Part 3 of 3
BULLSEYE!
ACCURATE
BIBLE
KNOWLEDGE!
QUESTION: “WHAT’S
SO IMPORTANT
ABOUT THE BOOK OF MALACHI?”
ANSWER:
“IT’S THE LAST THING GOD SAID TO ISRAEL FOR 400 YEARS!”
“THE BOOK OF MALACHI”
Part 3 of 3
Prophets were chosen
of God, to tell the certain
future before it happened, with prophecy.
They would not predict the future, as this
would imply guesswork on the part of the prophet.
God simply used these messengers, to tell what WOULD
be happening. No guessing needed!
The books of the prophets, Isaiah to Malachi,
cover about 400 years, 830-430BC approximately, when the Hebrew
nation
was in decline.
THEIR MISSION
AND MESSAGE
1. To try and save
the
Hebrew nation from IDOLATRY and wickedness.
2. Failing this,
to announce
to the nation, that they will be destroyed.
3. But not
completely
destroyed, as a remnant (a few left) will be saved.
4. Out
of this remnant will come a Person
who will bring all nations to God.
5. That person
will be a great
man who will one day arise out of the family tree of David.
The
prophets called him THE BRANCH. This family tree of
David, once
the most powerful family in the world, was cut down in the days of the
prophets, and disappeared.
But the family would
comeback with
this man called THE BRANCH - THE KING OF KINGS AND
LORD OF
LORDS (Rev 19:16)
Not
even understanding the full meaning and importance of their words, the
prophets
were obedient.
THE BASIC TIME LINE
Now
about 100
years after Zechariah and Haggai, Malachi comes
on the
scene and is associated with Ezra and Nehemiah and their reforms.
Malachi’s
date is around 430 – 400BC.
A
remnant had
returned from Babylonian captivity in 536 BC.
The
prophets
Haggai and Zechariah had led the people to rebuild the temple between
520 -516
BC.
Sixty
years
later (457BC) Ezra helps to rebuild the nation, and then 13
years after
that (444 BC) Nehemiah comes to rebuild the wall.
So
the Jews
had been home in their land for about 100 years (430 BC) and had fallen
into
their old sins.
The
priests
had become lax (lazy and didn’t care) and degenerate (immoral, corrupt,
sinful).
Sacrifices
were inferior and tithes were neglected.
The
people
were intermarrying with other nations again (See chapter 9 for more
details on
that).
Israel
had
just reverted to their old sins, despite being the most favoured of all
nations
with God as their head.
They
were
weak and discouraged, going back to their old sins and ways, and become
slack
and lazy, hanging on to the fact that their Messiah would come one day
to
rescue them.
And
indeed,
Malachi prophesies that the Messiah would come.
606
– 536 BC:
70 years captivity in Babylon
536 BC:
An altar built for sacrifices and
the temple work started
536
– 520 BC:
16 years of no work on the temple
520
– 516 BC:
4 years Haggai and Zechariah get the temple finished.
457 BC:
Ezra restores the nation
444 BC:
Nehemiah rebuilds Jerusalem’s
wall
430 BC:
MALACHI and a final message for
Israel
MALACHI
FINAL MESSAGE TO ISRAEL -
THE
DISOBEDIENT NATION
Chapter
1
Contempt for temple sacrifices
Now
verses
2-3 are quoted in Romans, where God chooses Jacob over Esau (Gen
25:22-34).
And
not only this; but when Rebecca also had conceived by one, even by
our father Isaac; (For the children being not yet born, neither having
done any
good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might
stand, not of
works, but of him that calleth;) It was said unto her, The elder
shall serve
the younger. As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau
have I
hated. Romans 9:10-13
There
are two nations that came from two brothers – Esau, the Edomites,
and Jacob, the true Israelites. Edom and Judah (the Israelites) were
both
destroyed by Babylon, but Israel had been restored and Edom (with the
last in
the line of King Herod) had become desolate and disappeared into
history.
Diseased
animals with blemishes were offered to God which they would not
have dared given to their governor (v8). This was an insult to God. But
Malachi
sees the day when God will be loved in all the earth even though his
own nation
despise him (v11).
Chapter
2
Marriages with heathen neighbours
The
priests
had become corrupt and lead the people away from fearing God (v1-9),
and their
name had become contemptible in the people’s eyes (v9).
Marriages
were broken (v10-16) with intermarriage and divorce – a double sin. It
had got
so bad that “good was evil” and that which was evil was being held as
good.
Doubt
and
skepticism was so bad in doubting God, that people were saying that
there was
no use in serving God. Other nations were more prosperous than Israel
and this
was adding to their saying “What’s the use of serving and fearing God?”
(See
3:13-18)
Chapter
3:1-6 The coming day of the Lord
Malachi
replies to them saying The Day was coming when God’s messenger (Jesus
Christ)
would bring judgment upon them. (See 3:13-18)
Chapter
3:7-12 Tithes
They
were
robbing God of his tithes. Tithing was the money that was God’s and
just as a
man had no right to another man’s land or goods, then the tithe was
exclusively
God’s possession.
They
were
stealing from God what was his. God says to prove him this and if they
were
faithful in their tithes and giving, then God would make them
prosperous. God
wanted them to test him.
Chapter
3:13-18 The return of national doubt, scorn and disbelief
They
didn’t
believe God on his promise with tithes and thought it a waste of money.
However
there were a faithful few, and their names were placed in God’s Book of
Remembrance (v16-17)
Chapter
4
The coming day of the Lord
Four times Malachi switches
focus to “The
Day of the Lord” (1:11; 3:1-6, 16-18; 4:1-6) and five times
also calls
it “The Day” (3:2, 17; 4;1, 3, 5).
Now
all this
is similar to today. The church is in a mess, sinful and indolent (lazy
and
degenerate).
They
were
told to get back to the law of Moses (v40).
Malachi
closes with the prophecy that Elijah (John the Baptist Matthew 3:1-12;11:14;
Luke 1:17) will usher in the dreadful day of the Lord (v5).
Hopefully,
Malachi says, that you will turn to your Father in heaven, as father
and son
come together on earth (v6).
Now
with all
that, God closes up his talking to the Jews for about 400 years, till
Christ
comes. As they have rejected all prophets, Israel rejected Christ. The
end
result is that they have been wandering the earth ever since, without a
home,
until in 1948, they were granted nationhood and land in their own
homeland of
Israel.
IN SUMMARY:
MALACHI 450-400BC
FINAL MESSAGE TO ISRAEL -
THE
DISOBEDIENT NATION
Jews been home for about
100 years -
degenerate priests, tithes neglected, inferior sacrifices,
intermarrying with other
nations. The
Messiah will come but it will mean judgement.
Chapter 1 Disdain for temple
sacrifices
Chapter 2 Intermarrying
Chapter 3 Day of the Lord,
tithes, scepticism
Chapter 4 Coming day of the Lord
He sees: The
2nd
Advent 3:1-3,
4:1-6
See (Part 1 of 3)
**** ****
Harley
Hitchcock
www.
AustralianBibleMinistries
.com
“CONTACT US”
Australian
Bible
Ministries, PO
Box 5058 Mt. Gravatt East 4122 Qld, Australia
www.AustralianBibleMinistries.com