The sun
of justice will shine on you.
Malachi 3:19-20a
Fire
burns, purifies, cooks and
cleanses. It can work wondrous
good. It can also cause
unspeakable ill. Fire is
powerful, just as God is
powerful.
The
prophet Malachi envisions the
coming of destructive fire. The
prevalence of evil is
widespread. Ti was then and is
now. Its potential for wreaking
havoc is extensive. Malachi
believes, as we believe, that
God is more powerful than evil,
that God is good, and that God
will not tolerate the evil of
the world. We believe that in
time God will set things right.
Evil will be punished. We long
for that day.
Malachi
sees that day as a day of fire:
“The day is coming, blazing
like an oven, when all the
proud and all evildoers will be
stubble.” The fire will rage
over those who do wrong. They
will not endure. God’s wrath
will be stronger than their
desire to do ill. God will have
power over them, even when our
human frailty does not.
There
will also be fire for the good.
“For you who fear my name,” God
says through Malachi, “there
will arise the sun of justice
with its healing rays.” The
fiery sun will rise in the east
and shrine with healing upon
those who do good.
God
comes like fire. God does not
change. But those who do evil
are like stubble. Those who do
good shall be healed.
