by Steve Klein<\/p>\n
Malachi lived and prophesied in Judah and Jerusalem, approximately a hundred years after the first group of Jewish captives returned to their homeland from the Babylonian captivity. In point of time, this corresponds roughly with the events of the book of Nehemiah and the latter part of Ezra (circa 440 B.C.).<\/p>\n
God’s hand had blessed the Jewish people greatly during their first century out of captivity. The temple had been rebuilt and the offering of sacrifices had resumed (Malachi 1:7, 10). Their old adversaries, the Edomites, had seen their strongholds laid waste (Malachi 1:2-4) just as Obadiah had prophesied. Under Nehemiah’s leadership, the walls of Jerusalem had been rebuilt, making the city a relatively safe haven for God’s people once again.<\/p>\n
These blessed times had resulted in heartbreaking but predictable complacency, carelessness, and hypocrisy on the part of the Jews. They sacrificed, but did not offer their best. They worshiped, but considered it weariness (1:13). Some were even beginning to call into question the justice of God (Malachi 2:17; 3:13-15).<\/p>\n
Into this spiritual morass, Malachi bears his prophetic burden from the Lord. The name Malachi means “my messenger.” Twenty-four times in this short book of prophecy, Malachi uses the phrase “says the Lord” as an affirmation that his words come directly from God. Malachi’s name suits him well, as he was indeed God’s messenger-a spokesman for God and a prophet in the truest sense.<\/p>\n
Interestingly, Malachi foretells of another person whom God would call “my messenger<\/em>” who would “prepare the way<\/em>” before the coming Messiah (Malachi 3:1). This person would be like Elijah and “turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers<\/em>” (Malachi 4:5-6). Four hundred years later, when the angel Gabriel announced the birth of John to Zacharias, he said that John would “turn many of the children Israel to the Lord their God<\/em>” and that “He will also go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the ears of the fathers to the children… to make ready a people prepared for the Lord<\/em>” (Luke 1:16-17). So it is that the last great prophet of the Old Testament foretold the coming of the prophet whose work would usher in the New Testament age.<\/p>\n Malachi’s message highlights the significant disparity between how the people perceived themselves and how God viewed them. Nearly every time the Lord declares truth or charges the people with wrong in the book of Malachi, the people ask Him to explain “in what way” His statements were true. As if to say, “What are you talking about?” “That’s not true of us!” Note six such exchanges between the Lord and His people in Malachi:<\/p>\n The biggest blind spot of all is the one that all men have when they look at themselves. Through His messenger Malachi, the Lord demonstrates with painful clarity “in what way<\/em>” His accusations against the people were true. And because the nature of man has not fundamentally changed since the days of Malachi, the Lord’s accusations against His people stand true in principle still today, and our perception of our own faults remains just as dim.<\/p>\n It is quite likely that we are not as good as we think we are. The service to the Lord that we perform as a routine, as if checking off a to-do list, does not show reverence, but irreverence. Reserving the best of our possessions, our energies, and our time for ourselves and giving God what is left over is offensive to Him; we are not giving to Him, we are robbing Him! Here’s the way the Lord put it through His messenger Malachi: “When you offer the blind as a sacrifice, Is it not evil? And when you offer the lame and sick, Is it not evil? Offer it then to your governor! Would he be pleased with you?<\/em>” (Malachi 1:8). “You also say, ‘Oh, what a weariness!’<\/em>” (Malachi 1:13). “You are cursed with a curse, for you have robbed Me, even this whole nation<\/em>” (Malachi 3:8-9).<\/p>\n Check your blind spot.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" by Steve Klein Malachi lived and prophesied in Judah and Jerusalem, approximately a hundred years after the first group of Jewish captives returned to their homeland from the Babylonian captivity. In point of time, this corresponds roughly with the events of the book of Nehemiah and the latter part of Ezra (circa 440 B.C.). God’s…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[351,1214,1276],"class_list":["post-89808","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-expectation","tag-malachi","tag-spiritual-blindness"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":94882,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/malachi-pointing-men-to-christ\/","url_meta":{"origin":89808,"position":0},"title":"Malachi – Pointing Men to Christ","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 1, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"by Keith Greer Malachi contains four chapters and 55 verses. It is the 39th and final book of the Old Testament and the last Minor Prophet. Some have called it \"a bridge between the Old and New covenants.\" The name Malachi means \"messenger of Jehovah.\" The book says nothing about\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":36714,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/jerusalems-fall\/","url_meta":{"origin":89808,"position":1},"title":"Jerusalem’s Fall","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 16, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"by Terry Wane Benton Though Jerusalem had been destroyed during the Babylonian period (536 BC) as predicted by Jeremiah, it was also predicted that the Lord of hosts would be riding on the clouds to bring about that fall, and later the fall of Babylon, which was used to bring\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":32630,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/freedom-in-christ-a-biblical-look-at-tithing\/","url_meta":{"origin":89808,"position":2},"title":"Freedom in Christ: A Biblical Look at Tithing","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 26, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"by Ajayi Samuel Ojeva \"It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of bondage\" (Galatians 5:1). Men cherish freedom in every way. However, man is often led from freedom to bondage unaware. Men have been under\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3274,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/restoring-gods-religion\/","url_meta":{"origin":89808,"position":3},"title":"Restoring God’s Religion","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 14, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Text: II Kings 18:1-6 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Without a doubt our society has slipped in its desire to follow God \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Sin and the acceptance of sinful practice has become prevalent. We have convinced ourselves as a society to be proud of our tolerance of sin. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Churches are losing members. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a01.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0In their panic,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":54593,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-is-malachi-316-18-saying\/","url_meta":{"origin":89808,"position":4},"title":"What is Malachi 3:16-18 saying?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 14, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hey Jeffrey, Can you please help me understand what's going on in Malachi 3:16-18? Is this text saying God is pleased with those who think about Him and meditate about Him? Is it saying He rewards those who do so and fear Him? Answer: \"Then those who feared the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":45859,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-cleansing-of-the-temple\/","url_meta":{"origin":89808,"position":5},"title":"The Cleansing of the Temple","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 6, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: John 2:13-25 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Under Jewish law, all males were required to travel to Jerusalem three times a year for special feasts - Deuteronomy 16:16-17 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Sacrifices had to be made and offerings given, but it wasn\u2019t always practical to ship animals or food all the way\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89808","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=89808"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89808\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=89808"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=89808"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=89808"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n