Daily Devotional

Here God moves the conversation from the present, which is all the remnant cared about, to the future. This is prophetic imagery. It is not a detailed timeline of the end, and faithful Christians hold different views about the particulars. But the imagery makes some things unmistakable. First, the day is coming. We do not know when, but Scripture says it plainly, and we believe Scripture.

Second, that day brings finality in judgment. The arrogant and evildoers become stubble, and the fire leaves “neither root nor branch.” Anyone who has fought the vines in a Florida yard knows the frustration of trimming and weeding only to see everything return a week later, because the root was never reached. On that day, God will get the root. Evil will not grow back.

Third, that day brings finality in healing. The same sun that burns the stubble rises over those who fear God’s name “with healing in its wings.” The winged sun was a symbol of divine power and royal authority carved throughout the ancient Near East, including Persia. Malachi seems to take that familiar image and claim it for the Lord alone. The powers that ruled over the remnant were not ultimate. Judgment and healing both come from the same source, the God who holds life and death in his hands. Christians have long heard in this verse a promise fulfilled in Christ, the one who rose to bring healing to his people.

Finally, the righteous are set free. Like calves released from a dark stall into the open field, those who have been penned in by a broken world will run into the light. Verse 3 adds that they will tread on ashes. This is not revenge. The righteous do not finally get to pay back everyone who hurt them. They rejoice over a justice God has already accomplished, “on the day when I act, says the LORD of hosts.” The work is his, and so is the timing.