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Malachi
The Minor Prophets · Doctrinal study

Malachi: Return to the LORD

The last word before four hundred years of silence

Theologica Editorial7 min read
At a Glance

Malachi at a Glance

Malachi is the last book of the Old Testament. It was written to a people who had stopped caring, and it answers their excuses with the love of God and the promise of One who is coming.

  • Author. Malachi, whose name means “my messenger” (Malachi 1:1). It is the same word God uses in Malachi 3:1. Nothing else is told about him.
  • Date. About 435 to 420 BC, in the days of Nehemiah or soon after. The sins Malachi names, careless priests, neglected offerings, and unfaithful marriages, match those Nehemiah faced (Nehemiah 13:10–14; Nehemiah 13:23–27). A Persian governor is mentioned in Malachi 1:8.
  • Written To. Israel, and especially the priests, in Jerusalem and Judah (Malachi 1:1).
  • Setting. The temple had stood for about eighty years. The great hopes of Haggai and Zechariah had not yet come true, and many in Judah doubted that God loved them or cared how they lived.
  • Key Verse. I am the LORD, I change not (Malachi 3:6).
  • Key Word or Theme. Covenant faithfulness. God keeps His promises, and He asks His people to keep theirs.

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Further reading

For Deeper Study

  • Malachi: God's Unchanging LoveAmazon Walter C. Kaiser Jr.A clear, warm, verse-by-verse study from an evangelical Old Testament scholar. He differs from us on some points of prophecy.
  • Haggai, Zechariah, MalachiAmazon Eugene H. MerrillA careful, conservative exegetical commentary on all three post-exilic prophets.
  • Be AmazedAmazon Warren W. WiersbeA practical study that includes Malachi, with good application for the local church.
  • Foxe's Book of MartyrsAmazon John FoxeThe classic Protestant record of those who died for the faith, from the early church to the English Reformation.

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Zechariah

Zechariah encourages the rebuilders of the temple with eight night visions and then looks far ahead to the King who comes humbly on a donkey, is pierced, and returns to reign over all the earth.

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