Introduction to Malachi

Introduction:

Connection:

What I’m going to do to begin this evening is describe a religious climate—a spiritual diagnosis. And then, I want you to guess what era of history it best describes….

Imagine a time in which there was cold religion, that is, the saints had lost their first love and they were growing dry and dull in their walk with the Lord. But it was also a time of irreverent religion, when worship services were being conducted with a lack of holy fear and awe. It was also a time when the Lord’s Table was being abused and profaned with spiritual blasphemy. And even more than this, it was a time when the people of God were filled with doubt regarding the love of God, which led them to be stagnant in keeping the law and commandments of God. Worship was impure—ministers were causing saints to stumble—the means of grace were disregarded—financial abuse was prevailing in the house of God—and judgment was impending upon them for such evil deeds…

Q - Take your guess! What era of history does this describes within the church and people of God?

What I have just described for you is straight from the Book of Malachi! Isn’t that interesting? There’s nothing new under the sun. The people of God have the same battles to fight and the same enemies to face in every generation. The fight for pure worship never ends. Worship in holy fear, and service in joyful love—such things are ever and always the great need of the hour!

Need:

To stoke our loveless hearts back aflame for God. Just as the Israelites in the OT needed. And thus, you can see how this book is so applicable to the modern church of Jesus Christ. We need revival and reformation and renewal within the household of God!

Theme:

Introduction to Malachi

Purpose:

To introduce the book of Malachi to us in it’s original context and it’s modern application. We’ll begin this morning with broad introduction and it’s first verse—and then in the following weeks we’ll dive into the book, verse by verse as we continue our study.

Recap:

N/A

Read Text: Malachi 1:1 ESV

And as we come to the book of Malachi this evening, it’s imperative for us that we understand it’s context in biblical history, and in the drama of God’s covenantal dealings with his people. And so let’s pray, and then before we go any farther, let me set the stage for this book of Holy Scripture.

PRAY - PRAY - PRAY - PRAY - PRAY - PRAY - PRAY

(I) The Context of the Twelve (Hosea——> Malachi).

Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, & Malachi.

(I) The Context of the Twelve (Hosea——> Malachi).

As we come to this portion of the Word of God, we find it’s setting among the Minor Prophets—also known as The Twelve. Some of these minor prophets are situated before the exiles of God’s people, some are during the exiles, and others are after the exiles.

They all have their dealings with calling the people of God to repentance, revival, renewal, and reformation. They all call the congregation of the OT to covenant-faithfulness—trusting in God’s promises, and keeping God’s precepts. And chiefly—they all point to Jesus Christ.

I’ve printed out a chart for you all that includes the major timelines and events of the Twelve Prophets. You can take a look at that chart, in chronological order, and see that from Joel to Micah the prophets were ministering to the people of God prior to the northern tribe being taken captive by Assyria in 723 BC. From Obadiah to Habakkuk the prophets were ministering while the north was captive, and they were warning of the southern exile that was impending and which arrived in 586BC. Then Haggai and Zechariah come on the scene as post-exilic prophets, with a band of Israelites who returned to the land in 536 BC, as they were prophesying of restoration and revival of the temple and covenant life of the Israel of God. And in 516BC the temple was restored, but it never ascended to the place of priority, purity, and blessing that was prophecied—both due to their sin—and to point them to the greater temple of God in Christ to come.

Nonetheless, it’s at the end of this history that Malachi enters the scene in 536-415 BC. He is the last prophet to speak God’s word to Israel before the lights went off, so to speak, in the silent years between Malachi and Matthew. Malachi is ministering to Israel who had returned to the land—but who were abusing their privileges, whose leaders were corrupt, whose people were becoming worldly, and whose covenant life was that of infidelity and disloyalty to the God of Jacob—who had promised such rich and wonderful blessings.

Other major events happening around this time would be the presence of the ministry of Ezra and Nehemiah, under the reign of the Persian governor (Cyrus & Artaxerxes). And it’s in this context of sinful sloth and religious decline that the prophet Malachi enters the stage to preach both God’s judgments and mercies—to warn and to comfort—to threaten and to console with both the Holy Law of God and the Everlasting Gospel of Christ:

“Malachi’s word confronts a people skeptical of God’s promises and therefore indifferent in their commitment to live in the light of those promises and to worship and serve the Lord with all their hearts. Their love had grown cold and their hearts bitter toward God. The book may therefore serve as a catechism for times of doubt and disappointment, when the professing people of God are tempted to break faith with their covenant God” (RSB).

“In an artful, unrelenting, irrefutable dialectic, Malachi exposed the worthless religion and arrogance of these people. His logic and precision are impeccable. He made it clear that the blame for any lack of blessing was due to their spiritual deadness and not God’s unfaithfulness or injustice. It is as though Malachi as a theological pathologist examined and identified the causes and signs of dead religion and spiritual decay. In so doing, he exposes the human condition that so desperately needs the gospel” (RHSB).

“When times are hard, it is difficult to believe that God loves us. All appearances seem to count against such a belief. Yet, that is exactly what this little Book of Malachi is all about. Yahweh still loves Israel in spite of all appearances to the contrary. And this same unchanging Lord still loves us” (Kaiser).

This has been:

(I) The Context of the Twelve (Hosea——> Malachi).

Q - Any questions or comments from this context?

And now, with our book situated in biblical history—we can just briefly open the book of Malachi and it’s first verse as we introduce this new series.

(1) The Book of Malachi brings a Burden from the LORD - v. 1a

Malachi 1:1 ESV

The oracle/burden of the word of the Lord…

(1) The Book of Malachi brings a Burden from the LORD - v. 1a

As Elder John so often liked to remind us, the King James get’s it right. And here, they do just that. While the ESV translates the title of this book as an oracle (which is fine), the KJV brings us more of it’s depth as being a burden (which is helpful given it’s content). This isn’t just a letter that warms the church in God’s love—it’s also a letter that warns the church in God’s holiness and justice, and our sinfulness and obstinacy. This is a BURDEN from the LORD. As it were the Lord is burdened by such sin—or—the Lord is sending a burden to the people b/c of their sin—or—the content is that of a burden in God’s judgment and rebuking of their sin…. whatever the precise meaning, this is no light letter—this is a heavy letter, a burden indeed And in Isa. 13:1; Hab. 1:1; Zech. 9:1; 12:1; we see that this was a common way to describe the prophetic ministry of OT prophets who brought this weight of glory, this burden of judgments and mercies to the people of God.

“Whenever this word is expressed, there is ever to be understood some judgment of God … As we proceed it will become evident that the doctrine of Malachi is not without reason called a Burden; for as I have stated in part, and as it will be more fully seen hereafter, it was necessary that the people should be summoned before God’s tribunal, inasmuch as many sins had again begun to prevail among them … and for this reason he says that God’s judgment was at hand” (Calvin).

The divine and prophetic burden of God against his holy people is a heavy weight of having to bring such heavy words against the beloved people of God who had been indulging in sin, in unbelief, in worldly worship, and dead religion. They were guilt of our Lord’s rebuke:

Matthew 15:7–9 ESV

You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said: “ ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ ”

(A) And so we see that this passage brings a refutation of our loveless, irreverent, and doubtful souls. When we are loveless before the LORD, when we are irreverent in worship, and when we are doubtful regarding God’s promises—we must not be surprised if God brings a burden of rebuke unto us, or a burden of discipline to us, or a burden of affliction upon us.

Deuteronomy 28:45–48 ESV

“All these curses shall come upon you and pursue you and overtake you till you are destroyed, because you did not obey the voice of the Lord your God, to keep his commandments and his statutes that he commanded you. They shall be a sign and a wonder against you and your offspring forever. Because you did not serve the Lord your God with joyfulness and gladness of heart, because of the abundance of all things, therefore you shall serve your enemies whom the Lord will send against you, in hunger and thirst, in nakedness, and lacking everything. And he will put a yoke of iron on your neck until he has destroyed you.

Disobedience brings divine disfavor and judgments. Herein is your servant warned. And as it was with the church of the OT—who had already been exiled due to their sin, and then restored by God’s grace, it is only a greater sin to turn cold and dull after all that God has done for his holy nation in bringing them back to the land. This book is situated post-exile—back in the land—and even though God has redeemed and renewed them, the people had again left their first love. But as is always the case in God’s judgments, he promises mercy upon repentance:

Deuteronomy 30:1–3 ESV

“And when all these things come upon you, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before you, and you call them to mind among all the nations where the Lord your God has driven you, and return to the Lord your God, you and your children, and obey his voice in all that I command you today, with all your heart and with all your soul, then the Lord your God will restore your fortunes and have mercy on you, and he will gather you again from all the peoples where the Lord your God has scattered you.

So let us ensure that we are not the cause for the burden of the LORD coming against us or the church of God. Let us walk in his blessings—for paradoxically, in Christ, his yoke is light and his burden is easy.

(1) The Book of Malachi brings a Burden from the LORD - v. 1a

Q - Any questions or comments about this burden of the Lord?

Well now let’s focus in briefly on who this burden of God was sent to:

(2) The Book of Malachi brings a Burden to the People - v. 1b

Malachi 1:1 ESV

The oracle/burden … to Israel.

(2) The Book of Malachi brings a Burden to the People - v. 1b

Again, we must remember that this prophetic burden is given to those who had returned from exile, and had come again to dwell in the shadowy promised land of Canaan. But the title here of the people is interesting—because Israel and Judah had split into two kingdoms back under the reign of the OT kings. However, for those who have returned to the land, God refers to them all as Israel, in a unified sense, as those who are God’s people, and who are no longer split down the middle in division (Ez. 1).

Ezra 1:2–4 ESV

“Thus says Cyrus king of Persia: The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he has charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whoever is among you of all his people, may his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and rebuild the house of the Lord, the God of Israel—he is the God who is in Jerusalem. And let each survivor, in whatever place he sojourns, be assisted by the men of his place with silver and gold, with goods and with beasts, besides freewill offerings for the house of God that is in Jerusalem.”

The decree went forward, not merely for one of the tribes—but for all who are of the people of God, and thus in the broadest sense, for the entirety of the Israel of God! The remnant of faith that had returned to the land is a unified people under the reign of God (Ez. 2).

“Hence, by way of excellency, they were called Israel, who had again assembled in the holy land, that they might there enjoy the inheritance promised them from above” (Calvin).

And because this remnant of the church and Israel of God was one people—b/c they were the holy people of God, the kingdom of priests, and the assembly of the saints in the land—it was to them that the oracles of God belonged.

Romans 9:4 ESV

They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises.

“This burden of the word of the Lord was sent to Israel, for to them pertained the lively oracles of prophecy as well as those of the written word. Many prophets God had sent to Israel, and now he will try them with one more” (Henry).

Having the oracles of God was a blessing and a curse. Because God’s oracles drip with honey to the humble—but they sting with poison to the haughty. And as we shall see, the Book of Malachi is filled with much judgment and sting due to the people for their sin. But, because it is also the last word of God to the people of God before the NT, it is also filled with promises regarding the coming Saviour, Messiah, and Redeemer of the people of God! The Sun of righteousness shines even in a dark land.

(A) And so by way of application this text would bring an (ii) exhortation to heed the prophetic words of God. As it was to the Israelites in the OT, so it is to us in the NT. The Scripture preeminently belongs to the church of Jesus Christ. The laws are intended for the governance or organization of the people of God today. The promises flow in fulfillment to the household of faith. And the warnings and sanctions are also brought against us for our sins:

1 Timothy 3:15 ESV

if I delay, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of the truth.

2 Timothy 3:16–17 ESV

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

And as we see in Revelation 3-4, the Lord Jesus Christ is a jealous God, who requires the flame of love, the purity of worship, and the obedience of faith. And if such things are not being exercised in the Spirit, then he threatens to spit us out of his mouth—because the blessings and curses of God’s covenant, belong to God’s people—and are directed to us in both warning and comfort. And so, we too much heed God’s people—let’s a burden of judgment would begin to fall upon the household of God. We are the Israel of God, the children of Abraham—and so, as Paul says, we must fear, lest God cut off such branches from his Tree (Rom. 11).

(2) The Book of Malachi brings a Burden to the People - v. 1b

Q - Any questions or comments about the Israel of God in our text?

Well let’s come now to our last main point:

(3) The Book of Malachi brings a Burden by the Messenger - v. 1c

Malachi 1:1 ESV

The oracle/burden … by Malachi.

(3) The Book of Malachi brings a Burden by the Messenger - v. 1c

Now, believe it or not, there is a lot of disagreement as to who wrote the book of Malachi. You would think that it would be obvious, right? I mean, look right there, it says it was by Malachi! But the Hebrew isn’t so simple. The word for Malachi is actually a general title for messenger or angel. The same word is used of Jesus Christ later in the book, who is the coming LORD and Messenger of the Covenant of Grace. The word doesn’t require a personal name or title. It can just be a general title or description of a messenger. In fact, the Greek Translation of the OT (which was the primary Bible of Jesus and the Apostles), when it came to translate this phrase it was translated as: The oracle of the word of the Lord to Israel, by the hand of his messenger (LXX). And so the Septuagint interpreted this as God’s messenger, as a general title—rather than as a personal name like Malachi. So…. whose right? The original Hebrew or the Greek Translation? Well, it seems more likely that the original Hebrew was carrying the force of a personal name and title of Malachi—and he was named rightly in God’s Providence—because he was indeed the messenger of the oracle of the Lord.

The best argument in favour of a personal prophet named Malachi—is because every other minor prophet begins with a personal name of the one who was prophesying…. so why would Malachi be any different?

But even if this is true—we still don’t know much about who Malachi was! All we know is that he was a holy prophet of God, a humble man of God—and a faithful servant of God.

“The meaning then is, that this doctrine proceeded from God, but that a minister, even Malachi, was employed as an instrument; so that he brought nothing as his own, but only related faithfully what had been committed to him by God from whom it came” (Calvin).

Everything else about him is forgotten. I wonder—are we willing to be forgotten—are we willing to have everything else forgotten about us, expect for the fact that we were faithful men and women of the word of the living God? Everything else is vain and fleeting… but the word of the Lord endures forever. So why not tie our legacy thereunto?

Psalm 18:30 ESV

This God—his way is perfect; the word of the Lord proves true; he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him.

Proverbs 10:7 ESV

The memory of the righteous is a blessing, but the name of the wicked will rot.

(A) By way of application, this portion of the text brings (iii) consolation to those who faithfully obey the word of the LORD. Though we are not living prophets—we having the living Word. And though not all are ministers of the covenant—we are all heirs of the covenant. And for those of us, who like Malachi, are faithfully serving God by faith, trusting in His promises, and keeping his commandments, even in such dark times within the history of the church—even in such times of lethargy and liberalism within the church of Jesus Christ—there is rich comfort in being part of the faithful remnant of God’s people. God has set his love upon you, and is holding you fast in his promised grace, mercy, and Gospel-glory:

Romans 11:3–6 ESV

“Lord, they have killed your prophets, they have demolished your altars, and I alone am left, and they seek my life.” But what is God’s reply to him? “I have kept for myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.” So too at the present time there is a remnant, chosen by grace. But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace.

You who are the elect of God, by faith in Christ, walking in allegiance to our King—take heart, you are loved, you are preserved, you are kept, and you are graced in Christ. Rest in Him—and serve His Church and cause in the world. Labour unto revival. Labour unto reformation. Labour unto renewal. Until the earth is filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD as the waters cover the sea—until from the rising of the sun to it’s setting, God’s name is feared among the nations in pure worship. Until that day let’s be God’s faithful messengers, proclaiming the light and heat of Christ.

(3) The Book of Malachi brings a Burden by the Messenger - v. 1c

Q - Any questions or comments about the author of this book?

Come now and hear our conclusion for this evening, from verse 1 of Malachi:

(C) God has a Burden for His People’s Affections!

Why? Because God has a burden for Holy and Pure Worship! He is the LORD of Hosts:

Malachi 1:6 ESV

“A son honors his father, and a servant his master. If then I am a father, where is my honor? And if I am a master, where is my fear? says the Lord of hosts.

“No prophet or preacher who loves his people really enjoys pointing out their sin or warning them of doom to come. So Malachi must have found his assignment, which was so packed with judgment of the people and the priests, a hard one. All the threats, warnings, challenges, encouragements, and promises were for the spiritual upbuilding of the repatriated exiles and their children. God and Malachi wanted a righteous nation, a pure and devoted priesthood, happy homes, God fearing children, and a people characterized by truth, integrity, generosity, gratitude, fidelity, love, and hope”. (EBC)

Malachi 4:2 ESV

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.

And so let us heed the words of Malachi, and let us bask in the rays of the Sun of Righteousness.

(C) God has a Burden for His People’s Affections!

Q - Any final questions or comments for this evening, from Mal. 1:1?

Amen, let’s pray.