Today in God’s Word

Today in God's Word—January 2025

East Tallassee Church of Christ

January 4, Malachi 4

"But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings." - Malachi 4:2

The book of Malachi (as well as the Old Testament) ends with a final assurance to the faithful and a final warning to the faithless. Malachi sounds the familiar tones of encouragement, warning, love and judgment as the Old Testament comes to a close. God loves his people. He promises to bless and reward his faithful ones. He warns the unfaithful ones to return to him while there is still time, and be blessed instead of cursed. Both the blessing and the curse, the reward and the punishment, are guaranteed by the same faithfulness of God. He always keeps his word. He never makes empty promises or idle threats.

The returned exiles had rebuilt the Jerusalem temple, but they had lost their zeal and love for God. They were cynical and indifferent. With no sense of awe or gratitude to God, they had failed to love, honor and obey him. They did not continue to worship idols. But in other ways, they were worse off than they were before.

The great majority of the remaining Israelites had not listened to the prophets. They ignored the warnings and the impassioned pleas God sent through his faithful messengers. Malachi's prophecy ends with a final appeal. The day of judgment was surely coming. God did not want to burn the arrogant evildoers like worthless chaff or stubble. But he would be faithful to his word and the wicked ones who rejected his loving offers of forgiveness and salvation would suffer the awful fate of the Old Testament's last two words: utter destruction.

That day would bring a completely different experience to those who humbled themselves to fear, love and obey God. Messiah would come and bring his people healing, salvation and righteousness. As the rising sun brings a new day of light and life to the world, so Messiah would bring a new creation of holiness and righteousness and joy to all who would draw near to God through him. He would take away sin's curse, rekindle love and devotion to God and rescue those who were willing to hear and turn to him.

The message of Malachi sounds one last time the great themes of all the prophets, and really all the Old Testament. Sin ruined the human family and separated us from God. God appealed to the wayward wicked to listen, to come to their senses and repent. When they responded to him in reverent fear, genuine love and faithful obedience, he would bless them. Acceptable worship cannot be separated from godly living. Orthodoxy in worship without holiness in daily living is worthless. Messiah was coming, to save and to judge. Gentiles were always included in God's plan. Jews were too, but their inclusion would be through Christ and not Abraham. God always recognized and preserved a faithful remnant among his delinquent, unbelieving people. And God was sovereign over all people, all events and all of history.

God told them he would send "Elijah" to prepare the way for Messiah to come. He would turn hearts that were willing to turn so they could receive the blessings God wanted to give them instead of the punishment he did not want them to experience.

So God told these people, the remaining descendants of Abraham, to remember the law he gave them through Moses. He called them to order their lives by paying attention to God’s laws. And he told them to look ahead to the promised Messiah, whom God promised to raise up from among the people.

Malachi and the rest of God's prophets rebuked and encouraged them to return to the Lord. They reminded them of their history, and encouraged them to look beyond the here and now to a future in which they would either be rewarded or punished when Messiah came.

All those promises centered in one individual. He is the one God promised to Adam and Eve after they sinned. He is the one God promised Abraham would come and bless all families of the earth. He is the One God promised David would sit on his throne. He is the One Isaiah saw as the suffering servant bearing the sins of us all. I love how the King James Bible personalizes this sun of righteousness Malachi saw: "But to you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings...." That "Son" would rise 400 years after Malachi wrote those words. But he would come, and you and I can know him as the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the One to whom all the Old Testament pointed and the One the New Testament proclaims as our Savior, our Healer and our Righteousness. You and I should bow down in awestruck reverence, profess our wholehearted love and devotion to him, and live for the One who came and died to save us.

Copyright © 2025 by Michael B. McElroy. Used by permission. All rights reserved.