Malachi

Malachi

Finding the Context:

The prophet Malachi wrote this book for the people who were living in Jerusalem about 70 years after the return from exile (1:1). The temple had now been around for about 40 years. By this time the people were becoming lazy and apathetic about their relationship with God and had begun to doubt God’s goodness (1:2,12-14; 2:7,8,17; 3:14,15). Disobedience (3:7) and disrespect for the Lord (1:6) are common threads throughout this book. You see Israel questioning God (1:2, 6; 2:17), failing to respect Him (1:6-14), bringing Him weariness (2:17) and cheating Him (3:8-10). Malachi was written to point out to the people that they had once again strayed from the Lord, while at the same time promising them hope and restoration through the coming Messiah (3:1).

Theme Tracing:

1.     What does this book show about the character and nature of God?

God clearly reveals that He is a God who deserves to be respected. He presents his case to Israel by stating that if a son honors his father and a servant his master than He has the right to be honored as well (1:6). He also reveals Himself as a God who is a Great King and one who is to be feared (1:14).

God also differentiates between the righteous and the wicked because He is a just God. The people of Israel felt like God wasn’t truly just and there was no benefit in serving Him (2:17; 3:14). He reveals to His people that He is indeed a God who distinguishes between the wicked and the righteous and will ultimately act with justice (3:1-5;16-18).

2.     What does this book show about God’s redemptive plan for mankind?

Malachi is the last book of the Old Testament and you find God once again promising the Messiah to His people. He promises to send them the messenger who will prepare the way and states that “then the Lord who you are seeking will come to His temple” (3:1). In fact the closing words of the last chapter of the Old Testament regard God promising to send Elijah to prepare the way of the Lord (4:5). As we close out the Old Testament we see that even after having returned from exile, the people are still unable to keep God’s covenant. The need for a better system is once again made clear in preparation for the soon coming promised Messiah.

Application Questions:

1.     Point of Passion

You see in Malachi 2:5-8 an amazingly clear explanation of the role of the Levites who were the spiritual leaders of the time. They were commissioned to bring life and peace and to pass on the instructions to the people that they had received from the Lord. They were to reverence God and stand in awe of Him. Through their pure lives it says that they turned the people away from sin. It also says that their lips were to preserve the knowledge of God. They were also named a source of instruction for the people. What an amazing calling this is.  God desires those He has called to shepherd His people to live this out today as well. He longs for His shepherds to reverence Him and stand in awe of His name just as the Levites were called to. Pastors are required to pass on the truth of the instructions that God gives them. They are not to keep it to themselves but are to proclaim the words of God to the people. Truth is not something you receive to put on a shelf. Rather it is given to you to be given away. You are called the messenger of the Lord and therefore you have a message to deliver (3:7). Pastors are also called to turn people away from sin and this is accomplished through living a pure life. As they live out purity, the people they serve will be led out of sin. As a messenger of the Lord, your lips should preserve knowledge and people should be able to come to you for instruction. You might feel like you are not capable of doing this for the Lord because of your weakness. Yet, in reality it is not about what you do. It is about what HE does THROUGH you. Malachi says that God GAVE the Levites life and peace, they PASSED on the truth that they had RECEIVED. God says about them, “they walked with ME living pure lives”. It further says that the words of his lips should preserve knowledge BECAUSE he is God’s messenger. Whatever God calls you to, He empowers you to do and God is the One who gives the knowledge that is to be passed on and He walks with you so that you can live purely before Him.