Malachi 4 Study Notes

4:4-6 The people of Israel wore tassels as constant reminders of God’s instructions (Nm 15:38-40). Malachi called them to remember—not to be guided by human wisdom, ambition, or societal expectations, but by the application of God’s instruction through Moses (see Ps 119:16). On the great and terrible day of the Lord, see Jl 2:31 (the only other place where this phrase occurs). This will be a day of blessing for God’s people as well as a time of judgment on his enemies. Elijah, mentioned twenty-eight times in the NT, was viewed as the preeminent prophet of repentance. He appeared with Moses on the mountain of Jesus’s transfiguration to testify that Jesus is the Messiah (Lk 9:29-31). Both Moses and Elijah were connected with Horeb, God’s mountain (Ex 3:1; 1Kg 19:8). Although this prophecy was provisionally fulfilled by John the Baptist (Mal 3:1-5), it will be further fulfilled at Jesus’s return (Mt 11:14; 17:11; Rv 11:3) and it will be accompanied by a great revival of faith in Israel (Dt 30:1-2). Mal 4:6, quoted in Lk 1:16-17, describes a time of reconciliation when “the disobedient” will accept the wisdom of “the righteous” and when fathers and their children will no longer live self-serving lives but will regard one another with compassion and respect (2:15; Ezk 5:10; Rm 1:30).