The Hearts of the Children
Of Prophets and Kings
Pastor Mike Cooke
Malachi
Malachi was the last prophet of the Old Testament
A. After the reforms of Ezra and Nehemiah
B. The spiritual integrity of Jerusalem was beginning to wane
1. “I have loved you”
A. God restored the fortunes of Jacob-Israel (1:1-3)
B. But he left rebellious Esau-Edom a wasteland (1:4-5)
2. “Where is the honor due me?”
A. The priests were offering lame animals for sacrifice (1:6-14)
B. Malachi curses them for cheating the Lord of honor (1:10-14)
C. Malachi rebukes them for not teaching the law with reverence (2:1-9)
3. “Why are unfaithful to one another?”
A. The men of Judah had married wives with foreign gods (2:10-12)
B. Malachi rebukes them for divorcing their wives (2:13-16)
1) Ezrah and Nehemiah had told them to divorce their foreign wives (Ezra 9:11; Neh 13:3)
4. “Where is the God of Justice?”
A. Their lack of justice has wearied the eyes of the Lord (2:17)
B. Malachi predicts the coming of a messenger of covenant (3:1-4)
C. Malachi predicts a day of trial and judgement (3:5)
5. “Return to me and I will return to you?”
A. They were robbing God by not bringing the tithes (3:6-8)
1) God had promised the Levites the support of tithes (Num 18:21)
2) Tobaiah had given Eliashib the storehouse (Neh 13:4-5)
3) When Nehemiah returned he threw him out (13:6-8)
4) He restored the practice of supporting the Levites (13:10-13)
B. God promises a blessing if they would be faithful (3:9-12)
6. “They will be my treasured possession”
A. They had lost faith because evil was prospering (3:13-15)
B. God assures them that he will remember their faithful (3:16-18)
C. God promises that His judgment will be complete (4:1-3)
The Last Promises of the Old Testament
Malachi 4:5-6
“See, I will send the prophet Elijah to you before that great and dreadful day of the Lord comes. He will turn the hearts of the parents to their children, and the hearts of the children to their parents; or else I will come and strike the land with total destruction.”
A. He reminds them to keep the Law of Moses (4:4)
B. He promises the coming of Elijah the Restorer (4:5)
1) Both Moses and Elijah appear on the mountain (Mark 9:2-8)
2) The angel to John the Baptist’s father Zachariah (Luke 1:17)
“And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”
3) John denies being Elijah himself (John 1:21)
4) Jesus confirms that John as was Elijah that was to come (Mark 9:11-13; Matt 11:14)
C. He will turn the hearts of the “fathers” and the “children” (4:6)
1) To turn back to the starting point (shuwv)
2) The hearts of the “avowt” (Forefathers—3:7)
3) The hearts of the “baniym” (Children of Jacob—3:6)