MALACHIThe Final Message

Prophet Dates Nation/City Type PeriodObadiah 850 to Edom Minor Pre-Exilic

Joel 830 to Judah Minor Pre-Exilic

Jonah 770 B.C. to Ninevah Minor Pre-Exilic

Amos 760 to Israel Minor Pre-Exilic

Hosea 760 - 730 to Israel Minor Pre-Exilic

Isaiah 740 - 700 to Judah Major Pre-Exilic

Micah 737 - 690 to Judah Minor Pre-Exilic

Habakkah 630 to Judah Minor Pre-Exilic

Zephaniah 627 to Judah Minor Pre-Exilic

Jeremiah 627 - 580 to Judah Major Pre-Exilic

Daniel 605 - 530 to Judah Major Exilic

Ezekiel 593 - 570 to Judah Major Exilic

Nahum 593 - 570 to Ninevah Minor Pre-Exilic

Haggai 520 to Judah Minor Post-Exilic

Zechariah 520 - 518 to Judah Minor Post-Exilic

Malachi 433 B.C. to Judah Minor Post-Exilic

THE PROPHETS

Staring

2100 BC (about 4100 years ago)God promises

Abraham many descendants

2000 BC (about 4000 years ago)Jacob (Israel) & Esau (Edom) sons

of Isaac son of Abraham

1900 BC (about 3900 years ago)Joseph sold into slavery

1446 BC (about 3400 years ago)Exodus begins

1406 BC (about 3400 years ago)Israel begins establishing itself

as a sovereign country

1400 BC (about 3400 years ago)Israel is ruled by judges, not kings

1050 BC (about 3000 years ago)Saul becomes Israel's first king

1010 BC (about 3000 years ago)David becomes King of Israel

970 BC (about 3000 years ago)Solomon becomes king,

builds Temple

926 BC (about 2900 years ago)Israel becomes a divided kingdom

721 BC (about 2700 years ago)Assyrians conquer northern

kingdom of Israel

586 BC (about 2600 years ago)Babylon destroys Jerusalem

and the Temple

539 BC (about 2500 years ago)Cyrus the Great conquers Babylon

516 BC (about 2500 years ago)Second Temple is dedicated

430-420 BCMalachi

FLASHBACK

Location

Amos

Artaxerxes I

Haggai

Temple Completed

516 BC

Return under Ezra in the 4th

Year of Artaxerxes I

458 BC

Return under Nehemiah

444 BC

Nehemiah returns to

Persia for a time

432 BC

KINGS OF PERSIA

Zechariah

Darius Hystaspes

Xerxes

Invasion of Greece

Esther

Darius II

PeloponnesianWars

Malachi?

The Postexilic Era The Postexilic Era

586586 539539 536536 516516605605

HaggaiHaggaiZechariahZechariah MalachiMalachi

520520

Temple workTemple work

EzraEzraNehemiahNehemiah

ZerubbabelZerubbabel

444-425444-425

EstherEsther

483-473483-473

Prophets:Prophets:

Others:Others:

Persian Kings:Persian Kings: CyrusCyrus DariusDarius XerxesXerxes ArtaxerxesArtaxerxes

PERIOD

Temple Completion (516 BC)

Malachi’s Modern Message

Malachi: Date & Authorship

Malachi, “My messenger”, arrives shortly after the time of Ezra and Nehemiah 444 – 400 BC

He brings a final message from God before a period of 400 years of silence Haggai and Zechariah had promised great blessings for

Israel if they would turn to God Ezra and Nehemiah tried to stir up the people to take their

spiritual obligations seriously All had some success, at least during their lives

Now Malachi comes to give God’s evaluation of their spiritual condition and the consequence

Malachi: The Mood

Zechariah 1: 16 & 17: "Therefore, this is what the LORD says: 'I will return to Jerusalem with mercy, and there my house will be rebuilt. And the measuring line will be stretched out over Jerusalem,' declares the LORD Almighty. "Proclaim further: This is what the LORD Almighty says: 'My towns will again overflow with prosperity, and the LORD will again comfort Zion and choose Jerusalem.'"

These people were waiting - the temple had been completed, but the promised prosperity had not come.

There was nothing momentous or significant that was happening in their age

There was nothing that was occurring to indicate that God's presence had returned among His people.

Ezekiel 43: he said that God's Shekinah glory would one day return to His temple.

Malachi: The Mood It seems that God's promises to them were not being

fulfilled As they looked over their prestigious history, the day

of miracles had Passed The days of Elijah and Elisha had died God didn't seem to be working any longer in signs and

wonders There was no enthusiasm in their worship to God, They were asking: 'Where is the God of our fathers?

Where is His glory that we were told of in His past? 'Well, does it really matter whether we serve God or

not? Where is God now? Where is He as our defense? What's the point of serving God, does it really pay off

in these days to worship God, and to follow God?'.

Broad Outline of Malachi

God's love for Israel and her unfaithful response (1-2)

The Day of the Lord and the purging of Israel (3-4)

Malachi: The Theme

The 8 Parts of Malachi 1. Love 2. Service 3. Discipline 4. Marriage 5. Messiah 6. Stewardship 7. Faithfulness 8. The Future

The People had grown

• Skeptical of God's love (1:2)• Careless in worship (1:7)• Indifferent to the truth (2:6-7)• Disobedient to the covenant (2:10)• Faithless in their marriages (2:15; 3:5) and• Stingy in their offerings (3:8).

Malachi: The StyleThe style of Malachi is very unique The book takes the format of a dialogue, it's like a

conversation between God and the people. The first thing you find is that God charges Israel with a

breach of the covenant relationship He has with them, He charges them with failing in something that He has commanded them to do.

The second thing that we usually read is the people's response, now it is the prophet's version of the people inspired by God, so we can believe it, the way the people react to God's charge upon their covenant relationship. They actually say to God: 'Show us the evidence of what You're saying!'.

Thirdly we find in this dialogue that God pronounces His evidence and His subsequent judgment upon their behaviour.

1:1 God says: “I have

loved you” People answer: “How have you loved us?”

God has blessed Israel above other nations

1:6 God says: “If I am a father, where is my honor?”

People answer: “How have we despised your name?”

The people have not offered their best to the Lord

2:10 People ask: “If we are brothers, why do we deal treacherously with one another?”

The people have defrauded one another, especially in the area of divorce

2:17 God says: “You have wearied the Lord with your words”

People answer: “How have we wearied Him?”

The people have asked for justice, but have not acted justly.

3:1 Promise of a Coming Messenger.

3:6 God says: “Return to Me and I will return to you”

People answer: “How shall we return?”

The people are to bring the whole tithe into the storehouse

3:13 God says: “Your words have been arrogant against Me”

People answer: “What have we spoken against you?”

They have taken the attitude that it is vain to serve the Lord

3:16 Epilogue: Promise of Coming Judgment and Restoration

The consequence of our response to His love (Ch 1)

His love is electing, unconditional, sovereign and free.

The majesty of his fatherhood is Honored by responding to both His Reverential Awe and His Tender Mercy

Our love for the world grows when we don’t understand His Sovereign love and His Majesty

We become true worshipers when we understand His Sovereign love and His Majesty

Teaching His word , Keeping your word and the God of His word

Part two : Malachi Chapter 2 vs 1 to 3 vs 6

Teaching His word

Malachi Chapter 2 vs 1 to 9

Priest : Job Description

To Sacrifice To Teach and Guide Ch

2 Vs 7 "For the lips of a priest should guard knowledge, and men should seek instruction from his mouth, for he is the messenger of the LORD of hosts."

How is the priesthood relevant for us today?

Priesthood : Its Relevance The Obsoleteness of the Priesthood

(Hebrews 7:23-25)There were many priests under the old

system, for death prevented them from remaining in office. But because Jesus lives forever, his priesthood lasts forever. Therefore he is able, once and forever, to save those who come to God through him. He lives forever to intercede with God on their behalf.

Minimizing the Once-for-All Sacrifice of Christ

The Whole Church as a Holy Priesthood (1 Peter 2:9)

Priestly Failures in Malachi

Failure to hear the word of God Vs 2 :"If you will not listen . . . I will send the curse upon you." Failure to Have a Burden for God's Glory Vs 2: "If you will not lay it to heart to give glory to my name, says

the Lord of hosts, then I will send the curse upon you." Turning Aside from the Ways of God Vs 8-9: "You have turned aside from the way . . . “….. "I make

you despised and abased before all the people, inasmuch as you have not kept my ways . . . "

Showing Partiality in Teaching Vs 9: "You have not walked in my ways but have shown partiality

in your instruction." Causing Many to Stumble Vs 9: "You have caused many to stumble."

Three Areas in Which Israel Was Stumbling

Verse 10 : It's the general area of personal relationships

Verses 11-12: Malachi gets specific and touches on the area of marriage to unbelievers.

Verses 13-16: Malachi deals with the issue of divorce.

1. General Relationships : Malachi 2:10

verse 10: "Why are we faithless to one another?" Three Reasons Not to Be Faithless to One Another 1. We have one Father: "Have we not all one father?"

(v. 10) 2. We have one Creator. "Has not one God created

us?" (v. 10). 3. It profanes the covenant of our fathers. (What was

the covenant of our fathers.)

2. Marriage to Unbelievers : Malachi 2:11

Verse 11: Judah has been faithless, and abomination has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem; for Judah has profaned the sanctuary [literally: the holiness] of the Lord, which he loves, and has married the daughter of a foreign god.

The Primary Issue : My emotional drive for human intimacy is more important than the preciousness of Your Holiness and Nearness

The verse is not saying1. That it's impossible in every case for an unbelieving spouse

to be converted. (1 Peter 3:1)2. That if you are married to an unbeliever, you should get

out. (1 Corinthians 7:12-13) The verse is saying If the Choice of Marriage lies before you, Marry someone

who Loves Jesus

In the same way, you wives must accept the authority of your

husbands. Then, even if some refuse to obey the Good News, your godly lives will speak to them without any

words. They will be won over

To the rest I say this (I, not the Lord): If any brother has a wife who is not a

believer and she is willing to live with him, he must not divorce her. And if a

woman has a husband who is not a believer and he is willing to live with

her, she must not divorce him.

3. Divorce

Verse 16: "I hate divorce, says the Lord the God of Israel."

Marriage Is a Covenant It Is a Covenant Before God verse 14: "The Lord was witness [to the

covenant] between you and the wife of your youth."

God is in a Covenant with His Wife, His People Isaiah 54:4-8

The Merciful God of the Covenant Exodus 34:6-7

Keep your word

Don't back out on your commitments Don't marry an unbeliever and Don't divorce your covenant wife.

A Word of Warning and a Word of Hope

FIRE Forest Fire

Refiner Fire

Refiner’s Fire

Who is like a refiner's fire?

Verse 3: Behold, I send my messenger to

prepare the way before me, and the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts.

Jesus Christ the Son of God

Refiner’s Fire

How can we experience His fire as refining and not consuming?

By trusting in the purifying mercy of God

What Is the Nature of True Worship?

Comes from a heart where God is treasured above all human property and praise,

It aims to inspire the same God-centered passion in the hearts of the congregation.

The Security in Giving, Fearing and Remembering

Part three : Malachi Chapter 3:7 to 4:6

The Security in giving

Malachi Chapter 3:7 to 12

Old Testament Tithing Lords tithe (10% ): Numbers 18. To support priests.

Given in addition to animals and crops. Festival tithe(10%): Deut 12: To celebrate the

conquering of the promise land. Poor tithe (approx 3.3%) : Deut 14: To support social

welfare of the poor & widows. Total monthly giving therefore worked out to 23.3% Additional Offerings

Leviticus 19: No harvesting the corner of the fields

Nehemiah 10: Tax collected for buying material to build the temple

Exodus 36 : Freewill offerings Exodus 25: First fruit offering

New Testament tithing

Jesus did not abolish it Luke 11:42, "Woe to you Pharisees! for you tithe mint and rue and

every herb, and neglect justice and the love of God; these you ought to have done, without neglecting the others."

Proportionate Giving is still the Rule 1 Corinthians16:2. On the first day of every week, each one of you

should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income, saving it up, so that when I come no collections will have to be made

Ministry Needs Money Pay one who teaches the word : Galatians 6:6 / 1 Timothy 5:18 Support for poor & widows : 1 Timothy 5 / Romans 15:26 Support financially the missionary enterprise: Romans 15:24 /

1 Corinthians 9:7

New Testament tithing : Paul’s Approach

He Wanted to Emphasize Willingness 2 Corinthians 9:7 , "Each one must do as he has

made up his mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver."

He Wanted to Emphasize Liberality 2 Corinthians 9:6, "he who sows sparingly will

also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully."

He Wanted to Emphasize Our Designs for Giving

Ephesians 4:28, "Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his hands, so that he may be able to give to those in need."

Can we rob God today?

Yes by being Self Righteous : By keeping the law

Self Indulgence : By taking advantage of the freedom

The Security in Fearing

Malachi Chapter 3:13 to 18

A Message for Two Kinds of People

For people who doubt that God is just who have already made up their

minds that he is not just who scorn him for ignoring their

claims. For people

who already fear the Lord who hold his name in highest

regard who serve him as a son serves a

Father

The Kind of People We Should Not Be

"It Is Vain to Serve God" verse 14: "You have said, 'It is vain to serve God. What is the good of our keeping his charge or of walking as in mourning before the Lord of hosts?'"

"It Is Profitable to Not Serve God" verse 15: "Henceforth we deem the arrogant blessed; evildoers not only prosper but when they put God to the test they escape."

The Kind of People We Should Be

Fearing Verse 16: Then those who feared the LORD talked with each other, and the LORD listened and heard. A scroll of remembrance was written in his presence concerning those who feared the LORD and honored his name.

Honoring Verse 16 Serving Verse 17: "They shall be

mine, says the Lord of hosts, my special possession on the day when I act, and I will spare them as a man spares his son who serves him."

Four Promises God Will Hear Those Who Fear Him Verse 16: "Then

those who feared the Lord spoke with one another; the Lord heeded and heard them."

God Will Remember Those Who Fear Him Verse 16 : "The Lord heeded and heard them, and a book of remembrance was written before him of those who feared the Lord."

God Will Spare Those Who Fear Him Verse 17: "They [i.e., those who fear and honor God] shall be mine, says the Lord of hosts, my special possession on the day when I act and I will spare them as a man spares his son who serves him."

The Righteous and Unrighteous Will Be Distinguished Verse 18: "Then once more you shall distinguish [literally: see] between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve him."

The Security in Remembering

Malachi Chapter 4:1 to 6

Three Historical Effects of Jesus' Birth Those Who Call Themselves Christian

2.2 billion people of the world's 6.8 billion have come under the sway of this person Jesus Christ the son of God ,to the extent that they would say Christianity is their religion.

Christianity is the most extensive and universal religion in history. There are Christians and Christian churches in every inhabited

country in the world. In 148 countries of the 223 countries in the world the population is

over 50% Christian. The Dating System The Setting Apart of Sunday

Five Pictures of What the Coming of Jesus Means

Verse 2: But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings. And you will go out and leap like calves released from the stall.

A rising sunBeams of righteousnessWings of healingBreaking out of a stallLeaping like calves

Living in the Fathers House

Be secure in His unchanging & Purifying Love Honor Him and Revere His Majesty Give Him your best and be a true worshiper Teach the Word accurately on Sunday & Live by it on Monday to

Saturday Keep all Covenants Praise God that you are in the refiners fire today Remember he is a Just God Give cheerfully and proportionately Serve Him as a son Serves his father Remember His Law and look forward to His Victory Remember He forgave our sins and restored our relationship with

Him through Jesus We must restore all our relationships by forgiving

In Conclusion…… Whether you look back and remember the law

of God, or look forward and see the victory of God, the point comes through: God has turned his heart toward you in Jesus Christ. Don't push it away.