The Mystery of Ephraim

The last of the prophets, Malachi begins with a prophecy of a forerunner of the coming of the Messiah; and the effects and consequences of his coming, and the prophecy of uniting the messages of the Father of the Old Testament and the Son of the New.

Malachi 3

¹ “Behold, I will send My messenger, and he shall prepare the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you 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. — behold, the Lord of hosts will send My messenger, the special prophet spoken of Isaiah 40:3, who was John the Baptist, the passage upon which the present statement is evidently founded, and he shall prepare the way before Me, Mark 1:3; and the Lord whom ye seek, the Son of God, and promised Messiah, for whose who were so anxiously waiting;

— shall suddenly come to His Temple, and here Simeon, Anna and others, were waiting for Him, Luke 2:22; appeared suddenly to dwell in the midst of His people, of His Church, even the Messenger of the Covenant, the Son of God Himself, whom ye delight in, namely, all those who still desire the covenant of the Lord with His people to he fulfilled;

— behold, so the announcement is once more made with impressive solemnity, He shall come, saith the Lord of hosts. This is the preaching of the Kingdom of God in order to prepare the hearts for the great coming of Yehovah.

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. — but who may abide the day of His coming? be able to endure that Day of Judgement upon the disobedient and secure? Cf Matthew 3:8-12; Luke 3:9. And who shall stand when He appeareth? Cf Joel 2:11. 

— for He is like a refiner’s fire, separating pure doctrines from ones of dross compared to fire, Jeremiah 23:29; false ones shall be burned like chaff, or which separates the dross from the pure metal, and like fullers’ soap, thoroughly to cleanse the garment of His Church from all impurities;

— the Syriac version says, “as sulphur that makes white;”

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. — and He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, the entire Messianic era being a time of testing and of judgement, John 9:39, culminating in the final day of Judgement; 

— and He shall purify the sons of Levi, for the judgement begins at the house of God, and purge them as gold and silver that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness, so that all the members of the Millenium priesthood, in fact, might serve Him in holiness and righteousness;

— the “refiner’s fire” shall purify the sons of Levi; both the Boethusians, who hailed from the Egyptian paganism and the Hellenised Sadducees, who played harlotry with Greek gods, couldn’t escape the consuming inferno in AD 70. The Boethusians and the Sadducees were members of two Jewish sects that kept a heretic passover, and that flourished for a century or so before their destruction in the prophesied refiner’s purification of the Levites.

⁴ Then shall the offering of Judah and of Jerusalem be pleasant unto the Lord, as in the days of old and as in former years. — after the “refiner’s fire” then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the Lord, the entire Church worshiping Him in spirit and in truth, as in the days of Moses, when the children of Israel were still in truth as His chosen.

⁵ “And I will come near to you in judgement; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers and against the adulterers, and against those who swear falsely, and against those who oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow and the fatherless, and those who turn aside the stranger from his right, and fear not Me,” saith the Lord of hosts. — and I will come near to you to judgement, namely, the judgement of wrath upon the wicked; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, the transgressors of the First and Second Commandments; the Targum says, “my Word shall be among you for a swift witness,”

— and against the adulterers, those disregarding the Sixth Commandment, and against false swearers, with reference both to the Second and the Eighth Commandments, and against those that oppress the hireling in his wages, by withholding them altogether or by underpaying him;

— the widow, and the fatherless, as being without a natural protector, and that turn aside the stranger from his right, Cf Deuteronomy 27:19, and fear not Me, saith the Lord of hosts, this last point indicating the source of all iniquity lack of the fear of the Lord.

⁶ “For I am the Lord, I change not. Therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed. — for I am Yehovah, I change not, I’m also the Everlasting, the Eternal indicating that He is the same from everlasting to everlasting; the Targum says, “for I the Lord have not changed my covenant.”

— therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed, literally, “and ye, the Sons of Jacob, ye are not yet consumed,” that is, the Lord will keep the true spiritual Israel safe while He sends His judgement upon the wicked in their midst. Even so the Church of God in the New Testament is preserved in the midst of hypocrisy and deceit, while the wicked will finally be destroyed;

— but some sects escaped death during the inferno of AD 70; were not consumed:

(1) the Christians, known as Nazarenes in Acts 24:5. They escaped to a northern town called Pella, west of the Jordan River;
(2) the Hillel branch of Pharisees, those of the House of Hillel. They were headed by a Pharisaic rabbi, Johanan ben Zakkai, the head of the Sanhedrin, he was smuggled out of besieged Jerusalem in a coffin. They escaped to Yavne, and later to Tiberias; his followers re-emerged as Rabbinic Jews, who established the Hillel Calendar, which was revealed by Hillel II in about AD 359 concerning the rules of the calendar.

— the Shammites branch of Pharisees, together with the wicked Boethusians and Sadducees, all were deemed as chaff and were consumed during the inferno of AD 70.

⁷ “Even from the days of your fathers, ye have 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, ‘In what manner shall we return?’ — even from the days of your fathers ye are gone away from Mine ordinances and have not kept them, this being the reason why He has withheld the fullness of His blessing and salvation from them. Return unto Me, and I will return unto you, saith the Lord of hosts, His appeal being made in all Sincerity, since He wants all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth;

— but ye said, still blind toward their transgressions, Where shall we return? They did not realize that the real service of Yehovah must be a growth from within, from a heart which lives in His fear. Therefore the prophet asks, in turn, in order to arouse them to a consciousness of the true meaning of worship,

⁸ Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed Me! But ye say, ‘Wherein have we robbed Thee?’ In tithes and offerings. — will a man rob God, defraud Him? Is not the very idea preposterous and revolting? Yet ye have robbed Me, actually trying to defraud Yehovah of the service which He rightly expected;

— but ye say, Wherein have we robbed Thee? And the answer is, in tithes and offerings, keeping back from the priests and Levites their dues, for these the people had deliberately withheld, thus making a mockery of their worship of Yehovah.

⁹ Ye are cursed with a curse; for ye have robbed Me, even this whole nation. — ye are cursed with a curse, as a consequence of such behavior; for ye have robbed Me, even this whole nation, for the practice rebuked was general among the people; the first-fruits of their ground and cattle and other offerings which were allotted to the priests, Deuteronomy 18:4, out of which revenue they were to provide the daily sacrifices and also to maintain the Levites, who attended upon the service in the temple; therefore He admonishes them with great solemnity:

¹⁰ Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in Mine house, and put Me to the proof now herewith,” saith the Lord of hosts, “if I will not open to you the windows of heaven and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it. — bring ye all the tithes, the entire tithes, not only a part, into the storehouse, not keeping back a part, as heretofore, that there may be meat in Mine house, provision for the daily sacrifices, and for the maintenance of the priests and Levites, as food for His servants, Numbers 18:24; 

— and prove Me now herewith, to find out whether He is not still the same righteous and holy God as of old, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven and pour you out a blessing, in plentiful harvests, that there shall not be room enough to receive it, your prosperity being practically limitless.

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. — and God will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, not permitting the locusts or caterpillar or any such devouring creature that eats up the herbage, corn and fruits of trees; to devour the crops, to ravage the land; and these creatures shall not destroy the fruits of your ground, all the ordinary field-crops; 

— neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the Lord of hosts, that is, that these devourers or locusts, that they should not cause the vine to be abortive; the grapes would not fall before they had matured.

¹² “And all nations shall call you blessed, for ye shall be a delightsome land,” saith the Lord of hosts. — and when they shall see the land freed from the devouring locusts, all nations shall call you blessed, praising them for the obvious blessings which they enjoyed as a gift of Yehovah; for ye shall be a delightsome land, as seen by your neighbouring nations, an object of pleasure, saith the Lord of hosts. 

¹³ “Your words have been defiant against Me,” saith the Lord. “Yet ye say, ‘What have we spoken so much against Thee?’ — you have spoken arrogantly against Me, saith the Lord, namely, in the murmuring which He has rebuked above. Yet ye say, What have we spoken against Thee? The Lord’s answer through His prophet is;

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? — when you said, ‘it doesn’t pay to serve God; what do we ever get out of it? It is vain to serve God, it does not pay; and what profit is it that we have kept His ordinance, and that we have walked mournfully before the Lord of hosts? with all indications of deep sorrow and mourning over their sins. Their complaint was that it was poor business, that it did not pay.

¹⁵ So now we call the proud happy; yea, they that work wickedness are set up; yea, they that tempt God are even delivered.’” — and now we call the proud and arrogant, they had actually reached the stage when they praised the wicked, with their apparent happiness in matters of this world; yea, they that work wickedness are set up, they abound in riches and honours; they are set in high places; they are the lucky ones, in their presumptuous opinion; 

— yea, they that tempt God are even delivered, as if they tried to provoke him, even these men escape those dangers and calamities; they have no misfortune, they have everything that their heart desires; they seem to escape judgement and go on with impunity.

¹⁶ Then those who feared the Lord spoke often one to another, and the Lord hearkened and heard it. And a book of remembrance was written before Him for those who feared the Lord and who thought upon His name. — then, namely, when the scoffers were making these blasphemous remarks, they that feared the Lord spoke often one to another, they made it a practise to encourage one another over against such blasphemous talk; 

— and the Lord hearkened and heard it, by the omniscience of God, who hearkens and hears everything; He paid attention to their remarks, and a book of remembrance, records, annals and chronicles was written before Him for them that feared the Lord and that thought upon His name, the subject of their conversations being things which pertained to His glory.

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 who serveth him. — and they shall be Mine, saith the Lord of hosts, the precious people of His inheritance, 1 Peter 2:9, in that day when God make up His jewels, when He would impart to them the fullness of His glory; 

— and God will spare them, in manifesting His tender mercies upon them and as a man spareth his own son that serveth him, ready to show his love and goodness in such an instance.

¹⁸ Then shall ye return and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth Him not. — then shall ye, those who were now grumbling, return and discern between the righteous and the wicked, noting the difference between the two classes, the difference between such who are really and truly righteous, who are here meant, even such who believe in Christ;

— those that are justified by his righteousness; and those that are wicked, also in the manner in which God dealt with them, between him that serveth God and him that serveth Him not. The time of judgement is still at hand, but infidels and scoffers and by their characters and judgement that will be issued to them by the Judge; and the different sentences passed and executed on them.

Malachi 4

¹ “For behold, the day cometh that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly shall be stubble. And the day that cometh shall burn them up,” saith the Lord of hosts, “that it shall leave them neither root nor branch. — for, behold, the day cometh, the day before Christ’s return, reaching to a global destruction, is compared to a burning oven; the wicked to stubble, whose ruin would be utter and complete being considered a day of sifting;

— because it culminates in the Day of Judgement, that shall burn as an oven, one which holds the refiner’s fire; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble, under the fire of His wrath, Cf Matthew 3:10-12; 

— and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of hosts, Cf Isaiah 5:24; Zephaniah 1:18, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch, which signifies an entire and complete destruction; the final, eternal destruction of the wicked being coincidental with the last Judgement. Such is the terrible fate of those who do not avail themselves of the Lord’s mercy.

² But unto you that fear My name shall the Sun of Righteousness arise with healing in His wings; and ye shall go forth and grow up as calves from the stall. — but unto you that fear God’s name, Malachi 3:16, whose names were written in the book of remembrance; who loved the law of their God, and kept them, shall the Sun of Righteousness, the Messiah, with the fullness of His power;

— arise with healing in His wings, by which are meant its rays and beams of His righteousness sent out through His Word; and ye shall go forth, with joyfully uplifted heads, and grow up as calves of the stall, in strength, vigour and spiritual stature, nourished by the Word of God. Cf John 1:14.

³ And ye shall tread down the wicked, for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this,” saith the Lord of hosts. — and ye shall tread down the wicked, whose final overthrow is consistently prophesied in Scripture; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet, the ashes of the wicked, powerless and worthless; like the ashes of the Boethusians and the Sadducees, were destroyed in the inferno of Jerusalem, and many of them burned to ashes in the flames in the latter day by which it will similarly be consumed. 

— in the day that God shall do this, saith the Lord of hosts. All believers are happy in their faith, in the enjoyment of God’s mercy; they enjoy true liberty and will finally celebrate an eternal victory over all their enemies. The prophet therefore, in concluding his message, adds an admonition:

⁴ “Remember ye the Law of Moses, My servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel, with the statutes and judgements. — remember ye the Law of Moses, God’s servant; they were apt to forget: hence this exhortation is given now, because no other prophet after Malachi would be sent unto them, which God had commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel, with the statutes and judgements, the Word which contained His solemn covenant; to be observed by the children of Israel, and which were shadows of things to come; 

⁵ “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. — behold, God will send you Elijah, the prophet, a prophet like him, namely, John the Baptist, the forerunner of the Messiah, Matthew 11:10-14; Matthew 17:10-13; Luke 1:17, before the coming of the great and dreadful Day of the Lord, Joel 2:31, namely, before the Lord Himself would begin His administration, which ushered in the Millenium, just after the Last Judgement;

⁶ And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.” — and “Elijah the prophet” shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children and the heart of the children to their fathers, this shows in what John’s office would consist: in the turning of men to God, and uniting the father and children in one act of reconciliation:

— so that the father will turn to the religion of his son who is converted to Christ, and the son will embrace the faith of their true fathers: Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; in having them both realize the love of the Father in sending his Son, the Messiah and in the subsequent salvation wrought for all men, Luke 1:17, or uniting the Chosens of the Old Testament who are their fathers in the faith to true Elects of the New testament who are their children; or a link between the testaments;

— lest the Lord of hosts will come and smite the earth with a curse, namely, in the event that men will not heed the preaching of repentance and the forgiveness of sins. The Jews as a nation rejected the Messiah and have come under the curse as in AD 70 and AD 132. But this did not result in the overthrow of the Kingdom of God and the Church. The spiritual Israel, rather, has heeded and is heeding the Word of God and is enjoying the fullness of the blessings promised throughout the Old Testament and so gloriously fulfilled in the New Testament; thus uniting the messages of both the Father and Son. Selah!

~ by Joel Huan on January 22, 2022.

Posted in Minor Prophets