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Introduction
to Malachi
This summary of the book of Malachi provides information about the
title
author(s)
date of writing
chronology
theme
theology
outline
a
brief overview
and the chapters of the Book of Malachi.
The book is ascribed to Malachi
whose name means "my
messenger." Since the term occurs in 3:1
and since both prophets and priests were called messengers of the Lord (see 2:7;
Hag 1:13)
some have thought "Malachi"
to be only a title that tradition has given the author. The view has been
supported by appeal to the pre-Christian Greek translation of the OT (the
Septuagint)
which translates the term in 1:1
"his messenger" rather than as a proper noun. The matter
however
remains uncertain
and it is still very likely that Malachi was in fact the
author's name.
Spurred on by the prophetic activity of Haggai and Zechariah
the
returned exiles under the leadership of their governor Zerubbabel finished the
temple in 516 b.c. In 458 the community was strengthened by the coming of the
priest Ezra and several thousand more Jews. Artaxerxes king of Persia encouraged
Ezra to reconstitute the temple worship (Ezr
7:17) and to make sure the law of Moses was being obeyed (Ezr 7:25-26).
Fourteen years later (444) the same Persian king permitted his
cupbearer Nehemiah to return to Jerusalem and rebuild its walls (Ne 6:15). As newly appointed governor
Nehemiah
also spearheaded reforms to help the poor (Ne 5:2-13)
and he convinced the people to shun
mixed marriages (Ne 10:30)
to keep the Sabbath (Ne 10: 31) and to bring their tithes and
offerings faithfully (Ne 10:37-39).
In 433 b.c. Nehemiah returned to the service of the Persian king
and during his absence the Jews fell into sin once more. Later
however
Nehemiah came back to Jerusalem to discover that the tithes were ignored
the
Sabbath was broken
the people had intermarried with foreigners
and the
priests had become corrupt (Ne 13:7-31). Several of these same sins are
condemned by Malachi (see 1:6-14; 2:14-16; 3:8-11).
The similarity between the sins denounced in Nehemiah and those
denounced in Malachi suggests that the two leaders were contemporaries. Malachi
may have been written after Nehemiah returned to Persia in 433 b.c. or during
his second period as governor. Since the governor mentioned in 1:8
(see note there) probably was not Nehemiah
the first alternative may be more
likely. Malachi was most likely the last prophet of the OT era (though some
place Joel later).
The theological message of the book can be summed up in one
sentence: The Great King (1:14) will come not only to judge his people (3:1-5; 4:1)
but also to bless and restore them (3:6-12; 4:2).
Although the Jews had been allowed to return from exile and
rebuild the temple
several discouraging factors brought about a general
religious malaise: (1) Their land remained but a small province in the
backwaters of the Persian empire
(2) the glorious future announced by the
prophets (including the other postexilic prophets
Haggai and Zechariah) had
not (yet) been realized
and (3) their God had not (yet) come to his temple (3:1)
with majesty and power (as celebrated in Ps
68) to exalt his kingdom in the sight of the nations. Doubting God's
covenant love (1:2) and no longer trusting his justice (2:17; 3:14-15)
the Jews of the restored community
began to lose hope. So their worship degenerated into a listless perpetuation
of mere forms
and they no longer took the law seriously.
Malachi rebukes their doubt of God's love (1:2-5) and the faithlessness of both priests (1:6
-- 2:9) and people (2:10-16). To their charge that God is unjust (2:17) because he has failed to come in judgment to exalt his
people
Malachi answers with an announcement and a warning. The Lord they seek
will come -- but he will come "like a refiner's fire" (3:1-4). He will come to judge -- but he will
judge his people first (3:5).
Because the Lord does not change in his commitments and purpose
Israel has not been completely destroyed for her persistent unfaithfulness (3:6).
But only through repentance and reformation will she again experience God's
blessing (3:6-12). Those who honor the Lord will be spared
when he comes to judge (3:16-18).
In conclusion
Malachi once more reassures and warns his readers
that "the day [�that great and dreadful
day of the Lord
' 4:5] is coming" and that "it will burn
like a furnace" (4:1). In that day the righteous will rejoice
and "you will trample down the wicked" (4:2-3). So "remember the law of my servant
Moses" (4:4). To prepare his people for that day the
Lord will send "the prophet Elijah" to call them back to the godly
ways of their forefathers (4:5-6).
Malachi is called an "oracle" (1:1)
and is written in what might be called lofty prose. The text features a series
of questions asked by both God and the people. Frequently the Lord's statements
are followed by sarcastic questions introduced by "(But) you ask" (1:2
6-7; 2:14
17; 3:7-8
13; cf. 1:13). In each case the Lord's response is given.
Repetition is a key element in the book. The name "Lord
Almighty" occurs 20 times (see note on 1Sa 1:3). The book begins with a description of the wasteland
of Edom (1:3-4) and ends with a warning of Israel's
destruction (4:6).
Several vivid figures are employed within the book of Malachi. The
priests sniff contemptuously at the altar of the Lord (1:13)
and the Lord spreads on their faces the offal from
their sacrifices (see 2:3 and note). As Judge
"he will be like a
refiner's fire or a launderer's soap" (3:2)
but for the righteous "the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in
its wings. And you will go out and leap like calves released from the
stall" (4:2).
I.
Title (1:1)
A.
The Unfaithfulness of the Priests (1:6;2:9)
B.
The Unfaithfulness of the People (2:10-16)
IV.
The Lord's Coming Announced (2:17;4:6)
──《New
International Version》
Introduction to Malachi
Malachi was the last of the prophets
and is
supposed to have prophesied B.C. 420. He reproves the priests and the people
for the evil practices into which they had fallen
and invites them to
repentance and reformation
with promises of the blessings to be bestowed at
the coming of the Messiah. And now that prophecy was to cease
he speaks
clearly of the Messiah
as nigh at hand
and directs the people of God to keep
in rememberance the law of Moses
while they were in expectation of the gospel
of Christ.
── Matthew Henry《Concise Commentary on Malachi》
00 Overview
MALACHI
INTRODUCTION
I. First of all
we are to look at the world in which this prophet’s lot was cast
the character
of his contemporaries
the souls with which he had to deal. Let us suppose that
more than ninety years
an entire century almost
have passed away since Haggai
and Zechariah began to preach in Jerusalem to the captives who had returned
from Babylon. Artaxerxes Longimanus sits now on the throne of Persia
and is
the sovereign lord to whom the Hebrews in Judea pay allegiance and tribute. It
is
we shall say
the year 425 b.c.
for if that be not the exact date it
cannot be very far removed from it. The second Temple has been finished long
since. It was not in vain that Zechariah encouraged the restored exiles by
visions and predictions to be up and doing. Haggai’s declarations that there
was an intimate union between liberal giving to the Lord and external
prosperity were uttered to good purpose. At the call of God’s ambassadors the people
roused themselves from their unworthy and selfish lethargy. They built the
sacred walls and courts and pinnacles with zeal and enthusiasm; before long the
hill of Zion was crowned again with the sanctuary of Jehovah. There succeeded a
brief season of spiritual life and earnestness and joy. The priests offered
sacrifice anew
and made intercession for the citizens within the Holy House.
But this genial summer was short-lived. The generation to which Haggai and
Zechariah spoke with such effect
died out ere long; and their successors did
not manifest their zealous devotion. They were remiss and negligent. The city
which their fathers had begun to rebuild they left incomplete and half-ruinous;
they took little delight in the Temple which their fathers had raised. They
withheld from God those tithes and offerings which pertained to Him; and when
they did bring animals for sacrifice on His altar
they were often the very
poorest of the flock--sheep and lambs which they would have been utterly
ashamed to present to their Persian governor. Their priests were men like
themselves. They cared not how slovenly the Temple service might be. They came
far short of realising the responsibilities of their office. They inflicted
daily dishonour on the God whose servants they called themselves. Both priests
and people intermarried freely with aliens
with those who were strangers to
the commonwealth and the covenant
who were idolatrous in worship and sinful in
life. Both were rapidly growing sceptical alike in thought and m speech
questioning many things which had hitherto been most surely believed
avowing
their incredulity boldly and defiantly. It was a lamentable change. During
these days of reaction and retrogression
two visitors came to Jerusalem from
the Court of Persia--first one and then the other. They were Jews
full of
patriotism
and anxious to see how it fared with their kinsfolk in the city of
their fathers. The first of them was Ezra
the priest and the scribe. It was
the midsummer of the year 459 when he arrived. He was prepared to find much
that was disappointing; he knew the difficulties with which the Hebrew
colonists had had to contend; and he did not expect to discover an ideal State
or a Church without spot and stain. But the actual condition of affairs
astonished and dismayed him--those unholy marriages with the heathen most of
all. When he learned the full extent of the evil
“he tore his outer cloak from
top to bottom; he tore his inner garment no less; he plucked off the long
tresses of his sacerdotal locks
the long flakes of his sacerdotal heard; and
thus
with dishevelled hair and half-clothed limbs
he sank on the ground
crouched like one thunderstruck
through the whole of a day.” £ Then
eager to
usher in a better era
he devoted himself to the work of renovation; like the
Baptist
he commanded all--the ministers of religion and the citizens as
well--to repent of their sins; and his influence penetrated far and near.
Fourteen years later
the second visitor came. This was Nehemiah
a young Jew
of noble family
who had filled the high post of chamberlain to the Persian
king. A deep and brooding anguish possessed him when he thought of the city of
his ancestors in her desolation and shame. He bogged of his royal master
permission to return to his native country with power to rectify the disorders
which vexed him so keenly. The request was granted
and he started with escort
and authority to accomplish the desire that lay near his heart. Through twelve
summers and winters he remained in Judea and acted as its governor. One
much-needed reform after another was carried through. The fortifications of the
town were raised from their ruins. The nobles were rebuked for their iniquitous
exactions. The Levites and the singers were bidden resume their duties in the
sacred courts. The gates were closed against the merchants who came with their laden asses on
the Sabbath day. It seemed as if
through the efforts of these two--the aged
scribe
full of passionate love for the ancient law
and the young noble
who
was both soldier and statesman--a revival of a genuine and permanent kind had
indeed been brought about. But the morning which had opened so clear and fair
was destined to be overclouded soon. Nehemiah went back for a short time to the
court of Artaxerxes. He was not long absent; but during the brief interval
when the strong hand of the ruler was withdrawn
the Jews reverted to their old
misdemeanours and sins; “all his fences and their whole array” were blown to
the ground. When he returned
matters were even worse than they had been on his first arrival. Within the
family of the high priest himself an odious alliance with the heathen had been
contracted; one of the young men of his house had taken to wife the daughter of
Sanballat
the very ringleader of the enemies of Judah. The Temple service had
fallen again into dishonour and neglect; God’s tithes were once more being
denied Him; the Sabbath traffic which had been so sternly forbidden was
prosecuted as vigorously and as unblushingly as ever. It was a sad relapse.
This was the time in which Malachi was called to carry “the burden of the Word
of the Lord.” We may believe that his solemn threats and condemnations rang
through the streets of Jerusalem during that short absence of Nehemiah at the Persian Court. But
before we glance at what he had to say to his erring countrymen
there is a
question which confronts us of a fundamental sort: Was there any Malachi at
all--any person who actually bore this name
and who was known by it among his
fellow-citizens? The question has more than once been answered in the negative.
“No
” it has been said
“there was no prophet called Malachi. For the Word
simply means ‘the messenger of God’; and beyond doubt it was a kind of epithet
a kind of official
title
by which one of the servants of Jehovah in that time chose to designate
himself. Perhaps it was the venerable scribe Ezra; £ or perhaps it was
Nehemiah
the Tirshatha himself; or perhaps--who knows?--it was one of the
angels of light come down from the heavenly places in the form of a man
to do
God’s will and to proclaim His grave and heavy warnings. You may search as
carefully as you please the lists which are given in the historical books of
those who
for one reason or another
were notable in the Jerusalem of the day;
and you will find no Malachi among them. Evidently there was none. The name
indicates the work done by him who bore it; it is not a personal designation at
all.” That has been the opinion of not a few both in older and more recent
times. But we may at once set it aside. Malachi
like that greater preacher of
a future age to whom he pointed his contemporaries forward
may be only a
“voice” to us; of his career and history we know absolutely nothing; but he was
unquestionably a real person
and this was his proper name. It is not the habit
of the prophets to prefix descriptive titles to their books
or to speak of
themselves only by the office which they held
or to write under some nom de
plume. Each of them tells us plainly and frankly his ordinary name by which
he was greeted in the street and the market and the home. And Malachi
we may
be certain
is no exception to the rule. He was distinct from Ezra and
Nehemiah
less famous than they
but not a whir loss solicitous about the glory
of God and the reformation of Jerusalem. Unconsciously lie paints for us
I
think
a picture of himself in his book
when he speaks of the little companies
of God-fearing Jews who were in the habit of meeting together in that wicked
time to converse one with another about what was holy and spiritual
and so to
keep their own souls aglow when all around them was cold and frozen and dead;
if we could have entered the upper room where these few disciples assembled
we
should certainly have found Malachi among them. These were his surroundings
then; this was the world to which he proclaimed the sorrow and indignation of
the Lord
which were his own sorrow and indignation too.
II. But let us turn
now to consider the prophet’s message to the men of his day. Living when “the
world was very evil
” what had he to say to it? He sets out with the
declaration that the conduct of Judah was without excuse. If God had been a
hard taskmaster--if He had shown Himself strict to mark iniquity
and unmindful
of loyal service when it was given Him--there might have been some
justification for the ingratitude of Jerusalem. But it was not so. God had
dealt with the Jews in sovereign and marvellous love. No doubt they questioned
His compassion and grace. Where could be the Divine mercy towards them
they
asked
when they were a people scattered and peeled
few in number
and held in
contempt? The answer was a convincing one. Let them look across the borders of
Judah
east and south to the blue mountains that rose beyond the Dead Sea--to
Edom
a nation near of kin to themselves
sprung from Esau as they were sprung
from Jacob. They might be poor and despised; but the condition of Edom was
tenfold sadder and more hopeless. Its rock-hewn cities were desolate. Jackals
and scorpions made them their home. No proud and warlike people dwelt in them
any more. And what was the reason of the difference? Why should brother-races
starting from the same mother’s knee
be separated by so wide a gulf
the one
utterly destroyed
the other spared and blessed? The sole cause was the love of
God. Jacob He had loved; Esau He had hated--and that was why Jerusalem
survived
whilst Petra was waste and lonely
its pride abased
its glory
departed. Freely and spontaneously--patiently and fervently--God had loved the
Jewish people
and therefore the sons of Jacob were not consumed as the sons of
Esau had been (Malachi 1:1-5). Having thus reminded the
children of Israel how unreasonable and thankless their conduct was in
rewarding God evil for His good
disobedience and neglect in return for His
loving-kindness and tender mercy
Malachi brings against his nation an
indictment which has three counts in it. First
he reproves the priests for
their scandalous negligence in the management of the Temple worship. The
sacrifices which they offered at the altar were despicable and worthless. They
seemed to imagine that any animal was good enough for God--the lame or the
blind that had become useless for work
the maimed or the torn
the beast that
was dying of disease and could not be presented for sale in the market
that
which had been stolen
and which they would have been afraid to sell. They
grudged the best of their possessions to Him who had given them all. They
dishonoured God openly in the sight of man. Would that there were someone to
shut the doors
he exclaimed
that this profane and fruitless worship might be
carried on no longer! He takes no pleasure in those who do not come with
alacrity to His house. He loveth a cheerful giver; but souls to whom His
service is a weary burden--souls that grudge Him their best and richest
treasures
and can spare Him only that which costs them nothing--what delight
can He take in them? The second accusation which Malachi pronounces against his
countrymen deals with a flagrant sin both of priests and people--the sin of
intermarriage with aliens. These alliances between the sons of Judah and
heathen women awakened in the prophet
as they had awakened in Ezra and
Nehemiah
the intensest repugnance and alarm. He recognised clearly the crime
of Jerusalem in contracting wedlock with “the daughter of a strange god.” He
felt that the offenders had profaned the covenant of Jehovah. His sentence went
forth against them sharp and strong
“The Lord will out off the man that doeth
this
the master and the scholar.” Do we wonder that His anger should be so hot
and fierce? Do we say that alien blood ran in the veins of David himself
the very darling of
Israel; and that Ruth the Moabitess
who became the ancestress of the king and
of One greater and diviner than he
is pictured to us in Scripture as fair and
sweet and holy
“a perfect woman nobly planned”? But therein lies the
difference. She gave up her heathenism when she entered a Jewish home; “thy
people shall be my people
” she told Naomi in those musical words of hers
“and
thy God shall be my God.” It was otherwise with the wives be my God.” It was
otherwise with the wives of the
men to whom Malachi spoke. They continued idolatresses
reverencing
Moloch and Chemosh and Baal rather than Jehovah. The prophet saw that those who
wedded them exposed themselves to subtle temptation and ran fearful risk. He
denounced their conduct as unpatriotic. They were bringing down to the common
earthly level the holy people whom God loved. They were endangering the
separate existence of the race which was meant to be a living witness against
polytheism and sin. They were destroying the barriers which divided it from the
ungodly world. God
he declared
was full of pity for the Hebrew wives
who had been driven from
hearth and home in order that outsiders might step into their prerogatives and
privileges. The poor
forsaken Jewish women had covered His altar “with tears
with weeping
and with crying out.” Ah
surely sin is an evil thing and a
bitter. It had already led many a Jew to inflict this sore anguish on the wife
of his youth; and it must end in more trouble still. For
much as the God of
Israel hated putting away
the strange women must go. They might plead with
clinging entreaties
with wild reproaches
to be allowed to remain; it might
break the hearts of those who loved them only too well to part with them; but
in this way alone could the sin of Jerusalem be removed and cleansed. Men
cannot have the friendship both of God and of transgressors; they must choose
between the two. Unless we are putting away from us everything that is of the
earth earthy
as Malachi bade the Jews put away their heathen consorts
we may
well doubt whether we are true sons and daughters of the Lord (Malachi 2:9-16). The prophet’s third
charge against his countrymen
is that they had fallen into a scepticism which
questioned moral distinctions and scoffed at God’s threatenings. Living so long
in Babylon
meeting so habitually with men of other ways of thinking than their
own
they had learned to cavil and doubt where they ought to have believed.
“Where is the God of judgment?” they said. The very form into which the
sentences of the Book are thrown indicates the infidelity that was prevalent.
The preacher is continually repeating the questions which he heard among the
people. “Wherein has God loved us?” and “Wherein have we despised His name?”
and “To what profit is it that we have kept His ordinance
and that we have
walked mournfully before the Lord of hosts?” Where their fathers had been
content to exercise a childlike faith
the Jews of Malachi’s time were ready to
point to this stumbling block and to that contradiction. Intellectually they
were more active than their fathers; morally they were more distrustful and
more presumptuous; in their case
as in many others
the reason had been
developed at the expense of the heart. But the prophet assures them that the
God of judgment
about whose existence and power they were so dubious
would
manifest Himself soon in a way they could not mistake. His servant Nehemiah
would come suddenly to the Temple to cleanse it; he would be a swift witness
against the wrongdoers of the city; he would appear in the spirit of
Elijah--the stern spirit which made an end of idolaters and transgressors; he
would enforce the broken law of Moses. And
beyond Nehemiah
Malachi beholds a
greater still
the New Testament Elijah
John the Baptist; and
beyond John
One nobler even than he--One who could fitly be named the Sun of Righteousness
who should deal in integrity with His own true people
and should trample the
wicked under foot. Then
by the confession of all
it would be well with the
godly; then
when they could find no place for repentance
those who were so
faithless now would discover their error and foolishness. But these doubts
which the men of the prophet’s age raised and cherished--do they not linger
among us to-day? Are not we inclined sometimes to question in our hearts
whether there can be a God
because He hides Himself
and leaves His people in
trouble
and allows their enemies and His to enjoy a time of prosperity and
success? We overlook the disciplinary value of adversity and pain and loss--how
they are often a hundredfold better for us than an easy and pleasant life.
There are bright touches in the prevailing dark of Malachi’s prophecy; in his
chapters gloom and glory meet together. Over against the hireling priests he
places the likeness of a true priest and servant of Jehovah (Malachi 2:5-7). A beautiful miniature it
is
and doubtless it was drawn from the life. Then
too
although in his time
the evil far outweighs the good
the prophet discovers here and there a spot of
heavenly brightness. He speaks of brotherhoods of congenial souls
bearing a
silent witness for God by lives of consecration
linked by bonds of prayer and
love
handing down to their successors the truth which heals and blesses and
saves. “They that feared the Lord spake often one to another
” etc. We should
be thankful that never
even in the worst days
has the King wanted such quiet
and brave and steadfast servants. They are the very salt of the earth; they are
the light of the world. (Original Secession Magazine.)
MALACHI
INTRODUCTION
I. First of all
we are to look at the world in which this prophet’s lot was cast
the character
of his contemporaries
the souls with which he had to deal. Let us suppose that
more than ninety years
an entire century almost
have passed away since Haggai
and Zechariah began to preach in Jerusalem to the captives who had returned
from Babylon. Artaxerxes Longimanus sits now on the throne of Persia
and is
the sovereign lord to whom the Hebrews in Judea pay allegiance and tribute. It
is
we shall say
the year 425 b.c.
for if that be not the exact date it
cannot be very far removed from it. The second Temple has been finished long since.
It was not in vain that Zechariah encouraged the restored exiles by visions and
predictions to be up and doing. Haggai’s declarations that there was an
intimate union between liberal giving to the Lord and external prosperity were
uttered to good purpose. At the call of God’s ambassadors the people roused
themselves from their unworthy and selfish lethargy. They built the sacred
walls and courts and pinnacles with zeal and enthusiasm; before long the hill
of Zion was crowned again with the sanctuary of Jehovah. There succeeded a
brief season of spiritual life and earnestness and joy. The priests offered
sacrifice anew
and made intercession for the citizens within the Holy House.
But this genial summer was short-lived. The generation to which Haggai and
Zechariah spoke with such effect
died out ere long; and their successors did
not manifest their zealous devotion. They were remiss and negligent. The city
which their fathers had begun to rebuild they left incomplete and half-ruinous;
they took little delight in the Temple which their fathers had raised. They
withheld from God those tithes and offerings which pertained to Him; and when
they did bring animals for sacrifice on His altar
they were often the very
poorest of the flock--sheep and lambs which they would have been utterly
ashamed to present to their Persian governor. Their priests were men like
themselves. They cared not how slovenly the Temple service might be. They came
far short of realising the responsibilities of their office. They inflicted
daily dishonour on the God whose servants they called themselves. Both priests
and people intermarried freely with aliens
with those who were strangers to
the commonwealth and the covenant
who were idolatrous in worship and sinful in
life. Both were rapidly growing sceptical alike in thought and m speech
questioning many things which had hitherto been most surely believed
avowing
their incredulity boldly and defiantly. It was a lamentable change. During
these days of reaction and retrogression
two visitors came to Jerusalem from
the Court of Persia--first one and then the other. They were Jews
full of
patriotism
and anxious to see how it fared with their kinsfolk in the city of
their fathers. The first of them was Ezra
the priest and the scribe. It was
the midsummer of the year 459 when he arrived. He was prepared to find much
that was disappointing; he knew the difficulties with which the Hebrew
colonists had had to contend; and he did not expect to discover an ideal State
or a Church without spot and stain. But the actual condition of affairs
astonished and dismayed him--those unholy marriages with the heathen most of
all. When he learned the full extent of the evil
“he tore his outer cloak from
top to bottom; he tore his inner garment no less; he plucked off the long
tresses of his sacerdotal locks
the long flakes of his sacerdotal heard; and
thus
with dishevelled hair and half-clothed limbs
he sank on the ground
crouched like one thunderstruck
through the whole of a day.” £ Then
eager to usher
in a better era
he devoted himself to the work of renovation; like the
Baptist
he commanded all--the ministers of religion and the citizens as
well--to repent of their sins; and his influence penetrated far and near.
Fourteen years later
the second visitor came. This was Nehemiah
a young Jew
of noble family
who had filled the high post of chamberlain to the Persian
king. A deep and brooding anguish possessed him when he thought of the city of
his ancestors in her desolation and shame. He bogged of his royal master
permission to return to his native country with power to rectify the disorders
which vexed him so keenly. The request was granted
and he started with escort
and authority to accomplish the desire that lay near his heart. Through twelve summers
and winters he remained in Judea and acted as its governor. One much-needed
reform after another was carried through. The fortifications of the town were
raised from their ruins. The nobles were rebuked for their iniquitous
exactions. The Levites and the singers were bidden resume their duties in the
sacred courts. The gates were closed against the merchants who came with their laden asses on
the Sabbath day. It seemed as if
through the efforts of these two--the aged
scribe
full of passionate love for the ancient law
and the young noble
who
was both soldier and statesman--a revival of a genuine and permanent kind had
indeed been brought about. But the morning which had opened so clear and fair
was destined to be overclouded soon. Nehemiah went back for a short time to the
court of Artaxerxes. He was not long absent; but during the brief interval
when the strong hand of the ruler was withdrawn
the Jews reverted to their old
misdemeanours and sins; “all his fences and their whole array” were blown to
the ground. When he returned
matters were even worse than they had been on his first arrival. Within the
family of the high priest himself an odious alliance with the heathen had been
contracted; one of the young men of his house had taken to wife the daughter of
Sanballat
the very ringleader of the enemies of Judah. The Temple service had
fallen again into dishonour and neglect; God’s tithes were once more being
denied Him; the Sabbath traffic which had been so sternly forbidden was
prosecuted as vigorously and as unblushingly as ever. It was a sad relapse.
This was the time in which Malachi was called to carry “the burden of the Word
of the Lord.” We may believe that his solemn threats and condemnations rang
through the streets of Jerusalem during that short absence of Nehemiah at the Persian Court. But
before we glance at what he had to say to his erring countrymen
there is a
question which confronts us of a fundamental sort: Was there any Malachi at
all--any person who actually bore this name
and who was known by it among his
fellow-citizens? The question has more than once been answered in the negative.
“No
” it has been said
“there was no prophet called Malachi. For the Word
simply means ‘the messenger of God’; and beyond doubt it was a kind of epithet
a kind of official
title
by which one of the servants of Jehovah in that time chose to designate
himself. Perhaps it was the venerable scribe Ezra; £ or perhaps it was
Nehemiah
the Tirshatha himself; or perhaps--who knows?--it was one of the angels
of light come down from the heavenly places in the form of a man
to do God’s
will and to proclaim His grave and heavy warnings. You may search as carefully
as you please the lists which are given in the historical books of those who
for one reason or another
were notable in the Jerusalem of the day; and you
will find no Malachi among them. Evidently there was none. The name indicates
the work done by him who bore it; it is not a personal designation at all.”
That has been the opinion of not a few both in older and more recent times. But
we may at once set it aside. Malachi
like that greater preacher of a future
age to whom he pointed his contemporaries forward
may be only a “voice” to us;
of his career and history we know absolutely nothing; but he was unquestionably
a real person
and this was his proper name. It is not the habit of the
prophets to prefix descriptive titles to their books
or to speak of themselves
only by the office which they held
or to write under some nom de plume.
Each of them tells us plainly and frankly his ordinary name by which he was
greeted in the street and the market and the home. And Malachi
we may be
certain
is no exception to the rule. He was distinct from Ezra and Nehemiah
less famous than they
but not a whir loss solicitous about the glory of God
and the reformation of Jerusalem. Unconsciously lie paints for us
I think
a
picture of himself in his book
when he speaks of the little companies of
God-fearing Jews who were in the habit of meeting together in that wicked time
to converse one with another about what was holy and spiritual
and so to keep
their own souls aglow when all around them was cold and frozen and dead; if we
could have entered the upper room where these few disciples assembled
we
should certainly have found Malachi among them. These were his surroundings
then; this was the world to which he proclaimed the sorrow and indignation of
the Lord
which were his own sorrow and indignation too.
II. But let us turn
now to consider the prophet’s message to the men of his day. Living when “the
world was very evil
” what had he to say to it? He sets out with the
declaration that the conduct of Judah was without excuse. If God had been a
hard taskmaster--if He had shown Himself strict to mark iniquity
and unmindful
of loyal service when it was given Him--there might have been some
justification for the ingratitude of Jerusalem. But it was not so. God had
dealt with the Jews in sovereign and marvellous love. No doubt they questioned
His compassion and grace. Where could be the Divine mercy towards them
they
asked
when they were a people scattered and peeled
few in number
and held in
contempt? The answer was a convincing one. Let them look across the borders of
Judah
east and south to the blue mountains that rose beyond the Dead Sea--to
Edom
a nation near of kin to themselves
sprung from Esau as they were sprung
from Jacob. They might be poor and despised; but the condition of Edom was
tenfold sadder and more hopeless. Its rock-hewn cities were desolate. Jackals
and scorpions made them their home. No proud and warlike people dwelt in them
any more. And what was the reason of the difference? Why should brother-races
starting from the same mother’s knee
be separated by so wide a gulf
the one
utterly destroyed
the other spared and blessed? The sole cause was the love of
God. Jacob He had loved; Esau He had hated--and that was why Jerusalem
survived
whilst Petra was waste and lonely
its pride abased
its glory
departed. Freely and spontaneously--patiently and fervently--God had loved the
Jewish people
and therefore the sons of Jacob were not consumed as the sons of
Esau had been (Malachi 1:1-5). Having thus reminded the
children of Israel how unreasonable and thankless their conduct was in
rewarding God evil for His good
disobedience and neglect in return for His
loving-kindness and tender mercy
Malachi brings against his nation an
indictment which has three counts in it. First
he reproves the priests for
their scandalous negligence in the management of the Temple worship. The
sacrifices which they offered at the altar were despicable and worthless. They
seemed to imagine that any animal was good enough for God--the lame or the blind
that had become useless for work
the maimed or the torn
the beast that was
dying of disease and could not be presented for sale in the market
that which
had been stolen
and which they would have been afraid to sell. They grudged
the best of their possessions to Him who had given them all. They dishonoured
God openly in the sight of man. Would that there were someone to shut the
doors
he exclaimed
that this profane and fruitless worship might be carried
on no longer! He takes no pleasure in those who do not come with alacrity to
His house. He loveth a cheerful giver; but souls to whom His service is a weary
burden--souls that grudge Him their best and richest treasures
and can spare
Him only that which costs them nothing--what delight can He take in them? The
second accusation which Malachi pronounces against his countrymen deals with a
flagrant sin both of priests and people--the sin of intermarriage with aliens.
These alliances between the sons of Judah and heathen women awakened in the
prophet
as they had awakened in Ezra and Nehemiah
the intensest repugnance
and alarm. He recognised clearly the crime of Jerusalem in contracting wedlock
with “the daughter of a strange god.” He felt that the offenders had profaned
the covenant of Jehovah. His sentence went forth against them sharp and strong
“The Lord will out off the man that doeth this
the master and the scholar.” Do
we wonder that His anger should be so hot and fierce? Do we say that alien
blood ran in the veins of David himself
the very darling of Israel; and that Ruth the
Moabitess
who became the ancestress of the king and of One greater and diviner
than he
is pictured to us in Scripture as fair and sweet and holy
“a perfect
woman nobly planned”? But therein lies the difference. She gave up her
heathenism when she entered a Jewish home; “thy people shall be my people
” she
told Naomi in those musical words of hers
“and thy God shall be my God.” It
was otherwise with the wives be my God.” It was otherwise with the wives of the men to whom Malachi
spoke. They continued idolatresses
reverencing Moloch and Chemosh and Baal
rather than Jehovah. The prophet saw that those who wedded them exposed
themselves to subtle temptation and ran fearful risk. He denounced their
conduct as unpatriotic. They were bringing down to the common earthly level the
holy people whom God loved. They were endangering the separate existence of the
race which was meant to be a living witness against polytheism and sin. They
were destroying the barriers which divided it from the ungodly world. God
he
declared
was full of pity for the Hebrew wives
who had been driven from hearth and home in
order that outsiders might step into their prerogatives and privileges. The
poor
forsaken Jewish women had covered His altar “with tears
with weeping
and with crying out.” Ah
surely sin is an evil thing and a bitter. It had
already led many a Jew to inflict this sore anguish on the wife of his youth;
and it must end in more trouble still. For
much as the God of Israel hated putting
away
the strange women must go. They might plead with clinging entreaties
with wild reproaches
to be allowed to remain; it might break the hearts of
those who loved them only too well to part with them; but in this way alone
could the sin of Jerusalem be removed and cleansed. Men cannot have the
friendship both of God and of transgressors; they must choose between the two.
Unless we are putting away from us everything that is of the earth earthy
as
Malachi bade the Jews put away their heathen consorts
we may well doubt
whether we are true sons and daughters of the Lord (Malachi 2:9-16). The prophet’s third
charge against his countrymen
is that they had fallen into a scepticism which
questioned moral distinctions and scoffed at God’s threatenings. Living so long
in Babylon
meeting so habitually with men of other ways of thinking than their
own
they had learned to cavil and doubt where they ought to have believed.
“Where is the God of judgment?” they said. The very form into which the
sentences of the Book are thrown indicates the infidelity that was prevalent.
The preacher is continually repeating the questions which he heard among the
people. “Wherein has God loved us?” and “Wherein have we despised His name?”
and “To what profit is it that we have kept His ordinance
and that we have
walked mournfully before the Lord of hosts?” Where their fathers had been
content to exercise a childlike faith
the Jews of Malachi’s time were ready to
point to this stumbling block and to that contradiction. Intellectually they
were more active than their fathers; morally they were more distrustful and
more presumptuous; in their case
as in many others
the reason had been
developed at the expense of the heart. But the prophet assures them that the
God of judgment
about whose existence and power they were so dubious
would
manifest Himself soon in a way they could not mistake. His servant Nehemiah
would come suddenly to the Temple to cleanse it; he would be a swift witness
against the wrongdoers of the city; he would appear in the spirit of
Elijah--the stern spirit which made an end of idolaters and transgressors; he
would enforce the broken law of Moses. And
beyond Nehemiah
Malachi beholds a
greater still
the New Testament Elijah
John the Baptist; and
beyond John
One nobler even than he--One who could fitly be named the Sun of Righteousness
who should deal in integrity with His own true people
and should trample the
wicked under foot. Then
by the confession of all
it would be well with the
godly; then
when they could find no place for repentance
those who were so
faithless now would discover their error and foolishness. But these doubts
which the men of the prophet’s age raised and cherished--do they not linger
among us to-day? Are not we inclined sometimes to question in our hearts
whether there can be a God
because He hides Himself
and leaves His people in
trouble
and allows their enemies and His to enjoy a time of prosperity and
success? We overlook the disciplinary value of adversity and pain and loss--how
they are often a hundredfold better for us than an easy and pleasant life.
There are bright touches in the prevailing dark of Malachi’s prophecy; in his
chapters gloom and glory meet together. Over against the hireling priests he
places the likeness of a true priest and servant of Jehovah (Malachi 2:5-7). A beautiful miniature it
is
and doubtless it was drawn from the life. Then
too
although in his time
the evil far outweighs the good
the prophet discovers here and there a spot of
heavenly brightness. He speaks of brotherhoods of congenial souls
bearing a silent
witness for God by lives of consecration
linked by bonds of prayer and love
handing down to their successors the truth which heals and blesses and saves.
“They that feared the Lord spake often one to another
” etc. We should be
thankful that never
even in the worst days
has the King wanted such quiet and
brave and steadfast servants. They are the very salt of the earth; they are the
light of the world. (Original Secession Magazine.)
──《The Biblical Illustrator》