Abstract:
The theme of the Day of Yahweh is regarded as a central feature of
the prophets’ message to their contemporaries. It is the most striking
and prominent theme in the Book of the Twelve. While Isaiah
focuses on Zion, Jeremiah on the rhetoric of lament, Ezekiel on the
Glory of Yahweh, so are the Minor Prophets on the theme of the
Day of Yahweh. The Day of Yahweh as envisioned by Malachi is an
eschatological day of judgement with a future day of renewal and
restoration of the fortunes of those who fear the Lord. Malachi’s
vision for restoration includes a covenantal messenger, who will
cleanse Yahweh’s people and restore true worship and obedience to
the ethical standards of the law thus giving room for a community of
reverence who will enjoy righteousness and healing. Earlier Malachi
had castigated the priests and people for their attitude and
actions toward sacrifices and the altar. Now in the light of the
lawlessness alluded to in 2:17, the corruption of the priesthood in
3:3, the inadequacy of worship in 3:4 and the corruption of personal
and civil morality in 3:5, readers are introduced to three
urgent issues: the need for messianic intervention, the need for the
day of judgement and the need for social justice. In the discussions
that follow, this article examines eschatological hope in the OT, the eschatological peculiarity of the discourse of Malachi’s Day of Yahweh,
the identity of Malachi’s eschatological covenant messenger,
the roles of the eschatological messenger: namely, cultic restoration
and Yahweh’s righting of past wrongs and the reversal of sinful
societal order in the overall context of the eschatological day of
Yahweh.
