Malachi is the last prophetic message from God before the close of the Old Testament period (although non-prophetic books such as Ezra-Nehemiah and Chronicles may have been written later). This small book captures the essential message of the Old Testament and shows the reader the nature of God and our relationship and responsibility to Him and to others in the covenant community.
"For from the rising of the sun even unto the going down of the same my name shall be great" (1:11).
Circumstances of Writing
Author: Nothing is known about the author except his name. The book emphasizes the message rather than the messenger; God is the speaker in about 47 of the 55 verses. The one prophesied in 3:1 to "prepare the way" for God to come to His temple is identified as (Hb) malakiy, "My messenger," a word identical to the name of the book's author.
Background: Although the book is not dated by a reference to a ruler or a specific event, internal evidence, as well as its position in the canon, favors a postexilic date. Reference to a governor in 1:8 favors the Persian period when Judah was a province or sub-province of the Persian satrapy Abar Nahara, which included Judah, Syria, Phoenicia, Cyprus, and, until 485 b.c., Babylon. The temple had been rebuilt (515 b.c.) and worship reestablished there (1:6-11; 2:1-3; 3:1,10). But the excitement and enthusiasm for which the prophets Haggai and Zechariah were the catalysts had waned. The social and religious problems that Malachi addressed reflect the situation portrayed in Ezra 9 and 10 and Nehemiah 5 and 13, suggesting dates not long before Ezra's return to Judah (ca 460 b.c.) or Nehemiah's second term as governor of Judah (Neh. 13:6-7; ca 435 b.c.). Linguistic data favors the earlier date.
Message and Purpose
Like Nahum (Nah. 1:1) and Habakkuk (Hab. 1:1), this book is called a "burden" (Mal. 1:1). This Hebrew word massa is found 20 times in the OT (e.g., 2 Kings 9:25; Isa. 13:1; Zech. 9:1; 12:1). Once thought to mean "weight," it is now understood to refer to an oracle, a divine pronouncement through God's prophet.
Indictment: Malachi presented Judah's sins largely by quoting their own words, repeating their own thoughts, and describing their own attitudes (1:2,6-7,12-13; 2:14,17; 3:7-8,13-15). Malachi was faced with the failure of the priests to fear God and to serve the people conscientiously during difficult times. This had contributed to Judah's indifference toward God. Blaming their economic and social troubles on His supposed unfaithfulness, the people were treating one another faithlessly (especially their wives) and were profaning the temple by marrying pagan women. They were also withholding their tithes.
Instruction: God commanded sincere worship with genuine faith and humility. This included honoring Him with pure offerings, being faithful to human covenants, especially marriage covenants, and renewing the tithe of all they acquired to signify their recognition of Jehovah as their God and King.
Judgment: If the priests would not change their behavior, God would curse them and remove them from service. Malachi also announced a coming day when the "God of judgment" would come to judge the wicked and refine His people (2:17; Matt. 3:12; 13:24-30).
Hope: As other incentives to obedience, Malachi pointed to (1) God's demonstrations of love for Israel (1:2); (2) their spiritual and covenant unity with God and with one another (2:10); and (3) a coming day of salvation and blessing for those who fear Him (3:1-6; 3:16–4:3).
Contribution to the Bible
Malachi was the last prophetic message from God before the close of the OT period. This book is a fitting conclusion to the OT and a transition for understanding the kingdom proclamation in the NT. Malachi spoke to the hearts of a troubled people whose circumstances of financial insecurity, religious skepticism, and personal disappointments were similar to those often experienced by God's people today. The book contains a message that must not be overlooked by those who wish to encounter God and His kingdom and to lead others to a similar encounter. We have a great, loving, and holy God, who has unchanging and glorious purposes for His people. Our God calls us to genuine worship, to fidelity to Himself and to one another, and to expectant faith in what He is doing and says He will do in this world and for His people.
God's love is paramount. It is expressed in Malachi in terms of God's election and protection of Israel above all the nations of the world. Since God had served the interests of Judah out of His unchanging love, He required Judah to live up to its obligations by obedience, loyalty, and sincere worship. This love relationship between God and Judah is the model for how people were expected to treat other members of the redeemed community. They were required to be faithful in all their dealings with one another.
As a community devoted to God, His people enjoy His protection and provision. But failure to live right before God and one another will bring God's judgment. Thus, God's people could not expect the joy of His blessings if they continued to fail in their duties to Him and to one another. Before God would hold Judah in the balance of judgment, He would grant one last call for repentance. A forerunner would precede the fearsome day of the Lord and herald the coming of God's kingdom on earth.
Timeline of Malachi
- 590 b.c.
- Nebuchadnezzar destroys Jerusalem 586
- 560 b.c.
- Cyrus decrees Jews' release 538
- Temple reconstruction begins 536
- Daniel in the lion's den 536
- 530 b.c.
- Cambyses succeeds Cyrus in Persia 530
- Discouragement and opposition halt construction 526
- 520 b.c.
- Haggai and Zechariah encourage Jews 520
- Second temple dedicated 516
- Esther becomes queen 479
- 470 b.c.
- Malachi ministers 460?
- Ezra comes to Jerusalem 458
- 450 b.c.
- Nehemiah rebuilds walls of Jerusalem 445
Structure
Malachi's message is communicated in three interrelated addresses. Each address contains five sections arranged in a chiasm (a-b-c-b'-a'). The first two addresses begin with positive motivation or hope (1:2-5; 2:10a) and end with negative motivation or judgment (2:1-9; 3:1-6). In between is God's indictment (1:6-9 and 1:11-14; 2:10b-15a and 2:17) surrounding His commands (1:10; 2:15b-16). The final climactic address begins and ends with commands to repent (3:7-10a; 4:4-6). In between are sections of motivation (3:10b-12; 3:16–4:3) surrounding the indictment (3:13-15).
Outline
- Priests Exhorted to Honor the Lord (1:1–2:9)
- Positive motivation: the Lord's love (1:2-5)
- Situation: failure to honor the Lord (1:6-9)
- Command: stop the vain offerings (1:10)
- Situation: priests profane the Lord's name (1:11-14)
- Negative motivation: results of disobedience (2:1-9)
- Judah Exhorted to Faithfulness (2:10–3:6)
- Positive motivation: spiritual kinship among Israel (2:10a)
- Situation: faithlessness against a covenant member (2:10b-15a)
- Command: stop acting faithlessly (2:15b-16)
- Situation: complaints of the Lord's injustice (2:17)
- Negative motivation: coming messenger of judgment (3:1-6)
- Judah Exhorted to Return to the Lord (3:7–4:6)
- Command: return to the Lord with tithes (3:7-10a)
- Positive motivation: future blessing (3:10b-12)
- Situation: complacency in serving the Lord (3:13-15)
- Motivation: the coming day of the Lord (3:16–4:3)
- Command: remember the law (4:4-6)
5:18 Paul quotes Luke 10:7 as Scripture. Similarly, Peter affirms that Paul's writings are Scripture in 2 Peter 3:15-16. Peter's writings were in turn received as Scripture on the basis of his apostleship. While it is doubtful that NT authors were conscious at the time of writing that what they wrote was inspired Scripture (for example, see Luke's purpose statement in Luke 1:1-4), they were aware that they bore God-given authority as chosen messengers, and the church swiftly received their writings as authoritative, inspired words from God.
(3) The NT writings stress the importance of eyewitnesses and hard facts. The NT authors emphasize the role of eyewitnesses and hang their truth claims on the reality of the events they describe. For instance, when Luke discloses his methods and purposes at the beginning of his Gospel (Luke 1:1-4), he says his book is about "those things which are most surely believed among us" as recounted by "eyewitnesses" and "ministers" of Christ. He also says he researched these matters carefully before writing and that his reason for doing this was so his reader could "know the certainty" on which the Christian faith is based. Here is a man who has no place for legends, half-truths, or shots in the dark. His focus is on the real Jesus and on world-altering events that cannot be doubted. John similarly emphasizes the importance of fact. He is sure of what he has written and says he has included only a small fraction of Jesus' doings (John 20:30 and 21:24-25). And like Luke, John wants his readers to know Jesus as Lord and thus gain eternal life (John 20:31 and 1 John 5:13). Far from passing on shady legends, his goal is to convey assured truth.
Luke and John impress us with their insistence on truth, but the most striking assertion that the NT witness is truthful comes from the apostle Paul. Paul bitterly opposed the young church as it spread from Jerusalem like wildfire. As a zealot for Pharisaic doctrines and all the old ways, he wanted to eradicate Christianity. This all changed when the risen Lord appeared to him on the road to Damascus. In a stunning reversal, Paul then poured the rest of his life into spreading truth about Jesus. The foundation of Paul's preaching was Jesus' resurrection. More than just a snappy preaching point, Paul understood that the literal resurrection of Christ was the absolute basis of Christianity. For this reason, in 1 Corinthians 15:12-19 Paul said that if Christ's resurrection was not a real historical event, Christianity is a myth and Christians are liars. How could Paul dare lay his faith and personal integrity on the line like this? The answer is obvious. Like John, Luke, and every other NT author, Paul knew that Christianity is fixed on the sure foundation of historical reality. Be assured, reader of the NT, that God the Son came in flesh, dwelt among humans, trained disciples for His service, died for us on the cross, rose on the third day, and then ascended to heaven, from which He will someday return in power.
Summing up, the NT is to be received as reliable on the basis of the following facts: Jesus trained a group of disciples to comprehend and spread His teachings. Following the established pattern among Jewish students of religion, they would have taken this task with great seriousness, including the memorization of Jesus' key teachings. For a decade or so after Christ's resurrection, these men kept His teachings alive by preaching incessantly and by grooming avid disciples such as Luke and Mark. They also accepted Paul as a bona fide apostle after his miraculous conversion (Acts 9). Then, starting in the mid 40s, the apostles and their approved associates began writing authoritative, Spirit-inspired letters, which they circulated among the churches. Paul's writings came first, and later the Gospels. These writings were received as Scripture by the earliest churches and became the standards by which doctrine and practice were judged.
Factors in the Formation of the New Testament Canon
If one asks when and how the canon formed, the first thing to note is that the canon, being a list of books and not the books themselves, necessarily came into existence after the books were written. Thus the authoritative books were inspired Scripture prior to a list identifying them as such. Second, the canon formed as a matter of widespread consensus, not executive pronouncement. Third, in keeping with the first two points, it was several centuries before the canon emerged as a widely acknowledged fact. Critics take this relatively late emergence as proof that the books were not initially received as Scripture and that they came to be regarded as holy books only because later Christians lost sight of how they originated. In reality, however, the piecemeal development of canon consensus was a natural reflection of four conditions:
(1) The gradual creation and dissemination of the NT books. The books of the canonical NT were written over a span of approximately fifty years (a.d. 45–95). Before winning universal acceptance, each newly written book had to be circulated, copied, examined, and discussed among the churches. This was not a quick process. Books that were written relatively late underwent the sort of treatment that is common for newcomers: they were vetted with especially great care before being granted a seat among the old guard. Also, the Christian faith multiplied rapidly in the early centuries, with new churches cropping up in far-flung regions at a pace that outstripped the dissemination of the Scriptures. Thus, many early churches had access to only a few NT books. Naturally, when new books came to their attention they were cautious about embracing them as biblical, and they accepted them only after careful consideration and consultation with churches that had been founded by the apostles.
(2) Apostolic authority and the NT canon. All the earliest churches were founded by the apostles and their associates as they fanned out from Jerusalem in the years after Jesus' resurrection. Naturally, the churches depended on these men to teach them about Jesus and the Christian life. At first these teachings were strictly oral, but over time the apostles began writing letters and Gospels for the churches, thus providing early Christians with authoritative "books" to guide them in their beliefs and practices. These apostolic churches were among the first to receive the Scriptures as they were written, and so they were in a good position to help guide newer churches into the correct identification of a NT canon.
(3) The relative independence of each local church. Apostolic authority was honored by all true churches at the advent of Christianity, and yet each local church was relatively independent from any centralized ecclesiastical authority. One practical result of this was that no central office pronounced the identities of the NT books or forced their use in worship abroad. Understandably, it took several centuries for churches sprawled all over the map to forge communicative ties and common consensus on the canon.
(4) The rise of heresy. When someone came into the churches pushing ideas contrary to what had been received from the apostles, their teachings were recognized as unauthorized innovation. This is the very thing that happened in the second century with the advent of so-called Gnostic Christianity. Gnosticism was a popular dualistic Greek philosophy which held that the material world was created by an evil God. Hence, Gnostics stressed meditation on the secrets of a pure invisible realm, and they denied that God could take on material flesh as Christ did. A man named Marcion wedded Gnosticism with Christian elements and petitioned the church in Rome to adopt his views. Among other perversions, Marcion tried to convince Christians to reject the Old Testament Scriptures and adhere only to the writings of Paul plus a heavily edited version of Luke's Gospel that did not mention Christ's birth. As inheritors of the apostolic teachings, Christians in Rome and elsewhere knew that Marcion's teachings did not square with genuine Christian doctrines. As churches marked the distinction between authorized apostolic writings and the heretical innovations of men such as Marcion, and as Christians all across the Roman Empire endured periodic persecutions that threatened death to anyone harboring Christian Scriptures, the NT began to emerge as a defined and defended body of books. So-called "alternative Christianities," represented in second- and third-century works such as The Gospel of Thomas and The Gospel of Judas, were never considered for adoption into the NT canon because they were written long after the apostles, and their teachings did not match the Old Testament or the apostolic traditions.
Authoritative Witnesses to the Canon in the Early Church
Though it took several centuries for the canon to emerge as a definite collection of books that were agreed upon by the majority of churches, it is certain that many of the books were widely recognized as Scripture from early on. For example, in a.d. 96 Clement of Rome quoted from Jesus' Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 5–7) and treated it as Scripture. As a member of a church founded by an apostle, Clement probably had access to all or nearly all 27 canonical books at this time. In a.d. 110 Ignatius of Antioch, who was a disciple of John, claimed the Gospel materials were Scripture. By a.d. 180, the famed apologist Irenaeus defended Christianity by appealing to the authority of many NT writings. In total, scholars who have examined Irenaeus's surviving works believe he used 22 of our 27 NT books, including all four Gospels. A short time after Irenaeus an apologist named Tertullian charged Gnostic Christians with misusing "the instrument," by which he meant the collection of authoritative NT books. That he would refer to the collection of NT books in this way proves that by this time the leading churches had identified a well-defined set of books as canonical. Only James, 2 Peter, and 2 and 3 John go unnamed by Tertullian. A few decades later the church father Origen named all 27 books and noted that six of them (Hebrews, James, 2 Peter, 2 and 3 John, and Jude) were disputed by some. These disputed books went on to be the subject of debate for many centuries more, though their revered position among most churches was never shaken.
It was in the fourth century that the NT canon clearly emerged as a widely accepted set of holy books. First, Eusebius of Caesarea, known as the father of church history since he was the first to write a comprehensive history of Christianity, named 27 books that were commonly accepted as NT Scripture by the churches. He had reservations about the Book of Revelation, but all in all he names the same canon as we use today. In a.d. 367 the Bishop of Alexandria, a stalwart man named Athanasius, wrote a festal letter in which he listed all 27 NT books as Scripture. He made no note about disputed books—an indication that the disputes mentioned by Origen and Eusebius had diminished in importance by this time. A little more than a decade later the renowned scholar Jerome translated all 27 NT books into Latin and included them in his Bible, which is commonly called the Vulgate. As for the disputed books, he was convinced that their long-standing acceptance in the churches proved that they were indeed Scripture. Augustine, Bishop of Hippo, agreed that the 27 were all canonical. Of the disputed books he said they are to be accepted because the majority of churches, especially those accorded great authority due to their apostolic origins, had long accepted them. Finally, in 393 and 397 the Councils of Hippo and Carthage concluded that the NT canon properly includes 27 books, no more and no less.
The Canon from the Reformation to the Present
The Reformation era was a time in which many beliefs and practices were reexamined in the light of Scripture. Men such as Luther and Calvin desired to peel away the traditions of men and take their cues only from God's authoritative Word. This emphasis highlighted the need to be certain about which books were from God and which were not. When Luther published a German translation of the NT in 1522, he included all 27 books of the traditional canon even though he sounded a few notes of disapproval over the disputed books. In the table of contents he listed them separately from the undisputed books. For Luther, it seems, the books of the NT were divided into first-class and second-class canons. All 27 books were from God, but he did not believe Hebrews, James, Jude, and Revelation measured up to the others. Despite Luther's reservations, Christianity's long-standing acceptance of a 27-book NT canon was not seriously questioned. In 1546 the Roman Catholic Church affirmed all 27 books at the Council of Trent, and a hundred years later the Protestants did the same in the Westminster Confession of Faith. No sustained challenge to the canon has arisen in the churches since that era.
Preservation of the Manuscripts through the Centuries
It has become popular in recent decades for skeptics to claim that the NT books have evolved beyond all recognition since the days when they were written. Amateur copyists, hapless monks, rogue theologians, sly politicians—folk from many quarters are said to have had a turn at corrupting the text by adding, deleting, and modifying at will. One popular critic famously says that the total number of variations found in the existing manuscripts exceeds the number of words in the entire NT! Technically his claim is true, but the conclusions to be drawn from it are far less drastic than he would have us believe. The fact is the vast majority of all changes are easily detected, and they amount to nothing more than simple misspellings and other minor alterations that have no impact whatsoever on the meaning of the NT. In the few places where the changes potentially have theological importance, scholars are often able to trace the text back to its original reading with confidence. In cases where the original reading is in greater dispute, textual scholars have rightly said that you could eliminate all such verses from the NT and not detract from a single vital doctrine of Christianity. In other words, none of the corrupted verses serve as the sole basis for any NT doctrine. So even if we dropped such verses from the Bible, we could always point to undisputed verses elsewhere in the NT as support for the doctrine in question. In this light we see that the variants are not very important. A fair assessment of the evidence reveals that the NT manuscripts have been preserved remarkably well through centuries of transmission. Aside from inconsequential alterations, the NT manuscripts on which our translation is based are very close replications of the original writings.
Conclusion
The churches that initially received the letters and Gospels written by the apostles and their commissioned associates understood that the writings were Scripture, for they came from men who were recognized as the authorized exponents of Jesus' life and message. These writings were copied with care and circulated to other churches. Awareness of the approved books among Christians increased as the decades clicked away, for slowly the copies reached churches that sprang up far from the point of Christian origins in Israel. It is nevertheless true that many sincere Christian devotees in the early centuries would have been unaware of several or even many of the inspired works since many newer churches had little or no access to Scripture. Hence, the fact that the canon was not widely described until the fourth century does not mean the canon itself was an open question among those who were in a good position to judge the matter. After all, we find clear references to most of the canonical books in the writings of the early church fathers, and certainly Christians who worshipped at churches founded by the apostles had an early grasp of the NT canon since their churches were among those that received the original writings in the first century. It is no exaggeration to say that once the practical obstacles to travel, communication, and dissemination of the manuscripts were alleviated, the 27-book NT canon quickly became the consensus position in Christendom.
Looking back, it is apparent that all the books that were admitted into the canon met the following criteria: (a) they were written either by an apostle or by a sanctioned associate of the apostles; (b) they had enjoyed wide and long-standing usage in the churches, especially churches that were founded by the apostles; (c) they reflected high praise for Jesus, were true to the apostolic tradition that had been handed down to the churches, and fit with the overall theology of the other biblical books in both testaments.
In summary, church history shows that great care was taken when candidate books were assessed; the fact that a number of the books in our canon were repeatedly quizzed for their merits proves this beyond all doubt. Our NT canon is a well-proven, carefully protected heritage in which Christians can rejoice and place their full confidence.
The Origin,Transmission,and Canonization of the New Testament Books
Jeremy Royal Howard
The term canon is used to describe the list of books approved for inclusion in the Bible. It stems from a Greek word meaning "rod," as in a straight stick that serves as a standard for measuring. Hence, to speak of the biblical canon is to speak of authoritative books, given by God, the teachings of which define correct belief and practice. Obviously, only books inspired by God should be received as canonical. The Bible before you includes 27 books in the New Testament (NT). Are these the right books? Do they reliably convey truth about Jesus Christ? This essay argues that the 27 books of the NT canon are the correct books and are fully reliable in recounting truth about Jesus and His earliest followers.
Origin and Reliability of the New Testament Writings
The reliability of the NT books rests on questions about their origin: Were they written by eyewitnesses and men closely linked to them? Were the authors inspired by God as they wrote? Historic Christianity has answered yes to these questions. While skeptics maintain that the books were written by men who were inheritors of a legend that had slipped the bonds of reality, Christian confidence in the NT is well founded. Following are some lines of evidence supporting the reliability of the NT.
(1) Jesus personally groomed twelve disciples. At the outset of His ministry, Jesus did what many gifted teachers of the ancient world did: He chose a small group of men to be His official students. For approximately three years they listened closely to Jesus' teachings and witnessed His actions. Jesus was intentional in His efforts to teach them; He used effective teaching tools such as parables, repetition, and visual aids. He also taught them how to spread His message (Mark 6:7-11) and then commanded them to give their lives to this task after His resurrection (Matt. 28:18-20).
Despite many halts and hitches on the path to understanding, the disciples were dedicated to the tasks of comprehending Jesus' teachings and remembering them with precision. But how much could they remember decades later when they and their associates wrote the four Gospels? Three considerations suggest the disciples would have had no trouble remembering Jesus' teachings.
First, note that from the time they last walked with Jesus to the time the Gospels were written, the disciples gave unbroken attention to spreading the word about Jesus. This became their purpose in life. Hence, Jesus' teachings stayed fresh in their minds through the years as they preached in city after city and were continually challenged to defend their claims.
Second, most of us today have lost touch with the potential powers of the human memory. We store reams of data not in our minds, but in books and computers. Lack of such tools forced the ancients to make better use of the brain's storage capacities. The Jews in particular were impressive in this regard. As a people to whom God had revealed His will in spoken and written words, Jewish students of religion were motivated to achieve herculean feats of memorization. It was said that advanced students were like baskets full of books; they kept everything in their heads. Though Jesus' disciples lacked this level of training, it is certain that from the moment they were called to be Jesus' students they knew that they were expected to comprehend and remember His teachings. To do anything less would be to disrespect their teacher, especially since they believed He was the Messiah.
Third, it is likely that the disciples wrote down key portions of Jesus' teachings many years before the full Gospels were written. These deposits would have been available to refresh the memory, and they possibly served as handy source material for the writing of the Gospels (see Luke 1:1-4).
(2) The Holy Spirit helped the disciples understand and remember. Jesus sent the Spirit to help His disciples comprehend and remember His teachings (John 14:26). Thus they were not left to their own efforts when speaking and writing about Jesus. Internal testimony in the NT shows that the disciples became aware of the Spirit's role in each other's writings. The Jews stressed the difference between inspired Scripture and ordinary writing. Rabbis even said the Scriptures "defiled the hands," a surprising phrase that encouraged Jews to consider carefully their intentions before handling Scripture and to decide if these justified the trouble of becoming ceremonially unclean. This teaching discouraged flippant handling of the Scriptures. To claim that a document is from God would be blasphemous if untrue, and yet this is the very claim made by the NT itself. In 1 Timothy
Did the writers lie or tell the truth about what they saw?
Reliability of the New Testament Writings
The NT documents and early Christian writers affirm that the writings derive from eyewitnesses and their close associates.
Reasonable conclusion
It is most reasonable to conclude that the NT is a truthful account of the remarkable life of Jesus and the early church.
Were the NT books written by eyewitnesses?
By this did they gain worldly goods?
Commitment to truth coupled with a desire to serve God and people.
What drove their behavior?
By this did theygain worldly goods?
Unreasonable conclusion
The conclusion goes squarely against the claims of the NT itself as well as early Christian testimony about the NT authors.
Mental Illness?
Delusion?
Hype?
Unreasonable conclusion
But the NT authors did not earn any worldly gain on the basis of their teachings. In fact, they suffered much.
Unreasonable conclusion
The NT accounts show every evidence of being written by men of sound mind and high ethic. It is unreasonable to suggest that they poured their lives out to tell false tales they; mistakenly believed to be truth.
Unreasonable conclusion
Why would eyewitnesses lie about what they saw and thus fraudulently create a religion when all it earned them was suffering and death?
Malachi Study Notes
1:1 On burden, see Introduction and see note at Nah. 1:1.
1:2 To motivate God's demand for proper worship (v v. 6-14), for marital faithfulness (2:10b-17), and for wholehearted commitment to God signified by acknowledging His ownership of all they had (3:7–4:6), the Lord reminded the people in 1:2-5 of His faithful love throughout their history (Jer. 31:3). But Judah disputed God's love, showing they had allowed life's trials to blind them to His faithfulness and loving presence. Such spiritual depletion was at the root not only of Israel's insulting religious rites (Mal. 1:6-14), but also of the moral decay and spiritual indifference that Malachi described.
1:3-5 God's love had been abundantly demonstrated in recent history, in contrast to His dealings with the nation of Edom (descended from Jacob's twin brother; Gen. 25). Someday Israel would no longer doubt His love (cp. Jer. 31:33-34; 33:8-11; Zech. 12:10). Jehovah had demonstrated His love by choosing Israel out of all the nations for an intimate relationship (Exod. 19:4; Deut. 7:6) and by His subsequent faithfulness. "I loved Jacob" refers to God's choosing him over Esau as recipient and instrument of His blessing (Gen. 25:23; Rom. 9:10-13) as well as to God's enduring love for Jacob's descendants. God hated Esau insomuch as He did not choose to make a covenant of blessing with him and his descendants (the Edomites) but instead destroyed them for their rebellion. That nation was noted for its pride, treachery, greed, and violence (Jer. 49:7-22; Amos 1:9-12; Obadiah). Although God disciplined Israel severely, He did not destroy them completely (Neh. 9:31; Jer. 31:3) as He had done with Edom.
1:6 The only appropriate response to God's holiness is fear, which is essential to wisdom (Prov. 1:7; Mic. 6:9) and true faith (Isa. 33:6; 50:10), as well as wholehearted devotion and obedience.
1:7 The temple altar is compared to a divinely hosted dinner table, a symbol of hospitality and relationship (Ezek. 44:16). Their casual attitude toward the altar betrayed how little the people valued their relationship with God.
1:10 King Ahaz in earlier years had shut the temple doors to pursue the worship of idols that were nought (2 Chron. 28:24). Religious activity not rooted in humble adoration of God as the source of all goodness and authority is not only useless "fig-leaf religion" but is repulsive to Him because it slanders His character (Prov. 15:8; Isa. 1:10-17; Amos 5:21-23; Rom. 14:23; Heb. 11:6).
1:11-14 A time is coming when even Gentiles everywhere will recognize Jehovah's greatness and worship Him (Isa. 59:19; Ezek. 36:20-36; 39:7; Matt. 8:11-12; Rom. 11:11-12). But God's own children, His kingdom of priests who were to mediate His grace to the nations, profaned His name. God's "name" is His nature, character, and worth as He reveals it in His words and acts (Gen. 16:13; 17:5; 22:14; Exod. 33:19; 1 Kings 8:43). Those who claim to belong to Him ("are called by [His] name"; Deut. 28:10; 2 Chron. 7:14; Isa. 43:7) proclaim His character in both their worship (the phrase "call on the name of the Lord" [Gen. 4:26; 21:33] refers to praise or worship [Gen. 12:8; Deut. 32:3] as well as petition) and their behavior. If their worship or behavior misrepresents God's holy character, it "profanes" His name. This desecrates Him, damages His reputation, brings Him disgrace, and will not be tolerated (Lev. 22). This is what Israel had done before the exile and was doing again.
2:1-3 In addition to the positive motivation of 1:2-5, God decreed that if the priests' attitude and behavior did not change, He would treat them with contempt (as they had treated Him) and would remove them from service (Lev. 10:1-3; 1 Sam. 2:29-36; Ezek. 44:6-14; Hos. 4:6-8). The dung consisted of the waste and unclean sacrificial remains after a temple festival that were disposed of outside the camp (Exod. 29:14; Lev. 16:27-28). God had entrusted the priests with the spiritual well-being of Israel (Num. 25:11-13; Deut. 33:8-11). By the time of Jesus the Jerusalem priesthood was under God's curse (Matt. 16:21; 21:23-46), but the promise of a lasting Levitical priesthood was still in effect (Jer. 33:17-22; Mal. 3:3-4).
2:4-9 The covenant with or of Levi in verses 4 and 8 refers not to a covenant with the son of Jacob but to the "covenant of peace" that God made with the Levite Phinehas, Aaron's grandson. God promised Phinehas and his descendants a "everlasting priesthood" in return for his zeal in protecting Israel from the corruption of idolatry (Num. 25:1-13). The entire tribe of Levi had earlier been set apart by God after a similar act of faithfulness at Mount Sinai (Exod. 32:26-29). They were assigned responsibility for the sanctuary and worship (Deut. 10:8-9; Neh. 13:29). The tribe's function was to teach the law to Israel and in that sense to be God's messenger and to officiate at the altar (Lev. 10:8-11; Deut. 33:8-11). The Levitical covenant was renewed in Jer. 33:14-22 in connection with the Davidic covenant, though it was narrowed in Ezek. 44:10-16 to the descendants of Zadok (1 Sam. 2:35; 1 Kings 2:27). Although the priests had corrupted the covenant, 3:3-4 shows it would remain in effect. That teachers of God's Word could be described as "messengers" implies the ongoing relevance of God's past instructions and shows the continuing importance of the role of biblical teachers among God's people.
2:10 The people were failing to honor their covenant relationships with one another. The word deal treacherously (Hb bagad) that occurs in verses 10,11,14,15,16 designates failure to fulfill one's promised obligations—i.e., to betray another. A person who does this is a traitor (Isa. 21:2). The covenant of our fathers is the Mosaic covenant (Judg. 2:20; 1 Kings 8:21). To "profane" it meant to treat it with contempt (Mal. 1:12; 2:11) by violating it.
2:11-12 The most obvious way Judah was violating the covenant was by intermarriage with women who worshipped foreign gods, thus introducing a spiritually destructive element into the covenant community (Exod. 34:11-16; Deut. 7:3-4; Ezra 9:1-2; Neh. 13:26; 2 Cor. 6:14-17). An abomination was an act that caused such serious defilement that destruction or death was required (Lev. 18:29; Deut. 7:25; 13:15; Jer. 44:22-23). Anyone who did this was cursed (Mal. 2:12). The master and the scholar means everyone. The last clause probably explains more precisely why their sin profaned the sanctuary: they were continuing to sacrifice to God despite their sin.
2:13-14 In order to marry pagan women, some men were divorcing their Jewish wives to whom they had sworn faithfulness before God. Again means that divorce was the second detestable act of treachery that was profaning the sanctuary (v. 11). The verb forms in verses 13-14 are different from those in verses 11-12. This may suggest that Malachi was even more concerned with divorce than with intermarriage. Divorce profaned the sanctuary because the people continued to offer their sacrifices (v. 13) despite their marital betrayals. God's refusal to respond favorably to their offering (hence their tears; see Gen. 4:4-5; Ps. 6:6-9) was probably linked to their continuing economic and social troubles (Neh. 9:32-37; Hag. 1:6,9-11; 2:16-19). Persistent sin renders worship meaningless. Companion renders a word for someone with whom one is bound by friendship, common goals and commitments, kinship, or covenant, the last being the case here. On marriage as covenantal, see Prov. 2:17; Ezek. 16:8,59-62; Hos. 2:16-20.
2:15 The translation and point of verse 15a is unclear, but it seems to indicate that the marriage bond is not merely earthly and easily dissolved, but that it is the product of God's Spirit, whose purpose is to produce godly seed.
2:16 This verse specifies how wives were being betrayed. Their husbands were putting them away for no legitimate reason (Deut. 24:3), which was a heinous injustice. Such a cold-blooded and unscrupulous traitor to his marital responsibilities, who would deny his wife the very things he had pledged to provide—devotion, care, companionship, protection, intimacy, peace, justice (Gen. 2:24; Exod. 21:10; Deut. 22:13-19; Prov. 5:15-20)—stood condemned by God, and he wore the stain of his crime on his garment for all to see (Ps. 73:6).
2:17 The people's treachery against one another (v. 10) was a form of injustice (failing to give someone his due), but they accused God of injustice for not coming to their aid and passing judgment on people they considered evil (1:2; 3:15). God's ironic reply was to announce in 3:1-6 a coming messenger of "judgment" (3:5) who would purge and purify God's people, including the priests.
3:1-5 God's messenger here is the "voice . . . in the wilderness" of Isa. 40:3, which the NT interprets as the "Elijah" of Mal. 4:5, fulfilled (conditionally) by John the Baptist (Matt. 3:3; 11:14; 17:10-13). His goal would be to exhort the people to repent and prepare for God's other messenger (see John 1:14-17). This second Messenger is distinguished from God by referring to Him as he, and yet also identified with God by calling Him the Lord in verse 1 and "I" in verse 5. The divine-human nature of this messianic bearer of a new covenant (Heb. 9:15) may also be seen in other passages such as Zech. 12:10–13:9.
3:6 In reply to charges that He had been unfaithful, God declared that if He were not the immutable God who did not lie, was not capricious, and whose purposes and promises were irrevocable (Num. 23:19; Ps. 89:33-34; Isa. 46:3-4; Rom. 11:26-29; Heb. 6:17-18), Israel's rebellion would have destroyed them long ago (like Edom's in Mal. 1:2-5; cp. Ps. 124; Hos. 11:9).
3:7-10a The final, climactic address begins with a command to return (Jer. 3:22–4:4; 24:7; Hos. 14:1-2; Zech. 1:3) to Jehovah, and it ends with a command to "remember" His instructions (Mal. 4:4). Evidence of the people's return to God would be to resume bringing tithes and other offerings to support the priests, Levites, and landless poor (Lev. 27:30-33; Num. 18:8-32; Deut. 12:5-19; 14:22-29; 26:12-15; Neh. 10:38; 13:10). Such offerings would demonstrate a proper attitude toward their possessions as God's gifts (Deut. 6:10-12; 8:17-18).
3:10b-12 Although testing God with complaining, rebellion, and unbelief is wrong (v. 15; Exod. 17:2-7; Ps. 95:8-9), testing His faithfulness with our obedience is not.
3:13-15 On the stout words, see "hard speeches" in Jude 14-15. Judah's current difficulties, in light of their perverse understanding of God's demands and of having a relationship with Him, had led them to conclude there was no advantage in serving God (Isa. 5:20; Mal. 2:17). The word for profit refers to dishonest gain (see Isa. 56:11).
3:16-18 The book of remembrance was the royal archives where the most significant events of a king's reign were recorded (Ezra 4:15; 5:17). As Mordecai was rewarded on the basis of the royal archives (Esther 2:23; 6:1-3), so it will be for all who fear God and treasure His name. Whether such heavenly records exist literally, the many biblical references to them show that God knows and will reward those who belong to Him (1 Kings 19:18; Ps. 56:8; Isa. 34:16; Dan. 7:10; 2 Cor. 5:10; Rev. 20:12). God has already marked a day on His calendar when He will come with compassion to retrieve His people, His precious jewels (see Exod. 19:5; Deut. 7:6; 14:1-2; 26:18; Ps. 135:4), all who serve Him in faith (Ezek. 34:11-31; Gal. 1:4; Eph. 1:14).
4:1 The fiery element of the coming day echoes similar images in eschatological passages such as Joel 2:3-5 (see Ps. 21:9; Isa. 31:9). The wicked may seem powerful, but they will be removed right down to the root.
4:2-3 Darkness in the Bible often symbolizes earthly life full of evil, ignorance, pain, and death (Gen. 1:4; 1 Sam. 2:9; Isa. 8:22–9:2). God promises to invade this world with righteousness as the Sun invades the night, driving the darkness away (Deut. 33:2; 2 Sam. 23:3-4; Isa. 60:1-3,19-21). Other texts clarify that this image represents the Messiah, whose coming will be celebrated like the dawn (Luke 1:76-79), often pictured as the wings of the sun (Ps. 139:9). As a bird's wings offer protection (Deut. 32:11), God's "wings" will bring healing to His children (Ps. 91:4; Isa. 53:5; 57:18-19), who will never again fear the wicked.
4:4-6 The people of Israel wore tassels as constant reminders of God's instructions (Num. 15:38-40). Malachi called them to remember—not to be guided by human wisdom, ambition, or societal expectations, but by the application of God's law through Moses (see Ps. 119:16). On the great and dreadful day of the Lord, see Joel 2:31. This will be a day of blessing for God's people as well as a time of judgment on His enemies. Elijah, mentioned 28 times in the NT, was viewed as the preeminent prophet of repentance. He appeared with Moses on the mountain of Jesus' transfiguration to testify that Jesus is the Messiah (Luke 9:29-31). Both Moses and Elijah were connected with Horeb, God's mountain (Exod. 3:1; 1 Kings 19:8). Although this prophecy was provisionally fulfilled by John the Baptist (Mal. 3:1-5), it will be further fulfilled at Jesus' return (Matt. 11:14; 17:11; Rev. 11:3) and it will be accompanied by a great revival of faith in Israel (Deut. 30:1-2). Malachi 4:6, quoted in Luke 1:16-17, describes a time of reconciliation when "the disobedient" will accept the wisdom of "the just" and when fathers and their children will no longer live self-serving lives but will regard one another with compassion and respect (2:15; Ezek. 5:10; Rom. 1:30).
Malachi Cross-References
a 1:2 Deut. 7:8; 10:15
bRom. 9:13
c 1:3 Jer. 49:18; Ezek. 35:3-4,7,9,14-15; Obad. 10, etc.
d 1:5 Ps. 35:27
e 1:6 Exod. 20:12
fLuke 6:46
gch. 2:14,17; 3:7-8,13
h 1:7 Deut. 15:21
iver. 12; Ezek. 41:22
j 1:8 ver. 14; Lev. 22:22; Deut. 15:21
kJob 42:8
l 1:9 Hos. 13:9
m 1:10 1 Cor. 9:13
nIsa. 1:11; Jer. 6:20; Amos 5:21
o 1:11 Ps. 113:3; Isa. 59:19
pIsa. 60:3,5
qJohn 4:21,23; 1 Tim. 2:8
rRev. 8:3
sIsa. 66:19-20
t 1:12 ver. 7
u 1:13 Lev. 22:20, etc.
v 1:14 ver. 8
a 1:14 Ps. 47:2; 1 Tim. 6:15
b 2:2 Lev. 26:14, etc.; Deut. 28:15, etc.
c 2:3 1 Kings 14:10
d 2:5 Num. 25:12; Ezek. 34:25; 37:26
eDeut. 33:8-9
f 2:6 Deut. 33:10
gJer. 23:22; James 5:20
h 2:7 Lev. 10:11; Deut. 17:9-10; 24:8; Ezra 7:10; Jer. 18:18; Hag. 2:11-12
iGal. 4:14
j 2:8 1 Sam. 2:17; Jer. 18:15
kNeh. 13:29
l 2:9 1 Sam. 2:30
m 2:10 1 Cor. 8:6; Eph. 4:6
nJob 31:15
o 2:11 Ezra 9:1; 10:2; Neh. 13:23
p 2:12 Neh. 13:28-29
a 2:14 Prov. 5:18
bProv. 2:17
c 2:15 Matt. 19:4-5
dEzra 9:2; 1 Cor. 7:14
e 2:16 Deut. 24:1; Matt. 5:32; 19:8
f 2:17 ch. 3:13-15; Isa. 43:24; Amos 2:13
g 3:1 Matt. 11:10; Mark 1:2; Luke 1:76; 7:27
hIsa. 40:3
iIsa. 63:9
jHag. 2:7
k 3:2 ch. 4:1
lRev. 6:17
mSee Isa. 4:4; Matt. 3:10-12
n 3:3 Isa. 1:25; Zech. 13:9
o1 Pet. 2:5
p 3:4 ch. 1:11
q 3:5 Zech. 5:4; James 5:4,12
r 3:6 Num. 23:19; Rom. 11:29; James 1:17
sLam. 3:22
t 3:7 Acts 7:51
uZech. 1:3
a 3:7 ch. 1:6
b 3:8 Neh. 13:10-12
c 3:10 Prov. 3:9-10
d1 Chron. 26:20; 2 Chron. 31:11; Neh. 10:38; 13:12
eGen. 7:11; 2 Kings 7:2
f2 Chron. 31:10
g 3:11 Amos 4:9
h 3:12 Dan. 8:9
i 3:13 ch. 2:17
j 3:14 Job 21:14-15; 22:17; Ps. 73:13; Zeph. 1:12
k 3:15 ch. 2:17; Ps. 73:12
lPs. 95:9
m 3:16 ch. 4:2; Ps. 66:16
nHeb. 3:13
oPs. 56:8; Isa. 65:6; Rev. 20:12
p 3:17 Exod. 19:5; Deut. 7:6; Ps. 135:4; Titus 2:14; 1 Pet. 2:9
qIsa. 62:3
rPs. 103:13
s 3:18 Ps. 58:11
t 4:1 ch. 3:2; Joel 2:31; 2 Pet. 3:7
uch. 3:18
vObad. 18
wAmos 2:9
x 4:2 ch. 3:16
yLuke 1:78; Eph. 5:14; 2 Pet. 1:19; Rev. 2:28
z 4:3 2 Sam. 22:43; Mic. 7:10; Zech. 10:5
aa 4:4 Exod. 20:3, etc.
abDeut. 4:10
a 4:4 Ps. 147:19
b 4:5 Matt. 11:14; 17:11; Mark 9:11; Luke 1:17
cJoel 2:31
d 4:6 Zech. 14:12
eZech. 5:3