Coming Suddenly into His Temple: An Exposition of the Book of Malachi

Introduction

In many Protestant traditions, the Book of Malachi is the last Book of the Old Testament. The next book is the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament. It is thought that Malachi was the last prophet and writer of the Old Testament. Whereas it is theologically useful to go from Malachi to Matthew, is Malachi the last book of the Old Testament? If that connection is useful, it would even be more useful to put the Gospel of Mark first in the New Testament, seeing that Mark quotes Malachi at the very beginning of the Gospel, showing that John the Baptist was the return of Elijah prophesied by Malachi. Was he even the last of the prophets? Let us see.

As far as the first question is concerned, the book of Malachi is at the end of the division of the Old Testament known as the “Prophets.” But the last book in the Hebrew Old Testament is 2 Chronicles which is the last book of the third division called the “Writings.” The situation becomes even more difficult as the Greek translation has several books not included in the Hebrew Canon which we know today as the Apocrypha. The Roman Catholics, the Orthodox, and even some Protestant traditions contain these books in their Bibles. Even the 1611 King James Version contained the Apocrypha. So one would not turn the page from Malachi to Matthew in most of Christendom.

The second question concerns the order of the prophets themselves. The prophets are divided into to groups, the Major Prophets and the Minor Prophets. The “Major Prophets” are Isaiah. Jeremiah/Lamentations, Ezekiel, and Daniel and are arranged chronologically. The “Minor Prophets” range from Hosea, who was considered to be the earliest, to Malachi, who was considered to be the last. The chronological order of these prophets have been challenged by many. However, we really know little personal information about them other than clues within the text itself. Book like Obadiah and Joel give very few clues about the situation it was written to. Malachi gives only a little more evidence. We cannot even be sure whether the prophets actual name was Malachi, which means “My Messenger.” It may have been a pseudonym. But the use of the word “governor” in Malachi 1:8 gives us one clue. As it was a term usually applied to the Persian from of government, this makes it likely it was composed during the time of Persian rule. But this covers the period from 539 BC to about 330 BC which is a period of two hundred years. The Temple was rebuilt around 516 BC and seems to be standing in Malachi, so this narrows it down a little bit. This would put it after the times of Haggai and Zachariah which precede it in the canon. So it is likely that Malachi is indeed the last of the prophets. But we cannot tell whether he is earlier or later than Esther, Ezra, or Nehemiah who also lived during the Persian period.

Jacob I Loved, but Esau I hated (Malachi 1:1-5)

Malachi calls his prophecy a “burden of the word of the LORD. This is similar to the beginnings of Nahum and Habakkuk, who also use the word. As these two prophets prophesied in the time just before the Babylonian exile (650-600 BC), it makes one wonder if Malachi could actually date to that time as well. When we look at the introduction of the books of Minor Prophets, one would notice that the two contemporary prophets Haggai and Zachariah use a similar introduction to each other. When one looks at the earlier prophets, their introductions are also similar to each other. Were it not for the word “governor,” the conditions described in Malachi could easily refer to the time just before the destruction of the Temple in 586 BC. Malachi deals with a corrupt priesthood. Except for a short period under the reign of Josiah, corruption in the priesthood was a perpetual problem. Unfortunately, this is a serious problem even to this day. So, regardless of when and to whom Malachi was written, the LORD speaks through him to us as well.

The chief cause of the corruption was that the priests had lost confidence in God and felt that He no loner loved them. The LORD confronts this and says that He has proved His love for them. He tells them “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.” This statement has caused much controversy among theologians as to why God would love one group of people and hate another. Does not God love everyone? A survey of the book does not leave us time to deal with this issue, but let it be said that strife between the descendants of Jacob and Esau was of long standing. We see this in the book of Obadiah, Isaiah, and other places as well. It seems that both Israel and Esau in the time of Malachi had suffered great devastation. Esau was trying to rebuild whereas Israel remained in ruins. The LORD tells Israel that even though Edom (Esau) was trying to rebuild, it would fail. This message is similar to that given by Obadiah. That nation would disappear. But the LORD would preserve and rebuild Israel, despite its many sins.

The LORD deals with the priests’ careless service (Malachi 1:6-14)

The priests went through their ritual in the most careless of ways. They still went through their rituals, but their heart was not in it. There was no love of the LORD in their service. They dishonored God. Instead of offering the LORD the best, they cut every corner they could in their service. The sacrificial animals were supposed to be without blemish. The LORD of heaven and earth deserves the very best. Instead, blind and lame animals were offered. If they treated their earthly governor with the same contempt, would the governor be happy with their service? The answer to this question is obvious. The priests had reduced their service to a quid pro quo with the LORD. They wanted as much quo for as little quid as possible. But the LORD was not blessing because the priests had offended Him in their offerings. The way to blessing is joyful obedience. The Israelites were supposed to witness to the greatness of the LORD and glorify His name among the nations. But instead, they blasphemed His holy Name.

The Priests Are Cursed (Malachi 2:1-9)

The LORD tells the priests that instead of receiving a blessing for their shoddy service, He would curse them instead. In fact, they were already cursed. They were so far from clean and holy that the LORD would spread excrement on their faces. This is as vivid a word picture as one could be used. This is the quality of service and food which was being offered at the solemn feasts, and not they were going to receive the quo from the quid they had offered. Not only were they disgraced before the LORD and the nations, they were held in contempt by the Children of Israel as well.

It had not always been that way in Israel. The Sons of Levi had at one time been faithful to the special and holy covenant given to the Children of Israel. They spoke true words and offered honorable service. They were respected. But they had fallen from this. They led others astray. They had corrupted justice and administered it unequally.

On Priests Divorcing their Wives Malachi 2:10-17

Another thing which offended the LORD is that many of the priests had divorced their Jewish wives and married heathen women who served other gods. The Covenant the LORD made with Israel made the women holy as much as the men. So for the priest to divorce them was an insult to the LORD of the Covenant. Not only this, the lives of divorced women was difficult in that society. They would very likely end up in poverty and have to resort to things like prostitution to live. How could God be happy, when the priests, who were to be the paragon of virtue were quick to divorce their wives. And to marry women who served other gods made this even a greater outrage. God hates divorce. This is true in general. Jesus reminds us of the LORD’s intention in Genesis of marriage of one man and one woman for life. Because of the hardness of people’s hearts, he grudgingly permitted it through Moses. It is better to divorce than murder and abuse. When divorce is for selfish reasons and taken lightly, the LORD is greatly offended. God was weary with those winked at this evil by saying that those who do evil are in good standing with the LORD. They disregarded that God is judge.

The LORD will come Suddenly (Malachi 3:1-7)

Malachi then prophesies that God will send a messenger to prepare the way for the coming of the Lord. We see this as being fulfilled in John the Baptist who prepared the way for the Lord Jesus Christ. The LORD tells us through Malachi that the people were seeking Him. But they were not preparing themselves for this. They thought they could continue business as usual. They expected the presence of the LORD to return to the Temple in the magnificent way it had during the dedication of the Temple in the days of Solomon. They expected the real presence to be felt there.

He will come, all right. And He will come suddenly. But we must remember that the word “coming” is often to be understand as “coming in judgment.” He would come suddenly and in the most unexpected way one day to the Temple, when Jesus came just before His passion. Instead of it being a joyous time of celebration, Jesus took a whip of cords and drove the animal merchants and moneychangers out of the Temple. He purified the Sons of Levi. He wanted them to offer in righteousness. As it turned out, the offering of righteousness would be the sacrifice of Jesus Himself on the cross.

“Who can abide in the day of His coming? And who will be able to stand when He appreareth?” This shows that the coming of the LORD was for purposes of judgment, Were it not for the grace of God, the answer is “No one.” No fire could be hot enough nor no soap effective enough to purge our unrighteousness. No sorcerer, adulterer, no perjurer, and no person who takes advantage of the weak could stand. That is the top of the list. But the list of sins are far greater. Our names are or were on that list. But God is also in the restoration business. He does not tear down for its own sake, but rather than it might be rebuilt correctly.

Robbing God (Malachi 3:8-12)

The text now says: “Can a man rob God.” “Rob” is a strong word. A thief steals usually under cover of darkness, so he isn’t seen. Robbing involves violence. The priests and people were robbing God of tithes and offerings. We already have seen that the priests were offering lame and blind animals as though they were offering God the very best. They were like Ananias and Sapphira in the Book of Acts who offered part of the proceeds of a piece of land as though they gave all. They paid for their robbery with their very lives. God cursed their nation for their robbery. But He also offers the means of restoration and challenged the people to do what is right and give God His due. If they would do so, He would open heaven and shower His blessings on them. When Yahweh, who is Lord over all nations is given His honor, then those of other nations will hold them in honor as well.

It is not Vain to Serve the LORD (Malachi 3:13-18)

The LORD now circles back to the beginning to answer another accusation made by the people, that it is vain to serve the LORD. They felt that the LORD did not love them; therefore serving the LORD is for naught. Love was missing; that is true. But it wasn’t the lack of love on the LORD’s part. Instead, they projected their own lack of love for the LORD upon God Himself. And it affected their behavior. This was the root of the bad and demoralized behavior. They thought the good were neglected and the wicked rewarded. This is a problem of all ages, including ours. When we see such wickedness abounding around us and going unpunished, in the short term at least, Satan tempts us to accuse God of not caring. When we see justice perverted, when we see Christians persecuted, we ask: “Why?” The Scripture answers this and elsewhere. Justice will be served. Evil will be punished. Corrupt priests who do not repent will receive their just wages for their service. There is a book of remembrance. God will remember His people in the Day of Judgment. In the long run, all will be worked out. So, it is worthwhile to serve God wholeheartedly.

The Great and Dreadful Day of the LORD (Malachi 4:1-6)

The early prophet Amos reminds us that the Day of the LORD is a day of gloom, judgment, and despair. It will be grievous to the unrepentant. Malachi as well as other prophets like Joel also show the Day of the LORD as being one of great dread. Malachi talks about root and branch being consumed. But the Sun of Righteousness which brings healing in his wings will come as well. Malachi admonishes the people to repent and return to the Covenant which Moses brought. He then prophesies the return of Elijah to prepare the people, which we see in the person of John the Baptist. He would warn Israel to return to the Covenant of their Fathers. The Lord Jesus would follow, the one who brings fulfillment of even a greater covenant, one which would go out to all nations. Malachi ends at this point, and we need to pick up the story in the Gospels. God will curse the earth, but would prefer that all people repent and live.

Application

Malachi is important to us in that it is a prophecy of the coming of John the Baptist and Jesus Christ. Jesus Himself pointed to Scripture as the primary witness to Himself. The fact that God predicted the suffering and death of Jesus as well as His resurrection is even more important than the witness of the Apostles. Jesus validates the Scripture, and the Scripture validates Jesus. When we realize that God the Son is associated to the prophecies which name Yahweh, we realize that it was the very Son of God whose fingers wrote the Ten Commandments. The same God the Holy Spirit who breathed Scripture filled Jesus as well. Some think that apart from a few prooftexts, the Old Testament is of little value. This is not true. Paul tells Timothy that all Scripture, and at this time this was the Old Testament and perhaps a few epistles, is God-breathed. It is to be studied wholeheartedly.

This is part of our wholehearted service to the Lord. We must constantly keep in remembrance that God loves us and expects us to show our love to Him in return by acts of wholehearted service. If we are sloppy in our witness, our study of Scripture, our prayer, our worship, our offerings, and our acts of service, this is an indication that we have left our first love. Like the Church of Ephesus which held externally to orthodoxy but was slack inwardly, we need to get out of our rut. We can never feel loved and blessed of the LORD by going through the motions. We cannot selfishly offer a little quid in the hopes of a greater quo from God as though God is to be manipulated for blessings. A satisfactory Christian service comes from the heart and brings satisfaction. We will then feel that God does indeed love us. So let us take this to heart as we await the return of the Lord Jesus.