But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings. You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall.
The closing verses of the Old Testament end with a description of the day of the Lord, where fiery judgement is poured out on all evil-doers and those who have rejected God’s gift of salvation. The Lord is a consuming fire, and this passage begins with a description of God’s righteous judgement on the wicked, but continues by giving encouragement to those who fear the name of the Lord. John the Baptist repeated Malachi’s fiery warning to the proud, self-sufficient, evil-doers of his day. He warned that Christ would be their Judge: “He will baptize you with fire,” was John’s warning. He was speaking of the fires of God’s righteous judgement and the terrible ‘lake of fire’, while those who glorify His name will ‘be baptized’ into Christ, by the Holy Spirit. Gracious forgiveness, health, and healing, is the portion for those who call on the name of the Lord: “For the Sun of Righteousness will arise with healing on His wings.” They are likened to young calves who leap and skip with joy and free abandon when released from the confinement of their restrictive stalls. For those who reject Him, the same sun of righteousness will discharge blistering heat. Scorching pain will rain down on all who do not believe, not only during the Great Tribulation but within the burning Lake of Fire and Brimstone; for our God is a consuming fire. But for those that are His, He has become our everlasting righteousness. He is Jesus, Who has been made to us: “The power of God and the wisdom of God,” and righteousness, and holiness, and redemption, and salvation, belong to Him. He is the Son of Man, Who comes to heal all who will call on His name, and He is the King of the Jews Who will one day bind up the wounds of His people. But we who have already trusted Him as our Savior need not fear. For there is no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, for He died to set us free. He was wounded for our transgressions; He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace was upon Him, and with His stripes we are healed. Although this verse was given to Israel by Malachi and will be realized for them at Christ’s Second Advent, this is a truth for all who have believed on Him in their hearts, by faith, that has already been fulfilled in each of us at our salvation. He is God, our righteousness; and He is our Healer. He is God, our Savior, Who has set us free from the slave-market of sin so that we can also go forth and skip about like calves from the stall.
Spiritual Steve 