Malachi 3:1

This and the following brief chapter (which is included with this one in the Hebrew Bible) are among the most Messianic passages in the Old Testament. This is appropriate indeed, because of the long, long night of Israel's new status, not any longer that of the faithful covenant people, yet still preserved and protected through the providence of God until the promised Messiah should arrive - that long, long night of about half a millennium was at this point in Israel's history about to begin. Indeed it had already begun. Israel is no longer referred to by God's prophet as "the people of God," but as "this whole nation" (Malachi 3:9). They would abide many days for God "without king, without prince, without altar, without sacrifice, and without ephod and teraphim" (Hosea 3:4-5). Robinson pointed out that most of these two chapters (Malachi 3-4) regards the Messiah, "The apocalyptic character of Malachi 3:13-4:2 is fine."[1] It is simply incredible to us that he failed to include all of Malachi 3 in such an analysis, for the first verse (Malachi 3:1) of this chapter is one of the most brilliant and revealing prophecies of Jesus Christ in the whole Bible.

Malachi 3:1

"Behold, I send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord whom ye seek, will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant whom ye desire, behold, he cometh, saith Jehovah of hosts."

Homer Hailey provided this accurate interpretation of what is actually stated here:

"Jehovah's response to their question, "Where is the God of justice?" (Malachi 2:17), is that He himself will come, and suddenly. But before he comes, he will send his messenger to prepare the way before him. This promise of a messenger rests on Isaiah 40:3-5:

The voice of one that crieth, Prepare ye in the wilderness the way of Jehovah; make level in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be exalted, every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the uneven shall be made level, and the rough places a plain; and the glory of Jehovah shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together; for the mouth of Jehovah hath spoken it (Isaiah 40:3-5)."

It is strange that there should be any dispute over who this messenger is.[2]

"I send my messenger ..." This messenger was none other than John the Baptist, a fact attested by the testimony of Jesus Christ himself and the holy apostles. (See more on this under Malachi 4:5,6, below.) It is a measure of critical arrogance that any man should deny this. "No sure identification of `my messenger' is possible ... Malachi 4:5,6 is a later addition, and consequently is not a reliable index to the thought of our prophet."[3] What if such a remark were the truth? (which of course it isn't); is not the testimony of Jesus Christ the Lord reliable? Jesus said:

"But I say unto you that Elijah has come already, and they knew him not, but did unto him whatsoever they would ... then understood the disciples that he spake unto them of John the Baptist (Matthew 17:11-13)."

So much for the question of who the messenger is. Beyond any question of doubt the prophecy referred to John the Baptist.

Note also that it is Almighty God who will send the messenger.

"He shall prepare the way before me ..." Practically all commentators on this passage have recognized that Malachi's prophecy is supplementary to the promise of Isaiah 40:3-5 (quoted above). The metaphor of Isaiah's prophecy means that in a manner comparable to that of ancient monarchs who sent messengers ahead of them to make preparations, smooth the roads, etc., just so, in like manner, before the Lord will come in the person of the Christ, a preparer will go before him, herald his coming and make ready the people to receive him. Isaiah's prophecy actually included what Malachi here said; and the accurate reading of Mark 1:2 has "As it is written in Isaiah the prophet ... etc." Of course, Mark applied it unequivocally to John the Baptist. "All that Malachi here prophesied, the same had Isaiah more concisely and more clearly prophesied in other words."[4]

There are a number of very important implications of the truth revealed here, that God will send a messenger to prepare the way before the Messiah:

(1) Israel is not yet ready to receive the Messiah. The moral and religious condition of the whole nation is such that a further period of waiting is necessary. This fact of the nation's being yet unprepared for the reception of the Lord, shows that Israel had, "No grounds for murmuring at the delay of the manifestation of divine glory."[5]

(2) The work of this messenger would not be a literal smoothing of roads, etc., as in Isaiah's metaphor, but would be worked out in the spiritual sector. John the Baptist would call the people to repentance, and point the way to One greater than himself.

(3) The actual work of identifying the Lord when he came would be the mission of this messenger, a mission fulfilled when John the Baptist said, "Behold the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world" (John 1:29).

With regard to the problem inherent in the fact that John the Baptist was not actually Elijah, see under Malachi 4:5,6, below. Suffice it here to note that:

"The identification does not mean that John is Elijah come back to earth according to some principle of reincarnation. The two were distinct personalities. Rather it does mean that John ministered `in the spirit and power of Elijah' (Luke 1:17)."[6]

"And the Lord, whom ye seek, will suddenly come to his temple ..."

Not only, would God send a messenger, the Lord himself would come to save his people (and all mankind). The purpose of the Lord's coming would not be that of restoring the scandalous old kingdom of the fleshly Israel, but that of the redemption of all men from sin. Note the impact of two clauses: "I will send ..." and "The Lord ... will come." This makes it absolutely necessary to differentiate between the messenger who preceded, and the Lord who came afterwards. The proper identification of "the Lord" in this passage makes him one and the same with Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God.

"Whom ye seek ..." The thought of this is synchronous with "whom ye desire" as applied to the messenger of the covenant and shows that "The Lord whom ye seek" is the same as "the messenger of the covenant whom ye desire." Thus, the Lord himself is also a messenger, but of a far greater and more important dimension. The first messenger identified the Messenger who would reveal the New Covenant.

"Will suddenly come to his temple ..." Gill relates how:

"This was interpreted by the Rabbis as a dramatic explosive visitation by which Messiah would announce his presence. It was this popular expectation which the devil exploited in tempting Jesus to cast Himself from the pinnacle of the temple (Luke 4:9). To have done so would have won for him instant acceptance as the Messiah on the basis of popular though erroneous expectation.[7]

"And the messenger of the covenant, whom ye desire ..." This can be none other than the Lord Jesus Christ:

"He is identified with the Lord; and he is the covenant angel who guided the Israelites to the promised land, and who is seen in the various theophanies of the Old Testament. The Divinity of Messiah is thus unequivocally asserted."[8]

"Suddenly come to his temple ..." This was fulfilled in many ways. When Joseph and Mary presented Christ in the temple as an infant, the event was the occasion of the aged Simeon's magnificant identification of the Christ child as:

"A light for revelation to the Gentiles,

And the glory of thy people Israel" (Luke 2:32).

This, of course, was an eloquent testimony that here was indeed the Messiah. Jesus cleansed the temple twice, showing his full authority over it in both instances. He did indeed come "suddenly" to his temple. Baldwin was profoundly correct in the observation that:

"The promise suggests that there was continuing disappointment with the second Temple, despite the encouragement of Haggai and Zechariah (Haggai 2:7; Zechariah 2:10, etc.)."[9]

Of course, Christ would build the true Temple, and would consign the second temple, as he had done with the first, to desecration and destruction.

"Behold, he cometh ..." There is absolutely nothing in this passage to justify the knee-jerk comment that, "Of course, Malachi thought all of this was going to happen right away." The very fact of Malachi's prophecy of John the Baptist (Elijah), who was thus identifiied with the first of the prophets, indicated that a new era was dawning. God's prophetic message was complete, and the period of waiting would ensue. That the Lord would appear "suddenly" also suggests that his coming would follow a long and indefinite period during which faith would almost disappear, and that his actual appearance would be an occasion of surprise. No Israelite could even begin to believe that the events foretold here would begin to unfold before the appearance of Elijah; and, since Elijah did not appear to that generation at all, no one could have supposed that all of this was in the process of happening right then.

"Whom ye seek ... whom ye desire ..." There is another thought in these words. The question asked by the Jews which had precipitated this prophecy (Malachi 2:17) was, in effect, a plea for the judgment day to come. They were like the people mentioned by Amos 5:18-20, who envisioned God's judgment as an occasion when God would kill all of their enemies and put them in charge of the whole world. Before Malachi was through with this, he would show that the judgment day is going to be bad news and not good news for a great many.