Malachi 1:1-14 

  Malachi calling! - The last call of the Old Testament before the voice of prophecy dies into a silence of four hundred years. One complete phase of Divine revelation is now to close. The last spokesman of the prophetic ministry completes his task, and retires behind the misty curtains of the past. What does this last speaker say? What is the final message? What is the parting word?

Our first step toward appreciating the message of Malachi is to recognise the time in which he prophesied. He does not date his prophecy, but there are pointers to the time of it. It is certainly after the exile, and later than the other two post-exilic prophets, Haggai and Zechariah. It was probably written later than the days of Nehemiah. Let me remind the main you of the dates and events relating to the Jewish Remnant, from the time of their return, down to the ministry of Malachi.

B.C.

536. At the decree of Cyrus, the 50,000 returned to Judaea, under Zerubbabel (Ezra 1and 2).

534. The foundations of the new temple are laid  but the builders then run out of steam. (Ezra3)

520. Through the ministry of the prophets Haggai and Zechariah the rebuilding of the Temple is resumed (Ezra 5; Hag 1:15).

516. The restoration of the Temple is completed just twenty years after the return of the 50,000, (Ezra 6:15).

457. Another 1,800, including wives, daughters and servants return under Ezra (Ezra 7).                                                                                                                          445. Under the authority of King Artaxerxes Nehemiah comes to Jerusalem, as Governor, to rebuild the city (Neh 2).

430. (approx.) Nehemiah returns to Jerusalem after returning to visit Artaxerxes (Neh 13:6,7).

Malachi prophesies sometime after this.

Malachi prophesied after the days of Nehemiah - and long enough after for the settled, corrupt condition of things, which he deplores and denounces, to have developed. Nehemiah may have lived for quite a long time after the last event recorded in the book which bears his name. So long as he lived he would exert a strong influence for moral and religious purity but the conditions described by Malachi suggest a deterioration which had come about after Nehemiah’s influence had ended. Not only had the earlier zeal of people and priests cooled down. It had been replaced by formalism (3:14) and even deceitful evasion (1:4). Our last glimpse of Nehemiah in Jerusalem is at about 430 B.C., but he probably continued there for some years after that; so we can put the ministry of Malachi somewhere between 420 and 397 B.C.

This book’s special purpose, central message and key thought is a powerful, passionate, pleading appeal, to repent of sin and to return to God. It is an appeal accompanied by rich promises if the people respond positively and by stern warnings if they refuse. Read the book through to get into the eager, urgent flow of the prophet's thoughts and words.

 This book falls naturally into two parts. In chapters 1 and 2 the present sin of the nation is the main focus. In chapters 3 and 4 it is of the coming “day of Jehovah” that is in view.

The attention focuses first on the religious leaders. Note carefully that Jehovah Himself addresses these priests directly. All the way through, to chapter 2:9, the verses are in the first person.

V6      

Mal 1:6.        A son honours his father, and a servant his master. If then I am the Father, Where is My honour? And if I am a Master, Where is My respect? Says the Lord of hosts to you priests who despise My name.

Yet you say, 'In what way have we despised Your name?'

We will go through this passage line by line to listen to God’s complaints against the priest and to assess their response.     

 Mal 1:7- 2:9

7 "You place defiled food on my altar.

"But you ask, 'How have we defiled you?'

"By saying that the Lord's table is contemptible.

8 When you bring blind animals for sacrifice, is that not wrong? When you sacrifice crippled or diseased animals, is that not wrong? Try offering them to your governor! Would he be pleased with you? Would he accept you?" says the Lord Almighty.

9 "Now implore God to be gracious to us. With such offerings from your hands, will he accept you?" — says the Lord Almighty.

10 "Oh, that one of you would shut the temple doors, so that you would not light useless fires on my altar! I am not pleased with you," says the Lord Almighty, "and I will accept no offering from your hands.

11 My name will be great among the nations, from the rising to the setting of the sun. In every place incense and pure offerings will be brought to my name, because my name will be great among the nations," says the Lord Almighty.

12 "But you profane it by saying of the Lord's table, 'It is defiled', and of its food, 'It is contemptible.'

13 And you say, 'What a burden!' and you sniff at it contemptuously," says the Lord Almighty. "When you bring injured, crippled or diseased animals and offer them as sacrifices, should I accept them from your hands?" says the Lord.

14 "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. For I am a great king," says the Lord Almighty, "and my name is to be feared among the nations. "And now this admonition is for you, O priests. 2 If you do not listen, and if you do not set your heart to honour my name," says the Lord Almighty, "I will send a curse upon you, and I will curse your blessings. Yes, I have already cursed them, because you have not set your heart to honour me.

3 "Because of you I will rebuke your descendants; I will spread on your faces the offal from your festival sacrifices, and you will be carried off with it.

4 And you will know that I have sent you this admonition so that my covenant with Levi may continue," says the Lord Almighty.

5 "My covenant was with him, a covenant of life and peace, and I gave them to him; this called for reverence and he revered me and stood in awe of my name.

6 True instruction was in his mouth and nothing false was found on his lips. He walked with me in peace and uprightness, and turned many from sin.

7 "For the lips of a priest ought to preserve knowledge, and from his mouth men should seek instruction — because he is the messenger of the Lord Almighty.

8 But you have turned from the way and by your teaching have caused many to stumble; you have violated the covenant with Levi," says the Lord Almighty.

9 "So I have caused you to be despised and humiliated before all the people, because you have not followed my ways but have shown partiality in matters of the law."

  Nehemiah 13  Nehemiah discovered that the priests in his day were not true to the Lord or his Word.

Similar problems exist in the Church today as destroyed the witness of God’s representatives in the days of Nehemiah and Malachi. God’s people still think that God should be satisfied with whatever they give Him and however they do it. We do not give God the honour due to His name. Instead of honouring Him with the best that we can offer we think that God should be satisfied with whatever we offer even if it falls far short of our best. This passage reveals, not only what God thinks of that attitude but also how God feels about it.