Malachi 3

Malachi is the last book of the Old Testament in the Protestant canonical order, and chapter 3 is the third of its four chapters. Malachi 2 ends with the people asking, "Where is the God of judgment?" (Malachi 2:17). Chapter 3 opens as if in answer to that question, declaring that the Lord will come to his temple.

Outline

• Verses 1–4 The LORD sends his messenger to prepare the way, and the messenger of the covenant comes to the temple. Like a refiner's fire and like fullers' soap, he purifies the sons of Levi. Afterward the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will again be pleasing to the LORD.
• Verse 5 He brings judgment against sorcerers, adulterers, false swearers, those who withhold the wages of the hired worker, and those who oppress the widow, the fatherless, and the stranger.
• Verses 6–7 Because the LORD does not change, the sons of Jacob are not consumed. When the LORD says, "Return unto me," the people ask in reply how they are to return.
• Verses 8–12 The LORD rebukes the people for robbing him in tithes and offerings. He promises that if they bring the full tithe into the storehouse, he will open the windows of heaven and pour out a blessing, rebuke the devourer (the locusts), and cause all nations to call them blessed.
• Verses 13–15 The people say that serving God is vain and that it is the proud and the wicked who prosper.
• Verses 16–18 The names of those who fear the LORD are written in a book of remembrance, and on the day he appoints, the LORD will make them his special possession. Then the difference between the righteous and the wicked will be discerned.

Key Verses

• Malachi 3:1 "Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me" — the verse the New Testament cites in reference to John the Baptist.
• Malachi 3:6 "For I am the LORD, I change not" — frequently quoted in discussions of the unchanging nature of God.
• Malachi 3:10 "Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse" — used in Korean churches as the principal proof text for the tithe.

People and Places

• The LORD: repeatedly called "the LORD of hosts," he is the speaker of the words in this chapter.
• My messenger and the messenger of the covenant: the one who prepares the way before the Lord and the one who comes to the temple. The book's name, "Malachi," itself means "my messenger" in Hebrew.
• The sons of Levi: the tribe responsible for temple worship, presented as those who are to be purified.
• The sons of Jacob: a designation for the whole people of Israel.
• Judah and Jerusalem: mentioned as the community that brings offerings.

Points to Consider When Reading

• The chapter unfolds as a disputation: God speaks, the people retort with "Wherein…?" and God answers in turn (verses 7, 8, and 13).
• Hebrew Bibles such as the Masoretic Text have no separate chapter 4; the verses numbered 4:1–6 in Korean Bibles continue there as 3:19–24.
• In Matthew 11:10 and Luke 7:27, Jesus quotes verse 1 in reference to John the Baptist, and Mark 1:2 cites it together with words from Isaiah. Christian tradition generally reads "the messenger of the covenant" as Jesus Christ.
• Many churches regard verses 8–10 as grounds for an obligation on New Testament believers to tithe. Others hold that these words were addressed to "this whole nation" (verse 9) of Israel under the Mosaic law and that the "storehouse" cannot simply be identified with the local church. Opinions also differ on interpretations that emphasize "prove me now herewith" in verse 10 as a promise of material reward. A fuller discussion appears in the article Tithing controversy.

In the Korean Church

• Verse 10 is often quoted in sermons on tithing and during the offering.
• Churches that follow a lectionary based on the church year sometimes read verses 1–4 during Advent.