Malachi 3:13-4:6

13 You have spoken harsh words against me, says the LORD. Yet you say, "How have we spoken against you?" 14 You have said, "It is vain to serve God. What do we profit by keeping his command or by going about as mourners before the LORD of hosts? 15 Now we count the arrogant happy; evildoers not only prosper, but when they put God to the test they escape."

The Reward of the Faithful

16 Then those who revered the LORD spoke with one another. The LORD took note and listened, and a book of remembrance was written before him of those who revered the LORD and thought on his name. 17 They shall be mine, says the LORD of hosts, my special possession on the day when I act, and I will spare them as parents spare their children who serve them. 18 Then once more you shall see the difference between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve him.

The Great Day of the LORD

4:1 See, the day is coming, burning like an oven, when all the arrogant and all evildoers will be stubble; the day that comes shall burn them up, says the LORD of hosts, so that it will leave them neither root nor branch. 2 But for you who revere my name the sun of righteousness shall rise, with healing in its wings. You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall. 3 And you shall tread down the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet, on the day when I act, says the LORD of hosts.

4 Remember the teaching of my servant Moses, the statutes and ordinances that I commanded him at Horeb for all Israel.

5 Lo, I will send you the prophet Elijah before the great and terrible day of the LORD comes. 6 He will turn the hearts of parents to their children and the hearts of children to their parents, so that I will not come and strike the land with a curse. (Malachi 3:13-4:6, NRSV = 3:13-24 Heb.)

On November 25, 2006 (Saturday in the week of the Sunday closest to November 16, Year Two), comments were repeated with revision and supplement from November 20, 2004, (Saturday in the week of the Sunday closest to November 16, Year Two); the comments are repeated here.

The people have complained that God has treated them unjustly. In the last oracle of Malachi (3:13-4:3 NRSV; 3:13-21 Heb. [4:1-5 = Heb. 3:19-24]), the LORD quotes the people’s complaints. “You have spoken harsh words against me, says the LORD. Yet you say, ‘How have we spoken against you?’ You have said, ‘It is vain to serve God. What do we profit by keeping his command or by going about as mourners before the LORD of hosts? Now we count the arrogant happy; evildoers not only prosper, but when they put God to the test they escape’” (Mal. 3:13-15). A similar complaint was lodged earlier, “You have wearied the LORD with your words. Yet you say, ‘how have we wearied him?’ By saying, ‘All who do evil are good in the sight of the LORD, and he delights in them.’ Or by asking, ‘Where is the God of justice?’ ” (2:17).

The people complain that the conventional wisdom–God rewards the righteous with blessings, and punishes the evildoers–has been reversed. Their complaint echoes the theme of Job prior to his final encounter with God (cf. Ps. 73). But there is a group who do not share this complaint. “Then those who revered the LORD spoke with one another. The LORD took note and listened, and a book of remembrance was written before him of those who revered the LORD and thought on his name” (Mal. 3:16). W. Sibley Towner comments:

Biblical tradition knows of two, or even three, heavenly record books. The book hinted at in Ps. 139:16 seems to be a book of destiny in which the fate of the individual was written down before the beginning of time (cf. Dan 10:21; Rev. 13:8; 20:15; 21:27). Here, however, the book of remembrance is juridical in character. In it the obedient deeds done by individuals during their lifetimes are recorded (see Ex. 32:32-33; Ps. 40:7 [cited in Heb. 10:7]; 56:8; 69:28; Phil. 4:3; Rev. 3:5). Two references to ‘the books’ in Dan. 7:10; 12:1 could be read either way; and in the great judgment scene of Rev. 20:12, both categories of books are opened together with a third ‘book of life’ is mentioned (HarperCollins Study Bible, 2^nd ed., 2006, on Mal. 3:16; cf. the 1^st ed., 1993).

Of “those who revered the LORD” (v. 16) the LORD says, “They shall be mine . . . my special possession on the day when I act and I will spare them as parents spare their children who serve them” (v. 17). This will make clear “the difference between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve him” (v. 18). In terms of Jesus’ description of the time when “all the nations ( e[qnh, ethnē, ‘nations’ or ‘Gentiles’) will be gathered before him [i.e., the Son of Man, v. 31], and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats” (Mt. 25:32; cf 31-46), the sheep are the righteous and the goats are the wicked.

In Malachi, the LORD continues to pronounce judgment on the unrighteousness: “See, the day is coming, burning like an oven, when all the arrogant and all evildoers will be stubble; the day that comes shall burn them up, says the LORD of hosts, so that it will leave them neither root nor branch” (Mal. 4:1 = Heb. 3:19). Gregory Mobley compares 3:2-5, with its reference to purification “like a refiner’s fire,” for “the descendants of Levi” but judgment for sorcerers, adulterers, and other wicked people (NOAB, 3^rd ed., 2001, on Mal. 4:1). Towner refers (op. cit., 3^rd ed., on 4:1) to Matthew 3:10-12, in the preaching of John the Baptist: “Even now the ax is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. . . . His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and will gather his wheat into the granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire” (vv. 10, 12). In contrast to the fate of the wicked, the other side of judgment brings blessing to the righteous. “But for you who revere my name,” says the LORD through the prophet, “the sun of righteousness (hq!d!c4 wm@w@, šemeš ts^edāqāh) shall rise, with healing in its wings. You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall” (Mal. 4:2 = Heb. 3:20). For “the sun of righteousness” (NRSV), the recent Jewish translation has “a sun of victory” (Mal. 3:20 NJPS = Heb. = 4:2 NRSV). Ehud Ben Zvi comments: “A sun of victory, lit. and in most translations, ‘a sun of righteousness’.” And he adds, with reference to “To bring healing [NJPS, for ‘with healing in its wings’ NRSV and NJPS text note a], lit. and in most translations, ‘with healing in its wings’ [that] the background of the imagery is mythological. The rising of ‘a sun of righteousness is a metaphor for the dawn of a new ‘day,’ i.e., era of history” (The Jewish Study Bible, 2004, on Mal. 3:20 NJPS = Heb. = 4:2 NRSV). Towner explains “sun of righteousness”: “See Ps. 84:11. One of the most familiar symbols of deity in Egyptian and Mesopotamian religion is the winged solar disk. Although God is not directly described here as a winged disk, the implication is that God will rise on the ‘day of the LORD’ to effect healing for the righteous (see also Job 38:12-15; Ps. 46:5)” (op. cit., 3^rd ed., on v. 2). To the righteous, the LORD says (through the prophet), “And you shall tread down the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet, on the day when I act, says the LORD of hosts” (4:3 NRSV = 3:21 Heb.).

At this point we come to the “conclusion” of the Book of Malachi. “Som scholars,” says Ben Zvi, “ have argued that the book was composed to provide an appropriate closing to the book of the Twelve [i.e., the 12 minor prophets, as we call them, treated as one book in Hebrew Bibles], or that its conclusion (3:22-24 [NJPS = Heb. = 4:4-6 NRSV] ), or a portion thereof) was written as a conclusion to the Twelve rather than to Malachi, or that substantial portions of the book were originally associated with some form of the book of Zechariah.” But Ben Zvi adds that “none of these proposals is compelling” (op. cit., from the Introduction to Malachi). The prophet admonishes the people. “Remember the teaching of my servant Moses, the statutes and ordinances that I commanded him at Horeb for all Israel” (4:4 NRSV = 3:22 Heb. and NJPS). “At its conclusion,” says Ben Zvi, “Malachi asserts the dominance of Mosaic Torah over the prophetic tradition” (ibid., on Mal. 3:22-24 NJPS = Heb. = NRSV 3:4-6). Mobley explains: “Teaching,” as “Heb. ‘torah’,” and adds that “Horeb [is an] alternate name for Sinai, the site of the giving of the law to Moses (Deut. 5:1-3) and of a revelation to Elijah (1 Kings 19:1-18)” (op. cit., on v. 4).

The concluding verses promise that the LORD “will send you the prophet Elijah before the great and terrible day of the LORD comes,” who “will turn the hearts of parents to their children and the hearts of children to their parents, so that I will not come and strike the land with a curse” (4:5-6 NRSV = Heb. and NJPS 3:23-24). Ben Zvi says, “The connection between intergenerational reconciliation and Elijah is enigmatic,” but Malachi’s (or Elijah’s) generation is surely not the last to be affected by intergenerational conflict. According to Towner, “the ‘messenger’ of 3:1 is now identified with Elijah the prophet” (op. cit., 3^rd ed., on vv. 5-6). Ben Zvi says:

There is a long tradition of interpretation of this v[erse, i.e., v. 3:23 Heb. = NJPS = 4:5 NRSV] expanding on the role of Elijah, the herald of the messianic era; see, e.g., b. Sanh. 118a; b. ‘Eruv. 43b. Since Elijah did not die, but ascended to heaven (2 Kings 2:11), he can return. The awesome, fearful day of the LORD [NJPS; ‘the great and terrible day of the LORD’] is associated with the ‘travails of the messiah’ in b. Sanh. 118a. It is traditional in Jewish liturgy to repeat this v[erse] after 3:24 [Heb. = NJPS = 4:6 NRSV] so as to conclude the public reading on a strong, hopeful note, rather than the threat of the final phrase of v. 24. This liturgical reading is represented indf NJPS by the repetition of the text of v. 23 in a smaller font. (The same holds true for the conclusion of Isaiah, Lamentations, and Ecclesiastes.) (ibid.)

We may note the continuing practice of Jewish families having an empty chair and an open door during their Seder [Passover] meal, so that Elijah, when he comes, may join them.

James 5:13-20

The Prayer of Faith (Cp 1 Kings 18.41-46)

13 Are any among you suffering? They should pray. Are any cheerful? They should sing songs of praise. 14 Are any among you sick? They should call for the elders of the church and have them pray over them, anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 The prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise them up; and anyone who has committed sins will be forgiven. 16 Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective. 17 Elijah was a human being like us, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. 18 Then he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain and the earth yielded its harvest.

19 My brothers and sisters, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and is brought back by another, 20 you should know that whoever brings back a sinner from wandering will save the sinner's soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins. (James 5:13-20, NRSV)

On Sept. 8, 2007 (Saturday in the week of the Sunday closest to August 31, Year One), comments were based on those of November 19, 2004, (Friday in the week of the Sunday closest to November 16, Year Two), of September 3, 2005 (Saturday in the week of the Sunday closest to August 31, Year One), of November 24 and 25, 2006 (Friday and Saturday in the week of the Sunday closest to November 16, Year Two), and of May 16, 2007 (Wednesday in the week of the Sixth Sunday of Easter, Year One). The comments are repeated here with editing and supplement:

James concludes his Letter with encouragement. Those within the Christian community who are suffering “should pray, ” and those who are cheerful “should sing songs” (Jas. 5:13). “Are any among you sick?” asks James. “They should call for the elders of the church and have them pray over them, anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord” (v. 14). “Oil,” says James B. Adamson,

was used as a curative by ancients generally, including the rabbis. The Jews, however, were scrupulous in their use of it; and James, by thus setting it within the purveyance of the Church, seems to be guarding against pagan and other attributions of mystical properties to the oils. It has been well suggested (Ropes, p. 305) that James includes oil in this Christian ceremonial in order to reduce the temptation to use charms, incantations, and other such pagan devices. (The Epistle of James, NICNT, 1976, p. 197, on Jas. 5:14)

James says, “The prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise them up; and anyone who has committed sins will be forgiven” (v. 15), so he directs the readers to “confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed” ( v. 16a). One should not conclude that illness is caused by sin. “It was commonly assumed,” says Sophie Laws, “that sickness was in some measure a punishment for sins, so that healing was both physical and spiritual or moral; see Mk. 2:3-12; Jn. 5:14; but cf. Jn. 9:1-3” (HarperCollins Study Bible, 2^nd ed., 2006, on Jas. 5:15; so the 1^st ed., 1993). James adds, “The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective” (v. 16b). As an illustration of the power of prayer, James refers to Elijah, who, though “a human being like us . . . prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. Then he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain and the earth yielded its harvest” (vv. 17-18; cf. 1 Kgs. 17:1; 18:41-45).

James strongly commends the “brothers and sisters” (NRSV for ajdelfoiv, adelphoi) who bring back “anyone [who] wanders from the truth” (v. 19). He explains, saying, “whoever brings back a sinner from wandering will save the sinner’s soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins” (v. 20; cf. Dan. 12:3). According to Warren A. Quanbeck and Pheme Perkins, the basis is God’s truth (v. 19), “which leads to righteousness” (NOAB, 2^nd ed., 1994, on Jas. 5:19).

Luke 18:9-14

The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector

9 He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and regarded others with contempt: 10 "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee, standing by himself, was praying thus, 'God, I thank you that I am not like other people: thieves, rogues, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of all my income.' 13 But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even look up to heaven, but was beating his breast and saying, 'God, be merciful to me, a sinner!' 14 I tell you, this man went down to his home justified rather than the other; for all who exalt themselves will be humbled, but all who humble themselves will be exalted." (Luke 18:9-14, NRSV)

On February 6, 2008 (Ash Wednesday, Year Two), comments were repeated with some further revision from February 21, 2007 (Ash Wednesday, Year One) that were repeated from earlier, from November 25, 2006 (Saturday in the week of the Sunday closest to November 16, Year Two), when they were combined with revision and supplement from November 20, 2004, (Saturday of the week of the Sunday closest to November 16, Year Two), from February 9, 2005 (Ash Wednesday, Year One), from June 3, 2005 (Friday of the week of the Sunday closest to June 1, Year One), and from March 1, 2006 (Ash Wednesday, Year Two), when comments were repeated from February 9, 2005. They were repeated on February 21, 2007 (Ash Wednesday, Year One) with some further revision, and are repeated again here.

This is one of two consecutive parables reported only by Luke, the Parable of the Unjust Judge (Lk. 18:1-8) and the Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector (18:9-14). Luke introduces both parables by stating the main point at the beginning. For this one, he says, “He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and regarded others with contempt” (Lk.18:9; cf. v. 1, “Then Jesus told them a parable about their need to pray always and not to lose heart”). Today’s parable contrasts the Pharisee’s self-righteous attitude with that of a tax collector. “Two men went up to the temple to pray,” says Jesus, “one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector” (v. 10). He describes the Pharisee’s prayer: “The Pharisee, standing by himself, was praying thus, ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people: thieves, rogues, adulterers, or even like this tax collector’ ” (v. 11). According to David L. Tiede, revised by Christopher R. Matthews, “praying [is] lit. ‘praying to himself.’ See also 12:17-19” (HarperCollins Study Bible, rev. ed., 2006, on Lk. 18:11). There is a difference in the word order in Greek manuscripts. Should we translate “to/by himself” with “standing” (NRSV) or with “praying” (Tiede and Matthews). According to I. Howard Marshall, the former “is difficult.” He adds,

pro;V eJautovn [pros auton] should be understood as representing an Aramaic ethic dative, which emphasizes the verb: ‘The Pharisee, taking his stand, prayed’ (Black, [An Aramaic Approach to the Gospels and Acts, 3^rd ed., 1967], 103f., 299 . . .) . . . The reverse order of words tau:ta pro;V eJautovn [tauta pros heauton, which would support the translation ‘praying to himself’] has good external attestation (p⁷⁵ x L Q ) . . .[which] could mean that he prayed silently rather than aloud. But this is unlikely in the context; Jewish practice was to pray aloud, but quietly in the manner of Hannah (1 Sa. 1:13). There was criticism of rabbis who prayed loudly. (Commentary on Luke, NIGTC [New International Greek Testament Commentary], 1978, reprinted 1979, p. 679, on Lk. 18:11)

In the continuation, it appears that the Pharisee is submitting God a resume. “Aren’t you glad you found me, God!” “I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of all my income” (v. 12). In explanation of “twice a week,” Marion Lloyd Soards says fasting on “Mondays and Thursdays,” with apparent reference to The Didache (8:1, see below), . . . was apparently voluntary rather than prescribed” (NOAB, 3^rd ed., 2001, on Lk. 18:12). According to Tiede and Matthews, “Fasting and praying were common rituals of repentance, subject to criticism for hypocrisy (Mt. 6:5-6, 16-18; see also Lk. 18:9-14)” (op. cit., on Lk. 5:33). Elsewhere Tiede and Matthews say, “The Pharisees gave a tithe, or tenth part, of the harvest to the temple (see [Lk.] 18:2; Lev. 27:30-33; Deut. 14:22-29; 26:12-15; Mal. 3:8-10)” (ibid., on Lk. 11:42).

“But the tax collector (telwvnhV, telōnēs),” says Jesus, “standing far off, would not even look up to heaven, but was beating his breast and saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ ” (v. 13). The standard New Testament Lexicon defines telwvnhV (telōnēs) as “tax-collector, revenue officer,” and adds that

in the synoptics [i.e., Mt., Mk., Lk.] [they] are not the holders (Lat. publicani) of the ‘taxfarming’ contracts themselves, but subordinates (Lat. portitores) hired by them; the higher officials were usually foreigners, but their underlings were, as a rule, taken from the native population. The prevailing system of tax collection afforded a collector many opportunities to exercise greed and unfairness. Hence tax collectors were particularly hated and despised as a class . . . A strict Israelite was further offended by the fact that tax-collectors had to maintain continual contact with non-Israelites in the course of their work; this rendered an Israelite tax-collector ceremonially unclean. (Bauer-Danker-Arndt-Gingrich [BDAG], A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and other Early Christian Literature, 3^rd ed., 2000, s.v. telwvnhV, telōnēs)

The contrast, for a pious Jew living in Israel under Roman domination, could hardly be more extreme. The tax collector, from a group that was hated by the Jews, considered to have sold out to the Roman authorities–not to mention the pain of digging up tax money–did not presume upon God’s mercy. In another example of how Jesus reaches out to the marginalized and outcasts of society, he commends the tax collector’s attitude. “I tell you, this man went down to his home justified rather than the other; for all who exalt themselves will be humbled, but all who humble themselves will be exalted” (v. 14).

We Christians are sometimes prone to adopt the attitude of the Pharisee, but we should not.! In Jesus’ story it is the tax collector who exhibits true humility. William Barclay says, “The Authorized [KJV] and Revised Standard Versions do not even do justice to his [i.e. the tax collector’s] humility, for he actually prayed ‘O God, be merciful to me–the sinner,”as if he was not merely a sinner, but the sinner par excellence” (The Gospel of Luke, The Daily Study Bible, rev. ed., 1975, on Lk. 18:13). That is apparently Barclay’s way of bringing out the sense of the definite noun, the noun preceded by the definite article, “the.” Since the phrase tw:/ aJmartwlw:/ (tō(i) hamartōlō(i), dative case, “the sinner”) does not refer to a previously mentioned sinner as such, it tends to have a generic sense, the class of sinners. But, while this is not emphasized in the English versions mentioned (and the NRSV as well), it is normal in English not to use the definite article with a generic noun. Jesus told the tempter (Satan), “Man shall not live by bread alone” (Mt. 4:4 KJV), “Man does not live on bread alone” (NIV), “One does not live by bread alone” (NRSV). The Greek words translated here as “man” or “one” are literally “the man” ( oJ a[nqrwpoV, ho anthrōpos), as in Luke 4:4 and Deuteronomy 8:3 (LXX = Hebrew Md!x!!h!, hā’ādām), the source of Jesus’ quotation. The NRSV translation, recognizing that the verse does not apply to male gender persons only, uses the indefinite pronoun “one” in order to be inclusive. In today’s parable, it is as though the tax collector presents himself as the definitive example of the class of sinners.

“True prayer,” says Barclay,

comes from setting our lives beside the life of God. No doubt all that the Pharisee said was true. He did fast; he did meticulously give tithes; he was not as other men are; still less was he like that tax-collector. But the question is not, “Am I as good as my fellow-men?” The question is, “Am I as good as God?” Once I made a journey by train to England [says Barclay]. As we passed through the Yorkshire moors I saw a little whitewashed cottage and it seemed to me to shine with an almost radiant whiteness. Some days later I made the journey back to Scotland. The snow had fallen and was lying deep all around. We came again to the little white cottage, but this time its whiteness seemed drab and soiled and almost grey in comparison with the virgin whiteness of the driven snow.

It all depends what we compare ourselves with. And when we set our lives beside the life of Jesus and beside the holiness of God, all that is left to say is , “God be merciful to me–the sinner.” (ibid., p. 225)

The Pharisee’s attitude is not limited to Pharisees of Jesus’ acquaintance, but probably found, regrettably, in some of our churches and communities. Here again, Luke presents a situation in which the expected roles and behaviors are reversed. William Barclay quotes the prayer of “a certain Rabbi”:

I thank Thee, O Lord my God, that thou hast put my part with those who sit in the Academy, and not with those who sit at the street-corners. For I rise early, and they rise early; I rise early to the words of the law, and they to vain things. I labour, and they labour; I labour and receive a reward, and they labour and receive no reward. I run, and they run; I run to the life of the world to come, and they to the pit of destruction. (ibid., p. 224).

It is clear in Luke’s account that only the tax collector truly repents. In context, it is a pointed rebuke addressed “to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and regarded others with contempt” (Lk. 18:9). Elwyn E. Tilden and Bruce M. Metzger explain the term righteous: “acceptable to God because of their ritual observance (vv. 11-12)” (NOAB, 2^nd ed., 1984, on Lk. 18:9). The Pharisee avoids gross sins, but gives “a tenth of all my income,” and fasts regularly, “twice a week” (v. 12), that is, “on Mondays and Thursdays; such a practice was apparently voluntary rather than prescribed” (Soards, on v. 12). In a work classified with the Apostolic Fathers, the Didache, or The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles (early 2^nd c. A.D.), the readers are exhorted as follows:

But do not let your fasts be with the hypocrites [i.e. the ‘Jews’]. For they fast on the second and fifth [days] of the week [i.e. Monday and Thursday]; but as for you, fast on the fourth [day, i.e. Wednesday] and the Preparation [i.e. Friday, preparation for the Sabbath]. And do not pray as the hypocrites [do] . . . (Didache 8:1-2, my translation, from the translation of Kirsopp Lake in the Loeb Classical Library, now on the Internet at http://www.ccel.org/ccel/lake/fathers2.v.html, accessed again November 21, 2008)

At this point, the early church was separating itself from Judaism, drawing boundaries, as it were, and distinguishing its acts of piety from those of Judaism. Jesus gives instructions along that line in the Sermon on the Mount (Mt. 6:1-18). But in the parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector, Jesus emphasizes a proper attitude of humility and repentance, without which the “proper ritual” is of no avail. Jesus makes the Pharisee’s pride and exalting of himself an example of how not to come into God’s presence. In the end, the tax collector was “justified rather than the other” (v. 14).

Ronald D. Worden, Ph.D.

rdworden@hgst.edu

deanworden@comcast.net