📖 Chapters 0:00 Malachi 1. The Lord’s Love for Israel and Rebuke of Corrupt Priests 3:03 Malachi 2. Warnings Against Unfaithfulness and Corrupt Leaders 6:24 Malachi 3. The Coming Messenger and a Call to Faithfulness 10:02 Malachi 4. The Day of the Lord and the Promise of Elijah
The Book of Malachi is the final book of the Twelve Minor Prophets in the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh) and the Christian Old Testament, serving as both a closing prophetic message and a bridge to the New Testament. Written around 450–430 BCE, during the post-exilic period, it addresses the spiritual complacency and moral decline of the Jewish people after their return from Babylonian exile. Although the Second Temple had been rebuilt, the people had fallen into religious apathy, corruption, and doubt about God’s justice.
The book is structured as a series of disputes between God and the people, where God confronts their failures, and they respond with skepticism. Malachi highlights six key issues. First, the people offer defiled sacrifices, bringing blind, lame, and sick animals instead of their best. Worship has become meaningless, and priests have grown indifferent, yet God reminds them that He is a great King, and His name will be feared among the nations. Second, the corrupt priests have neglected their responsibilities, failing to teach the law properly and allowing injustice to flourish. God rebukes them, saying they have caused many to stumble and warns that their dishonor will bring judgment. Third, the people have been unfaithful in their marriages, divorcing their wives for selfish reasons and intermarrying with idolaters, violating their covenant with God, who calls them to faithfulness and purity.
Fourth, they accuse God of injustice, claiming that evildoers prosper while the righteous suffer, but God assures them that He will bring justice in His time, separating the wicked from those who truly fear Him. Fifth, the people fail to honor God with their tithes and offerings, withholding what belongs to Him, leading to economic hardship and scarcity. Yet, God challenges them to test Him, promising that if they bring the full tithe, He will open the floodgates of heaven and bless them abundantly. Finally, the book ends with a promise of future redemption, declaring that the Day of the Lord is coming, when the wicked will be consumed like stubble, but those who fear God will rise with healing and restoration. Malachi prophesies that before this day, God will send Elijah the prophet to turn hearts back to righteousness, a prophecy later understood in the New Testament as referring to John the Baptist preparing the way for Jesus Christ.
