Berean Standard Bible · Public domain

Malachi 4

God challenges cynical worship, corrupt priesthood, and covenant betrayal. The promised messenger prepares for the Lord’s coming and calls the people to renewal.

Historical context & book outline

1“For behold, the day is coming, burning like a furnace, when all the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble; the day is coming when I will set them ablaze,” says the LORD of Hosts. “Not a root or branch will be left to them.”

2“But for you who fear My name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings, and you will go out and leap like calves from the stall.

3Then you will trample the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day I am preparing,” says the LORD of Hosts.

4“Remember the law of My servant Moses, the statutes and ordinances I commanded him for all Israel at Horeb.

5Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and awesome Day of the LORD.

6And he will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers. Otherwise, I will come and strike the land with a curse.”

Read closely

  1. What repeated words, contrasts, or actions stand out in this chapter?
  2. How does this chapter fit the surrounding chapters and the book’s purpose?
  3. What did it communicate to its first hearers, before applying it to your life?