Malachi is the last writing prophet of the Old Testament,
whose name means My Messenger.
The oracle of the word of the Lord to Israel by Malachi.
Behold, I send My messenger,
and he will prepare the way before Me.
And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to His temple.
I have loved you,
says the Lord.
But you say,
How have You loved us?
He stands at the end of the prophets with a question-book and a promise of Elijah before the great and awesome day.
The people are home from exile. The temple stands again. The first heat of return has cooled into a shrug. Priests offer blind animals. Men divorce the wives of their youth. Tithes stay in the bag. They call the arrogant blessed. They say, What is the profit of keeping His charge? Malachi answers with the Lord’s own How-questions, turning their complaints back on them. Jacob I loved, Esau I hated—election as the proof of love they could not see. A son honors a father; where is My honor? Judah has profaned the sanctuary. I hate divorce, says the Lord, the God of Israel. Bring the full tithe. Put Me to the test. A book of remembrance is written for those who fear the Lord and esteem His name. They shall be Mine, says the Lord of hosts, in the day when I make up My treasured possession. Then the Messenger passage: John will wear it in the wilderness. The Lord will come to His temple. Who can endure the day of His coming? He is like a refiner’s fire. Elijah comes before the Day. Jesus will say Elijah has come, and they did to him what they pleased—and that Elijah is still in the hope of the end. Malachi does not close the Book with a shrug. He closes it with a warning and a rising sun.
- My Messenger is both the prophet’s name and the one he announces.
- How have You loved us is the tired heart of a people who still have a temple.
- Refiner’s fire is good news for silver, terror for dross.
- Treasured possession reaches back to Sinai and forward to those who fear His name.
- Elijah before the Day keeps the last page from feeling like an empty parking lot.
- I have loved you is the first word. The charges come after love, not instead of it.
- Suddenly to His temple is not a tourist visit. Who can stand?
- My Messenger – The man; the forerunner; the Lord Himself arriving.
- I Have Loved You – Jacob and Esau; love argued from election.
- Polluted Offerings – Priests; blemished animals; wearying God.
- Faithless Marriage – Wife of your youth; I hate divorce.
- The Tithe – Storehouse; windows of heaven; devourer rebuked.
- Book of Remembrance – Those who fear the Lord; My treasured possession.
- Sun of Righteousness – Healing in its wings; Elijah; the great Day.
- Malachi 1:1-2 – “The oracle of the word of the Lord to Israel by Malachi. ‘I have loved you,’ says the Lord. But you say, ‘How have you loved us?’”
- Malachi 1:6, 8 – “A son honors his father, and a servant his master. If then I am a father, where is my honor?”… “When you offer blind animals in sacrifice, is that not evil?”
- Malachi 2:14-16 – The Lord was witness between you and the wife of your youth… “For the man who does not love his wife but divorces her, says the Lord, the God of Israel, covers his garment with violence.”
- Malachi 3:1-2 – “Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts. But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner’s fire.”
- Malachi 3:8-10 – “Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me… Bring the full tithe into the storehouse… And thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you.”
- Malachi 3:16-17 – Those who feared the Lord spoke with one another. The Lord paid attention and heard them, and a book of remembrance was written… “They shall be mine, says the Lord of hosts, in the day when I make up my treasured possession.”
- Malachi 4:1-2, 5-6 – “For behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven… But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings.”… “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers.”
- Matthew 11:10-14 – “This is he of whom it is written, ‘Behold, I send my messenger before your face.’… If you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come.”
- Mark 1:2-3 – As it is written in Isaiah the prophet, “Behold, I send my messenger before your face.”
- Luke 1:16-17 – He will go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children.
- Matthew 17:11-13 – Elijah does come, and he will restore all things… Then the disciples understood that He was speaking to them of John the Baptist.
- Exodus 19:5 – You shall be My treasured possession among all peoples.
I have loved you, says the Lord. How have You loved us?
Behold, I send My messenger, and he will prepare the way before Me. The Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to His temple. Who can endure the day of His coming?
Bring the full tithe. Put Me to the test.
They shall be Mine, says the Lord of hosts, in the day when I make up My treasured possession.
The sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings. I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day.
Do not shrug in a rebuilt house. Honor the Father. Keep the wife of your youth. Fear His name. The Messenger has come. The Lord came to His temple. The Day is still ahead. Turn hearts. The sun is rising for those who fear His name.
Entry compiled for the JESUSaves.com Bible Glossary. Optimized for wiki.js Visual Editor.