By guest contributor Chris Sabine
But for you who fear (revere) My name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings; and you will go forth and frolic like calves from the stall. Malachi 4:2
This is a simple verse. Quite prophetic, and of course we know this is referring to the Messiah who had not come yet. Malachi, while a very small book at only four chapters, and the last written before His arrival, is packed with what I like to refer to as “nuggets”. This verse is a great example of just that—when you look at the original language of Hebrew. It would also be helpful to understand that this book was written over 400 years before the birth of Messiah Yahoshua. The big nugget in this verse is that it is more prophetic than you may realize. Someone in the next three books of scripture probably knew exactly what this verse meant and believed on it.
For this, I want to focus on the word “wings.” Wings are awesome. They can make you fly, provide shelter, can be used for warmth, and eaten in a variety of ways. We use the word “wings” in all sorts of phrases such as, “Took me under his wing,” “spread wings and fly,” etc.
The way “wings” is used in translations worldwide just makes this verse more like a metaphor.
What if I were to tell you that “wings” does not mean what you think?
Let’s take a look at Matt 9:20-22
And, behold, a woman, which was diseased with an issue of blood twelve years, came behind Him, and touched the hem of His garment: For she said within herself, If I may but touch His garment, I shall be whole. But Yahoshua turned Him about, and when He saw her, He said, “Daughter, be of good comfort; thy faith hath made thee whole. And the woman was made whole from that hour.”
Let’s go to Mark 5:25-29
A woman who had had a hemorrhage for twelve years, and had endured much at the hands of many physicians, and had spent all that she had and was not helped at all, but instead had become worse—after hearing about Yahoshua, she came up in the crowd behind Him and touched His cloak. For she had been saying to herself, “If I just touch His garments, I will get well.” And immediately the flow of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease.
Lastly, look at Luke 8:43-44
And a woman having an issue of blood twelve years, which had spent all her living upon physicians, neither could be healed of any, came behind Him, and touched the border of His garment: and immediately her issue of blood stanched.
We all know this story very well, but do we know it as well as we think we do? Why did I bring this story up from the “New Testament” when I was speaking on something that was written in the “Old Testament” some 400 years prior? What does this have to do with wings?
The answer to the questions would be in the meaning of the original word for “wings” which would be the Hebrew word “kanaf”. This one word changes this verse from being a mere metaphor into a much deeper verse with a fulfilled prophecy through the healing of the blood condition of this woman.
The word “kanaf” also means edge, corner, or HEM OF A GARMENT. Now let’s take a look at Malachi again.
But for you who fear (revere) My name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings (edge/corner/hem of a garment).
The woman believed, acted on that belief, and was healed.
Prophecy FULFILLED!
For more information: Circumcision and Spiritual Reproduction