Malachi
A study by Doug Schofield
Malachi might be a shortened
form of the Hebrew name Malachiah, which means ‘my messenger’ or
‘messenger of Jehovah’. We cannot be
certain whether the title of this last book of the Old Testament cannon bears
the given name of its author, or if this is simply a generic term applied to
some other, perhaps even an unknown writer, who was inspired by the Holy
Spirit. Some of the Jewish historians
want to ascribe this writing to Ezra.
Irrespective of the identity of its author, this is an important
transitional text; it is the last revelation before the arrival of the promised
Messiah some 400 years hence.
The time of writing could be
as early as 445, or as late as 420 BC.
The interrogatory style incorporated in this writing is somewhat
unique. He states a principle, asks a
rhetorical question and then answers with the point he wishes to make. The role of the Hebrews as God’s chosen
people was to provide a genealogical link, a bloodline through which the Savior
would come into the world. Satan tried
to disrupt this divine purpose numerous times and in many ways. At one time the entire population of the
earth was reduced to only eight people because of sin; Pharaoh ordered the
killing of all male Hebrew babies, (Exodus 1:22); Because of the rebellion of
the people at the report of the spies God threatened to do away with them and
start over again with only Moses; Elijah
realized the threat of evil to overcome God’s plan as we see in 1 Kings 19:14,
“…the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine
altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only am left; and
they seek my life to take it away”. God
reassured Elijah though, in verse 19, saying “Yet I have left me seven
thousand in
At the time of this writing
the temple has been rebuilt, temple worship has been restored and the walls of
the city have been rebuilt. A general
complacency has settled over the people, they have become self-absorbed and
lost their spirituality. Like we
sometimes say about lethargic congregations, ‘the sea of their spirituality may
be a mile wide but it’s not an inch deep’.
They need to be reminded again of their relationship with the God of
Heaven. The writing of Malachi appears
to be contemporaneous with Nehemiah chapter 13.
A simplified outline of the
book:
I. God’s love for His people
II. Rebuke of the
priests for insincere worship
III. Unfaithfulness of the people rebuked
IV. Warning of Judgment
V. Lessons about
giving to God
VI. Separation of the faithful from the unrighteous
VII. Coming of the Messiah
1:1 We see the word burden employed frequently in these late period
prophets, and it generally indicates an important message. When the message is of a negative nature it
weighs heavy upon the heart of the prophet, and thus is properly called a
burden. Sometimes messages are referred
to as an ‘oracle of God’, sometimes as a message. Christ’s disciples were given a message –
almost as if it were a cargo, thus a burden – to deliver to the entire
world. Paul makes a number of references
to the gospel of Christ having been committed to him, entrusted to him for
delivery to mankind.
1:2-5 The central theme of
the entire Bible is the love of God – John writes in 1 John 4:19, “we love Him because He first loved us”. God’s love has been demonstrated repeatedly
in innumerable ways throughout all time; even since before time began,
(Ephesians 1:4). But how quickly we
forget – and so it has been throughout history, (Psalms 78:11; 106:13). “I have
loved you…”, this language indicates the eternal nature of God’s love for
us. There was never a time when God did
not love us, even when we did not love Him.
We have previously studied
the reasons behind God’s attitude toward
Human pride, arrogance and
self-reliance to the exclusion of faith in God may be seen in verse 4; but
1:6 God is our father in the truest sense of the
word. He made us; He sustains us; He
adopts us, (Galatians 4:5). The command
to honor father and mother is repeated over and again in the scriptures,
(Exodus, Deuteronomy, Matthew, Mark Luke and Ephesians). Fear, (respect), for God, or the lack of it,
is evident in our behavior. “By the
fear of the Lord men depart from evil”, (Proverbs 16:6). Even a servant shows honor to his master, yet
God’s people have shown Him no regard.
This charge is directed to the priests who are supposed to be the
spiritual leaders of the people – recall the foolish shepherds in
Zechariah? Like the child who constantly
misbehaves in class when called down as if innocent says “who me? What’d I
do?” They had made such a habitual practice
of indifference toward the worship of God that they didn’t even recognize their
wrongful behavior.
1:7 If this is speaking of
the showbread it would indicate that the prescribed procedures had been
ignored, (Leviticus 24:5,7). Since the
showbread was placed on a table to itself, this reference is more likely to be
to the offerings on the altar. This is
not the first time this sinful attitude has been prevalent, (Ezekiel 44:7;
Leviticus
1:8 The reference to ‘your
governor’ lets us know that this writing is after the return from Babylon, and
probably refers to a Persian governor, since we also know that temple worship
had been restored. Deuteronomy 15:21;
Leviticus 22:22 are very specific about the nature of acceptable offerings to
God. There is much that we could learn
about what we give to God; do we barely carve out a few grudging minutes of
time for daily Bible study? Is our
financial giving just the leftover crumbs?
Why was so much emphasis placed on the purity of the offering? The practical common sense question should
cause us to think about what we offer to God.
1 Peter
1:9 Teaches that if we
expect God to bless us we need to consider our attitudes and behavior.
1:10 Three possible views:
A, He appears to be saying, ‘you might as well shut the doors of the temple and
forget about lighting the fire on the altar because I will not accept anything
you have to offer’; indicating the need for repentance, and a change of heart
and attitude toward the worship of God.
Or B, isn’t there anyone willing to shut the doors to prevent that which
is vile and unacceptable from being offered in vain upon my altar?’ Or C, He is asking ‘is there not anyone among
you who will perform the mundane tasks as simple as opening the door or
lighting the fire on the altar without being paid to do so?’
Historical note: There were
24 porters appointed who kept guard at every gate to the temple compound, and
it was their duty to see that the area was kept peaceful and to shut the gates
at night. Also, there were 21 Levites,
who guarded other areas of the temple, at each corner of the temple itself, at
its entrance, at the veil and behind the most holy place. There was a captain of the guard whose job it
was to see that all of the other guards stayed awake and performed their
duties. There were those who were responsible
for maintaining the fires in the temple, (Leviticus
1:11-14 The priests were
treating the worship of God with flippant contempt. I am reminded of those who promote what they
call ‘casual’ worship. A half-hearted, casual attitude toward worship reduces it to
mere drudgery that has within it spiritual death. The attempted deceit by Ananias and Sapphira,
(Acts 5:1-10), is a New Testament example of the same sin.
Chapter
2
2:1 Although the message of
the prophet is specifically delivered to the people present in
2:2 Even that which might
otherwise be a blessing to us can become a curse if used improperly, and if we
fail to give God the glory due Him, (Psalms 106:13-15). Notice the term ‘lay it to heart’; ESV has
‘take it to heart’ – but the KJV and ASV are more literal, the NKJV has ‘set it
on your heart’. The phrase has much
deeper meaning than we commonly give it.
In Hebrew, the term suwm translated put, place or set, establish,
constitute or bring to pass – has much stronger meaning than the English gives
to it. And leb (
2:3 What a rebuke! Their descendants would be affected by their
unfaithfulness; can a parent who is not faithful and steadfast in service to
God honestly expect his children to grown up as faithful Christians? Children learn from the behavior of their
parents. As if the curse of future
heartache were not enough, that which was supposed to be carried outside the
city and burned would be used to humiliate and embarrass these arrogant
priests. This is the ultimate, extreme
insult; there is nothing we can think of that is more humiliating or disgusting
- short of being consigned for eternity to a devil’s hell. It is designed to show how disgusting sin is
to God in terms that we can all understand.
2:4 God’s Levitical covenant promised a continuing
line of priests, (Jeremiah 33:18), – so long as the Mosaic economy
continued. Actually, the covenant began
with Aaron, who was descended from Levi.
Remember, Aaron was Moses’ brother, a son of Amram and Jochabed. He was born toward the end of the 400 years
of Egyptian bondage to parents descended from one of the twelve sons of Jacob
(named changed to
The term ‘covenant’ is used
a half dozen times in Malachi; in this verse the reference is to God’s covenant
with Levi under the Mosaic system. Also
referenced are the Mosaic covenant; the marriage covenant and the New Covenant.
2:5-6 God’s covenant with Levi was a grant in
exchange for services rendered. As is
always the case, God’s covenants are conditional. Levi kept his part of the covenant, and the
Lord describes exactly how he did that.
What a pattern that we might follow!
(“Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole of man,”
Ecclesiastes 12:13). Every Christian is
a priest under the New Covenant, (Revelation 1:5-6). As priests under the New Covenant our charge
is to walk with God in uprightness and thereby to lead others to Godly
lives. Levi represents all of those
faithful priests who came after him. The
Lord says ‘…he walked with me’; what a high honor! Few others have had this
high compliment paid to them; Enoch and Noah.
Moses was similarly complimented, as was David, ‘a man after God’s own
heart’.
2:7 Leviticus 10:11 specifies the things that
were to be taught to the people by the priests.
The message that priests today (Christians) must speak was specified by
Christ in Matthew 28:20; “…teaching them to observe all things…”,
He said. (See also Matthew 18:6; Mark
2:8-9 The specific charge is made that these
priests had corrupted the covenant of Levi.
In Matthew
Inconsistency, partiality
and incomplete teaching had destroyed the respect that might otherwise be
accorded priests. Not only had they
withheld much of what they should have been teaching the people, their behavior
was a clanging bell sounding out their shortcomings.
Do you think
that false teaching is something out in the world, something that couldn’t be
taking place in the heart of the very church of our Lord? Look at these excerpts from the website of
the Fourth Avenue Church of Christ in
“The
Bible: … As God's servants, our role is to communicate the principles of
Scripture to a fallen world in a relevant way.
Salvation: We believe that
salvation is the free gift of God that has been made available to all as a
result of Jesus' death on the cross. Salvation is available to all who put
their trust in Christ as Savior.
Baptism: We believe baptism is a
one-time faith response to our acceptance of Christ as Savior and a pledge of
our devotion of God. We are devoted to teaching and encouraging the
believer to be immersed in Christ and receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”
They
disregard Mark 16:16; Acts
“The
Kingdom: We believe the Kingdom is made up of all who believe in the
death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ and accept Him as Lord and King,
regardless of traditions. We will be supportive and work together in unity with
other congregations in our community for the cause of Christ.”
These
published beliefs are diametrically opposed to the plain teaching of the
Bible. {Oh, by the way, their ‘Executive
Minister’ is a lady named Nancy Keeth.} The so-called elders and others who
allow this to go on are following in the path of the unfaithful priests to whom
Malachi’s message was delivered. For
anyone who wants to know why the
2:10-11 The prophet’s message now turns from a direct
rebuke of the priesthood to the people at large. We might get a glimpse of what had been going
on from Nehemiah 5:1-5; and
This
may be reflected in Paul’s admonition to avoid relationships with unbelievers,
2 Corinthians 6:14. Frequently we see
the marriage relationship used as a metaphor for our relationship with God, as
in 2 Corinthians 11:2. The basis for
that illustration may be found in Exodus 34:14-16. If we fail to deal uprightly and honestly
with our fellowman how can we presume to honor God by our lives? This principle is taught in 1 John 4:20.
The Jews have been back in
He points out
that marriage is a covenant – the same word used to describe the covenants that
God has made with His people. In
marriage promises are made that when broken constitute a breaking of the
covenant. The breaking of promises
between individuals is described as treachery, fraud and deceit. Faithfulness to God demands that we be
faithful to each other also. Like all
covenants, the marriage covenant is also conditional; and like all of God’s
covenants, the primary condition is faithfulness.
It was by the
rearing of faithful children that God’s influence was to spread abroad in the
world. God’s promise to Abraham in
Genesis 22:17, 18 carries with it the implication that godly offspring will be
a blessing upon the earth. For this
important reason the admonition is given to control one’s conduct and remain
faithful to the marriage covenant.
2:16 From a historical perspective here it appears
that Jewish men were not even bothering to comply with the permissiveness of
Moses by divorcing their wives, but were simply putting them away , just
abandoning them in order to marry pagan women; this is borne out in the
contemporaneous accounts of this time frame in Ezra and Nehemiah. Neither the Hebrew word shalach nor the Greek word apoluo (in the
Septuagint) can be translated divorce – they mean to send away, let go, or
dismiss. A similar form is used in
Ephesians
Over and over
again God’s relationship with His people is pictured in terms of a
marriage. 2 Corinthians 11:2; the
church is depicted as the bride of Christ and He the bridegroom. God sustained a similar relationship with the
Children of Israel, yet they continually committed spiritual adultery, (as is
pictured graphically throughout the book of Hosea). In Jeremiah 3:8 God describes Himself as
having divorced
The wicked are
spoken of as being covered with violence as a garment, (Psalms 73:6). Of course the violence was their treatment of
their wives, and by their action their garments were covered with violence. The garment metaphor is used numerous times
in the scriptures, notably we see it in Revelation 3:4 that there were some in
In the 28th
chapter of Deuteronomy the Holy Spirit uses the first 14 verses promising
blessings for obeying God’s commandments.
Chapter 3
3:1 As we come to a close of the period of
foretelling prophecy the prophecies become increasingly specific. Here, for example, is a very specific
reference to John the Baptist. There is
precise fulfillment of this verse in Mark 1:2,3; also see the context of
Matthew 17:13. Here is assurance that
the promised Messiah will come.
3:2 -3 Christ’s
coming would initiate a sudden and dramatic change in the worship of God. No longer would animal sacrifices be required,
the priesthood, as it had previously existed, would cease to exist. Hebrews 10:28-29; We saw similar language in
Zechariah 13:9, speaking of the refining – symbolizing the purging out of evil. Isaiah
The symbol of the refiners
fire is descriptive of how God works to purify His people. The story is told about a woman who went to
visit a silversmith to learn about the refining process. As she watched the silversmith, he held a
piece of silver over the fire and let it heat up. He explained that in refining
silver, one needed to hold the silver in the middle of the fire where the
flames were hottest, so as to burn away all the impurities.
The woman thought about God
holding us in such a hot spot -- then she thought again about the verse
that says, "He sits as a refiner and purifier of silver."
She asked the silversmith if
it was true that he had to sit there in front of the fire the whole time the
silver was being refined. The man answered that yes, he not only had to sit
there holding the silver, but he also had to keep his eyes on the silver
the entire time it was in the fire. If the silver was left a moment too long in
the flames, it would be destroyed.
The woman was silent for a
moment. Then she asked the silversmith, how do you know when the silver is
fully refined?
He smiled at her and answered, "Oh that's easy --
when I see my image in it."
Fuller’s soap –
used to make fabric white; made of lye and soda. Mankind, on our own, is not able to wash away
the stain of sin, not even with the most powerful detergent; (niter, referenced in Jeremiah
3:4 After the sacrifice of Christ, every child of
God would be his own priest, able to approach the Throne of God directly on
his/her own behalf; able to offer sacrifices of personal service, prayers and
devotion directly to the Heavenly Father.
3:5 1 Corinthians 6:9-10; Galatians 5:19-21; 1
Cor
The
constant faithfulness of God is a beautiful and amazing thing. Even before creation God had determined to
provide a means to reconcile fallen man to Himself. Yet, time and again man has tested the limits
of God’s patience – the condition of the world in the days of Noah; the
rebellion at the tower of Babel; numerous other occasions of man’s rebellion;
Consider the many times that the Children of Israel rebelled even after having
seen first hand the power of God to deliver them out of the hand of Pharaoh. Yet we are reminded of God’s faithfulness in
many passages, like Psalms 136; Hebrews
3:6 Hebrews 13:8; James 1:17. It is important to note that even though
God’s covenant with mankind was soon to be changed, God Himself does not
change, nor has his divine purpose ever changed, (Matthew 25:34).
It is
interesting that God refers to the people as “…sons of Jacob” in this
context. On one hand, it is a direct
reminder to them that they are all descended from Jacob, and He could have left
Jacob and his family to perish in the famine in Canaan instead of reuniting
them with Joseph in Egypt; He could have left them captive in Egypt; or He
could have allowed Pharaoh’s army to crush them in the dessert; or let them
perish in the wilderness; or allowed any of the numerous enemies they conquered
to overcome them. But, instead, they
have not been consumed; they survived the onslaught of the Babylonians, and
were not wiped out by the Persians; God has preserved them for His divine
purpose…that being the entry of Christ into the world to die for the sins of
mankind.
On numerous
occasions when the people of God have stretched His patience by their
rebellion, He has referred to them as “this people” or similar language. Moses used them term in Exodus 17:4 when the
people were about to stone him because of a lack of drinking water; God uses it
in 32:9. In Numbers
On the other hand, the phrase “my people” is used more
than twice as often. And, best of all,
we have the opportunity to be called “sons of God”: John 1:12; Romans
8:14 “For as many as
are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.” And how is it that the spirit leads us? Through the inspired word of God – the Bible.
Philippians
3:7 The history of the transgressions of the
Children of Israel began even while they were on the journey out of Egyptian
bondage. Surely the Heavenly Father is
reminding them of the great sin at mount Horeb, even while Moses was on the
mountain with God receiving the law, they were busy making for themselves a
golden calf, (Deuteronomy 9:7-21). The
theme “return unto me and I will return unto you is repeated numerous times in
the scriptures: as in Isaiah 44:22; Jeremiah 3:22; 24:7, and others.
Then the
question comes “how shall we return?”
Isaiah 65:2; Romans 10:21; 10:3.
Lamentations
3:8 In direct answer to the question at the end
of the preceding verse, God poses them a question. “Will a man rob God?” Here are five words that could form the basis
of a study that could go on for many days.
The Holy Spirit through the prophet is here bringing up again the
charges from chapter 1, (see verses 8 and 13).
We have a
meaningful example of giving from David on the occasion that he went to buy the
threshing floor of Araunuh the Jebsuite to use as a place on which to worship
God. Araunuh offered to give the
threshing floor and its oxen to the king at no cost, but David refused, saying
that he could not offer to God that which cost him nothing, (2 Samuel
24:24).
Many today
promote tithing – giving one tenth of one’s income to the church. And I’m sure that many of us perhaps have the
idea that if we give a tenth of our resources we have done well. But the tithe was only one of a number of
offerings required under the Old Law. If
we wish to follow the Old Testament example, we’ll find ourselves giving much
more than a tenth. Deuteronomy 12:6
enumerates a half dozen different offerings that were required under the old
law. A study of giving in the Old
Testament quickly lets us know that our paltry little sum in the Sunday morning
basket is a far cry from what was required of the Jews under the Law of
Moses. In addition, more than a dozen
times freewill offerings are mentioned in the scriptures.
In the New
Testament, giving is commanded to be done as a ‘free will offering’ – according
to our measure of prosperity and as we have purposed to do.
There was an
article by Hugh Fulford in a recent issue of the Carolina Messenger entitled
‘The Sermon on the Amount’. {By the way,
Thank You Brother Herschel for subscribing to that nice publication for us}. In it he states that some scholars estimate
that giving under the Law of Moses probably amounted to as much as 30%! Jesus had a lot to say about financial
stewardship. He said “it is more blessed
to give than to receive”, (Acts
In 1 Timothy
6:17-19 Paul reminds us that we are not to put our trust in money but in
God; to be rich in good works and to lay up for eternal life. Jesus taught that we should lay up our
treasure in Heaven – and indeed, that’s where we should want to lay up our
treasure because of our intent to go there.
3:9 In 2:2 God had warned, “If ye will not
hear, and if ye will not lay it to heart, to give glory unto my name, saith the
Lord of hosts, I will even send a curse upon you and I will curse your
blessings; yea, I have cursed them already because ye do not lay it to heart.” See Deuteronomy 28:15-19. I think that, just as restoration of temple
worship was at the root of the problems we read of in the book of Haggai,
support and maintenance of the temple priests was the issue here. Because the people had become negligent and
withheld their tithes, (which were allocated for the support of the priests),
they could no longer carry out their duties for having to go home and work
their fields in order to feed their families.
Thus, worship was neglected – and when people neglect to worship God
–according to His directives- they suffer.
3:11-12 We
often seen to forget that everything belongs to God. Consider Psalms 50:10-12. Likewise, the souls of man belong to God,
Ezekiel 18:4. Remember in Zechariah 8:12
God had promised the people prosperity if they would be faithful to Him.
Under the Law
of Moses there was often direct and immediate reward or punishment for
faithfulness or for disobedience; yet now, under the New Covenant, the focus is
shifted away from the material to the spiritual. John writes, “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the
father is not in him.” 1 John 2:15.
Paul wrote in Colossians 3:2, “Set
your affection on things above, not on things of the earth.”
3:13-15 Romans
Revelation
20:12. When the seventy who were sent
out returned, rejoicing that they had been able to cast out evil spirits, Jesus
told them not to rejoice over that fact, but rejoice because their names were
written in heaven, (Luke 10:20). Exodus
32:32; Psalms 69:28; Daniel 7:10; Revelation
>>>>>>>>>>>>>
3:17-18 Who
shall be His? Those who fear (respect,
honor, obey) the Lord, and who speak of Him often to one another. Something else we learn about such people in
this verse is that they thought upon his name.
What did the psalmist say about the man who meditates on the Lord? (Psalms 1:1-2). What value does God place upon such
people? He claims them as His
Jewels! We use jewels to add glory to
the ordinary, a diamond or other precious stone in a gold setting; valuable
gemstones are set into the crowns of royalty; costly jewels adorn many
beautiful things in our world. Yet,
consider the God of Heaven – glorious beyond all description; nothing in
creation can compare to His glory, especially since he created everything that
is. What is it that He has chosen to
enhance His divine glory? The souls of
the faithful, and He calls them His jewels!
Consider the
pearl of great price, (Matthew
We might not
understand our Heavenly Father’s reasoning sometimes, and no wonder; for He
said, “For as the heavens are higher than
the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your
thoughts,” (Isaiah 55:9). Worldly
mankind would likely list among the ‘shining stars’, the ‘crown jewels’ of
history people like: Alexander the Great,
Chapter 4
4:1 A prophecy of the destruction of
4:2 There is a distinct difference between the
proud and wicked mentioned in the preceding verse, and those who fear (obey,
honor, respect) the Lord. Those in
4:3 This verse speaks of the final end of the
wicked – their reward is death and destruction; while in contrast, the reward
of the righteous is everlasting life and joy.
Daniel
4:4 We note first the term of endearment which
reference is made to Moses…”my servant”.
God applied the term to Abraham, (Genesis 26:24 and many others); and to
David, (2 Samuel
Those people
were still under the Law of Moses, still subject to its requirements, and so
they were being admonished to remember those things and obey them. Romans 15:4; Galatians 3:23-29 – It was the
terms of the Law of Moses that the Jews at the time of the writing of Malachi
would be judged by, until the coming of John, (Matthew 11:12), then was the
transitional period during Christ’s earthly ministry; but we are under the Law
of Christ, the New Covenant, and it is by that law that we will be judged,
(James 2:12). Matthew 5:17-20.
4:5 This is not a reference to Elijah the
Tishbite, the famed prophet of old who was taken up into heaven in a
whirlwind. There can be no doubt that
this is a reference to John the Baptizer – Luke 1:17; John 1:21. Christ verified that fact in Matthew 11:14
and
Before the
great and dreadful day of the Lord refers to the destruction of
4:6 The intent of the Lord is repeated again in
the NT. And the warning is fully
executed: Luke 7:30; Matthew 3:10; and Luke 3:9. That the final word of the Old Testament is
‘curse’ places the world on notice that there is a choice to be made, and there
are consequences, (1 Corinthians 16:22; Romans 11:20-21).
It also places
the Old Law in sharp contrast to the New Law when we consider that the first
word of Christ’s teaching on earth is “Blessed”!, (Matthew 5:3). The Jewish nation fell under the curse
because they, on the whole, rejected Jesus as the Messiah. The curse of destruction was carried out by
the armies of
“Christ hath
redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is
written, Cursed is
every one that hangeth on a tree: That
the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that
we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith,” (Galatians 3:13-14). “And
there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in
it; and his servants shall serve him:
And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in
their foreheads,”(Meaning that we will bear His spiritual likeness), (Revelation
22:3-4).