The saddest and last book of the Old Testament

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The Jews had returned to Jerusalem from Babylon. They’d obeyed the messages of God from the prophets Haggai and Zechariah. They’d rebuilt the temple of God.

And nothing happened. No Messiah, no great divine war against Israel’s enemies, no worldwide kingdom of God—none of the good things those prophets said would come about.

So the people grew indifferent. They offered faulty sacrifices (Mal 1:8,13), married pagan women (Mal 2:11), were unfaithful to their wives (Mal 2:14), and withheld tithes and offerings (Mal 3:8). Furthermore, the priests of God were misleading the people and disrespecting the God who had called them to ministry (Mal 2:8).

God has made sacred covenants with His people. He’s their Father and Master, the one who loves them and disciplines them. This sort of behavior just won’t do, so a prophet named Malachi (which means “my messenger”) points out the great disconnect between God and His people:

He cares for them, but they don’t care for Him.

The people and the priests have become estranged to God, and the disconnect has grown to a point where the people just can’t wrap their minds around God’s nature and expectations. Malachi will state the way God sees things, but anticipates that the people will not understand. Malachi often says something to the effect of, “This is what you have done, yet you say, ‘How have we done this?'”


Here are a few ways the disconnect takes shape in the people:
  • They doubt His love for them (Mal 1:2).
  • They don’t understand how God view their offerings (Mal 2:13–14).
  • They forget the way God values justice (Mal 2:17).
  • They neglect their tithes and offerings (Mal 3:8).
  • They claim that serving God is useless (Mal 3:13–14).

Fortunately, Malachi’s message resonates with some of the people. The Jews who still revere God write their names in a book, and God promises to purify Israel: punishing the wicked, but sparing the righteous.

But before He comes to purify them, God will send another messenger to clear the way . . .

Here the prophets, and our Old Testament, end.

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