Malachi was a prophet who lived at the same time as Ezra and Nehemiah.
Like all true prophets, Malachi’s privilege was to speak the word of the Lord (v1) and what greater and truer word than the first message in verse 2 “I have loved you, says the Lord”. For God, it is His love that drives Him.
DO YOU DOUBT GOD’S LOVE?
Yet, like so many times in their history, the people were saying “how have you loved us?” We know, in reading the old testament, that the reason for these doubts had nothing to do with the Lord not loving them but everything to do with the people taking themselves outside his love and protection. Also, it may sometimes seem as if the enemies of God’s kingdom are still strong but on this occasion they would see the consequences of those who were wicked, in this case Edom (4-5).
DO YOU DISHONOUR HIM?
Once again, 100 years after their return from exile, the people, who had experienced revival under Ezra, were sliding backwards again. Their craving for other gods was never to appear again after the exile but that did not prevent them from growing cold in their worship. Just as a father seeks honour from his children, just as a master seeks the respect of his servants(v6), our heavenly Father seeks us to honour and respect Him. The priesthood were giving God their second best in sacrificing second class animals that were blind, lame and sick (v8). They needed to repent and ask for God’s grace and favour (v9) “the fault” was theirs. How many times do we wonder why things are not working out when the fault is ours? God would rather we barred up our churches and stopped people coming in than offering our second best (v10). You see God is great and should be recognised as such among all the nations and verse 11 says “For from the rising of the sun to its setting my name is great among the nations.” The Lord receives offerings, when they are pure, and in verse 14 we see the warning that Ananias and Sapphira should have heeded; don’t vow to give your best and give something second rate.
ARE YOU HALF HEARTED?
God wanted His priests to give “glory” to His name (2v2) and, if not, He would take away their blessings and, worst still, put them out of His presence (v3). The Lord had a covenant with Levi, the tribe of priests, that went right back to Numbers 25 10-13 when the grandson of Aaron, Phinehas, showed great honour and zeal for God at a low point in the nations’ life. It was a covenant or a promise of peace and perpetual priesthood and God calls it here a a covenant of life and well-being. The priesthood, at the beginning, honoured God with their lips and ways and were inspirational in turning people away from wrong (v6). The priest was a messenger of the Lord and people were meant to seek instruction from his mouth (v7). The problem with the priests at time of Malachi (v8) was that they had turned the wrong way (v8) and, by their teaching, had caused many to stumble. God, therefore, would make them lose peoples’ respect.
ARE YOU COMMITTED TO YOUR MARRIAGE?
In the Numbers occasion, mentioned above, the people compromised by having sexual relations with the women of Moab which, in turn, led to worship of their god Baal.
Here in Malachi, God mentions an abomination where the nation had married the “daughter of a foreign god” (v11). Ezra, years before, had confronted the people about this particular sin because marrying those outside Israel always, inevitably, led to compromise with pagan worship. The people did realise that they no longer had the Lord’s favour and had been weeping and groaning at the loss (v13). Sadly, the men had been unfaithful to their wives (v14), even though they had made marriage promises to them when they were young. God had desired godly offspring (v15) and the truth is, He hates divorce (v16).
HAVE WE WEARIED THE LORD?
There is a single verse at the end of chapter 2 (v17) that tells us how people had wearied the Lord with their words. The first is by saying “All who do evil are good in the sight of the Lord, and he delights in them.” God does not delight in us if we choose to do wrong, he loves us but he does not delight in us. Perhaps we are too woolly in our modern day church thinking for God delights in whole-hearted obedience, he does not delight in compromised lives. The second “by asking, where is the God of justice?”. How often do we hear the words, why does the Lord allow this? why does he allow that? why doesn’t he sort out the injustices of the world? Isn’t it interesting that the people were saying this 2,400 years ago? God wearies of this kind of talk because how can we doubt God when He is the God of perfect justice as well as love.
HE IS COMING
And then we come to that first storming verse of chapter 3. We are now nearing the completion of God’s wonderful plan for His people, His love and His justice. Admittedly, They were not doing too well at the time but God said here (v1) “See, I am sending my messenger to prepare the way before me, and the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple. The messenger of the covenant in whom you delight-indeed, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts”. John the Baptist in 400 years time would be the messenger to prepare the way for Jesus and Matthew 11v10 connects John to this promise in Malachi. Jesus, as we know, would be the bringer of a new covenant (Matt 26v28) and would, indeed, come to His temple because the temple, also called the house of God, was intended to be the dwelling place for the presence of God. Jesus was the living presence of God, in all its fullness, and He would come to his Father’s house, as we read in the gospels (John2v16). And then, through Jesus, all those in the kingdom of God could become dwelling places for the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 3v16).
A REFINER AND PURIFIER
But God is a refiner and purifier and v2 says “who can stand when he appears?” He would come like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap for He wanted to purify his priests, the descendants of Levi, until they presented “offerings to the Lord in righteousness (v3).” Romans 12 v1, 2 makes clear that our offering is that of our bodies to be holy and acceptable to God. Romans also says that we should not be conformed to the world but be transformed by the renewal of our minds. Verse 5 says his judgement will be against all sin; sorcerers, adulterers, perjurers and those who oppress their workers, the widow, the orphan and the alien.
RETURN TO ME
The people of Israel had, consistently, turned aside from the good life He wanted them to live but, as always, it still was not too late to return to Him (v7), “Return to me, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts.” Helpfully, God mentions a specific way in verse 8 where they should change; “you are robbing me”. They had not been bringing the full tithes into the storehouse, tithes that should have been used for the priests, and the whole nation was under a curse because they were robbing Him. God lets them know what would happen if they obeyed Him and put Him to the test: “see if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you an overflowing blessing” (v10). “Then all the nations will count you happy, for you will be a land of delight” (v12), and not of a curse. In the new covenant we are all priests making our spiritual sacrifices, lives laid down, so where do tithes and offerings apply nowadays? Can I suggest that they should be used to free His people, His priests, to do the work of His kingdom. Don’t withhold your tithes for they can be the pathway to your overflowing blessing.
THEY WILL BE MINE
God is looking around for His people and, in verse 16, He found some that revered him and thought on His name; He noticed, listened and recorded them in a book of remembrance (v16). God won’t forget them for, on the day when He acts, they were to be His and His special possession. Or as the authorised version of the Bible so beautifully puts it, “in that day when I make up my jewels.” He talks of the day of judgement when v18 there will be a difference between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve him. In that day, there will be a distinction between the arrogant and evildoers, who will be burnt up (4v1), and those who revere God. Revering God is done by those who honour Him and the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings. His people will be so excited that they will “go out leaping like calves from the stall” (v2).
And so the old testament ends with a prediction that the prophet Elijah will come back before the terrible day of the Lord comes (v5). Will Elijah, who remember never died, but went to heaven on a fiery chariot, return to the earth and be part of a great reconciliation between children and their parents. Or are we again talking of John the Baptist of 3v1 who would preach in such a powerful way to people’s hearts. I tend to think that this is referring to John the Baptist again. Have a quick look at Matthew 11 again for in v14 Jesus says, “and if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come”. Also in Luke 1v17 the angel says that John would “with the spirit and power of Elijah” “go before Him, to turn the hearts of parents to their children”. “These words echo those last words in Malachi, and last words of the Old Testament. You might be surprised by these verses which talk of God’s judgement burning up the stubble but look at Matthew 3v11,12, where John refers to Jesus, “His winnowing-fork is in His hand , and He will clear his threshing floor and will gather his wheat into the granary; but the chaff He will burn with unquenchable fire”. Jesus has come to deal with sin and he will finish the job.
Whatever conclusion you come to on this, the Lord has come to his Father’s house and one day will come for those who revere and honour Him because they are his jewels. Have you come to realise how precious you are to Him?