Malachi 4:1 - Exposition

Burn as an oven ( a furnace ) . Fire is often spoken of in connection with the day of judgment and the advent of the Judge. It is a symbol of the holiness of God, which consumes all impurity, and also represents the punishment inflicted on the ungodly ( Psalms 1:1-6 :8; Isaiah 10:17 ; Isaiah 66:15 , Isaiah 66:16 ; Daniel 7:9 , Daniel 7:10 ; Joel 2:30 ; 1 Corinthians 3:13 ; 2 Peter 3:7 , etc.). The LXX . adds, "and it shall burn them." Stubble (see note on Obadiah 1:18 ); or, perhaps, chaff, as Matthew 3:11 , Matthew 3:12 . Root nor branch The ungodly are regarded as a tree which is given up to be burned so that nothing of it is left. The same metaphor is used by John the Baptist ( Matthew 3:10 ; comp. Amos 2:9 ). The Hebrew text includes this chapter in Matthew 3:1-17 .