[MA-luh-kahy] {ma3-la1-ji1-shu1}
Old Testament – Minor Prophets
The Hebrew Bible used by most Jewish people is essentially identical in content to the Old Testament of Protestant Christianity. They are the same Books but in different orders and arrangements. Case in point, we already talked about how Hebrew Scripture concludes with the Book of Chronicles, not Malachi.
However, the historical record of Chronicles ended with a cliffhanger when King Cyrus ordered the exiles to return to Jerusalem. If we want to know more, we would have to read Ezra-Nehemiah which picked up exactly where Chronicles left off, along with the prophetic books addressed to the people at that time. To find out the latest record of Israelites’ life conditions and prophecies for them in the Old Testament, we need to look no further than Malachi, incidentally the last Old Testament Book of the Christian Bible.
By nothing short of multiple miracles, the temple was rebuilt, Jerusalem walls were reconstructed, and the Israelites were given yet another chance to rebuild the nation and return to God. Nevertheless, “as a dog returns to its vomit, so fools repeat their folly.” (Proverbs 26:11) They continued to sin and offend God, to which God had a lot to say through Malachi.
The Book listed several “complaints” against Israelites including but not limited to their general contempt for God, divorce, and neglect of tithe. Again we see that without a Savior, even our best effort coupled with the best conditions is doomed to disastrous results. What better place to cue the New Testament than this?
Sidenote:
Quick, who is the author of Malachi? If you said “Malachi”, you might be right, or wrong. “Malachi” literally means “my messenger” in Hebrew, as in Mal 1:1, “A prophecy: The word of the Lord to Israel through Malachi.” and Mal 3:1, “I will send my messenger, …” The word is מַלְאָכִי in both places. So it could be that the author referred to himself simply as God’s messenger. Or it could be that the prophet’s name was actually prophetic.