verse 6 explained
Dear folks,
I recommend reading over these comments by John Piper on verse 6 of malachi 4. These words are direct from his website, cited with permission.
Lee
3. Considering the Effects of God’s Merciful Word
Now in verse 6 we see one of the effects of that mercy—and an unexpected one at that.
When Elijah preaches, and cries out for people to get ready to meet on the great and terrible day of the Lord, what happens? Verse 6: “And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the land with a curse.”
The Relationships Between Fathers and Children
His aim is to spare people from being cursed. That’s the mercy we saw in verse 5. But to spare people from being cursed, people must be changed. Specifically, it it says their hearts must be changed. And even more specifically it says that the disposition of the heart toward fathers and children must be changed.
Some take this verse to refer to the fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, so that the meaning is simply this—that the people will return to the faith of the fathers. But the problem with this is that it says that Elijah will also turn the fathers’ hearts toward the children. It would be unlikely that God would speak of Elijah changing the hearts of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. So I take it in its simpler sense: ordinary living fathers and ordinary living children will have their hearts changed toward each other.
I want to close this year by pleading with you to turn your heart toward your father or your children, or that relative or friend that you . . . that you what?
Fathers Needing Turned Hearts
What does it mean for a father to turn his heart toward his child? Well, what is the opposite of having a heart turned toward a child? The opposite is to have the heart turned away. Three examples:
• Fathers, you can have your heart turned away from your children simply by ignoring them. By being so swallowed up in your work that all they get are the dregs of your life.
• You can have your heart turned away from your children by being abusive. It may be that without even hearing yourself your communication with them is a litany of disapproval and put-downs. Why? Because your heart is not toward them. You don’t feel what they feel. Your heart is frozen in a posture of habitual unkindness. Or worse in our day is the increase (or increasingly revealed) sexual abuse of children. And where, then, is the father’s heart? It is curled around like a snake in love with its own tail and consuming itself on its own filthy passions.
• Or you can have your heart turned away from your children through an embittered spirit of disappointment: that you are forgotten by them, or that they have let you down in the way they live, or that they have taken you for granted and never said thanks for all you did. Where is the heart then? In the poisoned puddle of self-pity that threatens to grow into an ocean of resentment.
Children Needing Turned Hearts
What about the other way around? What about children with hearts that need to be turned toward their fathers and mothers? What kinds of hearts would this apply to today?
It would apply to rebellious and disobedient children. It could be a five year old or a fifteen year old. Where is the heart? It sits in front of the mirror of the soul trying to convince itself that the witch-face of cockiness and independence is really the fairest face in the land.
And it would apply to children of any age that neglect their parents and grandparents. I have one grandmother left. Both her children are dead, including my mother. All she has is four grandchildren of which I am one. She is over ninety, lives in a nursing home outside Philadelphia, and doesn’t usually recognize visitors let alone cards from me. It is one of the most frustrating things in my life to live at this distance with no way to let her know my care. And the implication of the text is woe to children who agonize with this issue.
Finally, the text would apply to the embittered victims of abuse.
God’s Word to Parents and Children
Notice, it does not say that any father or child can turn the heart of the other. That is not your responsibility. But your own heart is. So the word of God to fathers (and mothers!) today is this:
• Turn your hearts to your children:
• don’t give them the dregs of your life.
• Turn your hearts to your children:
• don’t be unkind,
• don’t constantly criticize,
• don’t even think the wicked thoughts that lead to sexual abuse.
• Turn your hearts toward your children:
• let the bitterness go, at least from your side forgive, and roll the burden onto God.
And the word to children is this:
• Turn your hearts toward your father (and mother!):
• don’t rebel; obey!
• Turn your hearts toward your fathers and mothers and grandparents:
• don’t forget them or neglect them; care for them.
• Turn your hearts toward your father:
• the road to restoration may be as long as life. It may involve extensive counseling with a wise Christian therapist. But in your heart the decisive step can be taken, must be taken: the feeling of having been victimized must cease to justify animosity.
Why?
It’s the answer for why our hearts should turn in every one of these cases: Jesus was the ultimate victim. We were the ultimate abusers—our sin nailed him to the cross. And Jesus has turned his heart toward you this morning. That is the meaning of this message. Whether you look back and remember the law of God, or look forward and see the victory of God, the point comes through: God has turned his heart toward you in Jesus Christ. Don’t push it away. It is a sweet and wonderful thing to hold no grudges.
© Desiring God