THE BOOK OF MALACHI
Lesson 1: Introduction and Chapters 1:1-2:9
The First Two Oracles: Yahweh's Love for His Covenant People and
His Indictment Against the Failed Priests
Lord God, our Divine Judge, and Righteous Father,
You call Your covenant people in every generation to the obedience
of faith by living within the boundaries of Your Law of love for God and our
neighbor. You gave Your Law to protect Your people from sin and as a tutor and
guide on their path through the perils of earthly life to the promise of
everlasting life in Heaven. Only when we stubbornly think we know the best path
for ourselves do we jeopardize Your plan for our destinies by repeating the sin
of rebellion demonstrated by our original parents. Lord, give us the strength
of faith to be obedient to Your commandments, even when we do not understand
their purpose. We pray in the name of God the Father, the Son, and the Holy
Spirit. Amen.
+ + +
"While Moses, the
great lawgiver, was the first to leave us the divine sayings in writing, the
divinely inspired Malachi committed to writing the divine oracles after all the
other composers of inspired composition. He did not mention the time like the
others, but in his prophecies, he indicated that he was accorded this grace
after the rebuilding of the divine Temple and the people's attainment of peace.
In fact, he did not accuse them of indolence in the rebuilding, as did blessed
Haggai and Zechariah. He reminds them instead of the divine favors and accuses
the priests and the others separately, focusing on the lawless acts committed
by them. He announces beforehand the coming of Christ the Lord in the flesh and
the salvation the human race enjoyed as a result of it."
Theodoret, Bishop of Cyr (c. 393-466), Commentary on Malachi, Introduction
The Book of the Prophet Malachi was written during the period of Persian domination. Along with Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi was God's prophet to the Jews after their return from the Babylonian exile in the 6th century BC. The book was probably written after rebuilding the Jerusalem Temple (completed in about 515-7 BC) when religious rituals and sacrifices were reestablished. Since Malachi denounces intermarriage (Malachi 2:11), most scholars suggest the book was written before the religious reforms under Ezra and Nehemiah (c. 445 BC) prohibiting mixed marriages with pagans.
Jewish and Christian Bibles place Malachi as the last of the Minor Prophets. The book's title (superscription) in 1:1 names the writer as "Malachi" (also see 3:1). However, since Malachi is not a proper name, the inspired writer is anonymous. In Hebrew, malachi means "my messenger," from the Hebrew word mal'ak, "messenger," a title given to heavenly spirits as well as God's holy prophets. Like the heavenly messengers, prophets served God by delivering His words to His people, including bringing covenant lawsuits against offenders who were to face divine judgment in His heavenly council.
The book is a covenant lawsuit (in Hebrew, a riv/rib) issued by Yahweh through His divinely appointed prophet (Mal 2:2). The Hebrew word riv/rib indicates an indictment, controversy, or dispute. Through Malachi, Yahweh presents a legal case convicting the covenant people of numerous abuses and calls for their repentance. The case shows a body of evidence that is just as relevant today as when Malachi presented God's case against His old covenant people.1
When Malachi addressed the covenant people of Judah, the enthusiasm for civil and religious reforms aroused by the prophets Haggai and Zechariah had subsided, and the descendants of the returned exiles were content to drift again into spiritually unhealthy practices. Malachi urges the people to reform themselves before the advent of the Messenger of the Covenant, whose coming will be heralded by another mysterious messenger in the spirit of the 8th-century BC prophet Elijah (Malachi 3:1, 23/4:5). In the new era that the messenger will announce, there will be a restoration of true religion and moral and spiritual order (Malachi 3:4-5), culminating in a new sacrifice, pure and holy and offered to God by the people of all nations (Malachi 1:11).
Malachi was Israel's last Old Covenant prophet before the birth of St. John the Baptist. In most Christian Bibles, the Book of Malachi is the final book in the Christian canon of the Old Testament Bible before New Testament Gospels. Christians place the books of the Prophets in their Bibles in a different order than in the Jewish Bible. The books of the prophets usually come just before the Gospels because the prophets' writings foretell the coming of the Davidic Redeemer-Messiah, whose mission is fulfilled and explained in the books and letters of the New Testament.
The Fathers of the New Covenant Church used the Book of Malachi to interpret the two covenants of the Old Covenant of Sinai and the New Covenant in Christ Jesus. They saw the Book of Malachi as containing prophecies pointing to the mission of John the Baptist and the advent of Jesus Christ since all New Testament references to Malachi are primarily to define Jesus as the Messiah. Saint Cyril of Alexandria (d. 444) wrote: "In the end, he speaks of the coming of our Savior (cf. 3:1-2): a pure sacrifice will be offered to God (cf. 1:11), which will wipe away the guilt of all and cancel all debts; sin will be cast out and man, made new for a new life" (Commentarius in Malachiam, 1, 1, 2-5).
The Book of Malachi divides into two parts with one central theme and three minor themes.
The central theme of the Book of Malachi is that the laws of the old Sinai Covenant is still in force. Unlike His people, God remains faithful to His word. There are also three sub-themes:
Quotes from Malachi in other Bible books:
Historical Background:
Ezra and Nehemiah, along with Zerubbabel and Joshua the High Priest, were responsible for the restoration of Israel/Judah after the seventy years of the Babylonian Exile. Ezra and Nehemiah helped restore Judah's national and religious devotion. The Book of Malachi was probably written at least a generation after the missions of Ezra and Nehemiah.
All Biblical verses are from the New Jerusalem Bible unless designated NAB (New American Bible), RSVCE (Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition), IBHE (Interlinear Bible Hebrew-English), IBGE (Interlinear Bible Greek-English), or LXX (Greek Septuagint Old Testament translation). CCC indicates a citation from the Catechism of the Catholic Church. The New Jerusalem Bible renders God's divine name in the original Hebrew texts as YHWH or with vowels, Yahweh. In other translations, the word LORD or GOD in all capital letters is a substitute for God's Divine Name YHWH (Yahweh). Some translations number the last chapter as 3:1-24, while others have 3:1-18 and the final chapter as 4:1-6.
Chapters 1:1-2:9
Malachi 1:1-5 ~ The Superscription and the First
Oracle: the Love of Yahweh for His People
1 A message. The word of Yahweh to Israel through
Malachi [my messenger*]: 2 "I have loved you, says Yahweh. But you
ask, How have you shown your love?' Was not Esau Jacob's
brother? declares Yahweh; even so, I loved Jacob, 3 but I hated Esau.
I turned his mountains into a desert and his heritage
into dwellings in the wastelands. 4 If Edom says, We have been
struck down, but we shall rebuild our ruins,' Yahweh Sabaoth says this, Let
them build, but I shall pull down! They will be known as Land of Wickedness and
Nation-with-which-Yahweh-is-angry-for-ever. 5 You
will see this yourselves, and you will say: Yahweh is mighty beyond the borders
of Israel."
* the literal Hebrew, IBHE, vol. III, page 2180.
The book's title comes from the superscription in 1:1, The word of Yahweh to Israel through my messenger (literal translation, IBHE, vol. III, page ). "My messenger" in Hebrew is malachi. Verses 1-5 comprise Malachi's first oracle. In the Bible, an oracle is a message from God to His prophet, which the prophet delivers as God's agent. Prophets were commissioned directly by Yahweh and not appointed by rulers or priests. The prophet received divine communication through dreams, visions, and audible communication. The prophet, in turn, delivered God's messages by sermons, writings, parables, and oracles that recounted the exact words of God to the prophet.
God could call a prophet to service at any time in his life.
Question: How old was Moses when he received his
call, and how old was Jeremiah? See Deuteronomy 34:7; Numbers 16:35-36;
Jeremiah 1:6-7.
Answer: Moses died when he was 120 years old. He
spent 40 years leading the Israelites out of Egypt and through the judgment of
their wilderness wandering until they reached the Promised Land of Canaan.
Therefore, he was probably about 80 years old when Yahweh called Moses to his
mission. By contrast, Jeremiah was only a child when Yahweh called him to his
prophetic ministry.
2 "I have loved you, says Yahweh. But you
ask, How have you shown your love?'
In verse 2, Yahweh professes His continuing love for His
covenant people but accuses them that their actions did not demonstrate their
love for Him in return. They continually rebelled against His Laws meant to
protect them from sin and secure their future as prosperous covenant people.
2b Was not
Esau Jacob's brother? declares Yahweh; even so, I loved Jacob, 3 but
I hated Esau.
Question: Who were Esau and Jacob? See
Genesis 25:19-28; 28:10-15; 35:10-13;
Sirach 44:22/24-23/25-26.
Answer: They were the twin sons of Isaac, son of
Abraham, and his wife, Rebekah. Esau was the firstborn, but God continued the
Abrahamic covenant with Jacob-Israel.
In this verse, God uses hyperbole (exaggeration) to point out that He does not choose someone out of the human family based only on that person's merit. St. Paul will use verses 2-3 to point out that God's election precedes any meritorious acts on the part of those He chooses. St. Cyril of Alexandria also commented on this passage: "[God] chose Jacob, from whom the Jewish people descend, and rejected Esau; but he did not choose on a whim. God is just: he cannot pass an unjust sentence against any man or people. Being God, he could see the lives and beliefs of both peoples in the future, and he chose the better part, the people who would remain closer to him and be more worthy of his love" (Commetarius in Malachiam, 4).
God repeats His special love for the descendants of Jacob-Israel throughout sacred Scripture, especially in the Book of Deuteronomy (see Deuteronomy 4:37; 7:7-15; etc.). Malachi bases the oracles he reveals on God's assertion about His choice of Jacob-Israel, which had nothing to do with merit on Jacob's part. In fact, Jacob-Israel was a man of deception. He connived his brother Esau out of his material birthright as the firstborn (Genesis 25:29-34) and deceived his father, Isaac, into even giving him Esau's blessing (Genesis 27:1-45). It wasn't that God "hated" Esau, but he knew Esau would not cooperate in His plans for a corporate covenant people and would work against it.
The Edomite descendants of Esau collaborated with Israel's enemies to thwart God's plan. They supported Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon's campaign against Jerusalem and celebrated the fall and exile of Judah (Psalm 137:7; Lam 4:21-22; cf. Amos 1:11-12; Isaiah 11:14; 21:11-12; 34:5-17; Jeremiah 49:7-22). God told Malachi: "I turned his mountains into a desert and his heritage into dwellings in the wastelands. 4 If Edom says, We have been struck down, but we shall rebuild our ruins,' Yahweh Sabaoth says this, Let them build, but I shall pull down! They will be known as Land of Wickedness and Nation-with-which-Yahweh-is-angry-for-ever. No matter how hard the Edomites strived to reestablish their nation, God was stronger than they were. Yahweh told His covenant people: 5 "You will see this yourselves, and you will say: Yahweh is mighty beyond the borders of Israel." God prevailed, and from the family of Jacob-Israel came the great King David, the Virgin Mary, St. Joseph, and Jesus the Messiah.
Centuries after the Judahites returned from the
Babylonian exile in the 6th century BC, in 129 BC, Judean king John
Hyrcanus I conquered the Edomite cities. By the first century BC, the
descendants of Esau were known by the Greek term for Edom and were called
Idumeans. In 63 BC, the Romans conquered Syria and Judah, including Idumea,
renaming all the territories in the Levant the Roman Province of Syria-Judea.
Question: What Idumean descendant of Esau worked
against God's plan for humanity's salvation and tried to kill baby Jesus? See
Matthew 2:1, 16.
Answer: Herod the Great, the Idumean Roman
appointed King of Judea.
These first five verses contain the essence of Malachi's message. To a people demonstrating a general apathy toward God, Malachi reminds them that God's love for them calls for an appropriate response.
The Second Oracle: Malachi 1:6-2:9
Malachi 1:6-14 ~ An Indictment of the Priests
Yahweh says: 6 "The son honors his father,
the slave stands in awe of his master. But if I am indeed father, where is the
honor due to me? And if I am indeed master, where is the awe due to me? says
Yahweh Sabaoth to you priests who despise my name. You ask, "How have we
despised your name?" 7 By putting polluted food on my altar. You
ask, "How have we polluted you?" By saying, "The table of Yahweh deserves no
respect." 8 When you bring blind animals for sacrifice, is this not
wrong? When you bring the lame and the diseased, is this not wrong? If you
offer them to your governor, see if he is pleased with them or receives you
graciously, says Yahweh Sabaoth. 9 In that case, try pleading with
God to take pity on us (that is what you have done), and will he take any
notice? says Yahweh Sabaoth. 10 Why does one of you not close the
doors and so stop the pointless lighting of fires on my altar? I am not pleased
with you," says Yahweh Sabaoth; "from your hands, I find no offerings
acceptable. 11 But from farthest east to farthest west my name is
great among the nations, and everywhere incense and a pure gift are offered to
my name, since my name is great among the nations," says Yahweh Sabaoth.
12 "But you have profaned it by saying, The table of the Lord is polluted;
hence the food offered on it deserves no respect.' 13 You say, How
tiresome it all is!' and sniff disdainfully at me, says Yahweh Sabaoth. You
bring a stolen lamb or diseased animal; you bring that as an offering! Am I to
accept this from you? says Yahweh Sabaoth. 14 Cursed be the rogue
who has a male in his flock but pays his vow by sacrificing a blemished animal
to me! For I am a great king," says Yahweh Sabaoth, "and among the nations, my
name inspires awe."
Yahweh is a divine Father to Israel. Yet, His covenant people do not honor Him as a son should honor his father (1:6; cf. Deuteronomy 5:16), nor do they respect Him as a servant does a master. Through His prophet, Yahweh accuses the priests, who should be teaching the people about the quality of their relationship with Him, instead of despising God's name. In the Bible, one's name expresses the true essence of a person, in this case, the divine essence of God and everything He has taught them embodied in the Mosaic Law.
In verses 6-7, Malachi presents the priests as feigning
ignorance concerning their abuses as they ask a series of questions relating to
how they have despised His name.
Question: What abuses does Yahweh list against the
priests in addition to their general lack of respect?
Answer:
The rituals of sacrifice were enumerated in the Mosaic Law. All animals offered on God's altar had to be without blemish or defect. This restriction included whole-burnt offering or offerings where only the fat and kidneys were burned on the altar and the meat consumed either by the priests in a sin or reparation sacrifice or the people in a communion thanksgiving sacrifice of praise and peace with God (Toda), or a festival offering, (Leviticus 1:1-17; 3:1-7:38/28). Grain and wine offerings also had to be high-quality gifts for God's altar (Leviticus 2:1-16; 19:5-8; 22:29-30; Numbers 15:7-10). Not observing these ritual rules showed disrespect for God in a way that the prophet tells the priests they would not treat their civil leaders (verse 8). Yahweh said their abuses are so grave that "from your hands, I find no offerings acceptable" (verse 10).
11 But from farthest east to farthest west
my name is great among the nations, and everywhere incense and a pure gift are
offered to my name, since my name is great among the nations," says Yahweh
Sabaoth.
The "thanksgiving" communion offering of the life of
Christ in the Eucharist contains and expresses all forms of Christian prayer. The
Eucharist is "the pure gift" of the whole Body of Christ to the glory of the
name of God among the nations from the east to the west. And "according to the
traditions of the universal Church in the East and West, it is the sacrifice
of praise'" (CCC 2643).
12 "But you have profaned it by saying, The
table of the Lord is polluted; hence the food offered on it deserves no
respect.' 13 You say, How tiresome it all is!' and sniff
disdainfully at me, says Yahweh Sabaoth. You bring a stolen lamb or diseased
animal; you bring that as an offering! Am I to accept this from you? says
Yahweh Sabaoth. 14 Cursed be the rogue who
has a male in his flock but pays his vow by sacrificing a blemished animal to
me! For I am a great king," says Yahweh Sabaoth, "and among the nations, my
name inspires awe."
Yahweh's judgment falls more heavily on the priests than
on the people because it was their duty to instruct the people and enforce the
rituals of sacrifice and worship. They should not have accepted imperfect or
improper sacrifices, either the compulsory sacrifices for daily and festival
worship or the people's voluntary sin or communion sacrifices. In accepting
imperfect sacrifices, the priests taught the people that respect for God, their
Divine King, and the Law He gave them at Mt. Sinai was not necessary.
14 Cursed be the rogue who has a male in his flock but pays his vow by sacrificing a blemished animal to me!br / The Law concerning the vow offering or a voluntary gift as a whole burnt offering to Yahweh required an unblemished male from the herd or flock (Lev 22:17-25). Verse 14 places a curse judgment on anyone who attempts to disregard the law and demonstrate infidelity to the covenant by offering God the vow offering of a blemished, non-male animal and still expecting to receive God's blessing. The covenant people and their priests profane the "name of Yahweh" when they transgress the ritual precepts, showing their ingratitude for His blessings in the meanness of their offerings.
Question: How do some Christians today display similar
actions of disrespect for God when attending the Liturgy of daily or Sunday
worship?
Some answers:
"For I am a great king," says Yahweh Sabaoth, "and
among the nations, my name inspires awe."
The oracle envisions an ideal knowledge of Yahweh that is
universal. Perhaps Yahweh is speaking of His future greatness among the nations
when the Messiah's Gospel of salvation spreads to the "ends of the earth"
(Matthew 28:20). Early Christian writers read his announcement as a prophecy of
the sacrifice of the Eucharist. The Church's first catechism, entitled "The
Teaching of the Twelve Apostles," or simply "The Didache" (teaching), quotes
from Malachi concerning making a pure offering to God in the Eucharist:
"Gathered together every Sunday, break bread and give thanks after you have
confessed your sins so that your sacrifice will be pure. No man who is in
dispute with his neighbor should join in the gathering until they are
reconciled to one another so that the sacrifice will not be profaned. For this
is the sacrifice of which the Lord said: From the rising of the sun to its
setting, my name is great among the nations, and in every place, incense is
offered to my name, and a pure offering; for my name is great among the
nations, says the Lord of Hosts" (Didache, 14.1-3, quoting Malachi 1:11).
This interpretation, found throughout the writings of the Church Fathers, also appears in the teaching of the Catholic Church's Magisterium: "This is the pure offering, which cannot be defiled no matter how unworthy and evil those who profane it are; for thus God told us through the prophet Malachi when he said that a pure offering be made to his Name, the Name that is great among the nations (cf. Mal 1:11)" (Council of Trent, Doctrine on the sacrifice of the Mass, chap. 1).
2:1-9 ~ The Second Part of the First Oracle: Malachi's
Indictment Against the Priests Continued
1 And now,
priests, this commandment is for you. 2 If you will not listen, if
you will not sincerely resolve to glorify my name, says Yahweh Sabaoth, I shall
certainly lay a curse on you, and I shall curse your blessing. Indeed, I will
lay a curse, for none of you makes this resolve. 3 Now, I am going
to break your arm and throw offal in your faces, the offal of your solemn
feasts, and sweep you away with it. 4 Then you will know that I sent
this commandment to you, to affirm my intention to maintain my covenant with
Levi, says Yahweh Sabaoth. 5 My covenant was with him "a covenant of
life and peace, and these were what I gave him "a covenant of respect, and he
respected me and held my name in awe. 6 The law of truth was in his
mouth and guilt was not found on his lips; he walked in peace and justice with
me, and he converted many from sinning. 7 The priest's lips ought to
safeguard knowledge; his mouth is where the law should be sought, since he is
Yahweh Sabaoth's messenger [mal'ak]. 8 But you yourselves have turned
aside from the way; you have caused many to lapse by your teaching. Since you
have destroyed the covenant of Levi, says Yahweh Sabaoth, 9 so I in
my turn have made you contemptible and vile to the whole people, for not having
kept my ways and for being partial in applying the law.
In the second part of the oracle, Malachi delivers an
exhortation to the priests.
Question: What three failures does Malachi list in
2:1, 8, and 9. And when did he mention the first failure in the first oracle?
Answer:
All their abuses point to having broken the covenants Yahweh made with Aaron and the Levitical priests and ministers and their descendants (2:4-5; cf. Lev 22:1-9; Num 25:10-13; Dt 18:1-8; 33:8-11; Sir 45:7-26). For their service to be effective, they must practice the dedication that Aaron and Phinehas (Aaron's grandson) had: fear of offending God, humility, sincerity, and truthfulness in their speech (2:5-6).
Question: Why is truthfulness in their speech critical?
See Mal 2:7.
Answer: Because the priests, as God's messengers,
do not speak on their own behalf. As Yahweh's representatives, they must speak
God's words and the wisdom of His Law.
Vatican II addressed the subject of the ordained priest's mission to preach, recalling the warning in this passage: "The people of God are joined together primarily by the word of the living God. And rightfully, they expect this from their priests. Since no one can be saved who does not first believe, priests, as co-workers with their bishops have the primary duty of proclaiming the Gospel of God to all. In this way, they fulfill the command of the Lord ... and establish and build up the people of God" (Presbyterorum ordinis, 4).
8 But you yourselves have turned aside from
the way; you have caused many to lapse by your teaching. Since you have
destroyed the covenant of Levi, says Yahweh Sabaoth, 9 so I in my
turn have made you contemptible and vile to the whole people, for not having
kept my ways and for being partial in applying the law.
During the years of Jesus's pubic ministry, He
continually challenged the priests and other religious leaders on their
understanding of the Scriptures and their commitment to blindly applying the
letter of the Law at the expense of justice and mercy. Jesus delivered God's
judgment announced by Malachi when He dismissed the old priesthood in favor of
a New Covenant priesthood established in His Apostles and disciples. On Jesus's
last teaching day in Jerusalem, He told several parables. At the end of the
Parable of the Wicked Tenants (Matthew 21:33-42),
Jesus warned the chief priests and scribes: "I tell you, then, that the
kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a people who will produce
its fruit." When they heard his parables, the chief priests and the scribes
realized he was speaking about them (Matthew 21:43-45).
Questions for reflection or group discussion:
Question: What did St. Paul write about the
judgment Christians face when they ignore the Church's teachings by receiving
the Eucharist unworthily in 1 Corinthians 11:26-29?
Question: Should God judge Christians today any different than the priests and members of the Old Covenant Church in their abuses? Is our judgment much more serious than theirs? Keep in mind that no one went to Heaven or the Hell of the Damned under the Old Covenant. All souls were consigned to the abode of the dead (Sheol in Hebrew and Hades in Greek). However, after Christ's Resurrection and His descent into Sheol to preach the Gospel, the righteous entered Heaven, and the wicked went to the Hell of the Damned. All those destined for Heaven, but in need of further purification, went to Purgatory (the reformed Sheol) until making full atonement for their sin debt that Jesus took on Himself. See the Apostles' Creed, CCC 632-33, 536, 1023-26, 1030-32, 1033-37.
Endnote:
1. In addition to Micah 1:2 and 6:2, other examples of prophets
bringing covenant lawsuits are in Isaiah 1:23; 3:13; 34:8; 41:21;
Jeremiah 1:16; 2:9; 11:1-8, 20; 25:31;
Ezekiel 44:24;
Hosea 2:1-4 and 4:1.
2. The difficulty in assigning a date for Ezra's mission concerns whether the king was Artaxerxes I (r. 465-425 BC) or Artaxerxes II (r. 404-359 BC). Most scholars support the date of 458 BC, identifying the date, as the ancients counted, with the first reginal year beginning in the spring of the new year for Artaxerxes I. If the Book of Ezra was written in his lifetime, he wouldn't have known about a successor with the same name. Ezra's mission was followed by Nehemiah's during the reign of Artaxerxes I.
Catechism references for this lesson (* indicates
Scripture quoted or paraphrased in the citation):
Malachi 1:11 (CCC 1330*, 1350*, 2643*)
Matthew 21:33-42 (CCC 755*); 21:34-36 (CCC 443*); 21:37-38 (CCC 443*); 21:42 (CCC 756*)
- God's teaching culminated with the Incarnation of God
the Son (CCC 217*, cf. Jn 18:37)
- Old Covenant sacrifices were imperfect. The perfect
sacrifice of salvation occurred through Christ's Passion and death on the
Cross (CCC 1540*)
- Marriage in the New Covenant (CCC 1611*, 2384-2386)
Michal Hunt, Copyright © 2013 Agape Bible
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