Words'nTone

In closing—but far from finished on the subject—I’d like to turn to Malachi 3:5:

“Then I will draw near to you for judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers and against the adulterers and against those who swear falsely, and against those who oppress the wage earner in his wages, the widow and the orphan, and those who turn aside the alien and do not fear Me,” says the LORD of hosts (Malachi 3:5).

Here we have another consequence or fulfilment of judgment for ignoring the covenant land-stipulations regarding idolatry and the poor. The context firmly suggests that Malachi reflects the Exodus 22-23 context, recalling God’s social ordinances and indicating a threat to those not obeying them. The Malachi 3 and its immediate context refers back to the Exodus land-laws (and, as well, looks forward to the new exodus as indicated by New Testament usage in the Gospels and elsewhere).

“Behold, I am going to send My messenger, and he will clear the way before Me and the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple; and the messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight, behold, He is coming,” says the LORD of hosts (Mal 3:1).

The verbal similarities between Malachi 3:1 and Exodus 23:20 are apparent, marking a typos or fulfillment of judgment for breaking the requisite land-laws related to the economically vulnerable. Again look at Mal 3:5:

“Then I will draw near to you for judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers and against the adulterers and against those who swear falsely, and against those who oppress the wage earner in his wages, the widow and the orphan, and those who turn aside the alien and do not fear Me,” says the LORD of hosts.

Even the connection to idolatry is indicated by the judgment on “the sorcerers.” (The accusation against “the adulterers” might very well refer to pagan worship practises rather than simply to sexual promiscuity among Israelites.) The reference to “those who swear falsely” definitely makes the link back to the Exodus land-stipulations even stronger:

“You shall not bear a false report; do not join your hand with a wicked man to be a malicious witness…nor shall you testify in a dispute so as to turn aside after a multitude in order to pervert justice; nor shall you be partial to a poor man in his dispute…You shall not pervert the justice due to your needy brother in his dispute. Keep far from a false charge…You shall not take a bribe, for a bribe blinds the clear-sighted and subverts the cause of the just” (Ex 23:1-3; 6-8).

A composite of idolatry and the disregard for the marginalized form the basis of the judgment in Malachi 3. There is a connection between idolatry and poverty, as the Isaiah 1-6 and the Malachi 3 texts indicated (cf. Jeremiah 4-8). Somehow the activities and consequences of idolatry put the vulnerable at risk. A sure way to poverty is to practice any form of idolatry that has a consequence in providing a socio-economic environment that provokes the vulnerable to cry out to God, which has the ultimate result of expanding the causes and results of poverty (as promised by God).

As the Exodus 22-23 context underscores, there is a connection, a relationship, perhaps even suggesting a cause-effect relationship between idolatry and poverty. The Isaiah 1-6 and Malachi 3 context revealed that judgment does indeed come upon those who disregard that relationship and are not mindful of the economically poor. The impact of beliefs and social mores and structures has a bearing on the issues and causes of poverty.

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