Jacqui: 0:12

Greetings listeners. Have you ever realized you were going through the motions without even knowing it? Maybe you still pray before meals, still sing at church, still read your Bible sometimes, but somewhere along the way your heart drifted. That's where God's people were in the time of Malachi. The temple was rebuilt, the sacrifices were back, the routines were in place, but their worship had become half-hearted and they didn't even see it. Malachi is God's gentle, but firm reminder. Return to me and I will return to you. It's a message for ancient Israel and it's a message for us today. Well, welcome everyone.

Jacqui: 1:07

I'm your host, Jacqui Adewole, and this is the Bible Basics Podcast, where, weekly, we break down the basics of the Bible into understandable, bite-sized chunks. Today we're wrapping up our season on the Old Testament and the prophets and we're ending with a prophet who speaks not in dramatic visions or fire from heaven, but in quiet correction, heartfelt truth and a reminder that God never gives up on his people. Reminder that God never gives up on his people. Let's set the scene. The Israelites have returned from exile in Babylon. The temple is rebuilt, the walls of Jerusalem are standing again. By all appearances, the story looks like it's back on track, but instead of the joyful revival many expected. The people are spiritually sluggish. Their offerings are half-hearted, the priests are careless, marriages are breaking down, justice is being ignored, and under it all is one question the people were too afraid or too tired to ask out loud Is God even paying attention anymore? Now, just who was this prophet Malachi? We don't have a biography for him. The name Malachi means my messenger, which may be a title rather than a personal name. But what we do know is this Malachi is the final voice we hear in the Old Testament. He speaks likely around 430 BC, possibly during or just after the time of Nehemiah. His audience well, they were ordinary people, not kings or armies, just weary, drifting believers, people who still said the right things but had quietly started to wonder whether their faith even mattered anymore.

Jacqui: 3:22

Now let's focus on the book and the main message of Malachi. At its core, malachi's message is about the covenant, israel's binding relationship with God, first confirmed generations earlier at Mount Sinai. We see that in Exodus 24, 1 through 8. If you could sum it up in one sentence, it would be God's own words. Quote return to me and I will return to you. End quote. That's Malachi, chapter 3, verse 7. This isn't the voice of an angry judge. It's the plea of a faithful partner calling a wandering spouse back home. The heartbreaking part is that the people don't seem to realize just how far they've drifted. Malachi delivers this wake-up call in a distinctive way. The book unfolds like a courtroom exchange between God and his people. Six separate disputes in all. Each follows the same pattern God makes a charge, the people respond with a question often defensive, sometimes cynical and God answers with evidence. And God answers with evidence.

Jacqui: 4:45

Malachi begins in chapter 1, verses 2 through 5, with the most fundamental issue God's love for his people. Quote I have loved you, says the Lord, End quote. Now, that should have been comforting, but the people push back. How have you loved us? End quote. In other words, we hear you, god, but we don't see it. Life was hard and they were measuring his love by their present struggles. Well, god takes them back to their family history.

Jacqui: 5:23

Quote was not Esau, jacob's brother, declares the Lord. Yet I have loved Jacob, but Esau I have hated, end quote. This is one of those statements that can be easily misunderstood if we read it through our modern idea of love and hate. Through our modern idea of love and hate. Jacob and Esau were brothers. Jacob's descendants became Israel, esau's became Edom, a nation with a long history of opposing God's people. In this context, loved and hated aren't about warm feelings toward one and hostility towards the other. They're about choice. God loved Jacob by selecting his line to carry his covenant promises. He hated Esau in the sense that Esau's line would not be given that role. Here's a side note. Jesus used the same kind of strong language when he said his followers must hate their own families if those relationships stood in the way of following him. Meaning choose God first above every other loyalty. And that's in Luke, chapter 14, verse 26.

Jacqui: 6:52

From there God turns to the spiritual leaders in chapter 1, verse 6, through chapter 2, verse 9. Quote as a son honors his father and a slave his master. If I am a father, where is the honor due me? End quote. The priests were bringing defiled sacrifices, blind, lame and sick animals to God's altar and of course, the people protest. How have we shown contempt for your name? End quote. God lays out the evidence. They treated his altar as unworthy of respect, neglected their temple duties and failed to uphold his law. In doing so, they dishonor both his sacrifices and his glory. The focus then shifts from the temple to the home.

Jacqui: 7:55

In this third dispute, it's found in chapter 2, verses 10 through 16. Here God charges the people with breaking faith, not only with him, but with one another. They'd been divorcing their wives Jewish wives. They promised to love and they were marrying foreign women who didn't share their covenant faith. This wasn't just a cultural matter, it was a spiritual betrayal. Just a cultural matter. It was a spiritual betrayal. It showed a heart that was turning away from the God who had joined them together. This fourth dispute, found in chapter 2, verse 17,.

Jacqui: 8:39

Through chapter 3, verse 5, god addresses their doubts about his justice. They complained quote all who do evil are good in the eyes of the Lord. And where is this God of justice? End quote. They assumed his silence. Many didn't care. God promises he will come, but not in the way they expect. He will come like a refining fire, removing impurities, cleansing his people and setting everything right, everything right. Then, in chapter 3, verses 6 through 12, god speaks to another form of unfaithfulness how they were handling what belonged to him. Quote will a mere mortal rob God? Yet you robbed me? End quote. The people were shocked. Quote. How are we robbing you? Unquote. God's answer. Quote in tithes and offerings end quote.

Jacqui: 9:50

This passage has sparked a lot of discussion in the church about what tithing meant then and how it applies to followers of Jesus today. While Christians hold different views, malachi's main point here is clear. God calls his people to put him first in every area of life, including their resources, and he promises to respond with his blessing In Malachi's day. The tithe wasn't a paycheck deduction. It was a portion of crops, herds and produce from the land. God has set this up in the law to provide for the Levites, the priests and the temple ministry, since they had no farmland of their own. And we find that back in the book of Numbers, chapter 18, verses 21 to 24. Part of the tithe also supported worship, festivals and care for the poor. We see that in Deuteronomy, chapter 14, verses 28 to 29.

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By holding back their tithes, the people weren't just breaking a rule, they were neglecting worship, undercutting the work of the temple and ignoring the needs of others. And ignoring the needs of others. God invites them to quote test him, not as a bargaining chip, but as a call to trust. Quote, put me first again and watch me provide more than enough. The final dispute is found in chapter 3, verse 13,. Through chapter 4, verse 3. Quote you have spoken arrogantly against me, says the Lord. Yet the people ask what have we said against you? God answers plainly. They said, quote it is useless to serve God. Unquote. They felt they were putting in a lot of religious effort but getting nothing in return. In their eyes, the wicked were better off than they were. Better off than they were. God's response shows that the way to truly know his goodness isn't by treating him like a vending machine, serving him only for what he might give. The way to unlock a deeper walk with him is to seek him for who he is, not just for the blessings he provides.

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And Malachi ends with two reminders. One, keep God's law. Don't forget the covenant you belong to. That's chapter 4, verse 4. And second, look for Elijah's return, the messenger who will come before the great day of the Lord when both judgment and renewal will take place. That's chapter 4, verses 5 and 6. And then silence. 400 years will pass without a new prophetic voice until John the Baptist burst on the scene, fulfilling Malachi's promise.

Jacqui: 13:31

Quote I will send my messenger ahead of you who will prepare your way, a voice of one calling in the wilderness prepare the way for the Lord in the wilderness. Prepare the way for the Lord Now. So that leads us to go in a little deeper in how Malachi points to Jesus. In the ancient Near East, kings sent messengers ahead to prepare the way, removing obstacles before the king's arrival. In Malachi, the Lord says he'll send his messenger before him. That's chapter 3, verse 1. And that's echoing Isaiah's prophecy of a voice calling in the wilderness. That's Isaiah, chapter 40, verse 3. And pointing to the Elijah of Malachi, chapter 4, verse 5, who comes before the Lord. That's the final line of the Old Testament Quote see, I will send the prophet Elijah before the great and dreadful day of the Lord.

Jacqui: 14:35

That's Malachi, chapter 4, verse 5. And who appears next? Well, I already gave it away John the Baptist, a voice in the wilderness preparing the way for Jesus. Jesus himself says John is the Elijah who will come, and we find that in Matthew, chapter 11, verse 14. And in Luke, chapter 1, verse 17, the angel Gabriel tells Zechariah that his son, john, will go before the Lord in the spirit and power of Elijah.

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So while Malachi's voice is the last we hear before 400 years of silence, it's also the whisper that points straight toward the arrival of the Messiah.

Jacqui: 15:32

So let's talk about what this means for us today. If you're in a season where the passion has faded, where church feels more like habit than hunger, malachi speaks directly to you. God doesn't shame his people in this book, he just says bring your best again, stop playing games with worship, be faithful in your relationships, love justice, remember the covenant and, through it all, return to me. So what? Now We've reached the final words of the Old Testament. But it's not a goodbye. It's an invitation, an invitation to come back, an invitation to trust him again. The last thing that people heard before 400 years of silence was the promise of a messenger who would prepare the way for the Messiah, and the next voice we hear in the New Testament is exactly that John the Baptist pointing to Jesus. Next week, we'll step into that silent space in between those 400 years where God's prophets stopped speaking, but history was moving, cultures were shifting and the world was being prepared for the Savior. Until then, keep reading, keep seeking and keep growing in your faith.