Fall Preaching Series on

THE MINOR PROPHETS

God's Mechanic: MALACHI

Historical Context

            The final book of the Old Testament - the name Malachi in Hebrew simply meant “messenger,” which points to Malachi’s role as a prophet of the Lord, delivering God’s message to God’s people. There is no other identifying information about him, leaving out markers typical of other prophets such as his father’s name or the current leader of Israel.

However, based on the content of the book, it becomes clear that Malachi delivered his message of judgment to a Judean audience familiar with worshipping at the temple in Jerusalem (2:11). The people of Judah had turned away from the true worship of the Lord, leaving themselves under judgment and in need of salvation.

            The historical setting for the book is given (roughly) in Malachi 1:8. Here the prophet used the Persian word for governor, indicating a time period between 538–333 BC, when the Persian Empire ruled the Promised Land. Malachi also wrote about the corruption of the temple sacrifices, meaning that he likely delivered his message many years after the Israelites rebuilt the temple in 515 BC. The prophet’s concerns mirror those of Nehemiah’s, suggesting that Malachi prophesied to the people while Nehemiah left the city for several years, beginning in 432 BC (Nehemiah 13:6).

Message/Theme/Audience

            Though the temple had been rebuilt, the fervor of those early returning Israelites gave way to a thorough apathy for the things of God. This led to rampant corruption among the priesthood and a spiritual lethargy among the people. Malachi came along at a time when the people were struggling to believe that God loved them (1:2). The people focused on their unfortunate circumstances and refused to account for their own sinful deeds. So God pointed the finger back at them, and through Malachi, God told the people where they had fallen short of their covenant with Him. If they hoped to see changes, they needed to take responsibility for their own actions and serve God faithfully according to the promise their fathers had made to God on Mount Sinai all those years before.

            Malachi’s convictions about idolatry (2:10–12), easy divorce (2:13–16), and social injustice (3:5) suggest he is a man of commitment and integrity. He was also a man of courage, because he scolded the influential priestly class and social elites (1:1–14; 2:1–4; 3:2–4). Malachi calls Israel to repent in order to renew their covenant with God (1:2–5; 3:7). This will enable the priests and people of God to restore proper temple worship (1:10–14; 3:9–10) and practice social justice within the community (3:5).