Malachi Calls for Righteous Living

GOLDEN TEXT: “Have we not all one father? hath not one God created us? why do we deal treacherously every man against his brother, by profaning the covenant of our fathers?” —Malachi 2:10

MALACHI 3:1-6, 13-18

THE name Malachi means, “my messenger.” The Prophet Malachi served Israel during the days of Nehemiah, or, in other words, during the reconstruction period which followed the nation’s captivity in Babylon. The first two chapters of his prophecy are largely a denunciation of Israel’s wickedness, particularly the corrupt practices of the priesthood. Under the strong leadership of Ezra, Nehemiah and Zerubbabel, the people made at least an outward show of righteousness, but at heart they seemed little different from what they were before their captivity in Babylon.

Not only were they lax in their worship of Jehovah, as manifested, for example, in their offering sick and blemished sacrifices on his altars, but they also lacked proper consideration for one another. “Have we not all one father?” Malachi asks. (ch. 2:10) They were all the children of Abraham to whom belonged the promises of God, yet they dealt “treacherously” against their brethren. They were all God’s creation, and as a nation had made a covenant with him, yet by their desecration of his altars, and their treacherous dealings with one another, they profaned, or broke, that covenant.

The people complained that they were not being blessed by God, yet they seemed not to realize that their poverty was due to their unfaithfulness to the Lord and to the covenant which their fathers had made with him. “Ye are cursed with a curse,” the Lord said to them, “for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation.” Then the Lord added, “Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of 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.”—ch. 3:8-10

Like the other prophets, in addition to reprimanding Israel for her sins, Malachi forecast coming events in the plan of God. Chapter 3:1 tells of two “messengers” whom the Lord would send, one to “prepare the way before” the Messiah, and the other the Messiah himself, who, in this prophecy, is described as the “Messenger of the covenant.” From Matthew 11:10 we learn that John the Baptist was the first of these messengers. By comparing John the Baptist’s comment concerning Jesus (Matt. 3:11,13) with Malachi 3:2,3, it becomes evident that Jesus is the other Messenger, the “Messenger of the covenant.”

The covenant referred to is the one promised in Jeremiah 31:31-34, the “New Covenant” which the Lord here promises to make with “the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah.” Jesus is the “Messenger,” the Mediator of that covenant. John the Baptist’s mission was to reform the people of Israel and bring them back into harmony with the original Law Covenant. The failure of this effort was the final test which demonstrated the need for the New Covenant.

The “Messenger of the Covenant,” Malachi said, would “purify the sons of Levi, … that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness.” Under the old Law Covenant arrangement the tribe of Levi were the religious servants of the people, the priests being of this tribe. Beginning at the first advent, at which time Israel under the old covenant was rejected, there began the work of preparing the priestly class to administer the affairs of the New Covenant. The calling of these from both Jews and Gentiles, and their refining and purifying and offering of sacrifice, has been the work of the Gospel age.—Heb. 3:1; I Pet. 2:5,9

These will be associate “messengers” of the New Covenant. This covenant will become operative first with Judah, at Jerusalem. Then as the prophet declares “the offering of Judah and Jerusalem” will “be pleasant unto the Lord, as in the days of old, and as in former years.”

Many throughout the ages have said that it is “vain to serve the Lord.” (Malachi 3:14) It is also frequently true that “now we call the proud happy; yea, they that work wickedness are set up; yea, they that tempt God are even delivered.” But this will continue to be true only while the Devil remains the “prince of this world.” When the New Covenant is inaugurated, with Jesus and his joint-heirs as its “Messengers,” evildoers will be cut off and the righteous rewarded.

Meanwhile, those who love the Lord and speak often one with the other are being noted by him, and these will be his precious ones, his “jewels,” those who will be as a royal diadem in his hand, to be used for the blessing of all Israel, and also all the families, or nations, of the earth. Then there will be discernment between the righteous and the wicked. The righteous will receive everlasting life, and the wicked will be destroyed.

QUESTIONS

When did the Prophet Malachi serve Israel, and what is the meaning of his name?

What is the principal subject matter of the first two chapters of Malachi’s prophecy?

Who are the two messengers referred to in Malachi 3:1?

What “covenant” is referred to in this prophecy?

What position did the tribe of Levi occupy in typical Israel, and who are the anti-typical “Sons of Levi”?

Why has evil triumphed throughout the ages, and when and how will this situation be changed?

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