Chapter 1

1:1 - The book of Malachi is anonymous; Malachi is just a transliteration of the Hebrew words for "my messenger."

* This is a correct definition of the word "Malachi."  However, this doesn't indicate that there wasn't a prophet named Malachi.

1:2 - "Wherein hast thou loved us?" Malachi was addressing the skeptics of his day who questioned God's love for them. Malachi explains that God must love them since he hated Esau and will be angry with the Edomites forever (1:3-4).

* Malachi was reminding the Israelites about God's promise to Jacob.  He had made a covenant with him to prosper and multiply his descendants.

1:3 - God, for some strange reason, "hated Esau."

* Esau callously sold his birthright to his brother.  He did not respect God or God's blessings.  See Genesis chapter 25 (especially verse 34).  Incidentally, Esau married a pagan wife (Genesis 26:34), which was against God's will.  There are many other reasons why God was very upset with Esau, but those are a couple of them.

1:3 - Does God love everyone?

* God loves all people. However, we also see that He can hate sinners. This doesn't mean that they are outside His grace. It simply means that He hates sin and those that reject Him and choose to hurt themselves and others by sinning can conjure His wrath.

1:4 - God hates the Edomites, and his hatred will last forever.

* Esau was also called Edom (Genesis 25:30).  Since God was upset at Esau (Edom), He was also upset at his pagan offspring that rejected God.

1:8, 13-14 - God continues to demand cruel animal sacrifices. And not just any animals will do. He is insulted when blind, lame, or sick animals are killed for him.

* This is absolutely correct.  God wanted the "firstfruits" of their labor.  He wanted their best, not simply some lame animal that was worthless to them.

* Later, Jesus Christ fulfilled the need for a sacrifice that was perfect.

1:12 - The priests rightly object to the biblical God's demand for sacrifices, by saying the "table of the LORD is polluted; and the fruit thereof, even his meat, is contemptible."

* In this passage, the priests do not reject God's requirement for animal sacrifices.  Verse 13 clearly shows that they were foolishly wanting to sacrifice injured and lame animals to God.

Chapter 2

2:2 - Give glory to God or he will curse you.

* This is absolutely right and just.  If the Creator God does not receive the glory, then He will punish the people who are selfish and self-centered.

* God deserves our praise and admiration.  He is holy and all-powerful.  Rejecting Him is shooting oneself in the foot.  Once again, the equation is simple.  Obedience = blessings.  Disobedience = punishment.

* Sin is not a light issue.  Sin is not something to laugh about.  Sin is rejecting God, hurting oneself, hurting others, and setting a bad example.  God will not tolerate sin.

2:3 - Listen to the pure word of God: "Behold, I will corrupt your seed, and spread dung upon your faces."

* This verse is showing God's disdain for sacrificing lame animals.  God explains what this "dung" is referring to in the second half of verse 3.  Malachi 2:3 reads, "Behold, I will rebuke your descendants and spread dung on your faces; the dung of your solemn feasts and one will take you away with it."  Literal "dung" is obviously not the meaning here.

* Once again, God only talks about His judgment after telling the people what He expects (in verse 2).  Verse 2 begins with: "If you will not . . . ."  God is having patience and mercy with the people.  He is also giving them time to repent.

2:17 - God gets tired of our whining.

* God gets tired of lying.  Malachi 2:17 reads, "You have wearied the Lord with your words.  You say, 'In what we have we wearied him?'  You say, 'Everyone who does evil is good in the sight of the Lord.  And He delights in them.'  Or 'Where is the God of justice?'"  God is rightfully upset at this kind of language.

Chapter 3

3:1, 4:1, 5 - The gospel of Mark claims that John the Baptist fulfilled the prophecy given in Malachi (3:1, 4:1, 5). But the Malachi prophecy says that God will send Elijah before "the great and dreadful day of the LORD" in which the world will be consumed by fire. Yet John the Baptist flatly denied that he was Elijah (Elias) in John 1:21 and the earth was not destroyed after John's appearance.

* In Malachi 3:1 and 4:1, he is clearly referring to John the Baptist.  In Malachi 4:5, he mentions Elijah because he is indicating that this forerunner of Christ will have the same kind of spirit as Elijah.

* John the Baptist did come before the great and dreadful day of the Lord.  This prophecy was fulfilled.  The Bible never gave a specific timetable for "the great and dreadful day of the Lord."

3:5 - God disapproves of adultery, lying, oppressing workers, and mistreating widows, orphans, and strangers. Does this mean that he also disapprove of slavery?

* This verse doesn't mention anything about slaves.  Nonetheless, the Bible never condones owning slaves. It only gives laws to curtail it and eventually end it.  See 1 Corinthians 13 for God's will regarding the ethical treatment of other humans.

3:6 - "For I am the Lord, I change not." Yet many times according to the Bible God changed his mind.

* God's character does not change.  However, when it appears that God will do one thing and then he does another, it appears that God has changed His mind.  See "Special Questions" for more on this.

3:8 - God says we're not giving him his proper cut. But does money matter to God? And don't forget, "For the love of money is the root of all evil." 1 Timothy 6:10.

* God tells the Israelites that they have robbed Him by not giving Him their tithes and offerings.

* Once again, God tells about the blessings of obeying Him in this matter.  Malachi 3:10 reads, "'Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house, and try me now in this,' says the Lord of hosts, 'If I will not open for you the windows of Heaven and pour out for you such a blessing that there will not be enough room to receive it.'"

3:9 - God curses the Israelites for "robbing" him by not paying the proper amount of money in tithes.

* This is accurate and consistent with other scriptures.  People are merely stewards of God's gifts.

3:15 - This verse talks about "they that tempt God." Yet according to James 1:3 God cannot be tempted.

* James 1:3 is stating that God cannot be tempted with evil to sin.  This passage is stating that the people will tempt God to judge them for their sins.

Chapter 4

4:1 - In a preview of the Christian hell, God plans to burn those that he considers wicked.

* This passage is consistent with many other scriptures; even those written hundreds of years previously and later.

* There is no Christian Hell.  Christians will be in Heaven.  There is only a Hell for those that reject God.  God gives people what they want.  If people reject Him now, they will spend eternity away from Him, too.  If people trust, believe, and accept Him now, then they will spend eternity with Him.

4:3 - God wants the good folks to "tread down the wicked."

* This is a metaphor for the judgment of the wicked and the success of the godly.

4:6 - The Old Testament ends fittingly with these ten words: "Lest I come and smite the earth with a curse." But he probably doesn't mean it since he said he'd never do it again in Gen.8:21.

* In typical fashion, God loves His people and provides a way for their redemption and prosperity.  He gives His people a promise and a way for success and explains to them what will happen if they disobey Him.  Malachi 4:5 and 6 read, "Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.  And he will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children and the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the Earth with a curse."