Discovering Malachi
Background Information
This book was written by a man named Malachi. We know nothing significant about this man other than that he wrote this book. “By Malachi,” in 1:1, means literally “by the hand of Malachi, emphasizing that he wrote this book by hand himself. Malachi means “messenger,” portraying him as a messenger of God. This name is also ironic because he prophecies of two significant messengers of God later in the book as a key part of his message (3:1; 4:5).
Though Ezra and Nehemiah were written later, Malachi is the final OT book of prophecy, appearing as the last minor prophet in the minor prophet scroll and dating after all the major prophets, too. As such, it offers an up-close glimpse at the spiritual condition of Israel, from God’s perspective, heading into the intertestamental period.
Purpose for the Book
Malachi seems to have written this book sometime after the construction of the second Temple had been completed in 515 B.C., thanks to the leadership of Zerubbabel as recorded in the first half of Ezra. Malachi also seems to have been written before Ezra arrived (457 B.C.) to instruct and reorient the people more thoroughly in the Mosaic Law and Temple worship protocol and before Nehemiah arrived (444 B.C.) to rebuild the wall. Scholars point out that Malachi uses the word governor (1:8), which was a Persian word not used of governors in the Palestine region until this post-exilic time and also not used after the Persian empire dissolved. Perhaps a date of 470-450 B.C. is likely.
With this background in mind, we can say that Malachi wrote this message to Israel because though the Temple had been rebuilt and worship in the Temple had resumed, the people were already displaying signs of the disobedience, ignorance, and unfaithfulness which their forefathers before the seventy-year captivity had notoriously exhibited – despite the previous teachings of Haggai, Zechariah, etc. Whatever worship behavior they did was, in God’s view, already empty and meaningless. This book provides a clear warning against empty religion, calling Israel to fear God and prepare for a coming, future messenger who would introduce the Messiah (3:1; 4:5).
Sadly, though God had proved his love and loyalty to Israel time and time again for more than a millennium, and though he had returned Israel to her land against all odds and enabled them to resume life and worship there in freedom, they still struggled to accept that God loved them (Mal 1:2). As they focused on their difficulties and struggles, they assumed that these things indicated a lack of love from God rather that focusing on their own sinful, unloving behavior towards God, instead.
Outline and Content
The flow and structure of this book centers on a series of six disputations between Israel and God. Though this is not a unique method to Malachi alone, Malachi is the only OT author to employ this method of writing and discourse so frequently and pervasively throughout his message, making this a distinctive feature of this book from a literary standpoint.
Each of these disputes are presented as God first bringing an accusation against Israel, followed by Israel questioning the legitimacy of his accusation (signified by “but you say,” or something similar). In each case, God then vindicates the truthfulness of his accusation against theirs. Within this paradigm, some have noticed a focus upon the unfaithfulness of the priests in the first half of the book (first two disputations), then a focus on the unfaithfulness of the people in the second half (following four disputations).
The accusation < question < vindication pattern occurs six times and forms the structure of this book, as follows:
It’s fascinating to note that the questions Israel asked seem to be sincere, which indicates that they were – to some extent – ignorant of God’s commands and expectations. Perhaps this was due to a gap in learning the Old Testament during the seventy-year captivity, a gap which was better resolved by Ezra’s soon-coming teaching and re-education ministry (Neh 8:3-6). Whatever the case, God held them responsible for what he had clearly revealed, whether they knew all that he had said or not.
Also, it is important to point out that though God help spiritual leaders (the priesthood, for instance) responsible for their errant spiritual influence and guidance, he did not excuse the errant spiritual behavior and lifestyles of the people whom they led. The priesthood and populus alike were each responsible for their own sins and could not blame the other for their ignorance or poor behavior.
The “messenger” that Malachi predicts would be someone who would “prepare the way before me [Yahweh]” (3:1a) and would be someone in character and style to the former prophet Elijah (4:5). Mark 1:2-4 and Matt 11:13-14 identify this messenger as John the Baptist. More importantly, Malach mentions yet another messenger, whom he calls “the messenger of the covenant (3:1b). This would be none other than Christ himself, who would “suddenly come to his temple,” as Christ himself did on multiple occasions, even overthrowing the money changers’ tables. This Christ would not only be a special messenger from God to enforce and fulfill God’s OT covenant with Israel, but he would be God himself (“me” and “the lord whom you seek,” 3:1).
In short, this book provides a final glimpse at the people whom God had chosen – the nation of Israel. Despite having more than a century of perspective looking backwards at God’s incredible intervention in their nation’s affairs, they provide to be just as wayward as their forefathers, needing God’s intervention more than ever. This is why Malachi points so clearly to the need for the coming Messiah from God who would be the only real solution to their persistently wayward, unbelieving hearts.
The conclusion of Malachi’s message and also the entire Old Testament, then, is two-fold: (1) look back (remember) the Law of Moses and (2) look forward to (anticipate) God’s coming messenger beyond Moses. When God says “remember,” it is important to understand that he envisions not only the cognitive (intellectual) aspect of memory but also the behavioral aspect as well. So, “to remember” meant not only to recall what Moses had taught the people from God but to do it.
What does it mean that this coming Elijah (John the Baptist) would “turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers?” Richard A. Taylor and E. Ray Clendenen give this helpful explanation:
The point is that fathers and sons would no longer live self-serving lives, but fathers will take their sons to heart and sons will take to heart their fathers, considering the effects of their actions on one another in the course of their lives. Ezekiel had vividly portrayed a nation under the horrors of divine condemnation when he prophesied a sight of cannibalism during the siege of Jerusalem in the words, “Fathers will eat their children, and children will eat their fathers (Ezek 5:10; cf. Lev 26:29; Deut 28:53; 2 Kgs 6:28–29). Malachi’s portrayal, on the other hand, was of a nation that had returned to the Lord and so had rediscovered the way of peace. Malachi’s Israel was full of men committing acts of treachery and injustice against one another (2:10; 3:5), but Elijah’s Israel would be full of righteousness and peace; and his day would be one of revelation, repentance, and reconciliation.
It is fascinating to observe, though, that this “Elijah” figure, though resembling Elijah in character and ministry (as John the Baptist did), may not only be fulfilled in John the Baptist, but this 4:5 reference may actually point ahead to either Elijah himself or another person like him who will appear yet in the future before the Tribulation.
Whatever the case, the real need is not for Elijah (or someone like him), but for the Messiah – the Lord himself, Jesus Christ – to establish his kingdom and to turn the hearts of his people to one another and to him.
Personal Takeaways
Fear God. Malachi refers to the “name” of God 10 times (1:6, 11, 14; 2:2, 5; 3:16; 4:2), noting that he blesses and honors those who honor him (3:16-18; 4:2) and he humbles those who despise and disrespect him (2:9). This emphasis suggests that the underlying cause of dead worship is a failure to acknowledge and respect God properly as God. The problem is not so much a problem of form and style as it is of true relationship and respect of God.
Prepare to meet Christ at his coming. The future Day of the Lord, about which other prophets have said so much, will be God’s final solution to empty, dead religion. So many Jewish people, led by the Pharisees and Sadducees, exhibited the same dead religion that their forefathers began to exhibit four-hundred years prior, in Malachi’s day. These were not prepared to meet Christ at his first coming. Will we (and they) be prepared to meet him at his second coming – when he comes to judge the world and purge his people once and for all?
This book was written by a man named Malachi. We know nothing significant about this man other than that he wrote this book. “By Malachi,” in 1:1, means literally “by the hand of Malachi, emphasizing that he wrote this book by hand himself. Malachi means “messenger,” portraying him as a messenger of God. This name is also ironic because he prophecies of two significant messengers of God later in the book as a key part of his message (3:1; 4:5).
Though Ezra and Nehemiah were written later, Malachi is the final OT book of prophecy, appearing as the last minor prophet in the minor prophet scroll and dating after all the major prophets, too. As such, it offers an up-close glimpse at the spiritual condition of Israel, from God’s perspective, heading into the intertestamental period.
Purpose for the Book
Malachi seems to have written this book sometime after the construction of the second Temple had been completed in 515 B.C., thanks to the leadership of Zerubbabel as recorded in the first half of Ezra. Malachi also seems to have been written before Ezra arrived (457 B.C.) to instruct and reorient the people more thoroughly in the Mosaic Law and Temple worship protocol and before Nehemiah arrived (444 B.C.) to rebuild the wall. Scholars point out that Malachi uses the word governor (1:8), which was a Persian word not used of governors in the Palestine region until this post-exilic time and also not used after the Persian empire dissolved. Perhaps a date of 470-450 B.C. is likely.
With this background in mind, we can say that Malachi wrote this message to Israel because though the Temple had been rebuilt and worship in the Temple had resumed, the people were already displaying signs of the disobedience, ignorance, and unfaithfulness which their forefathers before the seventy-year captivity had notoriously exhibited – despite the previous teachings of Haggai, Zechariah, etc. Whatever worship behavior they did was, in God’s view, already empty and meaningless. This book provides a clear warning against empty religion, calling Israel to fear God and prepare for a coming, future messenger who would introduce the Messiah (3:1; 4:5).
Sadly, though God had proved his love and loyalty to Israel time and time again for more than a millennium, and though he had returned Israel to her land against all odds and enabled them to resume life and worship there in freedom, they still struggled to accept that God loved them (Mal 1:2). As they focused on their difficulties and struggles, they assumed that these things indicated a lack of love from God rather that focusing on their own sinful, unloving behavior towards God, instead.
Outline and Content
The flow and structure of this book centers on a series of six disputations between Israel and God. Though this is not a unique method to Malachi alone, Malachi is the only OT author to employ this method of writing and discourse so frequently and pervasively throughout his message, making this a distinctive feature of this book from a literary standpoint.
Each of these disputes are presented as God first bringing an accusation against Israel, followed by Israel questioning the legitimacy of his accusation (signified by “but you say,” or something similar). In each case, God then vindicates the truthfulness of his accusation against theirs. Within this paradigm, some have noticed a focus upon the unfaithfulness of the priests in the first half of the book (first two disputations), then a focus on the unfaithfulness of the people in the second half (following four disputations).
The accusation < question < vindication pattern occurs six times and forms the structure of this book, as follows:
- Introduction (1:1)
- Being blind to God’s Love (1:2-5)
- Seeing God’s love through his treatment of Esau (1:3-4)
- Seeing God’s love by contrasting Esau’s destiny with Israel’s (1:5)
- Refusing to serve God as King (1:6-2:9)
- Exposing the priest’s failure to give proper honor to God’s name (1:6-14)
- Indicting the priests for their unfaithfulness to the covenant of Levi (2:1-9)
- Penalty for failing to hear this commandment of the Lord (2:1-4)
- The covenant with Levi that they had broken (2:5-9)
- Being unfaithfulness in marriage (2:10-16)
- Indicting Israel’s unfaithfulness in marriage (2:10-11)
- Assessing the consequences as the rejection of their sacrifices (2:12-13)
- Observing Israel’s protest and God’s reply: divorce, which God hates, is a breach of covenant (2:14-16)
- Criticizing God’s justice (2:17-3:6)
- Israel says, “God’s justice is inconsistent” (2:17)
- God says, “Wait for God’s justice, which will be revealed at the coming of his Messenger (3:1-5)
- God affirms that Israel’s preservation is due only to his unchanging character (3:6)
- Disobeying the Lord in giving (3:7-12)
- The root problem is a failure to return to the Lord and obey his commands (3:7)
- The practice of tithing serves as one example of their disobedience (3:8-12)
- Unbelief in valuing service to God (3:13-4:3)
- Israel says, “Serving God is not worthwhile” (3:13-15)
- God says, “He remembers those who fear him” (3:16-18)
- A day is announced when God will distinguish those who fear him from evildoers (4:1-3)
- Conclusion (4:4-6)
- Remember the Law of Moses (4:4)
- Look for the messenger (4:5-6)
It’s fascinating to note that the questions Israel asked seem to be sincere, which indicates that they were – to some extent – ignorant of God’s commands and expectations. Perhaps this was due to a gap in learning the Old Testament during the seventy-year captivity, a gap which was better resolved by Ezra’s soon-coming teaching and re-education ministry (Neh 8:3-6). Whatever the case, God held them responsible for what he had clearly revealed, whether they knew all that he had said or not.
Also, it is important to point out that though God help spiritual leaders (the priesthood, for instance) responsible for their errant spiritual influence and guidance, he did not excuse the errant spiritual behavior and lifestyles of the people whom they led. The priesthood and populus alike were each responsible for their own sins and could not blame the other for their ignorance or poor behavior.
The “messenger” that Malachi predicts would be someone who would “prepare the way before me [Yahweh]” (3:1a) and would be someone in character and style to the former prophet Elijah (4:5). Mark 1:2-4 and Matt 11:13-14 identify this messenger as John the Baptist. More importantly, Malach mentions yet another messenger, whom he calls “the messenger of the covenant (3:1b). This would be none other than Christ himself, who would “suddenly come to his temple,” as Christ himself did on multiple occasions, even overthrowing the money changers’ tables. This Christ would not only be a special messenger from God to enforce and fulfill God’s OT covenant with Israel, but he would be God himself (“me” and “the lord whom you seek,” 3:1).
In short, this book provides a final glimpse at the people whom God had chosen – the nation of Israel. Despite having more than a century of perspective looking backwards at God’s incredible intervention in their nation’s affairs, they provide to be just as wayward as their forefathers, needing God’s intervention more than ever. This is why Malachi points so clearly to the need for the coming Messiah from God who would be the only real solution to their persistently wayward, unbelieving hearts.
The conclusion of Malachi’s message and also the entire Old Testament, then, is two-fold: (1) look back (remember) the Law of Moses and (2) look forward to (anticipate) God’s coming messenger beyond Moses. When God says “remember,” it is important to understand that he envisions not only the cognitive (intellectual) aspect of memory but also the behavioral aspect as well. So, “to remember” meant not only to recall what Moses had taught the people from God but to do it.
What does it mean that this coming Elijah (John the Baptist) would “turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers?” Richard A. Taylor and E. Ray Clendenen give this helpful explanation:
The point is that fathers and sons would no longer live self-serving lives, but fathers will take their sons to heart and sons will take to heart their fathers, considering the effects of their actions on one another in the course of their lives. Ezekiel had vividly portrayed a nation under the horrors of divine condemnation when he prophesied a sight of cannibalism during the siege of Jerusalem in the words, “Fathers will eat their children, and children will eat their fathers (Ezek 5:10; cf. Lev 26:29; Deut 28:53; 2 Kgs 6:28–29). Malachi’s portrayal, on the other hand, was of a nation that had returned to the Lord and so had rediscovered the way of peace. Malachi’s Israel was full of men committing acts of treachery and injustice against one another (2:10; 3:5), but Elijah’s Israel would be full of righteousness and peace; and his day would be one of revelation, repentance, and reconciliation.
It is fascinating to observe, though, that this “Elijah” figure, though resembling Elijah in character and ministry (as John the Baptist did), may not only be fulfilled in John the Baptist, but this 4:5 reference may actually point ahead to either Elijah himself or another person like him who will appear yet in the future before the Tribulation.
Whatever the case, the real need is not for Elijah (or someone like him), but for the Messiah – the Lord himself, Jesus Christ – to establish his kingdom and to turn the hearts of his people to one another and to him.
Personal Takeaways
Fear God. Malachi refers to the “name” of God 10 times (1:6, 11, 14; 2:2, 5; 3:16; 4:2), noting that he blesses and honors those who honor him (3:16-18; 4:2) and he humbles those who despise and disrespect him (2:9). This emphasis suggests that the underlying cause of dead worship is a failure to acknowledge and respect God properly as God. The problem is not so much a problem of form and style as it is of true relationship and respect of God.
Prepare to meet Christ at his coming. The future Day of the Lord, about which other prophets have said so much, will be God’s final solution to empty, dead religion. So many Jewish people, led by the Pharisees and Sadducees, exhibited the same dead religion that their forefathers began to exhibit four-hundred years prior, in Malachi’s day. These were not prepared to meet Christ at his first coming. Will we (and they) be prepared to meet him at his second coming – when he comes to judge the world and purge his people once and for all?
Posted in Bible Talks
Tagged with Old Testament, Malachi, Minor Prophets, Prophecy, Tithes, Stewardship, Worship, Temple, Israel
Tagged with Old Testament, Malachi, Minor Prophets, Prophecy, Tithes, Stewardship, Worship, Temple, Israel
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