"I Will Send Elijah"
Malachi 4v1-6, Part 2
19th November 2021
Last time, we began looking at the last words of the Old Testament:
Malachi 4v1-6
"Surely the day is coming; it will burn like a furnace. All the arrogant and
every evildoer will be stubble, and that day that is coming will set them on
fire," says the Lord Almighty. "Not a root or a branch will be left to them.
But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with
healing in its wings. And you will go out and leap like calves released from
the stall.
Then you will trample down the wicked; they will be ashes under the soles of
your feet on the day when I do these things," says the Lord Almighty.
"Remember the law of my servant Moses, the decrees and laws I gave him at
Horeb for all Israel.
"See, I will send the prophet Elijah to you before that great and dreadful
day of the Lord comes.
He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of
the children to their fathers; or else I will come and strike the land with
a curse.""
Contemplating verses 1 and 2 in the light of the New Testament, we saw that when first John the Baptist and then Jesus the Messiah came 2,000 years ago, many of God's ancient people refused to believe them. They and their nation were judged by God. But some did believe. For them, the sun of righteousness, Jesus Himself, was made visible and they were filled with the joy that only comes through faith in Jesus.
Continuing to verse 3, God speaks to those who believe:
Malachi 4v3
Then you will trample down the wicked; they will be ashes under the soles of
your feet on the day when I do these things," says the Lord Almighty.
We just don't think in these terms, do we? I don't want to trample anybody down. But this prophetic language means, I think, that the people who oppress us will not always oppress us. We will gain the victory. As Jesus promised, the meek will inherit the earth (Matthew 5v5).
Those first-century Jews who found faith in Jesus and became the first Christians were persecuted by the Jewish religious authorities, but they were free from their laws, their temple observances, their guilt. They were free from the penalty for sin, free from death, free from fear, free to know God. And the day will come when you and I are free from those who oppress us. One day, we will live in glory with Jesus, in a society with no sin, no sadness, and no death.
Malachi 4v4
"Remember the law of my servant Moses, the decrees and laws I gave him at
Horeb for all Israel."
Here, God reminds the ancient Jews that while they waited for Jesus the Messiah to come, they must remember God's law and live it out. And until Jesus comes again, we must study all the Bible, believe it, and live it out. If we want to be counted among those who revere God's name, then we must follow God's ways, obey God's decrees, live God's way. You can't claim to be a follower of Jesus and ignore what He says.
We should weep for those churches who compromise God's word, ignoring the passages that are contrary to fashionable opinion. And we must preach the Bible, all the Bible, and nothing but the Bible.
Malachi 4v5
"See, I will send the prophet Elijah to you before that great and dreadful
day of the Lord comes."
As we've seen, this was fulfilled in John the Baptist. John came before Jesus. He dressed like Elijah, with a coat of camel hair and a leather belt. He lived in the desert like Elijah. He ate wild food like Elijah – locusts and wild honey. He preached repentance and righteousness like Elijah. He wasn't literally the reincarnation of Elijah but, as an angel told his father Zechariah, "He will go on before the Lord in the spirit and power of Elijah" (Luke 1:17).
God calls the first coming of Jesus "that great and dreadful day" because the time of His earthly ministry was the time that God separated the wheat from the chaff in Israel, those who believed in Jesus from those who didn't. And another great and dreadful day is coming, when Jesus will return to separate the sheep from the goats (Matthew 25) again dividing those who acknowledge Jesus as Lord and Saviour from those who don't.
Ultimately, either you choose God or you choose to live and die without Him. We shouldn't be surprised that that choice has consequences.
Malachi 4v6
He [Elijah] will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the
hearts of the children to their fathers; or else I will come and strike the
land with a curse."
The Old Testament ends with this prophecy. It would be confirmed in:
Luke 1:17
And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to
turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the
wisdom of the righteous — to make ready a people prepared for the Lord."
John the Baptist would offer the Jews of his generation the opportunity to reconnect with their ancestors – the ancient patriarchs, Moses and others who took God seriously, who sought righteousness and obedience. He offered families the opportunity to reunite in love between generations. He invited his countrymen to choose the path of love for one another. All this is possible through faith in Jesus.
If they responded, they would know God's blessing. If they refused, their land would be cursed.
As we know, most of them refused. God sent the Roman army to destroy their society, demolish their temple, sack their capital, and send them into exile for 1900 years. What a tragedy!
The question is, will the British hear the word of God? Will we repent of our sin? Will we respect God's law? Will we choose the path of love? Again, we shouldn't be surprised that this decision has consequences.