A SERMON on MALACHI Chapter 3: Refining Silver, Purifying Gold Through the Prophetic Word

A SERMON on MALACHI Chapter 3: Refining Silver, Purifying Gold Through the Prophetic Word
A crucible, as most people are aware, is a vessel used to contain precious metals as they are purified and refined under intense heat. In today's Old Testament reading, the Prophet Malachi uses the image of the crucible to describe what will soon happen to the nation of Israel: A mysterious messenger will one day come and, through the intense heat of his preaching, purifying the nation of Israel of its impurities.

Who is this so-called "messenger?" And how can we, as the people of the church, cooperate in God's refining work? This is what we'll explore in today's sermon on Malachi 3:1-4.

Malachi 3:1-4 (NIV)
1 “I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come,” says the Lord Almighty.

2 But who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiner’s fire or a launderer’s soap. 3 He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver. Then the Lord will have men who will bring offerings in righteousness, 4 and the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem will be acceptable to the Lord, as in days gone by, as in former years.