1:2-5 Malachi begins with a reference to the long-standing tension between Israel and Edom, the descendants of Jacob's brother Esau who despised his birthright and held the promises of God in contempt (Gn 25:29-34). Moses admonished the Israelites, "Do not despise an Edomite" (Dt 23:7) because Esau was the brother of Jacob. But the Edomites continued to believe the Israelites had taken the land of Canaan by deception. They cooperated with the Assyrian invasion of Judah, and when the Judeans were taken into exile they claimed the land for themselves. For these reasons they came under the Lord's judgment (see Ezk 35:5-15; 36:1-15). When the Judean exiles returned to the region of Jerusalem the Edomites further opposed them. In this situation Malachi heard the Lord saying, "I loved Jacob, but I hated Esau" (vv. 2-3).
The word "hate" in the Bible does not always carry the same sense of antipathy and disgust associated with the English expression; it can mean simply to favor someone else with special privilege or devotion. In that sense, the Lord's "hatred" of Esau was only the other side of His loyalty to His covenant with Israel. Paul quoted verses 2-3 with that meaning in Rm 9:13 as an illustration of the Lord's mercy and compassion on whomever He chooses to bestow them (Rm 9:15). Nevertheless, in the circumstances of the Jews' return from exile, the hostility of the Edomites seems to have reached another level, provoking Malachi to call them "the people the Lord has cursed forever" (v. 4).
2:10-16 What Malachi taught about divorce must be understood in its historical context. The challenge facing the Judean community after the return from exile was the reestablishment of its religious institutions (see Hg 1:5-8). But Judean men were marrying women from other ethnic groups in the region who worshiped pagan gods (vv. 11-12)—in some cases, at least, divorcing their Judean wives ("the wife of your youth," v. 14) to do so. Marriage to unbelievers diluted their commitment to the faith of Israel and resulted in children who were not the "godly offspring" the Lord desired (v. 15). The prophet's overriding concern was not marriage, as such, but the effect of an unwise mixed marriage on a man's relationship to the Lord, and the impact of many such unions on the solidarity and stability of the covenant community.
Malachi admonished the men of Judah to honor the commitment they had made to the wife they married under the Lord's covenant, and not to "act treacherously" (v. 15) against her. To divorce her to marry a pagan woman would be to break faith with the Lord, as well as with her. The Lord finds such an action detestable. Malachi appealed not only to the covenant but also to the Lord's creation of man and woman, with "His life-breath" (v. 15), to become one flesh (Gn 2:7,21-23). As Creator, God is the Father of His people and desires covenantal loyalty within His family (Mal 2:10). (Apparently polygamy was not an option in Judah at this time, although earlier figures in OT history such as the Hebrew patriarchs, David and Solomon, had more than one wife. Either monogamous marriage had become the norm or, under the rigorous conditions of the earlier return from exile, men of ordinary means could not afford to practice polygamy.)
3:8-12 As it was for Haggai (see Hg 1:58), an issue for Malachi was the community's provision for its worship life. The people were not bringing in the tithe of their grain for the support of the priesthood and the temple ceremonies. In response, Malachi declared the word of the Lord: "Bring the full 10 percent into the storehouse" (v. 10). Interpreters do not all agree on the status of the tithe in Christian practice. Some see it as part of the law of Moses that has been superseded as a mandatory requirement in the new covenant of Jesus Christ. Others see it as a fundamental principle of faithful Christian living in the kingdom of God, comparable to the moral requirements of the Ten Commandments.
Most would agree on several points, however. (1) Thetithe of one's increase does not represent all that belongs to the Lord; it is emblematic of the fact that "everything in the heavens and on earth belongs to You"(1 Ch 29:11), and whatever a person has should be applied, in some way, to God's purposes. (2) The tithe supports the work of God through the church He has called to serve Him in the world. It is instrumental in making possible both the edification of believers and the outreach to unbelievers; without it, the church's mission and the extension of the kingdom of God would be hampered. (3) The practice of tithing, and of giving in general, prepares the believer to receive blessing from the Lord. The grasping hand is not open to what He seeks to give. On this last point, Malachi specifically urged the Judeans to "test Me in this way" (v. 10).
3:16-18 In the era of "postmodernism," the distinction between what is right and wrong is often minimized; what is wrong for one person, it is said, may be right for another, or what is right in one situation may be wrong in another. Such indifference to moral and ethical standards can even filter into the Christian community. Malachi spoke of a time when such indifference will no longer be the case, for those who "feared the Lord," at least, it would be clear what was righteous and what was wicked, and it would be evident who was truly serving God. Jesus Christ laid down a firm test of righteousness, or standing with God: "No one comes to the Father except through Me" (Jn 14:6). Whether or not a person is found "in Christ" (2 Co 5:17) would not be a matter of indifference; it would be a test on the order of that of which Malachi spoke.
4:2 Sometimes this verse is taken as a specific promise of the appearance of Jesus Christ. The KJV reads, "But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings." However, the Hebrew word for "sun" (shemesh) is feminine; a literal translation would be "and healing in her wings." In monuments from the ancient Near East, the sun is sometimes portrayed with wings. It is doubtful that this verse should be regarded as a messianic promise, in the narrow sense, although it does speak of the coming of that righteousness that marks the kingdom of God.