QT: *Sudden & Thorough* Malachi3:3 Week 41: 03/10/2023. Tue
Sudden & Thorough
https://www.esv.org/Malachi3:3
Week 41: 03/10/2023. Tue
The LORD will give ample notice by sending His messenger to prepare the way (3:1). However, the LORD Himself "will suddenly come to his temple" (3:1). The surprising task was the thorough purification that the LORD would undertake.
The Levites ("sons of Levi", 3:3) oversee the religious proceedings in the Tabernacle and subsequently the Temple. They saw to the purification rites of worshipers who brought sin offerings, peace offerings etc. Yet the LORD's purification was not refining the rites nor utensils, but purifying the "sons of Levi" themselves.
This was a surprise to some audience because weren't the Levites already called and set apart (sanctified) to serve God?s We still see the use of the blower over combustion materials like charcoal today. High temperatures were required for metals, and for today's passage—gold and silver.
Because impurities and sins have tainted the religious proceedings under the watch of the Levites, the purification must start from them. Since they were called to be mediators between the LORD and worshipers, they must take some responsibility for the decline of the religious life of the people.
With the purification trend rolling, from the Levites to the rest of the people, only can there by offerings that "will be pleasing to the LORD as in the days of old and as in former years" (3:4). God has sent many forerunners to warn (e.g. John the Baptist), and also Jesus Christ for the once and for all purification. Would you be prepared for any sudden and thorough inspection/correction by God today?
