Malachi is widely recognized as the final Old Testament prophet (though
Joel has a handful of adherents too). With the intertestamental period
looming, what closing admonition and encouragement does God have for His
people?
The message of Malachi is, unsurprisingly, not dissimilar from the
message of the rest of the Bible: The King is coming and he will bring
judgment and redemption. There will be no escape for the wicked, nor
will the faithful be forsaken. "'Surely the day is coming; it will burn
like a furnace. All the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble, and
that day that is coming will set them on fire ... but for you who
revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its
wings'" (Malachi 4:1-2).
This has both eternal and short-term applications (for more on the
connection between Malachi 4:2 and Matthew 9:20-22, see my post from
April 15 here), but Israel can be hold onto these assurances in the
coming centuries: The Lord is both a wrathful and a merciful God, and
perhaps above all, He is a faithful God.
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