66…MALACHI…MY MESSENGER

                 Based on the book of Malachi (Mal)…Read more there. 

Malachi dates from just before the time of Nehemiah (BTLTL43) in mid-5th C. BC. This may not be a real name as Malachi simply means ‘my messenger’. After a resurgence of faithfulness (or simply religious compliance?) in the time of Haggai & Zechariah (BTLTL65) things have slipped again. Mal is a faithful messenger of what he sees to be the failures of the people & warns them of the fate that awaits them if they don’t get their act, i.e. God’s act, together!

Beginning with a declaration of God’s love for His people, CH.1 soon descends into a familiar rant against the arch-enemy, Edom. Memories are long! Next in the firing line are priests, whom Mal puts on notice over their indifference & slovenliness, to put it mildly. Shades of Jesus later cleansing the Temple! This theme flows into CH.2 which goes on to tackle marriages between Hebrews & foreigners; suspect because of the danger of idolatry being part of the baggage they bring. Read imaginatively we can think of what comes next as a kind of quiz show! YHWH is on one side, with Mal as mouthpiece, the people being the competing team. Mal, aligned as he is with YHWH, is hardly an impartial adjudicator, but impartiality isn’t the name of this game! What we have here is a Prophet called to face head-on a string of goings-on unacceptable in God’s eyes. The people’s responses, their would-be defences, seem hardly convincing!

CH.3 [1] begins with a passage of ‘apocalyptic’, things revealed to insiders through faith but hidden from those ‘on the outside’ [2]. 3:1-3 is later understood in the N.T. as fore-shadowing John the Baptiser & Jesus. Then, after a blast about failing to pay tithes, & the consequences of not carrying out such duties to God, CH.3 ends with more apocalyptic. 

CH.4 [1] ends this last book of the Hebrew Bible with still more apocalyptic regarding the ‘Day of the Lord’, Judgment Day. 4:5-6, like 3:1-3, are later also understood by Christians as pointing to John the Baptiser who in turn points to Jesus. 

So ends our explorations of books of the O.T. aimed at helping us appreciate the stories of our Hebrew faith-ancestors. bringingthelivingtolife.blogspot.com.au is available to anyone interested.

[1] Most versions edit Mal into 4 chapters as here, but NJB continues CH.3 to the end of the book. [2] Other examples of apocalyptic are: Ezk & Dan (BTLTL57 & 58) & Rev. in the N.T.

Q: Are we facing the realities of keeping faith in today’s world, or hiding behind our own versions of apocalyptic?