Introduction to Malachi

The second temple is mentioned as being in existence (Mal. 1:10; 3:1, 8), so the book must have been written after 515 BC. The book is set in the mid-5th century BC, perhaps during the reign of the Persian king Artaxerxes (465–424 BC) or possibly even a little later, c. 400 BC.

The author is Malachi, as the superscription states: “The oracle of the word of the LORD to Israel by Malachi” (Mal 1:1).

Malachi was probably a contemporary of Ezra and Nehemiah. Israel was plagued by similar sins to those Ezra and Nehemiah opposed, including neglect of tithing and intermarriage with pagan women.

It is among the last books of the Old Testament to be written, along with Ezra-Nehemiah. It is impossible to determine whether Ezra-Nehemiah or Malachi is later. However, the placement of Malachi at the end of the Old Testament (in the Christian canonical order) is fitting—not only because it is one of the last books of the Old Testament to be written, but also because of its famous prophecy concerning the coming of Elijah (Mal 3:1; 4:5), which provides a fitting transition to the New Testament Gospels and the ministry of John the Baptist.

Literary Genre

“The dominant genre is satire … The object of attack is halfhearted and negligent religious service, which in the prophet’s day took multiple forms … The primary vehicle in which the satire is embodied is a rhetoric of question and answer, as the people of Judah are pictured as asking a series of questions that God answers in an accusatory and condemning way.” — ESV Study Bible

The pattern of the disputations is:

1. God indicts his people for sinful behavior.
2. The people ask how God’s charge is true: “But you say …” (1:6–7; 2:17; 3:7–8, 13).
3. God replies to the question, expanding on the charge.

Outline of Malachi

• Superscription (1:1)
• First Disputation: God’s Love for Israel (1:2–5)
• Second Disputation: Blemished Sacrifices and Corrupt Priests (1:6–2:9)
• Third Disputation: Breakdown of the Marriage Covenant in Three Areas (2:10–16)
  • Intermarriage (2:11)
  • Unfaithfulness (2:14–15; cf. 3:5)
  • Divorce (2:16)
• Fourth Disputation: The Coming Messenger (2:17–3:5)
• Fifth Disputation: Neglect of Tithing (3:6–12)
• Sixth Disputation: God’s Faithful Remnant (3:13–4:3)
• Conclusion: Remember the Law of Moses! (4:4–6)

Main Theme: Israel’s Failure to Offer Acceptable Worship

• 1:6–14: They offered blemished sacrificial animals while keeping the good ones for themselves.
• 1:10: “Oh that there were one among you who would shut the doors” (of the temple).
• 2:1–9: The importance of God’s “covenant with Levi”—matters are grievous when the priests themselves are corrupt.
• 2:11–13: Breakdown of the marriage covenant leads to desecration of the temple and unacceptable offerings.
• 3:6–12: Israel robbed God by withholding tithes needed to support temple worship.
• 3:14, 18: They held back because they saw no economic or earthly benefit in “serving God” and “keeping his charge”—that is, faithfully maintaining temple worship through tithing and acceptable sacrifices.

Hope for Pure Temple Worship

What hope did Israel have of resolving these failures in pure temple worship?

• None apart from the Messiah, who alone can rectify the situation (3:1).
• “Who can endure? … who can stand?” (3:2).
• Malachi 3:3–4—pleasing offerings—is the answer to Malachi 1:10, where offerings were not accepted.
• Only then will the prophecy of “pure offerings” (1:11) be fulfilled.
• When the Messiah restores true temple worship, Gentiles will be included.
• God’s covenant with Levi, like his covenant with David, must continue (2:4–7). God always keeps his covenant promises. Christ is the true and final priest.
• The old-covenant priest was “the messenger of the LORD of hosts” (2:7), pointing forward to “the messenger of the covenant” (3:1).
• When did he “suddenly come to his temple”? See John 2:13–22. The cleansing of the temple is not the final fulfillment; it pictured his death and resurrection. See also 1 Peter 2:4–5.

New Testament Quotations of Malachi

Malachi	New Testament
1:2–3	Rom. 9:13: “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”
3:1	Matt. 11:10; Mark 1:2; Luke 7:27: “Behold, I send my messenger before your face.”
4:2	“The sun of righteousness” → “the sunrise from on high” (Luke 1:78).
4:5	Matt. 17:10–11; Mark 9:11–12: God will send Elijah before the day of the LORD comes.
4:6	Luke 1:17: Elijah will “turn the hearts of the fathers to the children.”

Two Commonly Misquoted Verses from Malachi

Malachi 2:16 — Divorce

A common rendering is: “God hates divorce!”

Older translations read:

“For the LORD, the God of Israel, saith that he hateth putting away: for one covereth violence with his garment, saith the LORD of hosts: therefore take heed to your spirit, that ye deal not treacherously.”

— KJV; cf. NASB; NIV 1984

That interpretation is possible, but more recent translations move in a different direction:

“For the man who does not love his wife but divorces her … covers his garment with violence.”
— ESV

“The man who hates and divorces his wife … does violence to the one he should protect.”
— NIV 2011

Compare the language of a man “hating” his wife and divorcing her in Deuteronomy 24:3.

Malachi 3:10 — Tithing

A common interpretation is: “If you tithe, God will bless your finances!”

This misses the Deuteronomic blessing-and-curses formula (Deut. 14:28–29; 26–28). Those blessings and curses applied only to national Israel. Failure to tithe meant neglecting the house of God (Neh. 10:39; 13:11).

Because Christians do not have a literal temple, tithing—in the sense of a mandatory ten percent—is not binding today, nor are believers promised financial blessing for doing so.

Instead, Christians should give voluntarily to support preachers of the gospel and fellow believers in need (1 Cor. 9:13–14; 2 Cor. 8–9; Gal. 6:10; 1 Tim. 5:17–18; 1 John 3:17–18).

In contrast with the Mosaic-law principle, “If you do not tithe, you will be cursed,” the gospel calls believers to give joyfully and freely, not under compulsion, in response to and in step with God’s grace (2 Cor. 8:8–9; 9:5–15).