Malachi 3:4

Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the Lord,.... Or "sweet" (b); grateful and well pleasing to him, as all spiritual sacrifices are acceptable to God through Christ,

Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the LORD, as in the days of old, and as in former years.

Then; when the Lord, Messenger or Angel of the covenant, the King Messiah, shall be come, and set up his kingdom, framed his gospel church. The offerings; the services and duties required of the church, and performed by it, expressed here in an allusion to the law services: such are now fervent prayers, , lively praises, thankful memorials of the death of Christ in the sacraments, attentive hearing the word, and giving up ourselves, soul and body, a holy, living sacrifice to God, ; and alms, ,16. Of Judah and Jerusalem; the Christian church, expressed by the names of its type. Pleasant; delightful, as sweet odours to the smell, as savoury meats to the taste, as comely objects to the eye, every way acceptable to God. As in the days of old, and as in former years; this acceptance God will give shall be as great and gracious as ever he gave to any of the services of his saints of old. We need not determine the precise times to which these expressions refer; it is certain God did greatly delight in the sacrifices and offerings of his people, when they offered them in right manner. He will give as gracious acceptance still, which implieth a continuance of these sacrifices which he will accept, and inferreth that this coming of Christ is not his coming to judge the world, his last coming.

Malachi 3:4 Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the LORD, as in the days of old, and as in former years.Ver. 4. Then shall the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem] That is, of the Latin Church, and of Rome, saith Ribera. A partial fancy of a Popish interpreter boldly propounded, barely proved; and therefore as he affirmeth without reason, so he may be dismissed without refutation. Understand it rather of the whole Church wheresoever, in cities or countries; and observe that neither Judah nor Jerusalem, however highly honoured or favoured otherwise, shall have their offerings accepted in heaven, unless their hearts be first purified by faith. Till then their sacrifices, Romans 12:1, how specious soever, are neither living (but dead works, as the author to the Hebrews calls it) nor holy, that is, pure and unpolluted, 1 Corinthians 7:34, unless themselves be partakers of the grace of light, 1 Peter 3:7, and can boldly say, with David, "Preserve my soul; for I am holy," or one whom thou favourest, Psalms 86:2; cf. Psalms 4:3, he makes this the ground of his hope, that his prayer should be heard, that the Lord looked upon him as a godly person. God regards not the prayer if the man be not right. The blood of a sheep and of a swine are like; yea, it may be the blood of a swine is better and sweeter than of a sheep, yet was it not to be offered, because of a swine, see Hebrews 13:10 Philippians 4:18 John 15:16 Psalms 147:11 Isaiah 62:4 Hebrews 11:6. Look how light, saith Chrysostom, maketh all things pleasing to men; so doth faith to God. True faith is like the salt that healed the waters, 2 Kings 2:21. O pray Christ to cast in a cruseful of it into our hearts, or else we lose all our services; nay, we do worse than lose our labour, for displeasing service is double dishonour; we do but take pains to go to hell. As in the days of old, as in former years] i.e. As the sacrifices of Abel, Abraham, Aaron, &c., as the prayers and holy performances of David, Elijah, Samuel (who is thought to be the same with Pethuel, Joe 1:1, which signifieth a persuader of God, and that he was so called because he could have what he would of God), Cornelius, Paul, &c., were very effectual and available, and did wonders even to the opening and shutting of heaven, as Elihu to the opening of the doors of leviathan, Job 41:14, as Jonah to the delivering even graves of their dead, as Hebrews 11:35, &c., so they shall be still as effectual as those ancient saints: we "draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water," Hebrews 10:22. See James 5:16-18 Hosea 12:4.

(4) Days of old . . . former years.—Perhaps, if we must define the period, from the time of Moses to the first year of the reign of Solomon. But we cannot be certain on this point. It seems to be one of the characteristics of Malachi to be somewhat of a laudator temporis acti. (Comp. Malachi 2:5-7.)

4. former] i.e., as margin and R.V., ancient. See ch. Malachi 2:5-6; Jeremiah 2:2-3.

Then (And) shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem - The “law,” the new revelation of God, was to Isaiah 2:3. “go forth from Zion and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.” Judah and Jerusalem then are here the Christian Church.

3, 4. The first task of the Lord will be to purge the priests, that he may have once more (compare Malachi 2:5-6) a pure priesthood. Here as everywhere in the book the priests stand in the foreground.