ESV Global Study Bible :: Footnotes for Malachi 3

Mal. 3:1 Apparently Israel was repeating the error of Amos’s listeners (Amos 5:18). They supposed that the Lord’s coming would be only for blessing. They did not realize that the Lord’s coming would also be for judgment. He would come to be a “witness” against all evildoers, including his own people. In preparation for this fearful appearance, the Lord promises, Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. The NT identifies John the Baptist as this messenger. He prepares the way for the Lord whom you seek, that is, Jesus the Messiah (see Matt. 11:10–14).

Mal. 3:2–5 When the Lord comes, he will purify some sinners (vv. 2–4) and judge others (v. 5). The purifying will be thorough and severe, as if it were done with a refiner’s fire and fullers’ soap (compare Heb. 12:7–11). The heat of the refiner’s fire helped separate impurities from the metal. Similarly, the fuller washed clothes using strong lye soap.

3:6–12 Fifth Dispute: How Shall We Repent? Can a Man Rob God? Malachi returns to the subject of Israel’s offerings, which he first addressed in the second dispute (1:6–2:9). When Israel returned from exile, they neglected to offer their tithes (see Neh. 13:10–13). Crop failure and disease did not excuse their unfaithfulness (Mal. 3:10–11). These natural disasters were the result of, not the cause of, the nation’s disobedience (v. 8).

Mal. 3:6–7 I the Lord do not change. God’s character and eternal purposes remain constant. He always responds to repentance with forgiveness. They can trust him when he says, Return to me and I will return to you. Because of the Lord’s covenant faithfulness they are not consumed. Therefore implies that God’s promise to bless the world through Abraham’s descendants will not be defeated. He stands ready to bless the children of Jacob again.

Mal. 3:8 you are robbing me. The people were not giving to God the offerings that rightly belonged to him.

Mal. 3:10–12 God promises that if his people faithfully present their full tithe, then the desperately needed rain will come (v. 10). Crop failure will cease (v. 11), and the promise to Abraham that all nations will call you blessed (v. 12; Ps. 72:17) will be fulfilled. By saying, “put me to the test,” God challenges the people to give the tithe they owe him and then watch to see if he will keep his promise. God promises to meet all their needs, but not necessarily all their wishes. This is not a promise of wealth in return for obedience.

Mal. 3:13–4:3 Sixth Dispute: How Have We Spoken against God? This section echoes the first dispute. Here the focus is on God’s own people. Some embrace the covenant, and some do not.

Mal. 3:13–15 Israel complains that it is vain to serve God. They believe they have been faithful and have not been blessed.

Mal. 3:16 In sharp contrast to the people in vv. 13–15, a second group is now mentioned: those who feared the Lord and esteemed his name. Just as the Lord heard the insults of the first group, so he hears the faithful conversation of the second. A book of remembrance is written in God’s presence concerning these faithful believers. God will correctly judge the deeds of the righteous and the wicked.

Mal. 3:17–4:3 The Lord promises that, for those faithful believers listed in the “book of remembrance” (3:16), a day is coming when God will say, They shall be mine, his treasured possession (3:17; compare Ex. 19:5). God will spare them as a man spares his son who serves him.