Malachi:My Messenger

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)..

What does God say about His Prophets??

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..

Malachi,

Prophet 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

From “The Message”

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..

What do we take home:

1. A prophet speaks God’s words to us

2. Malachi is a true/tested prophet of God

3. Malachi’s book is relevant for today

Aijalon Valley Eastern portion from the North