The Tav Blog

Malachi means messenger or angel.  Nothing is known about him aside from the Book of Malachi.  He likes to use questions to illustrate his points.

Main Idea(s)

The Jews fell into many sins after the Temple was rebuilt, post-exile.  They cheated God in many ways.  They cheated their wives.  Malachi warned against ignoring God’s Law, and ignoring the heart of following God.  Some of this was implicitly a warning against being Sadducees or Pharisees.  The book closes with the repentance of some, and a warning to be ready for the Messiah!

Target: Judah

Time Period

• Perhaps a contemporary of Nehemiah and Esther
• Perhaps near the middle of the Medo-Persian Empire

Outline

1. THE LORD’S CHARGES AGAINST ISRAEL, THEIR REPLIES, AND HIS THREATENED JUDGMENTS (1:1–3:15)
2. Ingratitude (1:1-5)
3. Sacrilege by the Priests (1:6-14)
4. Condemnation of the Priests (2:1-9)
5. Divorce and Mixed Marriages (2:10-16)
6. Denial of God’s Holiness and Justice (2:17)
7. Parenthesis: Messiah’s Coming in Judgment (3:1-6)
8. The Backsliding of the People (3:7)
9. Robbing God of Tithes and Offerings (3:8-12)
10. False Charges Against God (3:13-15)
11. THE BLESSING OF THE REMNANT AND THE JUDGMENT OF THE WICKED (3:16–4:6)
12. The Restoration of the Faithful Remnant (3:16-18)
13. The Judgment of the Wicked (4:1)
14. The Coming of the Messiah to the Remnant (4:2, 3)
15. Closing Exhortation to Obedience, with Promise of the Coming of Elijah the Prophet (4:4-6)

Famous verses and fragments

3:1-3, 3:6-8, 3:10-11, 4:5-6

Questions

1. How would you feel if someone you have cared for and deeply aided questioned that?
2. Note on Edom conquered by the Nabateans
3. What sins did the priests commit against God?
4. How does Malachi demonstrate the principle that we have to bring God our best?
5. Is it better to bring a deficient sacrifice or no sacrifice? What does this imply for our worship?
6. Does God condemn worshipper, priest, or both?
7. How does God being King over the Nations fit into His complaint against the Jews?
8. What will God do to disobedient priests? (2:1-3)
9. What four things should characterize a priest? (2:5-7) Does this compare to any office in the New Covenant?  Did the Jews do this? (2:8-9)
10. What sin does he address in 2:10-16? Has this been mentioned in any other book of the same era?
11. What principles of marriage are mentioned here?
12. What kind of attitude is described in 2:17?
13. What is the job of the Messenger that God will send?
14. What sins does he warn Judah of in 3:5? Any theories on why these sins?
15. What does 3:6 mean?
16. What does 3:7 tell us about the Old Covenant?
17. What does 3:8-12 deal with?
18. What attitude does God criticize in 3:13-15?
19. What is the response of those who feared God in 3:16? And God in 3:17-4:3? Who is this Sun of Righteousness?
20. What is the meaning of the final message? (4:4-6)