Malachi 3:1-4

Immediately after I finished seminary, I worked at a grocery store while my wife and I were applying for ministry positions. From time to time at the grocery store, a regional supervisor would drop in, sometimes announced and sometimes unannounced, to take stock of the store. We knew that when the supervisor arrived, a reckoning would happen. Price tags would be checked, cleanliness would be critiqued and the product on the shelves would be reviewed. With the arrival of the supervisor would come a time of judgment.

Read in a certain light, our text from Malachi can be reminiscent of a supervisor coming to check on the store. God is coming and when the Lord finally arrives, there will be judgment. Thankfully, the Lord’s arrival does not come without warning. There will be a messenger, Malachi tells us. In hindsight, we understand this to be John the Baptist. John prepares the way, then the Lord Almighty will return to his temple.

As I read this passage, I’m compelled to read it from a few different perspectives. First, there is the perspective of the Levites. In chapter 2, the Lord admonishes the Levites because of their unfaithfulness. In fact, the offerings of all the nation have apparently been unacceptable on account of the sinfulness of the Levites. From the perspective of the Levites, the coming of the Lord means judgment. “Who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears?” When read alone, those words echo with intimidation and fear. A reckoning is coming for the Levites and it doesn’t look good for them.

However, when we continue to read vs. 3 & 4, our understanding becomes a bit more clarified. With the imagery of a refiner’s fire and a launderer’s soap, we see that God’s purpose in returning to his temple is not to destroy the Levites. A refiner of metal doesn’t throw away the whole chunk of metal. Rather, she separates the good from the bad, that the metal might be made pure again. The launderer doesn’t throw away or dispose of dirty clothes. Instead, he cleans the clothes, getting rid of the dirt itself. Even in the midst of judgment, there is hope for the Levites. There is hope that the Levites will be renewed to a place where they are able to once again fulfill the role God has called them to.

Second, we read this passage from the perspective of the people of Judah. The people of Judah have been left without acceptable priests as a result of the unfaithfulness of the Levites. Though they seek to be right with God, though they bring offerings to the Temple, their offerings are unacceptable because of the Levites. The people of Judah are the victims of the Levites.

For the victims of the Levites, the coming of the Lord is a hopeful thing. Injustice will be made right. The Lord is not content to allow people to continually be victimized. There is coming a day when abuse of power will be dealt with. Those who use their power to fulfill their own desires at the expense of others will not do so indefinitely. These words that come to us from the prophet Malachi are words of hope and relief for those who have been victimized by those in power.

Lastly, I can’t help but read this text from a more personal perspective. As I read this passage from Malachi and apply it in a personal way, I have to admit that at times I have been both perpetrator and victim. I have been the one who hasn’t always been faithful to the role God has called me to. There have been times I have failed and I stand in need of purification. I stand in need of being made clean. I have also been the victim. I have been the one taken advantage of. I have been the one betrayed by those in power. I stand in need of a just conclusion.

When God comes back to his Temple with the advent of Jesus, there is hope for both the perpetrator and the victim. There is hope of repentance, redemption and restoration for the perpetrator. There is hope for justice for the victim. There is hope for all of us, whether we are perpetrator, victim or both.

As is often the case when thinking about Jesus’ advent and all that it means, there is a sense in which it is both “now” and “not yet”. Jesus of course has already come. The purification of his people has already begun. Jesus’ first advent, his life, death and resurrection provide for redemption, for purification and the ability to live into the ways of justice. And yet…it hasn’t fully come. Just like Malachi’s first readers and listeners, we await the coming of the Lord. We await the second advent, at which time, justice and love will reign. There will be no more perpetrators or victims.

Living the fulfilled promises of the first advent, we await the second. In a sense, we await it in the role of John the Baptist, the messenger that our text begins with. We await the advent of the Lord, preparing ourselves, preparing his people, preparing all of creation for his coming, knowing that when he comes, all will be well.