Malachi

Bible study with Pastor Terry Gray


Book of Malachi
- Written in 400 BC
- This is God's final message to the Israelites of the Old Testament time; God would not speak again for the next 400 years.


Brief History
Israelites have been back in their land for about 100 years. The Temple has been rebuilt. Jerusalem has been rebuilt (Nehmiah has been there). People are living in international peace with roofs over their heads, etc. Instead of praising God for the prosperity over the last hundred years, they have become bitter against God, disobeying God.


Malachi 1:1-1:2
Israelites doubt God's love. A horrible place to be. A dangerous place to be.


Malachi 1:3-1:5
God did not choose Edomites as His representatives. His proof of love for the Israelites is shown by Him choosing the Israelites as His people.


Inspiration: Jude commands us to remain in God's love (Jude 1:21). Satan is always ready to make us doubt God's love, and this started with Him putting doubt into Adam's and Eve's heart.


Malachi 1:6-1:8
Israelites and priests no longer honored God. They essentially brought garbage that they wouldn't even bring to human governors to honor God.


Malachi 1:9-1:14
Israelites no longer treated God as the Great king. They bring trash God but save the best for themselves. We are supposed to honor Jesus with the best of what we have to offer: our time, money, heart, etc.


Inspiration: God is not poor. God is not needy. We are taught to offer the best we have because through this giving, we can begin to understand how God gives. God does not need our riches; He created everything! God said, "Cursed is the cheat who has an acceptable male in his flock and vows to give it, but then sacrifices a blemished animal to the Lord" (Malachi 1:14). This isn't about God needing our wealth. This is about God teaching us how to love. Let's look at two teachings of Jesus. In The Widow's Offering (Mark 12:41-44), Jesus commanded the widow, despite her donating less than a penny's worth, "I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything--all she had to live on." And in His teaching about Treasures in Heaven (Matthew 6:19-24), Jesus also taught us, "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also... No one can serve two masters... You cannot serve both God and Money" (Matthew 6:21). From Jesus' teachings, we can see the connecting idea is heart. When we cannot bear to part with our worldly possessions, we have begun to serve Money as our god. We are starting to commit idolatry, spiritual adultery. Idols do not answer our prayers. Idols do not save us from Satanic attacks. Therefore, put our heart in God who loves us and protects us. Honor God with our heart.


Malachi 2:1-2:9
Priests no longer did what they were supposed to do. Instead of being the guiding light of God's people, they have become false teachers: They no longer...
1. Fear God and lead the people in fearing God
2. Have the knowledge of the Word of God and proclaim it faithfully to the people
3. Faithfully walk with God
4. Give counsel from God's Word


Therefore, the priests will be thrown out because they led their people to perish! The people could not mature because the priests failed to lead them. Here, we see the high expectations God has for priests and teachers.


Malachi 2:10-2:12
Marriage at the time has become corrupted. Marriage is a holy relationship between a man and woman. A holy covenant between a man and a woman and God. And as the nation became idolatrous, so man had become adulterous.


Malachi 2:13-2:16
Divorce has become rampant. Older men divorced their older wives for younger and pagan women. Although there were cases where divorces were allowed, divorces for any other reason were not commanded.


Malachi 3:6-3:12
In the Old Testament, people were commanded to give 10% of their income to God. Here, the people were stealing from God, because not only do they defile God's honor by sacrificing animals they don't even want, they have also stopped tithing.


Today, we're in the New Testament. Jesus has fulfilled the Old Testament, so should we still tithe?


Matthew 23:23
Jesus expected tithing from people. Also, from Paul's writing, we are told to give regularly. Again, we need to realize here that God does not need our money. God is not poor! Where our treasure is, there our heart follows. It's always all about heart. We give, because God gives. We love, because God loves.


Malachi 3:10-11
This is the only place in the Scriptures where God essentially said, "I dare you. Test me." God promises that when we give, we will also receive. As we bless others with what we have, God will bless us because how we have served others. And here, we see that God challenges the Israelites to take up that promise.


Inspiration: When people rob God, they in turn rob themselves! When our hands are closed, we let go of nothing, but we also let nothing in. However, when we move forward with an open hand and a devotional heart, God will fill our lives with riches beyond materialistic and ephemeral means.


Malachi 3:16-18
There was a group that contained a true faithful remnant of His people. God knows those who are faithful and those who are not. Those who are wicked may think they got away with it because God has not released His Wrath, but the day will come when God restores the righteous and separates them from the wicked.


Promises of God
God will send 3 messengers (Malachi 3:1-5)
1. John the Baptist prepared the way for...
2. Jesus

3. Elijah (Malachi 4:5)


The first two has been fulfilled during Jesus' first coming. The rest has yet been fulfilled.


Revelation 11
One of the two witnesses is Elijah. Biblical scriptures are pretty clear about this. The second is thought to be Moses, while others propose it may be Enoch. 


The link below provides a good explanation of the theories about who the two witnesses could be:
http://www.gotquestions.org/two-witnesses.html


Summary
This is a sad book: Israelite failed again. They were blessed, but they turned away from God. Instead of being grateful, they doubted God, and they questioned God. We hear God's responses to their complaints, and we ought to walk away warned that we should not have such heart.


Despite the bad news, there is always a bright spot: Jesus is coming back to restore what we could not. Our hope is not in other people. Our hope is in Jesus. And because Jesus is faithful, we have very much to hope for!