Malachi 3

As it is written in the prophets, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. [Malachi 3:1] The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. John did baptize in the wilderness, and preach the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins. And there went out unto him all the land of Judaea, and they of Jerusalem, and were all baptized of him in the river of Jordan, confessing their sins. And John was clothed with camel's hair, and with a girdle of a skin about his loins; and he did eat locusts and wild honey

And as they departed, Jesus began to say unto the multitudes concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken with the wind? But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? behold, they that wear soft clothing are in kings' houses. But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? yea, I say unto you, and more than a prophet. For this is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. [Malachi 3:1] Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force. For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. And if ye will receive it, this is Elias, which was for to come. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.

And when the messengers of John were departed, he began to speak unto the people concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness for to see? A reed shaken with the wind? But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? Behold, they which are gorgeously apparelled, and live delicately, are in kings' courts. But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? Yea, I say unto you, and much more than a prophet. This is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. [Malachi 3:1] For I say unto you, Among those that are born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist: but he that is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.

And that we may not have to ask, of what God was the Word made flesh? He does himself previously teach us, saying, “There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. The same came as a witness, that he might bear witness of that light. He was not that light but [came] that he might testify of the light.” By what God, then, was John, the forerunner who testifies of the light, sent [into the world]? Truly it was by him of whom Gabriel is the angel, who also announced glad tidings of his birth: [that God] who also had promised by the prophets that he would send his messenger before the face of his Son, who should prepare his way, that is, that he should bear witness of that light in the spirit and power of Elijah. But, again, of what God was Elijah the servant and the prophet? Of him who made heaven and earth, as he does himself confess. John therefore, having been sent by the founder and maker of this world, how could he testify of the light, which came down from things unspeakable and invisible? For all the heretics have decided that the demiurge was ignorant of that power above him, whose witness and herald John is found to be. Therefore the Lord said that he deemed him “more than a prophet.” For all the other prophets preached the advent of the Father’s light and desired to be worthy of seeing him whom they preached. But John both announced [the advent] beforehand, as did the others, and actually saw him when he came, and pointed him out, and persuaded many to believe on him, so that he did himself hold the place of both prophet and apostle. For this is to be more than a prophet, because “first apostles, secondarily prophets,” but all things from one and the same God himself.

Against Heresies 3:11.4

Someone else will appeal to the text, “Let us make man according to our image and likeness,” and maintain that whatever is made according to God’s image and likeness is man. To support this, numberless instances are adduced to show that in Scripture “man” and “angel” are used indifferently and that the same subject is called both angel and man. This is true of the three who were entertained by Abraham and of the two who came to Sodom. In the whole course of Scripture, persons are styled sometimes men, sometimes angels. Those who hold this view will say that since persons are styled angels who are manifestly men, as when Zechariah says, “The messenger of the Lord, I am with you, says the Lord almighty,” and as it is written of John the Baptist, “Behold, I send my messenger before your face,” the angels (messengers) of God are so called on account of their nature. Scripture confirms this view that the names applied to higher powers are not those ofspecies of living beings but those of the orders, assigned by God to this and to that reasonable being.

Commentary on the Gospel of John 2:17

Of these two comings the prophet Malachi says, “And suddenly there will come to the temple the Lord whom you seek”; that is one coming. Of the second coming he says, “ ‘And the messenger of the covenant whom you desire, yes, he is coming,’ says the Lord of hosts. ‘But who will endure the day of his coming? And who can stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner’s fire or like the fuller’s lye. He will sit refining and purifying.’ ” In what immediately follows the Savior himself says, “I will draw near to you for judgment, and I will be swift to bear witness against sorcerers, adulterers and perjurers.” It was with this in view that Paul says in due warning: “But if anyone builds upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw—the work of each will be made manifest, for the Day of the Lord will declare it, since the day is to be revealed in fire.” Paul indicates these two comings also in writing to Titus in these words: “The grace of God our Savior has appeared to all men, instructing us, in order that, rejecting ungodliness and worldly lusts, we may live temperately and justly and piously in this world; looking for the blessed hope and glorious coming of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.” Do you see how he speaks of a first coming, for which he gives thanks, and of a second we are going to look for? We find the same lesson in the wording of the creed we profess, as delivered to us, that is, to believe in him who “ascended into heaven and sat down on the right of the Father, and is to come in glory to judge the living and dead, of whose kingdom there will be no end.”

Catechetical Lecture 15:2

And what sort of connection may this have with what was said before? Much, assuredly, and in full accord with it. By this topic also he proceeds to urge and press them into faith. At the same time he is speaking in agreement with what had been before said by John. “For if all things are fulfilled even down to John, I am ‘he that should come.’ ”“For all the prophets,” says he, “and the law prophesied until John.” For the prophets would not have ceased unless I were come. Expect, therefore, nothing further, and do not wait for anyone else. For that I am he who is manifest both from the prophets ceasing and from those that every day “take by force” the faith that is in me. For so manifest is it and certain that many even take it by force. Why, who has so taken it? Tell me. All who approach it with earnestness of mind. Then he states also another infallible sign, saying, “If you will receive it, he is Elijah, who was to come.” For “I will send you,” it is said, “Elijah the Tishbite, who shall turn the hearts of the fathers to the children.” This man then is Elijah, if you attend exactly, says he. For “ ‘I will send,’ says he, ‘my messenger before your face.’ ” And well has he said, “If you will receive it,” to show the absence of force. For I do not constrain, says he. And this he said, as requiring a candid mind and showing that John is Elijah, and Elijah John. For both of them received one ministry, and both of them became forerunners. He did not simply say, “This is Elijah,” but “If you are willing to receive it, this is he,” that is, if with a candid mind you give heed to what is going on. And he did not stop even at this, but to the words “this is Elijah, who was to come” he added, to show that understanding is needed, “he that has ears to hear, let him hear.”

Homilies on the Gospel of Matthew 37:4

Chapter 3, Verse 1: Behold, I send (or will send) my angel, and he will prepare the way before me: and immediately he will come to his temple, the Lord whom you seek, and the angel of the covenant whom you desire. LXX: Behold, I will send my angel, and he will prepare the way before me: and suddenly the Lord whom you seek will come to his temple, and the angel of righteousness whom you desire. This the Lord interpreted in the Gospel according to John the Baptist, saying: This is he of whom it is written; Behold, I send my angel before your face, and he will prepare your way before me (Matthew 11:10); and he did not use the same words that the translators of the LXX rendered. Marcus the evangelist also, combining two testimonies of Malachi and Isaiah in the discourse of one prophet, began as follows: The beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, as it is written in the prophet Isaiah: Behold, I send my angel before your face, who will prepare your way (Mark 1:2). This we also read in other words in Malachi. And what follows: The voice of one crying in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths (Isaiah 40:3), is said by the prophet Isaiah. And immediately explaining both testimonies, he says: There was, he said, John in the wilderness, baptizing and preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins (Mark 1:4). But even the evangelists have interpreted the prophecy of the prophets concerning John, and while they agree in meaning, they differ in wording. For what the LXX translated as 'Make straight the paths of our God,' Mark and Luke said, 'Make straight his paths.' But John said, 'Prepare the way of the Lord.' From this it is clear that the apostles, the evangelists, and the Lord Himself, do not follow the authority of the LXX translators, whom having knowledge of the Hebrew language, they do not need; but they transfer from the Hebrew what they have read, not caring about the syllables and punctuation of the words, as long as the truth of the meaning is transferred. Indeed, we have taught that they did this in many places, especially in the book which is titled by us, on the best method of interpretation, it is confirmed by many testimonies together. Therefore, what is said: Behold, I send my angel and he will prepare the way before my face, it is said in the person of Christ, that he sent John into the desert of Judea to preach the baptism of repentance, for the remission of sins. But what follows: And immediately he will come to his temple, the Lord whom you seek, and the angel of the testament whom you desire, he speaks of himself as if of another, according to the custom of the Scriptures. There is no doubt that this Lord is the Savior, who is the Creator of all, and is called the Angel of the Covenant, and the Angel of Great Counsel. However, others think that what is said, 'Behold, I send my angel and he will prepare the way before me,' is spoken from the person of the Father. And what follows, 'The Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple, the Dominator and the Angel of the Covenant whom you desire,' they understand as being said by the Lord Savior himself. But John prepares the way and makes straight paths for the hearts of the faithful of our God, in which, because of wickedness and unbelief, God could not walk first. However, the temple or the Church is interpreted, or each of the faithful in the Church: Build spiritual houses, a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices, and acceptable to God through Christ Jesus (I Peter 2:5). But to those who believe: Do you not know that you are the temple of God, and the Spirit of God dwells in you (I Corinthians 3:16)? The Jews understand this which is said: 'Behold, I send my angel', to refer to Elijah the prophet, and what follows: 'He will immediately come to his temple, the ruler whom you seek' they attribute to the anointed one, that is, their Christ, whom they say will come at the end of time. But I wonder how the course of events does not teach them the truth. For if the ruler will find his temple, which is destroyed down to its foundations, or if it is to be rebuilt by another before Christ comes, what more will their Christ do, since all things have already been restored by another? Our Lord, in the Gospel, interpreting Elijah the prophet, speaks of John the Baptist, saying: If you want to know, he is Elijah who is to come (Matthew 11:14), of whom also the same prophet whom we have been discussing writes at the end: Behold, I am sending to you Elijah the prophet before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes (Malachi 4:5). But how John is Elijah, he has given us the way of understanding, by mentioning that he came in the power and spirit of Elijah.

Commentary on Malachi

I for my part shall come, he is saying, whom you look to as punisher of sins. There will be present also the angel who ministers to the agreements I have often made with you. When you seek him, you will find him punishing the transgression of your agreements with me. While the prophet said this as a consequence of what preceded, it is not surprising that the same verse was cited at the coming of blessed John the Baptist, the statement being fulfilled in actual fact by the coming of blessed John as predetermined forerunner and minister, and by the emergence of Christ the Lord, who came at the same time as he and was testified to by him and in whom the salvation of all people was destined to be achieved.

Commentary on Malachi 3:1

Speaking further of Christ in the same vein, Malachi says, “Behold, I send my angel, and he shall prepare the way before my face. And presently the Lord, whom you seek, and the angel of the testament whom you desire, shall come into the temple. Behold, he comes, says the Lord of hosts. And who shall be able to think of the day of his coming? And who shall stand to see him?” In this text he foretells both comings of Christ, the first and the second—the first where he says, “And presently the Lord shall come into his temple.” This refers to Christ’s body, of which he himself said in the Gospel, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” His second coming is foretold in these words: “ ‘Behold, he comes,’ says the Lord of hosts. ‘And who shall be able to think of the day of his coming? And who shall stand to see him?’ ”

City of God 18.35

“For he whom God has sent speaks the words of God.” John said this, of course, about Christ that he might diminish himself from him. Why? Did not God send John himself? And didn’t John himself say, “I have been sent before him,” and, “He who sent me to baptize with water,” and about him it was said, “Behold, I send my messenger before you and he will prepare the way”? Does not he too speak the words of God, about whom it was said that he was more than a prophet? Therefore if God also sent John, and he speaks the words of God, how, in regard to the distinction [between himself and Christ], do we know that he said about Christ, “For he whom God has sent speaks the words of God”?

Tractates on the Gospel of John 14:10.1

Since then it is evident that many are to judge with the Lord but that others are to be judged, not however on equality but according to their deserts, he will come with all his angels. [At the judgment] before him shall be gathered all nations, and among all the angels are to be reckoned those that have been so perfect, that sitting upon twelve thrones they judge the twelve tribes of Israel. For men are called angels; the apostle says of himself, “As an angel of God you received me.” Of John the Baptist it is said, “Behold, I send my angel before your face, who shall prepare your way before you.”

Explanation of the Psalms 50:11

But as it is in mockery that Celsus says we speak of “God coming down like a torturer bearing fire” and thus compels us unseasonably to investigate words of deeper meaning, we shall make a few remarks, sufficient to enable our hearers to form an idea of the defense which disposes of the ridicule of Celsus against us. And then we shall turn to what follows. The divine word says that our God is “a consuming fire” and that “he draws rivers of fire before him.” He even enters in as “a refiner’s fire and as a fuller’s herb,” to purify his own people. But when he is said to be a “consuming fire,” we inquire what are the things that are appropriate to be consumed by God. And we assert that it is wickedness, and the works which result from it, which are being figuratively called “wood, hay, stubble,” God consumes as a fire.

Against Celsus 4:13

The same Christ who did all this will hereafter stand before us as our judge. Certainly the prophets did not pass over this but foretold it. Some saw him in that very form which he would stand before us; others predicted this only in words. Daniel was in the midst of the barbarians and the Babylonians when he saw Christ coming in the clouds. Listen to what he said: “I beheld, and lo! One like the Son of man was coming on the clouds. And he advanced to the ancient of days and was presented before him; and to him was given the government and the kingdom, and all the peoples, tribes and languages serve him.” And Daniel hinted at God’s court and judgment when he said, “The thrones were set, and the books were opened. A river of fire rolled before him. Thousands upon thousands ministered to him, and myriads waited on him.” [Daniel not only revealed that, but also he showed the honor that the just would have when he said, “He gave judgment to the holy ones of the most high, and the holy ones possessed the kingdom.”] And that judgment will come through fire. Malachi said, “He is coming [like the fire of a refiner’s furnace, and] like the soap of the fullers.” And then the just will enjoy great honor. And Daniel was speaking of the resurrection when he said, “Those lying in the dust shall arise.”

Demonstration Against the Pagans 11:1-3

(Verse 2) Look, says the Lord of Hosts, who can think of the day of his coming? And who will stand to see him? For he will come like a refining fire and like the fullers' soap. LXX: Behold, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts, and who will endure the day of his coming? And who can stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner's fire and like fullers' soap. Above, we have read the question raised to the Lord by those who say: 'Everyone who does evil is good in the sight of the Lord, and he delights in them.' Or surely, if He is displeased, where is the God of judgment? This is where is the truth of justice? To which the Lord's response was: I will send my angel, who will prepare my way, and he will come to his temple, the ruler whom you seek, who is the judge of truth, of whom it is said in the Psalm: O God, grant your judgment to the king, and your justice to the son of the king (Psalm 71:1). For the Father does not judge anyone; but he has given all judgment to the Son (John 5:22). And that Son is the angel of the covenant whom you seek, who does not delight in evil, who does not show partiality in judgment (Colossians 3:25), who is not changed by either mercy or severity: for the cup in the Lord's hand is full of mixed wine, and he pours from one side to the other (Psalm 75:8-9), meaning that mercy tempers justice, and justice tempers mercy. So he will come immediately and swiftly to his temple, that is, the Church. And who will be able to conceive the day of his coming? If no one can conceive the day of his coming because of the power of his majesty, who will be able to endure it? And who will stand to see him, that is, who will be able to behold him in his glory with dimmed and blinded eyes, he who is the sun of righteousness, and in whose wings is healing? He will come like a consuming fire, and like the fuller's herb. For fire will burn before him, and around him will be a mighty tempest. Then He will call the heavens from above, and the earth, that He may judge His people. The rivers of fire will go before Him, and will engulf the sinners. The Lord is said to be a consuming fire (Deut. IV), that will burn up our wood, hay, and stubble. And not only fire; but also the herb of fullers, which in Hebrew is called Borith, and in the Septuagint πόαν, that is, the herb of fullers, they translate. For those who commit grave sins, it is a fire that melts and consumes; but for those who commit lesser sins, it is the herb of fullers that restores cleanliness, according to what is written in Isaiah: The Lord will wash away the filth of the sons and daughters of Zion, and will cleanse their blood from their midst, with the spirit of judgment and the spirit of burning (Isai. IV). Those who have filth need the spirit of judgment in order to be cleansed; those who are full of blood need the spirit of burning in order for the blood that is externally attached to them to be removed.

Commentary on Malachi

(Verse 3) 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 offer sacrifices to the Lord in righteousness. LXX: 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. And the one who sits and melts and purifies like silver, according to Ezekiel (Chapter 22), whatever is mixed in our gold and silver, that is, in our understanding and speech, in bronze, tin, iron, and lead, let it be cooked in the furnace of the Lord, so that pure gold and silver may remain. And the Lord also says in the Gospel: I came to cast fire upon the earth, and what will I but that it be kindled (Luke 12:49); and he shall purify the sons of Levi. For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God (1 Peter 4:17). And elsewhere it is written: Begin at my sanctuary (Ezekiel 9:6). But in the sons of Levi: understand all priestly dignity. If, however, the priests are to be purified and worshiped, so that pure gold and silver may remain, what is to be said of the others?

Commentary on Malachi

(Verse 4) And the sacrifice of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the Lord, as in the days of old and as in former years. LXX: And the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the Lord as in the days of old and as in former years. When they have been cleansed and purified, then they will offer righteous sacrifices to the Lord, and their sacrifice will be pleasing, which they offer for Judah and Jerusalem, that is, for those who confess the Lord and contemplate His peace with their minds, as in the days of old and the years of ancient times, so that just as they pleased God in the beginning, they may begin to please Him again after sin and repentance, having been cleansed from all the filth of sins.

Commentary on Malachi

(Verse 5) And I will come to you in judgment, and I will be a swift witness against sorcerers and adulterers, and perjurers, and those who oppress the hired worker, the widow, and the fatherless, and those who thrust aside the sojourner: they have not feared me, says the Lord of hosts. LXX: And I will come to you in judgment, and I will be a swift witness against evildoers, and against adulterers, and against those who swear falsely by my name. And those who cheat hired workers of their wages, and oppress widows, and orphaned children, and pervert the justice due to foreigners, and those who do not fear me, says the Lord Almighty. And I will approach, he says, to you in judgment, and I will be a swift witness. How great is the fear of judgment, when he himself is witness and judge. He is a witness against all wrongdoers and adulterers, for these crimes are committed in secret and therefore are brought to light, so that they may not remain hidden for long. After the wrongdoers come the adulterers: after the adulterers come the perjurers: after the perjurers come those who falsely accuse for the payment of a hireling, and they refuse to repay for the labor of their work that they owe. Widows and orphans are also understood to be falsely accused, and they oppress the stranger and foreigner, or at least the catechumen, who has not yet become a citizen of the city of Christ. And if they have not done all these things, it is enough for them to be punished, because they did not fear the Lord. Therefore, we should not consider perjury, not giving wages to the laborer, slandering the widow and the orphan, and oppressing the foreigner and the stranger as light sins: which are compared to wickedness, sorceries, and adultery. We understand this both according to history and according to metaphor, so that what was said at that time to the rulers of the Jews may now be said to the rulers of the Churches.

Commentary on Malachi

But let us look at what Celsus next with ostentation announces in the following fashion: “And again,” he says, “let us resume the subject from the beginning, with a larger array of proofs. And I make no new proofs. And I make no new statement but say what has long been settled. God is good and beautiful and blessed, and that in the best and most beautiful degree. But if he comes down among humanity, he must undergo a change, and a change from good to evil, from virtue to vice, from happiness to misery, and from best to worst. Who, then, would make a choice of such a change? It is the nature of a mortal, indeed, to undergo change and remolding, but of an immortal to remain the same and unaltered. God, then, could not admit such a change.” Now it appears to me that the fitting answer has been returned to these objections when I have related what I called in Scripture the “condescension” of God to human affairs. For [this] purpose he did not need to undergo a transformation, as Celsus thinks we assert, nor a change from good to evil, nor from virtue to vice, nor from happiness to misery, nor from best to worst. For, continuing unchangeable in his essence, he condescends to human affairs by the economy of his providence. We show accordingly that the holy Scripture represents God as unchangeable, both by such words as “you are the same” and “I change not.” Whereas the gods of Epicurus, being composed of atoms, and, so far as their structure is concerned, capable of dissolution, endeavor to throw off the atoms which contain the elements of destruction. Even the god of the Stoics, as being corporeal, at one time has his whole essence composed of the guiding principle when the conflagration [of the world] takes place; and at another, when a rearrangement of things occurs, he again becomes partly material. For even the Stoics were unable to comprehend distinctly the natural idea of God as a being altogether incorruptible and simple and uncompounded and indivisible.

Against Celsus 4:14

He is always therefore equal to himself; he never changes or transforms himself into other forms, lest through change he should appear to be also mortal. For the modification implied in change from one thing to another involves a share in the death of some sort. Therefore there is never any addition of parts or of glory in him, lest anything should seem to have ever been wanting to the perfect one. Nor can there be any question of diminution in him, for that would imply that some degree of mortality is in him. On the contrary, what he is, he always is; who he is, he always is; such as he is, he always is. For increase in growth indicates a beginning, whereas any wasting away evidences death and destruction. And therefore he says, “I am God and have not changed.” He always retains his manner of being, because what is not born is not subject to change. For—whatever that being may be that is God—this must always be true of him, that he always is God, preserving himself by his own powers. And therefore he says, “I am who I am.” That which is has this name because it always preserves its same manner of being. Change takes away the name “that which is”; for whatever changes at all is shown to be mortal by the very fact that it changes. It ceases to be what it was and consequently begins to be what it was not. Of necessity, then, God always retains his manner of being, because he is always like unto himself, always equal to himself without any loss arising from change. For that which is not born cannot change, since only those things undergo change which are made or which are begotten; whereas things which at one time were not experience existence by coming into being, and by coming into being they undergo change. On the contrary, things which have neither birth nor maker are exempt from change because they have not a beginning, the cause of change.

On the Trinity 4

He does not need those things that are from him, through him and to him; neither he who is the origin, nor he who is the designer, nor he who embraces all things. He is outside of the things that are within; he is the Creator of those that have been made; and he himself is never in want of his own possessions. Nothing is before him, nothing is from anywhere else, nothing is outside of him. What growth in fullness is therefore wanting to him that God may yet be all in all in the course of time? Or whence shall he procure it outside of whom there is nothing, but nothing in the sense that he always is? And by what kind of an increase is he himself to be made complete who always exists and outside of whom there is nothing? Or by what kind of growth is he to be changed who says, “I am, and I change not,” since there is no opportunity for a change or any cause that will enable him to make progress. Nor is there anything prior to eternity or anything else besides God in his relationship with God. Hence God will not be all in all through subjection of the Son, nor will any cause make him perfect from whom, through whom and in whom every cause exists. He remains, therefore, as he is, always God, and he does not stand in need of improvement who is always that which he is from himself and to himself.

On the Trinity 11:47

(Verse 6) And you, sons of Jacob, were not consumed. For from the days of your fathers, you have strayed from my commandments and have not kept them. LXX: And you, sons of Jacob, have not strayed from the sins of your fathers, you have turned away from my commandments, and have not kept them. As I said before: I will be a swift witness against sorcerers, adulterers, perjurers, those who exploit hired workers, widows and orphans, and those who oppress the foreigners, for they have not feared me, says the Lord of hosts. Calling Himself a just judge, He brought in the statement: 'I am the Lord and I do not change.' And the meaning is this: You are daily changed by wickedness, adultery, perjury, slander, and violence, but I, in judgment, am not swayed by the diversity of persons. And though I admit to being a severe and just judge, O sons of Jacob, you are not consumed by the variety of torments, according to what is written in Jeremiah: 'Without cause I struck your sons, you did not receive discipline' (Jer. 2:30): and you have not done this only recently, nor once, to merit forgiveness for your error, but you will have inherited impiety, departing from my statutes from the days of your fathers, and not keeping what I commanded. But the sons of Jacob according to the supplanter's reckoning, and the brothers of the original snatcher, who do not depart from the sins of their fathers, and deviate from what is lawful, and do not keep the commandments, let us understand those who in the Church constitution depart from vices, and falsely assume for themselves the name of Christian religion.

Commentary on Malachi

And that which follows: I am the Lord and I do not change, he states this because he had said earlier: he is like a consuming fire, and like the soap of fullers, so that we do not think that he changes his divine nature, since he is called an angel, or fire, or Borith for us.

Commentary on Malachi

And while God is provoked with frequent and continual offenses, he softens his indignation, and in his patience waits for the day of retribution, once for all determined. And although he has revenge in his power, he prefers to keep patience for a long while. [He bears], that is to say, mercifully, and puts off, so that, if it might be possible, the long-protracted mischief may at some time be changed, and humanity, involved in the contagion of errors and crimes, may even though late be converted to God, as he himself warns and says, “I do not will the death of him that dies, so much as that he may return and live.” And again, “ ‘Return unto me,’ says the Lord.”

Treatise IX. On the Advantage of Patience 9:4

7–12

(Verse 7 and following) Return to me, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts. But you say, 'How shall we return?' Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me. But you say, 'How have we robbed you?' In your tithes and contributions. You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me, the whole nation of you. Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need. And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the LORD of hosts. And all nations shall call you blessed: for ye shall be a delightsome land, saith the LORD of hosts. Return unto me, and I will return unto you, saith the LORD of hosts. But ye said, Wherein shall we return? Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? And you say: in what way have we deceived you? Because the tithes and first fruits are with you, and you look upon them, and you defraud me ((or: deceive me)): the year is complete, and you have brought in the fruits into the storehouse, and there will be plunder in your houses. Therefore, return to this, says the Lord Almighty: unless I open for you the floodgates of heaven, and pour out my blessing upon you until it is sufficient, and I will divide food for you, and your land will not be destroyed, and your vineyard will not wither in the field, says the Lord Almighty: and all the nations will call you blessed, because you will be a land of delight, says the Lord Almighty. And in the beginning we said that Malachi should be understood as the prophet Ezra; and all the things that are written about him in history, are contained in this book as well: and now we say that during his time and that of Nehemiah (whom it is clear lived together) there was a very severe famine, and because of the famine there was a revolt, and the poor, compelled by the necessity of things, sold their sons and daughters, and all their possessions, and their entire substance. Finally they say: Our sons and daughters are too many, let us take their price in wheat, and eat and live. And there were those who said: Let us sell our fields and vineyards, and our houses, and let us take wheat in hunger. And I was angry, says Ezra, when I heard their outcry according to these words: and my heart thought within me, and I reproached the nobles and magistrates, and the rest. Therefore, during a time of famine, food was so scarce that they were forced to sell their own children, and even those who had little and had stored many crops in barns refused to give tithes out of necessity or due to the magnitude of the price to the Levites, who did not have a share in the inheritance of Judah; but the firstfruits and tithes were their inheritance. Lest it be thought to be ours, let us consider the testimony of Ezra: 'And I realized,' he said, 'that the portions of the Levites had not been given, and each one had fled to his own region from the Levites, from the singers, and from those who served. And I brought a complaint against the officials, and I said, 'Why have we abandoned the house of God?' And I gathered them together and made them stand in their stations. And all of Judah brought the tithes of grain, wine, and oil into the storehouses, and we appointed Shelemiah the priest and Zadok the scribe (Nehemiah 13:10-11),' and so on. We have heard the story of Ezra, now let us repeat the words of the prophets, carefully considering whether the prophecy and the history agree. When it is said, 'Return to me, and I will return to you,' says the Lord Almighty, it is clear that those whom he exhorts to return have departed from the Lord. And behold the mercy of the Lord, he promises an equal return, so that the measure with which they have measured will be measured back to them (Matt. 7:1). And as it is written in Leviticus: 'If you walk contrary to me, then I will also walk contrary to you in fury' (Lev. 26:27-28). So now he encourages the people to return, so that he himself may also return to them. Those who do not understand that they have fallen away from the Lord impudently ask: Where are we returning to? And they say: When did we fall away, that we should be compelled to return? The Lord answered: If a man opposes God, because you are opposing me? The Hebrew word, which is written 'Hajecba', the LXX translated as 'if he supplants': for which Aquila, and Symmachus, and Theodotio substituted 'if he defrauds', so that the meaning is: If a man defrauds God, because you defraud me? And truly, according to the order of history, because the people did not give the tithes and firstfruits to the Levites, 977 the Lord says that he himself suffered fraud, whose ministers were forced by hunger and shortage to abandon the temple. For if he is visited by others in prison, if he is received as a sick person, and if he receives food and drink when hungry and thirsty, why should he not himself receive tithes from his own ministers, and if they are not given, be deprived of his own portion? What we have said, Hajecba interprets in the language of the Syrians and Chaldeans, if it is affixed: from where also we translated it many years ago, more towards the mystery of the Lord's passion, in which men crucified God, than towards tithes and firstfruits (by which one is visited in prison, and received by the sick, and receives food while hungry and thirsty, and is given to drink), referring to written things. Let the prudent reader inquire how our interpretation agrees with the following: In tithes and firstfruits, and see if we can say this: 'For you to crucify me: for you to lay wicked hands on your God', you have done by meditating upon many things, by withholding tithes and firstfruits, I do not say from my priests and Levites, but from me, who commanded them to be given through Moses (Exodus 23). This has been said to us about one word, leaving the judgment of understanding to the reader; now let us follow the order of prophecy. Because you have not given me tithes and firstfruits, therefore you are cursed with hunger and poverty, and you deceive me, or defraud and deprive me, the whole nation for the nation, which is written in Hebrew as Aggoi, the year Seventy was interpreted as a nation. And this is the meaning. Behold, the year has come to an end, and you have gathered nothing into my treasure, but into your barns: And for tithes and firstfruits, which were small, if given to me, you have lost the abundance of your possessions and all the abundance of crops. But in order for you to know, I, being angry with you, because you have cheated me of what is mine, urge and remind you to bring the tithes into the barns, that is, into the treasury of the temple, and let the priests and Levites, who minister to me, have food: and test me, if I will not pour out such great rains, that the floodgates of the heavens seem to be opened. And I will pour out blessing upon you until abundance. The word 'effusion' shows the name 'generosity'. But it is possible for fertility to exist in the fields that are irrigated by rain, yet locusts or weevils, or rust or caterpillars may destroy them, and the labors of humans perish. Therefore, He joins and says: And I will rebuke for you the devourer, namely the locust, and the rest that we have mentioned; and it shall not corrupt the fruit of your land. And vineyards will fill vine-presses also, and all nations around will marvel at the fertility of your land, to such an extent that everyone will desire to live in it, and the abundance of all things will be an example to all peoples. Understand also concerning tithes and first fruits, which were once given by the people to the priests and Levites, in the same way for the people of the Church, to whom it is commanded not only to give tithes and first fruits, but also to sell all that they have and give to the poor, and to follow the Lord Savior (Matthew 19 and Mark 10). But if we do not want to do this, let us at least imitate the beginnings of the Jews, so that we give a portion to the poor from the whole, and defer the due honor to the priests and Levites. Hence the Apostle says: Honor widows who are truly widows (I Tim. V, 3): and let the presbyter be honored with double honor, especially those who labor in the word and doctrine of God. Whoever does not do this is proved to defraud and supplant God, and is cursed in the lack of all things: as he who sows sparingly, shall also reap sparingly; and he who sows in blessings, shall gather abundant fruits in blessings (II Cor. IX, 6). If at any time hunger and poverty, and the lack of all things oppress the world: let us know that this comes from the anger of God, who speaks of being defrauded and deprived of their portion if the poor do not receive alms. We can interpret tithes and firstfruits in this way: if someone is learned and educated in the Law of God, they can teach others, but they should not attribute their knowledge and abilities to their own wisdom and talent, but rather give thanks first to God, who bestows everything, and then to his priests and teachers, from whom they have learned. For if one does not give thanks, but claims knowledge for oneself, they will be cursed in poverty. But if one, understanding God as the giver, and giving thanks to those through whom they have been taught by God, humbles oneself and brings the food into the storehouse of God, that is, ministers the nourishment of Holy Scripture to the people in the Church, then the floodgates of heaven will immediately open upon them, and a spiritual rain will pour forth, and God will command his clouds to rain upon them, and they will enjoy the abundance of all things, and God will even rebuke the devourer for their sake, bringing forth opposing strengths, and their efforts will bear fruit, and they will attain what is written: Blessed is the one who speaks into the ears of those who listen. He will also lift up his eyes and see the regions, for they are already white for harvesting (John 4); and he will gather fruits for eternal life. The vineyard in his field will not be sterile, as he who says in the Gospel: I am the vine (John 15, 1). And he who speaks through the prophet: I have planted a fruitful vineyard, the whole truth (Jeremiah 2, 21); and through humble confession, gratitude to God, and his teachers in the Church, he will attain such blessedness that all nations will call him blessed, and desire to dwell in his land and teachings, those who have heard him speaking in the Church.

Commentary on Malachi

On account of its great intensity, this reflection is sometimes mingled with wonder. For the heart of those who see the Lord will rejoice. Seek the Lord, O sinners, and be strengthened in your thoughts because of hope. And seek his face through repentance at all times, and you will be sanctified by the holiness of his presence, and you will be purified of your iniquity. Hasten to the Lord, O sinners; he remits iniquity and removes sins. For he has sworn, “I have no pleasure in the death which the sinner dies,” so that the sinner may repent and live. “I have spread out my hands all day toward a quarrelsome and disobedient people.” And “Why would you want to die, O house of Jacob?” “Turn to me, and I will turn to you.”

Ascetical Homiles 5:76-77

10–12

Listen, then, impious one. You know that everything belongs to God; you will not give the Creator of all things something of his own? The Lord God is not in want; he does not demand recompense but honor. He does not require you to pay back something of yours. He asks the firstfruits and tithes, and do you refuse? Avaricious one, what would you do if he had taken nine-tenths for himself and left you the tithes? Surely this already happened when the meager harvest failed because rain was withdrawn or when hail struck your vintage or frost killed it. Why does this happen, greedy calculator? The nine-tenths were taken from you because you refused to pay tithes. The fact remains, of course, that you did not give, but God exacted it. This is our Lord’s exceedingly just practice. If you deny him the tithes, you are brought down to it. As it is written, “Thus speaks the Lord: ‘Tithes of your field and the firstfruits of your land are with you. I see you, and you think you are deceiving me. Within, in your treasure and in your house, there will be plunder.’ ” You will give to a wicked soldier what you are unwilling to give to the priest. “ ‘Be converted even now,’ says the Lord almighty, ‘that I may open to you the floodgates of heaven and pour out my blessing to you; and the fruits of your land shall not be spoiled, nor shall the vine in your field grow weak, and all nations shall call you blessed.’ ” God is always ready to do good, but the wickedness of humanity prevents it, because he wishes that everything can be given him from the Lord God but is unwilling to offer anything of what he seems to possess. Now suppose God should say, “Of course you are mine, man, for I made you. Mine is the earth that you cultivate, mine the seeds you sow. The animals that you work are mine; mine are the rain and showers, the blasts of the winds are mine, mine is the heat of the sun. Since all the elements of life are mine, you who only put your hands to them deserve merely tithes.” Now, although almighty God kindly feeds us and gives an ample reward to man for his little labor, he claims only tithes for himself and gives the whole to us.

Sermon 33:2

(Verse 13) Your words have become burdensome to me, says the Lord, and you have said: What have we spoken against you? LXX: You have wearied me with your words, says the Lord. And you said, 'In what way have we spoken against you?' In that, when you were saying: Whoever does evil is good in the sight of the Lord, and such people please Him; or certainly where is the God of judgment? Now, he repeats the same more fully: For the people who appeared to have knowledge of God and to observe the law, and to understand their sin, and to offer victims for their sins, to give tithes, to observe the Sabbath, and all the other things that are commanded by the Law of God, seeing that all the nations around them are abundant in all things, he was scandalized by his own poverty, hunger, and misery, and he said: What advantage is it to me that I worship the one true God, reject idols, and in sorrow I go before God with a guilty conscience? The 72nd Psalm, which we mentioned previously, continues more fully and extensively in the same place. Therefore, the prophet, who is a spiritual physician, heals all wounds and declares that blasphemous words against the Creator are cut off. And he speaks in the person of God, saying: 'Your words have prevailed against me, or they have become burdensome.' Indeed, according to Zachariah, wickedness sits upon a talent of lead (Zach. V): and what is said against God is crushed under the heavy weight of blasphemy. Those who do not understand the most serious words and their blasphemy ask, What have we spoken against you?

Commentary on Malachi

Those who are spiritually immature put much stock in temporal promises and serve God with an eye to such remunerations. Then, when the people of evil life prosper, they are very much upset. For their enlightenment, Malachi goes on to differentiate the eternal blessedness of the New Testament, which only the good shall win, from the purely earthly good fortune of the old that as often as not comes to the wicked. He says, “ ‘Your words have been insufferable to me,’ says the Lord. And you have said, ‘What have we spoken against you?’ You have said, ‘He labors in vain that serves God, and what profit is it that we have kept ordinances and that we have walked sorrowfully before the Lord of hosts?’ Therefore now we call the proud people happy, for they that work wickedness are built up, and they have tempted God and prospered. Then they that feared the Lord spoke everyone with his neighbor, and the Lord gave ear and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that fear the Lord and think of his name.” The book in question is, of course, again the New Testament. Now let us hear the rest. “ ‘And they shall be my special possession,’ says the Lord of hosts, ‘in the day that I do judgment; and I will spare the man as a man spares his son who serves him. And you shall return and shall see the difference between the just and the wicked, and between him that serves God and him that serves not. For behold, the day shall come kindled as a furnace, and all the proud and all that do wickedly shall be as stubble, and the day that comes shall set them on fire,’ says the Lord of hosts.” That day in question is, of course, the day of the last judgment, concerning which I will have a great deal more to say, God willing, when the proper time comes.

City of God 18.35

(Verse 14) You have said, 'It is vain to serve God, and what profit is it that we have kept his precepts, and that we have walked mournfully before the Lord of hosts?' LXX: And you said, 'It is vain to serve God; and what good is it that we have kept his ordinances, and that we have walked mournfully before the Lord of hosts?' To whom the Lord replied: You have said, It is in vain to serve God, and what profit is it that we have kept his precepts? In this present world they demand reward for serving God, therefore they do not receive it. And because we have walked sorrowful before the Lord, according to what is written in the Psalms: All the day long I walked in sadness (Psalm 37:7).

Commentary on Malachi

It was, in fact, of their purely material interpretation of the law and of their failure to perceive that its temporal promises were but symbols of eternal rewards that they broke into such rebellious resentfulness as to say, “He labors in vain that serves God, and what profit is it that we have kept his ordinances and that we have walked sorrowfully before the Lord of hosts? Wherefore now we call the proud people happy, for they that work wickedness are built up.” It was such complaints as these that compelled the prophet to anticipate, as it were, the last judgment in which the wicked will be so far from even a pretense of happiness that their misery will be apparent to all, whereas the good, untroubled by even transitory sorrow, will enjoy a manifest and unending beatitude. Malachi has already given similar illustration of the kind of murmurings that wearied the Lord: “every one that does evil is good in the sight of the Lord and such please him.” The only point I want to make is that such murmurings against God were the result of an unspiritual interpretation of the law.

City of God 20.28

(Verse 15) Therefore now we call the arrogant blessed, for they who practice wickedness are built up and they have tested God, and they have escaped. LXX: And now we call the arrogant blessed. Yes, they who work wickedness are built up; yes, they tempted God and escaped. Therefore, we call those arrogant individuals blessed, who boast against God and hurl impious blasphemies. Indeed, they have been successful and enjoy prosperity even after their crimes and blasphemies. They have tested God, whether they resist Him or not, and have been saved. They consider worldly health and happiness to be salvation, and therefore they are deceived by errors. We can understand this about the heretics Marcion and Valentinus, and others who do not accept the Old Testament and speak against the Creator of the world, that they make progress in their impiety and have many partners in crime. Those who are scandalized by them, but persevere in the Church, and are ignorant of the reasons for God's judgment, weave together the words of the prophets.

Commentary on Malachi

But by us, who are servants of God, who renounce both voluptuousness and ambition, each is to be repudiated. Fleshly concupiscence claims the functions of adult age, craves after beauty’s harvest, rejoices in its own shame, pleads the necessity of a husband to the female sex as a source of authority and comfort or to render it safe from evil rumors. To meet these counsels, do you apply the examples of sisters of ours whose names are with the Lord—who, when their husbands have preceded them [to glory], give to no opportunity of beauty or of age the precedence over holiness. They prefer to be wedded to God. To God their beauty, to God their youth [is dedicated].

To His Wife 1:4

(Verse 16) Then those who feared God spoke to one another. LXX: These are the ones who spoke, those who fear the Lord, each one to his neighbor. According to the Hebrews, it is to be understood in this way: those who blaspheme against God's judgment, those who fear God have spoken to one another, that the retribution of good or evil is not in the present and brief age, but in the future and eternal; and that man cannot know God's judgments and argue about his fairness and justice; and other things that a just person should speak with a just person. And he did not say what they had spoken; but from what he brought forth: Then they spoke, fearing God, each with their neighbor, we must understand that those who feared God spoke what is contained in the words of all the Scriptures. But according to the LXX it should be read as exceptional, and with a strong voice, so that we may say: These are the ones who spoke, fearing the Lord, each to their neighbor: that is, those who boast in vain and say, 'What is the benefit, because we have kept his commandments and walked sorrowfully before the Lord?' For if they feared the Lord, they would not say such things.

Commentary on Malachi

17–18

(Ver. 17, 18.) And the Lord waited, and heard, and a book of remembrance was written before Him for those who fear the Lord and meditate on His name. 'They shall be Mine,' says the Lord of hosts, 'on the day that I make them My special possession. And I will spare them as a man spares his own son who serves him. Then you shall again discern between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve Him.' LXX: And the Lord waited, and heard, and wrote a book of remembrance in His sight for those who fear the Lord and revere His name. And they shall be mine, says the Almighty Lord, on the day that I make, as a possession, and I will choose them as a man chooses his own son who serves him. And you shall return and see the difference between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve him. These are the words of the righteous and those who fear God, speaking to each other and not wanting to hear or speak blasphemy. The Lord listens and hears, and a book of remembrance is written before him for those who fear and think of his name, so that when the day of judgment comes, he may give punishment to the blasphemers and rewards to those who fear him. However, a book was written, about which we read in Daniel: Thrones were set up, and books were opened (Dan. VII, 10). And they will be a possession of the Lord of hosts, in the day when the time of judgment comes. In Hebrew, possession is called Sgolla (), which Aquila interpreted as περιούσιον, and the others as περιποίησιν. Therefore, those who fear the Lord, those who have spoken with their neighbor and have answered words of blasphemy, will be a possession on the day of judgment, and He will spare them, because every man is under sin. Whether you choose them, just as a man chooses his son to be his servant. In this there is a twofold affection, both of a father towards his son, and of servitude towards a servant. And then those of you who now blaspheme and say: What benefit is it, because we have kept his commandments, and have walked sadly before the Lord? From their choice and happiness, you will know their misery, and turned to repentance, you will see what difference there is between the just and the wicked, and between one who serves God and one who does not serve Him.

Commentary on Malachi