Synopsis: Malachi

 Organisation of the synopsis

The Writer 

The post-exile prophets were Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi. Malachi was the last and probably ministered a century after the earlier post-exile prophets. He ministered after the temple was rebuilt.  The priests and people in Israel during his ministry had backslidden in their worship of Jehovah. After Malachi, God did not speak to His people for 400 years and the Jews only heard God speaking again when John the Baptist started his ministry. Malachi’s name means “My messenger” and no personal information about him was recorded. 

Key Verse 

Malachi 1:2  I have loved you, saith the LORD. 

The message of Malachi was a stern rebuke to the nation of Israel. The faithless state of Christendom today has much to learn from God’s message to the Jews. The key verse is a good reminder that God loves those that He reprimands.  

Heb 12:6 For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. 

Main Theme 

God’s goodness is being questioned by the Jews in this book. The Jews were looking forward to the restoration of David’s glorious kingdom but have never come close to attaining any of its former glories. During the ministry of Malachi, they were a conquered nation and their resentments were directed to God! They thought that it would be better to be like the nations around them and questioned the benefits of keeping His laws. God answered them in Chapter 4:1-3. He will not overlook the deeds of the wicked and will recompense the remnant who trust the Lord. Today, despite the declension of Christianity in the world, there is still a remnant that obeys the Lord and keeps to His words, Rev 3:8. 

Spiritual and Life lessons 

I will draw a few lessons from some of the questions that the Jews challenged God as recorded in this book. 

Question 1 

Mal 1:7  Ye offer polluted bread upon mine altar; and ye say, Wherein have we polluted thee? 

When God said that the people offered polluted bread upon His altar, the people replied in a very impious manner. Instead of being sorry, the people asked God how it was polluted. A clear answer was given by the Lord in verse 8. They offered animals with blemishes and this was clearly disallowed in Lev 22:20. The Lord questioned them whether such an offering is acceptable if they gave it to a governor. 

Although animal sacrifice is over, we need to consider what we offer to God. God is gracious but we must never take His condescension for granted. Don’t give God only your free time, spare change or in simple language don’t treat God like a spare tyre. I guess I would have made my point. Let the words of the hymn be our aim in this matter “Were the whole realm of nature mine, that were an offering far too small.” 

Question 2 

Mal 2:14  Yet ye say, Wherefore? 

The people questioned the fuss that God made in verses 11-14 of this chapter. It’s like saying, God, what is the fuss about? 

In Mal 2:11-14, the Lord rebuked the Jews for marrying foreign wives and the abominable practice of putting away the wife of their youth. Marrying foreign wives was a prohibition and in Ezra 10:1-3, the Jews repented of the practice. However, the problem recurred again.    

In Mal 2:12, God will punish both the master and the scholar. It is a difficult verse to understand. I would interpret it as referring to the act of commission of sin which will always involve two persons, the doer(master) and the promoter(scholar). Similarly, there is an instigator and an actor in every situation. Both are equally guilty. The weeping mentioned in verse 13 was the weeping of the aggrieved wife and God took note of their sorrows and disregarded the sacrifice of the husband. In our present society, divorce is becoming the norm rather than the exception. Christians must be very sensitive to the Lord’s dislike in the matter of divorce (Mal 2:16). We do not adopt the attitude of “wherefore”. 

Question 3 

Mal 3:13 Your words have been stout against me, saith the LORD. Yet ye say, what have we spoken so much against thee? 

The omniscient God knows our every thought. Here, the Lord declared the words spoken by the people against Him and the people tried to deny it by asking the Lord what was spoken. Perhaps they could fool others through this denial but not with God. This teaches us that God knows our every word and thought.  

In the subsequent two verses, He reminded them of what was spoken by these proud worldly men. These men said that it was vain to serve God and there was no benefit compared with those men who served and trusted themselves. They probably compared the heathen nations like Persia and the rich folks in these lands; admiring their wealth and splendour and they didn’t need God at all! In hindsight, we know empires come and vanish. The temporary success of the wicked will suddenly be met with calamities as declared by the Lord in Psalm 73:18-19. Don’t be brash with one’s words as God will judge all the hard speeches made (Jud 1:15). 

I pray that you will be like the remnants that trust in the goodness of God despite all vicissitudes. In trying times, it is good for the faithful believers to encourage one another in His eternal promises (Mal 3:16). 

With God’s blessings 

CL