“See, I will send you the prophet Elijah before that great and dreadful day of the LORD comes. He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers; or else I will come and strike the land with a curse.”
If you had asked me three years ago what my favorite book of the Bible was, I would have mentioned a few books but Malachi would not have been one of them. I found the minor prophets slightly confusing, depressing and irreverent for me in my day to day walk with the Lord. I was wrong! Once I had this verse explained to me, I found myself either thinking about it, talking about it, or praying through it- daily! Let me try to break this verse down a bit so that maybe you, too, can discover its riches.
“I will send you the prophet Elijah…” Although the real man, Elijah may one day come back to Earth, the name “Elijah” is poetic language for anybody who prepares the way of the Lord. In Matthew 17, Jesus called John the Baptist “Elijah” because John played a similar part in the plan of God that Elijah did. In that same way, anybody who the Lord calls to live as a forerunner is also living in a similar spirit of Elijah.
“…before that great and dreadful day of the Lord…” Just as John the Baptist prepared a company of people to receive the Lord Jesus in His first coming, so must we who are living in the spirit of Elijah, prepare a people to receive the Lord in His second coming.
“…he [Elijah] will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children…” So this is one of the primary tasks of the “Elijahs” preparing the way of the Lord in His second coming- to cause restoration between families. We are living in an age where divorce is normal, where too many children grow up fatherless. We are living in a culture where people would rather have orphans in the throws of foster care as opposed to being willing to take them in. So first off, these “Elijahs” make a commitment to be faithful and steady fathers. Secondly, they make a commitment to take in other children who have found themselves fatherless. Thirdly, they dedicate themselves to pray for restoration between fathers and their children in this generation.
“…and the hearts of the children to their fathers…” No generation is perfect. In order for these “Elijahs” to walk in all that the Lord would give them, they must forgive the previous generation of all hurts. This is not limited at specific hurt caused by a specific father, but also any hurt that might have been specific for that generation in that day. Forgiveness brings healing and it is a massive step that must be taken in order for anybody to walk in their full destiny.
“…or else I [the Lord] will come and strike the land with a curse.” This part of the verse always adds a little fuel to my prayers. Not only is the Elijah calling a gift, it is also a mandate. If this does not happen, then there will be real consequences sent directly from the Lord. This can mean famine, plague, pestilence, war…the Lord is a gracious and compassionate and slow to anger, but He does anger. So unless this restoration occurs and the land is cleansed this way, the Lord will cleanse it in a different way. And I don’t know about you, but I’d rather do the stuff that is tough for me now rather than wait and hope to miss the wrath of the Lord.
