A. Summary and Overview.
- The author of the book is the prophet Malachi, as identified in verse 1: “The burden of the word of the LORD to Israel by Malachi”. The consensus of bible scholars is that the date of the writing is post-exile, and the conditions present in Israel correspond to those conditions present during the books of Ezra and Nehemiah. This would place it between 440 and 400 BC. It is the last of the Old Testament prophets, and there would be 400 years of silence from the Lord until John the Baptist at the time of Jesus.
- The prophet writes after the temple has been rebuilt, but the people have become just as unfaithful as the previous generation with its treatment of poverty, evil practices, and injustice. It consists of four chapters. The style is dialectic, in that God makes a claim or accusation, then Israel will disagree or question God’s statement. God will respond with the last word. For this reason, Malachi is sometimes referred to as the Socrates of the Old Testament, due to his style of questioning. These disputes between God and the people occur six times in the book of Malachi.
B. Chapter 1.
- Dispute number 1. God reminds the people that He still loves them in spite of their unfaithfulness. They rudely ask “How have you loved us” (Vs. 1:2b). The Lord then reminds them that he chose Jacob whom He loved over Esau whom he hated to carry out His covenant promises (Vs. 1:2b-3a).
- Dispute number 2. God accuses the priests of despising His name. They ask how have they done this? God responds by pointing to polluted offerings on the altar of blind, lame and sick animals (Vs. 1:6-13). God concludes this dispute by declaring: “Cursed be the cheat who has a male in his flock, and vows it, and yet sacrifices to the Lord what is blemished. For I am a great King, says the LORD of hosts, and my name will be feared among the nations” (Vs. 1:14).
C. Chapters 2 and 3.
- Dispute number 3. God accuses the men of Israel who weep because their offerings are not accepted because of unfaithfulness to him, and by being unfaithful to their wives: “But you say, ‘Why does he not?’ Because the LORD was witness between you and the wife of your youth, to whom you have been faithless, though she is your companion and your wife by covenant. Did he not make them one, with a portion of the Spirit in their union? And what was the one God seeking? Godly offspring. So, guard yourselves in your spirit, and let none of you be faithless to the wife of your youth” (Vs. 2:14-15).
- Dispute number 4. God accuses the people of ignoring Him. God has grown weary of Israel as they accused Him of being unjust. They ask how? The Lord responds: By saying, “’Everyone who does evil is good in the sight of the LORD, and he delights in them.’ Or by asking, ‘Where is the God of justice?’” (Vs. 2:17b). They see the evil and injustice and accuse God of doing nothing. God further responds: “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; and 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 fullers’ soap” (Vs.3:1-2).
- Dispute number 5. God accuses the people of robbing Him: “Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me. But you say, ‘How have we robbed you?’ In your tithes and contributions” (Vs. 3:8). God then proposes a test: “Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the LORD of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need” (Vs. 3:10).
- Dispute number 6. God accuses the people of speaking hard words against Him. Their response and His reply are: “But you say, ‘How have we spoken against you?’ You have said, ‘It is vain to serve God. What is the profit of our keeping his charge or of walking as in mourning before the LORD of hosts? And now we call the arrogant blessed. Evildoers not only prosper but they put God to the test, and they escape’” (Vs. 3:13). God does not respond directly, but a book of remembrance was written by those who feared the Lord and esteemed His name (Vs. 3:16).
D. Chapter 4.
- Malachi provides a vision of the judgement of the day of the Lord and of the restoration of His people: “For behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven, when all the arrogant and all evildoers will be stubble. The day that is coming shall set them ablaze, says the LORD of hosts, so that it will leave them neither root nor branch. But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings. You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall” (Vs, 4:1-2).
- A prophecy is given that Elijah will return: “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes. And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction” (Vs. 4:5-6). This prophecy had two fulfillments. The first was when John the Baptist came before the first coming of Jesus. An angel appeared to Zechariah, who would become John’s father and told him: “And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared” (Luke 1:16-17). The second will be during the Tribulation period when Elijah will physically return before Christ’s glorious appearing. Many believe he will be one of the two witnesses in Revelation chapter 11.
E. Discussion, Application and Passing it on.
- Tithing is a controversial subject for Christians. Many pastors use Malachi 3:8-10 as a legal requirement for believers to donate 10 percent of their income to the church. However, the New Testament does not mandate such a practice. Instead, we see accounts of believers generously giving to the poor and to support ministry to further God’s kingdom on earth. How is your giving? Many believers have put God to the test with their finances and have been blessed.
- Malachi’s message is that God will judge those who turn away from Him. But if we return to Him, He will return to us (Vs. 3:6). Do you turn away from God in any of your practices? Do you have a personal “book of remembrance” that records God’s gracious treatment of you?