Verse-by-Verse Commentary
The Book of Malachi
Chapter 4: The Sun of Righteousness Shall Arise
The last chapter of the Old Testament sets two destinies side by side. For the proud and wicked, 'the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven,' leaving them 'neither root nor branch.' But for the faithful, dawn: 'unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall.' It is a promise of Christ, the Sun of righteousness, rising with healing on the world. God calls His people to 'remember... the law of Moses,' and then gives the very last words of the Old Testament, a promise of a coming Elijah: 'Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD... And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children.' Then four hundred years of silence fell, until an angel told an old priest that his son John would come 'in the spirit and power of Elias' to prepare the way for the Lord. The Old Testament ends looking forward, its last word a promise of the herald who announces the Christ.
About This Commentary
This is a verse-by-verse study of Malachi chapter 4, the final chapter of the Old Testament: the burning day, the Sun of righteousness, and the promise of the coming Elijah. For each section you will find the KJV text, the Hebrew words that sharpen the meaning, plain explanation, and a Gospel Focus. This chapter closes the Old Testament looking forward to Christ and His forerunner. Every Scripture quotation is from the King James Version.
Setting the Stage
Burning as an Oven
Two destinies: the proud burned, the faithful healed.
Healing in His Wings
Christ, the Sun of righteousness, rising on His own.
Remember the Law of Moses
Holding fast the word until the Messiah comes.
I Will Send You Elijah
The forerunner who prepares the way, fulfilled in John.
Unto You That Fear My Name (Malachi 4:1-3)
The coming day will burn the proud like stubble, but on those who fear God's name the Sun of righteousness will arise with healing in His wings, and they will go forth in joyful freedom, triumphant over the wicked.
The Sun of Righteousness Arise With Healing in His Wings
"For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch. But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall. And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this, saith the LORD of hosts."
Hebrew Study
"the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings." This is one of the loveliest titles of the Messiah in the Old Testament. As the physical sun rises to scatter darkness and warm the earth, so Christ, "the Sun of righteousness," rises on His people. He brings "righteousness" (right standing and right living, which He gives) and "healing in his wings", the "wings" are the spreading rays of the dawn, and under them is healing for body and soul. This is the light Zacharias sang of at John the Baptist's birth: "the dayspring from on high hath visited us, To give light to them that sit in darkness... to guide our feet into the way of peace" (Luke 1:78-79). Jesus is "the light of the world" (John 8:12) who rises on those in darkness, and "with his stripes we are healed" (Isaiah 53:5). For the fearful and faithful, the day that burns the proud is the dawn of the Sun of righteousness, rising with healing on His wings.
"and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall." The image is of stalled calves, kept penned up, suddenly let out into the open field, leaping and frisking in the joy of freedom. When the Sun of righteousness rises, God's people "go forth" from every confinement into liberty and abundant life, "if the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed" (John 8:36). It is a picture of the joyful, exuberant freedom the gospel brings, released from the prison of sin and darkness into the sunlight of Christ. The same faithful ones who "walked mournfully before the LORD" (3:14) now leap like freed calves in the light of the risen Sun. Salvation is not gloom but gladness, the joy of the released.
Explanation
The final chapter opens with the coming "day" and its two outcomes. For "the proud" and "all that do wickedly," it is a day of burning: "the day that cometh shall burn them up... neither root nor branch", total judgment. But for the faithful, the same day is dawn: "unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings." The very day that consumes the proud brings healing light to those who fear God.
And the effect on the faithful is joy and freedom: "ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall", leaping like penned calves released into the field. The long-oppressed faithful will finally triumph, treading down the wicked who once seemed "set up" (3:15), for in that day the wicked "shall be ashes under the soles of your feet." The tables are turned: the proud become stubble and ashes, while those who feared God's name bask in the healing light of the risen Sun and go free.
Gospel Focus
"The Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings" is one of the most beautiful gospel promises in the Old Testament, and it is Christ. As the sun rises to scatter the night, Jesus rises on those who fear God's name, bringing righteousness and healing. Zacharias sang of it at the birth of John the Baptist, "the dayspring from on high hath visited us," and Jesus declared, "I am the light of the world." Whatever darkness you sit in, the Sun of righteousness rises for those who fear His name, and under His outspread rays is "healing", for body, mind, and soul, and above all the healing of forgiveness, "with his stripes we are healed." Turn your face to the risen Sun of Christ, and be healed.
And notice the joy of the healed: "ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall." The gospel does not leave us in gloom but sets us leaping like calves released from the pen into a sunlit field. Christ makes us "free indeed," and the proper response to His risen light is exuberant gladness. The faithful who once "walked mournfully" now go forth rejoicing. If the light of Christ has risen on you, do not live like a calf still shut in the dark stall; go forth in the freedom and joy of the sons of God. The day that burns the proud is the day of your dawn; the Sun of righteousness has risen, with healing in His wings.
Behold, I Will Send You Elijah the Prophet (Malachi 4:4-6)
God calls His people to remember the law of Moses, and gives the closing words of the Old Testament: the promise of a coming Elijah who will turn hearts toward one another before the great and dreadful day of the LORD, fulfilled in John the Baptist.
He Shall Turn the Heart of the Fathers to the Children
"Remember ye the law of Moses my servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel, with the statutes and judgments. Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD: And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse."
Hebrew Study
"Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD." The Old Testament closes with a promise of a coming "Elijah", not the literal return of the ancient prophet, but one who would come "in the spirit and power of Elias." The New Testament identifies him plainly as John the Baptist. The angel told Zacharias that his son John would go before the Lord "in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children" (Luke 1:17), quoting this very verse. And Jesus said of John, "if ye will receive it, this is Elias, which was for to come" (Matthew 11:14; 17:12-13). So the last prophecy of the Old Testament points directly to the forerunner of Christ. The Old Testament ends by announcing the herald who would announce the Messiah, and the very next voice in redemptive history, after four hundred silent years, is John crying, "Prepare ye the way of the Lord" (Matthew 3:3).
"he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers." The work of the coming Elijah is reconciliation, healing broken relationships, restoring families, and turning a disobedient people back to the faith of their fathers. John the Baptist's ministry did exactly this, calling for repentance that would "turn... the disobedient to the wisdom of the just" (Luke 1:17), preparing hearts to receive the Lord. The alternative is dreadful: "lest I come and smite the earth with a curse." The very last word of the Old Testament in Hebrew is "curse" (cherem), and it hangs there as a warning, until the New Testament opens the way of escape. The whole Old Testament, ending on that ominous word, cries out for the Redeemer who would come to remove the curse, "Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us" (Galatians 3:13).
Explanation
God gives His people a charge and a promise as the Old Testament closes. The charge: "Remember ye the law of Moses my servant." Hold fast the word of God already given; treasure and obey it. This was to sustain them through the coming years of prophetic silence, cling to the Scriptures until the Messiah comes.
The promise: "Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD." A forerunner is coming, one in the spirit of Elijah, to prepare the people. His work will be to "turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers", to reconcile and to call the people back to God, "lest I come and smite the earth with a curse." And there the Old Testament ends, on the word "curse," with a promise of the coming herald hanging in the air. Four hundred years of silence followed, broken at last when the angel Gabriel told an old priest that his son John would come "in the spirit and power of Elias." The Old Testament ends looking forward, its final promise fulfilled in the forerunner of Christ.
Gospel Focus
How fitting that the Old Testament ends with a promise pointing straight to Christ, by way of His forerunner. "Behold, I will send you Elijah" was fulfilled in John the Baptist, who came "in the spirit and power of Elias" to "prepare... the way of the Lord." The whole Old Testament, its law, its prophets, its promises, ends looking forward, reaching toward the One who was to come. And after four hundred years of silence, the reaching was answered: John appeared in the wilderness, and behind him came Jesus, the Sun of righteousness. The Old Testament closes with its finger pointing to Christ. If you would understand all that came before, follow that pointing finger to Him.
And do not miss the last word of the Old Testament: "curse." The whole of the old covenant, for all its glory, ends on that ominous note, "lest I come and smite the earth with a curse", leaving the reader longing for a Redeemer who can take the curse away. That longing is answered in the gospel: "Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us." Where the Old Testament ends in "curse," the New Testament opens the way of blessing in Christ, who bore the curse on the cross so that "the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ" (Galatians 3:14). So the Old Testament ends not in despair but in expectation, a herald promised, a curse to be lifted, a Sun about to rise. And the whole story, from the burning day to the healing wings, from remembering Moses to the coming of Elijah, leans toward the One in whom every promise is "yea, and... Amen" (2 Corinthians 1:20). The last word of the old is "curse"; the first word of the gospel is the coming of the One who removes it. Turn to Him, the Sun of righteousness, and go forth in His healing light.
Chapter 4 and the Book of Malachi in Review
Malachi 4 closes the Old Testament with two destinies and a promise. The coming day will "burn as an oven" for the proud, leaving them "neither root nor branch," but "unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings," and the faithful will "go forth... as calves of the stall," free and glad. God charges His people to "remember... the law of Moses," and gives the last words of the Old Testament: "Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet... And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children," fulfilled in John the Baptist, "lest I come and smite the earth with a curse."
So ends the book of Malachi, and with it the Old Testament. Malachi confronted a cold-hearted, cynical people, priests who despised their office, worshipers who brought God their leftovers, families breaking covenant, a nation robbing God and calling His service vain, and through every dispute God pressed the same call: honor Me, return to Me, fear My name. And the book, and the whole Old Testament, ends looking forward, to the messenger who prepares the way, the Lord who suddenly comes to His temple, the Sun of righteousness rising with healing, and the Elijah who turns hearts before the great day. Then came four hundred years of silence, and then a voice in the wilderness, and then the dawn. For the Apostolic reader Malachi is the hinge between the Testaments: its last promises are John the Baptist and Jesus Christ, and its last word, "curse," is the very thing Christ came to remove. The Old Testament ends with a finger pointing to the Sun of righteousness, about to rise. Fear His name, and the day that burns the proud will be for you the dawn of healing.
- The coming day burns the proud but dawns as healing on those who fear God's name (4:1-2).
- "The Sun of righteousness" with "healing in his wings" is Christ, risen on His people (4:2; Luke 1:78; John 8:12).
- The gospel brings joyful freedom: "ye shall go forth... as calves of the stall" (4:2; John 8:36).
- The promised "Elijah" is John the Baptist, forerunner of Christ (4:5; Luke 1:17; Matthew 11:14).
- The Old Testament's last word is "curse," the very thing Christ came to remove (4:6; Galatians 3:13).
- The Old Testament ends looking forward to Christ, its promises fulfilled in Him (2 Corinthians 1:20).
Questions for Reflection
- Is the coming day, for you, a day of burning or a day of dawning? On what does that depend?
- Has the "Sun of righteousness" risen on you with healing? Have you turned your face to Him?
- Do you live in the joyful freedom of the healed, or still shut in the dark stall?
- How does it move you that the Old Testament ends with a finger pointing to Christ, and that He removed the curse it warned of?
References & Sources
Scripture is quoted from the King James Version (KJV). The Hebrew Bible orders the books differently, so Malachi's "Elijah" prophecy is not always the last verse; but in the Christian Old Testament, Malachi 4 is the closing chapter, ending on the word "curse." "The Sun of righteousness" (verse 2): fulfilled in Christ, Luke 1:78-79; John 8:12; 9:5; 2 Peter 1:19; Revelation 22:16; and healing, Isaiah 53:5; Psalm 103:3; Matthew 4:23. Freedom and joy of the redeemed: John 8:32-36; Romans 8:21; Isaiah 61:1-3; Psalm 30:11. The burning day of judgment: Zephaniah 1:18; Isaiah 5:24; Matthew 3:12; 13:30, 40-42; 2 Peter 3:7, 10-12. Remembering the law: Deuteronomy 4:9-10; Joshua 1:8; Psalm 119:11; Isaiah 8:20. "Elijah" fulfilled in John the Baptist: Isaiah 40:3; Malachi 3:1; Matthew 3:1-3; 11:10-14; 17:10-13; Mark 1:2-4; 9:11-13; Luke 1:16-17, 76; John 1:23. The curse removed in Christ: Genesis 3:17; Galatians 3:10-14; Romans 8:1; Revelation 22:3. Every promise fulfilled in Christ: Luke 24:27, 44; John 5:39; Acts 3:24; 2 Corinthians 1:20. If anything here does not look right, a verse, a reference, or a wording, please tell us at info@FruitBearers.net. Thank you for helping us keep Bible Learning error free.
- The burning day and the Sun of righteousness rising with healing on the faithful: Malachi 4:1-3; Luke 1:78; John 8:12.
- Remember the law, and the coming Elijah (John the Baptist), with the curse Christ came to remove: Malachi 4:4-6; Luke 1:17; Galatians 3:13.