Malachi Chapter Four, The Day Is Coming

 

Malachi 4:1 “For behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven, and all the proud, yes, all who do wickedly will be stubble. And the day which is coming shall burn them up,” says the LORD of hosts, “That will leave them neither root nor branch. [2] But to you who fear My name the Sun of Righteousness shall arise with healing in His wings; and you shall go out like stall-fed calves. [3] You shall trample the wicked, for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day that I do this,” says the LORD of hosts.

 

The lead up in the final verses of chapter 3 has brought us back to what the prophets referred to as the Day of the Lord. Having already touched on this event in Malachi 3:1-5, it is hardly unfamiliar territory. However, the Day of the Lord is expounded upon to reveal a salvific element not mentioned by Malachi previously.

To recap, Malachi 3:16 notes the response of believing Jewry when confronted with the arrogant comments of their disbelieving brethren. They feared the Lord, and meditated on His name, that is, His attributes and person as Scripture reveals Him. Like Psalm 73, the Jews contrasted the egotism and pride of unbelievers against the revelation of God and determined that is better to fear the Lord than live for ungodly gain. In response to the Jews who heeded Yahweh’s calling He declared them to be His jewels or items of immense value that he will, in time, claim. These jewels that are known to Him are likewise revealed to their fellow man by their faith being demonstrated through service. They serve God. Their works attest to the living faith that binds them to their Lord. It is the point of distinction the Holy Spirit makes when He notes the wicked whose “faith” does not compel them to service and the righteous whose faith provides a visible testimony.

 

Verse 1 begins: “For behold, the day is coming.” This is of course the same day Malachi mentions when he writes, “But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears?” Malachi 3:2. The day Malachi perceives is burning like an oven. The reference could simply mean a baker’s oven. There is also the possibility that a smelter’s furnace is being referenced since Malachi 3:2, 3 mention the refiner’s fire purifying silver. But the same fire that God uses to purify the sons of Levi will burn the wicked, or the proud, to ashes. Note how the prophet makes those terms interchangeable here. The proud are all who do wickedly. So those who do wickedly manifest their pride for the world to see, like the saints demonstrate their faith through their works. The wicked (or the proud) will be stubble, or dry straw. The idea then is that of an easily combustible and fragile object. The first reference to the word can be found in Exodus 5:12 when the Hebrews had to gather stubble rather than straw. The difference here was that straw was collected by hewing it while fresh and gathering it instead of hurriedly collecting the remnant that fell and dried up in the Egyptian sun, which by implication was inferior for usage. The second usage, found in Exodus 15:7, gives a symbolic usage for the object. “You sent forth Your wrath; it consumed them like stubble.”

 

The day that is coming, burning like an oven will consume the delicate, dried cast off husks of straw with an ease that could be described as pathetic. The Day of the Lord certainly carries with it the notion of judgment. “Alas for the day! For the day of the Lord is at hand; it shall come as destruction from the Almighty,” Joel 1:15. Zechariah says, “And it shall come to pass in all the land,” says the Lord, “That two-thirds in it shall be cut off and die, but one-third shall be left in it; I will bring the one-third through the fire, will refine them as silver is refined, and test them as gold is tested,” Zechariah 13:8, 9. Starkly reminiscent of Malachi 3:1-5, we find that the fire which tests the sons of Jacob who survive will also purge the proud or wicked, leaving them neither root nor branch.

 

The root represents finding permanence in their position. When a tree takes root it is firmly planted there. It derives nourishment from the ground that sustains it. The wicked take nourishment from whatever sinful practice or lifestyle they indulge; it is their root and the fuel for their pride. John the Baptist once warned the Sadducees and Pharisees that God had His axe to the root of the tree, ready to cast it into the fire, Matthew 3:10. Here again we see a vivid allusion to the picture Malachi is painting of the coming judgment.

 

The branch represents the limb where the tree bears fruit. Our works are our fruit, Scripture tells us, e.g. Matthew 3:10, see also Galatians 5:22, 23. Solomon also informs us that, “the fruit of the womb is a reward,” Psalm 127:3. Moses agrees. “Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God…blessed shall be the fruit of your body,” Deuteronomy 28:1, 4. Both may be applicable in this instance. God will not leave the wicked a remnant in the Millennial Kingdom He is removing them so their fruit does not poison His redeemed. During the conquest of Canaan God used Israel as an agent of His judgment upon the peoples of the land, commanding them to slaughter all who dwelt within it. To Canaan, and to Canaan alone, was this command issued because of the nature of the people within it, and the risk of their wicked practices contaminating the children of Israel. “Also you shall destroy all the peoples whom the Lord your God delivers over to you; your eye shall have no pity on them; nor shall you serve their gods, for that will be a snare to you,” Deuteronomy 8:16, see also Deuteronomy 2:34, 3:6.