Malachi 4
About MalachiWritten by AI
Malachi is the last book of the Old Testament in most Christian Bibles. Its name means "My messenger," and we know nothing else about the prophet. It fits the 400s BC, after the temple was rebuilt, when worship had grown tired and careless, about the time of Ezra and Nehemiah.
The book is built as a back and forth. God makes a statement, the people push back with a question, and God answers. “I have loved you,” says the LORD. But you ask, “How have You loved us?” Priests offer blemished sacrifices, marriages are broken, tithes are withheld, and people say serving God is useless.
Watch for the promises of a coming messenger. The Gospels see them fulfilled in John the Baptist, who prepared the way for Jesus. So the Old Testament closes looking forward, waiting for the Lord to come to His temple.
Before you read Malachi 4Written by AI
The Day of the LORD will burn like a furnace for the proud, but for those who fear God's name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings. The Old Testament closes with two commands: remember the law of Moses, and watch for Elijah, who will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and children to their fathers. Jesus identifies John the Baptist with this Elijah.
The Day of the LORD
“For behold, the day is coming, burning like a furnace, when all the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble; the day is coming when I will set them ablaze,” says the LORD of Hosts. “Not a root or branch will be left to them.”
“But for you who fear My name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings, and you will go out and leap like calves from the stall. Then you will trample the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day I am preparing,” says the LORD of Hosts.
“Remember the law of My servant Moses, the statutes and ordinances I commanded him for all Israel at Horeb.
Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and awesome Day of the LORD. And he will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers. Otherwise, I will come and strike the land with a curse.”