Malachi

“The Messenger,” Malachi, appears in the lower right corner of the painting, preaching the judgment and blessing God commanded him to proclaim.
The priests were showing neither honor nor respect toward the Lord. They accepted defective offerings, including blind, lame, and injured animals. If you look closely, you will see that the lamb Malachi is holding was born with only three legs. The priests would not escape discipline for treating worship so carelessly.
Malachi also asks whether a person can rob God and get away with it.
The setting is Jerusalem, and I pictured the temple mostly in darkness in the lower left portion of the painting. The darkness reflects both the spiritual condition of the people and the corrupted worship taking place there.
Another sin involved marrying foreign women who worshiped idols. The man standing before the priest wears the color I assigned to his tribe, while the woman beside him holds an idol.
What Malachi sees causes him to weep, and he pleads with the people to change.
The Lord will come to His temple, and His coming will be like the work of a refiner and purifier. At the bottom center of the painting is the smelting pot. If you look closely, you will see faces in the fire, faces inside the mold representing the gold that is kept, and faces on the ground representing the dross that is discarded.
Malachi also speaks of a book of remembrance written for those who feared the Lord and esteemed His name. You can see the scroll in the upper center-right portion of the painting, beside the tablets of Moses and beneath the winged sun.
The winged sun represents the promise that for those who fear God’s name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings. They will go forth with joy, like calves released from the stall.
The tablets recall the command to remember the law of Moses, including the statutes and ordinances given at Horeb for all Israel.
The choice remains before the people: darkness or light.
Obviously, we need help.
The Old Testament tells us our history. It tells of the fall of humanity, defines our sins, points out our need for a Savior, reveals the nature of God, gives us examples and warnings, and teaches us principles for godly living.
Malachi closes the Old Testament with both invitation and warning.
It exposes sin.
It promises purification.
It calls the people to remember.
And it points toward the coming Day of the Lord.