Malachi
Notes
Transcript
Wrapping up the minor prophets
Wrapping up the minor prophets
We have finally made it to Malachi my favorite Italian book of the Bible, yes I will keep telling that joke my entire life to the rolling eyes of everyone that hears it. This book will wrap up our series on the minor prophets. As I really enjoy doing we’ll start a new book with the meaning of the name. I would love to tell you that I planned this in advance and it was why we’ve been looking at the meanings of names this whole time. The name Malachi means “my messenger” This is such a descriptive name and there is so little known about who Malachi is that some scholars actually think this was an anonymous book or psuedonymous book at any rate. Some think Malachi was written by Ezra the priest - St. Jerome of early church fame held this view. I don’t think the identity of Malachi matters much for whether it was someone named Malachi or Malachi is a title taken on, like “the disciple Jesus loved” who we believe to be John though John never claims authorship in the book of John. What does this point us to? The message is more important than the messenger. We have no birth, family, work, or circumstances around the writter. It’s all about the message. We don’t get awesome exact dates anywhere in the book. It does seem fairly clear that the book is written after the rebuilding of the temple which was 515BC. Ezra Nehemiah are also after the rebuilding of the temple in mid 5th century.
The oracle of the word of the Lord to Israel by Malachi.
or more literally “a pronouncement of the word of YHVH by the hand of my messenger.”
The book of Malachi, I think more than any of the minor prophets is mostly direct words of God. It is all The word of God… so what I mean by that is that the language here is God speaking in the first person. I think 47 of the 55 verses in the book are quotes of the Lord speaking to his people. So it’s a very unique in that sense.
We also get a very direct audience right up front in verse 1 here. This is to Israel - not that we cannot learn from it because all scripture is good to build us up and correct us. But it’s not a message to the neighbers in babylon, or to the egyptians for their wrong doings… etc. It’s directed in a time to a people for the situation at hand which we’ll read about.
“I have loved you,” says the Lord. But you say, “How have you loved us?” “Is not Esau Jacob’s brother?” declares the Lord. “Yet I have loved Jacob
Now we see something we haven’t particularly dealt with before. This assertion - rebuttal - response rhetorical device. What’s the story God is reminding us of here?
And Isaac prayed to the Lord for his wife, because she was barren. And the Lord granted his prayer, and Rebekah his wife conceived. The children struggled together within her, and she said, “If it is thus, why is this happening to me?” So she went to inquire of the Lord. And the Lord said to her,
“Two nations are in your womb,
and two peoples from within you shall be divided;
the one shall be stronger than the other,
the older shall serve the younger.”
We talked more about this back when we were studying Romans 9.
As it is written, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”
Paul is quoting here from Malachi. But lets back up and see where Paul takes this idea.
But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel, and not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring, but “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.” This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring. For this is what the promise said: “About this time next year I will return, and Sarah shall have a son.” And not only so, but also when Rebekah had conceived children by one man, our forefather Isaac, though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad—in order that God’s purpose of election might continue, not because of works but because of him who calls— she was told, “The older will serve the younger.” As it is written, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”
This idea of promise worked out by God in his chosen people, the people of promise, those who God has elected will be elected because of His will, even before they are born they are chosen. It is not because of what they do or how they act that they are chosen. God chooses whom he will choose. We went through that a lot deeper during the Romans study and I know that was a long time ago now and many of you weren’t here when we did that. It’s a whole wednesday night itself so we won’t go through that again but to point to God’s clear choice beforehand. When he says I love you, he means it.
but Esau I have hated. I have laid waste his hill country and left his heritage to jackals of the desert.” If Edom says, “We are shattered but we will rebuild the ruins,” the Lord of hosts says, “They may build, but I will tear down, and they will be called ‘the wicked country,’ and ‘the people with whom the Lord is angry forever.’ ”
What is left of Esau’s legacy? Desert and dessolation. By the fifth century for the readers of Malachi the kingdom of Edom had been entirely destroyed. The remaining Edomites who are known for being the bad pagans and antagonists of Israel many times are taken out every time they start to rise back up. They were an example of those opposed to God.
What does this not mean? - like we have talked about before - not all those who are descendants of Israel are saved, and not all the decendants of Esau are damned. It was instead a clear choice that the covenent of God was made with one and not the other.
The Edomites were not to be abhored or treated poorly just like we should not as christians chosen by God look down upon anyone else as if by being chosen we were in some way better. God forbid!
We end with promise in vs 5.
Your own eyes shall see this, and you shall say, “Great is the Lord beyond the border of Israel!”
His promise to this people is that they will see God do great things across the world. This looks to an immediate fulfillment - possibly with Nehemiah being sent to rebuild Jerusalem from outside the borders of Israel (Persia) or something else, but also in the ultimate nature of salvation across the world through Christ.