Malachi His names means “My messenger”.

Malachi.

It is in the restoration period In 444 BC Nehemiah returns, he led the 3rd expedition to rebuild the walls in Jerusalem. After this Malachi comes sometime (He may be around 397 BC) and prophesies. The prophecy of 70 weeks helps us understand this. The 69 weeks are divided into 7 and 62 weeks. The 49 years which begins with the coming of Nehemiah (445 BC) brings us to 397 BC when subtracted. The 7 weeks may be marked out by God as a period of time that would conclude Old Testament revelation

The Book of Malachi is an oracle: The word of the Lord to Israel through Malachi (1:1). This was God’s warning through Malachi to tell the people to turn back to God.

There are three major divisions in this book:-

• God’s love for Israel affirmed 1:1–5.
• Israel’s unfaithfulness rebuked 1:6 – 2:16.

1. The unfaithful priests 1:6 – 2:9.
2. The unfaithful people 2:10–16.

• The Lord’s coming announced 2:17 – 4:6.

1. The Lord will purify the priests and judge the people 2:17–3:5.
2. A call to repentance 3:6–18.
3. The day of the Lord announced 4:1–6.

• Mixed Marriages (2:10-12). This section shows that God did not accept their offerings because they were marrying foreign women. God was their father and the nation had a special unity which was being corrupted. It was a direct violation of the covenant to marry foreigners, but they were doing it. One reason for the command not to marry foreigners would be to avoid introducing the worship of foreign gods into Israel. Solomon’s wives did that. Jezebel is another classic example. Verse 11 even describes the women as “daughters of a foreign god, so undoubtedly this is in view. The main reason this was forbidden was because God had chosen Abraham and his offspring as the means of saving the world. In the Abrahamic covenant God said the nations would be blessed through the seed of Abraham. If everyone intermarried, there would be no distinct ethnic race left though whom God could fulfill his promise.

• Robbing God (3:8-12) One of the ways they were not keeping God’s statutes was by withholding their tithes and offerings. It says they were robbing God. This means that not giving is stealing! God says, If they would be generous in their giving, He would open the floodgates of heaven and blessing would overflow. He would provide all their needs and more. But they were not doing that. The natural thing to do is spend all our money on ourselves and not leave any for God. When we do that there never seems to be enough. Why is that? Because when we stop giving to God, it shows our priorities are wrong and we are trying to find happiness in things. Things never satisfy, but we spend all our money on them and even go in debt searching for happiness. 3:11 mentions a devourer. What is that? In that culture it was any pest that came along and ate the plants they were growing. In our day we might relate it to car problems, air conditioners and water heaters that go out, doctor bills, etc. God allows things to come along and use up our money to force us to return to Him. If our priorities are right and we are seeking happiness in God, then we give to Him faithfully and gratefully, and we find satisfaction in life through relationship with Him. He provides our needs and it is enough.
• The Day of the Lord (4:1-6) This Day of the Lord is the same day spoken of in Zephaniah 1:14 and Joel 2:31. Although it finds its partial fulfillment in every judgment of God on evil, the primary fulfillment will occur at the second coming of Christ. Malachi emphasises that God is concerned with both attitudes (the arrogant) and actions (the evildoers) and the judgment on both will be complete because “it will leave neither root nor branch.” The condemnation of the arrogant in 4:1 is directly aimed at the arrogant in 3:13. They were complaining that the evildoers were not getting their due, and God warns them that not only will the evildoers get it, so will they with their bad attitudes. The last three verses summarize Malachi’s message. Verse 4 exhorts the people to follow the law of Moses. If they had been, they would have been tithing, not intermarrying, not getting divorced, etc. Verses 5-6 give a promise for the future. Verse 5 promises that God would send Elijah the prophet to announce the arrival of Day of the Lord. Verse 6 says that his ministry will be to restore the hearts of the fathers (probably a reference to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob) to the children (Israelites living when Elijah comes). If the children don’t respond, God would smite the land with a curse. This prophecy was partially fulfilled by John the Baptist who came to announce the Day of the Lord was at hand and to call the people to repentance. But the nation rejected Jesus and Jerusalem was destroyed in 70 AD.