Malachi 3:4

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Malachi 3:1-6

The first words of this chapter seem a direct answer to the profane atheistical demand of the scoffers of those days which closed the foregoing chapter: Where is the God of judgment? To which it is readily answered, ?Here he is; he is just at the door; the long-expected Messiah is ready to appear; and he says, For judgment have I come into this world, for that judgment which you have so impudently bid defiance to.? One of the rabbin says that the meaning of this is, That God will raise up a... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Malachi 3:4

Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the Lord ,.... Or "sweet" F2 ערבה "dulcescet", Vatablus, Pagninus, Montanus, Drusius; "dulce", Piscator. ; grateful and well pleasing to him, as all spiritual sacrifices are acceptable to God through Christ, being offered up in the faith of his atoning sacrifice and righteousness, without which it is impossible to please God: as in the days of old, and as in former years : under the first temple, and when the... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Malachi 3:4

Verse 4 This verse shows, that though he had just spoken of the sons of Levi, he yet had regard to the whole people. But he meant to confine to the elect what ought not to have been extended to all, for there were among the people, as we have seen and shall again presently see, many who were reprobates, nay, the greater part had fallen away; and this is the reason why the Prophet especially addresses the few remaining who had not fallen away. But he names Judeah and Jerusalem, for that tribe... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Malachi 3:1-4

Christ as a spiritual Reformer. "Behold, I will send my messenger," etc. This passage seems to be an answer to the question of the sceptic in the last verse of the preceding chapter, "Where is the God of judgment?" It informs us that he will come, but that a preparatory work is necessary. It points to the advent of John the Baptist, the herald of that great Messiah predicted by ancient prophets, and who was the "Desire of all nations" ( Haggai 2:7 , Authorized Version). The passage... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Malachi 3:4

The offering of Judah and Jerusalem. When the purification has taken place, and the priests offer pure worship, then the sacrifices of the whole nation will be acceptable. Judah and Jerusalem represent the kingdom of the Messiah; for salvation is of the Jews, and the gospel was first preached at Jerusalem. As in former ( ancient ) years . As in the days of Moses, David, and Solomon, or still earlier in the case of Abel, noah, Abraham, and the patriarchs. (See the account of the ideal... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Malachi 3:4

The pleasantness of religious offerings. The idea of offerings being pleasant to God reminds one of Noah's sacrifice on the cleansed and restored earth: "And Noah builded an altar unto the Lord; and took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar. And the Lord smelled a sweet savour." The opposite sentiment, God finding man's offerings unpleasant, and even offensive, reminds of Isaiah's opening reproaches, uttered in God's name: "Incense is an... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Malachi 3:4

Then (And) shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem - The “law,” the new revelation of God, was to Isaiah 2:3. “go forth from Zion and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.” Judah and Jerusalem then are here the Christian Church. “They shall be, pleasant (literally sweet) unto the Lord.” It is a reversal (using the self-same word) of what God had said of them in the time of their religious decay Hosea 9:4. “they shall not offer wine-offerings to the Lord, neither shall they be sweet unto Him;... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Malachi 3:3-4

Malachi 3:3-4. And he shall sit as a refiner He shall be diligently employed in his office, in performing which he shall resemble a refiner and purifier of silver. And he shall purify the sons of Levi And whereas the misconduct of the sons of Levi has been very great, (particularly of those who have been taken notice of and reproved in the foregoing chapters,) the Messiah when he comes will reform these abuses, and purify the worship of God from such corruptions. And purge them as gold... read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Malachi 3:1-18

Cheating God (2:17-3:18)When the Jews saw surrounding nations prosper while they suffered hardship, they complained that God was not just. Other nations made no effort to keep God’s law, whereas Israel was his people (17). Malachi replies that if justice is what the Jews want, then justice is what they will have; but they must realize that such justice will apply to them as well as to their heathen neighbours. They have asked for the God of justice; now he will come and do his work of justice... read more

E.W. Bullinger

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - Malachi 3:4

Then. When Jehovah shall have sent His messenger (Messiah), and He is accepted. read more

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