Another Bible Commentary: Malachi

Malachi, around 460 BC, addressed backsliders after the Exile. This book reflects situations in Ezra 9, Ezra 10, Nehemiah 5, and Nehemiah 13. Malachi means “my messenger” and might not be the author’s given name. This book seems to carry more weight among believers than some of the other minor prophets because it is memorable and last, but it’s back here only because it’s post-exilic and short. We’ll discuss similar issues with the Book of James later.

1:4 like Ezekiel 35 through Ezekiel 36.

1:5 The Hasmoneans conquered and assimilated Edom. King Herod was an Edomite. Some Edomites were still causing trouble in 70 AD, and Rome got them.

1:6 “son…father” That would be a grown son and an aged or infirm father when discussing “honor” as provision of material goods. We’re about to discuss the Old Covenant sacrificial system again. You might ask yourself, “What about Amos 5:21-24 and Hosea 6:6?” Those passages are about ethical living being of greater value to God than meat bribes, but Christ had not yet rendered the Old Covenant obsolete. The problem in Malachi is bad shepherds. Remember throughout that the issue is “you priests who show contempt for My Name.”

1:7 See Leviticus 22:17-30 for God’s Old Testament “love language”. Some people feel appreciated through kind words or hugging; He gave them the chance to show their love for Him through killing non-fugly animals. These would have been from the official flock (supported by royal donations as in 2 Chronicles 7 and managed as in 1 Samuel 21:7) for the Exodus 29 daily offerings.

1:10 “shut the Temple doors” This had happened before in 2 Chronicles 28:24 in pursuit of idolatry; there would be no doors to close after 70 AD. Also, “useless fires” can be dangerous (Leviticus 10:1).

1:11 “will be great” And it is, as predicted, and the sacrifices we offer to Him now are praise and sharing (Hebrews 13:15-16).

1:13 Our Lamb is perfect. These priests were messing up the imagery.

1:14 Are you giving God your best? No; only Christ’s best is good enough. As little children, we gratefully receive from Father.

2:1 “you priests” keeping the target squarely in focus.

2:3 “carried off” like Leviticus 10:4-5.

2:4-6 Saying “Levi” to stand for the early Levitical priests commissioned during Moses’ reign like Phineas is like saying “Ephraim” to refer to the northern kingdom of Israel. See Exodus 32:25-29, Numbers 25:10-13, and Ezekiel 44:15-16.

2:7-8 These priests remind me of Mark 9:42.

2:10-11 This is the Old Testament idolatry as adultery to God as Husband again through the mechanism of Deuteronomy 7:3-4.

2:14 “unfaithful” Breaking the promise to her by sending her away as seen in verse 16.

2:15 “godly offspring” as opposed to little idol worshipers. “Be fruitful and multiply” wasn’t part of the Sinai deal; it was for when the world was new (or new again) and empty. Again, “unfaithful” pertains to breaking the promise to her by sending her away as seen in verse 16.

2:16 This verse is as much an encouragement of in-group pairings among the Hebrews as Ezra and Nehemiah. The wife of their youth (verse 15) would have been a Hebrew woman. Men too poor for polygamy (or who were obeying the later Greeks and Romans that made monogamy a law) who threw their first spouses away for younger pagan wives were the problem here. Jesus spoke about the need to keep promises to provide for wives in Matthew 5:32-37. Yes, God divorced Israel in Jeremiah 3:8, but look to the Cross to see what He was willing to endure to reconcile with us all (2 Corinthians 5:18-19).

2:17 These people were happy that God seemed to be doing nothing about their sins. Other people are more like Lot (2 Peter 2:7) and wonder why God won’t act. Romans 3:25 teaches us that God was justified in overlooking sins because He knew the Cross was coming. Jesus bought forgiveness for all believers (John 1:29); the work is finished. The issue now is life and death. Everyone is either still dead “in Adam” or alive “in Christ”; when He returns, the one issue is whether someone got onboard with Jesus or not (John 6:28-29, Hebrews 9:28).

3:1 looks back to Exodus 23:20 and looks forward to John the Baptist. See Isaiah 40:3.

3:3 “the Levites” A reminder of who God was mostly addressing and angry with in this prophecy.

3:8-9 Tithing is a matter of the Law of Moses (Matthew 23:23), which you are not under. See Leviticus 27:30 (the tithe was agricultural tax in ancient Israel not applicable to all jobs), Deuteronomy 14:22-29 (that was used to party as well as to share with Levites and the less fortunate), and Numbers 18:21-24 (Levites did not have cars, jets, podcasts, investments, and book deals like modern pastors). Pastors, while entitled to enough from their ministry to survive on (1 Corinthians 9:3-6, 14), can have day jobs (Paul was a tentmaker). God owns everything already (Psalm 50:8-13), and He is not served by human hands (Acts 17:25) as if He needed anything; the Law was a test to fail, and we’re under God’s grace now. Matthew 17:24-26 says that we children of God don’t pay taxes to our Father like subjects do. Tithing for Christians was a 19th century invention. 2 Corinthians 8 and 2 Corinthians 9 describe how now Christians give from the heart out of their abundance as the Spirit leads to meet pressing needs without pressure or percentages. It was the crops and not the seed that was taxed, so combining everything into a nebulous substance called “money” has believers giving away what they need to save for retirement (Romans 13:8, 1 Corinthians 7:21). For readers in America, since the USA ostensibly began as a Christian nation (“The Mayflower Compact”), and our tax-funded programs for illness and poverty are equivalent to the community poor chest the Israelites had, at the time of this writing the average 3% post-tax donation believers are led to donate by the Spirit pretty much lines up with what the ancient Israelites shouldered. Philippians 2:13 is an amazing realization. Moreover, Malachi was still talking to/about the priests (verse 3). It becomes even clearer in verse 10:

3:10 “storehouse” See Nehemiah 10:38 and Numbers 18:26-29. It seems that the issue wasn’t non-tithing by the masses under the Law of Moses, but that the priests that God has been scolding throughout the Book of Malachi weren’t giving God’s tenth of what they had taken from the people to Him in the Temple Treasury.

3:15 like saying, “Blessed are the arrogant” in the style of Matthew 5.

3:16 “scroll of remembrance” like a royal archive as in Ezra 5:17 and Esther 6:1-3.

4:1-2 “fire” This is not Zoroastrianism, it’s Deuteronomy 4:24 and Genesis 19. The events of 70 AD were one fulfillment. See John 15:6 and Revelation 20:9. The phrase “healing in its rays” is also translated as “healing in His wings”; the “wings” of a garment is where the tzitzit or tassels (Numbers 15:37-41) are. Remember this and Zechariah 8:23 when we get to the woman who grabs Jesus’ garment in Matthew 9, Mark 5, and Luke 8.

4:4-5 Moses and Elijah were guest stars at The Transfiguration. Jesus said that John the Baptist was one fulfillment of the Elijah prediction.

4:6 They ignored John the Baptist and then Jerusalem and the Temple were destroyed again in 70 AD.

There were 400 years of prophetic silence between the books of the Old Testament and the birth of Jesus.

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