COMMENTARY

Malachi 4:1-6
For the wicked the coming Day of the Lord will be doom but for the righteous there will be healing and joy. The writer of Malachi is unknown. The name means "my messenger." Scholars believe he wrote in the latter part of the fifth century, the post-exilic period. Malachi contains the only reference in the Old Testament to the forerunner of the Day of the Lord, Elijah. In verses 1-3, we are told that the coming Day of the Lord will solve all of Israel's moral and religious problems. On that day the wicked like stubble will be burned up, but the godly will experience the sun of righteousness which will bring healing and joy. Verses 4-6 constitute an appendix added by a later author. In the appendix Israel is to remember the law of Moses, for Malachi was considered …