“‘Behold, I am going to send My messenger, and he will clear the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple; and the messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight, behold, He is coming,’ says the LORD of hosts. But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap…. ‘For behold, the day is coming, burning like a furnace; and all the arrogant and every evildoer will be chaff; and the day that is coming will set them ablaze,’ says the LORD of hosts, ‘so that it will leave them neither root nor branch.’ … ’” (Mal 3:1–2; 4:1 [3:19], 5 [3:23]).
Malachi’s final chapter has a quadruple function within the Hebrew Bible. (Malachi 3:1–4:6 is a single chapter in the Hebrew Bible.) It serves as the final chapter of Malachi, the final chapter of the Book of the Twelve (Hosea–Malachi), the final chapter of the Prophets (Joshua–Malachi), and a canonical seam stitching together the Prophets (Joshua–Malachi) and the Writings (Psalms–Chronicles). Biblically speaking, this chapter carries great weight. It is not surprising that this chapter is the reason I opened the door each year at the end of the Passover Seder for the coming of one final prophet, Elijah, who would prepare the way for the coming of Israel’s “Lord” (Mal 3:1), the Messiah.
…it is by reading this chapter that we can experience the fullness of joy when Matthew opens the door and we see John standing there, proclaiming to our people that our Lord and Messiah has finally come.
Canonically, this chapter serves a fifth strategic function. It practically begs for the coming of this final messenger to prepare the way for Israel’s Messiah. In this sense, this chapter also functions as the Hebrew Bible’s setup for another major section of Israel’s sacred Scriptures, most appropriately beginning with the Gospel of Matthew (Matthew–Revelation).
And so it is a desert dweller named John who bridges that gap, linking the era of the Prophets to the era of the Apostles and announcing to Israel and the nations God’s gift of a new and better covenant. And it is by reading this chapter that we can experience the fullness of joy when Matthew opens the door and we see John standing there, proclaiming to our people that our Lord and Messiah has finally come.
