Malachi 3 - Offering in Righteousness
2 But who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiner’s fire or a launderer’s soap. 3 He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver. Then the LORD will have men who will bring offerings in righteousness, 4 and the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem will be acceptable to the LORD, as in days gone by, as in former years.
After writing 2 solid chapters explaining to Judah why they are not in a good place, Malachi turns to a promise that God’s servant will come, and then takes a brake to comment… and he foretells what Jesus will do between His 1st and 2nd comings to earth.
 2 But who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiner’s fire or a launderer’s soap.
1st coming: Jesus’s refined us through His words, then His sacrifice on the cross, followed by His resurrection.
2nd coming: Jesus will be coming to refine with His sword.
3 He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver. Then the LORD will have men who will bring offerings in righteousness,
1st coming: Jesus purified the Levites like silver, by dying for their sins
2nd coming: Either the Levites will be thinned out until only those who follow the Law in their heart remain, or He will reveal Himself in the hearts of the Levites of the to-be-rebuilt temple.Â
4 and the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem will be acceptable to the LORD, as in days gone by, as in former years.
1st coming: Jesus’ sacrifice will be sufficient to cover all sins, and Judah will finally have an acceptable sacrifice.
1st coming: There is going to be a moment, when the temple has been rebuilt, and righteous Levites who have studied the scriptures intently, will offer up sacrifices to God as faithfully as they know how. And because their heart is right with God, He will accept it. What I suspect however is that it will not be too soon afterward when Jesus reveals Himself to them as the real substitute for their punishment, and their sacrifice was a temporary substitute for Christ.
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My prayer for the day is that my own work be offered in righteoussness: belief, obedience, zealousness for God’s name. This means being a good witness, doing my work as unto God, and treating those I encounter with grace and a Christ-like attitude. My purpose for today is be a vessel through which God can bless others. Amen.
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