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Third speech: the day of the Lord. 1–12. The cleansing effect of Jehovah's judgment. 13–18. Divine justice undoubtedly exists. (Mal.3:1-12.) In response to the declared desire of the Jews - to see the righteous judgment of God - the prophet proclaims that Jehovah, as the Angel of the covenant, will appear first of all to judge the descendants of Levi in order to cleanse them from their iniquities, and then will carry out His judgment on all the Jews who now offend Jehovah by self-interest in relation to the choice of sacrificial animals and by withholding tithes and tithes due to the church. offerings. Let the Jews correct themselves - only then can they count on God’s mercy. Mal.3:1. Behold, I send My angel, and he will prepare the way before Me, and suddenly the Lord, whom you seek, and the Angel of the covenant, whom you desire, will come to His church; Behold, He comes, says the Lord of hosts. To the question posed in the 17th verse of the second chapter - does God's justice actually exist, the prophet says that this justice exists, and Jehovah, Whom the Jews so long to see as the Judge of the wicked, will soon appear. - “Behold, I am sending” - more precisely: “behold, I am the sender.” In the Hebrew text the present participle is placed here. time in conjunction with the particle “here”, and such a connection is especially often used to designate future events that will occur sooner or later. Therefore, in the present case, instead of: “I send,” it is better to read: “I will send.” I am, as can be seen from the last words of the verse, the Lord of Hosts Himself. "My Angel". The word “Maleachi” found here in the Hebrew text can mean either one of the disembodied spirits sent to carry out Jehovah’s commands on earth, or a simple person authorized by Jehovah to proclaim His will to people. But the Lord Jesus Christ refers this name to His Forerunner, John the Baptist (Matthew 11.10). The Evangelists interpreted this name in the same way (Mk 1.2–4). Therefore, in order to avoid misunderstandings and, especially, in view of the fact that in the second half of the verse it is again spoken of “Angel”, by which we no longer mean a mere mortal, in this case, instead of the expression “My Angel”, it is better to put the expression: “My messenger”. Who the prophet’s listeners understood by “messenger” is not a particularly important question. One can only say - based on Chapter IV. 5th verse - that they could see here a prediction about the coming of the prophet Elijah. It is important for us that all interpreters of the ancient Christian Church saw here, in accordance with the Gospel, a prediction of the coming of John the Baptist. For an analysis of the opinions of the latest Western interpreters, see Tikhomirov, p. 422–431. “And He will prepare the way before Me,” that is, with his preaching he will make sure that the Jews will be able, from the moral side, to accept the Lord. The image is most borrowed from the customs observed during the royal comings to Persia. Special messengers announced the arrival of the king in one region or another so that its inhabitants could meet him with dignity. “And suddenly,” that is, the activity of the messenger will not prepare everyone for the acceptance of the Lord-Judge, and for many this coming will be completely unexpected. – “To His church” – as to His palace (Joel 3.5; Jer 7.4). God was the King of Israel (Mal 1.14). – “Lord” – in Hebrew. Ga-Adon is, without a doubt, Jehovah Himself. – “Whom you seek” is an allusion to the Jewish objection to the existence of the Righteous Giver, see Mal 2.17. Perhaps in these words there is a hint that, contemporary Malachi, the Jews were not happy that in the newly built church there was no cloud, this visible sign of the presence of Jehovah, and there was also no ark of the covenant, on which Jehovah had previously mysteriously sat. It might have seemed to them that Jehovah did not live among His people (Tikhomirov, p. 436). "Angel of the Covenant". Since this person must be preceded by a “messenger” or Forerunner, it is clear that some higher person is meant here, and not a simple messenger of God. Who is here of course? The most likely assumption is that the expression “Angel of the Covenant” is the same as the often used expression “Angel of Jehovah” in the Old Testament. Just as the “Angel of Jehovah” is understood by the newest exegetes as Jehovah Himself, only not in His essence, but in His appearance and activity among the chosen people (Tikhomirov), so by the “Angel of the Covenant” one should also understand Jehovah, since He will appear as standing, by virtue of the covenant once concluded with the Jews, in a special relationship with the Jewish people. The Jews demanded that Jehovah reward them for their patience, as agreed in the covenant made at Sinai (Exodus 24.7). Jehovah, therefore, will soon come to do this, to deal with the Jews as required by this covenant. They must wait for Him precisely as the Angel or executor of the covenant, in which both the promises of Jehovah and the duties of Israel were indicated. But at the same time, it is undoubtedly that Jehovah distinguishes from Himself the “Angel of the Covenant” as a special Person: He is the sender, the Angel of the Covenant is the one sent, although acting as Jehovah, with all His rights and power. Therefore, the last words of the prophecy: “behold, He comes” cannot be understood only as a peculiar way of expression when the speaker speaks about himself in the third person (in Malachi, for example, God says: “pray to God” - Mal. 1:9), but, in accordance with the Gospel, should be considered as a designation of the Son of God, Who, by virtue of His unity, essentially, with God the Father (John 10.30), appears here as Jehovah and the Angel of the covenant. Mal.3:2–4. And who will endure the day of His coming, and who will stand when He appears? For He is like a refiner's fire and like a purifying lye, and he will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them as gold and as silver, so that they may sacrifice to the Lord in righteousness. Then the sacrifice of Judah and Jerusalem will be acceptable to the Lord, as in the days of old and as in former years. The Jews thought that Jehovah's appearance at the judgment would only benefit them, but in fact, there are hardly many among them who will withstand the test that awaits them, like other peoples, at the judgment of Jehovah. - “Fire that melts” - cf. Isa 1.25. - “Cleansing lye” - cf. Jer 2.22. - "Sons of Levi". Purification, first of all, will be performed on the descendants of Levi, in particular, on the priests, because Jehovah had a special covenant with Levi (Mal 2.5). - “The victim... in truth,” i.e., as stated in the law. – “Days of old” are, for example, the happy times of David, who cared about the correct performance of Divine services. Mal.3:5. And I will come to you for judgment and will be a swift accuser of sorcerers and adulterers and those who swear falsely and withhold wages from a hireling, oppress the widow and the orphan, and repel the stranger, and do not fear Me, says the Lord of hosts. As for ordinary Jews, Jehovah will judge them too for various crimes against the Law of Moses. God will be the accuser, or rather the witness against the Jews at this trial. He will judge - He will also confirm the guilt of the defendants, as the Omniscient One. Thus, the trial will be carried out quickly (by a speedy accuser). On the crime of witchcraft, see Lev. 20.27, adultery - Lev. 20.10, false oath - Ex. 20.7, grievances of mercenaries - Lev. 19.13, oppression of widows and orphans, and strangers - Deut. 24.17. Mal.3:6. For I am the Lord, I do not change; therefore you sons of Jacob were not destroyed. The Lord is always faithful to His promises. Therefore, the Jews, whose ancestors the Lord promised to protect their descendants, continue to exist, despite the fact that they would have long ago deserved extermination for the insults they caused to the Lord (Tikhomirov, slightly correcting the Hebrew text, translates: “and you, the sons of Jacob, do not lag behind the iniquities of your fathers”). Mal.3:7–8. Since the days of your fathers you have departed from My statutes and have not kept them; turn to Me, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts. You say: “how should we turn?” Is it possible for a person to rob God? And you are robbing Me. You will say: “How are we robbing You?” Tithes and offerings. The Lord calls on the Jews to correct themselves and repent, but they do not want to understand their guilt before Him and are surprised at this invitation: after all, they are not guilty of anything before God! Then God directly declares their guilt: they are robbing or, more precisely, deceiving God in regard to tithes and offerings. About tithing - see Lev. 27.30; Numbers 18.20; Deut 14.22. About the offering - Ezekiel 44.30, and, equally, about both - Nehemiah 10:38-39, 13:10-12. Mal.3:9. You are cursed with a curse, because you - all the people - rob Me. The Jews brought upon themselves the curse placed in the law on violators of the regulations on tithes and offerings. Mal.3:10. Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and test Me in this, says the Lord of hosts: Will I not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out blessings upon you until there is abundance? This curse, apparently, is reflected in the drought, from which the crops in the land of Judea are dying. It is necessary, therefore, to quickly correct your offense before Jehovah and deliver to the storehouse, that is, to the storerooms at the church (Neh. 10.37-38), all the tithes, in their entirety, without leaving anything of it in their homes, as was obviously done then. The Lord, after this, will send rain on the parched land. Mal.3:11–12. For your sake I will rebuke those who devour from destroying the fruits of the earth from you, and the vine in your field will not lose its fruit, says the Lord of hosts: And all nations will call you blessed, because you will be a desirable land, says the Lord of hosts. The Jews were also worried at that time by the locusts (devouring). And the Lord will deliver the Jews from this scourge if they are careful in their tithing. In general, Jews will enjoy the favors of Jehovah, and they will even be envied by other nations. (Mal.3:13-18.) In contrast to bold objections to Divine justice, the prophet speaks of how pious people think about God’s attitude towards the righteous and sinners. At the same time, God announces that the day of visible retribution for sins and virtues will soon come. Mal.3:13–15. Your words are bold before Me, says the Lord. You will say: “What are we saying against You?” you say, “Serving God is in vain, and what profit is it that we kept His statutes and walked in mournful clothing before the Lord of hosts? And now we consider the arrogant happy: those who commit iniquity are better off, and although they tempt God, they remain unharmed.” The Prophet again turns to the objection that the Jews made against Divine justice (Mal. 2:17). Like the contemporaries of the prophet Zechariah (Zechariah 7:3), they grumbled that serving God and walking in a black robe (a symbol of fasting, in this case, obviously, voluntarily undertaken) did not bring any benefit. It would be better to act like those who are arrogant or oblivious to the requirements of God’s law, who continue to enjoy life despite the fact that their deeds tempt God, that is, apparently cause Him to reveal His wrath against them. Who are these arrogant ones - Jews or pagans? Most likely, some few Jews, since the pagans were not at all obliged to take into account the decrees of Jehovah’s law. Mal.3:16–18. But those who fear God say to each other: “The Lord listens and hears this, and before Him a book of remembrance is written about those who fear the Lord and honor His name.” And they will be Mine, says the Lord of hosts, My possession in the day that I will do, and I will have mercy on them, as a man has mercy on his son who serves him: And then again you will see the difference between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not serve Him. In contrast to such impudent reasoning, the prophet now cites conversations that pious people conduct among themselves. These latter are quite confident that the Lord listens and hears (the expression “this” is superfluous). He sits like a king, before whom the exploits of those who please him are recorded, under his dictation, in a special memorial book (cf. Esther 6.1). The Lord will make such people His property, His dear inheritance (Exodus 19.5), on the day of His judgment over people. They will be His beloved sons, doing His will. Then the people who speak bold words will again, like their distant ancestors, see that there is, in the eyes of the Lord, the difference between the righteous and the wicked! You might be interested in: