Most of us find a good tidy-up necessary from time to time. God is no different. He is not prepared to leave things in a mess. Israel may have turned away from God and done their own thing, believing that God did not care about justice (v 17). But that is not the final word. God breaks in and offers new hope; he will come, a promise ultimately fulfilled in Jesus. John the Baptist prepared the way – first the messenger and then the Lord himself (3:1). Over Christmas we have seen how the fulfilment of this begins as Jesus comes to clear up the mess created by human sin.

God wants a holy people who live by his standards. He knows that we cannot achieve that on our own so in his love he sent Jesus to save us from sin and the Holy Spirit to carry on the work of transformation. Look at verses 3 and 4 to see the outcome. A restored relationship and acceptable worship sound great, but the purifying is not an easy or painless process. And for those who continue in rebellious, self-centred and unjust behaviour there are consequences (v 5). 

‘And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory.’¹

I am sure I was not the only child to hear – nor the only parent to say – ‘don’t answer back!’ In this short prophecy, God’s people sustain their cynical questioning of the sovereign Lord. ‘You have wearied the Lord with your words. “How have we wearied him?” you ask’ (2:17). And in words which would not be out of place in our own culture, the response from the people reverses the moral order: ‘All who do evil are good in the eyes of the Lord’ (v 17). 

If the people were cynical about the possibility of God’s judgement, the Lord’s reply would pull them up short. Suddenly the Lord will come to put them on trial (3:2,5). His coming will be heralded by a messenger (v 1), just as John the Baptist prepared the way of the Lord.² Then, ‘who can endure the day of his coming?’ (v 2). In our world there are many who doubt the idea of God’s control, but those who have mocked the justice of God will be silenced when he appears. The behaviour of those whom the Lord will judge has very modern echoes too – those who defraud labourers, oppress widows, or deprive foreigners of justice (v 5).  

Notice that the Lord’s coming is not to destroy but to purify. Like a refiner, the heat of his judgement is not to obliterate but to transform (vs 3,4). When this happens in our lives, it is important to see that such discipline is a true expression of God’s steadfast love.³ The Lord disciplines those he loves; he prunes the branches so that the tree will eventually be more fruitful. Painful though this might be, Malachi shows us the outcome: righteous lives and acceptable worship (vs 3,4).

God’s people carry no diplomatic immunity. We need God’s discipline and we must open our hearts to what he might be teaching us. Reflect on what that might be.

¹ 2 Cor 3:18  ² Mark 1:2–4  ³ Heb 12:4–11