Daily Digest: Capstone Capsule

“But to you who fear My name The SUN of RIGHTEOUSNESS shall arise with healing in His wings…” – Malachi 4: 1a

To glorify the God of Impact is to exalt and extol THE SUN of RIGHTEOUSNESS: “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 (Mal. 4:1). Our meditation text prophesies a coming “Day of the Lord” involving judgment for the wicked, who become ashes, and salvation and healing for the righteous, as the “Sun of Righteousness” rises with healing in His wings, bringing joy and restoration. The Son of God is the Sun of Righteousness! Our Lord Jesus is the ultimate Source of spiritual Light, Healing, and Righteousness.

Malachi prophesied 450 years before the Messiah came, but full of expectation for His Coming: “The Lord who you seek will suddenly come to His temple; the Messenger of the covenant on whom you delight; behold He is coming…” (Mal.3:1). Malachi 4:2 describes the same, with the warning that those who proudly resist God will be consumed with fire on the Day of Judgment; but upon those who rever Him, “the sun of righteousness shall arise” (Mal.4:1). His restorative power contrasts with the fiery destruction awaiting evildoers. The Old Testament closed with the prophecy of the terrible Day of the Lord and the rising of the Sun of Righteousness, but it took four centuries of spiritual darkness with no word from God before He manifested!

When the father of John the Baptist prophesied in Luke 1:78-79, he alluded to Malachi’s prophecy and said that with the coming of Jesus the day was dawning: “Through the tender mercy of our God, with which the Dayspring from on high has visited us; to give light to those who sit in darkness…” Ever since, the Sun of Righteousness has been rising all over. At the Father’s appointed time, His rise will reach noonday brightness and He will appear in Glory, to define creation’s final course!  

The natural sun is but a shadow of the Sun of Righteousness, whose Glory we celebrate today. His coming is like the beauty of the sunrise over the ocean’s rim: it intensifies, brighter and brighter, until the flaming ball surges up out of the water, as though with wings. The effect of His exhilarating beauty is healing!  Sickness, pain, and sorrow are swallowed. The Rising Sun sets things right where they were wrong, and makes all things right in His time. His light dispels clouds of confusion, vision ousts depression, and a sense of purpose routs gross darkness: “Arise, shine for your Light is come…” (Isa.60:1).

The Sun of Righteousness is like the breaking out of a stall and leaping like calves. His coming signifies freedom from bondage. As I glorify the Sun of Righteousness, I will joyfully “go forth, and grow up” – forward in advancement and upward in upliftment!