Malachi 3:4Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

I do not frustrate the grace of God" (Galatians 2:19-21). Therefore, as he indicates, they shall be devoted to the Lord, meaning they will surrender themselves to His will, not preoccupied with earthly matters (Philippians 3:19), rejecting the filth of unrighteousness, and choosing compassion over cruelty, instead bringing forth offerings of righteousness. In this regard, Paul wisely mentions: "For the priesthood is changed, since there is a necessity for a change of law" (Hebrews 7:12). Those of us called to the priesthood in Christ no longer bring forth bloody offerings or the smoke of sacrificed animals; instead, we present in the church a spiritual sacrifice in Christ, which is holy and acceptable, offering Him Himself in sanctification and communion of eternal life, akin to incensing our good deeds. By presenting righteousness to Him, we aspire to be pleasing, as it is written: "Honor the Lord with your substance, and with the first fruits of all your increase" (Proverbs 3:9). I believe no other offering is acceptable to the Almighty. Hence, it is said of those who are called to Christ's priesthood that their sacrifices are superior to former offerings, not offering calves, nor corrupting the altar with unholy bread (Malachi 1:7), but presenting the truth and the radiant splendor of the gospel life as an incense offering to God. Thus, they will conduct a worship that appropriately aligns with the sacrifices of the eternal days, which represent the unending, holy lives of spirits in heaven. Abundant too are the "times of old," referring to the worship of the saints from ancient times, who displayed glorious dignity through their obedience. Abraham, for instance, offered his son to God, and "faith was credited to him as righteousness" (Galatians 3:6; Genesis 15:6), earning the title "friend of God" (James 2:23). Similarly, Noah built an ark for the preservation of his family (Genesis 6:1). Therefore, it is said, "the sacrifice of Judah shall be acceptable," referring to the people who are circumcised of heart and spirit, and "the sacrifice of Jerusalem" signifies the mental Jerusalem or the Church, along with the offerings of those who embody eternal life and the saints of old who gained favor with God through faith and obedience. The Apostle Paul recounts this in his letter to the Hebrews, affirming that many are justified by their faith (Hebrews 11:1-40).

I will approach you in judgment, swift to rebuke evildoers, adulterers, and those who falsely swear by My name, who cheat laborers out of their wages, oppress widows forcibly, mistreat orphans, and twist justice against the stranger, and do not revere Me, says the Lord Almighty; for I am the Lord your God, and I do not change.

Above, we see the query posed to the Lord by those claiming, 'Every evildoer is good in the eyes of God, and they are accepted by Him; if not, where is the God of justice against them?' In other words, 'where is the truth of judgment?' To answer this inquiry, the word of the Lord responds: 'I will send my messenger to prepare my way, and the Lord whom you seek, the judge of truth, will come to His temple,' as indicated in the Psalm: O God, grant Your judgment to the king and Your righteousness to the king's son, for the Father does not judge anyone but has entrusted all judgment to the Son. He is the Angel of the covenant you seek, to whom evil is not acceptable; in judgment, He does not look upon the face of man, for He is not swayed by mercy nor severity. The cup in the Lord's hand is filled with pure undiluted wine, and He pours it out—mercy tempers justice, and justice tempers mercy.

He will come quickly to His temple, that is, to the Church. Who can envision the day of His coming? With the magnitude of His power, who can endure His presence? Who can behold Him, with their eyes barely open, the radiance of Him who is the Sun of righteousness bearing salvation on His wings? He will come like a consuming fire and like the cleansing herb used by launderers, for fire will kindle on His face, and a mighty storm will surround Him. Then He will summon heaven and earth to judge His people; streams of fire will consume all sinners, drawing them before Him. The Lord is called fire, even a consuming fire, as if to say, hay and straw, in our terms. Yet He is more than just fire; He is also the cleansing herb, known in Hebrew as borith, which the Seventy translate as a type of grass used by clothiers. He is the fire that purifies and brightens those who have grievously sinned; for those with lesser sins, He is the herb of the clothier, enabling their cleansing as noted in Isaiah: 'The Lord has washed away the impurities of the sons and daughters of Zion and cleansed the blood from their midst with the spirit of judgment and the spirit of fire.'

Those tainted with impurities require the spirit of judgment to be cleansed, while those drenched in blood need the spirit of fire to eradicate the external filth. He will sit as one who melts and refines, like silver, as mentioned concerning the prophet Ezekiel, so that what is in our gold and silver, which represents our thoughts and words mingled with impurities, may be burned in the Lord's crucible, leaving pure gold and silver. Thus, the Lord also decrees in the Gospel: 'I have come to bring fire to the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled.' He will refine the descendants of Levi, for the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and it is written in another place: 'Begin with My holy ones.' The sons of Levi represent all forms of priestly dignity. If the priests are to be cleansed and purified to retain pure gold and silver, what shall be said of the rest? Once they are cleansed, they will present righteous offerings to the Lord, which will be accepted by the priesthood of God for Judah and Jerusalem, meaning those who confess to the Lord and mentally seek His peace. 'Like in the days of old, like in the former years,' signifies that just as their offerings were once accepted by God, so they shall be after sin and repentance, having been cleansed from all sinful defilement.

And He declares, 'I will come to you in judgment and will be a swift reprover.' What a fearsome judgment that awaits, where He is both the revealer and the judge; a revealer of all evildoers and adulterers, where secret sins are brought to light so they may no longer remain concealed. Villains are labeled as adulterers, adulterers as false swearers, and false swearers as those who falsify wages, unwilling to provide fair payment for labor. The slander of widows and orphans, the oppression of the foreigner and the outsider—these acts, though one may not have committed every sin mentioned, reveal a greater fault: the lack of fear of God. Thus we must not regard false oaths, underpayment of labor, mistreatment of orphans and widows, or oppression of the foreigner as trivial offenses; rather, they equate to wickedness, treachery, and adultery.

What has been described is understood not only in light of past events but also symbolically in relation to the current age, indicating that what was once directed toward the Jewish leaders now applies to the leaders of the Church. The declaration 'I am the Lord, I do not change' is emphasized, for while He has been described as a refining fire and as the herb of clothiers, we must not assume that His divine essence alters when He appears to us as an angel, fire, or herb."

He will stand against those who exploit widows and orphans, warning those who have been threatened in the law that their wives will become widows and their children orphans (Ex. 22:24). He will judge those who fail to uphold justice for the foreigner, those judges who mistreat non-Israelites living among them as if they were not deserving of fair treatment. In essence, He will address all who lack reverence for God, who continue to commit transgressions born from their absence of godly fear. The Messiah will expose and judge these lawless individuals, meting out punishment not only in the final judgement after death and the end of the world but also in their present lives, by allowing them to fall under the dominion of foreign powers.