Malachi

Book Outhne

Key theme: Honoring the name of God by living godly lives

Key verse:

I. Doubting God’s Love ()

A. God’s electing grace (, )

B. God’s rejection of Esau ()

II. Dishonoring God’s Name ()

A. Offering defiled sacrifices ()

B. Despising divine privileges ()

III. Profaning God’s Covenant ()

A. Marrying heathen women ()

B. Repenting insincerely ()

C. Divorcing their wives ()

IV. The Day of God’s Justice ()

A. Questioning God’s justice ()

B. The first messenger—John the Baptist ()

C. The second messenger—Messiah ()

V. Robbing God’s House ()

A. Robbing God ()

B. Robbing themselves ()

C. Robbing others ()

VI. Attitudes Toward God’s Service ()

A. The complainers ()

B. The believers ()

C. The evildoers ()

D. The preachers ()

Book Overview

Malachi the prophet was called to perform a difficult and dangerous task. He had the responsibility to rebuke the people for the sins they were committing against God and against one another and to call them to return to the Lord. Malachi took a wise approach: He anticipated the objections of the people and met them head-on. “This is what God says,” declared the prophet, “but you say . . . ,” and then He would answer their complaints.

The Old Testament prophets were often the only people in the community who had a grip on reality and saw things as they actually were, and that’s what made them so unpopular. They delivered God’s Word and were often rejected along with their message.

The name Malachi means “My messenger” (). He was the last of the writing prophets but wrote nothing about himself. We have no biblical information about his ancestry, call, or personal life. But the most important fact about messengers is the message they bring, not who they are or where they came from.

In 538 B.C., Cyrus issued a decree that permitted the Jews exiled in Babylon to return to their land and rebuild their temple (, ; ). About fifty thousand of them accepted the challenge, and in 515 B.C., after much delay, they completed the task. Ezra visited them in 458 B.C., and in 445 B.C. Nehemiah became their governor and served for twelve years ().

While Nehemiah was back at his post in Susa (, ), things began to fall apart in Jerusalem; thus, when he returned, he had to take some drastic steps to reform the nation. The prophet Malachi may have been called at that time to expose the sins of the people and call them back to God.

The conditions described in the Book of Nehemiah are the very issues that Malachi addresses in his book: poor crops and a faltering economy (), intermarriage with the heathen (), defilement of the priesthood (.), oppression of the poor (), lack of support for the temple (), and a general disdain of religion (.). At this time Judah was at a spiritual low point, and they needed to hear the Word of God.

“Be Transformed”

Have you ever considered the fact that the sins of Christians are worse than the sins of other people? When believers sin, they not only break the God’s Law, but they break God’s heart. A believer deliberately sinning isn’t just the disobedience of a servant to a master or the rebellion of a subject against a king; it’s the offense of a child against the loving Father. The sins we cherish and think we get away with cause God grief. Malachi was the last prophet Judah heard until John the Baptist came and the prophecy of was fulfilled. His messages against the sins of the saints need to be obeyed today.

is a cherished verse for believers, because it reminds us that God will forgive even the sins of those who know better. But the assurance of God’s forgiveness should never be the basis for deciding to sin. Even in New Testament times, Paul told the early believers, “Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not!” (, ). Taking for granted God’s forgiveness compounds sin, for it makes genuine repentance almost impossible. How do we reach the point of sorrow, not only for the act of sin, but also for the premeditated assumption that we could get away with it based on God’s forgiveness? The attitude betrays a shocking disregard for God’s ability to see to and through our hearts. False repentance doesn’t receive forgiveness. False repentance never leads to transformation. We must cultivate a humble and active fear of the Lord that understands His intimate awareness of our lives. We will then become part of Malachi’s faithful audience ().

The burden of the word of the LORD to Israel by Malachi.

Israel Beloved of God

“I have loved you,” says the LORD.

“Yet you say, ‘In what way have You loved us?’

Was not Esau Jacob’s brother?”

Says the LORD.

“Yet Jacob I have loved;

But Esau I have hated,

And laid waste his mountains and his heritage

For the jackals of the wilderness.”

Even though Edom has said,

“We have been impoverished,

But we will return and build the desolate places,”

Thus says the LORD of hosts:

“They may build, but I will throw down;

They shall be called the Territory of Wickedness,

And the people against whom the LORD will have indignation forever.

Your eyes shall see,

And you shall say,

‘The LORD is magnified beyond the border of Israel.’

Polluted Offerings

“A son honors his father,

And a servant his master.

If then I am the Father,

Where is My honor?

And if I am a Master,

Where is My reverence?

Says the LORD of hosts

To you priests who despise My name.

Yet you say, ‘In what way have we despised Your name?’

7“You offer defiled food on My altar,

But say,

‘In what way have we defiled You?’

By saying,

‘The table of the LORD is contemptible.’

And when you offer the blind as a sacrifice,

Is it not evil?

And when you offer the lame and sick,

Is it not evil?

Offer it then to your governor!

Would he be pleased with you?

Would he accept you favorably?”

Says the LORD of hosts.

9“But now entreat God’s favor,

That He may be gracious to us.

While this is being done by your hands,

Will He accept you favorably?”

Says the LORD of hosts.

“Who is there even among you who would shut the doors,

So that you would not kindle fire on My altar in vain?

I have no pleasure in you,”

Says the LORD of hosts,

“Nor will I accept an offering from your hands.

11For from the rising of the sun, even to its going down,

My name shall be great among the Gentiles;

In every place incense shall be offered to My name,

And a pure offering;

For My name shall be great among the nations,”

Says the LORD of hosts.

12“But you profane it,

In that you say,

‘The table of the LORD is defiled;

And its fruit, its food, is contemptible.’

You also say,

‘Oh, what a weariness!’

And you sneer at it,”

Says the LORD of hosts.

“And you bring the stolen, the lame, and the sick;

Thus you bring an offering!

Should I accept this from your hand?”

Says the LORD.

14“But cursed be the deceiver

Who has in his flock a male,

And takes a vow,

But sacrifices to the Lord what is blemished—

For I am a great King,”

Says the LORD of hosts,

“And My name is to be feared among the nations.

Corrupt Priests

“And now, O priests, this commandment is for you.

2If you will not hear,

And if you will not take it to heart,

To give glory to My name,”

Says the LORD of hosts,

“I will send a curse upon you,

And I will curse your blessings.

Yes, I have cursed them already,

Because you do not take it to heart.

“Behold, I will rebuke your descendants

And spread refuse on your faces,

The refuse of your solemn feasts;

And one will take you away with it.

4Then you shall know that I have sent this commandment to you,

That My covenant with Levi may continue,”

Says the LORD of hosts.

5“My covenant was with him, one of life and peace,

And I gave them to him that he might fear Me;

So he feared Me

And was reverent before My name.

6The law of truth was in his mouth,

And injustice was not found on his lips.

He walked with Me in peace and equity,

And turned many away from iniquity.

7“For the lips of a priest should keep knowledge,

And people should seek the law from his mouth;

For he is the messenger of the LORD of hosts.

8But you have departed from the way;

You have caused many to stumble at the law.

You have corrupted the covenant of Levi,”

Says the LORD of hosts.

“Therefore I also have made you contemptible and base

Before all the people,

Because you have not kept My ways

But have shown partiality in the law.”

Treachery of Infidelity

Have we not all one Father?

Has not one God created us?

Why do we deal treacherously with one another

By profaning the covenant of the fathers?

11Judah has dealt treacherously,

And an abomination has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem,

For Judah has profaned

The LORD’s holy institution which He loves:

He has married the daughter of a foreign god.

May the LORD cut off from the tents of Jacob

The man who does this, being awake and aware,

Yet who brings an offering to the LORD of hosts!

13And this is the second thing you do:

You cover the altar of the LORD with tears,

With weeping and crying;

So He does not regard the offering anymore,

Nor receive it with goodwill from your hands.

14Yet you say, “For what reason?”

Because the LORD has been witness

Between you and the wife of your youth,

With whom you have dealt treacherously;

Yet she is your companion

And your wife by covenant.

But did He not make them one,

Having a remnant of the Spirit?

And why one?

He seeks godly offspring.

Therefore take heed to your spirit,

And let none deal treacherously with the wife of his youth.

16“For the LORD God of Israel says

That He hates divorce,

For it covers one’s garment with violence,”

Says the LORD of hosts.

“Therefore take heed to your spirit,

That you do not deal treacherously.”

You have wearied the LORD with your words;

Yet you say,

“In what way have we wearied Him?”

In that you say,

“Everyone who does evil

Is good in the sight of the LORD,

And He delights in them,”

Or, “Where is the God of justice?”

The Coming Messenger

“Behold, I send My messenger,

And he will prepare the way before Me.

And the Lord, whom you seek,

Will suddenly come to His temple,

Even the Messenger of the covenant,

In whom you delight.

Behold, He is coming,”

Says the LORD of hosts.

“But who can endure the day of His coming?

And who can stand when He appears?

For He is like a refiner’s fire

And like launderers’ soap.

He will sit as a refiner and a purifier of silver;

He will purify the sons of Levi,

And purge them as gold and silver,

That they may offer to the LORD

An offering in righteousness.

4“Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem

Will be pleasant to the LORD,

As in the days of old,

As in former years.

5And I will come near you for judgment;

I will be a swift witness

Against sorcerers,

Against adulterers,

Against perjurers,

Against those who exploit wage earners and widows and orphans,

And against those who turn away an alien—

Because they do not fear Me,”

Says the LORD of hosts.

“For I am the LORD, I do not change;

Therefore you are not consumed, O sons of Jacob.

Yet from the days of your fathers

You have gone away from My ordinances

And have not kept them.

Return to Me, and I will return to you,”

Says the LORD of hosts.

“But you said,

‘In what way shall we return?’

Do Not Rob God

“Will a man rob God?

Yet you have robbed Me!

But you say,

‘In what way have we robbed You?’

In tithes and offerings.

You are cursed with a curse,

For you have robbed Me,

Even this whole nation.

10Bring all the tithes into the storehouse,

That there may be food in My house,

And try Me now in this,”

Says the LORD of hosts,

“If I will not open for you the windows of heaven

And pour out for you such blessing

That there will not be room enough to receive it.

11“And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes,

So that he will not destroy the fruit of your ground,

Nor shall the vine fail to bear fruit for you in the field,”

Says the LORD of hosts;

“And all nations will call you blessed,

For you will be a delightful land,”

Says the LORD of hosts.

The People Complain Harshly

13“Your words have been harsh against Me,”

Says the LORD,

“Yet you say,

‘What have we spoken against You?’

14You have said,

‘It is useless to serve God;

What profit is it that we have kept His ordinance,

And that we have walked as mourners

Before the LORD of hosts?

15So now we call the proud blessed,

For those who do wickedness are raised up;

They even tempt God and go free.’ ”

A Book of Remembrance

16Then those who feared the LORD spoke to one another,

And the LORD listened and heard them;

So a book of remembrance was written before Him

For those who fear the LORD

And who meditate on His name.

17“They shall be Mine,” says the LORD of hosts,

“On the day that I make them My jewels.

And I will spare them

As a man spares his own son who serves him.”

18Then you shall again discern

Between the righteous and the wicked,

Between one who serves God

And one who does not serve Him.

The Great Day of God

1“For behold, the day is coming,

Burning like an oven,

And all the proud, yes, all who do wickedly will be stubble.

And the day which is coming shall burn them up,”

Says the LORD of hosts,

“That will leave them neither root nor branch.

2But to you who fear My name

The Sun of Righteousness shall arise

With healing in His wings;

And you shall go out

And grow fat like stall-fed calves.

3You shall trample the wicked,

For they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet

On the day that I do this,”

Says the LORD of hosts.

4“Remember the Law of Moses, My servant,

Which I commanded him in Horeb for all Israel,

With the statutes and judgments.

Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet

Before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD.

And he will turn

The hearts of the fathers to the children,

And the hearts of the children to their fathers,

Lest I come and strike the earth with a curse.”

Annotations for Malachi

The first sin Malachi named was the people’s lack of love for God. That was the first sin Jesus mentioned when He wrote to the seven churches of Asia Minor (), and perhaps it’s listed first because lack of love for God is the source of all other sin.

The prophet presented several evidences of God’s love for Israel, the first of which is God’s clear statement of His love. Malachi was probably referring to what the Lord had said through Moses in the Book of Deuteronomy, particularly .

, The second evidence of God’s love that Malachi presented was God’s electing grace. God had made choices and He had not changed His mind. The descendants of Esau had their land assigned to them, but God had given the Edomites no covenants of blessing as He did to Jacob’s descendants.

The verb “hated” must not be defined as a positive expression of the wrath of God. God’s love for Jacob was so great that, in comparison, His actions toward Esau looked like hatred. As an illustration, Jacob loved Rachel so much that his relationship to Leah seemed like hatred and that he had rejected her (, , ; see also ). When Jesus called His disciples to “hate” their own family (), He was using the word hate in a similar way. Our love for Christ may occasionally move us to do things that appear like hatred to those whom we love (see ).

Malachi’s third evidence for God’s love is God’s evident blessing on the people of Israel. Like other nations in that area, Edom had suffered during the Babylonian invasion of Israel, but the Lord hadn’t promised to restore their land as He had promised the Jews. God showed His love to the Jewish people. First, He spared the Jews who were in exile in Babylon (see ). Then, He moved Cyrus to issue the decree that enabled the Jews to return to Judah and rebuild the temple. He provided the leadership of Jeshua the high priest, Zerubbabel, Nehemiah, and Ezra, as well as the prophetic ministries of Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi. Had His people obeyed the terms of the covenant, the Lord would have blessed them even more. Yes, they were a weak remnant, but the Lord was with them and promised to bless them.

We need to remember that the trials we experience as individuals or congregations are also opportunities to glorify God before a watching world. That’s how Paul viewed his imprisonment and possible death in Rome (), and that’s the way we must look at the tests that God sends our way. Every difficulty is an opportunity to demonstrate to others what the Lord can do for those who put their trust in Him.

Eight times in this section we find the phrase “My name” (, , ; , ; see also and ), referring to God’s character and reputation. The priests who were supposed to honor God’s name were disgracing it before the people and the Lord. The priests were supposed to be God’s children, yet they weren’t honoring their Father; they were called to be God’s servants, yet they showed no respect for their Master. When Malachi confronted them, the priests arrogantly asked, “In what way have we despised Your name?” (), so he told them.

The priests were offering defiled sacrifices on the altar. The word “food” (v. ) refers to the sacrifices provided in the Law of Moses (). These animals had to be perfect; nothing imperfect could be brought to the altar of God and accepted (; ). In short, the priests were permitting the people to bring God less than their best. If they had offered these defective beasts to their governor, he would have rejected them, but the people presumed the animals were good enough for the Lord.

Our offerings to God are an indication of what’s in our hearts, for “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (). People who claim to love the Lord and His work can easily prove it with their checkbooks! Giving is a grace (), and if we’ve experienced the grace of God, we’ll have no problem giving generously to the Lord who has given so much to us.

Malachi told these disobedient priests that closing the doors of the temple and stopping the sacrifices altogether would be better than to continue practicing such hypocrisy. Better to have no religion at all than a religion that fails to give God the very best. If our concept of God is so low that we think he’s pleased with cheap halfhearted worship, then we don’t know the God of the Bible. In fact, a god who encourages us to do less than our best is a god who isn’t worthy of worship.

Another reason why blemished sacrifices were allowed is because the priests and their families were fed from the meat off the altar, and the priests wanted to be sure they had food on the table. The economy was bad, taxes were high, and money was scarce, so only the most devoted Israelite would bring a perfect animal to the Lord. Thus, the priests settled for less than the best and encouraged the people to bring whatever was available.

The priests were dishonoring God’s name in another way: They were despising the very privilege of being priests. They were taking for granted the high calling God had given them and treating the temple ministry with contempt. Serving at the altar was a job, not a ministry, and they did it to please themselves, not to please and glorify the Lord. Unfortunately, that same attitude is in the church today.

The Jews needed to have children to perpetuate the nation, but God could prevent even the human seed from being productive. Another way of looking at it is that God would turn their children, who should be a blessing (), into a burden and a curse. Not having children would be painful, but pain could also come from having children who daily broke your heart and created grief in the home.

The refuse from the sacrifices was normally taken outside the camp and burned (), but God would humiliate the priests and “spread refuse on [their] faces” from the festival sacrifices! This would make the priests unclean so that they would have to leave the camp. In short, God was saying, “You’re treating me with disrespect, so I’ll treat you like garbage! You don’t value the priestly ministry, so why should you be in office?”

God caused these hypocritical priests to be “contemptible and base” before all the people. The priests wanted to be popular and even twisted the law to gain friends, but the people had no respect for them. Leaders with integrity and character will have their enemies, but they will still gain the respect of the people. Religious scandals in America have proven that unsaved people expect church leaders to practice what they preach.

Having dealt with the sins of the priests, Malachi next turned to the nation as a whole and confronted the men who had divorced their wives in order to marry pagan women.

, By divorcing their Jewish wives and marrying pagan women, the men had committed several sins. To begin with, this was treachery as they had broken their vows to God and to their wives. They had profaned God’s covenant, treating it as nothing. The Lord had given specific requirements for marriage in His law (; , ).

After committing these sins, the men had brought offerings to the Lord and had wept at the altar, seeking His help and blessing. Perhaps they were thinking they could sin blatantly with the intention of coming to God for forgiveness. But if they had been truly repentant, they would have forsaken their heathen wives and taken their true wives back.

, In spite of a difficult text and differing interpretations, the main lessons of this passage are clear. In marriage, a man and a woman become one flesh, and God is a partner in that union. Through marriage, the Lord is seeking a godly seed that will carry forward His work on earth. Marriage is a physical union (“joined” into “one flesh” ) and can be broken by physical causes: death (), sexual sin (), or desertion (). God’s original intent was that one man and one woman be devoted to each other in marriage for one lifetime. Divorce for reasons other than those given in Scripture, even though legal, would grieve God.

God never tires in a physical sense because God doesn’t have a body (), but He does grow weary of some of the things His people say and do. The hypocritical people in Israel had wearied God with their iniquities (), and the Jewish remnant in Malachi’s day wearied him with their words.

These skeptical Jews had forgotten the terms of the covenant and the conditions laid down by the prophets. If the people obeyed God’s law, God would bless them with all they needed. But they were divorcing their wives, marrying pagan women, offering defiled sacrifices, robbing God of tithes and offerings, and complaining about having to serve the Lord. For God to bless people like that would mean approving of their sins. The Jews didn’t need justice; they needed mercy!

The first prophecy in this paragraph refers to our Lord’s first coming in grace and mercy, but the prophecy speaks of His Second Coming in judgment. When He comes, He will prove that God is just by purifying his people and judging rebellious sinners. Jesus Christ is the “messenger of the covenant” in that He fulfilled all the demands of the covenant in his life, suffered the penalties in His death, and rose from the dead to usher in a new covenant of grace ().

, The phrase “in whom you delight” suggests that the Jews in Malachi’s day were hoping that the day of the Lord would come soon, not realizing what a terrible time that would be for the whole earth. His listeners were like the people in the days of Amos the prophet who had the same false confidence that they were ready for the promised day of the Lord ().

The name Malachi means “My messenger,” and the messenger referred to in this statement is John the Baptist. Speaking of him, Jesus said, “this is he of whom it is written: ‘Behold, I send My messenger before Your face, who will prepare Your way before You’ ” (; see and ). The image is of people preparing a way for the king to come, leveling the roads and removing the obstacles so that the king might enjoy an easy and comfortable trip. John prepared the way for the ministry of Jesus by preaching the Word to the crowds, urging them to repent of their sins, baptizing them, and then introducing them to Jesus.

In the Law of Moses, God had provided three ways for people and things to be cleansed and made acceptable to God: water, fire, and blood. Blood is not mentioned here because Jesus Christ died for sinners at His first coming. But He would wash the unclean nation like a launderer washes dirty clothes. He would purify the tribe of Levi the way a jeweler purifies precious metal in his furnace.

The Messiah’s Second Coming would be sudden and unexpected, and its purpose would be the judging of sinners and the establishing of His kingdom on earth.

What was the reason for these social abuses? The people who committed them had no fear of the Lord. They thought that God was like them, that He would close His eyes to their sins and not judge them for breaking His law.

, The temple had special storage rooms for keeping the grain, produce, and money that the people would bring to the Lord in obedience to His law. If people didn’t want to carry heavy produce all the way to the temple, they could convert it into cash, but they had to add 20 percent to it just to make sure they weren’t making a profit and robbing God (). The annual tithe would be given to the Levites (), who in turn would give a tithe of that income to the priests (). When a worshiper brought his tithe to the temple, he could use part of it to enjoy a special meal with his family and the Levites (, , ). Every third year a tithe was to be brought to the leaders locally to be used for the poor (, ).

Since God made and owns everything, He doesn’t need anything that we can bring Him (). But He is pleased when we obey His Word and bring our gifts as an act of worship with grateful hearts. suggests proportionate giving (“On the first day of the week, let each one of you lay something aside”), but the New Testament has no express command to tithe given to the church. Paul taught grace giving in , which is certainly beyond 10 percent. Many Christians feel that if believers under the old covenant brought their tithes, how could Christians under the new covenant begin with anything less?

In robbing God, the people were not fulfilling the covenant they had made with the Lord; therefore, God couldn’t fulfill His promise and bless them (). Whenever we rob God, we always rob ourselves. To begin with, we rob ourselves of the spiritual blessings that always accompany obedience and faithful giving (). But even more, the money that rightfully belongs to God that we keep for ourselves never stays with us, for the Lord has other ways of taking it. Yes, giving is an act of faith, but God rewards that faith in every way. That isn’t the reason we give; that motivation would be selfish.

The remnant that returned to Judah after the exile had a great opportunity to trust God and bear witness to the other nations that their God was the true and living God. Had the Jews trusted the Lord, He would have done great things for them, and they would have been a testimony to others. As it was, they floundered in their faith, and no one could look at them and call them blessed.

Inasmuch as “the great and dreadful day of the LORD” did not occur in New Testament times, we have to believe that John the Baptist was not the promised Elijah, even though he ministered like Elijah. Thus this prophecy is yet to be fulfilled. Elijah might possibly return to earth as one of the two witnesses (), for the signs that these two men would perform remind us of the miracles of Elijah and Moses.

All of creation is eagerly awaiting the return of the Savior, expecting to be delivered from the bondage of sin (). We too should be expecting Him and, while we’re waiting, witness of Him to others. For the arising of “the Sun of Righteousness” will mean either burning or blessing (): blessing to those who have trusted Him, burning to those who have rejected Him.

Malachi 1

1:1 Or oracle

1:2 ; ;

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1:12 Following Bomberg; Masoretic Text reads Lord.

1:13

1:14

Malachi 2

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2:6

2:6 Or true instruction

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2:12 Talmud and Vulgate read teacher and student.

2:14

2:15 ,

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2:16 [; ]

2:17 ,

2:17

Malachi 3

3:1 ; ; ; ; ; ,

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3:17 Literally special treasure

3:18 []

Malachi 4

4:1 []

4:1

4:2

4:3

4:4

4:5 [; ; ; ];

4:5

4:6

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