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Mal 3:1-18. MESSIAH'S COMING, PRECEDED BY HIS FORERUNNER, TO PUNISH THE GUILTY FOR VARIOUS SINS, AND TO REWARD THOSE WHO FEAR GOD.
1. Behold--Calling especial attention to the momentous truths which
follow. Ye unbelievingly ask, Where is the God of judgment
(Mal 2:7)?
"Behold," therefore, "I send," &c. Your unbelief will not prevent My
keeping My covenant, and bringing to pass in due time that which ye say
will never be fulfilled.
I will send . . . he shall come--The Father sends the Son:
the Son comes. Proving the distinctness of personality between the
Father and the Son.
my messenger--John the Baptist; as
Mt 3:3; 11:10;
Mr 1:2, 3;
Lu 1:76; 3:4; 7:26, 27;
Joh 1:23,
prove. This passage of Malachi evidently rests on that of Isaiah his
predecessor
(Isa 40:3-5).
Perhaps also, as HENGSTENBERG thinks, "messenger"
includes the long line of prophets headed by Elijah
(whence his name is put in
Mal 4:5
as a representative name), and terminating in John, the last and
greatest of the prophets
(Mt 11:9-11).
John as the representative prophet (the forerunner of Messiah the
representative God-man) gathered in himself all the scattered
lineaments of previous prophecy (hence Christ terms him "much more than
a prophet,"
Lu 7:26),
reproducing all its awful and yet inspiriting utterances: his coarse
garb, like that of the old prophets, being a visible exhortation to
repentance; the wilderness in which he preached symbolizing the
lifeless, barren state of the Jews at that time, politically and
spiritually; his topics sin, repentance, and salvation, presenting for
the last time the condensed epitome of all previous teachings of God by
His prophets; so that he is called pre-eminently God's "messenger."
Hence the oldest and true reading of
Mr 1:2
is, "as it is written in Isaiah the prophet"; the difficulty of
which is, How can the prophecy of Malachi be referred to Isaiah? The
explanation is: the passage in Malachi rests on that in
Isa 40:3,
and therefore the original source of the prophecy is referred to
in order to mark this dependency and connection.
the Lord--Ha-Adon in Hebrew. The article marks that it is
JEHOVAH
(Ex 23:17; 34:23;
compare
Jos 3:11, 13).
Compare
Da 9:17,
where the Divine Son is meant by "for THE
Lord's sake." God the speaker makes "the Lord," the "messenger
of the covenant," one with Himself. "I will send . . . before
Me," adding, "THE LORD
. . . shall . . . come"; so that "the Lord"
must be one with the "Me," that is, He must be GOD, "before" whom John was sent. As the divinity
of the Son and His oneness with the Father are thus proved, so the
distinctness of personality is proved by "I send" and He "shall come,"
as distinguished from one another. He also comes to the temple as "His
temple": marking His divine lordship over it, as contrasted with
all creatures, who are but "servants in" it
(Hag 2:7;
Heb 3:2, 5, 6).
whom ye seek . . . whom ye delight
in--(see on
Mal 2:17).
At His first coming they "sought" and "delighted in" the hope of a
temporal Saviour: not in what He then was. In the case of those
whom Malachi in his time addresses, "whom ye seek . . .
delight in," is ironical. They unbelievingly asked, When will He come
at last?
Mal 2:17,
"Where is the God of judgment"
(Isa 5:19;
Am 5:18;
2Pe 3:3, 4)?
In the case of the godly, the desire for Messiah was sincere
(Lu 2:25, 28).
He is called "Angel of God's presence"
(Isa 63:9),
also Angel of Jehovah. Compare His appearances to Abraham
(Ge 18:1, 2, 17, 33),
to Jacob
(Ge 31:11; 48:15, 16),
to Moses in the bush
(Ex 3:2-6);
He went before Israel as the Shekinah
(Ex 14:19),
and delivered the law at Sinai
(Ac 7:38).
suddenly--This epithet marks the second coming, rather than the first;
the earnest of that unexpected coming
(Lu 12:38-46;
Re 16:15)
to judgment was given in the judicial expulsion of the money-changing
profaners from the temple by Messiah
(Mt 21:12, 13),
where also as here He calls the temple His temple. Also in the
destruction of Jerusalem, most unexpected by the Jews, who to the last
deceived themselves with the expectation that Messiah would suddenly
appear as a temporal Saviour. Compare the use of "suddenly" in
Nu 12:4-10,
where He appeared in wrath.
messenger of the covenant--namely, of the ancient covenant with Israel
(Isa 63:9)
and Abraham, in which the promise to the Gentiles is ultimately
included
(Ga 4:16, 17).
The gospel at the first advent began with Israel, then embraced the
Gentile world: so also it shall be at the second advent. All the
manifestations of God in the Old Testament, the Shekinah and human
appearances, were made in the person of the Divine Son
(Ex 23:20, 21;
Heb 11:26; 12:26).
He was the messenger of the old covenant, as well as of the new.
JFB.
The Book of Malachi
Malachi 3:1 - Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts.
Malachi 4:5-6 - Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD: And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.
The Old Testament - A Brief Overview
Bible Survey - Malachi
Hebrew Name -
Malakiy
"My Messenger"
Greek Name - Malakoi (Greek form of the Hebrew)
Author - Malachi (According to Tradition)
Date - 400 BC Approximately
Theme - Final Message to Rebellious Israel
Types and Shadows - In Malachi Jesus will come to His Temple
Malachi prophesied sometime near the end of the fifth century BC during the time with the Persian Empire ruled the world. The Temple in Jerusalem was rebuilt and many Jews had returned to the land of Israel but they had neglected the things of God. They were skimping on their sacrifices and failing to give their tithes, and the priests of God did nothing to encourage them. There were mixed marriages and divorce had become a common practice, and Malachi came to stir the people up. He told them not to neglect the things of God if they ever expect to prosper, and they need to repent right now in order for God to bless them. Malachi also speaks of the coming day of the Lord, but the prophet Elijah would come first, he will be a forerunner to the Messiah and then the Messiah would come. In the New Testament Elijah is identified as John the Baptist who was the forerunner for Jesus Christ (Matthew 3:1-12 and Matthew 11:14). The Book of Malachi closes the Old Testament and there was not another prophet in the land of Israel for nearly 400 years until John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness.
The exact time in which the prophet Malachi began his ministry's uncertain, but from his references to the Temple and the priests it it is safe to say that it was after the return of the Jews from captivity and after the Temple had been rebuilt. There is nothing else known Malachi other than the words that he wrote in this book. The Jews have returned from captivity, they became lazy in the things of God and the Prophets Haggai and Zechariah stirred them up and they rebuilt the Temple and the wall of Jerusalem was restored. But the people were still forgetful of God and his promises, they lost the enthusiasm about all the glorious things that God had promised he was going to do and then they became skeptical and they neglected their spiritual duties. they were offering him perfect sacrifices and failed to give tithes to God. The priests were unconcerned and did nothing to encourage the people. there were mixed marriages with foreigners and divorce had become common. Soon there were more problems in the land, there was drought, and crop failure, there was opposition from various enemies and life had become exceedingly more difficult.
The heart of Malachi's prophecy was to drive home the point that God loves them, but they need to remember his commandments if they were ever going to prosper. If they would repent God will bless them. Then Malachi reminds them of the coming Day of the Lord, which will be introduced by a forerunner and afterward the Messiah, the Lord will suddenly come to his Temple.
"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, even the Messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight. Behold, He is coming," says the LORD of hosts. Malachi 3:1
The book of Malachi closes the ministry of the prophets. The religious leaders, priests and scribes, became more zealous for expounding on the word of God, so much so that by the time of Christ their commentaries and traditions had prevented them from seeing the promises of God happening before their very eyes. John the Baptist came as the fulfillment of the prophecy about Elijah preparing the way for the Messiah. Then the Messiah, God himself came to His Temple veiled in human flesh and only a select few were there to worship Him. He entered the Eastern Gate of the Temple on a donkey, as prophesied by Zechariah, and the Jewish leaders were jealous of Him and put Him to death, but death could not hold Him and He rose again and is Savior to all who receive Him.
"Behold He is Coming"
Malachi's famous words "behold He is coming" is the prophetic cry that began in the first book of the Bible, and the message continued all the way to the end. God is faithful to his promises and this is what the prophets declared.
Outline of the Book of Malachi
Malachi 1:1-2 God's declaration of His love for Israel
Malachi 1:3-5 God's hatred for Esau and the Edomites
Malachi 1:6-14 The unrepentant priests
Malachi 2:1-9 God's punishment on the unrepentant priests
Malachi 2:10-16 First oracle against the people
Malachi 2:17 Second oracle against the people
Malachi 3:1-6 The prophecy of the Messiah and His forerunner
Malachi 3:7-12 Third Oracle: The people's sin of robbing God
Malachi 3:13-4:3 Fourth Oracle: The people's sin of speaking against the Lord
Malachi 4:4-6 The priests and people are warned
Malachi Resources
The Divided Kingdom
The
Northern Kingdom of Israel
The
Southern Kingdom of Judah
The Assyrian Captivity
The Babylonian Captivity
The Return From Babylon
The Prophets
The Messiah
The Book of Malachi
More About the Book of
Malachi
Malachi in the Picture
Study Bible
Chart
of the Prophets of Israel and Judah
Timeline of the Ancient
World
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