The distinction that exists between the righteous and the wicked is as wide as one side of the cosmos is from the other. The temptation is always to view it the other way, to see these parties like two disgruntled boy scouts bickering over who gets to steer the canoe. But the reality could not be more different. God has a day of reckoning that is coming, a day that will reveal the difference between the righteous and the wicked like vapour from solid earth.
And they will be Mine,” says Yahweh of hosts, “on the day that I prepare My own treasured possession, and I will spare them as a man spares his own son who serves him. (Malachi 3:17)
This text confronts us with two themes of great significance and weight: the beloved character of the redeemed on the one hand and the immovable reality of God’s wrath on the other.
With respect to the first, the prophet makes a remarkable statement concerning those who fear Yahweh, namely, that “they will be Mine” (v. 17). That is, those who fear God have the assurance that, no matter their present circumstances, they belong to Him; they are owned by Him, possessed by Him — and not as so many loose, forgotten items in a closet, but as His “treasured possession.” Thus the redeemed of God occupy a unique and elevated position in the universe. They, among all God’s creatures, can say with humble amazement — and for no work or merit of their own — that they are loved by the Almighty. As a husband loves and treasures his wife, or a king the crown that adorns his brow, so God regards His covenant people with a unique and special affection. They are His delight, His treasured possession.
But this is not all the text says. If the fear of Yahweh leads to life and peace, rebellion against Him secures disaster.