“So I will come to put you on trial. I will be quick to testify against sorcerers, adulterers and perjurers, against those who defraud laborers of their wages, who oppress the widows and the fatherless, and deprive the foreigners among you of justice, but do not fear me,” says the Lord Almighty.
Malachi 3:5
Last time we saw how the Messenger would sit as a Refiner and Purifier of the Levites, making the people’s offerings pleasing once again. Today we get to see God’s zeal for justice and righteousness.
“I will come near you for judgement…”
This is another intense beginning. But let’s lean into why He’s the perfect judge.
Come near is qarab – to come near, approach; accept, appear, approach, assisted, bring, came close, draw near, join, keep, offer, present; cause to approach, cause to bring forth, near, cause to come near, nigh; to you is el – to, into, towards; and judgement is mishpat from last time – claim, court, crimes, decisions, justice, mode of life, order, plans, rights, rule, standard, verdict, way prescribed, what is right, worthy.
I will draw near to you to proclaim mishpat – a just mode of life, the Way that is worthy, innocent in a court of law.
“And I will be a swift witness…”
Here swift is mahar – to hasten; act quickly, anxious, hurry, immediately; be carried headlong, fearful, fetch; to be liquid or flow easily.
Witness is ed – evidence; concretely, a witness; abstractly, testimony; specifically, a recorder; from ud – admonish, to return, go about, repeat, do again; charge, earnestly, lift up, protest, relieve, rob.
He will hurriedly be a witness, a faithful Recorder to charge against in protest…
“Against sorcerers, adulterers, and perjurers..”
Interestingly, the preposition against is listed before each of the nouns in this section:
Against sorcerers, kashaph: to whisper a spell; to enchant or practice magic; denominative verb of kesheph – sorcery.
Against adulterers, naaph: adultereress, committing adultery, woman that breaks wedlock.
Against perjurers…
Here against is interesting. It is shaba, meaning to swear, adjure, curse, promised them by oath, vow; Shaba can also mean “to be complete,” but used when only as a denominative from sheba’ – seven; to seven oneself, to swear, as if by repeating a declaration seven times. And perjurers here is sheqer – deception, disappointment, falsehood; deceit, lying, lying visions, perjury, slander, treacherously, wrongfully; without a cause; It is from shaqar – an untruth; a sham, a vain thing.
I will hurriedly be a Witness in protest against those who practice magic, who break their wedding vows, and who swear with lies, dealing with falsehood, shams, and lying visions.
First, isn’t it interesting that to swear can imply “to seven?” Like how Peter asked Jesus, “How many times should I forgive my brother? Seven?” That number of completeness was right to him, more than enough. And, of course, our Lord said, “Not seven, but seventy times seven.”
“And against those who exploit wage earners, and orphans, and widows…”
Here exploit is ashaq – crushed, defrauded, extorted, oppress; get deceitfully, deceive, drink up, use oppression, do violence, wrong; to press upon, violate, overflow. Wage is a verb, sakar – hire, compensation, fare, reward and earners is an adjective sakir – hired man, wage earner.
And orphans and widows mean just that: almanah means widow and is the feminine of alman – forsaken, in the sense of bereavement; discarded (as a divorced person). Orphan is yathom – orphan, fatherless, from an unused root meaning to be lonely; a bereaved person.
I will not only hurry to witness against those who practice magic, break their vows, and lie, I will also go after anyone who deceitfully gains from or violates hired workers, or those forsaken, lonely, and grieving.
Don’t you love his heart? I want mine to reflect His more and more.
“And against those who turn away a sojourner…”
Here turn away is natah – to stretch out, spread out, extend, incline, bend; afternoon, turn aside, turn away; apply, decline, deliver, go down; by implication, to bend away (including moral deflection); carry aside, let down, offer, overthrown, pervert, pitch, prolong, put away, cause to yield.
And sojourner is ger – alien, foreigners, immigrants, stranger; from gur – to abide; assemble, be afraid, dwell, fear, gather together, inhabitant, remain; to turn aside from the road (for a lodging or any other purpose); to shrink, fear (as in a strange place); also to gather for hostility (as afraid) — abide, assemble, be afraid, dwell, fear, stand in awe, (be) stranger.
I will also hurry to witness against anyone who turns away, lets down, or overthrows the way for an immigrant – one who turns aside, possibly in fear, to abide in a new, strange place.
Do you wonder why? Why would God’s heart so quickly witness against those who ignore or make difficult a sojourner’s life?
I can think of a lot of reasons, and many of them are tender right now at Christmas. As Mary and Joseph left their familiar town to travel somewhere different. Then fled a murderous king as refugees until the babe was safe.
Whatever else we think Christmas is, it certainly involves sojourners. But the reason given, at least in our text today, for God caring about how we treat others – especially those in difficult circumstances – is because of our final section:
“Because they do not fear me,” says Jehovah-sabaoth.
Fear is our familiar yare‘ – affright, reverence, make afraid, dreadful, put in fearful reverence.
I think we often struggle with genuinely believing God cares how we treat one another. We just don’t think He’s that concerned; we’re not afraid, living in fearful reverence, that He would have something to say about it.
But the Word does not let us separate our relationship with God from our relationship with people. And He is a swift witness against us when we defile others.
May we worship the One so concerned with Love and Justice that He came. Came as a sojourner, came as One lonely and grieved. Came to understand what it’s like to be exploited and lied to, with feelings, a personality, body that became tired and heart that felt pain.
And One Who will come again, ensuring perfection in love and justice is complete. May your Christmas celebrate this God With Us.