The Refiner and His Fire

The Christmas season is full of joy, and rightly so, because in it we celebrate the birth of our savior. But our joy is a sober joy, for the child who is born to give us second birth must die to make it so. That fact reminds us why the question is posed in Malachi, “Who can endure the day of his coming?” That question suggests the answer, “Nobody.” “Who can stand when he appears?” Again, “Nobody.” Why? Because, as Malachi continues, “he is like a refiner’s fire and like fuller’s soap.” That is to say, the Lord, the messenger of the covenant, is a power that destroys impurities to refine precious things, but we are full of impurity and cannot stand alone. How can anyone stand? A part of the answer is given in Mal 3:3 in which the imagery shifts from the Lord being the fire to being the refiner. As the refiner, he sits over an impure mass and burns away what is useless and without value so that only pure and valuable material is left. In a subtle way, a shift occurs in which we understand that the purpose of the Lord’s coming is first of all to cleanse or purify.

Now, specifically called out as the subjects of this purifying work are the sons of Levi, i.e. all those who were engaged in the activities of worship, whether priest, musician, or other supporting cast. But to what end? Malachi continues: the Lord will sit as refiner so that they “bring offerings in righteousness to the Lord.” That is to say, the Lord will refine his people so that their worship is acceptable. And this product of refinement will ultimately extend to the entirety of God’s people, as Malachi notes in v4. Through the Lord’s purification of his people, their sacrifices will be pleasing to him. But why is the focus on worship? Because that’s a critical component of the problems of this upside-down world. From the beginning, the problem of sin has been a problem of worship. Adam and Eve considered God unworthy of worship and service, and that is why they ultimately ate the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Israel throughout its history failed to consider God worthy of worship, and so God’s covenant people turned aside to serve other so-called gods. Such is the problem of every generation, and that is why Malachi’s prophecy focuses on the purification of worship. When the heart is inclined to serve God, it has been purified from its fallen nature. When God is worshiped rightly, there is no room to call evil good and question where the God of justice is, for the worshiper is in communion with God. Thus, the Lord promises to address the problem for his people by refining them so that their worship is worthy of him.

How does that relate to Christmas? Christmas reminds us that God’s purification project is not a self-improvement project, nor is it a helping hand to being your best self. Christmas introduces us to the one by whom we are able to stand in the perfect presence and judgment of the Lord. Christmas announces the savior and points us to his saving work. As Malachi finishes this prophecy of the return of God’s glory to his temple, he writes, “Then I will draw near to you for judgment. I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, against the adulterers, against those who swear falsely, against those who oppress the hired worker in his wages, the widow and the fatherless, against those who thrust aside the sojourner, and do not fear me, says the LORD of hosts” (Mal 3:5 ESV). That is a hopeless announcement of judgment sa ve for Christmas. But with the birth of our savior, which we are celebrating in this season, the whole situation turns by the sheer grace of God so that we may rejoice with Paul, who calls out a similar list of evildoers but then writes, “And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God” (1 Cor 6:11 ESV). The Lord, who is the fuller’s soap and the refiner’s fire, has washed us, sanctified, and justified us. The Lord, because his grace preceded his justice, has given us good reason to rejoice in this season.