prepared for the Lord. And the second
one is found in Matthew chapter 11. and chapter 17. What the Lord said of John the
Baptist one day as he was explaining to his disciples the work, the
importance, and significance of John. What went you out to
see? A reed shaken in the wind. Now in Matthew 11 and verse 7,
Jesus speaks to the multitude about John and he applies Malachi
chapter 3 to John the Baptist in Matthew 11 and verse 10 also
and he applies Malachi chapter 4 and verse 5 to John the Baptist
in Matthew chapter 11 and verse 14 that he was Elijah which was
to come and in Matthew chapter 17 10 through 13, the disciples
asked the Lord why the scribes say that Elijah must come first,
that Elijah must precede Messiah. I'm reminded you some of them
had just seen Elijah on the Mount of Transfiguration in Matthew
chapter 17 and then had come down. Elijah is fresh on their
mind. Now the scribes might have argued
after this fashion. The scribes might have said concerning
Jesus as the anointed one. They might have said to the people,
look Elijah has not come therefore Jesus of Nazareth cannot be the
true Messiah. They might argue along that line. So the Lord said in Matthew 17
and verse 12, as in Matthew 11 and 14 to them, this is Elijah,
John. He's talking about John, which
was far to come. And Matthew 17, 13, then the
disciples understood that he spoke unto them of John the Baptist. That John the Baptist came in
the spirit and the power of Elijah. But now, let's move along. A second and greater person is
predicted by Malachi to come in the future time. So look back,
if we will, at chapter 3 again and verse 1. Behold, I will send
my messenger before him and prepare the way. And he describes that
one then as the messenger of the covenant. Look at this. The
son of righteousness shall arise. S-U-N. And Malachi chapter 3,
Malachi chapter 4 speaks of that. He shall suddenly come unto his
temple, preceded by the one who prepares the way for his coming,
which, we've learned, is John the Baptist. The messenger of
the covenant is then to follow him and appear. Now, a messenger,
in the meaning of the word in Malachi and he uses that word
three times in this book or prophecy of Malachi chapter 2 verse 7
chapter 3 verse 1 twice he uses the word messenger the first
of the priests he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts the second
of John the forerunner and the third of Christ himself who is
the messenger of the covenant. Now the word messenger is from
a root word as I understand it, meaning to dispatch with a deputed
message that is to be delivered. That one sends out another with
a message that is to be delivered. An angel it could be, it could
be a prophet, a teacher, a priest, and such like. Now, there are
two questions here concerning this son of righteousness who
shall arise. Number one, can this be a reference
unto Christ indeed, the anointed, the Messiah? And then question
number two, what then is the significance of this son of righteousness
arising with healing in his wing? Now, as to the first question,
is Christ the son of righteousness that is set forth here in Malachi? All of the commentators that
I read and that I trust have no reservation in applying this
to the Christ of God. Gill called him this rather,
quote, a figurative reference to Messiah, unquote. And there are many such figurative
references unto him in the scripture. For example, he is called the
Lamb. the Lamb of God, because he is
the great sacrifice for sin, prefigured by the Passover Lamb,
the Day of Atonement, and such like. Not only that, figuratively
he is called the stone, the stone the builder set aside, because
he is the foundation, he is the chief cornerstone, and because
of his firmness. He is called a stone. Then he's called a temple. His
body is called a temple because God dwells in him. And he is called the bread, the
water of life, the shepherd, the vine. and on and on in the
New Testament. Now, we know that Christ was
not a literal lamb or a literal sheep. He was not a literal rock,
but figuratively. He was not a literal temple.
He was not literal bread. He was not a literal vine. But
these were figurative. are figures of the work that
he would do, of the things that he would provide in the saving
of his people from their sin and their misery. As a lamb,
he bore our sin. As a rock, He is the foundation
upon which we are built. As our bread, He feeds and satisfies
us. As our vine, He nourishes us,
for we are as the branches. Each of these things are a figure
of what Christ was and did unto His people. Now, in this text,
he is called, I guess for the only time I can think about in
the scripture, the son, or likened figuratively to the son. The S-U-N of righteousness. The son of righteousness who
arises. The son of righteousness who
arises with healing in his wings. So first of all, let us consider
the sun, and why it is that it is a good figure of our blessed
Lord, perhaps in his person, his essence, and his work. Someone wrote this, and is it
not true? Quote, the sun is a miracle of
the first magnitude. And by that they meant the S-U-N
that passes over our way each day. How is the sun a miracle
of a very great magnitude? No doubt the two great lights
in Genesis chapter 1, 16 through 18, are those identified in the
psalm 136, verse 7 through verse 9, as the sun and the moon, the
great light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the
night, and the day and the other to do the same as the night. The sun, like the burning bush
in Moses' day, the sun like that never burned out. It never burned. It continually is burning, is
burning, is burning. It's like a huge, fiery furnace
consuming enormous amounts of fuel as it goes on its way. And I read a book by Meldau,
Against Evolution. And he said this, and I'm quoting,
Unbelievable amounts of energy in all directions, unquote. Think about that when you think
about the sun. And yet, it remains of the same
force and same stability. It ever burns, it is not depleted
or diminished in any way. It does not lessen or it does
not burn out at all. It remains the same. It remains
constant day in and day out, rising all over the world every
day of their morning, providing for the planet, the planet we
live on, light, heat, power. and other blessings that are
necessary unto our life. There wouldn't be life if it
were not for the sun and its relationship unto us. Such as lifting salt water out
of the ocean, filling the clouds and then giving rain upon the
thirsty land. The sun has its part in that. The power of photosynthesis coming
by and through the sun to grow plants. And perhaps the radio
waves that go by are related in some way to the sun as something.
So what I'm saying is the sun is of vital importance. unto the earth and to life and
all things upon it. Even though it is 93 million
miles away from the global earth, as they say, were the sun to
burn out, were it to be extinguished, all earthly life would soon vanish
away. It would be the end of it. It
is indispensable. It's absolutely necessary to
the function of the earth. It is that greater light to rule
the day. If you haven't read Psalm 19,
verses 1 through 6 lately, about the glory of the sun, you ought
to read it just for devotional. The psalmist likens it to a man
coming out to run a race, and to a bridegroom coming out of
his chamber as adored for a bride, and nothing is hid from it. It shines its light upon each
and every place upon the earth and each and every person upon
the earth. None can hide themselves from
it or from its heat. It is literally a consuming fire
that lights over the entire world. A quick story, I had a friend
work with NASA in the 60s and 70s, and he said they were considering
a program to get rid of the earth garbage by shooting it into the
sun, but it never got off the ground, it was too expensive,
and such like. But me think that the expositor
is right in what he said of the sun, that the Holy Spirit of
God had an eye to Jesus Christ the sun when these things were
done. Of him we read in John chapter
8 and verse 12, from his own lips, I am the light of the world. He that follows me shall not
walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. As we have
light for our world from the sun, we have light from our Christ
that we might not walk in darkness. John 9 and verse 5, as long as
I am in the world, I am the light of the world. Christ said, remember
the occasion? The healing of the blind man.
In John 12 and verse 46, I am come a light into the world. And the prophets wrote this,
Isaiah 42 and verse 6, of one given for a covenant of the people
for a light to the Gentile. Isaiah 49 and verse 6, I will
give thee for a light to the Gentile to be my salvation to
the end of the earth. Isaiah 60 and verse 3, the Gentiles
shall come to thy light, none other than Christ. Luke chapter
2 and verse 32, Simeon, remember him, a devout man had a revelation
from God about the Messiah. And that revelation was that
he would not die until he had seen the Lord's Christ or the
Lord's salvation. And he had that revelation. And
when Joseph and Mary brought the Lord Jesus Christ into the
temple to present him to the Lord. Simeon caught vision of
him and his revelation kicked in and he saw the young child
and he said this in verse 30 through 32 of Luke chapter 2. mine eyes have seen thy salvation,
which thou hast prepared before the face of all people, and a
light to lighten the Gentile and the glory of thy people Israel."
That's also mentioned in Acts chapter 13 and verse 47. in Acts
26 and 23, to show light unto the people and to the Gentile
were Christ. And in these and in other verses,
the Christ is called the light. the light of the world, spiritual
light, the light of the soul, not only to Israel, but also
to the Gentiles who before sat in spiritual darkness. And this light is not confined
to one nation or one people, and it's not confined to one
place, but all over the world. I want us to remember that this
is Paul's justification for turning to the Gentile, since Christ
was sent as a light unto the Gentile. And Paul said, therefore,
I go to the Gentile. And note, the sun, S-U-N, of
righteousness will arise with healing in his wing, that is,
spiritual healing, especially salvation from our sin. Now, there are two things to
note in the Prophet Malachi in connection with all of this. First of all, the distinction
or contrast between two sorts of people is clear in Malachi. And not two different countries,
but two sorts of people, not of the same country, of the same
country, yes, of the same country. Malachi 3, 13 through 18, Won't
read it again. Verse 13 through 15, the believers
and the doubters. are distinguished there, who
complain and they reproach God. And in verse 16 through 18, they
that fear God. And there were a few of them.
This is repeated in chapter 4 in verse 1. The proud that do wickedly. You know, the more God is forgotten,
the more wicked any society will become. And I think that is true
of ours today and their bad end. But verse 2, you that fear my
name shall blessings come. What is that blessing? The son
of righteousness shall arise with healing in his wing. I don't understand it fully,
but in 2 Peter 1 and verse 19, he talks about till the day star
dawn in your heart. Till the day star dawn in your
heart. But the second thing that is
there in the book of Malachi is the prediction of judgment
upon the wicked. in Malachi 3, 2 and 3. He's coming, his temple, but
who may abide the day of his coming? Who shall stand when
he appeared? For he is like a refiner's fire
and like fuller soap and shall sit as a refiner and a purifier
of silver and purify the sons of Levi and so forth. And again, in chapter 4 and verse
1, For behold, the day cometh that shall burn as an oven. All that do wickedly shall be
stubble. The day that cometh shall burn
them up, saith the Lord of hosts, and leave them neither root nor
branch. Now the question with verses
like that among the expositor is this. Does this describe the
incarnate appearance of our Lord among the Jew, or is it a later
or an end-time judgment of some sort? A later final judgment,
or both, or all judgment? It is so, and this is important
to me, that John the Baptist used some of these very words
and phrases from the prophet describing the appearance of
Christ in the flesh among them. In Matthew chapter 3, verse 10
through verse 12, he said this, In verse 10, even now also the
axe is laid unto the root of the tree. And in verse 12, whose
fan is in his hand, he will purge his floor, gather the wheat,
and burn the shaft. and utterly and completely destroy
it. John Gill was one of those who
took such passages to refer to the Lord's appearance and vengeance
upon the Jewish nation. When the city and the temple
was burned about their ears, as Gill said, which culminated
in their rejection and crucifixion of the Christ. The kingdom of
God was taken away from them, given to a nation, bringing forth
the fruits thereof. Those wicked husbandmen in that
parable were utterly, miserably destroyed in Matthew 21, 40 through
44. And a great stone grinds them
unto powder. The very stone that they set
aside will grind them unto power. and has been made the head of
the corner according to Psalm 118 verse 24 and Acts chapter
4 and verse 11. Malachi 3 and 5, he would come
near them in judgment and be a swift witness against them.
When the elect were preserved and called and saved, the Son
of Righteousness did arise upon them with healing in His wings. To them that feared God and waited
for the consolation of Israel, the Son of Righteousness at long
last appeared with healing in His wings. I'll close with 2
Corinthians chapter 4 and verse 6. For God has shined into our
hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God
in the face of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Yes, He's the light. Yes, He's the Son, the everlasting
Son of righteousness that had no beginning and that has no
end, who lights every man that comes into the world, John 1,
9, by the light that he would have them to have. He is our
light. Our only light outside of Christ
is only darkness spiritual. Thank God for light and for understanding
and for knowledge.