Malachi 4 Study Notes

4:1 The fiery element of the coming day echoes similar images in eschatological passages such as Jl 2:3-5 (see Ps 21:9; Is 31:9). The wicked may seem powerful, but they will be removed, both root and branches, from the earth like dry stubble thrown into a furnace.

4:2-3 Darkness in the Bible often symbolizes earthly life full of evil, ignorance, pain, and death (Gn 1:4; 1Sm 2:9; Is 8:22-9:2). God promises to invade this world with righteousness as the sun invades the night, driving the darkness away (Dt 33:2; 2Sm 23:3-4; Is 60:1-3,19-21). Other texts clarify that this image represents the Messiah, whose coming will be celebrated like the dawn (Lk 1:76-79), often pictured as the wings of the sun (Ps 139:9). As a bird’s wings offer protection (Dt 32:11), God’s “wings” will bring healing to his children (Ps 91:4; Is 53:5; 57:18-19), who will never again fear the wicked.

4:4-6 The people of Israel wore tassels as constant reminders of God’s instructions (Nm 15:38-40). Malachi called them to remember—not to be guided by human wisdom, ambition, or societal expectations, but by the application of God’s instruction through Moses (see Ps 119:16). On the great and terrible day of the Lord, see Jl 2:31 (the only other place where this phrase occurs). This will be a day of blessing for God’s people as well as a time of judgment on his enemies. Elijah, mentioned twenty-eight times in the NT, was viewed as the preeminent prophet of repentance. He appeared with Moses on the mountain of Jesus’s transfiguration to testify that Jesus is the Messiah (Lk 9:29-31). Both Moses and Elijah were connected with Horeb, God’s mountain (Ex 3:1; 1Kg 19:8). Although this prophecy was provisionally fulfilled by John the Baptist (Mal 3:1-5), it will be further fulfilled at Jesus’s return (Mt 11:14; 17:11; Rv 11:3) and it will be accompanied by a great revival of faith in Israel (Dt 30:1-2). Mal 4:6, quoted in Lk 1:16-17, describes a time of reconciliation when “the disobedient” will accept the wisdom of “the righteous” and when fathers and their children will no longer live self-serving lives but will regard one another with compassion and respect (2:15; Ezk 5:10; Rm 1:30).