Newsletter December 2022 Part 1
The Sun of Righteousness
“For behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven, and all the proud, yes, all who do wickedly will be stubble. And the day which is coming shall burn them up,” says the Lord of hosts, “That will leave them neither root nor branch. But to you who fear My name the Sun of Righteousness shall arise with healing in His wings; and you shall go out and grow fat like stall-fed calves. You shall trample the wicked, for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day that I do this,” says the Lord of hosts. (Malachi 4:1-3)
The book of Malachi concludes the Old Testament by pointing to the New Testament – the coming of the Saviour of Israel and the world. Like many other prophetic passages these verses speak of the Lord’s Day, - judgment of the wicked and vindication of those who have remained faithful to Him by depending on His grace. However, there is something unusual about this prophecy: it is the only passage that refers to the promised Messiah as the Sun of Righteousness.
Throughout the Bible there are many references to the sun. In pagan religions the sun is revered as a god, as everything seems to depend on it. The rising of the sun is the beginning of the day and, in our colder climates, it signals the end of winter and the beginning of a new life cycle. The biblical account of creation, however, begins with God’s first utterance ‘Let there be light’, which separates light from darkness resulting in the first day. It is not until the fourth day, after preparing the land through the separation of the waters in preparation for humanity, that God begins to populate His world.
In Genesis 1:14, God says, “Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and seasons, and for days and years; and let them be for lights in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth”; and it was so. Interestingly, the sun is not named by the word shemesh (שֶׁ֣מֶשׁ) as later in scripture (including Malachi 4:2) but simply called the greater light to rule the day, the moon being the lesser light to rule the night.
The word shemesh is used in passages where God admonishes His people not to bow down it (Deut. 4:19) and where God demonstrates His power over it as its Creator, proving that it has no divine power. During the plagues against Egypt, for instance, where worship of the sun was at the centre of religious belief and practice, the whole land was covered in darkness for three days (Exodus 10:21-22), and when the Israelites under Joshua’s leadership defeated the Amorites (Joshua 10:13) the sun stood still in the sky for a whole day.
We today rely far less on sunlight than the people of Bible times, as we are able to produce light artificially. However, with the climate and energy crisis we are currently experiencing, the sun has once again gained in significance. As science is looking for answers, the focus is increasingly on solar energy as the solution. There are even plans to beam solar energy wirelessly from space to earth. It is therefore not surprising that images of the sun are appearing in all kinds of contexts. Is humanity again looking to creation rather than the Creator? Are we repeating original sin with our own endeavours by building towers to heaven rather than turning to the Lord of Heaven with repentant hearts? Are we seeking to create our own perfect world of peace without the Prince of Peace?
Malachi concludes (4:4-6) “Remember the Law of Moses, My servant, which I commanded him in Horeb for all Israel, with the statutes and judgments. Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. And he will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the earth with a curse.” This prophetic word was fulfilled when John the Baptist came in the spirit of Elijah to announce the coming of Jesus, and when Jesus returns in His glory the sun will again be darkened (Mark 13:24) so He alone will be the light. (Revelation 21:23)