The burden of his message is, the love of jehovah, the sins of the priests and of the people, and the day of the lord. Aug 08, 2014 today we are going to be studying malachi the last minor prophet in the old testament. Malachi, like zechariah, sees both advents and predicts two forerunners christ malachi 3. This rather long but hopefully helpful post attempts to identify the message of malachi by looking closely. The greatest sin of gods people is the sin against godthe source of all sin against ourselves and others. 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.
When god had a message for the people, he spoke through the prophets. Nothing else is mentioned or known about the author. After malachi, there is silence for about 400 years when god did not speak again through any prophet. Mar 24, 2016 the book of malachi serves to answer questions such as, is this still relevant. The book of malachi, the last of the twelve minor prophets, was written by an anonymous writer called malachi, or my messenger.
Some think malachi in this context is not a proper name and refers to ezra, as it fits with the timeline in which the book is supposed to be written. The book is ascribed to malachi, whose name means my messenger. Today we are going to be studying malachi the last minor prophet in the old testament. This is a story about gods church gone off track and what god did to correct the tragedy. The simplest and best view is to consider malachi as the name of the last prophet in israel. Intro to malachi biblica the international bible society. The book of malachi is written in quite a unique way called didactic also known as disputation, assertion objectionrebuttal the lord through malachi first makes an assertion to the people, an objection is then raised by the hearers, and finally a rebuttal or refutation is made by the speaker. Perhaps written from about 500450 bce, the book is concerned with spiritual degradation, religious perversions, social injustices, and unfaithfulness to the covenant. Today we begin a new book of scripture, moving to the tanak tnk portion of our bibles. 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.
Apr 25, 20 the message of malachi the bible speaks today adam, peter on. Malachi means messenger, and it is translated as my messenger in malachi 3. The message of malachi the bible speaks today adam, peter on. The interaction between god and the people can be divided into seven parts. The book of malachi sits aptly in christian bibles as the last book of the old testament, which it assumes, summarizes and applies, as it also. Some do not hold malachi as a first name but a designation. Gods people had suffered through generations of captivity and bondage and had been given promises of a better day just around the corner.
Toward the close of the book, it becomes clear that god is also speaking to all of humankind. The book of nehemiah describes what was most likely the last great reformation among the people of israel. Some time ago, pcg posted the following from its leader gerald flurry. This was gods warning through malachi to tell the people to turn back to god. The final book of the old testament, malachi received its name from its author malachi 1. Im sending my messenger on ahead to clear the way for me. Book of malachi matthew janzen i loved jacob, but hated esau malachi pt.
This book is titled malachi because that is the name of the prophet who wrote the book. Malachi with book summary versebyverse bible commentary. Book of malachi overview insight for living ministries. 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.
God rebukes corruption and promises deliverance and blessing on obedience. The book begins with a description of the wasteland of edom and ends with a warning of israels destruction. Yet like israel upon returning from the exile, the glory for which we so eagerly wait remains perplexingly elusive as we live life under the sun in. The fact that nothing is known of his personal lineage or history is not uncommon among the prophets. You profane me when you say, worship is not important, and what we bring to worship is of no account, and when you say, im boredthis doesnt do anything for me. Yet it also looks forward to the new testament with its promises of the coming reign of god. 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.
Suddenly, out of the blue, the leader youve been looking for will enter his templeyes, the messenger of the covenant, the one youve been waiting for. Apathy toward worship and the laws of moses had reached such proportions in israel that god raised up. The essential message of malachi is an epitome of the entire old testament. This book of malachi is about ministers who despise gods name and have profaned the temple worship malachi 1. The book of malachi serves to answer questions such as, is this still relevant. 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. The natural outcome of this state of mind leads to daily worship becoming something of a chore, a job that requires to be done as soon as you can be bothered. The book of malachi is not addressed to the nations as many other books are. Whether nehemiah refrained from following ezras policy because he considered it nonauthoritative or unworkable or neither cannot be known. The little book mentioned in the book of revelation introduces the lukewarm laodicean era of gods church.
Malachi is a book of revival and the first message that malachi brought to gods people had to do with restoring their relationship with god, as evidenced by their worship. Because god was there as a witness when you spoke your marriage vows to your young bride, and now youve broken those vows, broken the faithbond with your vowed companion, your covenant wif. Malachi summary we have detailed a brief summary of the book of malachi for bible study or sunday school lessons. Malachi is the last book in the bible and portrays christ as the sun of righteousness. I read the book of malachi again this week and was so blessed by it that i wanted to provide a theological overview of the whole book from my. Malachithe message of the messenger ministry magazine. Reading and rereading the book of malachi for example is essential to preparing sermons from the book of malachi. This is part 1 of a bible study series through the book of malachi. The view has been supported by appeal to the prechristian greek translation of the ot the septuagint, which. As the last of the old testament writing prophets and the last book of old testament scripture, malachi provides an important point of transition between the end of the old testament era and the new testament era. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading the book of malachi. It is a postexilic book, meaning it was written after the return from captivity in babylon.
Moreover, malachi is neither an unlikely name nor an unsuitable one for the author of this last book of the prophets. Malachi finishes off the minor prophets, the last 12 books of the old testament. Yet like israel upon returning from the exile, the glory for which we so eagerly wait remains perplexingly elusive as we live life under the sun in this fallen world. If you refuse to obediently listen, and if you refuse to honor me, godoftheangelarmies, in worship, then ill put you under a curse.
However, malachi my messenger aligns perfectly with the purpose of the book as it communicates gods message to his people. The message of malachi ebook 9780830895465 by peter adam. This is the last book of the ot and also the last prophetic word that god gave to his people prior to the coming of jesus. Verse 1 malachi wrote his book in the hebrew language. 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. 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. This audio sermon and transcript is entitled malachis message on love, and is from the. Several vivid figures are employed within the book of malachi. The book of malachi is arguably the most relational of the minor prophets. The book of malachi fittingly sits in christian bibles as the last book of the old testament, which it assumes, summarizes and applies. Malachi came about 80 years after haggai and zechariah. The name lord almighty occurs 20 times see note on 1sa 1. Gods people around the world today have been promised great and glorious things, just as gods people of old had been. The book of malachi a brief summary of the book sermons.
In that verse we have the only indication of the person who actually wrote this prophetic message to the people of israel. In fact, the curses are already at work because youre not serious about honoring me. Whats interesting is that the name malachi likely isnt really a name as we might assume it to be. But those 55 verses contain a message for the ages. Malachi is a book of messengers, and five can be identified. This rather long but hopefully helpful post attempts to identify the message of malachi. A striking feature of the book is the way in which every word of god is contradicted or questioned by his people. The hebrew word for message here means a weight that someone must carry. Malachi is the last of the three postexile prophets. Malachi 3 the message msg the master youve been looking for. I reduced pretentious esau to a molehill, turned his whole country into a ghost town. As is true of the bible speaks today series generally, this book focuses on application.
Books and booklets trumpet magazine bible correspondence course reprint articles. The messenger is obviously adequate for the task committed to him. Now the date and the background of this book are pretty clear, as ive said its the last old testament book. The hebrew word malachi simply means my that is, gods messenger.
Even though listed among the minor prophets, this book has major lessons and warnings for christians of all times. The book of malachi fittingly sits in christian bibles as the last book of the old testament, which it assumes. For our day, his book includes a prophecy of warning and of another messenger to come. His message was to get the temple worship back on track. All of the preceding is written to underscore the importance of the preacher first reading, and then prayerfully studying, and only then prayerfully proclaiming a message from the bible.
At the heart of gods people, the church, must lie a deep, overwhelming conviction that god loves themjust as he reminds israel in his first words to them in this book. The obvious implication is that malachi is gods messenger with a message from him. Mar 03, 2020 the book of malachi, the last of the twelve minor prophets, was written by an anonymous writer called malachi, or my messenger. A message from the lord daily bible reading series 24. Malachi is the last book of the old testament and is a book of prophetic oracle. The book of malachi was written between 440 and 400 b. Book of malachi what is malachi and who wrote malachi. Some have supposed that since the priesthood occupies such a prominent place in the book, that malachi must have been a priest. Malachi felt that he needed to declare gods message. A message from the lord daily bible reading series 24 kindle edition by bateman, deborah h download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets.
I believe god himself answers his people in malachi 3. Malachi delivered a message to the ancient people of god. Malachis message was for the people to repent and get ready because god was sending another messenger who would be. The prophet malachis message came from god, but the pcg. The book of malachi is one of the most unique in the scriptures.
His word came in visions, oracles, dreams, parables, and the like. The viewpoint is that of the authority of the present law, but also of the riches of grace which god has in store for the age of blessing. Malachi was a prophet who spoke to gods people around 430 bc during a time when the people were living unjustly and failing to honor god. As the last of the old testament writing prophets and the last book of old testament scripture, malachi provides an important point of transition between the end of the old testament era and the new. It may be that he was more persuaded by the message of malachi than the practice of ezra, a message that appears to forbid divorce at all mal. The same hebrew word malachi is translated malachi in chap. While they hoped for blessings they found poverty, famine, drought, sickness and moral decay, instead. In the introduction, adam lists three ways that malachi applies today pp. You fill the place of worship with your whining and sniveling because you dont get what you want from god. A summary, synopsis or recap is a shortened version of the original. Malachi, or the messenger, is the name given to the last book in the old testament. The bible speaks today bst 9780830824373 by peter adam.