Malachi is the thirty ninth and last book of the old testament as well as the thirty ninth book of scripture. Malachi is considered one of the minor prophets. Following his book, God had over 400 years pass before he revealed his written word again. This is often referred to as the “silent years” as God did not send any prophets to the people of Israel or in this case Judah until John the Baptist. Malachi consists of four chapters. Malachi was one of the prophets after the end of the Babylonian captivity.
(Malachi 1:1 The burden of the word of the LORD to Israel by Malachi.) God shows in this verse how he is using Malachi to speak to Israel about a burden of the LORD for Israel.
(Malachi 1:2 I have loved you, saith the LORD. Yet ye say, Wherein hast thou loved us? Was not Esau Jacob’s brother? saith the LORD: yet I loved Jacob,) The LORD says he has loved Israel, yet the people ask how. They have forgotten the many miracles that God has performed on their part and how he established them as a nation and his chosen people from nothing. The LORD says that Esau was Jacob’s brother who founded Israel, yet God chose Jacob for his nation as he loved him. God rejected Esau even though he was Jacob’s brother. The people forgot about the love of the LORD how he had brought them out of captivity from Babylon. The people partially turned back to God after their return from Babylon, but they had now once again turned from God. Often times revivals do not last long as people have short memories and love sin too much.
(Malachi 1:3 And I hated Esau, and laid his mountains and his heritage waste for the dragons of the wilderness.) God says he hated Esau and laid his heritage as a waste. God confirms that he hated Esau in Romans. (Romans 9:13 As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.) The nation of Edom came from Esau and we saw in our study on Obadiah how Edom was a long time enemy of Israel and God and finally God had enough of Edom and destroyed her. Much of her former land is still a waste today. God shows in this verse and in verse 2 how God loved Israel by blessing her much greater than Edom even though Esau and Jacob (Israel) were brothers.
(Malachi 1:4 Whereas Edom saith, We are impoverished, but we will return and build the desolate places; thus saith the LORD of hosts, They shall build, but I will throw down; and they shall call them, The border of wickedness, and, The people against whom the LORD hath indignation for ever.) Edom brags that even though God has punished them by partial destruction then she will rebuild. This shows the defiance by Edom against God and how she had not repented of her sins as a nation. God says if they rebuild he will destroy them until they are finally completely destroyed. God did finally destroy Edom so that today she no longer exists. God said she was full of wickedness. The end of the verse shows that God has indignation (hatred) for ever against Edom as she has always been wicked and against him and had never repented.
(Malachi 1:5 And your eyes shall see, and ye shall say, The LORD will be magnified from the border of Israel.) God says in this verse that the day will come that Israel will see what God has done for her and God will be magnified throughout her border. This will take place during the millennium.
(Malachi 1:6 ¶ A son honoureth his father, and a servant his master: if then I be a father, where is mine honour? and if I be a master, where is my fear? saith the LORD of hosts unto you, O priests, that despise my name. And ye say, Wherein have we despised thy name?) God said that a son honours his earthly father and a servant his master, yet God says if I be your Father, then where is my honour due me? The same honor is not given to him as Master as they show no fear of him yet an earthly servant fears his earthly master. The people showed more honor to earthly people and fear than they did God. God says the priests despise his name yet they ask how. The priests claim to worship God, but it is in reality in name only as they allowed the people to offer blemished sacrifices to God when they were to have been the mediators for God.
(Malachi 1:7 Ye offer polluted bread upon mine altar; and ye say, Wherein have we polluted thee? In that ye say, The table of the LORD is contemptible.) God said the people have offered polluted bread to him as they have not repented prior to making an offering. They give God the bread that they do not want instead of the best bread. Their bread is polluted with their sin as they do not offer to God out of love or fear, but as just one going through the motions. The people did not understand what the sacrifices represented and why they were doing them nor did they care. The people asked how had they polluted because they could not see what evil they had done before God because of their sin. They could not even see it as sin.
(Malachi 1:8 And if ye offer the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil? and if ye offer the lame and sick, is it not evil? offer it now unto thy governor; will he be pleased with thee, or accept thy person? saith the LORD of hosts.) God said the people offered to him the blind animals or the lame animals when he had commanded that they offer animals without blemish. These were animals that were of no use to the people so they figured they would offer them as sacrifices to God instead of just killing them and disposing of them. They believed that God did not care and would be pleased yet God said would you offer such animals to the governor and would he be pleased. God was saying that even the governor would reject the animals so why did they think that a holy and righteous God who is much greater than the governor would accept these sacrifices. (Leviticus 22:19-25 19 Ye shall offer at your own will a male without blemish, of the beeves, of the sheep, or of the goats.
20 But whatsoever hath a blemish, that shall ye not offer: for it shall not be acceptable for you.
21 And whosoever offereth a sacrifice of peace offerings unto the LORD to accomplish his vow, or a freewill offering in beeves or sheep, it shall be perfect to be accepted; there shall be no blemish therein.
22 Blind, or broken, or maimed, or having a wen, or scurvy, or scabbed, ye shall not offer these unto the LORD, nor make an offering by fire of them upon the altar unto the LORD.
23 Either a bullock or a lamb that hath any thing superfluous or lacking in his parts, that mayest thou offer for a freewill offering; but for a vow it shall not be accepted.
24 Ye shall not offer unto the LORD that which is bruised, or crushed, or broken, or cut; neither shall ye make any offering thereof in your land.
25 Neither from a stranger’s hand shall ye offer the bread of your God of any of these; because their corruption is in them, and blemishes be in them: they shall not be accepted for you.) We see how the people offered many of the blemished animals mentioned in this forbidden list by God.
(Malachi 1:9 And now, I pray you, beseech God that he will be gracious unto us: this hath been by your means: will he regard your persons? saith the LORD of hosts.) Malachi tells the people to repent and ask God to be gracious to them for their many sins of offering blemished sacrifices to the LORD. Malachi asks the people if they really thought God should regard (care about) the people due to their sins.
(Malachi 1:10 Who is there even among you that would shut the doors for nought? neither do ye kindle fire on mine altar for nought. I have no pleasure in you, saith the LORD of hosts, neither will I accept an offering at your hand.) The priests had become so corrupt that they would not even fulfill the small things in the temple such as shut the doors unless they were rewarded with pay. They would not do it for free as part of their priestly duties as assigned by God. The same applies to keeping the fire on the altar burning. They would let it burn out unless they were paid for it. This sounds like many people in our society today including Christians. God said he has no pleasure in the people and he would not accept their offerings. In essence they might as well close the temple as God has turned away from them as they have polluted his commandments.
(Malachi 1:11 For from the rising of the sun even unto the going down of the same my name shall be great among the Gentiles; and in every place incense shall be offered unto my name, and a pure offering: for my name shall be great among the heathen, saith the LORD of hosts.) God speaks of a future prophecy and its fulfillment when he says his name will become great among the Gentiles. This has been partially fulfilled with the church and will be completely fulfilled during the millennium. The Jews mock the LORD with their sacrifices yet the Gentiles will honor the LORD.
(Malachi 1:12 ¶ But ye have profaned it, in that ye say, The table of the LORD is polluted; and the fruit thereof, even his meat, is contemptible.) God says the Jews have profaned his name whereas the Gentiles will make his name great. God said the table of the LORD was polluted as the Jews had brought such sickly animals that even the priests could not eat of them. The priests were to get the best portions of meat to eat as their reward for serving God, yet even they could not get any food, but they seemed to only care about that and not about God and they may not even have cared that they had nothing to eat as their hate for God was that great.
(Malachi 1:13 Ye said also, Behold, what a weariness is it! and ye have snuffed at it, saith the LORD of hosts; and ye brought that which was torn, and the lame, and the sick; thus ye brought an offering: should I accept this of your hand? saith the LORD.) God continues by saying how the people had brought the torn animals, the lame, and the sick and yet God asks do you really think I should accept these as offerings. The people said that bringing sacrifices to God was weary and that basically they did not care about God and they had no time for him. They figured they would keep the best animals for themselves when they were supposed to have given God the best animals. They only went through the motions of sacrificing animals because they were commanded to, but they had lost the true meaning for the sacrifices as they continued in their sins.
(Malachi 1:14 But cursed be the deceiver, which hath in his flock a male, and voweth, and sacrificeth unto the Lord a corrupt thing: for I am a great King, saith the LORD of hosts, and my name is dreadful among the heathen.) God said that those who were deceived into believing they were honoring God would be cursed. God would curse those who had the male animals as God commanded for sacrifices yet they brought their blemished animals instead. God said these were corrupt offerings. They did not care about obedience. The same can be seen in many churches today as the people go about their lives like the heathen or who believe that giving God a dollar or two will have them blessed by God when they can afford more. God was not pleased by the Israelites or of those in the church today who are like them in their tithes and offerings when they hold back from God. God says he is a great King which we know now refers to Jesus Christ. God said his name would be dreadful among the heathen and this is seen some today.
(Malachi 2:1 And now, O ye priests, this commandment is for you.) God says what he is about to speak of next applies to the priests and that it is a commandment and not just a suggestion. The first nine verses all seem to apply to the priests specifically as they were to be the leaders and yet they have been the ones who allowed such hideous sacrifices and have failed at teaching the people the proper ways of God.
(Malachi 2:2 If ye will not hear, and if ye will not lay it to heart, to give glory unto my name, saith the LORD of hosts, I will even send a curse upon you, and I will curse your blessings: yea, I have cursed them already, because ye do not lay it to heart.) God warns the priests that he would curse them if they continued to allow these unworthy sacrifices and he would turn what should have been blessings for them into curses as well. God said he has already started to do just this as the priests just like the people will not put it in their hearts to love the LORD and to want to offer to God unblemished sacrifices as required by God. The priests only go about their duties out of obligation and they have no love in their hearts for the LORD. Deuteronomy 28 speaks of the many blessings and curses from God for the Israelite priests and people with the first fourteen verses listing blessings and verses 15-68 all of the curses that will wipe out the blessings whenever they reject God. The blessings will quickly be wiped out by God and he said he was already bringing these curses upon the people. A person can do one thousand good things, but just one disobedience will wipe them all out and God shows this in the chapter in Deuteronomy. James said if you break one part of the law then you have broken all of it. (James 2:10 For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.)
(Malachi 2:3 Behold, I will corrupt your seed, and spread dung upon your faces, even the dung of your solemn feasts; and one shall take you away with it.) God says he will corrupt their seed and will spread dung upon their faces, even of their feasts as he will not accept the worship of the feasts as they have removed any obedience to their original true meaning. God was basically telling the people that he was going to do to them just as they had done to him. They showed no respect in their offerings to him as they were equivalent to dung.
(Malachi 2:4 And ye shall know that I have sent this commandment unto you, that my covenant might be with Levi, saith the LORD of hosts.) God said he sent this commandment to the priests to again remind who God was speaking to. God made his covenant with Levi for the Levites to be his priests since the whole nation which had been intended to be priests had rejected the LORD.
(Malachi 2:5 My covenant was with him of life and peace; and I gave them to him for the fear wherewith he feared me, and was afraid before my name.) This verse speaks of the covenant of peace that God made with Phinehas who was the son of Eleazar and grandson of Aaron. Phinehas in his zeal for the LORD killed Zimri and Cozbi who had rebelled against God and made sacrifices to false gods. God stopped the plague he had brought upon the people due to the actions of Phinehas. God gave this covenant to Phinehas because of his fear of God yet now the Israelite priests had lost all fear of God and disrespected his name. (Numbers 25:11-13 11 Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, hath turned my wrath away from the children of Israel, while he was zealous for my sake among them, that I consumed not the children of Israel in my jealousy.
12 Wherefore say, Behold, I give unto him my covenant of peace:
13 And he shall have it, and his seed after him, even the covenant of an everlasting priesthood; because he was zealous for his God, and made an atonement for the children of Israel.)
(Malachi 2:6 The law of truth was in his mouth, and iniquity was not found in his lips: he walked with me in peace and equity, and did turn many away from iniquity.) The life of Phinehas honored the LORD just as the lives of the priests were to have done. The priests were to have set the examples and brought people to the LORD to be saved and become righteous yet these priests had done just the opposite as they encouraged the people to live a life of sin and rebellion against God. Phinehas turned people away from sin, but these people led people into deeper sin and glorified it.
(Malachi 2:7 For the priest’s lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the law at his mouth: for he is the messenger of the LORD of hosts.) The priests were expected by God to know his word and to teach this to the people yet they had failed miserably in their responsibilities. Many pastors today have as well.
(Malachi 2:8 But ye are departed out of the way; ye have caused many to stumble at the law; ye have corrupted the covenant of Levi, saith the LORD of hosts.) God said these priests have corrupted the covenant God made with Levi and have caused many people to turn away from God rather than towards him as they were required to do. The priests themselves had turned from God, so they could not even if they wanted to bring the people to the LORD. The priests were the very ones who were supposed to know the law and obey it yet they were the ones who broke the law and taught this disobedience to the people.
(Malachi 2:9 Therefore have I also made you contemptible and base before all the people, according as ye have not kept my ways, but have been partial in the law.) God said that just as he had rejected the priests due to their sins and corruption he had made the people to reject them as well. God also condemned the priests for being partial in who had to obey the law. They probably were guilty of requiring the people to obey certain laws that they themselves disobeyed. More than likely they also condemned certain people for bringing blemished animals for sacrifices while excusing others with no discipline or even saying anything to them. Many church leaders are similar to these priests today as they allow some to sin without consequences while punishing others for not being perfect. There is no consistency and obedience to God anymore, but rather church leaders are concerned about pleasing the people and keeping their jobs over obedience to God. They fear men when they should fear God.
(Malachi 2:10 Have we not all one father? hath not one God created us? why do we deal treacherously every man against his brother, by profaning the covenant of our fathers?) Malachi asks do not all Jews have the same father in Abraham and were not all of them created by the same God? Saved Jews would also have the same Father in God the Father. This also speaks of how God created the nation of Israel as well as all Israelites literally being created by God. Malachi asks since all Jews have the same father and Creator then they were all brothers, yet they dealt evil against their brothers by profaning the covenant to their fathers given to them by God. The fathers spoken of here refer to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
(Malachi 2:11 ¶ Judah hath dealt treacherously, and an abomination is committed in Israel and in Jerusalem; for Judah hath profaned the holiness of the LORD which he loved, and hath married the daughter of a strange god.) Judah has dealt treacherously as she has married the daughter of a strange god. God says this is an abomination. Judah has turned from the living God to a strange false god by marrying heathen women who worship false gods. This sin will always turn the man away from God as seen in Solomon and in others. Not only is this idolatry but God considers it adultery as well. God shows how Judah was guilty of the same sin of serving false gods as was Israel whom God destroyed. This is seen in the mention of Jerusalem with Israel. Jerusalem was the capital of Judah.
(Malachi 2:12 The LORD will cut off the man that doeth this, the master and the scholar, out of the tabernacles of Jacob, and him that offereth an offering unto the LORD of hosts.) God said that those who were guilty of the sin of verse 11 will be cut off meaning God will not have anything to do with them and they will ultimately be destroyed by God. All of those who offer offerings to the strange false gods will be destroyed by God and these will die in their sins.
(Malachi 2:13 And this have ye done again, covering the altar of the LORD with tears, with weeping, and with crying out, insomuch that he regardeth not the offering any more, or receiveth it with good will at your hand.) The people are crying out to God and asking why God is not accepting their offerings yet God says he will ignore their tears as they are crocodile tears in that the people are not sincere and have refused to repent so God says why should I accept your offerings. God will never hear the cries of those who refuse to repent. These people did not want to get right with God, but rather were only concerned about their own wellbeing.
(Malachi 2:14 ¶ Yet ye say, Wherefore? Because the LORD hath been witness between thee and the wife of thy youth, against whom thou hast dealt treacherously: yet is she thy companion, and the wife of thy covenant.) God continues to tell the people that why should he accept their sacrifices as they have not only treated God with treachery by going after false gods, but apparently many of the men had divorced their wives to marry the heathen women and who served false gods. These men ignored the vow of marriage until death do us part that they had made before God. Vows and God meant nothing to them or even their wives they married in their youth.
(Malachi 2:15 And did not he make one? Yet had he the residue of the spirit. And wherefore one? That he might seek a godly seed. Therefore take heed to your spirit, and let none deal treacherously against the wife of his youth.) God said he only made one wife for Adam and he set the example showing he does not approve of polygamy (multiple wives at the same time) or of divorce. It seems the people were trying to justify having more than one wife or divorce by saying Abraham had two wives yet Malachi says he took the second wife in order to obtain an heir and not out of pleasure. Malachi also says at the end of the verse that God was not happy with Abraham and did not approve of what he did by dealing treacherously with his wife and he will not give approval to them either.
(Malachi 2:16 For the LORD, the God of Israel, saith that he hateth putting away: for one covereth violence with his garment, saith the LORD of hosts: therefore take heed to your spirit, that ye deal not treacherously.) God again says he hates divorce in the phrase “putteth away”. God says they try to cover their sin and violence by casting their garment upon another woman. This covering the garment shows a person wanting a marriage with the person covered. This is similar to how Ruth covered the feet of Boaz when he was sleeping and then she lied down next to him.
(Malachi 2:17 ¶ Ye have wearied the LORD with your words. Yet ye say, Wherein have we wearied him? When ye say, Every one that doeth evil is good in the sight of the LORD, and he delighteth in them; or, Where is the God of judgment?) The people have wearied the LORD with their words as they continue to try to excuse and justify their sins yet the people ask God how have we wearied you showing they cannot even recognize their sins and have no repentance. God says they have wearied him by saying that those who do evil are good and then try to justify them before the LORD and then they have the nerve to ask God where is the God of judgment showing they think they are untouchable. The people also seem to be saying before God that every one (all of the nations) is doing the same things as them and yet they do not seem to be judged by God and in fact are prosperous.
(Malachi 3:1 Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts.) Malachi tells the people that God will send his messenger to prepare the way for the Lord whom the people seek. The people will seek and delight in the coming of this person and will come to his temple as they are looking for a man to save them from other nations. This verse is speaking of John the Baptist who would come about 400 years after Malachi predicted this and he prepared the way for Jesus at his first coming. The people wanted Jesus to be their king in order to free them from Rome rather than for Jesus to be their Saviour. Once the people knew that Jesus would not be king and save them from their oppressors, then they had him crucified. The people only delighted in Jesus for selfish reasons and not out of repentance. The last part of the verse says the messenger of the covenant and seems to be speaking of the second coming of Jesus with him as the messenger this time.
(Malachi 3:2 But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner’s fire, and like fullers’ soap:) This verse speaks of the second coming in that he asks who will be able to stand when he appears. When he comes at his second coming most of the world will be unsaved and have just finished going through the great tribulation and they will not be able to stand before God and will be cast into hell. The unholy can never stand before a holy God. Refiner’s fire refers to how smelters melt metal such as silver or gold and then scoop off the dross which is the impurities off of the top and they continue this process until it is almost pure. God’s judgment will be the same when Jesus returns as he will separate the saved from the unsaved and will cast the unsaved into hell. Fuller’s soap refers to how the people of that day cleaned or purified clothes. Jesus came the first time to show people they were sinners and how they needed to be purified by his shed blood. Jesus will also purify people following his second coming as one day he will give saved people a glorified body and the people will then be purified of their sins.
(Malachi 3:3 And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the LORD an offering in righteousness.) God (Jesus) will be the refiner and will purify the people just like pure silver. Jesus will refine the Jews until he can see his face in them just like how a silver refiner stops the refining process when they can see their own reflection. Jesus refines us until he can see himself when he looks at us. God will also purify the sons of Levi so that they may offer unto the LORD with righteousness. The fulfilling of both of these things will occur during the millennium as the Jews will now have received Jesus as their Saviour and will follow him whole heartedly.
(Malachi 3:4 Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the LORD, as in the days of old, and as in former years.) God will now finally accept their offerings which will be pleasant unto the Lord just as they had been at times in the past. At certain times in Israel’s history they did offer sacrifices to God with the right heart and with a looking to the coming of Jesus as their Messiah.
(Malachi 3:5 And I will come near to you to judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against false swearers, and against those that oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and that turn aside the stranger from his right, and fear not me, saith the LORD of hosts.) In Malachi 2:17 the people had asked “Where is the God of judgment?” and Malachi says that they will now see as God will judge against the sorcerers, the adulterers, false swearers and those who mistreat those they hire, the widow, the fatherless, and those who turn away the stranger and those who do not fear God. God warns not to keep wages from the hired person. Let this be a warning to all business owners to make sure they are paying their employees a fair wage. The widow back then was much worse off than today as back then the man brought in all of the money and took care of the family and the widow could not get a job and had no one to take care of them. If they had children then they were to take care of the widow and if none then fellow believers were to take care of her. The children without a dad had no one to guide them spiritually as the dad was the one who did that as well as took care of the family and the widow as I said often could not work so she had a hard time now taking care of the family. People back then and even today in most of the Middle East then you were expected to allow a stranger to stay at your house while he was traveling and to provide them food and shelter. God reminded the people that they were strangers in Egypt. The people failed in all of these things and God said he would judge them.
(Malachi 3:6 For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.) God says that he does not change. We see in Hebrews how Jesus is the same forever. (Hebrews 13:8 Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.) The fact that God never changes is the only reason that he never destroyed the sons of Jacob as he had made a covenant with Jacob and since he does not change he could not break that covenant and so he did allow Israel and Judah to be taken captive, but the Hebrews are still around today and as a people have never been destroyed so that God could keep his word. It is man who changes, but God never does. The Hebrews at one time followed God, but then changed and served false gods.
(Malachi 3:7 ¶ Even from the days of your fathers ye are gone away from mine ordinances, and have not kept them. Return unto me, and I will return unto you, saith the LORD of hosts. But ye said, Wherein shall we return?) God tells the Hebrews how they had gone away from him basically from their beginning. They have failed to obey God’s commands continuously, but since God cannot change as we saw in verse 6 then God says if you will return back to me then I will return back to you. God still had a covenant with the people so he could not completely destroy them, but he did turn away from them due to their sin and allowed them to be taken captive. God says I will return to you as your God if you will repent of your sins. The people were so consumed by their sins that they ask “Wherein shall we return” meaning they were so spiritually blinded by their many sins that they could not even see that they needed to repent and return back to God. They believed that what they had and how they were living was ok and they did not want to change that.
(Malachi 3:8 ¶ Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings.) God asks will you rob God and then he says they have robbed God. The people blinded by their sins then ask how had they robbed God and God says in tithes and offerings. The crime of robbery is bad enough against fellow man, but to rob God is inexcusable. Many professing Christians today rob God of tithes and offerings as well and of course so do those who do not even profess to be Christians. Many churches are full of people who rob God every week as they believe that as long as they give God a dollar or two then they have tithed and God will be happy this is not true. God does not need your money, he needs your obedience and tithes and offerings show you love God. Samuel told Saul it is better to obey than sacrifice. (I Samuel 15:22) They also keep the church afloat in order to pay bills and have money for winning souls. Many churches can barely keep their doors open as they have no money to pay the bills as the people rob God and do not honor him. Many Christians use the excuse that our time counts towards our tithes, but again this is a lie. A tithe is ten percent of your gross income and an offering is anything above that. The word tithe even means ten percent and we see in scripture how Abraham and Jacob gave ten percent as they understood what a true tithe was. Many Christians also claim they do not need to tithe because that was only under the Mosaic law. This is yet another lie as tithing existed long before the time of Moses. Abraham gave a tithe to Melchizedek who was the preincarnate Jesus. (Genesis 14:18-20 18 And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God.
19 And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth:
20 And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all.) Jesus also commended the Pharisees for tithing and never told them to stop saying it was no longer needed. (Matthew 23:23 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.) Even if tithing had only been for the Israelites under Moses then people should want to give back to God. This shows the true heart of most professing Christians as they do not love God as much as they say they do nor do they trust him for supplying their needs for if they did then they would gladly give to God. God only asks for ten percent. Uncle Sam gets a lot more than that. Many Christians also rob God by basing their tithe off of their net pay so they do not have to give God as much money. The money means more to them then God. Christians are to give to God cheerfully and not just because they are commanded to do so. (II Corinthians 9:7 Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.)
(Malachi 3:9 Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation.) God says he has cursed the whole nation for having robbed him. The United States is guilty of the same sin and I believe God has also cursed us. The problem with sin is that it affects everyone and not just the individual. God did not just curse the people who robbed from him, but the whole nation as it was so common among the people. There were probably a handful of people who were obedient to God yet they too suffered as they lived in a cursed nation. I believe God may curse many nations for having robbed him, but especially Israel as they were and are God’s chosen people.
(Malachi 3:10 Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.) God tells the people to start bringing their tithes in as he commanded and he will prove how they will be blessed for doing so. Many believed if they gave God ten percent of their crops then they would not have enough to eat and many Christians feel the same way today. The reality is that most Christians just want to keep the money so they can use it for sinful pleasures rather than for God. God challenged the people to bring in all their tithes and he would prove they would have food (meat) to eat as he would open the windows of heaven and pour out his blessing upon those who obeyed. God’s blessings and treasures cannot and will not run out for those who obey God in tithing. You cannot out give God. You will always receive much more from God in return than from what you gave him in tithes and offerings. God says he will bless you with so much that you will not have room for it all and will have to share it with others. I have seen this principle firsthand and also with others who were not tithing and then once they started the blessings came upon them. God is not saying you will become rich, but you will be greatly blessed and will be able to survive. The question is will you take on the challenge from God and start obeying God and stop robbing from him by giving your tithes and offerings?
(Malachi 3:11 And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the LORD of hosts.) God told the Hebrews that if they obeyed God by giving him of their tithes and offerings then he would keep Satan back from destroying their crops and he would keep back the insects such as locusts from devouring their crops. The key was they had to obey God. If they did not then God would not keep his end of protecting their crops. God also said that the crops would come at their proper times and would be abundant and not fall to the ground too early to be of no use. This promise by God applies to Israel only, but I do believe that any nation that would follow the same principle would also be blessed by God at least spiritually.
(Malachi 3:12 And all nations shall call you blessed: for ye shall be a delightsome land, saith the LORD of hosts.) If they obey then God will bless Israel and all nations will see how God has blessed Israel and they will acknowledge this. Israel will become a delightsome land that all nations will desire. God has been blessing much of the land in Israel today as she has great crops including exporting most of the fruit that goes to Europe.
(Malachi 3:13 ¶ Your words have been stout against me, saith the LORD. Yet ye say, What have we spoken so much against thee?) God tells the people that they have spoken words against him that have been stout. Stout means they spoke strong bold arrogant words against God as the people had no fear of God. They were not afraid to speak against him. The people were so much in sin that they did not even recognize that they were being blasphemous in their words against God or that they were even doing anything wrong.
(Malachi 3:14 Ye have said, It is vain to serve God: and what profit is it that we have kept his ordinance, and that we have walked mournfully before the LORD of hosts?) The people said that is was vain (useless and a waste of time) to serve God and what did they get from doing so by keeping his ordinance (law)? The people were so in their sins that they felt there was no point in serving God as it did not benefit them in any way. The people clearly had forgotten all that God had done for the nation over the years and clearly did not understand that for them to get the blessings from God then they also had to be obedient from God and to serve him with a willing and loving heart. The people only served him out of obligation and not out of love so God did not bless them. The people also were so spiritually blinded that they did not understand that they needed God for their salvation. This would still be seen in the days of Jesus as the leaders did not understand scripture that Jesus was their Messiah when they should have known. Both in Jesus’s day and in Malachi’s day the people were only concerned about God in how would serving God benefit them particularly monetarily rather than serving God out of obedience and love. Many professing Christians in the church are the same way today which is why they rob God of tithes and offerings as well as do not witness for him and live very much in the world. The last part of the verse speaks of when the Israelites mourned they once again only mourned for themselves rather than mourning for their souls or any other lost souls. Today too many professing Christians are the same way as there is no burden for the lost and any mourning is just for public sympathy.
(Malachi 3:15 And now we call the proud happy; yea, they that work wickedness are set up; yea, they that tempt God are even delivered.) The people claim that see there is no reason to serve God since the proud are happy and those who are wicked seem to have everything and none are punished by God. They say even those who tempt God are not destroyed. The people did not realize that God will allow the wicked to prosper for a while and they seem to get away with their sins, but they will one day be held accountable by God. It is not worth the rebellion against God for a short season of what seems like prosperity here on earth as you will pay for it with an eternity in hell and the lake of fire and separation from God. God will always eventually punish the wicked even if not here on earth. The people had become so bold in their sin that they even tempted God again showing a lack of fear by the people. The people had also forgotten how God should have destroyed all of the people and how the only reason he never did as he did with other sinful nations was because of the covenant he had made with Israel.
(Malachi 3:16 ¶ Then they that feared the LORD spake often one to another: and the LORD hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the LORD, and that thought upon his name.) There were a small number of the people who did fear the LORD and these people spake often one to another. Most likely they met together for worship in small groups. God always has a remnant that honor and serve him and worship him in sincerity even among the rest of the wicked and sinful people. It is possible that a few of the wicked repented and became one of those that feared the LORD though I believe it refers mostly to those who had always feared the LORD. God says he has hearkened (listened) and heard those who feared the LORD and spoke to one another and he has placed them in a book of remembrance which is a book of all of those who fear the LORD and that thought upon his name. God has many books in his library and this is one book that all who profess to be Christians should be in. Unfortunately most are not as they do not fear God and most do not even think about him that much as they have no time for him such as prayer and scripture reading.
(Malachi 3:17 And they shall be mine, saith the LORD of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him.) God says that he will spare those who fear him and are written in that book just as a man spares his own son who serves him. Saved people are adopted sons of God and the Israelites were the firstborn son of God. (Exodus 4:22 And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD, Israel is my son, even my firstborn:) The phrase “make up my jewels” may refer to the crown that some believer’s will receive.
(Malachi 3:18 Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not.) Malachi says God will one day return to judge the people which will be at the end of the great tribulation and he will separate the wicked from the righteous and those who serve God and who do not serve God. The people said that God did not bring judgment, but here God is saying the day will come when he does.
(Malachi 4:1 For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.) Malachi picks up from the last verse of chapter three in this chapter. The day will come when God will cast the wicked into hell after the end of the tribulation and a final casting into the lake of fire after the millennium at the great white throne judgment. Fire is used by God as a refining or purifier as only the pure things can survive the fire. We saw earlier in the study how those refining silver and gold use the heat to remove the impurities. One day God will burn up the earth to purify even the very elements to remove all sin. (II Peter 3:12 Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?)
(Malachi 4:2 ¶ But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall.) Those that fear the name of God and follow and obey him will have the Sun of righteousness heal their wings. The Sun of righteousness is Jesus who will heal (save) all of those who fear him and call upon him to be their Saviour. Jesus can heal even the vilest sinner who repents and calls upon him to save them. Jesus is referred to as the Sun as the sun is a type of Jesus and sunlight is necessary for the good health of people. Those who never get much sunlight have many health problems. We also need the sunlight of Jesus to remain spiritually healthy. Those who fear God will grow as Christians and play like calves who run with joy when released from the stall.
(Malachi 4:3 And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this, saith the LORD of hosts.) This verse seems to point to the Millennium when believers will reign with Jesus and the righteous will prevail over the wicked as if they were walked upon like walking on ashes. The people had said why should they serve God in Malachi 3:14 and here is the answer as those who do not serve God will be destroyed.
(Malachi 4:4 ¶ Remember ye the law of Moses my servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel, with the statutes and judgments.) Malachi gives the last command in the old testament to his people by telling them to remember the law of Moses. God did not just mean to remember in to think about it, but also to remember to obey all of the laws given by God for those who do will be greatly rewarded and those who do not will be destroyed. Those who obeyed the law would pass this down and it was probably many of these people’s descendants who were most of the people saved in Jesus’ day as they more clearly understood scripture and obeyed it.
(Malachi 4:5 ¶ Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD:) God said he would sent Elijah before the great and dreadful day of the LORD. This verse speaks of Elijah who was taken by God in a whirlwind to heaven about 500 years earlier as a type of the rapture and who during the tribulation will along with Moses be one of the two witnesses who will be here on earth for three and a half years. (II Kings 2:11 And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.) (Revelation 11) Moses represented the law and Elijah the prophets. The day of the LORD refers to the second coming of Jesus at the end of the great tribulation when he will judge the wicked so it will be dreadful for them. Today the Jews look for Elijah every passover as they leave an empty chair for him not understanding his coming. Many people say this refers to the coming of John the Baptist about 400 years later to announce the coming of Jesus at his first coming, but John the Baptist only came in the spirit of Elijah and he himself said he was not Elijah as spoken of in this verse. (Luke 1:17 And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.) (John 1:21 And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elias? And he saith, I am not. Art thou that prophet? And he answered, No.) The prophecy of this verse is the last given by God in the old testament.
(Malachi 4:6 And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.) This final verse of the old testament seems to speak of how Elijah and Moses as the two witnesses will turn the hearts of many of the Israelites during the tribulation so that finally when Jesus comes back at the end of the tribulation then the one third of Jews that are left will all be saved. (Zechariah 13:9 And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The LORD is my God.) This verse may also have a dual meaning in that John the Baptist who came in the spirit of Elijah also turned many Jews to Jesus at his first coming, though the entirety of the Jews as a nation being saved will only occur as mentioned under Elijah. The last word of the old testament is the word “curse” and God says that those who do not turn to him will be cursed. All who are not saved will be cursed to an eternity in hell. Whereas the old testament ends on curse, the new testament ends with the word Amen which means “so be it”. This amen refers to the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ which it is only by the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ that we can end the curse by asking Jesus to save us. If you are not saved call upon Jesus now so that you will not be cursed to hell. With the end of this verse, God would be silent for about 400 years until John the Baptist came in order to prepare the way for his Son Jesus Christ. Thank God that he is not silent today as we have his complete word as found in the inspired inherent, infallible King James Bible and we can know how to be saved.
