No allusion is made to him by ezra, however, and he does not directly mention the restoration of the temple. Book of malachi matthew janzen i loved jacob, but hated esau malachi pt. Malachi 2, new king james version nkjv the bible app. Aug 15, 2016 malachi is a small book tucked at the very end of the old testament. They were all the more reprehensible when they were accompanied by the divorce of israelite wives vv. Inductive studies in malachi small group studies with discussion questions malachi is the bookend of the old testament.
To divorce your wife is to overwhelm her with cruelty, b says the lord of heavens armies. The way in which these men of israel are divorcing their wivesin order to marry pagan women malachi 2. So a scroll of remembrance was written before him regarding those who feared the lord and honored his name. Our sermon ideas on the book of malachi will help you preach a powerful message on the need for reverence for god, the life of community, and divorce. In the context, it probably means, for he who hates his wife to the point that he divorces her, says the lord, covers his garment with violence. The people of israel at the time of malachi claimed to honor god. The man who hates and divorces his wife, says the lord, the god of israel, does violence to the one he should protect, says the lord almighty. While its good literature, those who may have picked it up for the cover may not have especially enjoyed it. One of the 12 minor prophets, malachi lived about 100 years after the israelites returned to jerusalem after the babylonian exile. Overview of the book of malachi for an old testament survey series. A divorce, according to his word, is the breaking of a covenant. Matthew 19, book of matt 19 bible study on divorce putting. In this passage, god expresses absolute hatred for divorce malachi 2.
The burden of this, the last of the old testament prophets, was the glaring inconsistency between the identity of the jewish community as the people of god and the living out of all that this required of them. Malachi is the last book of the old testament covering events that occurred around 475400 b. Intermarriage with adherents of other religions was a perennial problem in israel, but particularly in the postexilic period when exiles returned to find nonisraelites occupying their land nehemiah 10. Divorce false worship arrogance n the people have become so sinful that messages sent from god no longer have any impact. Other than his name, we know nothing of malachi, his family or his. The only old testament mention of malachi is in malachi 1. The book of malachi, also called the prophecy of malachias, the last of 12 old testament books that bear the names of the minor prophets, grouped together as the twelve in the jewish canon.
So guard yourselves in your spirit, and do not be faithless. Malachi is merely a transliteration of a hebrew word meaning my messenger. For the lord god of israel says that he hates divorce, for it covers ones garment with violence. Matthew 19, book of matt 19 bible study on divorce. It is also one of the most succinct statements we have on. Sadly, the people of israel are numb to their own sin. Includes cross references, questions, teaching points, outline, and applications on malachi.
The book of malachi is a prelude to the 400 years of prophetic silence broken finally by the words of the next prophet, john the baptist. We have become so used to divorce that the prophets condemnation of it seems overly strong. Obedience and commitment to the declared will of god is a strong justification for ethical obligation in the books of the old testament or hebrew bible. According to our interpretation, the whole of these two verses must be taken as the words of the prophet. Footnotes 1 in deuteronomy, the hebrew verb hates sane, the same verb that occurs in malachi 2. Le divorce by diane johnson meet your next favorite book. The book of malachi was written between 440 and 400 b. The final book of the old testament, malachi received its name from its author malachi 1. The verbs hate and divorce mostly likely identify the man who is the subject of the main clause later in the verse, covers his garment with violence.
The book of malachi is placed as the last book of the prophets section, which also makes it the last book in the old testament in english bibles. This is why divorce rates have skyrocketed over the last 30 years. The hebrew word malachi simply means my that is, gods messenger. I hate divorce, says the lord god of israel, and i hate a mans covering himself with violence as well as with his garment, says the lord almighty.
In hebrew, the name comes from a word meaning messenger, which points to malachis role as a prophet of the lord, delivering gods message to gods people. Malachi was a prophet of god sent to the jews who had resettled in judea and to all israel in general, depicted as the sons of jacob malachi 3. The prophet malachi uses the questionanswer method to probe deeply into israels problems of hypocrisy, infidelity, divorce, false worship and arrogance. Therefore take heed to your spirit, that you do not deal treacherously. The bible is clear that gods laws regarding divorce are in no way a sign of acceptance. As we study the greek and hebrew words in matthew 19 matt 19 and malachi 2 we will learn that divorce was not what jesus was teaching about, but rather, putting away which is far different than divorce. Today we begin a new book of scripture, moving to the tanak tnk portion of our bibles.
Summary of the book of malachi the story of the bible. The edomites are the group that gets more oracles against foreign nations than any other group. A minor prophet in the days of nehemiah, malachi appeals to the backsliders. Berean study bible i hate divorce, says the lord, the god of israel.
Book of matthew 19, matt 19 bible study on divorce putting away and remarriage. Book of malachi overview insight for living ministries. But the people respond, in what way have we wearied him. Prepare your messages on gods word in malachi with sermon outlines or an entire. Because the lord hath been witness between thee and the wife of thy youth, against whom thou hast dealt treacherously. In the christian ordering, the grouping of the prophetic books is the last section of the old testament, making malachi the last book before the new testament. To god, however, divorce is a sin, no matter what the causes or. It is also one of the most succinct statements we have on our lords attitude toward divorce. Malachi is a small book tucked at the very end of the old testament. Le divorce is interesting in that the cover the cover shown here is not the one i had looks like the book would be chick lit. Yes, i have already cursed them, because you have not resolved to honor me. Theirs was not the problem of rebuilding the temple and holy city, for that had long been done by malachis day.
As we study the greek and hebrew words in matt 19 and malachi 2 we will learn that divorce was not what jesus was teaching about, but rather, putting away which is far different than divorce. In the christian ordering, the grouping of the prophetic books is the last section of the old testament, making malachi the last book before the new testament the book is commonly attributed to a prophet by the name of. Book of malachi overview old testament survey study. We know that from the book of obadiah and from many other sources that the edomites had been really very cruel in their day. Further, the book of malachi must have been written after nehemiahs first arrival in jerusalem in the thirty second year of artaxerxes longimanus in 444 b. Book of matthew 19, matt 19 bible study on divorce and putting away. In no uncertain terms, malachi states, i hate divorce, says the lord 2. Divorce is so rampant in todays society and it is completely accepted by most as normal and a good option if there are difficulties in a marriage. Trinity evangelical divinity school, deerfield, il 60015 mal 2. This was gods warning through malachi to tell the people to turn back to god. The book, consisting of six oracles, is believed to have been written after the reconstruction of the temple 516 bc and before the reforms of ezra and nehemiah c. Divorce was apparently rampant among malachi s jewish audience. Therefore take heed to your spirit, and let none deal treacherously with the wife of his youth. Gods response was, so guard yourselves in your spirit, and do not be faithless malachi 2.
Divorce is horrible and heartbreaking, and usually occurs after a marriage that is horrible and heartbreaking, and we mustnt insist on binding a person to a spouse who is harming them just because of a few bible verses that have been poorly understood by the church. This pronouncement does nothing to help the churchs mission of bringing healing and hope through the gospel. In new testament terms, the church is the bride of christ, and husbands are exhorted to love their wives just as christ loved the church and gave. The temple had been rebuilt, but as the following video done by the bible project so lucidly explains, things were not going well. The nasb translates the hate verb as turnsturned against. After this book was written, the people of israel would not hear divine revelation from god for four hundred years. For the lord, the god of israel, saith that he hateth putting away. To divorce your wife is to overwhelm her with cruelty, says the lord of heavens armies. Malachi 2 niv additional warning to the priests bible gateway.
English standard version for the man who does not love his wife but divorces her, says the lord, the god of israel, covers his garment with violence, says the lord of hosts. The prophets themes include the ritual purity of sacrifices, the evils of mixed marriages and divorce, and the coming day of judgment. Malachi promises a new elijah despite gods chosen people pushing back against the creator. The book of malachi introduction to the book of micah in the bible. Malachi 2 niv additional warning to the priests bible. The reason that designation appears here in the context of god saying that he hates divorce, is that divorce smudges the picture of gods covenant love for his wife, israel see isa.
Malachi 2 niv bible and now, you priests, this warning. Yet jacob i have loved, 3 but esau i have hated, and i have made his mountains a wasteland and left his inheritance to. What the people needed was a commitment to personal holiness and a steadfast fidelity to their spouses. Ultimately, they amount to a long list of excuses and center around one person, me. Malachi 2 new international version niv additional warning to the priests. Malachi appears to be attacking either the practice of divorcing jewish wives in favour of foreign ones a practice which ezra vehemently condemns or. Discover the basics of the book of malachi with the esv study bible from crossway, video from the bible project, audio from mark dever, and more. Rather, they are a necessity brought on by our own hard hearts matthew 19. Verse 15 clearly describes divorce as a spiritual failure. It conveys, in highly anthropomorphic language, the idea of a divine ledger in which the names of gods covenant children are recorded for posterity.
In our society, where the divorce rate is particularly high, this wording jars us. This book is titled malachi because that is the name of the prophet who wrote the book. Irreconcilable differences, money, children, infidelity, and not what they expected are all justifications men and women use to end marriages. It is practically a technical term used in the context of divorce.
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