1 Malachi By Dr. John McRay
2 Malachi Authorship: I. The Hebrew word from which Malachi is translated means simply Messenger of Jehovah and some have argued that it is not actually a personal name. A. However, all the other prophetic books of the Old Testament contain the name of their author and makes it unlikely that this one would be different. B. Nothing is known of Malachi outside this book. 1. He is not mentioned anywhere else in the Bible, so we have no knowledge of his background or of the circumstances of his life in relation to this book. 2. Even in the New Testament where he is quoted (Matthew 11:10; Mark 1:2; Luke 7:27) his name does not appear. a. Matthew 11:10, This is the one about whom it is written: "'I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you.' NIV b. Mark 1:2, It is written in Isaiah the prophet: "I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way" NIV c. Luke 7:27, This is the one about whom it is written: "'I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you.' NIV
3 II. Historical Setting and Date of Composition A. Malachi reflects the time period after the Temple in Jerusalem had been rebuilt. 1. It was finished in 515 B.C. 2. Several things indicate this period: a. Sacrifice according to the Law of Moses was being offered on the altar of the rebuilt temple i. Malachi 1:7, 10, "You place defiled food on my altar. But you ask, 'How have we defiled you?' "By saying that the LORD's table is contemptible. "Oh, that one of you would shut the temple doors, so that you would not light useless fires on my altar! I am not pleased with you," says the LORD Almighty, "and I will accept no offering from your hands. NIV ii. Malachi 3:1, "See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come," says the LORD Almighty. NIV b. The sins Malachi speaks against are the same ones Nehemiah dealt with in his second term of governorship from 430 to 425 BC:
4 i. Priestly laxity. i. Malachi 1:6, "A son honors his father, and a servant his master. If I am a father, where is the honor due me? If I am a master, where is the respect due me?" says the LORD Almighty. "It is you, O priests, who show contempt for my name. "But you ask, 'How have we shown contempt for your name?' NIV ii. Nehemiah 13:4-9, Before this, Eliashib the priest had been put in charge of the storerooms of the house of our God. He was closely associated with Tobiah, and he had provided him with a large room formerly used to store the grain offerings and incense and temple articles, and also the tithes of grain, new wine and oil prescribed for the Levites, singers and gatekeepers, as well as the contributions for the priests. But while all this was going on, I was not in Jerusalem, for in the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes king of Babylon I had returned to the king. Some time later I asked his permission and came back to Jerusalem. Here I learned about the evil thing Eliashib had done in providing Tobiah a room in the courts of the house of God. I was greatly displeased and threw all Tobiah's household goods out of the room. I gave orders to purify the
5 rooms, and then I put back into them the equipment of the house of God, with the grain offerings and the incense. NIV ii. Neglect of tithes, which caused poverty among the Levites. i. Malachi 3:7-12, Ever since the time of your forefathers you have turned away from my decrees and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you," says the LORD Almighty. "But you ask, 'How are we to return?' "Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me. "But you ask, 'How do we rob you?' "In tithes and offerings. You are under a curse the whole nation of you because you are robbing me. Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the LORD Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it. I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not cast their fruit," says the LORD Almighty. "Then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land," says the LORD Almighty. NIV ii. Nehemiah 13:10-13, I also learned that
6 the portions assigned to the Levites had not been given to them, and that all the Levites and singers responsible for the service had gone back to their own fields. So I rebuked the officials and asked them, "Why is the house of God neglected?" Then I called them together and stationed them at their posts. All Judah brought the tithes of grain, new wine and oil into the storerooms. I put Shelemiah the priest, Zadok the scribe, and a Levite named Pedaiah in charge of the storerooms and made Hanan son of Zaccur, the son of Mattaniah, their assistant, because these men were considered trustworthy. They were made responsible for distributing the supplies to their brothers. NIV iii. A large amount of intermarriages with foreign women. i. Malachi 2:10, Have we not all one Father? Did not one God create us? Why do we profane the covenant of our fathers by breaking faith with one another? NIV ii. Nehemiah 13:23-28, Moreover, in those days I saw men of Judah who had married women from Ashdod, Ammon and Moab. Half of their children spoke the language of Ashdod or the language of one of the other peoples, and did not know how to
7 III. Literary Form: speak the language of Judah. I rebuked them and called curses down on them. I beat some of the men and pulled out their hair. I made them take an oath in God's name and said: "You are not to give your daughters in marriage to their sons, nor are you to take their daughters in marriage for your sons or for yourselves. Was it not because of marriages like these that Solomon king of Israel sinned? Among the many nations there was no king like him. He was loved by his God, and God made him king over all Israel, but even he was led into sin by foreign women. Must we hear now that you too are doing all this terrible wickedness and are being unfaithful to our God by marrying foreign women?" One of the sons of Joiada son of Eliashib the high priest was son-in-law to Sanballat the Horonite. And I drove him away from me. NIV c. Thus a date of about 435 B.C. seems plausible for the writing of Malachi. A. Malachi uses eight rhetorical questions (1:2, 1:6, 1:7, 2:13-14, 2:17; 3:7; 3:8; 3:13) to present his message in a three point format.
8 1. Malachi 1:2, "I have loved you," says the LORD. "But you ask, 'How have you loved us?' "Was not Esau Jacob's brother?" the LORD says. "Yet I have loved Jacob, NIV 2. Malachi 1:6, "A son honors his father, and a servant his master. If I am a father, where is the honor due me? If I am a master, where is the respect due me?" says the LORD Almighty. "It is you, O priests, who show contempt for my name. "But you ask, 'How have we shown contempt for your name?' NIV 3. Malachi 1:7, "You place defiled food on my altar. "But you ask, 'How have we defiled you?' "By saying that the LORD's table is contemptible. NIV 4. Malachi 2:13, 14, Another thing you do: You flood the LORD's altar with tears. You weep and wail because he no longer pays attention to your offerings or accepts them with pleasure from your hands. You ask, "Why?" It is because the LORD is acting as the witness between you and the wife of your youth, because you have broken faith with her, though she is your partner, the wife of your marriage covenant. NIV 5. Malachi 2:17, You have wearied the LORD with your words. "How have we wearied him?" you ask. By saying, "All who do evil are good in the eyes of the LORD, and he is pleased with them" or "Where is the God of justice?" NIV 6. Malachi 3:7, Ever since the time of your forefathers you have turned away from my decrees and have not kept
9 them. Return to me, and I will return to you," says the LORD Almighty. "But you ask, 'How are we to return?' NIV 7. Malachi 3:8, "Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me. "But you ask, 'How do we rob you?' "In tithes and offerings. NIV 8. Malachi 3:13, "You have said harsh things against me," says the LORD. "Yet you ask, 'What have we said against you?' NIV B. Malachi s presentation: 1. First, he has God presenting a statement to the people. 2. Second, this is followed by their questioning the truth of his statement. 3. Third, he gives the justification for God s statement. 4. Interspersed among these questions, Malachi adds some short paragraphs on various topics.
10 Outline Of Book of Malachi By Dr. John McRay Malachi 1:1, An oracle: The word of the LORD to Israel through Malachi. NIV I. Author and subject of the prophecy. 1:1 A. Malachi 1:2-5, "I have loved you," says the LORD. "But you ask, 'How have you loved us?' "Was not Esau Jacob's brother?" the LORD says. "Yet I have loved Jacob, but Esau I have hated, and I have turned his mountains into a wasteland and left his inheritance to the desert jackals." Edom may say, "Though we have been crushed, we will rebuild the ruins." But this is what the LORD Almighty says: "They may build, but I will demolish. They will be called the Wicked Land, a people always under the wrath of the LORD. You will see it with your own eyes and say, 'Great is the LORD -even beyond the borders of Israel!' NIV II. God s love for Israel. 1:2-5, "I have loved you," says the LORD. "But you ask, 'How have you loved us?' "Was not Esau Jacob's brother?" the LORD says. "Yet I have loved Jacob, but Esau I have hated, and I have turned his mountains into a wasteland and left his inheritance to the desert jackals." Edom may say, "Though we have
11 been crushed, we will rebuild the ruins." But this is what the LORD Almighty says: "They may build, but I will demolish. They will be called the Wicked Land, a people always under the wrath of the LORD. You will see it with your own eyes and say, 'Great is the LORD -even beyond the borders of Israel!' A. God has loved Jacob. 1:2 1. Malachi 1:2, "I have loved you," says the LORD. But you ask, 'How have you loved us?' "Was not Esau Jacob's brother?" the LORD says. "Yet I have loved Jacob, but Esau I have hated, and I have turned his mountains into a wasteland and left his inheritance to the desert jackals." "I have loved you," says the LORD. "But you ask, 'How have you loved us?' "Was not Esau Jacob's brother?" the LORD says. "Yet I have loved Jacob, but Esau I have hated, and I have turned his mountains into a wasteland and left his inheritance to the desert jackals." NIV B. God has hated Esau. 1:3-5 1. Malachi 1:3-5, An oracle: The word of the LORD to Israel through Malachi. "I have loved you," says the LORD. "But you ask, 'How have you loved us?' "Was not Esau Jacob's brother?" the LORD says. "Yet I have loved Jacob, but Esau I have hated, and I have turned his mountains into a wasteland and left his inheritance to the desert jackals." Edom may say, "Though we have been crushed, we will rebuild the ruins." But this is what the LORD Almighty says: "They may build, but I will demolish. They will be called the Wicked Land, a people
12 always under the wrath of the LORD. a. You will see it with your own eyes and say, 'Great is the LORD -even beyond the borders of Israel!' NIV 2. Malachi 1:6-14, "A son honors his father, and a servant his master. If I am a father, where is the honor due me? If I am a master, where is the respect due me?" says the LORD Almighty. "It is you, O priests, who show contempt for my name. "But you ask, 'How have we shown contempt for your name?' "You place defiled food on my altar. "But you ask, 'How have we defiled you?' "By saying that the LORD's table is contemptible. When you bring blind animals for sacrifice, is that not wrong? When you sacrifice crippled or diseased animals, is that not wrong? Try offering them to your governor! Would he be pleased with you? Would he accept you?" says the LORD Almighty. "Now implore God to be gracious to us. With such offerings from your hands, will he accept you?"-says the LORD Almighty. "Oh, that one of you would shut the temple doors, so that you would not light useless fires on my altar! I am not pleased with you," says the LORD Almighty, "and I will accept no offering from your hands. My name will be great among the nations, from the rising to the setting of the sun. In every place incense and pure offerings will be brought to my name, because my name will be great among the nations," says the LORD Almighty. "But you profane it by saying of the Lord's table, 'It is defiled,' and of its food, 'It is contemptible.' And you say, 'What a burden!' and you sniff at it contemptuously," says the LORD Almighty. "When you bring injured, crippled or diseased animals and offer them
13 as sacrifices, should I accept them from your hands?" says the LORD. "Cursed is the cheat who has an acceptable male in his flock and vows to give it, but then sacrifices a blemished animal to the Lord. For I am a great king," says the LORD Almighty, "and my name is to be feared among the nations. NIV 3. Malachi 2:1-9, "And now this admonition is for you, O priests. If you do not listen, and if you do not set your heart to honor my name," says the LORD Almighty, "I will send a curse upon you, and I will curse your blessings. Yes, I have already cursed them, because you have not set your heart to honor me. "Because of you I will rebuke your descendants; I will spread on your faces the offal from your festival sacrifices, and you will be carried off with it. And you will know that I have sent you this admonition so that my covenant with Levi may continue," says the LORD Almighty. "My covenant was with him, a covenant of life and peace, and I gave them to him; this called for reverence and he revered me and stood in awe of my name. True instruction was in his mouth and nothing false was found on his lips. He walked with me in peace and uprightness, and turned many from sin. "For the lips of a priest ought to preserve knowledge, and from his mouth men should seek instruction because he is the messenger of the LORD Almighty. But you have turned from the way and by your teaching have caused many to stumble; you have violated the covenant with Levi," says the LORD Almighty. "So I have caused you to be despised and humiliated before all the people, because you have not followed my ways but have shown partiality in
14 matters of the law." NIV III. Faithless priests are rebuked. 1:6-2:9 C. Priests have despised God s name. 1. Malachi 1:6, "A son honors his father, and a servant his master. If I am a father, where is the honor due me? If I am a master, where is the respect due me?" says the LORD Almighty. "It is you, O priests, who show contempt for my name. "But you ask, 'How have we shown contempt for your name?' NIV D. Priests have offered unacceptable sacrifices. 1:7 1. Malachi 1:7, "You place defiled food on my altar. "But you ask, 'How have we defiled you?' "By saying that the LORD's table is contemptible. NIV 2. Blind animals, lame and sick. 1:8 a. Malachi 1:8, When you bring blind animals for sacrifice, is that not wrong? When you sacrifice crippled or diseased animals, is that not wrong? Try offering them to your governor! Would he be pleased with you? Would he accept you?" says the LORD Almighty. NIV 3. God will show no favor to them and not accept such offerings. 1:9-14
15 a. Malachi 1:9-14, "Now implore God to be gracious to us. With such offerings from your hands, will he accept you?"-says the LORD Almighty. "Oh, that one of you would shut the temple doors, so that you would not light useless fires on my altar! I am not pleased with you," says the LORD Almighty, "and I will accept no offering from your hands. My name will be great among the nations, from the rising to the setting of the sun. In every place incense and pure offerings will be brought to my name, because my name will be great among the nations," says the LORD Almighty. "But you profane it by saying of the Lord's table, 'It is defiled,' and of its food, 'It is contemptible.' And you say, 'What a burden!' and you sniff at it contemptuously," says the LORD Almighty. "When you bring injured, crippled or diseased animals and offer them as sacrifices, should I accept them from your hands?" says the LORD. "Cursed is the cheat who has an acceptable male in his flock and vows to give it, but then sacrifices a blemished animal to the Lord. For I am a great king," says the LORD Almighty, "and my name is to be feared among the nations. NIV E. God s curse pronounced upon the faithless priests because of insincere, corrupt teaching of the Law. 2:1-9 1. Malachi 2:1-9, "And now this admonition is for you, O priests. If you do not listen, and if you do not set your heart to honor my name," says the LORD Almighty, "I will send a curse upon you, and I will curse your blessings. Yes, I have already cursed them, because you have not set
16 your heart to honor me. "Because of you I will rebuke your descendants; I will spread on your faces the offal from your festival sacrifices, and you will be carried off with it. And you will know that I have sent you this admonition so that my covenant with Levi may continue," says the LORD Almighty. "My covenant was with him, a covenant of life and peace, and I gave them to him; this called for reverence and he revered me and stood in awe of my name. True instruction was in his mouth and nothing false was found on his lips. He walked with me in peace and uprightness, and turned many from sin. "For the lips of a priest ought to preserve knowledge, and from his mouth men should seek instruction because he is the messenger of the LORD Almighty. But you have turned from the way and by your teaching have caused many to stumble; you have violated the covenant with Levi," says the LORD Almighty. "So I have caused you to be despised and humiliated before all the people, because you have not followed my ways but have shown partiality in matters of the law." NIV Malachi 2:10-14, Have we not all one Father? Did not one God create us? Why do we profane the covenant of our fathers by breaking faith with one another? Judah has broken faith. A detestable thing has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem: Judah has desecrated the sanctuary the LORD loves, by marrying the daughter of a foreign god. As for the man who does this, whoever he may be, may the LORD cut him off from the tents of Jacob even though he brings offerings to the LORD Almighty. Another thing you do: You flood the LORD's altar with tears. You weep and wail because he no longer pays attention to your offerings or accepts them with pleasure
17 from your hands. You ask, "Why?" It is because the LORD is acting as the witness between you and the wife of your youth, because you have broken faith with her, though she is your partner, the wife of your marriage covenant. NIV Malachi 3:1-18, "See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come," says the LORD Almighty. But who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiner's fire or a launderer's soap. He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver. Then the LORD will have men who will bring offerings in righteousness, and the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem will be acceptable to the LORD, as in days gone by, as in former years. "So I will come near to you for judgment. I will be quick to testify against sorcerers, adulterers and perjurers, against those who defraud laborers of their wages, who oppress the widows and the fatherless, and deprive aliens of justice, but do not fear me," says the LORD Almighty. "I the LORD do not change. So you, O descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed. Ever since the time of your forefathers you have turned away from my decrees and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you," says the LORD Almighty. "But you ask, 'How are we to return?' "Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me. "But you ask, 'How do we rob you?' "In tithes and offerings. You are under a curse the whole nation of you because you are robbing me. Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the LORD Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it. I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields
18 will not cast their fruit," says the LORD Almighty. "Then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land," says the LORD Almighty. "You have said harsh things against me," says the LORD. "Yet you ask, 'What have we said against you?' "You have said, 'It is futile to serve God. What did we gain by carrying out his requirements and going about like mourners before the LORD Almighty? But now we call the arrogant blessed. Certainly the evildoers prosper, and even those who challenge God escape.'" Then those who feared the LORD talked with each other, and the LORD listened and heard. A scroll of remembrance was written in his presence concerning those who feared the LORD and honored his name. "They will be mine," says the LORD Almighty, "in the day when I make up my treasured possession. I will spare them, just as in compassion a man spares his son who serves him. And you will again see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not. NIV Malachi 4:1-3, "Surely the day is coming; it will burn like a furnace. All the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble, and that day that is coming will set them on fire," says the LORD Almighty. "Not a root or a branch will be left to them. But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings. And you will go out and leap like calves released from the stall. Then you will trample down the wicked; they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day when I do these things," says the LORD Almighty. NIV IV. The people are rebuked. 2:10-4:3 A. They have disobeyed God by divorce and mixed marriage. 2:10-16
19 1. Malachi 2:10-16, Have we not all one Father? Did not one God create us? Why do we profane the covenant of our fathers by breaking faith with one another? Judah has broken faith. A detestable thing has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem: Judah has desecrated the sanctuary the LORD loves, by marrying the daughter of a foreign god. As for the man who does this, whoever he may be, may the LORD cut him off from the tents of Jacob even though he brings offerings to the LORD Almighty. Another thing you do: You flood the LORD's altar with tears. You weep and wail because he no longer pays attention to your offerings or accepts them with pleasure from your hands. You ask, "Why?" It is because the LORD is acting as the witness between you and the wife of your youth, because you have broken faith with her, though she is your partner, the wife of your marriage covenant. Has not the LORD made them one? In flesh and spirit they are his. And why one? Because he was seeking godly offspring. So guard yourself in your spirit, and do not break faith with the wife of your youth. "I hate divorce," says the LORD God of Israel, "and I hate a man's covering himself with violence as well as with his garment," says the LORD Almighty. So guard yourself in your spirit, and do not break faith. NIV B. Warning of the coming judgment of the Lord. 2:17-3:6 1. Malachi 2:17, You have wearied the LORD with your words. "How have we wearied him?" you ask. By saying, "All who do evil are good in the eyes of the LORD, and he
20 is pleased with them" or "Where is the God of justice?" NIV 2. Malachi 3:1-6, See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come," says the LORD Almighty. But who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiner's fire or a launderer's soap. He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver. Then the LORD will have men who will bring offerings in righteousness, and the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem will be acceptable to the LORD, as in days gone by, as in former years. "So I will come near to you for judgment. I will be quick to testify against sorcerers, adulterers and perjurers, against those who defraud laborers of their wages, who oppress the widows and the fatherless, and deprive aliens of justice, but do not fear me," says the LORD Almighty. "I the LORD do not change. So you, O descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed. NIV C. They must return to the Lord and resume tithing. 3:7-12 1. Malachi 3:7-12, Ever since the time of your forefathers you have turned away from my decrees and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you," says the LORD Almighty. "But you ask, 'How are we to return?' "Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me. "But you ask, 'How do we rob you?' "In tithes and offerings. You are under a curse the whole nation of you because you are
21 robbing me. Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the LORD Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it. I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not cast their fruit," says the LORD Almighty. "Then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land," says the LORD Almighty. NIV D. Complaint: The wicked prosper, the righteous suffer. 3:13-15 1. Malachi 3:13-15, "You have said harsh things against me," says the LORD. "Yet you ask, 'What have we said against you?' "You have said, 'It is futile to serve God. What did we gain by carrying out his requirements and going about like mourners before the LORD Almighty? But now we call the arrogant blessed. Certainly the evildoers prosper, and even those who challenge God escape.'" NIV E. The righteous will be separated from the wicked. 3:16-18 1. Malachi 3:16-18, Then those who feared the LORD talked with each other, and the LORD listened and heard. A scroll of remembrance was written in his presence concerning those who feared the LORD and honored his name. "They will be mine," says the LORD Almighty, "in the day when I make up my treasured possession. I will spare them, just as in compassion a man spares his son who serves him. And you will again see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between those who
22 serve God and those who do not. NIV F. The wicked will be destroyed and the righteous healed. 4:1-3 1. Malachi 4:1-3, Surely the day is coming; it will burn like a furnace. All the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble, and that day that is coming will set them on fire," says the LORD Almighty. "Not a root or a branch will be left to them. But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings. And you will go out and leap like calves released from the stall. Then you will trample down the wicked; they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day when I do these things," says the LORD Almighty. NIV Malachi 4:4-6, "Remember the law of my servant Moses, the decrees and laws I gave him at Horeb for all Israel. "See, I will send you the prophet Elijah before that great and dreadful day of the LORD comes. He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers; or else I will come and strike the land with a curse." "Remember the law of my servant Moses, the decrees and laws I gave him at Horeb for all Israel. "See, I will send you the prophet Elijah before that great and dreadful day of the LORD comes. He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers; or else I will come and strike the land with a curse." NIV I. Closing admonitions 4:4 6 A. Keep the Law of Moses. 4:4
23 1. Malachi 4:4, "Remember the law of my servant Moses, the decrees and laws I gave him at Horeb for all Israel. NIV B. Look for the coming of the prophet Elijah and his work of preparing the people for the coming of Christ. 4:5-6 1. Malachi 4:5-6, "See, I will send you the prophet Elijah before that great and dreadful day of the LORD comes. He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers; or else I will come and strike the land with a curse." NIV Commentary On Malachi By Dr. John McRay Malachi 1:1, An oracle: The word of the LORD to Israel through Malachi. NIV I. Author and subject of the prophecy. 1:1 A. The opening verse of Malachi states three facts about the oracle: 1. It is from the Lord,
24 2. It is for Israel, 3. It is through Malachi. B. An oracle contains information given by God to humans containing either answers to questions or revelations about the future. 1. The Hebrew word translated oracle means burden and refers to something God has placed on Malachi s heart to proclaim to others. 2. It is used in Isaiah (13:1; 14:28; 15:1; 17:1; 19:1) and Nahum (1:1) to introduce prophetic oracles on foreign nations. a. Isaiah 13:1, An oracle concerning Babylon that Isaiah son of Amoz saw: NIV b. Isaiah 14:28, This oracle came in the year King Ahaz died: NIV c. Isaiah 15:1, An oracle concerning Moab: Ar in Moab is ruined, destroyed in a night! Kir in Moab is ruined, destroyed in a night! NIV d. Isaiah 17:1, An oracle concerning Damascus: "See, Damascus will no longer be a city but will become a heap of ruins. NIV e. Isaiah 19:1, An oracle concerning Egypt: See, the LORD rides on a swift cloud and is coming to Egypt.
25 The idols of Egypt tremble before him, and the hearts of the Egyptians melt within them. NIV f. Nahum 1:1, An oracle concerning Nineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite. NIV Malachi 1:2-5, "I have loved you," says the LORD. "But you ask, 'How have you loved us?' "Was not Esau Jacob's brother?" the LORD says. "Yet I have loved Jacob, but Esau I have hated, and I have turned his mountains into a wasteland and left his inheritance to the desert jackals." Edom may say, "Though we have been crushed, we will rebuild the ruins." But this is what the LORD Almighty says: "They may build, but I will demolish. They will be called the Wicked Land, a people always under the wrath of the LORD. You will see it with your own eyes and say, 'Great is the LORD -even beyond the borders of Israel!' NIV II. God s love for Israel. 1:2-5 A. God has loved Jacob. 1. Malachi 1:2, I have loved you," says the LORD. "But you ask, 'How have you loved us?' "Was not Esau Jacob's brother?" the LORD says. "Yet I have loved Jacob, NIV a. God has shown his love for the Jewish people who are represented by Jacob. b. In verse 2, Malachi begins using the format of eight rhetorical questions which extend through chapter three (1:2; 1:6; 1:7; 2:13-14; 2:17; 3:7; 3:8; 3:13) to present his message.
26 i. Malachi 1:2, I have loved you," says the LORD. "But you ask, 'How have you loved us?' "Was not Esau Jacob's brother?" the LORD says. "Yet I have loved Jacob, NIV ii. Malachi 1:6, "A son honors his father, and a servant his master. If I am a father, where is the honor due me? If I am a master, where is the respect due me?" says the LORD Almighty. "It is you, O priests, who show contempt for my name. "But you ask, 'How have we shown contempt for your name?' NIV iii. Malachi 1:7, "You place defiled food on my altar. "But you ask, 'How have we defiled you?' "By saying that the LORD's table is contemptible. NIV iv. Malachi 2:13-14, Another thing you do: You flood the LORD's altar with tears. You weep and wail because he no longer pays attention to your offerings or accepts them with pleasure from your hands. You ask, "Why?" It is because the LORD is acting as the witness between you and the wife of your youth, because you have broken faith with her, though she is your partner, the wife of your marriage covenant. NIV v. Malachi 2:17, You have wearied the LORD with your words. "How have we wearied him?" you ask. By saying, "All who do evil are good in the eyes of the LORD, and he is pleased
27 with them" or "Where is the God of justice?" NIV vi. Malachi 3:7, Ever since the time of your forefathers you have turned away from my decrees and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you," says the LORD Almighty. "But you ask, 'How are we to return?' NIV vii. Malachi 3:8, "Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me. "But you ask, 'How do we rob you?' "In tithes and offerings. NIV viii. Malachi 3:13, "You have said harsh things against me," says the LORD. "Yet you ask, 'What have we said against you?' NIV c. Each of these is laid out in a three point format. i. In the first point, God is making a statement to the people. ii. In the second one, there is a questioning by the people of the truth of God s statement. iii. And in the third one, he gives the justification for God s statement. d. Here is a list of these formats: i. Format 1: 1:2, An oracle: The word of the
28 LORD to Israel through Malachi. "I have loved you," says the LORD. "But you ask, 'How have you loved us?' "Was not Esau Jacob's brother?" the LORD says. "Yet I have loved Jacob, NIV 1) I have loved you. 2) How have you loved us? 3) I have loved Jacob (People of Israel) and hated Esau (Edomites). ii. Format 2: 1:6, "A son honors his father, and a servant his master. If I am a father, where is the honor due me? If I am a master, where is the respect due me?" says the LORD Almighty. "It is you, O priests, who show contempt for my name. "But you ask, 'How have we shown contempt for your name?' NIV 1) Priests have despised God s name. 2) How have we despised your name? 3) By offering polluted sacrifice on the altar. iii. Format 3: 1:7, "A son honors his father, and a servant his master. If I am a father, where is the honor due me? If I am a master, where is the respect due me?" says the LORD Almighty. "It is you, O priests, who show contempt for my name. "But you ask, 'How have we shown
29 contempt for your name?' NIV 1) They have offered polluted sacrifices. 2) How have we polluted his altar? 3) By offering blind, sick and lame animals. iv. Format 4: 2:13-14, Another thing you do: You flood the LORD's altar with tears. You weep and wail because he no longer pays attention to your offerings or accepts them with pleasure from your hands. 14 You ask, "Why?" It is because the LORD is acting as the witness between you and the wife of your youth, because you have broken faith with her, though she is your partner, the wife of your marriage covenant. NIV 1) You cover the altar with tears, weeping and groaning because he no longer accepts the offerings with favor. 2) Why does he not? 3) Because you have been faithless to your wives. v. Format 5: 2:17, You have wearied the LORD with your words. "How have we wearied him?"
30 you ask. By saying, "All who do evil are good in the eyes of the LORD, and he is pleased with them" or "Where is the God of justice?" 1) You have wearied the Lord with your words. 2) How have we wearied him? 3) By saying everyone who does evil is good in the sight of the Lord or saying where is the God of justice. vi. Format 6: 3:7, Ever since the time of your forefathers you have turned away from my decrees and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you," says the LORD Almighty. "But you ask, 'How are we to return?' NIV 1) You have turned aside from my statutes and have not kept them. Return to me. 2) How shall we return? 3) (no justification is given in this format) vii. Format 7: 3:8, "Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me. "But you ask, 'How do we rob you?' "In tithes and offerings. NIV
31 B. God has hated Esau. 1) You are robbing me. 2) How are we robbing you? 3) In your tithes and offerings, you are cursed. viii. Format 8: 3:13, "You have said harsh things against me," says the LORD. "Yet you ask, 'What have we said against you?' NIV 1) Your words have been stout against me. 2) How have spoken against you? 3) By saying it is vain to serve God. 1. Proverbs 1:3-5, for acquiring a disciplined and prudent life, doing what is right and just and fair; for giving prudence to the simple, knowledge and discretion to the young- let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance- NIV 2. In verse 3, the result of God s rejection of Esau is that Edom becomes a wasteland inhabited by jackals. 3. In the fourth century B.C. the Nabateans drove the Edomites out of Edom and they settled to the west in the southern part of Judah which later became known as Idumea.
32 4. Verses 4 and 5 elaborate God s rejection of the land of Edom. 5. Edom may try to rebuild its ruins but God will not allow it and this will show the power of God beyond the border of Israel. a. The evidence of his power outside Israel s border will cause the people to praise God saying, Great is the Lord, beyond the border of Israel. b. This means that he is not just the God of the Jews but of all nations. Malachi 1:6-14, "A son honors his father, and a servant his master. If I am a father, where is the honor due me? If I am a master, where is the respect due me?" says the LORD Almighty. "It is you, O priests, who show contempt for my name. "But you ask, 'How have we shown contempt for your name?' "You place defiled food on my altar. "But you ask, 'How have we defiled you?' "By saying that the LORD's table is contemptible. When you bring blind animals for sacrifice, is that not wrong? When you sacrifice crippled or diseased animals, is that not wrong? Try offering them to your governor! Would he be pleased with you? Would he accept you?" says the LORD Almighty. "Now implore God to be gracious to us. With such offerings from your hands, will he accept you?"-says the LORD Almighty. "Oh, that one of you would shut the temple doors, so that you would not light useless fires on my altar! I am not pleased with you," says the LORD Almighty, "and I will accept no offering from your hands. My name will be great among the nations, from the rising to the setting of the sun. In every place incense and pure offerings will be brought to my name, because my name will be great
33 among the nations," says the LORD Almighty. "But you profane it by saying of the Lord's table, 'It is defiled,' and of its food, 'It is contemptible.' And you say, 'What a burden!' and you sniff at it contemptuously," says the LORD Almighty. "When you bring injured, crippled or diseased animals and offer them as sacrifices, should I accept them from your hands?" says the LORD. "Cursed is the cheat who has an acceptable male in his flock and vows to give it, but then sacrifices a blemished animal to the Lord. For I am a great king," says the LORD Almighty, "and my name is to be feared among the nations. NIV Malachi 2:1-9, "And now this admonition is for you, O priests. If you do not listen, and if you do not set your heart to honor my name," says the LORD Almighty, "I will send a curse upon you, and I will curse your blessings. Yes, I have already cursed them, because you have not set your heart to honor me. "Because of you I will rebuke your descendants; I will spread on your faces the offal from your festival sacrifices, and you will be carried off with it. And you will know that I have sent you this admonition so that my covenant with Levi may continue," says the LORD Almighty. "My covenant was with him, a covenant of life and peace, and I gave them to him; this called for reverence and he revered me and stood in awe of my name. True instruction was in his mouth and nothing false was found on his lips. He walked with me in peace and uprightness, and turned many from sin. "For the lips of a priest ought to preserve knowledge, and from his mouth men should seek instruction because he is the messenger of the LORD Almighty. But you have turned from the way and by your teaching have caused many to stumble; you have violated the covenant with Levi," says the LORD Almighty. "So I
34 have caused you to be despised and humiliated before all the people, because you have not followed my ways but have shown partiality in matters of the law." NIV III. Faithless priests are rebuked. 1:6-2:9 A. Priests have despised God s name. 1:6 1. God is the heavenly father and the master of all his servants and yet these servants (the priests) are not honoring and respecting him. 2. The Law of Moses states in the Ten Commandments that a father and mother must be honored (Exodus 20:12) and declares a death penalty for any son or daughter who strikes or curses them (Exodus 21:15,17; Deuteronomy 21:18-21). a. Exodus 20:12, "Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you. NIV b. Exodus 21:15, 17, "Anyone who attacks his father or his mother must be put to death. "Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death. NIV c. Deuteronomy 21:18-21, If a man has a stubborn and rebellious son who does not obey his father and mother and will not listen to them when they discipline him, his father and mother shall take hold of him and bring him to the elders at the gate of his town. They shall say to the elders, "This son of ours
35 is stubborn and rebellious. He will not obey us. He is a profligate and a drunkard." Then all the men of his town shall stone him to death. You must purge the evil from among you. All Israel will hear of it and be afraid. NIV B. Priests have offered unacceptable sacrifices. 1:7 1. They have despised his name by offering polluted food on his altar and thus despised the Lord s table. 2. Blind animals, lame and sick. 1:8 a. The sacrifices offered to God were so unacceptable that, if they were offered to the governor as only a form of tax, they would not be acceptable. 3. God will show no favor to them and not accept such offerings. 1:9-14 a. Malachi says that since God will not accept such polluted offerings, this means he will not accept the people who gave them. b. So they need to seek the favor of God that he may forgive them and be gracious to them. c. The point made by Malachi in these verses continues to be that the conduct of the Levitical priests is unacceptable. d. In essence, God prefers that someone close the door
36 to the Most Holy Place in the temple and not allow any activity within it rather than that the abominable meaningless rituals should continue. e. In contrast to these unacceptable sacrifices offered by the Jewish people, Malachi prophesies in verse 11 that in the future, as translated in the New International Version and the King James Version, God s name will be honored among the Gentiles throughout the world. f. True incense and pure offerings will be presented to God. g. In the Messianic Age, Christians will offer the real incense which is the genuine prayers of the saints (Revelation 5:8) and their offerings will be a sacrifice of praise which is the fruit of lips that confess his name (Hebrews 13:15-16). i. Revelation 5:8, And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. NIV ii. Revelation 13:15-16, He was given power to give breath to the image of the first beast, so that it could speak and cause all who refused to worship the image to be killed. He also forced everyone, small and great, rich and poor, free
37 and slave, to receive a mark on his right hand or on his forehead, NIV 4. In verse 12, God s altar in the Most Holy Place is referred to again as a table (cf. verse 7) which was defiled and its food considered contemptible thus profaning the Lord s name. a. They have turned their noses up at the Lord by considering offering acceptable sacrifices to him a burden (verse 13). b. These priests who were supposed to be mediators between God and his people (Exodus 28:1, 43) have disgraced their office and brought shame on the name of Jehovah. i. Exodus 28:1, 43, "Have Aaron your brother brought to you from among the Israelites, along with his sons Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, so they may serve me as priests. Aaron and his sons must wear them whenever they enter the Tent of Meeting or approach the altar to minister in the Holy Place, so that they will not incur guilt and die. "This is to be a lasting ordinance for Aaron and his descendants. NIV c. In verse 14 Malachi says that a man who has an acceptable animal for sacrifice but chooses instead to offer an unacceptable one is cursed by God who is a great king and whose name is to be feared among the
38 nations ( i.e. the non-jewish world). i. If his chosen people, the Jews, reject him he will choose others (Gentiles, foreigners) who will honor his holy name. C. God s curse pronounced upon the faithless priests because of insincere, corrupt teaching of the Law. 2:1-9 1. In verses 1 and 2, Malachi says that the blessings of the priests (such as pest-free crops and fruitful vines in 3:11) are being cursed by God because they have not honored him. 2. Thus, in verse 3, they will be rejected by God and carried off like the offal (dung) of their sacrifices. a. Offal was the internal waste of the sacrificial animal that usually was carried outside the camp. b. So this is an insult to the priests stating that because of their sinfulness in making unacceptable offerings, they will be carried away from their place of service and taken outside the camp, i.e. outside any place of functioning in the worship of Israel. 3. In verses 5and 6, Malachi says God made a covenant with the priests of Levi when he appointed them and in those early years they feared him, obeyed his Law, and turned many people from their sins to serve God. a. This was the purpose of a priest, (verse 7), to
39 constantly study the Law and meditate on it because the fear of Jehovah is the beginning of wisdom; and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. i. Proverbs 9:10, "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. NIV ii. But in the years that have passed since the founding of the priests of Levi, the priests have turned aside from keeping the Law (verse 8) and have caused many people to do the same, thus making the Law a stumbling block. iii. The result was that God, therefore, made the priests, who were supposed to be held in honor and high esteem among the people, despised and humiliated. Malachi 2:10-17, Have we not all one Father? Did not one God create us? Why do we profane the covenant of our fathers by breaking faith with one another? Judah has broken faith. A detestable thing has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem: Judah has desecrated the sanctuary the LORD loves, by marrying the daughter of a foreign god. As for the man who does this, whoever he may be, may the LORD cut him off from the tents of Jacob even though he brings offerings to the LORD Almighty. Another thing you do: You flood the LORD's altar with tears. You weep and wail because he no longer pays attention to your offerings or accepts them with pleasure from your hands. You ask, "Why?" It is because the LORD is acting as the witness between you and the wife of your youth, because you
40 have broken faith with her, though she is your partner, the wife of your marriage covenant. Has not the LORD made them one? In flesh and spirit they are his. And why one? Because he was seeking godly offspring. So guard yourself in your spirit, and do not break faith with the wife of your youth. "I hate divorce," says the LORD God of Israel, "and I hate a man's covering himself with violence as well as with his garment," says the LORD Almighty. So guard yourself in your spirit, and do not break faith. You have wearied the LORD with your words. "How have we wearied him?" you ask. By saying, "All who do evil are good in the eyes of the LORD, and he is pleased with them" or "Where is the God of justice?" NIV Malachi 3:1-18, "See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come," says the LORD Almighty. But who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiner's fire or a launderer's soap. He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver. Then the LORD will have men who will bring offerings in righteousness, and the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem will be acceptable to the LORD, as in days gone by, as in former years. "So I will come near to you for judgment. I will be quick to testify against sorcerers, adulterers and perjurers, against those who defraud laborers of their wages, who oppress the widows and the fatherless, and deprive aliens of justice, but do not fear me," says the LORD Almighty. "I the LORD do not change. So you, O descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed. Ever since the time of your forefathers you have turned away from my decrees and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you," says the LORD Almighty. " But you
41 ask, 'How are we to return?' "Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me. "But you ask, 'How do we rob you?' "In tithes and offerings. You are under a curse the whole nation of you because you are robbing me. Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the LORD Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it. I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not cast their fruit," says the LORD Almighty. "Then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land," says the LORD Almighty. "You have said harsh things against me," says the LORD. "Yet you ask, 'What have we said against you?' "You have said, 'It is futile to serve God. What did we gain by carrying out his requirements and going about like mourners before the LORD Almighty? But now we call the arrogant blessed. Certainly the evildoers prosper, and even those who challenge God escape.'" Then those who feared the LORD talked with each other, and the LORD listened and heard. A scroll of remembrance was written in his presence concerning those who feared the LORD and honored his name. "They will be mine," says the LORD Almighty, "in the day when I make up my treasured possession. I will spare them, just as in compassion a man spares his son who serves him. And you will again see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not. NIV Malachi 4:1-3, "Surely the day is coming; it will burn like a furnace. All the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble, and that day that is coming will set them on fire," says the LORD Almighty. "Not a root or a branch will be left to them. But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings. And you will go out and leap like calves released from the stall. Then you will trample down the wicked; they will be ashes under the soles of