Malachi, Part 3

On Malachi Part 3

In the very first verse, God promises to send a messenger. Once he prepares the way, the One you are seeking will come quickly to the temple. But then the question is posed: Who can abide when He does come? Many were looking for a Messiah to rescue them from trouble rather than the One who was coming to restore His house as a House of Prayer.

The One you seek has come to purify you, to reestablish the ordinances that were carelessly abandoned. The Word says He will purge them as gold and silver—to make them pure—so that when they present their offering before the Lord, it will be done in righteousness. Verse 4 states that the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will once again be pleasing to the Lord, just as it was before compromise crept in.

I find it interesting that Malachi specifically mentions Judah. This is elementary because we all know Judah represents praise. Think back to the hymn, "Send Judah first, and the battle will be won." Even the offering of praise had been tainted by the heart condition of those offering it. Why else would a purifier be necessary to make it acceptable? Looking at Jerusalem, we must recognize that it represents governance—it was the capital of Judah, the established seat of leadership. Are we seeing a theme yet throughout Malachi’s writing?

In verse 5, God declares, "When I come, I will bring judgment." He does not mince words. He will be a swift witness against sorcerers—those engaging in black magic or false prophecy—and against those in leadership who manipulate, control, and elevate themselves above others instead of leading by example. Jesus confronted the Pharisees, the religious leaders of His time, saying, "You beg them to come, but then stand at the door to keep them from entering. You say you want them to encounter Me, yet you prohibit them from doing so. You make them feel as if only you can obtain an audience with Me instead of showing them how to enter in."

(Side note: Travis Duncan and I, along with a few others, are developing an encounter weekend that will be announced soon.)

Continuing in verse 5, He declares judgment against adulterers. Given Malachi’s overarching theme of heart correction, this applies not only to physical adultery but also to spiritual adultery—when we allow another love or lust to take the place reserved for God alone. We have replaced our love for God with desires for power, greed, influence, ambition, and other idols. I am not condemning anyone; I, too, was once in this place. I had to find an old-fashioned altar and seek deliverance through a ministry called Water to Wine. If you need deliverance, I highly recommend Lisa LM Warnick Williams and her team; they are discreet and honorable.

God is also coming against false swearers—those who deceive for personal gain, whether by walking in positions they do not belong in, spreading lies to manipulate others, or leading people astray with falsehoods. God Himself will witness against them and expose the deception so that the offering of praise within His body can once again be pure and acceptable.

Yet, because He does not change, He will not utterly consume us. His purpose is purification, not destruction. Hear His heart—He desires us to be holy, not condemned. Hebrews 12:7-8 reminds us:

"If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons."

If we allow God to correct us, we will be considered His children.

Returning to God

In verse 7, God says that even before them, their fathers had turned away and taught them that it was acceptable. But if they turn back to Him, He will return to them. Then comes a pivotal question: "Wherein shall we return?" Malachi answers with another question: "Will a man rob God?" The leadership asks, "Wherein have we robbed You?" The answer: "In tithes and offerings." Because of this, they walked under a curse, not just individually, but the whole nation suffered as a result.

Pause here. Nowhere does it say they weren’t giving tithes and offerings. Read the first two chapters again. They were giving—but with blemished, tainted offerings. Their hearts were not pure. Leadership was misusing the offerings for personal gain, much like Eli’s sons who brought strange fire before the Living God. We must take all of Malachi, not just a few cherry-picked verses, to properly understand its message.

But God says, "If you return to Me with purity, then I will return to you and accept your offering." Doesn’t that sound like 2 Chronicles 7:14?

"If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land."

If we do this, He will visit us again and be our habitation. But we must see ourselves through His eyes, stop making excuses, and stop compromising.

Then He says, "Bring Me your pure tithes and acceptable offerings, and watch Me fulfill My promises. I will heal your land! I will bless you so abundantly that you won’t be able to contain it. Test Me in this! Allow Me to purify you with fuller's soap and the refiner’s fire. Allow Me to purge and change your heart back to Me, so that you will want to offer Me the firstfruits rather than your rotted leftovers. You will give with purpose. You will praise with new purpose. Your worship will come from a place of purity, and I will inhabit your praise as I have promised. How can you contain My fullness? YOU CAN’T!"

A Promise to Rebuke the Devourer

God promises, "I will rebuke the devourer for your sake, and he will not destroy the fruit of your ground." Many do not understand the depth of this promise. Devourer means seed eater. What is your seed? What fruit is produced from your seed? The first thing that comes to mind is our children. The enemy is a seed eater—he seeks to destroy our heritage. Yet God gives us a key to stop him: "I will rebuke the devourer and prevent him from destroying the fruit of your land." How many times have you sown into ministries yet seen no harvest? Have you asked God why? James tells us, "If any man lacks wisdom, let him ask." Could it be that our motives were selfish, or that our hearts corrupted the offering? When we see all of Malachi rather than just a few verses, truth begins to unfold.

Then others will witness the blessing upon us and desire the same. What a way to be a witness for God! Pastor, do you want your church to grow? Get this right!

Closing Thoughts

Verses 13-15 address accusations against God: "When have we spoken against You?" When you blame Me for your struggles instead of taking responsibility. Instead of acknowledging your actions, you claim I am slacking in My promises. But I am not a man that I should lie. Is My arm too short to reach you, whom I created? You say you serve Me, yet you do it for selfish gain.

Verses 16-17 highlight those who remained steadfast—the ones you mocked as "too radical." These are My remnant people, those who never compromised, the ones walking in My blessing while others did not. I spared them and treasured them as a man does a valuable jewel.

But once you return to Me, I will reveal to you the truth of why you were not blessed—not because I didn’t want to, but because I couldn’t. You will see where you were serving self instead of Me. But when you return to Me, I will return to you!

If you endured to the end of this message, then you have the ability and responsibility to respond to this call.

Return to Me, says the Lord, and I will return to you!

Follow along in Malachi