Malachi: My Messenger His Message Complacency Complacency Complacency Complacency: Self-satisfied...
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Transcript of Malachi: My Messenger His Message Complacency Complacency Complacency Complacency: Self-satisfied...
His MessageComplacency Complacency Complacency Complacency Complacency Complacency Complacency Complacency Complacency Complacency Complacency Complacency Complacency Complacency Complacency Complacency Complacency Complacency Complacency Complacency Complacency Complacency Complacency Complacency Complacency Complacency Complacency
Complacency: Self-satisfied and unaware of possible dangers.
Reference material used for this series:
Notes on Malachi, Dr. Thomas L. Constable
Old Testament Survey Notes, Dr. Doug Bookman
Expositors Bible Commentary
Ryrie Study Bible
All the Prophets of the Bible, Herbert Lockyer, Jr.
The MacArthur Study Bible..
ProphetRole:
An extraordinary office, not part of God’s original economy but raised up because the development of the history of
Israel made it necessary
The Term:
Nabhi = Prophet: Mouthpiece, one who speaks for another
Ro’eh or Hoseh = Seer: One who sees as dreams or visions
New Testament = Prophet: one who speaks for another
Biblical Terminology Consensus;
Prophet: One who speaks for another..
The Role of a Prophet:He received a message directly from God and in
turn, delivered it to the peopleTo cry out against prevailing sin in the nation
Isa. 58:1, Jer. 28:8-9To bear a message of consolation and pardon
Isa. 40:1-2To correct abuses in the religion of YHWH
Isa. 1:10-16To rebuke and direct the rulers of the theocracy
2Sam 12:1, Isa. 7:3, 38:1..
In summary, there were two primary aspects of the prophet’s function in the Old
Testament:
1. Forth-telling (Telling forth God’s word)
2. Fore-telling (Telling the future)..
Deuteronomy 18:18 - 22 18 ‘I will raise up a prophet from among their countrymen like you,
and I will put My words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him.
19 ‘It shall come about that whoever will not listen to My words which he shall speak in My name, I Myself will require it of him.
20 ‘But the prophet who speaks a word presumptuously in My name which I have not commanded him to speak, or which he speaks in the name of other gods, that prophet shall die.’
21 “You may say in your heart, ‘How will we know the word which the LORD has not spoken?’
22 “When a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD, if the thing does not come about or come true, that is the thing which the LORD has not spoken. The prophet has spoken it presumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him.
(the “like you” verse 18 refers to Moses)..
The six tests of a true prophet of YHWH:
• Called by YHWH: Amos 7:14-15• Spoke exclusively for YHWH: Duet. 13:1-5• Received the message only by direct revelation:
Duet. 18:9-14• The message is in full harmony with previous
revelation: 1Kings 13• His message must come to pass in exact and
complete detail: 1Sam. 3:15• Sometimes the message is authenticated with signs
and miracles: Ex. 4:1, 1Kings 22:28..
There are two categories of the 16 Biblical writing prophets
1. Major prophets:
Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel
Why are they called major?...
The length of their book
2. Minor prophets:
Ezra, Nehemiah, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi
Why are the called minor?...
They wrote smaller books..
His Parents:
???
Tribal Roots:
???
Birthplace:
???
Other Vocation:
???
All we know about him is gleaned from the book itself..
He probably looked more like this!
Malachi is written somewhere around 434 to
an audience of Jews recently returned from
Babylonian/Persian captivity in Jerusalem and the Jews at large in Israel
and other nations..
As noted, his name means “My Messenger” or can also mean “The Lord’s Messenger.”
Something to ponder:
It is appropriate that this special “messenger” closes the OT as the NT begins with another special messenger
from God, John the Baptist, foretold by Malachi!!!
Malachi calls out the people and the priests for sin and calls them to righteousness!
John does the very same thing in preparing the way of the Lord, he calls out the people and leaders
demanding they repent!!
Without getting into all of the theological debates here is what “mainstream” theologians basically agree on:
• Malachi has always been placed with the minor prophets• Haggai/Zechariah/Malachi were contemporaries of each other• All three were postexilic prophets• Malachi ran the spiritual affairs from Jerusalem during
Nehemiah's return to Persia somewhere around 434 BCDuring his tenure:
• The exiles had returned• The Temple is rebuilt• The sacrificial system was operational• Jerusalem is substantially normal but under Persian rule• The people had become lazy, sluggish and lenient in spiritual
matters..
Timeline of the Prophets:
Joel 835 to Judah
Jonah 770 BC to Ninevah
Amos 760 - to Israel
Hosea 760 - 730 to Israel
Isaiah 740 – 700 to Judah
Micah 737 – 690 to Judah
Habakkah - 630 to Judah
Zephaniah - 627 to Judah..
Timeline of the Prophets continued:
Jeremiah 627 – 580 to Judah
Daniel 605 – 530 to Judah
Ezekiel 593 – 570 to Judah
Nahum 593 – 570 to Ninevah
Haggai 520 to Judah
Zechariah 520 – 518 to Judah
Obadiah 500 to Edom
Malachi 445-420 to Judah..
538 Ezra 1-6 (Ezra began the restoration)
515 (Haggai and Zachariah)482
Esther473
458 Ezra 7-10
445
Nehemiah (History supporting Malachi)(Malachi)
420
Setting the Stage of the Exile
Stage #1606 BC:
Nebuchadnezzar, general of the armies of Babylon lays siege to Jerusalem and carries off some of the
leading nobles of the city (you may remember Daniel and his three friends)
He appoints Jehoiakim as a vassal King (somebody who gave loyalty and homage to a feudal lord and
received the right to occupy the lord's land and receive his protection)..
Stage #2597 BC:
Jehoiakim rebels, is defeated and 10,000 Jews, the wealthy and elite are carried off to Babylon
(March 10, 597 BC)
Stage #3586 BC:
Ignoring the warnings of Jeremiah, King Zedekiah plots against Babylon leading to the second siege of the city
from January 15, 588 BC to July 18, 586 BC
This time the city and its Temple are burned and only a tiny remnant of Jews are left in the land..
Setting the Stage of the RestorationStage #1
538 BC:
Cyrus of Persia (they defeated Babylon in 539 BC) decrees that the Jews may return to Israel and rebuild
their Temple
Almost 50,000 return
The altar is established, October 5, 537 BC
The 2nd Temple foundations are laid May/June 536 BC
The Jews grew selfish and careless and the work lays dormant for several years..
God raises up Haggai and Zechariah and the Temple is finally finished around February/March 516 BC
Stage #2458 BC:
Ezra, the religious leader returns to restore pure worship.
Over 5,000 more Jews return to Israel
Stage #3 445 BC: Nehemiah returns to rebuild and encourage all to return
and re-inhabit JerusalemOver 42,000 return with him..
What is the biggest difference between the 1st Temple and the two that followed?
The absence of the Glory Cloud!!!!
Ezekiel 10:18 - 19
18 Then the glory of the LORD departed from the threshold of the temple and stood over the cherubim.
19 When the cherubim departed, they lifted their wings and rose up from the earth in my sight with the wheels beside them; and they stood still at the entrance of the east gate of the LORD’S house, and the glory of the God of Israel
hovered over them..
The grouping of the book:(Per The Expositors Commentary)
1:6-7 The Failure of the Priests
1:8-9 Disqualified Sacrifices
1:10-14 Disdainful Attitudes
2:1-9 The Rebuke of the Lord
2:10-16 The Unfaithfulness of the People
2:17-3:5 The Coming Messenger of the Lord
3:6-9 The Neglect of the Tithe
3:10-12 The Promise of Blessing
3:13-15 The Faithlessness (of the people)
3:16-18 The Faithful (of the Lord’s people)
4:1-6 The Day of the Lord..
Malachi is in Jerusalem, raised up by God
while Nehemiah was visiting Assyria
To repeat:– The people for the most part are back in the land– Temple is up– Sacrificial system is operating– People are spiritually indifferent, lethargic and cynical– Priests are lax and degenerate, sacrifices are carless
and deficient and tithes and offerings were neglected– Divorce and mixed marriage is rampant..
Purpose of the book was for:
Malachi to confront the people with
their sins and to encourage them to
pursue holiness!
Is this appropriate for us today??
Malachi is best understood if you visualize a courtroom, Israel is the accused and YHWH is the
prosecuting attorney
Six “disputations” between YHWH
and the people.
A dispute about:1. God’s love 1:2-5
2. God’s honor and fear 1:6 - 2:9
3. His faithfulness 2:10-16
4. God’s justice 2:17 - 3:5
5. Robbing God’s Riches 3:6-12
6. Speaking against God 3:13 - 4:3
Two “appendices”*:1. An admonition to remember the law of
Moses
2. An announcement that God is sending
Elijah to turn the hearts of parents.. and children before the day of the Lord 4:5-6..
*(a collection of separate material at the end of
a book or document)
The closing of Malachi marks the
end of the Old Testament and ushers in
a period of 400 years of silence from God
1:1 The oracle of the word of the Lord to Israel through Malachi
Oracle: A prophetic speech of a threatening or menacing character, often against the nations
Some versions use the word “burden”
It is used 15 times in the OT
I.E..
Isaiah 13:1 The burden against Babylon which Isaiah the son of Amoz saw.
It carries the idea of the heavy responsibility, the heavy weight placed on Malachi and other prophets of God in delivering their
message from the Lord..
1:1 The oracle of the word of the Lord to Israel through Malachi
In this the prosecutor's opening statement we learn three facts:
1. It is God’s words
2. They are delivered to the nation of Israel
3. They are delivered by Malachi..