Books of the Bible

The Book of Malachi

Old Testament · Minor Prophets · Genre: Prophecy · Author: The prophet Malachi · Chapters: 4

Malachi is the last book of the Old Testament, a probing conversation between God and a people who had grown cynical and half-hearted in their worship. God answers their doubts, calls them back to faithfulness, and promises a messenger who will prepare the way of the Lord.

Start reading: Malachi chapter 1

A key verse

For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.Malachi 3:6 (KJV)

The setting and background of Malachi

Malachi is the last of the twelve Minor Prophets and the final book of the Old Testament. Malachi prophesied to the community in Judah some generations after the return from exile, when the first joy of homecoming had faded into cold and careless worship, and the people had grown cynical about whether serving God was worth the trouble.

The book is structured as a series of disputes, in which God makes a charge, the people answer with a skeptical question, and God responds, exposing their half-hearted worship, their faithlessness, and their doubt. Yet it assures those who fear the Lord that he treasures them, and it ends with the promise of a coming messenger and the rising of the sun of righteousness.

Malachi was written to confront a cold and cynical people and to leave God's people looking forward in hope. In the sweep of Scripture, its promise of a messenger who will prepare the way of the Lord, and of the coming of Elijah, forms a bridge to the New Testament, where John the Baptist fulfills that role and the sun of righteousness rises in Christ.

The story and structure of Malachi

Malachi prophesied to the community in Judah some generations after the return from exile, when the first excitement of homecoming had faded. The temple had been rebuilt, but the people's devotion had grown cold, their worship careless, and their hearts cynical, wondering whether serving God was worth the trouble at all.

The book is structured as a series of disputes, in which God makes a charge, the people answer with a skeptical question, and God responds. This back-and-forth exposes the half-heartedness of a people going through the motions, questioning God's love, offering him their blemished leftovers, and doubting that he sees or cares about the difference between the faithful and the wicked.

God confronts their careless worship, their offering of lame and sick animals they would never dare give a governor, and the failure of the priests to honor his name. He confronts too their broken faith in marriage and their withholding of what belongs to him, yet through it all he pledges to bless abundantly those who return to him wholeheartedly.

God assures the doubting that he does not change, and that he treasures those who fear him, keeping a book of remembrance for them, so that they will be his own special possession. He promises that for those who fear his name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings.

The Old Testament closes with a promise and a hope. God will send his messenger to prepare the way before him, and he will send the prophet Elijah before the great day of the Lord. Then the voice of prophecy falls silent for some four hundred years, until a messenger cries in the wilderness and the sun of righteousness rises at last.

The great themes of Malachi

Key passages in Malachi

Malachi in the sweep of Scripture

Malachi is the final book of the Old Testament, and it closes the story with both a challenge and a promise, leaving God's people looking forward. Its prophecy of a messenger who will prepare the way of the Lord, and of the coming of Elijah, forms a bridge to the New Testament, which opens with John the Baptist fulfilling exactly that role. The four hundred years of prophetic silence that follow Malachi end when the promised messenger appears and the sun of righteousness rises in Christ.

Where Christ is in Malachi

Malachi's promise of a messenger to prepare the way of the Lord is fulfilled in John the Baptist, who came in the spirit of Elijah to announce the coming of Jesus. And the promise that the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings is fulfilled in Christ himself, who rose to bring healing and light to a world grown cold and cynical, ending the long silence with the dawn of the gospel.

How to read Malachi well

Read Malachi as a gentle but searching challenge against going through the motions, letting its disputes expose any coldness or cynicism in your own worship. Ask whether you are giving God your leftovers or your best, and let its assurance that God does not change and treasures those who fear him rekindle your devotion. Then hear in its final promise the anticipation of the gospel, and rejoice that the messenger came and the sun of righteousness has risen in Jesus.

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