The next few articles are from the book of Malachi. This short book of prophecy might not be one that you’ve read recently, but it has some important lessons to teach us. Before we dive in too far, though, let’s get some context for this book.
The NIV Introduction to Malachi places this book around the middle of the 5th century BC (the mid-400’s B.C., that is). It isn’t clear exactly when it was written, but that seems to be in the right ballpark [ref. Hahlen & Ham, cited below].
While not all of the Bible books are placed in chronological order (sometimes they are sorted by topic; sometimes they overlap; sometimes their order varies for other reasons), the book of Malachi does appear to be one of the later prophecies in the Bible (along with Nehemiah and Ezra, and possibly Chronicles), prior to when we meet the fulfillment of many of those prophecies in the ministry of Jesus, as the Gospels lead off the second section of the Bible, called the “New Testament”.
In the 6th century B.C. (the 500’s B.C.), Jewish people were allowed to return from where they had been exiled to Jerusalem. Leaders like Ezra and Nehemiah guided them, and the temple was rebuilt, as well as the walls around the city of Jerusalem.
Per the NIV introduction, along with rebukes that we find in the book of Malachi itself, the restoration of God’s holy people was being hampered, though, by their choices to not follow God’s instructions.
The book of Malachi starts out with a description of its contents.
A prophecy: The word of the LORD to Israel through Malachi.
Malachi 1:1 NIV
https://malachi.bible/malachi-1-1
So, this book of Malachi is “A prophecy” (NIV) or “The pronouncement of the word of the LORD” (NASB), and it is “to Israel through Malachi”.
Typically, we consider Malachi to be the name of the prophet through whom God’s message here was delivered, but this name might also generically refer to a messenger [see NIV, NASB footnotes]. Just as we have people’s names today that overlap with professions (Mason, Smith, Miller, Cooper, Fisher), as well as titles that describe people’s role (Doctor, Pastor, etc.), the same was true back then. So, we’re not positive whether this is a personal name or a title. However, for the next few articles, I’ll probably treat this as the prophet’s name, but now you know that this might be a role, instead.
As we look ahead to this study, here’s a peek at the conclusion: If you find that you have been giving God something less than first place in your life, all is not lost: Your window to turn back to God isn’t expired, because God’s plan isn’t over. You and I have an opportunity to remember what we committed to when we accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior (or, you can still do so for the first time, if you haven’t yet received His gift of salvation), and we still have time to recommit to putting Him first, and maybe even to write that down as a reminder.
From Sunday School lesson prepared for August 18, 2024
References:
- The Lookout, August, 2024, © 2024 Christian Standard Media.
- Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
- Scripture quotations taken from the NASB. Copyright by The Lockman Foundation.
- The College Press NIV Commentary – Minor Prophets Vol. 2 Nahum-Malachi, by Mark Allen Hahlen and Clay Alan Ham. © 2006 College Press Publishing Co.
Those Who Sin Differently 