This book is titled malachi because that is the name of the prophet who wrote the book. Many who quote this passage have never studied the entire book of malachi its only four chapters long. It has been a standard classroom text for more than seven decades in churches and schools, as well as an aid for personal bible study. Christ indeed is our dayspring upon high who now is rising in our hearts and spreads his light into all are being, revealing areas that need changing as we walk with him in the light. Malachi reminds his audience that, as descendants of jacob, they have been and continue to be favoured by god as gods chosen people. Malachi is a book of messengers, and five can be identified. Book of malachi matthew janzen i loved jacob, but hated esau malachi pt. Jun 21, 2019 malachi was a mostlyanonymous prophet whose ministry occurred in jerusalem during the era of nehemiah and ezra.
Most commentators put him writing in the midfifth century bc, around 450. In the hebrew text the third and fourth chapters of the a. After numerous interruptions the temple was finally completed the third of march, 51 6 b. In this book, malachi accuses israel of selfishness after the exile and. Some opinions in the talmud maintain that malachi was mordechai, 1 the hero of the purim story, but referred to as malachi because of his position as viceroy of persiaa designation similar. Book of malachi overview insight for living ministries. But between those two books there is a period of over 400 years. Ye unbelievingly ask, where is the god of judgment malachi 2.
The first step, then, in preparing to preach from the book of malachi is to read the book of malachi. The only old testament mention of malachi is in malachi 1. But tradition has always held that malachi was the name of the holy writer, and this is supported by the fact that no other prophetic book in the old testament was written anonymously. Timeline of events surrounding the writing of the book it is hard to date exactly when malachi was written as you do your background reading, you will find the dates vary anywhere from 400500 bc. In hebrew the name malachi means my messenger bible dictionary, malachi.
Malachi 3 commentary commentary critical and explanatory. Although he spoke primarily to a specific time and place in history, malachi also prophesied of the messianic forerunner who would announce the appearance of christ more than 400 years after his lifetime. This was some 80 years after haggai and zechariah encouraged the rebuilding of the temple. In the talmud mordecai is identified as the author of the book cf. The hebrew word malachi simply means my that is, gods messenger. This was gods warning through malachi to tell the people to turn back to god. It is the last of the series of 12 prophets known collectively as trei asar twelve or minor prophets some suggest that the prophecies ascribed to chaggai, zechariah, and malachi were actually transmitted to the prophets. And the lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to his temple, even.
Even jesus himself quoted malachis prophecy when telling a crowd about the place of john the baptist in heavenly history. Toward the close of the book, it becomes clear that god is also speaking to all of humankind. Since there are only fiftyseven verses in the four chapters of the book of malachi, plan to read the book at least thirty times. Some scholars think ezra was the author of malachi. The jews despise the lordthe priests do not keep the covenants. Therefore, they dont know the historical background behind it. The obvious implication is that malachi is gods messenger with a message from him. The final book of the old testament, malachi received its name from its author malachi 1. The concluding composition of the short prophetic writings known collectively as the twelve minor prophets. The book of malachi is quoted four times in the new testament. Malachi 3 commentary commentary critical and explanatory on. Others believe malachi originally was part of the prophetic book of zechariah but was made into a separate book to make the minor prophets amount to the sacred number 12.
Readers will appreciate the brief overview of author and background. In hebrew, the name comes from a word meaning messenger, which points to malachis role as a prophet of the lord, delivering gods message to gods people. In hebrew, the name comes from a word meaning messenger, which points to malachi s role as a prophet of the lord, delivering gods message to gods people. Content, however, strongly argues for a time soon after the temple was built close to the time of. The book is very much like the letter of james in the nt, and resembles a collection of loosely connected oracles rather than a carefully organized literary work the new laymans bible commentary. The book is ascribed to malachi, whose name means my messenger.
Our bibles move directly from the book of malachi 400 b. The book of malachi draws upon various themes found in other books of the bible. Summary of the book of malachi the story of the bible. The book of malachi introduction to the book of micah in the bible. The book belongs to the first half of the 5th century bc, for it clearly presupposes the reconstructed temple dedicated in 516 bc but does not reflect the reconstitution of the religious community that took place under nehemiah and ezra about 450 bc. Background to the new testament waj what about jesus. This lack of knowledge makes it very easy for religious leaders to misuse malachi. Malachi is the last book in the bible and portrays christ as the sun of righteousness. First, the prophet malachi was one of the messengers. Intro to malachi biblica the international bible society.
The view has been supported by appeal to the prechristian greek. Malachi is the last of the prophets before the arrival of john the baptist. C it is also possible that it was written while nehemiah was there, or even later. Malachi 3 background information with maps and images. Malachi s ministry took place nearly a hundred years after the decree of cyrus in 538 b. This was gods warning through malachi to tell the people to turn back to. Overview of the book of malachi zionlutheranchurch. It has been a standard classroom text for more than seven decades in churches and. This short book may have been written before nehemiahs first return to jerusalem in 445 b.
The purpose of this book is that malachi wrote to ensure that the. The view has been supported by appeal to the prechristian greek translation of the ot the septuagint, which. With the prophecies of haggai and zechariah, the book of malachi is of great importance in supplying information about the period between the return from exile and the work of ezra. This book concludes the book of the twelve minor prophets and the entire old testament canon. Malachi is the last book of the old testament and is a book of prophetic oracle. Alden, malachi, the expositors bible commentary, vii. The shape of theology in the book of malachi preaching. Other than his name, we know nothing of malachi, his family or his background. An assertion or charge is made against the church and people, a fancied haughty objection is raised by the hearers, and then a refutation of the objection is presented by the speaker on behalf of the lord. And then, in a time yet to come, malachi will add his voice to the voices of 144,000 jewish malachi s as they zero in on the remaining chosen people of god with the same message of hope the promised savior is coming again malachi background james montgomery boice, the minor prophets, has an excellent section on malachi. Read from your favorite version of the bible four or five times.
Malachis ministry took place nearly a hundred years after the decree of cyrus in 538 b. Malachi was a prophet of god sent to the jews who had resettled in judea and to all israel in general, depicted as the sons of jacob malachi 3. Behold calling especial attention to the momentous truths which follow. Malachi means messenger, and it is translated as my messenger in malachi 3.
The book states that it contains the word of the lord to israel by malachi malachi 1. The book of malachi was written between 440 and 400 b. Phillips park street church christian formation 10 december 2017 historical context there are no chronological markers in the book of malachi as there are in the books of haggai and zechariah. About 80 years had passed since the jews had succeeded in rebuilding the temple in 515 b. The book is also alluded to a number of times in the new. The whole consists of three sections, preceded by an introduction malachi 1. This name fittingly reflects the important messages the prophet delivered to the people of his day, many of which also apply to the lords people in the last days. They were 400 silent years in the sense that no inspired writings from god came to us during that time. Is the omission of malachi s name of spiritual significance. Tithes and offerings book of remembrancethe last days elijah shall come and he did summary of malachi. Watch our overview video on the book of malachi, which breaks down the literary design of the book and its flow of thought. Further, the book of malachi must have been written after nehemiahs first arrival in jerusalem in the thirty second year of artaxerxes longimanus in 444 b. The book of malachi is placed as the last book of the prophets section, which also makes it the last book in the old testament in english bibles. Volume 2 covers the old testament from job to malachi.
The shape of theology in the book of malachi preaching source. Malachi appeals to the rivalry between jacob and esau and of yahwehs preference for jacob contained in book of genesis 2528. In the christian ordering, the grouping of the prophetic books is the last section of the old testament, making malachi the last book before the new testament the book is commonly attributed to a prophet by the name of. Through the bible book by book is designed to promote a broad, overall knowledge of the contents of each book of the bible. The book of malachi was written by the prophet malachi and is the last book in the old testament of the. This study of the historical background to the new testament begins with the close of the old testament era and traces the history of the ancient world and israel in. The unique style of malachis prophecy the book of malachi uses the method of disputation.
It is a timeless study tool for teachers of biblical truth. The book of malachi was written by the prophet malachi and is the last book in the. The jews despise the lordthe priests do not keep the covenants malachi 34. Malachi is merely a transliteration of a hebrew word meaning my messenger. Moran has demonstrated that the love of god in deuteronomy and in malachi, which may be defined in terms of loyalty, service, and obedience, has a treaty or covenant background. Today we begin a new book of scripture, moving to the tanak tnk portion of our bibles. The book of malachi, also called the prophecy of malachias, the last of 12 old testament books that bear the names of the minor prophets, grouped together as the twelve in the jewish canon. It also breaks down each bible book into an easytofollow outline for systematic study and memorization. The book of malachi comprises three chapters of prophecies exhorting the jewish people to better their ways and portending future upheavals should they fail to do so.
The book of malachi is a prelude to the 400 years of prophetic silence broken finally by the words of the next prophet, john the baptist. Almost two generations have now passed since that event, brought about by the encouraging words of haggai and zechariah, and nearly a century since the. Yet i have loved jacob, but esau i have hated, and i have turned his hill country into a wasteland and left his inheritance to the desert jackals. Israel doubts gods love i have loved you, says the lord. This summary of the book of malachi provides information about the title, author s, date of writing, chronology, theme, theology, outline, a brief overview, and the chapters of the book of malachi. The contents of the book of malachi are comprised in four chapters. Is the omission of malachis name of spiritual significance. In the entire bible, the prophet malachi is mentioned by name only once. It conveys, in highly anthropomorphic language, the idea of a divine ledger in which the names of gods covenant children are recorded for posterity. The style of malachi, then, is that of the spoken word. There is general agreement that malachi was written to assure the people of israel that god still loved them and was keeping his covenant with them mal. It is a postexilic book, meaning it was written after the return from captivity in babylon. Several important themes are seen in the book of malachi. Nothing else is mentioned or known about the author.
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