Malachi 4:1-2a

“For you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings.” (Malachi 4:2)

Malachi 3:17–4:1 addresses the concerns of Malachi’s audience directly. God promises that, “in the day when I act” (v. 17, NIV margin), you will again see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not (v. 18). On the day of divine judgment, the arrogant will not seem to be blessed and the people who challenge God will not escape (3:14–15). The arrogant and every evildoer will be destroyed by fire until there is no possibility of recovery or revival: Not a root or a branch will be left to them (4:1). Their survival and prosperity will no longer stand as evidence against the justice of God. The ones who will escape on that day will be the people who fear the Lord, because God will spare them (3:17). The God-fearers who had made a public witness to their faith (3:16) are the subjects of the promise in 3:17–18.

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