Wednesday Evening Bible Study

Malachi 3:16-4:6

"The Coming Day"

Listen to the lesson!

 

The prophet Malachi has, to this point, focused on the wrong attitudes and actions of the priests and the Israelites themselves.  Their worship of the LORD has been inappropriate; they have not given of their best to the master.  Now, at the end of the prophecy, the LORD offers a word of hope to the faithful remnant.

1. The LORD promises to protect those who are faithful to him.  What sets these people apart from the rest?¹
2. What is the difference between those who serve God and those who do not?
3. What images does the title "Sun of Righteousness" conjure up?²
4. How will God's people relate to the wicked "on that day"?  Who is the actor?  How does this idea contrast with the expectations of some present-day Christians?
5. What is the single requirement placed on this redeemed remnant?³
6. Whom will the LORD send, and what will this man accomplish?⁴

⁽¹⁾ For another example of a "scroll of remembrance," see Exodus 17:14.

⁽²⁾ "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing," verse 3.

⁽³⁾ The NLT refers to "Mount Sinai."  The Hebrew text actually names "Mount Horeb," which may or may not have been the same location.  The name "Horeb" may mean "glowing" or "heat," perhaps a reference to the sun.  The name "Sinai" is possibly a reference to the Semitic moon god, named Sin.  Mount Horeb is the place where Moses encountered the burning bush (Exodus 3), where the LORD spoke about providing water from a rock (Exodus 17), where the law is remembered to have been gievn (Deuteronomy 4), and where Elijah met God in the still, small voice (1 Kings 19).

⁽⁴⁾ For fatherhood, see Malachi 1:6, 2:10, and 3:5.  For Elijah, see Matthew 11:7-15 and 17:10-13; Luke 1:13-17.