THE EFFECTS OF GOD’S MERCY FOR THE FATHERLESS

He Will Turns the Hearts of the Fathers to the Children

In verse 6, we see one of the unexpected consequences of that mercy. What happens when Elijah preaches and calls for people to prepare for the Lord’s great and terrible day? Malachi 4, Verse 6: “And he will turn fathers’ hearts to their children, and children’s hearts to their fathers, lest I come and curse the land.”

The Relationships Between Fathers and Children

His goal is to protect people from falling victim to the curse. This is the mercy that was described in verse 5. However, to save people from being cursed, people need to transform. Specifically, it states that they need to have a change of heart. Even more specifically, it says that a person’s attitude toward fathers and children needs to be altered in order to fulfill the requirements of the law.

Some people believe that this verse is talking about Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and that the meaning is simply that the people will return to the faith of the fathers. However, this interpretation is not shared by all. However, the issue with this is that it states that Elijah will also turn the hearts of the fathers toward the children. This is problematic.

It is highly improbable that God would speak of Elijah as having the ability to change the hearts of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Therefore, please take it in its most straightforward sense: God will alter the attitudes of ordinary living fathers and ordinary living children toward one another.