COMMENTARY ON MALACHI
LESSON NUMBER 1
Mal 1:1 “The burden of the word of the LORD to Israel by Malachi.” (Malachi 3:1)
INTRODUCTION TO MALACHI’S PROPHESY
INTRODUCTION
Malachi and his prophecy are set within the context of the renewal that was sparked by Nehemiah and the rebuilding of Jerusalem’s wall. The work of Nehemiah spanned the approximate period of 444-425 B.C., while that of Malachi covered 432-425 B.C., or, the last seven years of Nehemiah’s ministry. Nehemiah had gone to Jerusalem in the twentieth year of the reign of Artaxerxes (Neh 2:1), and returned after an unspecified period of time. Some estimate the return was during 433 B.C., eleven years after he had gone to Jerusalem. At any rate, twelve years after he had gone to Jerusalem, he was found in Shushan during the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes reign (Neh 13:6). At that time, Nehemiah obtained “leave of the king” to return to Jerusalem. This would have been during the year of 432 B.C., during which Malachi began his ministry. Upon returning to the holy city, Nehemiah found that a staggering amount of deterioration had taken place among the people. Eliashib, the priest who had “oversight of the chamber of the house of our God, was allied with Tobiah,” Nehemiah’s enemy, and had “prepared for him a great chamber” in the place where the tithes had been stored for the Levites (Neh 13:4-5,7). To compound things, Tobiah was an “Ammonite” (Neh 2:10) – a people who were “forever” barred from coming “into the congregation of God” (Deut 23:3; Neh 13:1). Nehemiah also found that the portions allotted to the priests had not been given to them (Neh 13:10), and the house of God had been forsaken (Neh 13:11). All manner of work was being done on the Sabbath day, from the treading of grapes to reaping the fields. There was also buying and selling happening on the Sabbath , with heathen merchants coming into Jerusalem (Neh 13:15-22). The Jews had also married wives from Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab, and their children could no longer speak “the Jews’ language.” One of the high priests sons had even married the daughter of Sanballot, another enemy of Nehemiah(Neh 13:23-28). Nehemiah assessed that the people had “defiled the priesthood, and the covenant of the priesthood, and the Levites” (Neh 13:29). Nehemiah’s book ends with the chronicling of these events. It is at this point that Malachi takes up the cause. The indictments that he delivered addressed a situation that had risen in the comparatively brief period of time during which Nehemiah had returned to Shushan. Malachi will deliver a scathing rebuke to Israel, mingling it with the promise of One who will heal men of their despicable backsliding. In his prophecy, he will confirm how sin affects the God of heaven, and why men must resolve to take hold of the salvation that delivers them from its guilt and power.
“THE BURDEN”
Malachi 1:1a “The burden . . .” Other versions read, “the oracle,” NASB “an oracle,” NIV “The word,” BBE “a prophecy,” CJB “a divine revelation,” GWN “a message,” NJB “a pronouncement,” TNK “the Lord’s message,” LIVING and “THE BURDEN or oracle (the thing to be lifted up).” AMPLIFIED
THE BURDEN. The meaning of the words translated “burden” is, “load, burden . . . bearing, carrying . . . utterance, oracle.” HEBREW LEXICON The idea is that of a weighty message, in most cases dealing with some kind of judgment or an unfavorable Divine assessment.
“Jerome observes on Hab 1:1: “Massa [the word translated ‘burden’] never occurs in the title, except when it is evidently grave and full of weight and labor.” There are Divine words that glow with the glory of promise. However, there are also words sent from God that are wrapped in the black clouds of judgment. It is still true that His Spirit “shall not always strive with man” (Gen 6:3). God’s longsuffering is not without end, even though it patiently waits, for God “is not willing that any should perish” (2 Pet 3:9), and has “no pleasure in the death of the wicked” (Ezek 33:11).
THE NATURE OF GOD. God’s absolute intolerance of iniquity is confirmed throughout Scripture, even though it is preceded by forbearance. The record of Cain (Gen 4:13), the world of Noah’s day (Gen 6:13), Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen 18:20; 19:24), the Ammonites and Moabites(Deut 23:3), the Amelakites (Deut 25:19), and others are all confirmations that “it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Heb 10:31). Confirming that God has not changed, Paul solemnly warned the Corinthians, “Do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? are we stronger than He?” (1 Cor 10:22). While it may not be directly affirmed, the preaching and teaching of some have left the people with the impression that what Jesus did has changed God Himself, so that He is now more tolerant of sin and transgression. However, nothing could be further from the truth, for God has said, “I am the Lord, I change not” (Mal 3:6).
In this text, the “burden” pertains to Israel, as well as one of the burdens delivered to Zechariah (Zech 12:1). The word Malachi will deliver is weighty – weighty to both Malachi who spoke it, and to the people who heard it. The entirety of the book is not a burden, for it is mingled with marvelous promises concerning the coming Messiah (3:1; 4:2). However, much of the book is a severe indictment for the unreasonable backsliding of Israel, and their disregard of the God who had delivered them from Egypt, as well as from Babylon.
OTHER BURDENS. However, Israel was not the only people to whom words of judgment were delivered. There were numerous burdens that were sent to other cities and nations. These included Babylon – judgment (Isa 13:1-6), Moab – judgment (Isa 15:1-3), Damascus – judgment (Isa 17:1); Egypt – judgment(Isa 19:1-3), Duma (Edom) – judgment (Isa 21:11-17), Tyre – judgment (Isa 23:1). Nineveh – judgment (Nah 1:1-14), and the land of Hadrach – judgment (Zech 9:1-8). As the “Governor among the nations,” God does not overlook the spread of iniquity – even among those who do not know Him, and toward whom He has launched no particular initiative. In this we are being exposed to the nature of God. Sin is abrasive to Him, and He will not maintain a posture of indifference when it continues to spread.
A BURDEN TO THE MESSENGER. Although the message is delivered to a certain people, the prophet who bears it carries the burden of it. This is not a burden of guilt, but of concern. The person who walks with God is not vindictive, and would prefer that the people receive mercy from the Lord. However, when, like Israel, they become obstinate, the prophet must tell them how God views their situation – and that becomes a burden. When Jeremiah had to deliver his burden, his soul wept, and his eyes ran down with tears (Jer 9:1; 13:17; 14:17). When Paul thought of Israel and of the word that had to be delivered to them, he experienced “great heaviness and continual sorrow in” his heart (Rom 9:2). Paul comforted Timothy, telling him he was “mindful of” his “tears” (2 Tim 1:4). There are burdens related to speaking God’s message.
Our text, therefore, is a burden that is carried by the prophet delivering it, and is not easy to be borne. This would be similar to John eating the “little book” held by an angel, and it making his “belly bitter,” even though it was “sweet as honey in his mouth” (Rev 10:9). Ezekiel had a similar experience, being commanded to “eat” a scroll, then “cause” his belly to it also, until it filled his “bowels.” The prophet also found it in his mouth “as honey for sweetness.” Yet, when he went to deliver it, he went “in bitterness” because of the hardness of the people to whom the message was sent (Ezek 3:1-14). Only a strong faith can sustain a man with a message like this.
The word was “sweet” because it came from God, and every word of God is good. However, the implications of it caused bitterness, because it involved the judgment of God against obstinate sinners. It is the implications of Malachi’s message that caused it to be a burden. That burden was a kind of fellowship with God, in which the prophet participated in the impact of the transgression of God’s people upon God Himself. It is similar to Hosea’s experience, when the Lord told him to take a harlot for a wife. In so doing, he would obtain some first-hand knowledge of the impact of Israel’s unfaithfulness upon the Lord Himself (Hos 1:2; 2:2; 4:12). God’s true messengers are sensitive souls, with even daily “care” for the people of God. Paul said such “care of the churches” came upon him every day (2 Cor 11:28).
THE WORD OF THE LORD TO ISRAEL
1:1b “ . . . of the word of the LORD to Israel ” Other versions read, “the word of Jehovah to Israel,” ASV “the Lord spoke His word to Israel,” GWN “the message that the Lord gave to Israel,” NLT and “a word of Jehovah to Israel.” YLT
THE WORD OF THE LORD. The Word of the Lord is the expression of His mind in human speech. Of old, certain men were identified as those to whom the word of the Lord “came.” Some of them included Samuel (1 Sam 15:10), Solomon (1 Kgs 6:11), Jehu (1 Kgs 16:1), Elijah (1 Kgs 18:1), Isaiah (2 Kgs 20:4), David (1 Chron 22:8), Shemiah (2 Chron 11:2), Nathan (2 Chron 17:3), Jeremiah (Jer 33:23), and Ezekiel (Ezek 12:17).
THE SCRIPTURES. Speaking of the Scriptures themselves, we are reminded they are from God. “Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost” (2 Pet 1:20-21). That is, Scripture is not the result of God speaking to someone, and then the recipient analyzed that word and wrote what he thought it meant. No Scripture (and Malachi is Scripture) is a human commentary on what God said. All Scripture is “given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness” (2 Tim 3:16). This is precisely why it is said of God’s Word, “For the Word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart” (Heb 4:12).
The word “Scripture” is rarely mentioned from Genesis through Malachi (Dan 10:21; KJV/NKJV Dan 9:2, NIV). However, there are twenty-four references to “Scripture” or “Scriptures” in the Gospels, seven in the book of Acts, and twenty-one in the Epistles. No inspired man every cast a shadow of doubt upon the Scriptures – God’s written Word. No one suggested they were not accurate, or that they had been altered with time. In fact, God has tied His name with the Scriptures. In John 10:35, Jesus Himself equated the Word of God with Scripture: “Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods? If He called them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken . . . ” (John 10:34-35). Notice, the words “your Law,” “the Word of God,” and “the Scriptures” all apply to the same thing.
Paul commended the Thessalonians for their reception of the Word as “the Word of God,” and not the word of mere men: “For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe” (1 Thess 2:13). There is no measurable difference between God’s Word in writing, God’s Word by the voice of men He moved to speak it, or God Himself speaking directly from heaven.
GOD SPOKE THROUGH THE PROPHETS. It is necessary to ponder this, because Israel had no difficulty assessing God’s voice at Sinai (Ex 20:19), yet consistently rejected the words of His prophets (Acts 7:52). They did not recognize God was speaking to them through their prophets (Hos 6:5; 12:10). In fact, in speaking of the prophets God said, “Since the day that your fathers came forth out of the land of Egypt unto this day I have even sent unto you all My servants the prophets, daily rising up early and sending them: Yet they hearkened not unto Me, nor inclined their ear, but hardened their neck: they did worse than their fathers” (Jer 7:25-26).
DIVINE ASSESSMENTS. God has revealed Himself as One who judges, or assesses His people: “For the Lord shall judge His people” (Deut 32:36; Psa 135:14; Heb 10:30). Peter affirms that this is where judgment begins – “For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?” (1 Pet 4:17). When the Lord assesses His people, He does not gloss their sin, but rather shines the light upon it, lest His wrath break forth upon them. To confirm this is still the Divine manner, Jesus spoke through John, delivering a precise message to seven specific churches, giving them His assessment of their condition (Rev 2:1-3:22). Lest any of His people be led to believe Divine assessment is confined to the people to whom it is delivered, there was a final word to each of the seven churches: “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches” (Rev 2:7,11,17,29; 3:6,13,22).
One of the marks of a great falling away is the loss of an awareness that God Himself is speaking through the Scriptures. Without faith, the Scriptures are not perceived as a personal message from Almighty God, designed to enable the man of God to be “perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works” (2 Tim 3:17). God’s Word is the appointed means of growth (1 Pet 2:2), and is the light through which He searches and discerns the thoughts and intents of the heart (Heb 4:12). Therefore, the “word of the Lord to Israel” is most critical. Through it, God will identify their true condition, to which, at the time, they were blind and obtuse. The Lord who chose them will tell them things about themselves they cannot imagine are true. That is because they had drifted from their favored position, and allowed the neglect of things centering in the worship of, and service to, the Living God.
BY MALACHI
1:1c “ . . . by Malachi.” This is the only time in all of Scripture that this name is mentioned. This is a transliteration of the Hebrew word, which means “My messenger,” STRONG’S or “messenger of Jehovah.” FAUSSET Some are of the opinion this is the name of an office rather than of a person. I understand it to refer to a man. He is one of the key individuals who directed God’s people during the time when Jerusalem was restored. This took place after the Babylonian captivity. Other leaders included Ezra the scribe and priest, who led the expedition back to Jerusalem (Ezra 7:11); Zerubbabel, the governor of Judah, who headed up the building of the Temple (Ezra 5:2; Hag 2:21); Joshua the high priest (Hag 1:1; 3:1); Haggai and Zechariah, who prophesied to the Jews in Judah and Jerusalem at that time, and encouraged the builders (Ezra 5:1; 6:14); and Nehemiah, who had charge of rebuilding the wall, and restoring the Temple service (Neh 2:17; 7:1; 12:47). Notice the type of people that were chosen by God to rebuild and restore. One man was high priest (Joshua). One was a priest and a scribe (Ezra). One was the head of the tribe of Judah (Zerubbabel). Three prophets were used by God (Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi).
Malachi is the last inspired writer prior to Paul. Paul is said to have written the earliest New Covenant Scripture – the epistle to the Thessalonians, estimated to have been written somewhere between 49 A.D. and 52. A.D. Malachi is estimated to have been written around B.C. 430-420. For nearly five hundred years following Malachi there was no word of Scripture written. What was preached was buttressed by Moses, the Psalms, and the Prophets – the last of which was Malachi. Further, when he wrote, Israel was in a state of deterioration, even though that period began with the rebuilding of the Temple, the repair of the wall around Jerusalem, and the reinstitution of the Temple priesthood and service. All of these men were productive in the work of the Lord.
We know from the content of his book, and the spiritual deterioration recorded by Nehemiah, that Malachi prophesied during difficult times. A wave of indifference and ignorance had swept the people away from their moorings, and Malachi is sent by God to deliver a scathing rebuke to them. He also heralds a coming day when there would be a healing of their backsliding (Jer 3:22; Hos 14:4), and a new era would be inducted (Mal 3:1; 4:6). The last words of Malachi’s “burden” are arresting, and speak of a Divine initiative that would be effectively corrective in nature. “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD: 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” (Mal 4:5-6).
REFERENCES TO MALACHI’S PROPHECY. The validity of this book is confirmed in the references made by both Jesus and Paul. These references are pivotal in nature, being very weighty. In them we see that God ignited the fire of hope in those who believed.
✒ MALACHI – On the subject of election: “I have loved you, saith the LORD. Yet ye say, Wherein hastThou loved us? Was not Esau Jacob's brother? saith the LORD: yet I loved Jacob, and I hated Esau, and laid his mountains and his heritage waste for the dragons of the wilderness” (Mal 1:2-3). PAUL: “(For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth;) It was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger. As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated” (Rom 9:12-13).
✒ MALACHI – Prophecies of John the Baptist and Jesus: “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” (Mal 3:1). ZECHARIAS: “And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest: for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways” (Luke 1:76). JESUS: “For this is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee” (Mat 11:10). PAUL: “He is the mediator of a better covenant . . .” (Heb 8:6).
✒ MALACHI – Prophecy of the sending of Elijah: “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD: 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” (Mal 4:6). JESUS: “And Jesus answered and said unto them, Elias truly shall first come, and restore all things” (Mat 17:11).
There is a principle declared by Jesus that applies to the book of Malachi. It is this, that those who reject the words spoken by the messenger of God, have rejected God Himself. “He that heareth you heareth Me; and he that despiseth you despiseth Me; and he that despiseth Me despiseth Him that sent Me” (Luke 10:16). So it is with Malachi. He was sent by God to the people, and their response to him will signify their reaction to God Himself. Malachi is one of the prophets through whom God “hewed” the people, slaying them by the words of His mouth and shedding light on their ways. As the Lord said through Hosea, “Therefore have I hewed them by the prophets; I have slain them by the words of My mouth: and Thy judgments are as the light that goeth forth” (Hosea 6:5). We may expect the words of Malachi to be strong, and to the point. They will give us an index concerning Divine manners, as well as those of men.