Malachi Simplified

Title & Author

Malachi = “My Messenger”

Here’s Another Time Where the Author’s Name is Going to Come Back Up in the Book

Malachi 3:1 (NASB95)

“Behold, I am going to send My messenger, and he will clear the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple; and the messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight, behold, He is coming,” says the Lord of hosts.

This Passage is a Prophecy About John the Baptizer

And the Use of “My Messenger” Suggests that Malachi’s Ministry was Meant to Be a Foreshadowing of John’s

Date

Most Scholars Place Malachi in the Mid-400s B.C.

Malachi was Likely a Contemporary With Ezra and Nehemiah

They Dealt With a Lot of the Same Sins With the People:

Priesthood Corruption

Marriage to Idolaters

Abuse of the Disadvantaged

And Failure to Pay Tithes

Purpose

100 Years have Passed Since the Decree of Cyrus to Let the Jews Return Home and Rebuild Their Temple

This was About 80 Years After Haggai and Zechariah Encouraged the People to Rebuild the Temple

That Means It’s Been 80 Years Since God Promised:

That All Nations Would Worship God

That the Jews Would Experience Prosperity, Expansion, and Peace

That God’s Glorious Presence Would Return to His People…

And His Messiah Would Come Take the Throne

But Now, 80 Years Later, Those Blessings are Nowhere to Be Seen

The Nations Still Don’t Worship the One True God

There is No Prosperity

They are Experiencing Drought, Crop Failures, and Pestilence

There is No Expansion of Israel’s Territory

There was Mostly Peace, But Only Thanks to the Protection of Their Overlords, Persia

And They Still Faced Opposition From Their Neighbors

Judah was No Longer an Independent Nation…

Is Not Experiencing the Glory God’s Presence…

And Isn’t Ruled By a Davidic Messianic King

Nothing Seemed Right and God’s Promises Seemed to Have Fallen Flat

So Malachi, as God’s Final Prophet in the OT Scriptures…

Is Sent With Messages From God to His People:

Key Themes

Overall Theme:

For the Jewish People to Renew Their Devotion to Their Covenant With God

Other Themes/Messages:

God Still Loves You

The Priests Need to Straighten Up

Marriage and Divorce

The Lord is Coming to Establish Justice

Proper Sacrifices and Tithes

Remember the Law of Moses, and that Elijah is Coming

Key Phrase

The LORD/YHWH of Hosts/Armies

This Phrase is Used Throughout the OT…

But it is Especially Used in the Prophets

And Most of All in the 3 Final Minor Prophets

21.8% of Zechariah’s Verses Contain the Phrase

31.6% of Haggai’s Verses Contain the Phrase

43.6% of Malachi’s Verses Contain the Phrase

Almost Half of Every Verse in the Book Has “LORD/YHWH of Hosts/Armies”

Why Does it Matter?

These 3 Prophets Were Prophesying at One of the Lowest Times in Israel’s History

The People are Few and Their Territory is Tiny

And They Don’t Even Have an Army to Defend Themselves

But God Wanted Them to Know that They Serve the LORD of Armies

Malachi in the New Testament

Malachi 1:2–3 (NASB95)

“I have loved you,” says the Lord. But you say, “How have You loved us?” “Was not Esau Jacob’s brother?” declares the Lord. “Yet I have loved Jacob; but I have hated Esau, and I have made his mountains a desolation and appointed his inheritance for the jackals of the wilderness.”

The Jews Ask God in What Way Has He Loved Them

And He Responds With How He Loved Jacob and Hated Esau

He’s Referring to How Jacob (Judah’s Ancestor) was Chosen to Be God’s Special People Instead of Esau

Paul Quotes This Passage in Romans 9…

Where He is Talking About How God Chooses to Show Mercy and Compassion On Whoever He Wants

Malachi 3:1 (NASB95)

“Behold, I am going to send My messenger, and he will clear the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple; and the messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight, behold, He is coming,” says the Lord of hosts.

Malachi 4:5–6 (NASB95)

“Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord. He will restore the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers, so that I will not come and smite the land with a curse.”

Malachi Tells the People that God Will Send a Messenger/Elijah Before the Coming of the Lord

The Gospel Writers Make Abundantly Clear that This was a Prophesy About John the Baptizer

Matthew 11:10–14 (NASB95)

“This is the one about whom it is written, ‘Behold, I send My messenger ahead of You, Who will prepare Your way before You.’ Truly I say to you, among those born of women there has not arisen anyone 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 suffers violence, and violent men take it by force. For all the prophets and the Law prophesied until John. And if you are willing to accept it, John himself is Elijah who was to come.”

Outline

Priests Exhorted to Honor God (1:2-2:9)

Judah Exhorted to Faithfulness (2:10-3:6)

Judah Exhorted to Return to God and Remember the Law (3:7-4:6)

Literary Features

This Book is Written in a Neat Way

It’s Organized in 6 Disputations

The Jews Have 6 Questions\Complaints Against God

And God Responds Back

Active Reading