Have you ever wondered how the repentant Jews who rebuilt the city and temple of Jerusalem became the hypocritical Pharisees and the skeptical Sadducees of Jesus’ day? In Daniel, Ezekiel, and Jeremiah, we read about the apostasy and destruction of Judah. We see their reformation and repentance during seventy years as captives of Babylon. In Ezra, Nehemiah, Zechariah, and Haggai, we are told of the miraculous return of the people to Israel and the rebuilding of the temple and city of Jerusalem. It is easy to gloss over the problems of the returning exiles and see them as reformed obedient servants of God, but the reality is that the hearts of many of the returning Jews were still in exile even as their bodies labored to rebuild God’s holy house. Malachi, the last book of the Old Testament to be written, paints a picture of greed and disrespect towards God rather than true repentance. The superstitious idol worshippers from pre-Babylonian times had transformed, but not for the better. They left their exile in the Persian Empire as greedy cynics, who feared humans more than any god, and displayed that disrespect to the God of heaven in ways that their idolatrous forefathers would not have dared. This heart of cynical greed that feared human power more than God’s power would eventually cause the leaders of Israel to reject the Messiah. God was not surprised. He had told His people 400 years beforehand that they were not ready for His arrival.
Authorship and Setting
Little is known about Malachi. The name itself either means “my messenger,” or if it was a shortened form of a longer name, it means “messenger of Jehovah.” While the book gives no background about the prophet, the context makes it plain that this warning was written a long time after the completion of the second temple during a time when the priests were routinely offering sacrifices. It is likely that this prophecy was given about 100 years after the first exiles returned from captivity and began rebuilding the city and temple. Several indicators point to the period of Nehemiah’s second term as leader over Israel. First, Malachi 1:8 refers to Israel’s governor. Nehemiah was the last Jewish governor over Israel mentioned in the Bible. History tells us that the next governor was Persian rather than Jewish. Another indicator of Malachi being written during or not long after Nehemiah’s time is that the reproofs of the book are the same accusations that Nehemiah had made to the returned Jews: a defiled priesthood, corrupt marriages, and cheating on tithe. Finally, the Jews of Jesus’ time agreed that Malachi was the last prophet of the scriptures and that it had been about 400 years since Malachi’s message.
Theme and Organization:
The theme of the book is that God’s people were disrespecting Him and needed to have a change of heart before God’s Day of Judgment. In other words, the Messiah was going to come, and His people were not ready to receive Him. God attempts to speak with His people to draw them back to serving faithfully, but they arrogantly assert that they have done nothing wrong. It is God who is the problem. God approaches as He always does, with love. The people reject His love and accuse Him of not showing them any love. He responds that He has brought them back home while Edom has been cast off. Then God accuses the priests of disrespecting Him. They reject that accusation, so God enumerates how they have offered blind, diseased sacrifices to Him, the kind that they would not dare to offer to a human leader. In their greed, they are cheating God. In addition, they are teaching the people disrespect for God. Next, God charges the men of Judah with being faithless. They reject this charge, so God points out how they have traded in their older wives for younger versions. He explains that they call good evil and evil good. God calls them to return to Him, and they question how they should return. This implies the idea that they have not left God, so how could they return? God points out that they have not paid their tithes and offerings. This is why they have not received blessings from heaven.
Towards the end of these accusations in chapter 3, God tells them that the Messiah is coming, but they are not prepared for His cleansing. At the very end of chapter 4, God promises to send Elijah the prophet before the Day of the Lord. Elijah will reach their hearts to change them and prepare them for Messiah and judgment. This promise indicates that God was concerned with the inward motivations of His people rather than simple behavior modification. His examples of wrongdoing were supposed to lead them to an examination of their hearts. Unfortunately, the Jews decided that the messages about behavior were the problem that needed to be addressed. By Jesus’ day, they were meticulous in only offering unblemished sacrifices and tithing down to the tiniest herb. They seem to have reformed in the divorce department also. However, Jesus made it clear that their hearts were still hard, hypocritical, and greedy.
Prophecy
Malachi had one other effect on later society. They expected a visit by the literal prophet Elijah before the Messiah came even though the scriptures frequently use a person as a symbol for the future. Because of this expectation, John the Baptist was asked if he was Elijah. He responded with a resounding “no” (John 1:21). However, Jesus said that John the Baptist was the Elijah predicted by Malachi (Matthew 11:14). There is no contradiction. John was answering the question as to whether he was the literal Elijah the prophet. Jesus was referring to the true message of the prophecy. However, the context of Malachi 4 indicates that there will be a further fulfillment of this prophecy before Jesus’ second coming. Elijah’s message, Malachi’s message, and John the Baptist’s message, as well as the message to the Laodicean church in Revelation, are all the same. You have gone far from God even though you will not admit your wrong. Repent and return to Him. Change your heart so that you will be ready on the great Day of the Lord. This is the Elijah message that spreads to the whole world before Jesus comes again.