The Coming Refiner: Malachi 2:17-3:5 | When Justice Feels Delayed

Watch the Sermon: The Coming Refiner

Have you ever wondered why evil seems to prosper while faithfulness often goes unnoticed? In this sermon, Pastor Mark explores Malachi 2:17-3:5, where God’s people questioned His justice and demanded answers. But instead of immediate judgment, God responds with something unexpected: a refining fire and cleansing soap meant to purify His covenant people.

📖 In this sermon, we explore:

📌God’s justice may feel delayed, but it is never absent.

📌God comes to His people in an unexpected way—but it’s exactly what we need.

📌God’s refining work not only purifies, it exposes unrepentant sin and demands a response.

📖 Click to Show the Transcript of this Sermon

Last week, we talked about how spiritual corruption can seep in. It starts with compromise and with the neglecting of God's commands, and then it manifests itself in half-hearted worship. I likened that process to the slow drip of contamination into a clean water supply.

At first, it seems to be harmless. It most likely goes by unnoticed. But as the seepage continues, what was at first a small amount of impurity builds up and what has happened becomes known. Because the results of the pollution are seen in the health of those who end up consuming this toxic water.

And I want us to continue with that imagery today. Imagine thinking that it was just fine to drink that water because the water is clear. It looks good. You can't see the impurities. You can't see that this water is polluted. But if you made the decision to consume it, you would most likely suffer the consequences.

Well, in Malachi's day, the people had let that spiritual pollution creep in. The priests were offering unacceptable sacrifices. They were forsaking their marriage covenants and participating in pagan worship. They were also questioning the justice of God and excusing all kinds of sinful behavior.

And all of this deserved punishment from God. But as we consider what is going on here in Malachi, we're reminded of the mercy and the grace of God because he does not just discard the polluted water, he purifies it.

Here in Malachi, we see that God is not abandoning his people in their sin. Instead, we see that he is refining them. Like a water filter cleans out the impurities, the Lord cleanses his people—not for the purpose of destruction, but to restore them. He enacts justice, not just to punish wrongdoing, but to make his people holy. He removes the impurities that his people might be living sacrifices. That they would be holy and pleasing to God, and that they would be witnesses to a lost and dying world.

So as we close up chapter two of Malachi this week, and we move into the first part of chapter three, we're going to take a look at three main points from what we read today.

The first that we're going to see is that, while the justice of God may seem delayed, it is never absent. Second, we're going to see that God comes to his people in an unexpected way, but it is what we actually need. And then finally, we're gonna see what I was just talking about. God purifies his people and that purification also serves the purpose of exposing unrepentant sin.

And we're gonna see this progression of the book of Malachi continue to stay upon this theme.

They have come back into the land. They were in exile. They were in exile. So we see from here that God is wearied by the words of the people. And here the weariness is coming from the shallow questions that they're asking.

They were in exile, but God has blessed them and brought them back. But now they're asking for more. Sure, God has done a wonderful thing in bringing us out of exile. But where is the prosperity? Where is the national and international influence that we should have? Why aren't those things happening for us?

And we saw these complaints a few weeks back at the beginning of the book, but now we've gotten deeper into what is going on. And now these complaints come off as even more shallow than they did at the beginning of the book. They want national prosperity and they want wealth, but they can't offer proper sacrifices to God—the God who returned them to the land from exile. They even went through the effort of rebuilding the temple of God that had been destroyed, yet they don't see the necessity of pure worship in that temple. You know, those who came before them, the ones who were driven out of the land, were driven out of the land because they were chasing after false gods. And yet, what are these people doing? The ones brought back from exile. They are chasing after false gods. Why exactly should these people expect the blessings that they're asking for?

But at the same time, the questions that we see here—I think they do resonate with us. Sure, they have not been faithful as they ought to be. But neither has the rest of the world. Right? The people of God are definitely no worse than their pagan neighbors. And the pagan neighbors are prosperous. Why not them?

You know, Malachi has spoken of evil being done by the priests, but you would think that a blind or lame animal brought as a sacrifice is better than no sacrifice at all, and particularly better than the sacrifices brought in pagan worship. Clearly, the ones who are doing this wrong are better than the ones who are outside the covenant, right? All of the people outside the covenant—all of their spiritual practices are pagan, completely displeasing to God. But they're prosperous. Their nations have influence.

And honestly, I think that we can relate to this. You know, we can acknowledge that we aren't perfect, but how often do we feel—at least I'm not, or we're not, like those people over there doing that terrible thing, extreme injustice. Why isn't God judging them? And we see this attitude expressed in the words that are wearying God here: "Everyone who does evil is good in the sight of the Lord." In other words, how come the evil are being blessed? If they have the prosperity and influence that we desire, then God must see them as good. God must delight in them if he is blessing them and making them prosperous.

They are questioning the God of justice, not believing that God is just. And the justice of God is one of his attributes. It's a significant part of our understanding of who he is. And here they think that the one who, by his nature, is just, is absent from ensuring that justice is done in the earth. He's doing nothing.

And it's not just the people in Malachi's time. The prosperity of those who are doing evil causes us to question the justice of God. When we see injustice, and we resonate with these questions that we see in Malachi, and when we resonate with the words of the psalmist in Psalm 73, it's important that these questions work through us and remind us of the mercy and grace of God.

He is just. God surely punishes wickedness. We all deserve to be punished for our rebellion against him, though. And it's important that when we struggle with these questions, that we remember that God is gracious and merciful. He's slow to anger, and he's abounding in steadfast love. This truth calls us to repentance, and it should drive us to pray for repentance for those who we want God to serve justice to.

Because we are blessed to have been given the gift of faith. We are blessed that we have forgiveness in Christ. We are blessed that mercy has been shown to us. So this should give us a heart for those who remain in rebellion against God.

And as we move forward, it's important that we look at how the psalmist came to the resolution of the problem that he saw in the world. We read that the psalmist went to the temple. He went into the sanctuary of God and then he discerned their end. When he went to the temple, what he saw there caused him to understand the holiness of God, to understand his justice, and he realized that the justice of God is not absent. The justice of God is delayed.

You see, when the psalmist entered the sanctuary, his perspective shifted. He saw not just the apparent prosperity of the wicked, but he saw their end. He was reminded that God's justice is certain, even if it isn't happening immediately.

And here in Malachi, we see God responding in a similar way. They are not going to witness the wrath of God on their enemies because they made this complaint. The people in Malachi's time aren't going to complain and then God's going to go, "You're right. I need to do justice in the world. How could I miss that? Thanks for asking. I'll take care of it." That's not what's going to happen. Instead, we see a promise of something transformative. We see a promise of something deeper than what they want to see. The people ask, where is the God of justice? And God answers, not by immediate judgment on the wicked, but by saying, I am coming. But not in a way that you expect.

And so this leads us to our second point today, that God comes to his people in an unexpected way, but that's exactly what we need. And so to go back to our illustration of the polluted water, God isn't throwing out the water because it's become polluted. He is sending one who will filter that and refine it. Instead of just condemnation, he comes near to them to cleanse and restore them. And that's exactly what we see as chapter three opens up. The promise of a messenger who prepares the way and a lord who comes suddenly to his temple, not only to judge, but to purify.

And so we have seen the people asking where God is. And then here at the start of chapter three, we get God making it very clear that he's present. Now, we don’t use the word “behold” much today. It would probably be seen as kind of weird. You know, the next time you come home with supper, drop the pizza on the table and say, “Behold your supper.” Like, we don't talk that way.

But we do understand the weightiness of that word, I think. It's a good translation of a Hebrew word, but we don't really get the depth of that word. Behold, like I said, is a good translation. But what's being expressed here is the Hebrew word “hineni.” And it literally means, “Here I am. I am here.” That's literally the idea in the word. After the questions being asked by the people here, they're assuming God's absence. Right? And he tells them, I'm right here. Here I am. And the idea is that he is doing something. He is present. He is not absent as they assume. And he states that a messenger is going to prepare the way before him.

And the idea of a messenger preparing the way is really a pretty simple one because we still do this today. When someone of influence or power is coming, they don't just usually show up. Right? You send people in advance of them to prepare things. Whether that's for safety purposes, for some sort of dignitary, or to get people ready for what is about to happen. It's a common thing to send somebody ahead. You know, we even have this for something as simple as a parade. Right? Someone clears the road, making sure that nobody's out in the path and in the way. And the idea is similar here. The Lord is coming. But first, there will be someone who will prepare them.

Yet, despite this preparation, Malachi says that it will be sudden. It will be the messenger of the covenant in whom they delight. And again, we have that word “behold” here in the text. And again, it's a translation of that word, “hineni,” expressing this idea: “Here I am. This is me. I am here. I am not absent.” He is obvious and he is unavoidable.

But this is a “be careful what you ask for” moment in the text. You're looking for justice, but it’s coming to the people of the covenant. It’s coming to you. And it isn't something easy. The question here is, who can endure and who can stand? And this is an important and enduring question because we all want justice. We want to see God enact wrath on the unrighteous—as long as it's other people. We so quickly forget that in comparison to the holiness of God, we are all deserving of wrath.

I can't remember where I was, but I once saw a young man wearing a shirt that said, “Only God can judge me.” I would have loved to have a good conversation with that young man. My question to him would be, why do you think that it's better for a human to judge you? Or it's worse for a human to judge you, than for you to be judged by a holy and righteous God?

But in reality, while none of us have that shirt hanging in our closet, that attitude ultimately takes up residence in our hearts. We justify our sin, and we set ourselves up against human standards, and we forget about the absolute holiness of God. When we evaluate ourselves against that standard, reality soon sets in about just how deeply we have offended God and how deserving we are of his justice—right along with those that we think deserve it.

And here we see Malachi drawing this out for us. But the judgment he points to isn't destruction. Instead, it's purification. And he uses two very helpful illustrations to help us understand what God is going to do for his people.

The first one is a refiner's fire. That's a fire that takes impure metals and through the heat, it gets the pollutants out of it. And over time and through this heat, the metal becomes refined and it's pure. And it also says that the Lord who is coming is not only like a refiner's fire, but also like fuller's soap.

Now, I had to look up what fuller's soap is. This isn't the kind of soap that you have by the sink, or you have in your shower. Fuller's soap is actually a harsh cleansing agent. It was designed to scrub garments absolutely clean of anything that would stain or weaken them. And so what Malachi is telling us is that the Lord comes to do the same thing in his people—to scrub away the dirt of compromise.

And so, as we consider these continual calls to return to God in the book of Malachi, we keep coming back to this idea: that repentance is difficult. In fact, it's painful. It's not a cleaning of the surface, but it gets deep down into us. Most likely going to be painful and difficult. But once again, this is a blessing for us as the covenant people of God. He doesn't leave us where we are to be destroyed by our sin. He continually says, “Return to me,” and we have the sure and certain promise that he will do this good work in us.

Malachi tells them that the Lord is going to purify the sons of Levi. The ones participating in false worship are going to return to him. The sacrifices will once again be pure and acceptable to God, and they will be pleasing to him.

So as we transition to the end of the passage and our final point, we remember that while God's justice may feel delayed, it's never absent. And when he comes, it's not with instant destruction, but with refining fire and with cleansing soap to make his people clean and holy.

And that refinement doesn't just purify, it also exposes. As God purifies people, he reveals what's unrepentant and corrupt. And that brings us to our third point: God's purification exposes unrepentant sin and demands a response from us.

And so we see that Malachi doesn't stop with telling of just the purification that's going on within the covenant community. He also shows us that God's refining work lays bare what's unrepentant and resistant to his holiness. And the Lord draws near not only to cleanse, but also to confront. Verse five shifts the focus. Those who persist in sin, refusing to return to God, will face justice.

And when we read these words, we see something that is important for us to remember. Notice it says that God is drawing near. If we read just those first seven words and stopped—if we just read, “Then I will draw near to you”—if we stop there, we might get some warm feelings. Think, oh God's getting close to those people.

But then we add the last two words, and it gives us important context. God can be near to you in mercy, but he can also be near to you in judgment. Now obviously, we desire for him to be near to us in mercy, and this is why we hope in Christ. This is why we abandon all hope of righteousness by our own power. This is why we look to the work that was accomplished for us on the cross, and we humbly trust in Christ alone for salvation.

It is for this reason that we hear the Word, and we turn to Him in repentance and faith as we're convicted of our sin, because we do not want God to be near to us in judgment. And we have seen in this passage that God has restrained His judgment. Now, he is saying that he is going to be near to those who are in rebellion against him. And we also read that the judgment will be swift.

And throughout Malachi, we have seen this call to repent. God calls those who hear these words to turn from their sin, but those that do not will be exposed by His judgment. We read that sorcerers, adulterers, those who swear falsely, and those who oppress the weak will experience this quick hand of judgment. They are described as those who do not fear God. They do not concern themselves with the things of God and do not believe that He will judge them.

And this is a stark wake up call for everyone. While we might not be guilty of the sins that are charged to the people in Malachi's time, we all have times where we do not fear God as we ought. And I'm not talking about living in a feeling of terror towards God. I'm talking about a respect for the reality that God is righteous and that he judges sin. We are so prone to take his mercy for granted.

But once again, these words that are written down by the prophet Malachi—they transcend time. While the details are different, the core issues remain the same. The people in Malachi's day were confronted with the need to return and the need to be refined, but they were also left waiting for the fullness of that promise.

The good news for us is that we are not left waiting. The Refiner spoken of here has come. In Jesus Christ, God draws near, not only to purify, but to bear the judgment Himself and to make us truly clean.

We know the story of the gospel: that at the cross, the justice and mercy of God meet. The judgment of God fell on Christ, that we might be spared from the wrath of God. And by His perfect life and sacrificial death, He took our impurity, our rebellion, and our compromise away from us and replaced it with His perfect righteousness. He was the fuller’s soap that we needed.

And now, we have the gift of the Holy Spirit—the one who convicts us of sin and calls us to repentance, to refine us, and to purify us, to shape and conform us to the image of Christ, that we might bring glory to his most holy name.

So when we hear this call, “Return to me,” we know that God does this to purify us. He doesn't toss us aside. He calls us to the purifying work of the Holy Spirit because we know that when we are in Christ, the filth of our sin is not just taken off the surface. It's washed away completely. Christ is the Refiner. He is the Purifier. And by the grace of almighty God, we are made new and we are called to live as his holy people.

In a world that is desperate for pure and living water, may we be God's covenant people. And may we let our lives, and may we let our proclamation of the gospel point people to His abundant and pure stream of mercy.

Christ is truly living water. Amen.

Let us pray.

Gracious and merciful God, we thank You for the gift of Your Word. We thank You that it points us to Christ. We thank You that You come to us in our weakness, and in our compromise, and in our sin, and you do not discard us. Instead, you call us to be purified, and you do that work in us through your Word and Spirit. We pray that we would be open to that work in our lives today, and in the coming week, and throughout our lives, that we might be faithful witnesses to the amazing grace that You have shown us in the Lord Jesus Christ.

It is in His name that we pray. Amen.

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