The Coming Messenger
And he will bprepare the way before Me.
And the Lord, whom you seek,
Will suddenly come to His temple,
cEven the Messenger of the covenant,
In whom you delight.
Behold, dHe is coming,”
Says the Lord of hosts.
And bwho can stand when He appears?
For cHe is like a refiner’s fire
And like launderers’ soap.
He will purify the sons of Levi,
And purge them as gold and silver,
That they may boffer to the Lord
An offering in righteousness.
Will be1 pleasant to the Lord,
As in the days of old,
As in former years.
I will be a swift witness
Against sorcerers,
Against adulterers,
aAgainst perjurers,
Against those who bexploit wage earners and cwidows and orphans,
And against those who turn away an alien—
Because they do not fear Me,”
Says the Lord of hosts.
You have gone away from My ordinances
And have not kept them.
bReturn to Me, and I will return to you,”
Says the Lord of hosts.
c“But you said,
‘In what way shall we return?’
| << Malachi 3:2 | Malachi 3:4 >> |
Malachi 3:3
And He shall sit - o as a King and Judge on His throne, with authority, yet also to try accurately the cause of each, separating seeming virtues from real graces; hypocrites, more or less consciously, from His true servants.
He shall purify o the sons of Levi - These had been first the leaders in degeneracy, the corrupters of the people by their example and connivance. Actually Acts 6:7, "a great company of the priests were obedient to the faith." Barnabas also was a Levite. Acts 4:36. But more largely, as Zion and Jerusalem are the titles for the Christian Church, and Israel who believed was the true Israel, so "the sons of" Levi are the true Levites, the Apostles and their successors in the Christian priesthood.
It was through three centuries of persecutions that the Church was purified by fire.
That they may offer - , literally "and they shall be unto thy Lord offers of a meal-offering in righteousness," i. e., they shall be such, and that, habitually, abidingly. Again, here and in the next words, "and the meal-offering of Judah shall be pleasant unto the Lord," it is remarkable, that the "meal-offering," to which the holy eucharist corresponds, is alone mentioned. Of bloody offerings Malachi is silent, for they were to cease.
In righteousness - , as Zacharias prophesied, "that we might serve Him in holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our life."
Other Barnes' Notes entries containing Malachi 3:3:
1 Samuel 2:17
Job 28:1
Psalms 66:10
Proverbs 25:5
Isaiah 4:4
Isaiah 6:7
Haggai 2:6
| << Malachi 3:2 | Malachi 3:4 >> |
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