1 BEHOLD, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the Lord of hosts.
2 But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner’s fire, and like fullers’ soap:
3 And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness.
4 Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the Lord, as in the days of old, and as in former years.
5 And I will come near to you to judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against false swearers, and against those that oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and that turn aside the stranger from his right, and fear not me, saith the Lord of hosts.
6 For I am the Lord, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.
7 Even from the days of your fathers ye are gone away from mine ordinances, and have not kept them. Return unto me, and I will return unto you, saith the Lord of hosts. But ye said, Wherein shall we return?
8 Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings.
9 Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation.
10 Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.
11 And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the Lord of hosts.
12 And all nations shall call you blessed: for ye shall be a delightsome land, saith the Lord of hosts.
13 Your words have been stout against me, saith the Lord. Yet ye say, What have we spoken so much against thee?
14 Ye have said, It is vain to serve God: and what profit is it that we have kept his ordinance, and that we have walked mournfully before the Lord of hosts?
15 And now we call the proud happy; yea, they that work wickedness are set up; yea, they that tempt God are even delivered.
16 Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another: and the Lord hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon his name.
17 And they shall be mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him.
18 Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not.

1 Beholde, I will send my messenger, and he shal prepare the way before mee: and the Lord whom ye seeke, shall suddenly come to his Temple: euen þe messenger of the Couenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the Lord of hosts.

2But who may abide the day of his comming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiners fire, and like fullers sope.

3And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of siluer: and he shall purifie the sonnes of Leui, and purge them as gold & siluer, that they may offer vnto the Lord an offring in righteousnes.

4Then shall the offerings of Iudah and Ierusalem bee pleasant vnto the Lord, as in the dayes of old, and as in former yeeres.

5And I will come neere to you to iudgement, and I will bee a swift witnesse against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against false swearers, and against those that oppresse the hireling in his wages, the widowe, and the fatherlesse, and that turne aside the stranger from his right, and feare not me, saith the Lord of hosts.

6For I am the Lord, I change not: therefore ye sonnes of Iacob are not consumed.

7 Euen from the dayes of your fathers yee are gone away from mine ordinances, and haue not kept them: returne vnto me, and I will returne vnto you, saith the Lord of hosts: But ye said, Wherein shall we returne?

8 Wil a man rob God? yet ye haue robbed me. But ye say, Wherein haue we robbed thee? In tithes & offerings.

9Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye haue robbed me, euen this whole nation.

10Bring ye all the tithes into the store-house, that there may be meate in mine house, & proue me now herewith, saith the Lord of hostes, if I will not open you the windowes of heauen, and powre you out a blessing, that there shall not be roome enough to receiue it.

11And I wil rebuke the deuourer for your sakes: and he shal not destroy the fruits of your ground, neither shal your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the Lord of hosts.

12And all nations shall call you blessed: for ye shall be a delightsome land, saith the Lord of hosts.

13 Your words haue bin stout against me, saith the Lord, yet ye say, What haue we spoken so much against thee?

14Ye haue said, It is vaine to serue God: and what profit is it, that we haue kept his ordinance, and that wee haue walked mournfully before the Lord of hosts?

15And now we call the proud happy: yea, they that worke wickednes are set vp, yea they that tempt God, are euen deliuered.

16 Then they that feared the Lord, spake often one to another, and the Lord hearkened and heard it, & a booke of remembrance was written before him, for them that feared the Lord, & that thought vpon his name.

17And they shall be mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I make vp my iewels, and I wil spare them as a man spareth his owne sonne that serueth him.

18Then shall yee returne and discerne betweene the righteous and the wicked, betweene him that serueth God, and him that serueth him not

I == Isa 40:3 ; 63:9 ; Matt 11:10 ; Mark 1:2 ; Luke 1:76 ; 7:27

 

II == Isa 4:4 ; Mal 4:1 ; Matt 3:10-12 ; Rev 6:17

III == Isa 1:25 ; Zech 13:9 ; 1st Peter 2:5

 

 

IV == Mal 1:11

 

V == Zech 5:4 ; James 5:4 , 12

 

 

 

 

 

VI == Num 23:19 ; Lam 3:22 ; Rom 11:29 ; James 1:17

VII == Zech 1:3 ; Mal 1:6 ; Acts 7:51

 

VIII == Neh 13:10 , 12

 

 

X == Gen 7:11 ; 2nd Kings 7:2 ; 1st Chr 31:10-11

 

 

 

XI == Amos 4:9

 

 

 

XII == Dan 8:9

 

 

XIII == Mal 2:17

 

XIV == Job 21:14-15 ; 22:17 ; Ps 73:13 ; Zeph 1:12

XV == Ps 73:12 ; 95:9 ; Mal 2:17

 

 

XVI == Ps 56:8 ; Rev 20:12

 

 

XVII == Ex 19:5 ; Deut 7:6 ; Ps 103:13 ; 135:4 ; Isa 62:3 ; Titus 2:14 ; 1st Peter 2:9

XVIII == Ps 58:11

1 Lo, I am sending my messenger to prepare the way before me; And suddenly there will come to the temple the LORD whom you seek, And the messenger of the covenant whom you desire. Yes, he is coming, says the LORD of hosts.

2 But who will endure the day of his coming? And who can stand when he appears? For he is like the refiner's fire, or like the fuller's lye.

3 He will sit refining and purifying (silver), and he will purify the sons of Levi, Refining them like gold or like silver that they may offer due sacrifice to the LORD.

4 Then the sacrifice of Judah and Jerusalem will please the LORD, as in days of old, as in years gone by.

5 I will draw near to you for judgment, and I will be swift to bear witness Against the sorcerers, adulterers, and perjurers, those who defraud the hired man of his wages, Against those who defraud widows and orphans; those who turn aside the stranger, and those who do not fear me, says the LORD of hosts.

6 Surely I, the LORD, do not change, nor do you cease to be sons of Jacob.

7 Since the days of your fathers you have turned aside from my statutes, and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you, says the LORD of hosts. Yet you say, "How must we return?"

8 Dare a man rob God? Yet you are robbing me! And you say, "How do we rob you?" In tithes and in offerings!

9 You are indeed accursed, for you, the whole nation, rob me.

10 Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, That there may be food in my house, and try me in this, says the LORD of hosts: Shall I not open for you the floodgates of heaven, to pour down blessing upon you without measure?

11 For your sake I will forbid the locust to destroy your crops; And the vine in the field will not be barren, says the LORD of hosts.

12 Then all nations will call you blessed, for you will be a delightful land, says the LORD of hosts.

13 You have defied me in word, says the LORD, yet you ask, "What have we spoken against you?"

14 You have said, "It is vain to serve God, and what do we profit by keeping his command, And going about in penitential dress in awe of the LORD of hosts?

15 Rather must we call the proud blessed; for indeed evildoers prosper, and even tempt God with impunity."

16 Then they who fear the LORD spoke with one another, and the LORD listened attentively; And a record book was written before him of those who fear the LORD and trust in his name.

17 And they shall be mine, says the LORD of hosts, my own special possession, on the day I take action. And I will have compassion on them, as a man has compassion on his son who serves him.

18 Then you will again see the distinction between the just and the wicked; Between him who serves God, and him who does not serve him.

19 For lo, the day is coming, blazing like an oven, when all the proud and all evildoers will be stubble, And the day that is coming will set them on fire, leaving them neither root nor branch, says the LORD of hosts.

20 But for you who fear my name, there will arise the sun of justice with its healing rays; And you will gambol like calves out of the stall

21 1) and tread down the wicked; They will become ashes under the soles of your feet, on the day I take action, says the LORD of hosts.

22 Remember the law of Moses my servant, which I enjoined him on Horeb, The statutes and ordinances for all Israel.

23 Lo, I will send you Elijah, the prophet, Before the day of the LORD comes, the great and terrible day,

24 To turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers, Lest I come and strike the land with doom. Lo, I will send you Elijah, the prophet, Before the day of the LORD comes, the great and terrible day.

v 1. This messenger is John the Baptist, Matt. 11:7-10; Isa. 40:3; Jn. 1:23. The messenger of the covenant who is desired is Christ at His first advent, but they didn’t recognize Him. This answers the superficial question of the people in 2:17.

v 2-4. The coming of the Lord will be a day of judgment, so the answer to both questions in v 2 is that none of the wicked will stand. He will purge the wicked and purify Levites as in a refinery. In the Millennium, Israel will bring acceptable offerings.

 

 

v 5,6. Judgment will also fall on the rest of Israel, and they will be delivered, not destroyed, because they will truly repent. God will keep His promise to Israel. We have the same assurance, that it is because of His mercies that we are not consumed.

 

 

v 7. God promises to return to a repentant Israel, but they pretended ignorance of their sin in asking,
[7] in what way are we to return? They had left the ordinances, v 7 and robbed God, v 8.

v 8. Another fake innocence,
[8] How have we robbed thee? Before it was quality of their offerings, here it is the quantity. They had withheld tithes and offerings.

v 9. The curse, revealed in v 11 was famine due to pests.

v 10-12. They had been experiencing curse, but now they could have blessing in material goods and favor of nations for obedience and bringing in their tithes. This is not a command for “storehouse tithing” as pushed by some today, or tithing according to there third year etc. The tithe is a good starting guide, but we are commanded to give as God prospers, more like the voluntary offerings of Deut. 16:17.  We are no longer under the law, but give according to 2 Cor. 9:6-12; Gal. 6:6; Phi. 4:14-19. The giving in Acts 4: 31-35 was a special communal type not appropriate for today.

v 13-15. They had spoken harshly against the Lord, yet say, v 13,
[9] What have we said against you? They indict themselves by their next question,
[10] What profit is there in keeping Your ordinance  and mourning? They had disobeyed and repentance was mere pretense and external legalism, not from the heart.  Some in deep sin seemed to be getting by, and the former dared God to punish them. (Comments 2:17) They said it was vain to serve God. Compare Jer, 44:16-19 where they gave credit to the Queen of Heaven.

v 16-18. A believing remnant spoke in contrast to those of v 13-15. God keeps a permanent record (book of remembrance), of the faithful. They are His. In the Day of the Lord they will obtain special favor of the Lord. Then there will be a distinct difference between the true and untrue.