We have reached the final book of the Old Testament! Congratulations, Reader! 🎉

Malachi is one of the prophets we know nothing about. There’s no mention of his tribe or father and no overt information about when he wrote.

🤓 His name looks like it should be pronounced like an Italian fashion designer, Ma-LAH-chee.

It’s technically pronounced MAL-aw-kee. It comes from the Hebrew word malak which is usually translated as “angel” or “messenger.” So it could even be a pseudonym.

😐 What’s a p’sue-duh-nim?

It’s soo-doe-nim.

It’s a false name, like an author’s pen name. Like, the writer may have just called himself “the messenger” instead of using his real name.

In chapter 3 we read how the LORD is going to send His malak, His “messenger.”

Even though there is no overt information about Malachi, the text itself has several clues that point to the time it was written.

• Edom is described as “laid waste.” This didn’t happen until after the fall of Jerusalem. (1:3)
• The messages are primarily aimed at the priests as leaders, (1:6, 2:1,7) There is no mention of a king, but the text does mention a “governor” (1:8) – a position that didn’t exist until after the Babylonian Capivity.
• The prophecy addresses the problem of Jewish men abandoning their Jewish wives and marrying foreign women – the same problem faced by Ezra and Nehemiah.
• The prophecy addresses the failure to collect the tithes for the Levites so the temple could function as designed. This was a problem specifically described as happening when Nehemiah went away from Judea for a time.

For these reasons, it makes sense to estimate Malachi as being written during the days of Ezra and Nehemiah.

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THE PRIESTS ARE REBUKED – 1:6-2:9

In the very space where, 500 years in the future, a poor widow will generously give her last 2 pennies, the priests are offering up the leftovers that no one wants.

It reminds me of a scene in The Sound of Music. Maria goes to the fine VonTrapp family villa to be the new governess and she’s wearing a hideous dress. She meets Captain VonTrapp who, rather than looking like a crusty old salt, is a surprisingly handsome gentleman.

Captain: Why do you stare at me that way?

Maria: Well, you don’t look at all like a sea captain, sir.

Captain: I’m afraid you don’t look very much like a governess. Turn around, please.

Maria: What?!

Captain: (finger whirling) Turn.

Maria: (turns in a circle)

Captain: Hat…off.

Maria: (removes a rather ugly hat)

Captain: (sighs) It’s the dress. You’ll have to put on another one before you meet the children.

Maria: But I don’t have another one!

“The poor didn’t want this one.”

That perfectly describes the sacrifices being offered to the Great King above all gods. The One Who delivered them from bondage and brought them into their own land. Twice! The One Who forgave them and provided for them. They were giving him blind and lame critters. The runts and the animals that probably wouldn’t have survived anyway.

It’s inconsistent to say that the LORD is the great King and then treat Him like a beggar.

“How I wish one of you would shut the Temple doors so that these worthless sacrifices could not be offered! I am not pleased with you,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, “and I will not accept your offerings. But my name is honored by people of other nations from morning till night. All around the world they offer sweet incense and pure offerings in honor of my name. For my name is great among the nations,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.”
‭‭Malachi‬ ‭1‬:‭10‬-‭11‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Remember how Nebuchadnezzar and Cyrus and Darius had acknowledged and honored Yahweh as the Most High Creator of heaven and earth? There is a whole community of Jews down in Egypt at this time and there are Egyptians who have come to acknowledge Yahweh and honor Him.

And yet, His own priests in Jerusalem have begun to view their work as a chore; an unpleasant obligation. God warns them sternly but also says in 2:1-4 that He has already warned them in the past and they have ignored it so He is punishing them and their descendants.

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JUDAH’S MARRIAGE PROBLEM – 2:10-16

The first section addressed the priests. This message is for all of Judah.

SIDE NOTE

This is another indication that Malachi was written after the exile. The people lived in the land that had been the southern kingdom of Judah – or, at least part of it. And besides the tribes of Levi and Benjamin, most of the people were descended from Judah.

“Judah has been unfaithful, and a detestable thing has been done in Israel and in Jerusalem. The men of Judah have defiled the Lord’s beloved sanctuary by marrying women who worship idols.”
‭‭Malachi‬ ‭2‬:‭11‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Notice that even if the men are not actively worshiping idols, they are one with their idol-worshiping wives and when they enter the Lord’s sanctuary, they bring that pollution in with them. It’s a strong statement about how the LORD sees married people.

“You cry out, “Why doesn’t the Lord accept my worship?” I’ll tell you why! Because the Lord witnessed the vows you and your wife made when you were young. But you have been unfaithful to her, though she remained your faithful partner, the wife of your marriage vows.”
‭‭Malachi‬ ‭2‬:‭14‬ ‭NLT‬

It’s not always the case that an unanswered prayer is the result of sin. But if we find that the LORD is distant, and heaven silent, some self-examination would not go amiss; followed by repentance of any disobedience we’ve been harboring in our hearts.

“If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened.”
‭‭Psalm‬ ‭66‬:‭18‬ ‭ESV‬‬

And in this context we get the clearest statement in all of scripture on what God thinks of divorce:

“For I hate divorce!” says the Lord, the God of Israel. “To divorce your wife is to overwhelm her with cruelty,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. “So guard your heart; do not be unfaithful to your wife.””
‭‭Malachi‬ ‭2‬:‭16‬ ‭NLT‬‬

God tells them to guard their hearts because the men were letting their hearts wander and entertain thoughts of beautiful, foreign women. These women felt new and exciting. They had mysterious customs and a different religion.

If men were fish, mysterious exotic women would be the bait that would guarantee them to bite when nothing else worked. But I think this temptation is bigger than just simple lust. In verse 15 God tells them the purpose for their marriages is:

Godly children.

The “seed of the woman” who will crush the head of the serpent is still yet to come.

This little band of returned exiles is it. They’re all that’s left of “the root of David” through which the Branch-King will come who will reign over ALL the nations.

You don’t think the agents of darkness are just going to sit on their hands, do you?

If the men of Judah divorce the daughters of Judah (through whom that seed must come) and marry foreign women outside of the promise, God’s plan could be thwarted.

This is MUCH bigger than a few men being tempted by hot foreign babes.

THE ENTIRE REDEMPTION OF EARTH IS AT STAKE.

I cannot emphasize this enough.

It’s high time we begin to see our own temptations and struggles with the flesh for what it actually is: WAR.

I doubt the men of Judah realized that their fleshly lusts were part of a diabolical trap to stop the birth of Messiah.

I doubt most Christians today who struggle with various fleshly lusts realize how sin is a diabolical trap to hinder the building of the Church; the living Temple of the Messiah.

This is MUCH bigger than us.

The Enemy has been working tirelessly since Eden to stop God’s plan to have a holy human family reigning over the earth. Now that Christ has come (as a human!) and secured the victory, the enemy is left in a rather Nazi-esque situation: Kill as many as you can before the end.

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Q&A

In an almost Catechistic fashion, the LORD repeats the questions the people have asked and then follows with an answer.

• How have you loved us? (1:2)
• How have we ever shown contempt for your name? (1:6)
• How have we defiled the sacrifices? (1:7)
• Why doesn’t the LORD accept my worship? (2:14)
• How have we wearied the LORD with our words? (2:17)
• How can we return if we’ve never gone away? (3:7)
• How have we cheated you? (3:8)
• What have we said against you? (3:13)

I’m not certain, but the way God answers these “questions” makes me strongly suspect that the people were “playing dumb.” It’s a fairly common response to being caught red-handed doing something we ought not. The LORD shows by His answers that He is not fooled by it. He knows the heart.

One of these questions has traditionally gotten much more attention than the others:

“Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings.”
‭‭Malachi‬ ‭3‬:‭8‬ ‭KJV‬‬

This is typically the text preached when giving is down. And this text and the verse that follows have been used to brow-beat and scare people into giving lest they be under God’s curse. Nevermind what Paul said about Christ redeeming us from the curse of the Law, (Gal. 3:10-14).

The tithe was a wonderful system designed by God to support the priests and Levites because they were not given land as an inheritance. They were the “government employees” of God’s government. This was their assignment from God. It wasn’t optional. But if the people didn’t bring the tithes and offerings, the Levites in particular didn’t eat. They didn’t have farms with fields of livestock and grain. The priests’ families at least had the priests’ portion of sacred bread and meat. But the Levites didn’t get that.

When Nehemiah came back from Susa, the Levites had all left their work in Jerusalem and were attempting to scratch out a living in other ways. There was no more singing, no guards at the gates to stop people from bringing in those lame and blind sacrifices, and not even anyone there to shut the city gates on the Sabbath to keep the Gentiles from coming in to sell their wares.

If the people are going to have Yahweh dwell among them, He can’t be treated as an afterthought.

It’s like when people get a new dog and they’re all excited at first and they make a cute house and bring it treats but after a while, feeding and caring for it becomes a chore. No one plays with the dog. It just sits out in a pen or tied on a chain.

Everyone was excited at first to have God back in the new temple. But after a while the sacrifices and structure and rules started feeling like a chore. And then He was neglected.

A COMING MESSENGER, A COMING LORD, and A COMING JUDGMENT

Jesus said that Malachi’s prophecy of a coming “Messenger” was about John the Baptist.

“This is he of whom it is written, “‘Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way before you.’”
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭11‬:‭10‬ ‭ESV‬‬

And Malachi 3:1 goes on to say that after the Messenger comes, “the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come into his temple.”

Remember how Zechariah had made a crown for the coming priest-king called “the Netzer” (the Branch)? This prophecy says that he will “suddenly” show up and come into his temple. The temple is Yahweh’s temple, so this phrase suggests that the priest-king is also Yahweh Himself. It’s HIS temple.

• “The Tabernacle of Moses” – the building was initiated, organized, and overseen by Moses.
• “The Tabernacle of David” – set up and used by David.
• “Solomon’s Temple” – constructed under the direction of and dedicated by Solomon.
• “Zerubbabel’s Temple” – built under the direction of Zerubbabel.
• “His temple” – A temple built by this Lord (Adonai) who is also Yahweh.

And then, in typical OT prophecy style, we switch gears from the first coming of Messiah to the second coming in the next breath. Because now this one who has come into His temple, is sitting in judgment.

In chapters 3 and 4 we observe 2 distinct groups of people facing this Judge. There are those who fear the LORD and reverence His name. Their names are written in a “book of remembrance” and they are spared from punishment. In 4:2-3 they have the Sun of Righteousness rise upon them with healing in his wings and they go leaping about like frolicking calves.

The other group are the evildoers who are set ablaze, consumed with fire, and turned into ash.

This section ends as it began with a prophecy about the coming Messenger, who will turn out to be John the Baptist. The LORD says He will send “Elijah the Prophet” before the “great and dreadful day of the Lord.” (By the way – “great and dreadful” is how you know it’s talking about the final judgment and not the OT “day of the Lord.”)

It is Jesus Himself, again, that interprets the text of Malachi and applies it to John.

“Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force. For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John, and if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come.”
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭11‬:‭11‬-‭14‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Recall also that the actual Elijah appeared with Moses and spoke to Jesus when He was transfigured. The “great and dreadful” judgment day language is another reason why many speculate that Elijah is one of the mysterious Two Witnesses in Revelation.

You can practically feel the text of Matthew about to burst through the cover page that says “New Testament” and spill into Malachi.

But there are roughly 400 years between the close of Malachi and the dawn of the Gospels. We already looked at much of that history (written in advance) in Daniel. The Persians will fall to the Greeks under Alexander the Great, who will die young and leave the vast empire divided up between 4 main leaders. The Seleucid King Antiochus IV Epiphanes will be a cruel tyrant and will desecrate the temple. The family of the Maccabees will lead a revolt and eventually overthrow the Seleucid rule.

Ezra’s “gatherings” or “assemblies” will continue and become a staple in every Jewish community, not just in Judea, but anywhere a settlement of Jews is found. They will be called by the Greek name synagogue.

Judea will remain a backwater district even after the Romans conquer the Greeks. Factions will arise among the Jews. There will be a group called the Zealots, cut from the same cloth as the Maccabees. They will be opposed to the Romans and seek to overthrow them. Another group called the Pharisees will be very strict about adherence to the Law of Moses. They will be opposed by the Sadducees who will go along with the Seleucids and adopt Greek customs. There will actually be a war between Sadducees and Pharisees and power in Jerusalem will shift back and forth as one or the other dominates. The priests who are descended from Zadok will be run out of Jerusalem by the Sadducees and Pharisees. They will pack up Ezra’s library and establish a commune by the Dead Sea and be called the Essenes. They will spend much of their time copying the scriptures from the library and studying them. As they do, they will come to the conclusion that the prophets are saying that the person God (Elohim) will send to atone for sin will show up as a man (who they call “Melchizedek”) and he will be none other than Elohim Himself. If you’ve never read the Dead Sea Scroll fragment 11Q13 (or 11QMelchizedek) you really should. It’s amazing, if a bit disjointed because of missing bits of text. Here’s a link.

We will encounter all of these groups in the NT so I wanted to be sure to introduce a little bit about how they came to be.

Before we turn the final page on the OT, let’s look at the last verse.

“Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD: and he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.”
‭‭Malachi‬ ‭4‬:‭5‬-‭6‬ ‭KJV‬‬

The first book of the OT, Genesis, ends with “a coffin in Egypt.” The last book of the OT ends with “a curse.” A coffin and a curse. That pretty much sums up the results of the Fall of Mankind.

And as one of my Bible College professors would say, “You can hear the hissss of the Serpent of Eden in the cursssssse.”

Well, the time has finally come for the Serpent to meet the Seed of the Woman.