Mal 3:1 Behold, I will send My messenger, and He will clear the way before Me. And Jehovah, whom you seek, shall suddenly come to His temple, even the Angel of the Covenant, in whom you delight. Behold, He comes, says Jehovah of Hosts.
Mal 3:2 But who can endure the day of His coming? And who shall stand when He appears? For He is like a refiner\’s fire, and like fuller\’s soap.
Mal 3:3 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, that they may be offerers of a food offering in righteousness to Jehovah.
Mal 3:4 Then the food offering of Judah and Jerusalem shall be pleasing to Jehovah, as in the days of old and as in former years.
Mal 3:5 And I will come near you to judgment. And I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against false swearers, and against those who extort from the hired laborer\’s wages, and turning away the widow, and the orphan, the alien, and not fearing Me, says Jehovah of Hosts.
Most believers only know the scripture in Malachi that is used to teach tithes and offerings from pastors around the world. Chapter 3 of Malachi is more than a tithes validation scripture. In fact, it does not validate tithes and offering in any way. There is more to this chapter that believers can learn from.
Verse1: A Messenger will come before Jehovah comes. Many commentaries declare that this prophecy was about John Baptist. It is important to understand the condition of Israel during this time. Israel had fallen into sin again. The temple and the walls of Jerusalem had all been tore down. The people of Israel were far from the Lord. Malachi\’s prophesy was given in the hopes that some would return to the Lord and begin praying and believing for the coming Messiah.
Verse2: We know that many rejected Jesus\’ message. The Gospel of Christ is offensive to those who live contrary to God\’s truth. His truth is absolute. Absolute truth is never welcomed. That is why the religious and the wicked rejected Jesus then and that is why they reject him now. Religion is worse than any other sin in the Bible. It is the source code for all other sins. The doctrines of Christ reveal the evil distorations of Satan\’s doctrines. Jesus came as a refiner fire. A Refiner\’s fire burns off the impurties fo the gold. All the impurties float to the top and the refiner simply skims the top and removes the ugliness of the precious metal. The laundry soap of the Lord is so power that it makes the believer white as snow.
Verses3-4: John Gill\’s commentary states \”And he shall purify the sons of Levi; the priests, either literally understood, some of these were converted from their evil principles and practices, and became obedient to the doctrines of the Gospel, Act 6:7 or figuratively, the apostles of Christ and ministers of the Gospel, who were made clean by him; or rather all the people of God, who are made priests as well as kings, and are a royal priesthood, and are purified by Christ, both by his blood, and the imputation of his righteousness, by which they become without spot and blemish, and as white as snow; and by the Spirit in sanctification, he sprinkling clean water upon them, and purifying their hearts by faith in the blood of Jesus; and also by afflictive dispensations of Providence sanctified unto them. Mention is made of the priests and Levites, because these were so very corrupt in the times of Christ, and as appears from the preceding chapters.\”
It is interesting to note that Paul the Apostle came from the tribe of Levi which was of the priestly order. Also through Jesus, we are now all kings and priests.
1Peter 2:9 However, you are chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, people who belong to God. You were chosen to tell about the excellent qualities of God, who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
We are the ones called to tell the world about our love for Jesus and His love for them. The refiner\’s fire has made us holy and prepared to share His truth. Through Christ, we can now make a pure offering of ourselves to the Lord.
Heb 13:12 That is why Jesus suffered outside the gates of Jerusalem. He suffered to make the people holy with his own blood.
Heb 13:13 So we must go to him outside the camp and endure the insults he endured.
Heb 13:14 We don\’t have a permanent city here on earth, but we are looking for the city that we will have in the future.
Heb 13:15 Through Jesus we should always bring God a sacrifice of praise, that is, words that acknowledge him.
Verse5: The Lord comes to judge all who live opposite of his truth. He will judge the following: Those who are in witch craft, those who cheat on their spouses, those who give false information, those who treat workers badly, those who don\’t help orphans and widows, and those don\’t help those who are coming to the faith.
James 1:27 (GW)
27 Pure, unstained religion, according to God our Father, is to take care of orphans and widows when they suffer and to remain uncorrupted by this world.
Mat 23:22 And he who shall swear by Heaven swears by the throne of God, and by Him who sits on it.
Mat 23:23 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithes of mint and dill and cummin, and you have left undone the weightier matters of the Law, judgment, mercy, and faith. You ought to have done these and not to leave the other undone.
Mat 23:24 Blind guides who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!
Mat 23:25 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full of extortion and excess.
Interesting on how these 5 verses predicted the coming of Christ and how His ministry would unfold. Malachi was written 400 plus years before Christ\’ appearance in Bethlehem. Just 5 verses came true and points to the accuracy of God\’s word. Human prophecies are no where near that accurate. Something to think about?
Relevant Life 
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