Healing In His Wings – Malachi 4:1-6

 

Introduction:  Malachi is the last prophectic call of God before the more than four
hundred years of silence.  Malachi prophesied approximately one hundred years after
Zechariah and Haggai.  His message consisted of denouncing the sins of the priests
and people and ends with the hope of a coming Messiah.  The people resisted his message.
However there is a great prophecy concerning the coming of Christ. 
When the Sun of Righteousness arises he will have healing in his wings.  What does this mean?

 

I.  The Meaning Of Healing  --  “arise with healing”

   A.  The Definition  --  The Hebrew word for healing is “marpe' (mar-

        pay');” curative, i.e. literally (concretely) a medicine, or (abstractly) a

        cure; figuratively (concretely) deliverance, or (abstractly) placidity:

       1.  The immediate question is “Why do we need to be healed?”

       2.  Nahum 3:19  --  “There is no healing of thy bruise; thy wound is

             grievous: all that hear the bruit of thee shall clap the hands over

           thee: for upon whom hath not thy wickedness passed continually”

             a.  The word bruise is “sheber (sheh'-ber)”or sheber (shay'-ber);

             a fracture, figuratively, ruin; specifically, a solution (of a dream):

             Other words in KJV -- affliction, breach, breaking, broken, bruise,

             crashing, destruction, hurt, interpretation, vexation.

           b.  It is that wound inflicted upon humanity by sin. 

           c.  The first use of the word is found in Genesis 3:15.  Satan was

             prophesied to bruise the heel of the Son of God and Christ would

             bruise his head!  The word here means Satan would “gape” upon

             Christ and thereby inflicting a bruise. This happened at the cross.

       3.  Jer 30:12  --  “For thus saith the LORD, Thy bruise is incurable,

           and thy wound is grievous.”  We need to realize our need of the

           Healing power of Christ.  Our bruise is incurable.  This means it

           causes us to be frail, feeble, or (figuratively) melancholy:  We are

           desperately sick.  The word grievous relates the thought of pain.

    B.  The Deliverance  --  “The Sun Of Righteousness”

         1.  The SUN is Really the SON.  However there is a reason why

             Malachi called him the Sun of Righteousness.

         2.  Similarities between the Natural and Supernatural Sun.

             a.  Shines freely on all without distinction, great and small.  The 

                 Sun gives light to the Ant and Well as the Elephant.  It warms

                 the Mole Hill as Well as Snow Covered Mount Everest!  It

                 shines on the paupers cottage and the King’s palace.

             2.  The Sun, when its rays are admitted, discovers dust and motes

                 where none could be seen before.  Enter a dark room with the

                 shades covering the window.  You can’t see the dirt.  As soon as

                 the shade is lifted the dust and dirt is seen.   Even floating in

                 the air we see things once hidden.  Light discovers deformity.

             3.  The Sun invests with beauty that which has no glory in itself.

                 a.  The Clouds look dull until they reflect the sun’s light.

                 b.  Ill  --  Deer Hunting in Dark  --  Not knowing I was setting

                     next to beautiful flowers. Also the color of the arrows feather.

                 c.  All the colors in the world are mere reflections of Light.

                    An object is seen as red, blue, or green based upon the

                    different light waves it either reflects, refracts, or absorbs.

             4.  The Sun is the life and energy of all living organisms.

            

II.  The Meaning Of Wings  --  “healing in his wings”

The word for wings is “kanaph (kaw-nawf')” and means an an edge or extremity;
specifically (of a bird or army) a wing. 

    A.  The Wings Of The Eagle  --  The Sovereign

         1.  The Preeminence Of God  --  The eagle is considered the

           grandest bird of all species.  His majesty and power are unequalled.

            A Natural Fact  --  The eagle is the only bird which can look the

            “Sun in the Eye”  This speaks of God’s holiness.

         2.  The Providence of God  --  Deut 32:11  --  “       As an eagle stirreth

           up her nest, fluttereth over her young, spreadeth abroad her

           wings, taketh them, beareth them on her wings: So the Lord alone

           did lead them”  God providentially guided the nation of Israel.

           Exod 19:4  --  “Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and

           how I bare you on eagles' wings, and brought you unto myself.”

         3.  The Provisions of God  --  The eagle is able to carry weight equal

           to its own body weight.  God can carry any problem!

    B.  The Wings Of The Hen  --  The Saviour

         1.   Matt 23:37  --  “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the

             prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often

             would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen

             gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!”

         2.  This speaks of the shelter provided by Christ for humanity.

         3.  Familiar Illustration  --  A farmer was awakened in the night by

            an explosion from the barn.  He watched as the barn burned with a

            raging fire.  After the fire had ceased he began to sift through the

            ashes.  There he saw the charred back of a game hen.  The farmer

            kicked over the burned hen and out from under her came five little

            chicks.  They were saved because she protected them from the fire.

         4.  Christ was the only man capable of being burned by the fire of

             God’s judgment, and then be raised by the power of the Spirit.

             He is the only man who could have been raised by the power of

             his own righteousness.

    C.  The Wings Of The Turtledove  --  The Spirit

         1.  Matt 3:16  --  “And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up

              straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened

             unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove,

             and lighting upon him:”

         2.  In these verses the Spirit of  God is likened to a dove.  The dove

             here is no doubt the turtledove of the Holy Land.

         3.  There are three significant facts of the turtle dove.

             a.  She Builds Her Nest  --  Ever since the day of Pentecost the

                 Holy Ghost has been travelling near and far building little nest

                 to raise children.  The Nest is typical of the local church.

             b.  She Broods Over Her Eggs  --  The purpose of the nest is to

                 have a place where eggs can incubated.  The eggs are typical of

                 sinners who fall under conviction inside the nest of the local

                 church. Not all eggs hatch.  Not all who hear the Word respond.

             c.  She Bids Farewell  --  The turtledove builds her nest and

                 broods over her young in preparation for migration.  She is

                 preparing to fly to a better land.

 

III.  The Prophetical Meaning Of The Wings

As we learned earlier the word wing is “kanaph” which is “an edge or extremity; specifically
(of a bird or army) a wing”  It also has a secondary meaning which is an edge of (of a garment

or bed-clothing) a flap and is translated in the KJV Old Testament as “skirt”. 

    A.  The Defintion

         1.  In the Old Testament the skirt was actually the “border” of the

             garment.  This is seen in 1 Sam 24:11  --  “Moreover, my father,

             see, yea, see the skirt of thy robe in my hand: for in that I cut off

             the skirt of thy robe, and killed thee not, know thou and see that

             there is neither evil nor transgression in mine hand, and I have

             not sinned against thee; yet thou huntest my soul to take it.”

         2.  In the New Testament we see a word with a similar definition to

             kanaph.  It is “kraspedon (kras'-ped-on)” and means “a margin,

             i.e. (specifically) a fringe or tassel”

             There are two NT scriptures where this word is found.

             1.  Matt 9:20  --  “And, behold, a woman, which was diseased

                with an issue of blood twelve years, came behind him, and

                touched the hem of his garment:”

             2. Matt 14:36  --  “And besought him that they might only touch

                 the hem of his garment: and as many as touched were made

                 perfectly whole.”

         3.  It could be that this lady with an issue of blood and the others

             understood Malachi’s message as a prophecy concerning the

             healing power of Christ.

         4.  As the SUN is really the SON, the HEM is really the HIM!

    B.  The Details Of The Hem

         1.  It was made of the same material as the top.

         2.  It was made to catch all the dirt.

         3.  It was lifted up.

         4.  It was pierced through.

         5.  It kept the entire garment from unravelling.

         6.  It is the touching place for the sinner and saint. In Luke 8:45-46,

             when the lady touch Jesus he stated “Who touched me?”   After

             being questioned by the disciples he stated, “Somebody hath

             touched me: for I perceive that virtue is gone out of me.”

             The word virtue is “dunamis (doo'-nam-is)” and means “force”.  It

             is from this word we derive “dynamite”.

         7.  The Hem is the touching place.  Example  --  Isaiah 6  --  Isaiah

             sees the Lord, but he is high and lifted up.  Isaiah couldn’t reach

             the God way up there.

             But praise God, His Train (HEM) filled the temple.  Filled means

             it totally filled.  Point:  There is not a place in this building tonight

             where you cannot touch God.

         8.  The Lord has provided a touching point. Heb 4:14-16  --  “Seeing  

             then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the

             heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. 

             For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the

             feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as

             we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the

             throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to

             help in time of need.”