MALACHI---MESSENGER OF MESSIAH
INTRODUCTION
1. Malachi was the last voice of prophecy until the ministry of John the Baptist.
A. He presents the last call of the O.T. before the voice of prophecy dies into a silence of 400 years.
B. He prophesied about 100 years after Haggai and Zechariah (436-416 B.C.).
C. His name means “messenger” and he has been called “the unknown prophet with an angel’s name”.
D. Nothing else is known of him.
2. The time in which he prophesied:
A. The people were discouraged and disappointed because things had not developed as they expected.
B. The temple was rebuilt but Messiah had not come. (They had not listened carefully to the former prophets--compare Dan. 9:25-26.)
C. They were grumbling and casting doubts on God’s love for them. (1:2)
D. Their discouragement led to carelessness:
1) The priests offered blemished sacrifices. (1:6-14)
2) The priests became irreverent and neglectful. (1:6, 11, 12)
3) The priests refused to work except for money. (1:10)
4) The people engaged in mixed marriages with the heathen, divorcing their Hebrew wives. (2:14-16)
5) The people failed to deliver their tithes to the temple. (3:7-12)
6) Irreverence, indifference and worldliness prevailed. (3:5)
OUTLINE OF THE BOOK
I. THE MESSENGER TO THE PEOPLE (1:1-5)
A. He reminds them of the Lord’s love for them. “Yet I loved Jacob, and I hated Esau.” (vs. 2, 3)
B. He calls for them to love the Lord in return.
C. The people challenge God’s love. (v. 2)
1. Because their prosperity was taken away they thought God didn’t love them.
2. God shows His love in ways other than pampering. (cf. Heb. 12:6)
D. The proof of God’s love (v. 3)
1. Seen in His dealing with Jacob and Esau
2. God had selected Jacob as the object of His love.
II. THE MESSENGER TO THE PRIESTS (1:6-2:9)
A. The charge of the Lord (v. 6)
1. He had loved them as a father.
2. They had not returned His love.
3. They had despised and dishonored the Lord.
B. The charges set forth
1. Blemished offerings (1:7-11)
a. Would not offer such to the governor
b. They had broken the law in so doing. (Deut. 15:21)
c. Why should God be pleased with them?
2. Insincerity (1:12-14)
a. The priests were bored with the Lord’s service. (v. 13)
b. They were insincere in their offerings. (v .14)
3. Failure in their duty (2:1-9)
a. They did not speak as messengers of the Lord. (v. 7)
b. They did not teach equity and uprightness. (v. 6)
c. They caused the people to stumble. (v. 8)
III. THE MESSENGER OF THE COMMANDMENTS (2:10-3:12)
The people profane the covenant
A. In family conduct (2:10-17)
1. Mixed marriages (v. 11)
2. Divorce (v. 16)
B. In withholding tithes (3:7-12)
1. “Will a man rob God?” (v. 8)
2. What to do with the tithes (v. 10)
3. What to expect from faithful tithing (v. 10)
IV. THE MESSENGER OF THE MESSIAH (3:1-6)
A. To help heal their discouragement over the failure of Messiah to come after the completion of the temple, he tells that one final messenger would be sent to prepare the way for Him. (v. 1)
B. The Forerunner
1. Speaks of John the Baptist who was to come before the crucifixion (cf. Mark 1:2, 3)
2. Speaks of Elijah who is to come before the millennial reign of Christ. (Mal 4:5; Rev. 11)
3. His ministry and message would be a culmination of all the prophets.
V. THE MESSENGER OF THE COVENANT (3:1-6; 4:1-6)
A. Speaks of the coming of Christ
B. The Coming One would be God Himself. (3:1)
C. He will come:
1. To the temple in judgment upon unbelief (4:1)
2. As the Sun of Righteousness with blessing for the believer (4:2)
A NOTE ON JACOB AND ESAU
1. The statement is in keeping with the accepted usage of the day, and simply indicates that God saw fit to honor Jacob over Esau. (cf. Luke 14:26)
2. It is not a matter of personal salvation by absolute decree, but of their relationship to God’s purpose. The one (Jacob) became the depository of Messianic promise and salvation, while the other (Esau) was denied any cooperation in the establishment of the kingdom.
3. Esau was not predestined to hell without any benefit of spiritual blessings as many believe.
A. Neither Genesis, Malachi 1:3 or Paul in Romans 9:13 have salvation in view.
B. Esau, on the contrary, did obtain a blessing and an inheritance--a fact overlooked by most of the ultra-Calvinist persuasion. (Gen. 27: 38, 39)
C. The national character inherited from the father of the race, Abraham, was not so impressed upon his descendants that they could not escape it; thus, the possibility (and reality) of lost Israelites and saved Edomites.
4. Summary: The problem is not a matter of God’s sovereign election of Jacob to salvation or the predisposing of Esau to hell. It is rather, a matter of God’s choice in favoring one nation over another through which to work out His plan of redemption!