Text:          Malachi

By:               EZEKIEL, OGHENEKARO

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Historical Background 

Malachi is the last book of the Old Testament and is a book of Prophetic Oracle. It is a post-exilic book, meaning it was written after the return from captivity in Babylon. The was written approximately 430 B.C. The purpose of this book is that it was written to ensure that the hearts of the Jews was right and that they were keeping God first in their lives.

The book of Malachi is the last book of the Nevi’im in the Tanakh (also known in Hebrew as Miqra, is the canonical collection of Hebrew scriptures, comprising the Torah (the five Books of Moses), the Nevi’im (the Books of the Prophets), and the Ketuvim (‘Writings’, eleven books) and canonically the final book of the Twelve Minor Prophets. In most Christian traditions, the prophetic books form the last section of the Old Testament, making Malachi the last book before the New Testament. The book has four chapters.

If Prophet Malachi (as the name of the book goes) is the author of the book, Malachi lived about 100 years after the Israelites had returned from Babylonian exile, and his message was directed to the people who had been living in Jerusalem for some time. The temple had been rebuilt a while ago. Let us recall the stories in Ezra-Nehemiah­—things were not going well. When the first Israelites had returned from exile, hopes were high. They would rebuild their lives and the temple, and all the great promises of the prophets would come true. The Messiah would come and set up God’s Kingdom over a unified Israel and over the other nations, bringing peace and justice.

Unfortunately, none of that had happened, and the Israelites who repopulated the city proved to be just as unfaithful to God as their ancestors. Jerusalem became a place of poverty and injustice once again, and in the book of Malachi, we find out just how corrupt this new generation had become.

The book is designed as a series of disputes or arguments. Most sections begin with God saying something or making a claim or an accusation. This is followed by Israel disagreeing or questioning God’s statement. Finally, God will respond and offer the last word. This pattern repeats itself six times. In the first three disputes (chs. 1-2), God exposes Israel’s corruption, while in the final three (ch. 3), he confronts their corruption. The overall impression you get from reading these disputes is that the exile did not fundamentally change anything in the people. Their hearts are as hard as ever.

Author 

The name Malachi means “My messenger” hence many scholars believe the book means that Malachi is only a medium to convey the message and not the author – Malachi 1:1. The identity of the author of the Book of Malachi is uncertain.  Due to the similarities between Malachi and Ezra’s emphasis on forbidding marriage to foreign pagan women, the Talmud (combination of ancient writings) and certain Targums (Aramaic translations and paraphrases of the Hebrew Bible) they identify Ezra as the author of Malachi. This is the traditional view held by most Jews and some Christians. The Catholic priest and historian Jerome suggests that this may be because Ezra was seen as an intermediary between the prophets and the “great synagogue.”

The name “Malachi” occurs in the superscription at 1:1 and 3:1, although most consider it unlikely that the word refers to the same character in both references. According to the editors of the 1897 Easton’s Bible Dictionary, some scholars believe the name “Malachi” is not a proper noun, but an abbreviation of “messenger of Yah.” This reading could be based on Malachi 3:1, “Behold, I will send my messenger…”, if “my messenger” is taken literally as the name Malachi. Thus, many believe that “Malachi” is an anonymous pseudonym.

Period

Malachi’s ministry took place nearly a hundred years after the decree of Cyrus in 538 B.C., which ended the Babylonian captivity and allowed the Jews to return to their homeland and rebuild the temple (2 Chronicle 36:23). This was some 80 years after Haggai and Zechariah encouraged the rebuilding of the temple. Those two earlier prophets had said that the rebuilding of the temple would result in peace, prosperity, the conversion of people from other nations, and the return of God’s own glorious presence (see Haggai 2; Zechariah 1:16–17; 2:1–13; 8:1–9:17). To the discouraged people of Malachi’s day, these predictions must have seemed a cruel mockery. In contrast to the glowing promises, they faced economic difficulties due to drought and crop failure (Malachi 3:11). They remained an insignificant territory, no longer an independent nation and no longer ruled by a Davidic king. Worst of all, despite the promise of God’s presence, they experienced only spiritual decline.

Key Focus of the Book 

The book of Malachi describes six disputations between God and Israel. There is a common pattern in each dispute: (1) God charges his people with bad behaviour; (2) he then envisages the people’s response to the charge (“But you say”; 1:2, 6, 7, 13; 2:14, 17; 3:7, 8, 13); (3) God then replies to their presumed response and expands the charge. The chart below shows the subject of each dispute and God’s response to it.

Malachi 1-2: Exposing Israel’s Corruption

 Israel Doubted God’s Faithfulness

The first dispute (Malachi 1:2-5) starts as God says that he still loves His covenant people Israel despite their failures. Israel rudely says, “How have you shown us love?” God reminds them of how He graciously chose the family of Jacob, their ancestor, to become the carrier of God’s covenant promises instead of his brother Esau and his family. Right from the start in this first dispute, Israel is exposed as suspicious, doubting God’s faithfulness and love.

Corrupt Worship & Disrespect for God – Malachi 1:6- 2:9

The second dispute (Malachi 1:6-2:9) exposes a problem with Israel’s second temple. God accuses the people of despising Him and defiling the temple (Malachi 1:6-7), while the people fire back, “How have we despised you?” God responded by focusing on how the people are bringing shameful offerings of sick, blemished animals. It shows that they do not value or honour their God. And the priests are part of the problem too, because they not only tolerate but also participate in these corrupt forms of worship. From top to bottom, God’s people have proven themselves totally faithless.

Israel’s Treacherous Behaviour – Malachi 2:10-16 

In the third dispute (Malachi 2:10-16), God accuses the Israelite men of treachery against him and their wives (Malachi 2:10; Malachi 2:14). Of course they deny this, so God exposes the toxic combination of idolatry and divorce that was taking place. Israelite men were marrying non-Israelites and adop­ting the worship of their wives’ ancestral gods in their homes (Nehemiah 13). Malachi then connects this to a wave of men divorcing their wives without any good reason. The worst part is that the people seem fine with all of this. Malachi says no! This is a betrayal of their covenant with God.

Malachi 3: Confronting Israel’s Rebellion

The book of Malachi transitions into the second set of disputes, which confront Israel’s rebellion.

Israel’s Accusation Against God – Malachi 2:17-3:5

The fourth dispute (Mal. 2:17-3:5) begins with the Israelites accusing God of neglect, saying, “Where is the God of justice?” They see injustice and corruption abound, but God seems to do nothing. God responds by saying that he will send a messenger who will prepare the people for his personal return on the Day of the Lord. It will come like a fire to purify his people and to remove idolatry, sexual immorality, and social injustice, so that only the faithful remnant is left to become his people.

Israel’s Abuse of Tithing – Malachi 3:6-12

In the fifth dispute (Malachi 3:6-12), God called the people to turn back to Him, to which the people said, “How?!” God confronts their selfishness and reminds them that they stopped offering a tithe from their income to the temple. Now, the word “tithe” just means “one-tenth,” which was supposed to be the amount of their income or produce that was annually donated to support the temple and its priests, a practice that was laid out in the Torah in Leviticus 27:30 and Deuteronomy 12:6. However, we know from Malachi and Nehemiah 13:10-11 that the people had neglected this responsibility, and so the temple fell into disrepair. God confronts them, saying that while he wants to bless them with abundance, he will only do so if they are faithful.

Israel’s Accusation Against God – Malachi 3:13-18

In the final dispute (Malachi 3:13-18), the people accused God, saying that it is pointless to serve him. They observe wicked, prideful people succeeding in life all the time, but God seems to do nothing about it. The response, for the first time in the book shifted tone, is not like a speech from God, but an insight into the reality. God assured them of His faithfulness (Malachi 3:16-18). It is about the faithful remnant in Israel, who still fear the Lord and love to talk together about how to honour and serve him. God orders that a “scroll of remembrance” be written for them, so that they can read the scroll to better remember God’s character and promises. Malachi is reflecting here on the divine gift of the Scriptures. They point us to the past to remember what God has done, in order to inspire faithfulness and hope for the future.

Malachi 4: Day of the Lord and Conclusion

This leads to the conclusion of the book in Malachi 4:1-3. This passage picks up and further develops the imagery of the fourth dispute about the coming Day of the Lord. God has appointed that day of purifying judgment to consume the wicked from among his people, but, as this conclusion adds, there is still a future for the remnant. For them, the Day of the Lord is not a threat but is instead a cause for joy. It will be like the rays of the rising sun, bringing life and healing as well as hope for the future.

Malachi’s disputes come to a close, but there’s still a bit more to the book. The final three verses (Malachi 4:4-6) are not part of the disputes, and they function more like a concluding appendix that brings closure not only to Malachi but to the whole collection of the Torah and the Prophets.

First, the reader is called to “remember the law (or Torah) of my servant Moses” (Malachi 4:4), which recalls the story and laws of the covenant in the first five books of the Bible. Next, we hear this summary of the books of the Prophets: “I will send the prophet Elijah before the Day of the Lord, who will restore the hearts of God’s people” (Malachi 4:5-6).

Application and Summary 

Throughout Israel’s history, the nation failed and God called His people back to Himself. Each time, Israel would fail again, prompting the cycle to begin again. God’s final word of the Old Testament concerns judgment for sin and testifies to our inability to love Him without the help of His grace.

Do you struggle to follow God consistently? Malachi’s call prompts us to live faithfully before God and offers hope that God is not yet through with extending mercy to His people (Malachi 3:1; 4:2, 5–6).

 

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