MALACHI
[Personal notes from the wide margin of my ASV Bible. Taken in my FHU class under E. Claude Hall.
Recommended Commentaries: Pulpit, Coffman, & Barnes]
Malachi = “My Messenger”, angel of Yahweh. Malachi was a reformer.
GME = “Prophet of the Universal Worship of God.”
Date: c. 430 - 430 B.C.
1:1 Burden = message.
1:1 Is “Malachi” a name, or simply “my messenger”? Believe this is his name, the author of this book is not anonymous. Literally = “by the hand of Malachi.”
1:2 Lesson on Ingratitude. Man often fails to appreciate God’s love and questions it.
1:2 Lesson: “Look what God has done for you.”
1:2 Note the question-answer method of Malachi’s teaching. A dialectic feature (a contrast of contradictions.) Assertion-objection-rebuttal (7 times: 1:2-3; 1:6-7; 2:10-16' 2:17; 3:7; 3:8; 3:13). There are 23 questions in 55 verses (wg).
1:3 God’s special care for Israel. cf. Rom. 9:13.
1:3 Jacob = worshiper of God; Esau = robber (Edom).
1:4 Lesson: Wickedness is cursed by God.
1:4 Border of wickedness = “the land of iniquity”
1:5 (And v.11) All men should worship the God revealed in the Scriptures.
1:6 The Lord will be magnified from beyond the borders of Israel. By the execution of his judgments upon the wicked; (cf. The oracles against the nations in Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Amos. These were fulfilled prophecies.)
1:6-14 Defective Worship
1:6 Fifth commandment. Israel dishonored the ancient covenant.
1:6 O priests = To whom is this message chiefly directed. Religious leaders. They had become corrupt, thought they were innocent but unconscious of their sins.
1:6-7 Lesson: Sin has an opiate power.
1:7 Bread = flesh.
Table of the Lord = altar where sacrifices were made.
Sounds like the table of shewbred, where the priests were to put fresh bread each week.
1:7 Contemptible = “despised”
1:8 Blind for sacrifice = Deut. 15:21; Leb. 22:19-20. Suppose to offer that without blemish– the best of their flock.
1:9 Insincere Repentance (Irony)
1:9 Your = refers to the priests.
1:9 i.e. the evil of offering blemished animals.
1:9 Regard your persons = i.e. will God show favor to any one because you interceded for him?
1:10 Sarcasms
1:10 ASV “Oh that there were one among you that would shut the doors, that ye might not kindle fire on mine altar in vain!”
1:10 Worship right or Not at all!
1:11 Universal Worship of God in the Messianic Age pictured in Jewish terminology (all day long.)
1:11 Incense = Worship in the messianic age pictured in Jewish terminology (see end of Amos also).
1:11 Pure offering = The only pure offering for the sin of the world in all history = the blood of Christ.
[See notes and Coffman regarding the “th”suffix = present tense here.
1:12 But ye = contrast - priests with gentiles of v. 11.
1:12 Profaned = corrupted it, not sacred., not by words but by actions.
1:12 Table = altar
1:13 What weariness = “an intolerable burden.” The priests performed their duties without heart or faith.
1:13 Snuffed = snorted, (pictured as a horse or cow blows through its nose at something it didn’t like.)
1:13 Which was torn = ASV “which was taken by violence,” i.e. stolen, or unjustly.
1:13 God says, “Should I accept that kind of worship?”
1:14 Reason given for the curse.
1:14 Deceiver = 1) Offers a female on pretense he doesn’t have a male. 2) Vows and pays in blemished sacrifice..
1:14 Dreadful = ASV “terrible” - held in awe and reverence.
1:14 Lesson: He whom the Gentiles honor will not permit his own people to profane his name.
Malachi - Chapter 2 Margin Notes
2:1-9 A Message for Messengers
2:1 commandment = a threat or announcement?
2:2 lay it to heart = give attention to it
2:2 curse your blessing = the blessing the priests gave to the people would be turned into a curse. Like that of Baalam in Numbers 6:22-27.
2:3 Nehemiah 13:1-2
2:3 spread dung = maws - Deut 18:3. Imagine the shame when the sacrifice the priest was killing and splitting open burst its intestine open and spewed upon him.
2:3 taken away with it = This made the priest ceremonially unclean and he could not perform his job until he was cleansed.
2:3b Treated as filth.
2:5 God’s Gift, and Man’s Part
2:6 The way things ought to be. His teaching and his life were to be good.
2:7 for he is the messenger of the Lord
2:8 But ye ...
2:9 respect of person in the law - perversion of judgment
2:10 The brotherhood of man
2:10 Sound ethics must be based upon sound theology.
2:11 daughter of a foreign god - a woman who is an idolatress
2:12 him that waketh and him that answereth ... master and scholar. Priest and people, as teacher and pupil.
2:13 again... or a second time.
2:13 with tears and weeping – 1) weeping wives (?); or 2) worshipers because their sacrifices are not accepted.
2:13 Worship is spoiled by the tears of those injured.
2:14-16 Marriage is a divine institution
2:14 Marriage is made before God.
2:14 covenant – Prov. 5:18; vows
2:16 God is served by meeting our family obligations.
2:17 Words of skepticism.
1) God hears our words
2) Skeptical words are offensive to God
2:17 Cf. Complains of 3;13-15
2:17 Thinking that evil men were blessed, or today we say, Why do the wicked seem to prosper? Psa. 37 and Psa 73.
2:17 where is the God of justice? = the theme of the next chapter
Malachi - Chapter 3
3:1 my messenger = Matt. 11:10; Mark 1:2; Luke 7:27; Luke 2:22.
3:1 second messenger of the covenant = or angel ? Cf. Heb 9:15, mediator of the new covenant.
3:2 refiner’s fire = separates precious metal from the refuse
3:2 fullers’ soap = washing herb- lye, wash away all filth
3:3 sit = as a judge,
3:3 sons of Levi = esp priests, cf. Acts 6:7 xxx
3:4 pleasant = Righteous worship is pleasant in sight of God.
3:4 days of old... ancient years = answers the question of 2:17
3:5 sorcerers =
3:6 change not = in morals or principles (he changes law).
3:7 ordinances = written laws, or statues – (ordinances
3:7 shall we return? = they don’t acknowledge their offences
3:8 rob God? =
3:8 in tithes = income
3:8 offerings = additional lambs
3:10 storehouse = storage chambers in the temple
3:10 prove = test
3:10 pour out a blessing ... my cup runneth over. The store rooms could not hold the blessings!
3:11 devourer = devouring crops
3:11 cast fruit before time = fruit falling off before ripe
3:13 E. Claude Hall on “ye” and “you” and “you” and “thee.”
You = secular language, carries idea of equality;
Thee = in a more religious connotation, God on a higher plane than us.
Example: some words are pronounced differently when sung than when spoken.
Amen = [‘c ’min ] in music
[‘e ‘men ] speaking
3:14 walked mournfully = or in mourning apparel
3:15 Think, or say, that the wicked seem to be the ones blessed
3:16 they spake often ... RSV
3:16 heard = strained to hear... wanting to hear every word.
3:17 spare them = not punish
3:18 Under the old law? True any day!
Malachi - Chapter 4 - marginal notes from ASV wide margin Bible
4:1 AD 70
4:1 root nor branch = leaders
4:2 sun of righteousness = Christ
4:2 gambol = leaping and jumping
4:3 Christians have an advantage over the wicked.
4:4 ¶
4:4 Horeb = Mt. Range, Sinai a peak; Mt of God.
4:5 Elijah = John the baptist
4:5 great and terrible day = awesome day of Pentecost, or judgment day on Jewish nation in AD 70?
4:6 turn hearts = Luke 1:17
4:6 curse = Israel as a nation rejected Christ and suffered the consequence in AD 70. The gospel went out to the world - Col. 1:18.
SPECIAL LESSONS
1. Defective Worship - 1:6-14
1) brought sick and lame - 1:18
2) weary with worship - 1:13
3) priests not preaching as they should - 2:6-10
2. Un-brotherliness - 2:10-14
3. Divorcing wives of youth - 2:11=13
4. Not paying their tithes - 3:7-12