Malachi 3:1

The Lord’s response to the cynical Israelites was to point them to the future. He predicted the coming of His messenger (cf. Isaiah 40:3-5). There is no question about who this was because Jesus identified him as John the Baptist (Matthew 11:10; cf. Mark 1:2; Luke 7:27). This future messenger would clear the way in preparation for Yahweh (cf. Isaiah 40:3; John 1:23). Clearly Jesus Christ is Yahweh since John the Baptist prepared the way for Jesus.

"Perhaps most intriguing of all the issues raised by the fourth disputation is its implicit identification of the ’messenger of the covenant’ as Yahweh himself. No other passage in the Old Testament so clearly assigns divine prerogatives and nomenclature to the figure of the Messiah (though the term masiah is not itself employed by Malachi). When one examines how this disputation describes the identity and actions of the ’messenger of the covenant,’ one can only conclude that he is divine." [Note: Stuart, p. 1347.]

Then the Lord, whom the Israelites were seeking, would suddenly come to His temple (cf. Ezekiel 43:1-5; Zechariah 8:3). Though Jesus entered the temple in Jerusalem many times during His earthly ministry, this sudden coming was not fulfilled then (cf. Malachi 3:2-5). It will occur when He returns to set up His messianic kingdom.

"The fact that he will come suddenly is ominous, for suddenness was usually associated with a calamitous event (e.g. ; Isaiah 47:11; Isaiah 48:3; Jeremiah 4:20, etc.)." [Note: Baldwin, p. 243. Cf. Revelation 1:1; Revelation 22:6.]

"The messenger of the covenant" is another name for the Lord who would come following the appearance of the first messenger promised in this verse. He would be the divine Messiah. "Messenger" means "angel," and the Angel of the Lord is in view here. The "covenant" is the New Covenant that God promised to make with the Jews in the future (cf. Jeremiah 31:31-34; Ezekiel 36:22-36; Ezekiel 37:26). Another view is that the covenant in view is the Mosaic Covenant and, behind it, the Abrahamic Covenant. [Note: Clendenen, p. 386.] The Jews delighted in this Messenger because His coming had been a subject of messianic prophecy and an object of eager anticipation from early in Israel’s history (Genesis 3:15; pass.). Sovereign Yahweh promised His coming again here. The Jews had been expressing disbelief that God would intervene and establish justice in the world (Malachi 2:17), but God promised He would.