Zechariah 4
Malachi 4 concludes the book by announcing the coming day of the LORD, contrasting the fate of the arrogant and the evildoer with the hope given to those who fear God’s name. It ends by calling the people to remember the law of Moses and by promising the sending of Elijah before the great and fearful day of the LORD.
- Verses 1–3: The coming day is described as judgment for the arrogant and evildoers, but healing and joy for those who fear God’s name.
- Verses 4–6: The people are told to remember the law given through Moses, and the promise of Elijah’s coming is presented as a call toward restoration and reconciliation.
1verseThe angel who talked with me came again and wakened me, as a man who is wakened out of his sleep.
2verseHe said to me, “What do you see?” I said, “I have seen, and behold, a lamp stand all of gold, with its bowl on the top of it, and its seven lamps on it; there are seven pipes to each of the lamps which are on the top of it;
3verseand two olive trees by it, one on the right side of the bowl, and the other on the left side of it.”
4verseI answered and spoke to the angel who talked with me, saying, “What are these, my lord?”
5verseThen the angel who talked with me answered me, “Don’t you know what these are?” I said, “No, my lord.”
6verseThen he answered and spoke to me, saying, “This is the LORD’s word to Zerubbabel, saying, ‘Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the LORD of Armies.
7verseWho are you, great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you are a plain; and he will bring out the capstone with shouts of ‘Grace, grace, to it!’”
8verseMoreover the LORD’s word came to me, saying,
9verse“The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house. His hands shall also finish it; and you will know that the LORD of Armies has sent me to you.
10verseIndeed, who despises the day of small things? For these seven shall rejoice, and shall see the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel. These are the LORD’s eyes, which run back and forth through the whole earth.”
11verseThen I asked him, “What are these two olive trees on the right side of the lamp stand and on the left side of it?”
12verseI asked him the second time, “What are these two olive branches, which are beside the two golden spouts that pour the golden oil out of themselves?”
13verseHe answered me, “Don’t you know what these are?” I said, “No, my lord.”
14verseThen he said, “These are the two anointed ones who stand by the Lord of the whole earth.”
The Meaning of the Whole Chapter and Meditation
Malachi 4 shows a God of justice and love. God’s judgment is a fearful news for evil people, but it becomes a message of hope for those who fear God. the rising of the sun of righteousness symbolically depicts how the faithful will welcome a new and bright future on God’s day.
You can also think deeply about the fact that God’s promises will be fulfilled at the end of history—and how those promises affect our lives today. The way God speaks about leading people to repentance and change through the ministry of the prophet Elijah highlights, as an important theme as well, humanity’s role as the subject of transformation.
Meditation Points
- Take a moment to look back on what the wicked and the righteous, each in their own lives, produce as fruit—then check how my life is responding to God’s justice.
- Consider it in meditation: the restoration and hope that God has promised are not merely events of the future, but they give us today living people what kinds of motives for faith.
- Let us think deeply about a life that turns back to God, like Elijah’s spirit, and about an attitude that becomes a channel of reconciliation and restoration.
Applying It to Me
- In the face of God’s promise of judgment and restoration, you can reset the direction of my heart and life.
- Just as there is an exhortation to keep the law, concentrate on the essence of faith and find what specific obedience you can put into practice in your life right now.
- Let us make it an opportunity to decide on concrete actions that can become a bridge of reconciliation and love within your family or community.
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