Malachi the Messenger

The Amazing Bible. Book Club

The name Malachi means messenger, and he shared about the messenger we know as John the Baptist, and of the One who will come who has nothing false found on His lips, Jesus. This small book deals with six issues between the Lord and His people. Since they were not a free nation and under Persian rule, and with conflict with neighbors, as well as other difficult times, they did not believe that God loved them, but He reaffirmed He did because He had chosen them to be in covenant with Him. The second issue was they, and especially the priests, had brought offerings to the Lord, that they would never dream of giving to their governor. They did not bring their best to the Lord, but their worst. With number three, the people had broken their marriage covenants by divorce, or by marrying people from other faiths, and the Lord said that he was a witness to what they have done. Then the people were called out on their complaining against the Lord. They said He was not just, and He blessed everyone else, but not them. To this the Lord reminded them there was a day coming when His justice will be present, and "who can stand?" The Lord was calling His people back to the Lord in the fifth issue, and the way to do that would be to bring their tithes and offerings to the Lord instead of robbing Him of what belonged to Him. This may be the only time in Scripture where the Lord says, "Test me on this, and just see how much I will bless you." The last issue again had to do with the Israelites' mouths. They said it was a waste of time to follow the Lord and His ways. They did not gain anything by being faithful unto the Lord, and to this the Lord tells them of a scroll of remembrance, and He knows who are faithful and who are not, and those who are faithful to Him will be spared. It will be clear who are the righteous and the wicked, those who served the Lord and those who did not. Malachi ends with a call to remember Moses, the Law, and to watch out for the prophet Elijah who will come before that great and dreadful day of the Lord. Since we have the NT, Jesus said that John the Baptist was that Elijah who paved the way for Him to come (Matt. 11:14).