Malachi Pleads with the Heedless
Malachi the last of the prophets in the arrangement of the Old Testament, and also, with the possible exception of Joel, the last in time, is a figure only dimly visible. He is himself a shadowy spiritual messenger such as his book promises shall be sent from God. His very name is in dispute, for “Malachi” is perhaps but a general word meaning “messenger.” The writer of the book was a contemporary of Ezra and Nehemiah, preaching somewhere about the year 450 B. C. He is more modern in tone than the other prophets, and more logical. He introduces dialectic methods, arguing with his people by means of question and response. Most of his brief book is devoted to matters of ritual observance, the priestly laws of the priestly government which ruled the Jerusalem of his day.
Yet despite these characteristics Malachi is not less spiritual than his predecessors, not less prophetic of vision, nor less high of faith. He lived in an age of discouragement. The returned exiles had lost confidence in God; for they found that the ills of life continued to encompass them, the millenium which they had expected was still delayed. Malachi argues with them by contrasting their condition with that of Edom or Esau, endeavoring to convince them that God has dealt very kindly toward them, despite their many faults.
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