Malachi 3:4-7

God honors our monetary offerings in His name to our Church and to the oppressed, the poor and the immigrant. He is the creator of heaven AND earth…we need to respect His creation. 

Heaven and earth are full of HIS glory! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.

Out of His love for us He refines us. We will learn our lessons!

Malachi 3:4-7

3 He will sit as a refiner and a purifier of silver;

He will purify the sons of Levi,

And purge them as gold and silver,

That they may offer to the Lord

An offering in righteousness.

4 “Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem

Will be pleasant to the Lord,

As in the days of old,

As in former years.

5 And I will come near you for judgment;

I will be a swift witness

Against sorcerers,

Against adulterers,

Against perjurers,

Against those who exploit wage earners and widows and orphans,

And against those who turn away an alien—

Because they do not fear Me,”

Says the Lord of hosts.

6 “For I am the Lord, I do not change;

Therefore you are not consumed, O sons of Jacob.

7 Yet from the days of your fathers

You have gone away from My ordinances

And have not kept them.

Return to Me, and I will return to you,”

Says the Lord of hosts.

“But you said,

‘In what way shall we return?’

The sons of Levi were in need of purification because of their disobedience to Yahweh’s covenant. The unclean  sacrifices of his day were not pleasing to God. Yahweh will testify against those who are unrighteous. Certain practices are regularly singled out for criticism—mistreating marginal groups in society such as the poor, orphans, widows, and foreigners; engaging in sexual immorality; and participating in idol worship. 

This fifth disputation continues the focus on Israel’s failure to observe Yahweh’s laws as they had promised. The first verse asserting that Yahweh Himself has not changed can also be read as another response to the people’s doubts about God’s justice, but it also emphasizes the call to repentance. The people were the ones who changed and turned away from God, but they question whether it is even possible for them to turn back. Yahweh asserts that one way they could show renewed loyalty would be to stop robbing Him of the tithes and offerings that are rightly His. Obedience in this matter would be a significant step in restoring their relationship with God. The primary reason Israel has not been destroyed is because of Yahweh’s faithfulness to His covenants with the nation. Yahweh will not change His mind concerning Israel. Faithlife Bible.

Since the priests had come under such strong censure in this book, and since the prophet himself was likely a priest, these words would have had a special significance for him.

The Hebrew word translated pleasant refers to things that are sweet and pleasing. God derives joy from the end result of His work. The people had wondered where the God of justice was; now they will know. Sorcerers were people who made potions. Holding God in reverence and awe also means obeying Him.

We might expect these opening words to ensure the nation’s doom; instead, they give assurance of God’s continuing mercy. The history of Israel is not a record of ever-increasing obedience. Instead, it is a long, sad story of recurring departure from God. Return, is the key term in the Hebrew prophets for repentance, renewal, and restoration. NKJ Bible.

The Lord Jesus, prepares the sinner’s heart to be his temple, by the ministry of his word and the convictions of his Spirit, and he enters it as the Messenger of peace and consolation. No hypocrite or formalist can endure his doctrine, or stand before his tribunal. Christ came to distinguish men, to separate between the precious and the vile. He shall sit as a Refiner. Christ, by his gospel, shall purify and reform his church, and by his Spirit working with it, shall regenerate and cleanse souls. He will take away the dross found in them. He will separate their corruptions, which render their faculties worthless and useless. The believer needs not fear the fiery trial of afflictions and temptations, by which the Saviour refines his gold. He will take care it is not more intense or longer than is needful for his good; and this trial will end far otherwise than that of the wicked. Christ will, by interceding for them, make them accepted. Where no fear of God is, no good is to be expected. Evil pursues sinners. God is unchangeable. And though the sentence against evil works be not executed speedily, yet it will be executed; the Lord is as much an enemy to sin as ever. We may all apply this to ourselves. Because we have to do with a God that changes not, therefore it is that we are not consumed; because his compassions fail not. Matthew Henry Commentary.

Exodus 22:22 “You shall not afflict any widow or fatherless child.

Jeremiah 29:23 because they have done disgraceful things in Israel, have committed adultery with their neighbors’ wives, and have spoken lying words in My name, which I have not commanded them. Indeed I know, and am a witness, says the LORD.

Zechariah 1:3 Therefore say to them, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts: “Return to Me,” says the LORD of hosts, “and I will return to you,” says the LORD of hosts.

Acts 7:51 “You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you.