“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. But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings. You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall. And you shall tread down the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet, on the day when I act, says the Lord of hosts.“ Remember the law of my servant Moses, the statutes and rules that I commanded him at Horeb for all Israel.
“Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction.”
I would like to emphasize the last two verses here. Firstly, Jesus tells us that John the Baptist was this Elijah of whom Malachi spoke (Matthew 11:7-14). Anyone looking for Elijah to come down from Heaven as a sign of the end is gravely mistaken and will be sorely disappointed. Why does Malachi say Elijah is going to come? Elijah was premier among the prophets. It would be like me saying that a Billy Graham is coming in reference to a great evangelist (not necessarily in quality but in recognition of name). Jesus Himself says that there was no one like unto John born of women. This coming prophet was to come in the Spirit of Elijah, and indeed John is like unto Elijah. The Bible describes them quite similarly. Suffice it to say, this prophecy by Malachi has been fulfilled in the purpose of John the Baptist. This would indicate that the rest of the book of Malachi is fulfilled as well.
As a bit of a sidenote, notice that God commends His law to them. The law was to be heeded during the period of time when Israel waited for and assumedly after the coming of this Elijah who would be the forerunner of Christ. This is a strong argument for the current validity of the law. There's not the time to unpack it now though.
The real emphasis of today's blog, however, is verse 6. I admit that I was inspired to write this after listening to Randy Alcorn speaking about this on the Moody radio station. The idea was entirely his, but I thought it could bear repeating. This Elijah figure, because of His proclamation of the coming of the Savior, and therefore Jesus Christ by extension, is described as repairing broken family bonds between fathers and sons. Though only fathers and sons are mentioned, this truth applies to daughters and mothers, too. However, the emphasis is placed on men because it is the failure of men to train their family and pass down a heritage of love for the commands of God that causes generational sin and decay of Christian practice and values. In the Bible fathers are given the role as head of the home. This position is more about responsibility than authority. The authority is given so that the responsibilities can be met. Fathers must train their sons and daughters both, but it is the sons who need special attention as they are ones who are going to be leading the next generation. Fathers need to train their sons to be fathers.
We have seen the chaos that a lack of this training has produced. Men have become women, and as is always the case, women are forced to compensate and so they act the part of men. The last phrase of the book shows the result of such leadership woes. Utter destruction awaits. The secret to avoiding the downfall of any society begins with fathers. Fathers must put forth the effort. They must get off the couch and into the Bible. They must be with their children. They must teach them and love them and chasten them. Fathers must give their sons an example to emulate. This is a daunting task indeed, especially in a climate of feminism and overall depravity. Anyone who attempts to be the leader of his family is labeled a "patriarchalist", and so fathers become absentee fathers.
There has been a general lack of teaching in the past decades. Men have grown up without fathers--both physically and spiritually. Fathers are either gone or emotionally/spiritually gone. The pastors and teachers at churches are failing to instruct the men of their churches. Fathers who have good motives often find themselves at a loss for how and what to teach their children. It's a vicious cycle. Business and pleasure have been more important than raising up the next generation of Godly leadership. A family without a leader will be chaotic. A society of families without leaders will be exponentially worse.
So this is the duty that awaits me. My son or daughter should be coming along here in March, which seems so far off, and yet I know it'll be here quite soon. What do I do? How do I do it? Where do I start? How do I make sure I am balanced? The Word of God has all these answers. I thank God for a foundation laid in the Word of God--a childhood pervaded by truth. I hope that I can build on the good things I was taught and the examples I was given, and learn from the mistakes, too.
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