Malachi 4 is the final word from God to His people for 400 years. After this chapter, God goes silent until John the Baptist cries out in the wilderness. The message is both a warning and a promise—judgment for the wicked and healing for the faithful. This closing chapter draws a sharp contrast between those who reverence God and those who reject Him.
Written to a post-exilic community that had grown cynical and spiritually dull, Malachi’s message is meant to shake them awake and call them to faithful expectation of the coming “Day of the Lord.”
Section 1 – Malachi 4:1
“For behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven, when all the arrogant and all evildoers will be stubble. The day that is coming shall set them ablaze, says the Lord of hosts, so that it will leave them neither root nor branch.”
Reflection Questions:
- What is the “Day of the Lord” in Scripture, and how is it portrayed here?
Cross-Ref: Joel 2:1–11, Zephaniah 1:14–18, Revelation 6:12–17
- Who are described as the arrogant and evildoers? How is arrogance often a root of rebellion against God?
- What does the image of “stubble” and “blazing fire” communicate about God’s justice?
- What does this verse teach us about the certainty and severity of God’s judgment?
- Hebrews 10:31 – “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”
- Is there a warning in this verse that you need to take personally?
Application:
- Am I underestimating God’s holiness or making light of sin?
- Where do I need to repent of arrogance or self-reliance before that day comes?