1. Introduction To Malachi
Historical Context
722 BC Assyria conquers the 10 Northern Tribes of Israel
586 BC Babylon conquers Judah (70 years of captivity begin)
536 BC Cyrus, Emperor of Persia, decrees that temple in Jerusalem may be restored (Ezra 1:1-3). Zerubbabel leads 50,000 Jews to Jerusalem.
520 BC Temple reconstruction begins (Haggai 1:1; Ezra 5:2)
Haggai & Zechariah urge people to set their priorities in order and rebuild the temple.
516 BC Temple reconstruction complete.
(Sixth year of the reign of King Darius. Ezra 6:15)
465 BC Book of Esther (“meanwhile, back in Persia”.)
457 BC Ezra and a large group of Israelites return (Ezra 7:7-8).
Ezra’s ministry was to purify Israel’s sin of intermarriage with idolaters (Ezra 9, 10). Meremoth was priest (Ezra 8:33).
Seventh year of Artaxerxes’ reign in Persia.
445 BC Events of Nehemiah 8:1-12
444 BC Artaxerxes decrees that Nehemiah may return to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem (Nehemiah 2:8). In 52 days (1 August -21 September 444BC), the walls are rebuilt. Nehemiah remains as governor in Jerusalem for twelve years.
432 BC Nehemiah returns to report to Artaxerxes in Persia.
430 BC The book of Malachi is written, after a century of decline in the spirit of worship. The people have abandoned idolatry, but are distant from God.
(Later) Nehemiah returns for second term as governor.
Malachi’s Style: Didactic-Dialectic. (Accusation/Rejection/Refutation)
“An assertion or charge is made, a fancied objection is raised by the hearers, and a refutation is presented by the speaker.” (Homer Hailey)
Post Exilic Books:
Prophesy: Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi
Historical: Esther, Ezra, Nehemiah
Source of Malachi’s message:
“The Lord”, Who is mentioned twenty-five times. “Says the Lord” appears three times. “Says the Lord Almighty” is found twenty-one times, and “Says the Lord, the God of Israel”, is recorded once.
Malachi’s Mission:
A call to repentance. He is exhorting the people to “change their minds” about themselves, the fact of their sins, and about the nature of God.
Malachi’s Method:
1. A distinct lifestyle: Separation, not isolation.
2. A unique preaching style: Dialectic/Didactical.
Confrontation/Anticipation/Refutation.
3. A Solemn Message: “in view of God’s love, turn back to Him.”
The Four “Messengers” in Malachi:
1. The Priests, who failed as messengers. (Malachi 2:7-8)
"For the lips of a priest ought to preserve knowledge, and from his mouth men should seek instruction—because he is the messenger of the LORD Almighty. But you have turned from the way and by your teaching have caused many to stumble; you have violated the covenant with Levi," says the LORD Almighty.
2. Malachi, whose name means “My messenger”.
An oracle: The word of the LORD to Israel through Malachi.
3. John the Baptist (Malachi 3:1a)
"See, I will send My messenger, who will prepare the way before Me.”
4. Jesus Christ, THE Messenger of the covenant. (Malachi 3:1b)
Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to His temple;
the Messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come,"
says the LORD Almighty.
2. Did God Hate Esau?
Malachi 1:1-5
Introduction If we had to choose a holiday that suits the message of Malachi 1:1-5, we might consider two candidates. Today is Halloween, and our sermon title is kind of scary. And the text we’re going to consider has a rather frightening statement:
"Was not Esau Jacob's brother?" the LORD says. "Yet I have loved Jacob, but Esau I have hated, and I have turned his mountains into a wasteland and left his inheritance to the desert jackals."
Verse-by-verse expository teaching means that the preacher doesn’t get to skip the difficult passages. However, we consistently discover that some of the greatest lessons come from the toughest texts.
We must ask how this statement in Malachi compares with the principle that “God does not show favoritism.” (Rom. 2:11; Acts 10:34-35; Luke 20:21; Gal. 2:6).
Our text contains another remarkable affirmation. God declares to Israel, “I have loved you”. The grammar indicates not just God’s love in the past, but right up to and including the present. The evidence for this love is God’s acts through history, as He has constantly sought Israel, though Israel has continually turned away from Him. Perhaps Valentine’s Day would be a more appropriate holiday to reflect Malachi’s message.
Malachi’s prophecy does not mean that God had personal animosity toward Easu. God’s chose a Messianic line (including Jacob, who was no more worthy than Esau) through which He would bring the promised Savior. The promise was first made in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:15), and is repeated, and becomes increasingly specific in prophecies declared throughout the Old Testament. Now, in the final book of the Hebrew Scripture, God re-affirms His promise of a Redeemer Who will come through the nation of Israel (Jacob), rather than through Esau’s Edomite descendants or through any other nation. Esau typifies those who despise the spiritual, preferring immediate gratification of material things or bodily appetites. Because of God’s sovereign right to exercise grace (undeserved favor) and mercy (withholding deserved punishment), some will come to Him for salvation. God’s sovereign work in Jacob’s life would give him faith so that Jacob would value a spiritual inheritance.
Malachi 1:1-5
1 An oracle: The word of the LORD to Israel through Malachi.
God makes a statement, an affirmation.
2 "I have loved you," says the LORD.
The People’s interrogation
"But you ask, 'How have you loved us?'
God’s refutation
"Was not Esau Jacob's brother?" the LORD says. "Yet I have loved Jacob, 3 but Esau I have hated, and I have turned his mountains into a wasteland and left his inheritance to the desert jackals."
4 Edom may say,
"Though we have been crushed, we will rebuild the ruins."
But this is what the LORD Almighty says:
"They may build, but I will demolish. They will be called the Wicked Land, a people always under the wrath of the LORD. 5 You will see it with your own eyes and say, 'Great is the LORD -even beyond the borders of Israel!'
Malachi is one single prophecy, which is divided into three sections:
Malachi 1:1-2:9 / God speaks to Israel’s Priests (First Person) / Israel shows Contempt for God’s NameMalachi 2:10-2:16 / Malachi speaks to the people of Israel (Third Person) / God Condemns Israel’s Unrighteousness
Malachi 2:17-4:6 / God speaks to the people of Israel
(First Person) / God answers the question of 2:17: “Where is the God of Justice?” (The Day of the Lord is coming).
3. Does All Worship Please God?
Malachi 1:6-14
Introduction The worship of God (or gods) is a universal human trait. Cultural anthropologists have discovered evidence for this even among extinct, non-literate societies, through their burial practices. Useful tools buried with the dead indicate the belief in an afterlife. As Mark Twain put it, “Man is a religious animal. He is the only religious animal.”
What does God think of the efforts of religious people to approach Him in order to seek His favor? What kind of worship is acceptable to God? Does it depend on having the right religion, or is acceptable worship merely a matter of sincerity on the part of the worshipper? (Romans 10:1-4 sheds light on this question. See also: John 14:6 and Acts 4:12)
Different answers to the question of acceptable worship have produced lethal disputes from the dawn of time. Two brothers, Cain and Abel, each made offerings to God. (Genesis 4:1-15) When the offering of Abel was accepted and that of Cain rejected, the consequent jealousy resulted in murder.
The prophet Malachi addresses the question of the kind of worship God accepts, and the kind He rejects. Malachi warns the Israelites that God despises a hollow form of worship – even the kind that that God Himself ordained - when practiced with hearts far from God. Significantly, these verses are written in the first Person, a direct quotation pronounced by the LORD Almighty.
Malachi is a single prophecy, divided into three sections:
Malachi 1:1-2:9 / God speaks to Israel’s Priests (First Person) / Israel shows Contemptfor God’s Name
Malachi 2:10-2:16 / Malachi speaks to Israel (Third Person) / God Condemns Israel’s Unrighteousness
Malachi 2:17-4:6 / God speaks to the people of Israel
(First Person) / God addresses the question of 2:17: “Where is the God of Justice?” (Answer: The Day of the Lord is coming)
6 [Principle Stated] "A son honors his father, and a servant his master.
If I am a father, where is the honor due me?
If I am a master, where is the respect due me?" says the LORD Almighty.
Charge leveled By God: Your Worship is Contemptuous.
"It is you, O priests, who show contempt for my name.
Rejection By the People (Priests), who question God’s charge.
"But you ask, 'How have we shown contempt for your name?'
God’s Rebuttal – Proof of Unacceptable Worship.
7 "You place defiled food on my altar.
Rejection By the People (Priests), who question God’s charge.
"But you ask, 'How have we defiled you?'
God’s Rebuttal – Additional Proof of Unacceptable Worship.
"By saying [through your actions] that the LORD's table is contemptible.
8 When you bring blind animals for sacrifice, is that not wrong?
When you sacrifice crippled or diseased animals, is that not wrong?
Try offering them to your governor! Would he be pleased with you? Would he accept you?" says the LORD Almighty.
9 "Now implore God to be gracious to us. With such offerings from your hands, will he accept you?" -says the LORD Almighty.
10 “Oh, that one of you would shut the temple doors, so that you would not light useless fires on my altar! I am not pleased with you,” says the LORD Almighty, “and I will accept no offering from your hands.
11 My name will be great among the nations, from where the sun rises to where it sets. In every place incense and pure offerings will be brought to me, because my name will be great among the nations,” says the LORD Almighty.
12 “But you profane it by saying, ‘The Lord’s table is defiled,’ and,
‘Its food is contemptible.’ 13 And you say, ‘What a burden!’ and you sniff at it contemptuously,” says the LORD Almighty.
“When you bring injured, lame or diseased animals and offer them as sacrifices, should I accept them from your hands?” says the LORD. 14 “Cursed is the cheat who has an acceptable male in his flock and vows to give it, but then sacrifices a blemished animal to the Lord. For I am a great king,” says the LORD Almighty, “and my name is to be feared among the nations.
4. A Covenant of Life & Peace
The Role of God’s Messengers
Malachi 2:1-9
Introduction An article in this week’s local newspaper was headlined:
“NDG Community Rallies To Save Its Church”
It was a report on about a meeting at which the mayor and political leadership from every level of the Notre-Dame-de-Grace borough were assembled. The fundraising dinner featured talk of the cultural preservation of stained glass windows, an organ and statues, and the importance of the building as a fine acoustical facility. But there was no mention of soteriology, nor preaching of the gospel. There was nothing about the meeting that had to do with the purpose of the church.
I would have preferred a headline that read:
“Church Rallies To Save NDG Community”
In the time of Malachi, the priests had forgotten their purpose.
They went through the motions of their functions, but their hearts were far from God. The responsibilities of Old Testament priests included:
(1) Offering sacrifices (c.f. Hebrews 10:11).
(2) Intercession for the People. (Prayer for those who made sacrifices)
(3) Instruction of the People in the Law of Moses. (Malachi 2:7)
(4) Judging Cases on the Basis of God’s Word. (Deuteronomy 17:8-13)
Malachi reminds the people of Israel how God feels about sin. He refers to the story that marked the “Covenant of Life and Peace” with the descendants of Levi through the line of Phinehas. The open immorality of Phinehas’ day was practiced in the name of tolerance as the Israelite men engaged in Baal worship and sexual union with the women of Moab.
Moses writes, “the LORD’s anger burned against them” (Numbers 25:3). Phinehas’ action of violent judgment against an offending couple reflected God’s hatred of sin, and gained the Levitical priesthood for the line of Phinehas. The priests of Malachi’s day (and today) are warned that God despises hypocritical worship as much as He hates open immorality. Each priest is called, “to preserve knowledge, because he is the messenger of the LORD Almighty and people seek instruction from his mouth.”
Malachi 2:1-9
I. Warning to the Priests: “Honor God’s Name!” (1-3)
1 “And now, you priests, this warning is for you.
2 If you do not listen, and if you do not resolve to honor my name,” says the LORD Almighty, “I will send a curse on you, and I will curse your blessings. Yes, I have already cursed them, because you have not resolved to honor me.
3 “Because of you I will rebuke your descendants;