February 24, 2025 - Malachi 4:2 - Radiant Redeemer

Malachi 4:2

"But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall."

Malachi, God's prophet, speaks to the people of Israel, addressing their spiritual condition and calling them to repentance. The prophet Malachi is believed to have prophesied during the Persian period, after the reconstruction and dedication of the second temple in 516 BC, generally thought to be around 450 BC in Jerusalem. As the final chapter of the Old Testament's prophetic writings, Malachi 4:2 carries great significance, promising healing and restoration for the remnant of God's grace (Romans 11:5).

The imagery of the "sun of righteousness" arising with healing symbolizes God's intervention and the coming of a new era of justice and peace with the arrival of the promised Messiah, who will save His people, described as "those that fear God's name." The effects of the sun may be twofold. For the righteous, it rises with healing because of Christ's completed work before God the Father. To the righteous, it shall be the advent of the gladdening Sun, not of condemnation, but "of righteousness"; not destroying, but "healing" (Jeremiah 23:6). However, this is contrasted with its effect on the wicked (Malachi 4:1). To the wicked, it shall be like an oven that consumes the stubble (Matthew 6:30).

The LORD Jesus Christ is THE "SON OF RIGHTEOUSNESS," sent to satisfy God's law and justice on behalf of an elect remnant. Just as the sun rises at the dawn of a new day, so the coming of the LORD Jesus is described as the Dayspring from on High. "Through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the Dayspring from on high hath visited us" (Luke 1:78). The fulfillment of this promise was in the coming of the Messiah (Jesus Christ), who brought light and healing for those whom God had elected by His grace, and for whom the LORD Jesus would pay their sin debt—chosen out of a world of darkness.

The phrase "leap like calves released from the stall" evokes the joy and freedom that God's people would experience once they were restored to a right relationship with God through the sacrificial death of the LORD Jesus on their behalf. So complete would be His work in satisfying God's law and justice that there would remain nothing but righteousness to impute to their spiritual account, along with the peace of God that passes all understanding. "Therefore, being justified, by faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ" (Romans 5:1).

What a beautiful depiction that showcases God's sovereign mercy and grace in Christ, which, at the time Malachi wrote it, was still forward-looking to His coming as God in the flesh. What was still 450 years away at that time has now been fulfilled. The imagery of "healing in His wings" reveals the comprehensive nature of Christ’s redemption: spiritual healing from sin, brokenness, and the condemnation of the law of God. Yes, there was a physical aspect to the ministry of the LORD Jesus, healing many diseases that were a consequence of the fall. Yet, the physical healing was only a demonstration of His ability to heal the spiritual effects of the fall, which would have eternal consequences had the LORD Jesus not taken on Himself the spiritual debt of His people. "Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed" (1 Peter 2:24).

Malachi 4:2 is rooted in God’s eternal covenantal love for His Son and for those sinners whom the Father chose out of fallen humanity to give to Him to save by His sacrificial death. It underscores the mercy and grace shown through Christ's life and death. He earned and established the righteousness necessary to satisfy a Holy God, and then laid down His life to redeem and justify them, whereby they are now declared righteous, in the beams of the "sun of righteousness," ever shining with favor on them.

Salvation, then, is a gift to those whom God has chosen, who trust in His name, and who, through Christ, experience the fullness of God's redemptive grace. This is glorious GOOD NEWS: the LORD Jesus Christ came to save—and did save—not based on human merit, but on God's sovereign purpose of grace, granting His mercy freely to those He has chosen to redeem, and has redeemed and justified once and for all (Hebrews 10:10, 14).