“For he is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap. He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, and they will bring offerings in righteousness to the Lord. Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the Lord as in the days of old and as in former years.” (Malachi 3:3-5)
Sin and idolatry have always characterized our world, even among religious people. Just look at all the violence over the centuries that was perpetrated in the Name of Jesus even that officially sanctioned by the Roman Catholic Church. This sinfulness and idolatry was prevalent among the Jews, the Jews of Malachi’s day and is true in our modern society. The Jews back then were quite cynical. They showed disrespect to the Lord by questioning His words, answering Him back, and disobeying His law. And so He gave them a prophecy of the future, of the coming of His messenger and of the Messiah who would set things right.
Jesus identified the messenger as John the Baptist (Matt. 11:10; cf. Mark 1:2; Luke 7:27). He was to prepare the hearts of God’s children for the Messiah. This was good news for the Lord was going to work through Him to refine the hearts of both priests and people and cleanse them of all their wickedness. Yet this would be a painful process that would crush the self and the ego. He would rid His people of all their idols so that He could rule over their hearts and they would walk in obedience.
As we continue our journey through Advent we hear the words of the prophecy as a reminder to us to examine our lives and attitudes. It is a good time to refine our hearts, to see whether we are following Jesus or the world, the self or the devil. We are reminded that the allures of earthy prosperity and cultural icons can make us complacent and forgetful of our Christian walk. We may, like the ancient Jews, turn from God because we think we do not need Him. We think because we are self-sufficient, that we have it all: money, clothes, material possessions, and electronic gadgets, fame and pleasure. Unfortunately, we often mistake these for God’s blessing. The Lord will use His refiner’s fire to burn the rotten attitude and complacency out of our hearts. He will use hardship and persecution to wean us from our false ideas about Him and the Christian life. They are designed to bring us, His people, as well as the lost, to faith in Him. So we must heed God’s call in Advent, to return to Him.