The Book of Malachi
INTRODUCTORY
INFORMATION:
A. The Author:
1. The name of the writer, Malachi, is
almost certainly an abbreviated form of the Hebrew personal name, Malachiah,
which means “my messenger” referring to the messenger of Jehovah (Yahweh). He
is the last of a great long succession of Jewish prophets who foretold the
coming of Messiah for over 1,000 years.
2. Although nothing is known for
certain about the prophet, Jewish tradition tells us that Malachi, along with
Haggai and Zechariah, was a member of the Great Sanhedrin and that he was a
Levite born in the town of Supha in the territory of the tribe of Zebulun. We
cannot know for sure, however.
3. At
any rate, God honoured the faith of his parents who gave him this name by
appointing him as the last of the prophets of the Old Dispensation before the
400 silent years between his prophetic ministry and that of John, the Baptist.
4. Malachi
ministered in the time of the governorship of Nehemiah, after the Babylonian
Captivity. The Temple had been rebuilt, the priestly service had been restored,
and yet the nation had fallen back once again into spiritual decline and
apathy. He prophesied about 100 years after Haggai and Zechariah, and he
sustained the same relationship to Nehemiah that they had had to Zerubbabel and
Joshua.
B. The Addressees: The prophecy is
addressed to the remnant of Israel that had come back to the land after the
Babylonian Captivity. They returned in three waves: (1) with Zerubbabel in 536
BC; (2) with Ezra in 457 BC; and (3) with Nehemiah in 445 BC.
C. The Date of the Writing: It was
written approximately 432-424 BC, about 90 years after the rebuilding of the
Temple in Jerusalem.
D. The Setting:
1. Historically: Since the Temple has been rebuilt
and many abuses have crept in, the date is best placed a good while after the
building in 516 BC. And since the sins and abuses denounced by Malachi are like
those corrected by Nehemiah in his second reformation, a date coincident with
Nehemiah’s second return (i.e. after 432 BC) is the most reasonable
2. Politically: The nation was still under
Artaxerxes I (aka Longimanus), the Persian king who had allowed both Ezra and
Nehemiah to return to Israel. The king appointed Nehemiah as governor to rule
over the land on his behalf.
3. Religiously: The returned remnant had experienced
several revivals, the last on under Ezra in 445 BC. However, the people were
psychologically discontented. Returning from exile, they had great hopes of
setting up a mighty kingdom under a mighty leader. But the Messianic age did
not come, and they became indifferent and haughty as if the LORD had let them
down. They were thus in a state of practical atheism and Epicurean indulgence.
In other words, while they still acknowledged God, they were not living for
Him. The sins of the period as listed by Malachi were:
a. Religious: Guilty of profanity and sacrilege
b. Moral: Guilty of sorcery, adultery, perjury, fraud,
and oppression
c. Social: Guilty of being untrue to marital and family
relationships
d. Material: Guilty of robbing God in tithes due Him
e. Spiritual: Guilty of self-righteousness,
which was really the root of all their sins. They thought they deserved all
God’s blessings but that He was holding out on them.
E. The Theme: The theme of Malachi is
God’s love and compassion for Israel and His desire to bless them on the one
hand, and the haughty, calloused “unblessableness” of the people of Israel, on
the other hand.
F. The Purpose: Malachi’s purpose is to
present the LORD’s case against Israel with a passionate appeal for repentance,
accounting for their impoverished condition by their spiritually calloused and
indifferent attitude.
G. The Message: Malachi’s message is,
for the most part, rebuke, and condemnation. The attitudes of the people that
were manifested in his day developed later into the sects of the Pharisees and
Sadducees. However, more importantly, the moral and spiritual conditions of
Israel in his day are those of many professing Christians today. The spiritual
life of the remnant who came back from the Babylonian Captivity reveals that
they were insensitive to God’s great love toward them, and they were oblivious
to their alarming departure from the will and ways of the LORD. They lacked
reverence for Him and had come to despise Him. Moreover, their spiritual
perceptions were so dulled that when their deeds and attitudes were pointed out
to them, they saw no harm in them. We can see this in the questions that they
raised when confronted by the prophet. The sins of Israel that provoked Nehemiah
were the same ones that stirred up Malachi: (1) the defilement of the
priesthood [Nehemiah 13:7-9]; (2) foreign marriages with divorce of their
Israelite wives [Neh. 13:23-27]; (3) neglect or misappropriation of the tithes
and offerings [Neh. 13:10-14]; (4) neglecting the Sabbath [Neh. 13:15-22]; and
(5) injustice of all kinds [Neh. 5:1-13].
OUTLINE OF THE
BOOK:
I. INTRODUCTION 1:1
A. The Author of the Message 1:1a – A final
“burden” [oracle] from the LORD
B. The Recipients of the Message 1:1b – Given
to “Israel” i.e. all the returnees
C.
The Instrument of the Message 1:1c – Through the prophet, Malachi
II. THE PROCLAMATION
OF THE LOVE OF GOD 1:2-5
A. God’s Love Declared 1:2a – I have
loved you,” says the LORD.
B. God’s Love Questioned 1:2b
1. They ask for specifics – “How
have You love us?”
2. They had become insensitive to His
love, mercy, and grace.
C. God’s Love Demonstrated 1:2c-4
1. God chose Jacob over Esau.
2. God doomed Esau and the Edomites
after their captivity.
D. God’s Person to Be Magnified to Future
Generations and Foreign Nations 1:5
III. THE POLLUTION OF
THE PRIESTS OF ISRAEL 1:6-2:9
A. The Priests Despised the
LORD’s Name 1:6-14
1. Their dishonour stated 1:6a
a. They have failed to give Him honour
as their Father.
b. They have failed to give Him honour
as their Master.
2. Their dishonour questioned 1:6b –
They retorted, “How have we dishonoured You?
3. Their dishonour demonstrated 1:7-14
a. The priests’ attitude 1:7 – They
despised [looked down upon] the altar of the LORD.
b. The priests’ actions 1:8a – They
offered polluted bread and blemished sacrifices.
c. The LORD’s response 1:8b-9 – “Try
offering that rubbish to your governor!” says the LORD.
d. The LORD’s request 1:10-11 – “Will
someone please shut and lock the Temple doors?”
e. The LORD’s prophecy 1:11 – Their
over-familiarity with the LORD led to contempt but He declares that the day is
coming when He will be esteemed, even by the Gentiles.
f.
The
priests’ disposition 1:12 – They had no concern for the LORD’s reputation.
g. The priests’ hypocrisy 1:13 – They
were bringing sacrifices taken by robbery and offering the lame and the sick.
h. The LORD’s proclamation 1:14 – He
curses those with this attitude and reminds them that He is a Great King whose
name should be feared and respected.
B. The Priests Despised the LORD’s Law 2:1-9
1. The curse on the faithless
priests 2:1-4
a. The statement of judgment 2:1-2b –
He will curse them, along with their offerings and blessings.
b. The reason for judgment 2:2c – It is
because they have not taken His warnings to heart.
c. The nature of judgment 2:3 – He will
curse their seed, their offspring.
d. The result of the judgment 2:4 –
“Then you will know…”
2. The character of the faithful
priests 2:5-7
a. Reverence for the Law 2:5a – They
sincerely reverenced His covenant of life and peace.
b. Reverence for the LORD 2:5b – The
priests of Levi revered Him and stood in awe of His name.
c. Righteousness from their lips 2:6-7
– A holy priest turns people toward the LORD, not away from Him.
3. The corruption of the faithless
priests 2:8-9
a. Their response 2:8 – They have
turned aside, caused others to stumble, and have corrupted God’s covenant with
Levi.
b. The result 2:9a – God has made them
despised and abased before the people.
c. The reason 2:9b – They have been
showing partiality in the instruction.
IV. THE POLLUTION OF
THE PEOPLE OF ISRAEL 2:10-3:15
A. Israel’s Sin of Pagan
Marriage 2:10-12
1. The nature of their sin 2:10-11a –
Intermarriage with heathen women constituted treachery against brothers because
when you marry a heathen wife you are marrying a daughter of a strange god.
Furthermore, it constituted rejection of the true God. [NOTE: All have one
father, in that God is Father of all by creation.]
2. The statement of their sin 2:11b –
In committing this sin they have acted treacherously, have committed an abomination,
have profaned the sanctuary, and have rejected their God.
3. The result of their sin 2:12 – He
says that those guilty of this sin will be cut off.
B. Israel’s Sin of Provoking Divorce from
Jewish Wives 2:13-16
1. The insincere denial of their sin
2:13 – They were covering the altar with their tears, but the weeping of their
divorced wives was invalidating their offerings.
2. The questioning of their sin 2:14a –
They say to God, “Why are You so mad? For what reason?”
3. The statement of their sin 2:14b –
“You have dealt treacherously with the wife of your youth, your faithful
companion and your wife by covenant.”
4. The correction of their sin 2:15-16
a. The purpose of monogamous marriage
2:15 – Covenant marriage should promote godliness.
b. The reason 2:16 – God hates divorce
because it is a switching of affections.
C. Israel’s Sin of Practical Atheism 2:17-3:6
1. Their sin stated 2:17a – They had
wearied the LORD with their sinful words.
2. Their sin questioned 2:17b – “How
have we wearied You?”
3. Their sin illustrated 2:17c-3:6
a. God’s justice questioned 2:17c –
They claimed that God unjustly loved and blessed evil-doers.
b. God’s judgment coming 3:1-6
i.
Messiah’s
forerunner introduced 3:1 – “I will send My messenger to clear the way for My
coming.”
ii.
Messiah’s
judgment stated 3:2-5
1. The nature of judgment 3:2 –
Messiah’s coming will be a fearful day indeed.
2. The recipients of judgment 3:3-5
a. The priests purified 3:3-4 – He will
start by judging the wicked priest.
b. The people judged 3:5 – Then He will
judge the wicked populace.
iii.
Messiah’s
postponed judgment explained 3:6 – He will always remain true to His covenant
promises.
D. Israel’s Sin of Perpetual Disobedience
3:7-15
1. Their disobedience stated 3:7
a. Response in the past 3:7a – He
points out their long record of rebellion and disobedience.
b. Responsibility in the present 3:7b –
He calls them to repent and turn back to the LORD.
2. Their disobedience questioned 3:7c –
“Wherein shall we return?” In other words, “There is nothing wrong with us so
why should we repent?” Note: Sin is usually unaware of itself.
3. Their disobedience illustrated
3:8-15
a. The nation robbing God 3:8-12
i.
Their
sin stated 3:8a – “You are robbing God!”
ii.
Their
sin questioned 3:8b – “How are we robbing God?”
iii.
Their
sin illustrated 3:8c – They were robbing God in the tithes and offerings.
iv.
The
priests, people, and nation are cursed 3:9
v.
The
promise stated 3:10-12 – “Bring the tithes and I will bless and protect you.”
b. The nation rejecting God 3:13-15
i.
Their
sin stated 3:13a – “You have spoken arrogantly against Me.”
ii.
Their
sin questioned 3:13b – “What have we ever spoken against You?”
iii.
Their
sin illustrated 3:14-15 – “You have said that it is useless to serve Me and
that I am unjust, approving of and rewarding the wicked.”
V. THE PURGING OF THE
REMNANT OF ISRAEL 3:16-4:6
A. The Remnant Described 3:16-18
1. Their reverence for God 3:16a – They
reverenced the LORD and esteemed His name highly.
2. Their remembrance by God 3:16b-18 –
“They will be Mine and I will spare them as My own sons.”
B. The Wicked Destroyed 4:1 – They will be
burned like chaff, leaving only ashes.
C. The Remnant Preserved 4:2-3
1. Their exaltation of joy 4:2 – The
sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings and you will go forth
skipping about like newborn calves let out of their stall.
2. Their exclusion from judgment 4:3 –
The wicked will be burned up and you will tread on their ashes.
D. Their Responsibility Declared 4:4 – Obey My
word, My statutes, and My ordinances.
E. The Restoration Declared 4:5-6 – Before the
great and terrible Day of the LORD I will send Elijah to you to prepare the way
for My coming.
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