Reference: Malachi
American
The last of the minor prophets, and of all the Old Testament writers; so little known, that it is doubted by some, though without sufficient reason, whether his name be a proper name, or only a generical one, signifying the angel of the Lord that is, a messenger, a prophet, Hag 1:13; Mal 3:1. Malachi most probably prophesied about B. C. 416, in the latter part of the administration of Negemiag, and after Haggai and Zechariah, at a time of great disorder among the priests and people of Judah, whom her reproves. He inveighs against the priests; reproves the people for having taken strange wives, for inhumanity to their brethren, for divorcing their wives, and for neglect of paying tithes and first fruits. He seems to allude to the covenant that Nehemiah renewed with the lord, together with the priests and chief of the nation. In the latter part he foretells the coming of John the Baptist in the spirit and power of Elijah, Mal 3:1; 4:5-6; Mt 11:10,14; 17:10-13; Lu 1:17. He also foretells the two-fold coming of Christ, and the blessedness of those who fear and serve him. Thus the Old Testament closes with Predictions of the Messiah, and the New Testament opens with the record of their fulfillment.
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Then spoke Haggai the ambassador of the LORD in the embassy of the LORD unto the people, saying, I am with you, said the LORD.
Behold, I send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me; and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, and the angel of the covenant, whom ye desire: behold, he comes, said the LORD of the hosts.
Behold, I send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me; and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, and the angel of the covenant, whom ye desire: behold, he comes, said the LORD of the hosts.
Behold, I send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the LORD: and he shall convert the heart of the fathers to the sons, and the heart of the sons to the fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with destruction.
For this is he of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, who shall prepare thy way before thee.
And if ye will receive it, this is that Elijah who was to come.
Then his disciples asked him, saying, Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first? And Jesus answered and said unto them, Elijah truly shall come first and restore all things. read more. But I say unto you, That Elijah is come already, and they knew him not, but have done unto him whatever they pleased. Likewise the Son of man shall also suffer of them. Then the disciples understood that he spoke unto them of John the Baptist.
And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children and the rebellious to the prudence of the just, to make ready a prepared people for the Lord.
Easton
messenger or angel, the last of the minor prophets, and the writer of the last book of the Old Testament canon (Mal 4:4-5,6). Nothing is known of him beyond what is contained in his book of prophecies. Some have supposed that the name is simply a title descriptive of his character as a messenger of Jehovah, and not a proper name. There is reason, however, to conclude that Malachi was the ordinary name of the prophet.
He was contemporary with Nehemiah (comp. Mal 2:8 with Ne 13:15; Mal 2:10-16 with Ne 13:23). No allusion is made to him by Ezra, and he does not mention the restoration of the temple, and hence it is inferred that he prophesied after Haggai and Zechariah, and when the temple services were still in existence (Mal 1:10; 3:1,10). It is probable that he delivered his prophecies about B.C. 420, after the second return of Nehemiah from Persia (Ne 13:6), or possibly before his return.
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But in all this time I was not at Jerusalem; for in the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes, king of Babylon, I went unto the king, and after certain days I was sent by the king.
In those days I saw in Judah some treading wine presses on the sabbath and bringing in sheaves and lading asses with wine, grapes, figs, and all manner of burdens, which they brought into Jerusalem on the sabbath day; and I protested unto them the day in which they sold the food.
In those days I also saw Jews that had married wives of Ashdod, of Ammon, and of Moab;
Who is there even among you that would shut the doors or tend the fire on my altar for free? I have no pleasure in you, said the LORD of the hosts, neither will the offering from your hand be agreeable unto me.
But ye are departed out of the way; ye have caused many to stumble in the law; ye have corrupted the covenant of Levi, said the LORD of the hosts.
Have we not all one father? has not one God created us? why do we despise each man his brother by breaking the covenant of our fathers? Judah has dealt treacherously, and an abomination has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem; for Judah has profaned the holiness of the LORD by loving and marrying the daughter of a strange god. read more. The LORD will cut off the man that does this, the master and the scholar out of the tabernacles of Jacob and him that offers an offering unto the LORD of the hosts. And once again ye shall cover the altar of the LORD with tears, with weeping, and with crying out, for I shall not even look at the offering any more to receive a free will offering from your hand. Yet ye say, Why? Because the LORD has been witness between thee and the wife of thy youth, against whom thou hast dealt treacherously; yet she is thy companion and the wife of thy covenant. And did he not make one, having in himself abundance of the Spirit? And why one? That he might seek offspring of God. Therefore take heed to your spirit and let no one deal treacherously against the wife of his youth. He that rejects her, sending her away, said the LORD God of Israel, covers the violence with his garment, said the LORD of the hosts; therefore take heed in your spirit, and do not be treacherous.
Behold, I send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me; and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, and the angel of the covenant, whom ye desire: behold, he comes, said the LORD of the hosts.
Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, and there shall be food in my house, and prove me now in this, said the LORD of the hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven and pour you out a blessing that there shall not be room enough to receive it.
Remember ye the law of Moses my slave, which I commanded unto him in Horeb statutes and my rights over all Israel. Behold, I send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the LORD: read more. and he shall convert the heart of the fathers to the sons, and the heart of the sons to the fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with destruction.
Fausets
("messenger of Jah"), or Jehovah; contracted for Malachijah, as Abi for Abijah (2Ki 18:2; compare 2Ch 29:1). The name is that of an office rather than of a person; it occurs in the sense "My (Jehovah's) messenger" (Mal 3:1, compare Hag 1:13). Malachi was Jehovah's last inspired messenger of Old Testament, announcing the advent of the great Messenger of New Testament; the transition link between the two dispensations, "the skirt and boundary of Christianity," to which is due his abrupt earnestness. Not identical with Ezra, as Chaldee paraphrase represents, for Malachi is never called a scribe, always a prophet, but Ezra always a scribe, never a prophet.
The analogy of the headings of the other prophets favors the view that Malachi is a proper name. He supported or followed up the governor Nehemiah in the restoration of the national polity civil and religious, as Haggai and Zechariah previously had supported Joshua the high priest and Zerubbabel the civil governor in building the temple, Malachi (Zec 1:10; 3) presupposes the temple already built. Like Nehemiah (Ne 13:5,15-30) he censures the secular and mercenary spirit of the priests (Mal 1:10; 2:14-16; 3:8-10); the people's marriages with foreigners; the non-payment of the tithes (Nehemiah states the cause, the high priest's alliance with Tobiah the Ammonite and Sanballat); and the rich men's want of sympathy toward the poor. Nehemiah (Ne 6:7) implies that "prophets" supported him, by his desire, in his reformation.
DATE. About 420 B.C. or later will be about the date, from the above facts. Thus kingly (Zerubbabel and Nehemiah), priestly (Joshua and Ezra), and prophetic men (Haggai and Zechariah and Malachi) headed God's people at the earlier and the later stage in the restoration of Jerusalem. The former period was that of building the temple, the later that of restoring the polity and rebuilding the city. The rebuilding of the temple was the theocratic people's first care; the political restoration was secondary. A small colony of 50,000 settled with Joshua and Zerubbabel (Ezr 2:64). These became intermingled with the pagan during the 60 years that elapsed before Ezra (Ezr 9:6-15; Ne 1:3); "the remnant ... left in the province are in great affliction and reproach, the wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and the gates burned with fire."
A second restoration was therefore needed, to mold the national life into Jewish form, by reestablishing the holy law and the city. This was the work of Ezra and Nehemiah with the aid of Malachi in about 50 years, ending with the death of Malachi and Nehemiah, at the close of the fifth century B.C. Hence, the "seven weeks" (49 or 50 years) stand by themselves at the beginning of the foretold "seventy weeks" (Da 9:25), to mark the fundamental difference between them, as the last period of Old Testament revelation, and the 62 weeks of years that follow without revelation, preceding the final week standing out by itself in unrivaled dignity as Messiah's week. The 70 weeks begin with Artaxerxes' seventh year, 457 B.C., when he allowed Ezra (Ezr 7:1,6) to go to Jerusalem in accordance with the commandment which then went forth from God.
Ezra the priest purified the nation from within of pagan elements and restored the law; Nehemiah did the outer work of rebuilding the city and restoring the national polity (Auberlen). The time following Nehemiah's second return to Jerusalem from Persia (subsequently to the 32nd year of Artaxerxes Longimanus, Ne 13:6) is the probable date of Malachi's prophecies, about 420 B.C. Socrates at Athens was at about the same time awakening that corrupt city to self examination. The Jews were now in Jerusalem (Mal 2:11); the Persian "governor" (pechah, pasha'; Mal 1:8) was there, the altar (Mal 1:7) and temple rebuilt (Mal 2:13; 3:1), the sacrifices and feasts celebrated (Mal 1:13-14; 2:3).
Nehemiah bore this very title (pechah, Ne 5:14; 12:26), and its equivalent "tirshatha" (Ne 8:9; 10:1; 7:65; Ezr 2:63), the prefect of a province less extensive than a satrapy. It is curious that Malachi is not mentioned in Nehemiah nor Nehemiah in Malachi. But the same evils are sought to be remedied by both: see above; also compare Mal 2:8, "ye have corrupted the covenant of Levi, saith the Lord of hosts," with Ne 13:29, "they have defiled the covenant of the priesthood and of the Levites." Thus the closing chapter of Old Testament history is the key of the last of Old Testament prophecy.
DIVISIONS.
I. The first two chapters are mainly expostulation;
II. the last two mainly prediction.
(1) Charge against Israel for insensibility to God's love, which so distinguished Israel above Edom (Mal 1:1-5).
(2) Against the priests for contemptible offerings, profaning instead of honoring their Master and their Father, unlike Levi of old, who walked with God in a covenant of life and peace, turning many from iniquity, whereas they departed out of the way and caused others to stumble; therefore God will send a curse upon them, making them contemptible, even as they contemned and failed to give glory to His name (Mal 1:6-2:9).
(3) Reproof of the wrong done to Jewish wives by the foreign marriages. Jehovah being the one common Father of all Israel, putting away an Israelite wife for a foreigner is a wrong done to a sister of the same family (Mal 2:10-16). Explain Mal 2:15; "did not He (God) make us Israelites one? Yet He had the residue of the Spirit (namely, an inexhaustible fullness of the Spirit for the rest of the world, but that was to be given them by God's first choosing out, one godly seed). And wherefore did He make us the one people? That He might seek a seed of God," to be the repository of the covenant, the stock for Messiah, the witness for God against surrounding polytheism. Repudiation of Jewish wives for foreigners set aside this, God's, design.
II.
(4) In answer to their cavil, "where is the God of judgment?" Messiah's forerunner, followed by the sudden coming of Jehovah Himself the Angel of the covenant (which they had despised) to His temple, is foretold (Mal 2:17-4:6). He shall on the one hand refine the sons of Levi, so that Judah's offering shall be pleasant unto Jehovah; on the other hand He shall be a swift witness against wrong doers, wherefore "return unto Me," instead of "robbing Me of tithes," "prove Me now herewith and I will pour you out a blessing," etc. But still they cavil at God's service bringing no "profit," while God's people commune together; so "the day of the Lord" cometh, consuming to the proud scorners, but with healing beams of the Sun of righteousness to fearers of God's name; ushered in by the forerunner Elijah, preaching a return to the law of Moses, and to the piety of Israel's forefathers, lest Jehovah come and smite the earth with a curse.
CANONICITY. Established by New Testament quotations (Mt 11:10; 17:12; Mr 1:2; 9:11-12; Lu 1:17; Ro 9:13). The "incense and pure offering from the rising to the setting of the sun" points on to the spiritual sacrifices of self devotion, prayer, and praise under the gospel, based on the once for all completed sacrifice of Messiah (Ps 141:2; Re 8:3; Heb 13:10,15-16; Ro 12:1; 1Pe 2:5,12); in every place (Joh 4:21-24; 1Ti 2:8). Style. Bold and abrupt, yet with the smoothness of a reasoner rather than a poet, at the same time modeled after the old prophets.
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He was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother's name also was Abi, the daughter of Zachariah.
Hezekiah began to reign when he was twenty-five years old, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Abijah, the daughter of Zechariah.
And the Tirshatha said unto them that they should not eat of the most holy things until there stood up a priest with Urim and Thummim. The whole congregation united as one man was forty-two thousand three hundred and seventy,
Now after these things, in the reign of Artaxerxes, king of Persia, Ezra, the son of Seraiah, the son of Azariah, the son of Hilkiah,
This Ezra went up from Babylon, and he was a diligent scribe in the law of Moses, which the LORD God of Israel had given; and the king granted him all his request, according to the hand of the LORD his God upon him.
and said, O my God, I am confused and ashamed to lift up my face to thee, my God, for our iniquities have multiplied over our head, and our guiltiness is grown up unto heaven. Since the days of our fathers, we have been in great guiltiness unto this day; and for our iniquities we, our kings and our priests, have been delivered into the hand of the kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity, to spoil, and to confusion of face, as it is this day. read more. And now as for a brief moment there has been the mercy of the LORD our God, to leave us an escape, and that we may be given a stake in his holy sanctuary that our God may illuminate our eyes and give us a little preservation of life in our bondage. For we were slaves; yet our God did not forsake us in our bondage, but has extended mercy over us before the king of Persia, that we may be given life to lift up the house of our God and to cause the desolations thereof to be restored and to give us a wall of protection in Judah and in Jerusalem. And now, O our God, what shall we say after this? For we have forsaken thy commandments, which thou hast commanded by thy slaves the prophets, saying, The land, unto which ye go to possess it, is an unclean land because of the uncleanness of the people of the lands, for the abominations with which they have filled it from one end to another with their uncleanness. Now, therefore, do not give your daughters unto their sons, neither take their daughters unto your sons, nor seek their peace or their prosperity forever, that ye may be strengthened, and eat the good of the land and leave it for an inheritance to your sons forever. And after all that is come upon us for our evil deeds and for our great guiltiness, seeing that thou our God hast intervened that we no longer be oppressed because of our iniquities and hast given us such an escape as this, should we again break thy commandments and join in affinity with the people of these abominations? Would thou not be angry with us until thou hadst consumed us, so that there should be no remnant nor escape? O LORD God of Israel, thou art righteous; for we have an escape, as it is this day, behold us here, before thee in our guiltiness; for we cannot stand before thee because of this.
And they said unto me, The remnant that are left of the captivity there in the province are in great affliction and reproach, and the wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates are burned with fire.
Moreover, from the day that I was appointed by the king to be their captain in the land of Judah, from the twentieth year even unto the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes, the king, that is, twelve years, I and my brethren have not eaten the bread of the captain.
And thou hast also appointed prophets to preach of thee at Jerusalem, saying, There is a king in Judah! And now these words shall be heard by the king. Come now, therefore, and let us take counsel together.
And the Tirshatha said unto them that they should not eat of the most holy things until there stood up a priest with Urim and Thummim.
And Nehemiah, the Tirshatha, and Ezra, the priest and scribe, and the Levites that caused the people to be attentive, said unto all the people, This day is holy unto the LORD your God; do not mourn nor weep. For all the people wept when they heard the words of the law.
Now those that sealed were, Nehemiah, the Tirshatha, the son of Hachaliah, and Zidkijah,
These were in the days of Joiakim, the son of Jeshua, the son of Jozadak, and in the days of Nehemiah the captain, and of Ezra, the priest and scribe.
and he had prepared for him a great chamber, where before they had kept the present, the frankincense, the vessels, the tithe of the grain, of the new wine, and of the oil, which was commanded to be given to the Levites, to the singers and the porters and the offerings of the priests. But in all this time I was not at Jerusalem; for in the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes, king of Babylon, I went unto the king, and after certain days I was sent by the king.
In those days I saw in Judah some treading wine presses on the sabbath and bringing in sheaves and lading asses with wine, grapes, figs, and all manner of burdens, which they brought into Jerusalem on the sabbath day; and I protested unto them the day in which they sold the food. There dwelt men of Tyre also therein, who brought fish and all manner of merchandise, and sold on the sabbath to the sons of Judah in Jerusalem. read more. Then I contended with the nobles of Judah and said unto them, What evil thing is this that ye do and profane thus the sabbath day? Did not your fathers do this, and did not our God bring all this evil upon us and upon this city? Yet ye bring more wrath upon Israel by profaning the sabbath. And it came to pass, that when shadow came to the gates of Jerusalem before the sabbath, I commanded that the gates should be shut and charged that they should not be opened until after the sabbath; and I set some of my servants at the gates, that no burden be brought in on the sabbath day. So the merchants and sellers of all kinds of merchandise lodged outside Jerusalem once or twice. Then I testified and protested against them and said unto them, Why do ye lodge about the wall? If ye do so again, I will lay hands on you. From that time forth they came no more on the sabbath. And I told the Levites that they should cleanse themselves and that they should come and guard the gates, to sanctify the sabbath day. Remember me, O my God, concerning this also, and spare me according to the greatness of thy mercy. In those days I also saw Jews that had married wives of Ashdod, of Ammon, and of Moab; and their sons spoke half in the speech of Ashdod, and according to the language of each people; for they could not speak in the Jews' language. And I contended with them and cursed them and smote certain of them and plucked off their hair and made them swear by God, saying, Ye shall not give your daughters unto their sons nor take their daughters unto your sons, or for yourselves. Did not Solomon, king of Israel, sin by these things? Yet among many nations there was no king like him, who was beloved of his God, and God made him king over all Israel; nevertheless, strange women caused even him to offend. Shall we then hearken unto you to do all this great evil, to transgress against our God in marrying strange women? And one of the sons of Joiada, the son of Eliashib, the high priest, was son-in-law to Sanballat the Horonite; therefore, I chased him from me. Remember them, O my God because they have defiled the priesthood and the covenant of the priesthood and of the Levites.
Remember them, O my God because they have defiled the priesthood and the covenant of the priesthood and of the Levites. Thus I cleansed them from all strangers and appointed the wards of the priests and the Levites, each one in his work,
Let my prayer be set forth before thee as incense, the gift of my hands as the evening sacrifice.
Know therefore and understand that from the going forth of the word to cause the people to return and to build Jerusalem unto the Anointed Prince, there shall be seven weeks, and sixty-two weeks, while the street shall be built again and the wall, even in troublous times.
Then spoke Haggai the ambassador of the LORD in the embassy of the LORD unto the people, saying, I am with you, said the LORD.
And the man that stood among the myrtle trees answered and said, These are those whom the LORD has sent to walk to and fro through the earth.
The burden of the word of the LORD against Israel by the hand of Malachi. I have loved you, said the LORD. Yet ye say, In what hast thou loved us? Was not Esau Jacob's brother? said the LORD; yet I loved Jacob, read more. and I rejected Esau and laid his mountains and his heritage waste for the dragons of the wilderness. When Edom saith, We are impoverished, but we will return and build the desolate places; thus hath the LORD of the hosts said, They shall build, but I will throw down; and they shall call them, The province of wickedness and The people against whom the LORD has indignation for ever. And your eyes shall see and ye shall say, The LORD will be magnified over the province of Israel.
Ye offer polluted bread upon my altar; and ye say, In what have we polluted thee? In that ye say, We die of hunger in the service of the LORD. And when ye offer the blind animal for sacrifice, is it not evil? Likewise when ye offer the lame and sick, is it not evil? offer it now unto thy prince; will he be pleased with thee or accept thy person? said the LORD of the hosts.
Who is there even among you that would shut the doors or tend the fire on my altar for free? I have no pleasure in you, said the LORD of the hosts, neither will the offering from your hand be agreeable unto me.
And ye say, Behold, what a weariness it is! and ye have rejected it, said the LORD of the hosts; and ye brought that which was stolen or lame or sick and presented an offering: should this be acceptable unto me by your hand? said the LORD. But cursed be the deceiver, who has in his flock a male and vows and sacrifices unto the Lord a corrupt thing: for I am a great King, saith the LORD of the hosts, and my name is formidable among the Gentiles.
Behold, I reprehend your seed and spread the dung upon your faces, even the dung of your solemnities; and ye shall be removed with it.
But ye are departed out of the way; ye have caused many to stumble in the law; ye have corrupted the covenant of Levi, said the LORD of the hosts.
Have we not all one father? has not one God created us? why do we despise each man his brother by breaking the covenant of our fathers? Judah has dealt treacherously, and an abomination has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem; for Judah has profaned the holiness of the LORD by loving and marrying the daughter of a strange god.
Judah has dealt treacherously, and an abomination has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem; for Judah has profaned the holiness of the LORD by loving and marrying the daughter of a strange god. The LORD will cut off the man that does this, the master and the scholar out of the tabernacles of Jacob and him that offers an offering unto the LORD of the hosts. read more. And once again ye shall cover the altar of the LORD with tears, with weeping, and with crying out, for I shall not even look at the offering any more to receive a free will offering from your hand.
And once again ye shall cover the altar of the LORD with tears, with weeping, and with crying out, for I shall not even look at the offering any more to receive a free will offering from your hand. Yet ye say, Why? Because the LORD has been witness between thee and the wife of thy youth, against whom thou hast dealt treacherously; yet she is thy companion and the wife of thy covenant.
Yet ye say, Why? Because the LORD has been witness between thee and the wife of thy youth, against whom thou hast dealt treacherously; yet she is thy companion and the wife of thy covenant. And did he not make one, having in himself abundance of the Spirit? And why one? That he might seek offspring of God. Therefore take heed to your spirit and let no one deal treacherously against the wife of his youth.
And did he not make one, having in himself abundance of the Spirit? And why one? That he might seek offspring of God. Therefore take heed to your spirit and let no one deal treacherously against the wife of his youth.
And did he not make one, having in himself abundance of the Spirit? And why one? That he might seek offspring of God. Therefore take heed to your spirit and let no one deal treacherously against the wife of his youth. He that rejects her, sending her away, said the LORD God of Israel, covers the violence with his garment, said the LORD of the hosts; therefore take heed in your spirit, and do not be treacherous.
He that rejects her, sending her away, said the LORD God of Israel, covers the violence with his garment, said the LORD of the hosts; therefore take heed in your spirit, and do not be treacherous.
Behold, I send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me; and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, and the angel of the covenant, whom ye desire: behold, he comes, said the LORD of the hosts.
Behold, I send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me; and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, and the angel of the covenant, whom ye desire: behold, he comes, said the LORD of the hosts.
Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, In what have we robbed thee? In the tithes and the offerings. Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye, even this whole nation, have robbed me. read more. Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, and there shall be food in my house, and prove me now in this, said the LORD of the hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven and pour you out a blessing that there shall not be room enough to receive it.
For this is he of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, who shall prepare thy way before thee.
But I say unto you, That Elijah is come already, and they knew him not, but have done unto him whatever they pleased. Likewise the Son of man shall also suffer of them.
as it is written in the prophets, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, who shall prepare thy way before thee.
And they asked him, saying, Why do the scribes say that Elijah must first come? And he answered and told them, Elijah verily shall come first and restore all things and how it is written of the Son of man, that he must suffer many things and be esteemed as nothing.
And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children and the rebellious to the prudence of the just, to make ready a prepared people for the Lord.
Jesus said unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour comes when neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem shall ye worship the Father. Ye worship what ye know not; we worship what we know, for saving health is of the Jews. read more. But the hour comes, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth, for the Father seeks such to worship him. God is a Spirit and those that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.
Therefore, I beseech you brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies in living sacrifice, holy, well pleasing unto God, which is your rational worship.
sound speech, that cannot be condemned; that the adversary may be ashamed, having no evil thing to say of you.
We have an altar, of which those who serve the tabernacle have no faculty to eat.
By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips confessing his name. Do not forget to do good and to fellowship; for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.
And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense of the prayers of all the saints, that he should offer upon the golden altar which was before the throne.
Hastings
MALACHI
1. Author.
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And all the tithes of the land, whether of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the tree, is the LORD's; it is holiness unto the LORD. And if anyone desires to redeem anything of his tithes, he shall add thereto the fifth part thereof. read more. And concerning the tithe of the cows or of the sheep, even of whatever passes under the rod, the tenth shall be holiness unto the LORD. He shall not search whether it is good or bad, neither shall he change it; and if he changes it at all, then both it and the change thereof shall be holy; it shall not be redeemed.
And, behold, I have given the sons of Levi all the tithes in Israel for an inheritance, for their ministry because they serve in the ministry of the tabernacle of the testimony. Neither must the sons of Israel from now on come near the tabernacle of the testimony lest they bear sin and die because of it. read more. But the Levites shall do the service of the tabernacle of the testimony, and they shall bear their iniquity by a perpetual statute throughout your ages, and they shall not possess an inheritance among the sons of Israel. For unto the Levites I have given the tithes of the sons of Israel as inheritance, which they shall offer unto the LORD as offerings; therefore, I have said unto them, Among the sons of Israel they shall possess no inheritance. And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying, Thus shalt thou speak unto the Levites and say unto them, When ye take the tithes from the sons of Israel which I have given you from them for your inheritance, then ye shall present a tithe of the tithes as an offering unto the LORD. And ye shall count your offering as though it were the grain of the threshingfloor and as the fullness of the winepress. Thus ye also shall offer an offering unto the LORD of all your tithes, which ye shall have received of the sons of Israel; and ye shall give of them an offering unto the LORD, to Aaron the priest. Out of all your gifts ye shall offer every offering unto the LORD, of all the best thereof ye shall offer the portion that is to be dedicated. Therefore thou shalt say unto them, When ye offer the best thereof from it, then it shall be counted unto the Levites as the fruit of the threshingfloor and as the fruit of the winepress. And ye shall eat it in any place, ye and your family; for it is your reward for your ministry in the tabernacle of the testimony. And ye shall bear no sin by reason of it, when ye have offered from it the best of it; and ye shall not pollute the holy things of the sons of Israel, and ye shall not die.
Then the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying, Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, has turned my wrath away from the sons of Israel, being zealous for my sake among them, therefore I did not consume the sons of Israel in my jealousy. read more. Because of this say unto them, Behold, I establish my covenant of peace with him; and he shall have, and his seed after him, even the covenant of the everlasting priesthood because he was zealous for his God and reconciled the sons of Israel.
Moreover, from the day that I was appointed by the king to be their captain in the land of Judah, from the twentieth year even unto the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes, the king, that is, twelve years, I and my brethren have not eaten the bread of the captain.
And I came to Jerusalem and understood the evil that Eliashib had done attending Tobiah, in preparing him a chamber in the courts of the house of God.
In the second year of Darius the king, in the sixth month, in the first day of the month, came the word of the LORD by the hand of Haggai the prophet unto Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, saying,
Then spoke Haggai the ambassador of the LORD in the embassy of the LORD unto the people, saying, I am with you, said the LORD. And the LORD woke up the spirit of Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah and the spirit of Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people; and they came and worked in the house of the LORD of the hosts, their God,
The burden of the word of the LORD against Israel by the hand of Malachi.
The burden of the word of the LORD against Israel by the hand of Malachi.
The burden of the word of the LORD against Israel by the hand of Malachi. I have loved you, said the LORD. Yet ye say, In what hast thou loved us? Was not Esau Jacob's brother? said the LORD; yet I loved Jacob,
I have loved you, said the LORD. Yet ye say, In what hast thou loved us? Was not Esau Jacob's brother? said the LORD; yet I loved Jacob, and I rejected Esau and laid his mountains and his heritage waste for the dragons of the wilderness. read more. When Edom saith, We are impoverished, but we will return and build the desolate places; thus hath the LORD of the hosts said, They shall build, but I will throw down; and they shall call them, The province of wickedness and The people against whom the LORD has indignation for ever. And your eyes shall see and ye shall say, The LORD will be magnified over the province of Israel. The son honours his father and the slave his master; if then I am a father, where is my honour? and if I am a master, where is my fear? said the LORD of the hosts unto you, O priests, that despise my name. And ye say, In what have we despised thy name?
For from the rising of the sun even unto the going down of the same, my name is great among the Gentiles; and in every place incense is offered unto my name, and a clean offering; for my name is great among the Gentiles, said the LORD of the hosts.
If ye will not hear, and if ye will not lay it to heart, to give glory unto my name, said the LORD of the hosts, I will send a curse upon you, and I will curse your blessings; yea, I have cursed them already because ye do not lay it to heart.
And ye shall know that I have sent this commandment unto you, that my covenant might be with Levi, said the LORD of the hosts.
And ye shall know that I have sent this commandment unto you, that my covenant might be with Levi, said the LORD of the hosts. My covenant was with him of life and peace; and I gave them to him for the fear with which he feared me and was broken before my name.
My covenant was with him of life and peace; and I gave them to him for the fear with which he feared me and was broken before my name.
Therefore I have also made you contemptible and base before all the people, according as ye have not kept my ways, but have been partial in the law. Have we not all one father? has not one God created us? why do we despise each man his brother by breaking the covenant of our fathers? read more. Judah has dealt treacherously, and an abomination has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem; for Judah has profaned the holiness of the LORD by loving and marrying the daughter of a strange god. The LORD will cut off the man that does this, the master and the scholar out of the tabernacles of Jacob and him that offers an offering unto the LORD of the hosts. And once again ye shall cover the altar of the LORD with tears, with weeping, and with crying out, for I shall not even look at the offering any more to receive a free will offering from your hand. Yet ye say, Why? Because the LORD has been witness between thee and the wife of thy youth, against whom thou hast dealt treacherously; yet she is thy companion and the wife of thy covenant. And did he not make one, having in himself abundance of the Spirit? And why one? That he might seek offspring of God. Therefore take heed to your spirit and let no one deal treacherously against the wife of his youth.
Ye have wearied the LORD with your words. Yet ye say, In what have we wearied him? When ye say, Every one that does evil pleases the LORD, and he delights in them; or, Where is the God of judgment?
Behold, I send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me; and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, and the angel of the covenant, whom ye desire: behold, he comes, said the LORD of the hosts.
Behold, I send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me; and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, and the angel of the covenant, whom ye desire: behold, he comes, said the LORD of the hosts.
Behold, I send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me; and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, and the angel of the covenant, whom ye desire: behold, he comes, said the LORD of the hosts.
Behold, I send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me; and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, and the angel of the covenant, whom ye desire: behold, he comes, said the LORD of the hosts.
Behold, I send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me; and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, and the angel of the covenant, whom ye desire: behold, he comes, said the LORD of the hosts.
Behold, I send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me; and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, and the angel of the covenant, whom ye desire: behold, he comes, said the LORD of the hosts.
Behold, I send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me; and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, and the angel of the covenant, whom ye desire: behold, he comes, said the LORD of the hosts.
And I will come near unto you for judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers and against the adulterers and against false swearers and against those that oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and that turn aside the stranger from his right, and do not fear me, said the LORD of the hosts. For I am the LORD, I have not changed; therefore, ye sons of Jacob have not been consumed. read more. Even from the days of your fathers, ye had departed from my ordinances and had never kept them. Return unto me, and I will return unto you, said the LORD of the hosts. But ye said, In what shall we return? Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, In what have we robbed thee? In the tithes and the offerings. Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye, even this whole nation, have robbed me. Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, and there shall be food in my house, and prove me now in this, said the LORD of the hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven and pour you out a blessing that there shall not be room enough to receive it.
Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, and there shall be food in my house, and prove me now in this, said the LORD of the hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven and pour you out a blessing that there shall not be room enough to receive it.
Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, and there shall be food in my house, and prove me now in this, said the LORD of the hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven and pour you out a blessing that there shall not be room enough to receive it.
Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, and there shall be food in my house, and prove me now in this, said the LORD of the hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven and pour you out a blessing that there shall not be room enough to receive it. And I will reprehend the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of the ground; neither shall the vine in the field abort, said the LORD of the hosts. read more. And all the Gentiles shall call you blessed: for ye shall be a delightsome land, said the LORD of the hosts. Your words have prevailed against me, saith the LORD. Yet ye say, What have we spoken against thee?
Your words have prevailed against me, saith the LORD. Yet ye say, What have we spoken against thee? Ye have said, It is vain to serve God, and what profit is it that we have kept his law and that we walk mournfully before the LORD of the hosts? read more. We say, therefore, now, that blessed are the proud and even that those that work wickedness are prospered; those that tempted God have escaped. Then those that feared the LORD spoke one to another, and the LORD hearkened and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for those that feared the LORD and for those that think in his name.
Then those that feared the LORD spoke one to another, and the LORD hearkened and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for those that feared the LORD and for those that think in his name. And they shall be mine, said the LORD of the hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spares his own son that serves him. read more. Therefore become ye converted, and ye shall make a difference between the just and the wicked, between him that serves God and him that did not serve him.
Therefore become ye converted, and ye shall make a difference between the just and the wicked, between him that serves God and him that did not serve him.
Therefore become ye converted, and ye shall make a difference between the just and the wicked, between him that serves God and him that did not serve him.
Therefore become ye converted, and ye shall make a difference between the just and the wicked, between him that serves God and him that did not serve him.
For, behold, the day comes that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, and all that do wickedly shall be stubble; and the day that comes shall burn them up, said the LORD of the hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.
Remember ye the law of Moses my slave, which I commanded unto him in Horeb statutes and my rights over all Israel.
Remember ye the law of Moses my slave, which I commanded unto him in Horeb statutes and my rights over all Israel.
and he shall convert the heart of the fathers to the sons, and the heart of the sons to the fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with destruction.
Morish
Mal'achi
The last of the minor prophets. Nothing is recorded of the prophet's personal history, he is named once only. He was prophet near the time of Nehemiah's return to the land, and the prophecy reveals the moral condition of the people. The first chapter, while it shows their insensibility, shows also the sovereign love of Jehovah to them, a love on which His purpose depended. When charged with their sins, they asked wherein had they sinned. The answer is that they brought to the Lord that which was torn, the lame, and the sick, and had offered polluted bread upon Jehovah's altar: in effect saying, "The table of the Lord is polluted; and the fruit thereof, even his meat, is contemptible." This brought judgement upon those who were insensible to what was due to the Lord. Yet Jehovah should be magnified beyond the border of Israel, and His name be great among the Gentiles.
Mal. 2. The priests who ought to have been guides to the people, are called to account. Judah had intimate fellowship with idolatry; had symbolically married the daughter of a strange god; and had associated this with the worship of Jehovah. Israel had also dealt treacherously with the wife of their youth: this was but the discovery of a treacherous principle in them. God hated putting away: notwithstanding all this, they were apathetic, and asked wherein had they wearied God.
Mal. 3 opens with the announcement of the Lord's messenger, which was fulfilled in John the Baptist. But the first coming of the Lord is here connected with His second coming, when He will sit as a refiner, and will purge away the dross, and then shall the sons of Levi offer an offering in righteousness.
God challenged the returned Jews to be faithful to Him, and they should have such a blessing that they would not have room enough to contain it. When called upon to return to Jehovah they are still unconscious of their condition, and ask, "Wherein shall we return?" and "Wherein have we robbed thee?" "What have we spoken so much against thee?" They had said it was in vain to serve the Lord; they had called the proud happy; the wicked were built up, and they that tempted God were delivered.
Yet God's purpose should stand: their land should be a delightsome land, and all nations should call them blessed. In the meantime the remnant are spoken of as those that feared the Lord and thought upon His name: they communed often one with another. God had a book of remembrance of such: they shall be remembered when the Lord of hosts makes up His jewels, and shall be spared when He comes in judgement.
Mal. 4. A day of great judgement is coming when the wicked shall be consumed. But to them that fear His name the Sun of righteousness shall arise with healing in His wings (not the morning star here, as for the church). There will be judgement for the disobedient, as was indeed fully shown in the law at the beginning of the covenant with them.
But Elijah will come as Christ's forerunner, to call them to repentance before the great and dreadful day of the Lord. John the Baptist would have fulfilled this mission had they received him; but, except a few, they did not, and therefore when asked if he was Elias, he said, No. He fulfilled the prophecy in the first clause of Mal 3:1; but not that of Mal 4:5-6; the people did not repent. Elijah will still come. There will be judgement first, but great blessing in the end to those that are spared.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
Behold, I send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me; and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, and the angel of the covenant, whom ye desire: behold, he comes, said the LORD of the hosts.
Behold, I send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the LORD: and he shall convert the heart of the fathers to the sons, and the heart of the sons to the fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with destruction.
Watsons
MALACHI, the last of the twelve minor prophets. Malachi prophesied about B.C. 400; and some traditionary accounts state that he was a native of Sapha, and of the tribe of Zebulun. He reproves the people for their wickedness, and the priests for their negligence in the discharge of their office; he threatens the disobedient with the judgments of God, and promises great rewards to the penitent and pious; he predicts the coming of Christ, and the preaching of John the Baptist; and with a solemnity becoming the last of the prophets, he closes the sacred canon with enjoining the strict observance of the Mosaic law, till the forerunner, already promised, should appear in the spirit of Elias, to introduce the Messiah, who was to establish a new and everlasting covenant.