Messenger of the Covenant
Malachi 3, verse 1. “Behold, I send My messenger, and he will prepare the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come into His temple, even the Messenger of the covenant, whom you desire. Behold, He is coming,” says the Lord Almighty. Malachi 3, verse 2. “But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can withstand His appearance? For He enters like a refiner's fire and as soap in one's wash. Malachi 3, verse 3. He will sit as a refiner and a purifier of silver and gold. He will purify the sons of Levi and pour them out as purified gold and silver, and they will bring an offering to the Lord in righteousness. Malachi 3, verse 4. Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the Lord, as in the days of old, as in former years. Malachi 3, verse 5. “And I will draw near to you in judgment, a swift witness against sorcerers, adulterers, those who swear falsely by My name, those who exploit wage-earners, those who oppress widows and afflict orphans, those who pervert the justice due foreigners, and those who do not fear Me,” says the Lord Almighty. Malachi 3, verse 6. “For I am the Lord your God; I have not changed. But you, O sons of Jacob, have not abstained Malachi 3, verse 7. from the sins of your fathers. You have turned away from My ordinances and have not kept them. “Return to Me and I will return to you,” says the Lord Almighty. “But you say, ‘In what way shall we return?’
Tithing Brings God's Blessing
Malachi 3, verse 8. Will a man insult God? Yet you have insulted Me! But you say, ‘In what way have we insulted You?’ You kept back your tithes and offerings. Malachi 3, verse 9. You most certainly turned your back on Me, you and the whole nation, and you insulted Me. Malachi 3, verse 10. You brought all the produce into the storehouses—but it will be plundered in its house. Return now in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not open for you the floodgates of heaven and pour out for you a blessing until it is overflowing. Malachi 3, verse 11. And I shall send it to you for food and I will not destroy the fruit of your ground, nor will the vine in the field fail to bear fruit,” says the Lord Almighty. Malachi 3, verse 12. “And all nations will call you blessed, for you will be a delightful land,” says the Lord Almighty. Malachi 3, verse 13. “You spoke harsh words against Me,” says the Lord, “yet you say, ‘What have we spoken against You?’ Malachi 3, verse 14. You have said, ‘One who serves God is foolish; what profit have we from keeping His ordinances, and why do we go as suppliants before the face of the Lord Almighty? Malachi 3, verse 15. And now we call foreigners blessed, and those doing lawless deeds are raised up—they even oppose God and go free.’” Malachi 3, verse 16. Then those who feared the Lord spoke these things each to his neighbor, and the Lord listened and heard them, and He wrote a book of remembrance before His face for those who feared the Lord and reverenced His name. Malachi 3, verse 17. “They shall be mine,” says the Lord Almighty, “in the day that I make them My possession, and I will choose them as a man chooses his own son who serves him. Malachi 3, verse 18. Then you shall return, and you will discern between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve Him.
The Day of the Lord
Malachi 3, verse 19. “For behold, the day of the Lord is coming, burning like an oven. And it will burn them up, and it shall be that all foreigners and all who do wickedly will be stubble; and the day that is coming shall burn them up,” says the Lord Almighty, “and neither root nor branch will be left of them. Malachi 3, verse 20. But to you who fear My name the Sun of Righteousness shall arise with healing in His wings, and you shall go forth leaping as little calves released from their bonds. Malachi 3, verse 21. You shall trample the wicked, for they shall be ashes under your feet on the day I do this,” says the Lord Almighty. Malachi 3, verse 22. “Behold, I will send you Elijah before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord. Malachi 3, verse 23. And he will turn the heart of the father to his son, and a man's heart to his neighbor, lest I come and strike the earth completely. Malachi 3, verse 24. Be in remembrance of the Law of Moses My servant as I commanded him, with its statutes and judgments, at Horeb for all Israel.”