Malachi: Final Book of the Old Testament

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Malachi, the final prophet of the Old Testament, delivers a gentle but firm wake-up call to God's people who had fallen into spiritually empty routines. Though the temple was rebuilt and sacrifices resumed after exile, their hearts had drifted from authentic worship without them even realizing it.

• The prophet Malachi speaks to Israelites around 430 BC who had returned from exile
• His message unfolds through six courtroom-style disputes between God and His people
• God's central invitation: "Return to me and I will return to you" (Malachi 3:7)
• The people had drifted into half-hearted worship, neglected tithes, and broken marriages
• Malachi confronts religious leaders for bringing defiled sacrifices to God's altar
• God challenges His people's complaints about His justice and seeming absence
• The prophet exposes how the people robbed God through withheld tithes and offerings
• Malachi ends with two reminders: keep God's law and look for Elijah's return
• The prophecy of a coming messenger points directly to John the Baptist and Jesus
• After Malachi, 400 years of prophetic silence followed until John the Baptist appeared

Next week, we'll explore the 400-year period between the Old and New Testaments, examining how God was preparing the world for the coming Messiah even in His silence.

RESOURCES:

• Barry, J. D., Mangum, D., Bomar, D., Sinclair Wolcott, C., Brown, D. R., & Klippenstein, R. (Eds.). (2016). Faithlife Study Bible (Electronic ed.). Lexham Press. (Original work published 2012)
• Evans, T. (2019). The Tony Evans Bible Commentary. Holman Bible Publishers.
• Galan, B., & Curiel, J. (2012). Bible Overview. Barbour Publishing.
• Longman, T. (2006). An Introduction to the Old Testament. Zondervan.
• MacArthur, J. (Ed.). (1997). The MacArthur Study Bible (Electronic ed., Word Publishing.
• Nelson, T. (Ed.). (2011). The NIV Open Bible: Complete Reference System. Thomas Nelson.

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Note: All scripture references are from the NIV translation unless otherwise indicated.

Episode Transcript

Jacqui (00:12):
Greetings listeners.
Have you ever realized you weregoing through the motions
without even knowing it?
Maybe you still pray beforemeals, still sing at church,
still read your Bible sometimes,but somewhere along the way
your heart drifted.
That's where God's people werein the time of Malachi.

(00:35):
The temple was rebuilt, thesacrifices were back, the
routines were in place, buttheir worship had become
half-hearted and they didn'teven see it.
Malachi is God's gentle, butfirm reminder.
Return to me and I will returnto you.

(00:58):
It's a message for ancientIsrael and it's a message for us
today.
Well, welcome everyone.
I'm your host, Jacqui Adewole,and this is the Bible Basics
Podcast, where, weekly, we breakdown the basics of the Bible

(01:18):
into understandable, bite-sizedchunks.
Today we're wrapping up ourseason on the Old Testament and
the prophets and we're endingwith a prophet who speaks not in
dramatic visions or fire fromheaven, but in quiet correction,
heartfelt truth and a reminderthat God never gives up on his

(01:42):
people.
Reminder that God never givesup on his people.
Let's set the scene.
The Israelites have returnedfrom exile in Babylon.
The temple is rebuilt, thewalls of Jerusalem are standing
again.
By all appearances, the storylooks like it's back on track,
but instead of the joyfulrevival many expected.

(02:03):
The people are spirituallysluggish.
Their offerings arehalf-hearted, the priests are
careless, marriages are breakingdown, justice is being ignored,
and under it all is onequestion the people were too
afraid or too tired to ask outloud Is God even paying

(02:28):
attention anymore?
Now, just who was this prophetMalachi?
We don't have a biography forhim.
The name Malachi means mymessenger, which may be a title
rather than a personal name.
But what we do know is thisMalachi is the final voice we

(02:49):
hear in the Old Testament.
He speaks likely around 430 BC,possibly during or just after
the time of Nehemiah.
His audience well, they wereordinary people, not kings or
armies, just weary, driftingbelievers, people who still said

(03:12):
the right things but hadquietly started to wonder
whether their faith evenmattered anymore.
Now let's focus on the book andthe main message of Malachi.
At its core, malachi's messageis about the covenant, israel's

(03:33):
binding relationship with God,first confirmed generations
earlier at Mount Sinai.
We see that in Exodus 24, 1through 8.
If you could sum it up in onesentence, it would be God's own
words.
Quote return to me and I willreturn to you.

(03:54):
End quote.
That's Malachi, chapter 3,verse 7.
This isn't the voice of anangry judge.
It's the plea of a faithfulpartner calling a wandering
spouse back home.
The heartbreaking part is thatthe people don't seem to realize
just how far they've drifted.

(04:15):
Malachi delivers this wake-upcall in a distinctive way.
The book unfolds like acourtroom exchange between God
and his people.
Six separate disputes in all.
Each follows the same patternGod makes a charge, the people
respond with a question oftendefensive, sometimes cynical and

(04:40):
God answers with evidence.
And God answers with evidence.
Malachi begins in chapter 1,verses 2 through 5, with the
most fundamental issue God'slove for his people.
Quote I have loved you, saysthe Lord, End quote.
Now, that should have beencomforting, but the people push

(05:03):
back.
How have you loved us?
End quote.
In other words, we hear you,god, but we don't see it.
Life was hard and they weremeasuring his love by their
present struggles.
Well, god takes them back totheir family history.
Quote was not Esau, jacob'sbrother, declares the Lord.

(05:28):
Yet I have loved Jacob, butEsau I have hated, end quote.
This is one of those statementsthat can be easily
misunderstood if we read itthrough our modern idea of love
and hate.
Through our modern idea of loveand hate.

(05:50):
Jacob and Esau were brothers.
Jacob's descendants becameIsrael, esau's became Edom, a
nation with a long history ofopposing God's people.
In this context, loved andhated aren't about warm feelings
toward one and hostilitytowards the other.
They're about choice.

(06:11):
God loved Jacob by selectinghis line to carry his covenant
promises.
He hated Esau in the sense thatEsau's line would not be given
that role.
Here's a side note.
Jesus used the same kind ofstrong language when he said his

(06:33):
followers must hate their ownfamilies if those relationships
stood in the way of followinghim.
Meaning choose God first aboveevery other loyalty.
And that's in Luke, chapter 14,verse 26.
From there God turns to thespiritual leaders in chapter 1,

(06:57):
verse 6, through chapter 2,verse 9.
Quote as a son honors hisfather and a slave his master.
If I am a father, where is thehonor due me?
End quote.
The priests were bringingdefiled sacrifices, blind, lame

(07:19):
and sick animals to God's altarand of course, the people
protest.
How have we shown contempt foryour name?
End quote.
God lays out the evidence.
They treated his altar asunworthy of respect, neglected
their temple duties and failedto uphold his law.

(07:41):
In doing so, they dishonor bothhis sacrifices and his glory.
The focus then shifts from thetemple to the home.
In this third dispute, it'sfound in chapter 2, verses 10
through 16.
Here God charges the peoplewith breaking faith, not only

(08:07):
with him, but with one another.
They'd been divorcing theirwives Jewish wives.
They promised to love and theywere marrying foreign women who
didn't share their covenantfaith.
This wasn't just a culturalmatter, it was a spiritual
betrayal.
Just a cultural matter.

(08:29):
It was a spiritual betrayal.
It showed a heart that wasturning away from the God who
had joined them together.
This fourth dispute, found inchapter 2, verse 17,.
Through chapter 3, verse 5, godaddresses their doubts about his
justice.
They complained quote all whodo evil are good in the eyes of

(08:50):
the Lord.
And where is this God ofjustice?
End quote.
They assumed his silence.
Many didn't care.
God promises he will come, butnot in the way they expect.
He will come like a refiningfire, removing impurities,
cleansing his people and settingeverything right, everything

(09:23):
right.
Then, in chapter 3, verses 6through 12, god speaks to
another form of unfaithfulnesshow they were handling what
belonged to him.
Quote will a mere mortal robGod?
Yet you robbed me?
End quote.
The people were shocked.
Quote.
How are we robbing you?
Unquote.
God's answer.

(09:43):
Quote in tithes and offeringsend quote.
This passage has sparked a lotof discussion in the church
about what tithing meant thenand how it applies to followers
of Jesus today.
While Christians hold differentviews, malachi's main point

(10:04):
here is clear.
God calls his people to put himfirst in every area of life,
including their resources, andhe promises to respond with his
blessing In Malachi's day.
The tithe wasn't a paycheckdeduction.
It was a portion of crops,herds and produce from the land.

(10:30):
God has set this up in the lawto provide for the Levites, the
priests and the temple ministry,since they had no farmland of
their own.
And we find that back in thebook of Numbers, chapter 18,
verses 21 to 24.
Part of the tithe alsosupported worship, festivals and

(10:53):
care for the poor.
We see that in Deuteronomy,chapter 14, verses 28 to 29.
By holding back their tithes,the people weren't just breaking
a rule, they were neglectingworship, undercutting the work
of the temple and ignoring theneeds of others.

(11:15):
And ignoring the needs ofothers.
God invites them to quote testhim, not as a bargaining chip,
but as a call to trust.
Quote, put me first again andwatch me provide more than
enough.
The final dispute is found inchapter 3, verse 13,.

(11:39):
Through chapter 4, verse 3.
Quote you have spokenarrogantly against me, says the
Lord.
Yet the people ask what have wesaid against you?
God answers plainly.
They said, quote it is uselessto serve God.

(12:00):
Unquote.
They felt they were putting ina lot of religious effort but
getting nothing in return.
In their eyes, the wicked werebetter off than they were.
Better off than they were.
God's response shows that theway to truly know his goodness

(12:22):
isn't by treating him like avending machine, serving him
only for what he might give.
The way to unlock a deeper walkwith him is to seek him for who
he is, not just for theblessings he provides.
And Malachi ends with tworeminders.
One, keep God's law.

(12:43):
Don't forget the covenant youbelong to.
That's chapter 4, verse 4.
And second, look for Elijah'sreturn, the messenger who will
come before the great day of theLord when both judgment and
renewal will take place.

(13:03):
That's chapter 4, verses 5 and6.
And then silence.
400 years will pass without anew prophetic voice until John
the Baptist burst on the scene,fulfilling Malachi's promise.

(13:31):
Quote I will send my messengerahead of you who will prepare
your way, a voice of one callingin the wilderness prepare the
way for the Lord in thewilderness.
Prepare the way for the LordNow.
So that leads us to go in alittle deeper in how Malachi
points to Jesus.
In the ancient Near East, kingssent messengers ahead to
prepare the way, removingobstacles before the king's

(13:54):
arrival.
In Malachi, the Lord says he'llsend his messenger before him.
That's chapter 3, verse 1.
And that's echoing Isaiah'sprophecy of a voice calling in
the wilderness.
That's Isaiah, chapter 40,verse 3.
And pointing to the Elijah ofMalachi, chapter 4, verse 5, who

(14:19):
comes before the Lord.
That's the final line of theOld Testament Quote see, I will
send the prophet Elijah beforethe great and dreadful day of
the Lord.
That's Malachi, chapter 4, verse5.
And who appears next?

(14:41):
Well, I already gave it awayJohn the Baptist, a voice in the
wilderness preparing the wayfor Jesus.
Jesus himself says John is theElijah who will come, and we
find that in Matthew, chapter 11, verse 14.
And in Luke, chapter 1, verse17, the angel Gabriel tells

(15:03):
Zechariah that his son, john,will go before the Lord in the
spirit and power of Elijah.
So while Malachi's voice is thelast we hear before 400 years of
silence, it's also the whisperthat points straight toward the

(15:26):
arrival of the Messiah.
So let's talk about what thismeans for us today.
If you're in a season where thepassion has faded, where church
feels more like habit thanhunger, malachi speaks directly
to you.
God doesn't shame his people inthis book, he just says bring

(15:51):
your best again, stop playinggames with worship, be faithful
in your relationships, lovejustice, remember the covenant
and, through it all, return tome.
So what?
Now We've reached the finalwords of the Old Testament.

(16:15):
But it's not a goodbye.
It's an invitation, aninvitation to come back, an
invitation to trust him again.
The last thing that peopleheard before 400 years of
silence was the promise of amessenger who would prepare the

(16:36):
way for the Messiah, and thenext voice we hear in the New
Testament is exactly that Johnthe Baptist pointing to Jesus.
Next week, we'll step into thatsilent space in between those
400 years where God's prophetsstopped speaking, but history

(17:01):
was moving, cultures wereshifting and the world was being
prepared for the Savior.
Until then, keep reading, keepseeking and keep growing in your
faith.