The book of Malachi is a powerful appeal to backsliders, addressing a people whose spiritual fervor had grown cold. Malachi rebukes them for their religious and social compromises, targeting a society marked by corrupt priests, wicked practices, and a false sense of security in their privileged relationship with God. Through a series of probing questions and answers, he exposes their hypocrisy, infidelity, mixed marriages, divorce, false worship, and arrogance. Yet, Malachi offers hope, declaring that if they return to God with sincere hearts, they will be blessed. Positioned at the end of the Old Testament, Malachi serves as a transitional work, anticipating the New Testament. Composed in the post-exilic period after the Jews returned from Babylonian captivity under Zerubbabel and Joshua, the book reflects a time when the Temple was rebuilt, placing Malachi after Haggai and Zechariah. The Jews were under a civil ruler, situating his prophecy before Nehemiah's death, and the abuses Malachi condemns—formal religion, mixed marriages, and neglect of tithes—mirror those corrected by Nehemiah. Likely prophesying between 432 BC and 424 BC, during or between Nehemiah's residencies in Jerusalem, Malachi describes Israel at the close of Old Testament history, roughly one hundred years after Haggai and Zechariah. While oriented to the past as the last Old Testament prophet lamenting Israel's declining godliness, Malachi also looks to the future. He specifically prophesies the coming of a messenger to prepare the way for God, foreshadowing John the Baptist and the arrival of Jesus Christ. After Malachi, prophecy ceased in Israel for four hundred years until John appeared, marking Malachi as a bridge between the Old and New Testaments. Malachi vividly portrays the declining religiosity of any era, highlighting an attitude that considers humanity superior to God, attempting to measure Him by human standards. This recurring theme is expressed through the term "how," appearing seven times in the book, symbolizing completeness. Each instance reflects a mindset that challenges God's statements, demanding He account for Himself in human terms. These seven questions, beginning with "How have You loved us?" in Malachi 1:2, reveal the people's bitter complaint and self-righteousness, believing they deserved prosperity as proof of God's love. Subsequent queries, such as "How have we shown contempt for Your name?" in Malachi 1:6, expose the priests' disdain for God's service through defiled sacrifices and bitter attitudes, further illustrating their spiritual blindness and defiance.

God's appeal through Malachi's message seeks to penetrate the barrier of Israel's disbelief, disappointment, and discouragement. Despite the promised prosperity not yet arriving, the Israelites display an attitude that serving God is futile, evident in their moral and religious corruption. Yet, God reveals His enduring love, urging the people and priests to recognize that their lack of blessing stems not from His indifference, but from their disobedience to the covenant law. When they repent and return to God with sincere hearts, the barriers to divine blessing will be removed. Malachi also warns of a coming day of reckoning when God will judge both the righteous and the wicked. In Malachi 2, the focus shifts to the nation as a whole, addressing the sins of priests, leaders, and common people. Malachi confronts the men who divorced their wives to marry pagan women, highlighting four main sins against faithfulness that profane the covenant: treachery, hypocrisy, impurity, and hostility. Treachery reflects unfaithfulness in marriage and to God, as these men broke vows to their wives and to God, disregarding the covenant established at creation. Hypocrisy is evident as they sought God's blessing through offerings while unrepentant, showing no change of heart. Impurity violates the holiness God desires, contrasting with the purity needed for divine blessing and election. Hostility, linked to the violence of divorce, represents any mistreatment within marriage, tearing apart what God united, against His original intent for lifelong union. Malachi emphasizes that marriage is a divine institution, created by God to produce godly offspring and reflect His holiness. The pervasive issue of divorce and mixed marriages in Malachi's time, even among priests, contributed to a loose moral climate, as they failed to uphold godly standards. God, through Malachi, warns against such infidelity, underscoring His abhorrence of divorce due to its disloyalty, though allowing it under specific circumstances when it causes spiritual harm. Ultimately, marriage illustrates the sacred union between God and His people, and divorce symbolizes a breach of that spiritual bond.

The Book of Malachi emphasizes the necessity of sincerity, devotion toward God, and a holy manner of life to gain His favor, which impacts the crops and economic welfare of the nation. As a prophecy, it serves as a warning to the end-time church against backsliding or becoming lackadaisical in their relationship with God. Israel is called to uphold her role as a holy nation and await the Messiah, who will bring healing and judgment, fulfilling the nation's deepest hopes. God assures His people through Malachi that a time will come when the immoral are judged and those who fear Him are blessed, revealing on the Day of the Lord that serving Him is not in vain. At the time of Malachi, Israel's spiritual progress is minimal, sin is rampant, and the need for the Messiah is paramount. Malachi addresses whether God distinguishes between the good and the wicked, affirming that His elective love is vindicated through judgment. The book highlights the unchanged nature of the people, who remain as they were despite centuries of divine discipline through famines, plagues, and foreign armies. Their complaints, as seen in Malachi 3, reflect a persistent attitude of questioning God's justice and love. Malachi also underscores God's unchanging nature, stating in Malachi 3:6 that He does not change. His immutable attributes include knowledge of the faithful and faithless, holiness embodied in the law, inevitable judgment on the immoral, and promises of blessing, such as turning the hearts of fathers to children and children to fathers, as noted in Malachi 4:6. The inevitability of judgment is a recurring theme, with Malachi 4:1 warning of a day when the immoral will be burned like stubble, while the righteous will experience the Sun of Righteousness rising with healing in His wings. God's law remains an inflexible standard, as Malachi urges the people to remember the law of Moses, with its statutes and judgments, given at Horeb. This call to remember implies both mental recollection and obedient action. Additionally, Malachi reiterates God's promises, including the prophecy of a messenger like Elijah who will prepare the way before the Day of the Lord, as seen in Malachi 3:1-4 and 4:5-6. The book serves as an urgent exhortation to God's people, contrasting His faithfulness with Israel's faithlessness through direct disputations. It addresses themes of God's love, desire for honest worship, expectation of loyalty, demand for justice, and threat of judgment. Malachi's message culminates in a reminder of genuine faith and true worship, exemplified by Moses and Elijah, before a long prophetic silence. It appeals to backsliders, rebuking their religious and social compromise, and promises blessings for those who return to God with sincere hearts.

The Book of Malachi presents a profound message of judgment and appeal to repentance, directed at a people who questioned God's justice with the sneer, "Where is the God of justice?" The Lord, through Malachi, warns of a coming judgment that will separate the saved from the condemned, surprising many who presumed their standing before Him. This warning is underscored by the promise of the Messiah's arrival, accompanied by the sobering reality of the judgment He will bring, as highlighted in Malachi 2:17-3:5. The people's complaints of God's injustice are met with His assertion that His coming will indeed bring justice, but it will be a judgment upon those very complainers. Throughout Malachi, God repeatedly critiques the people, who in turn challenge His statements, often with the question, "How?" or "In what way?" For instance, in Malachi 1:2, God declares, "I have loved you," yet the people respond, "How have You loved us?" revealing their insensitivity to His enduring love amidst their halfhearted devotion and open sin. Similarly, in Malachi 2:17, they weary the Lord with accusations that He favors evildoers, implying that their own perceived righteousness goes unrewarded, again questioning, "Where is the God of justice?" Malachi also addresses specific sins, such as the treachery of divorcing faithful spouses to marry foreign women, as seen in Malachi 2:10-16, and robbing God of tithes and offerings in Malachi 3. Despite these transgressions, God's unchanging nature is emphasized in Malachi 3:6, where He states, "For I am the Lord, I do not change," signifying His enduring mercy and faithfulness as the reason the people have not been destroyed. This immutability offers them an opportunity to repent and return to Him, with God challenging them to test His faithfulness by bringing full tithes into the storehouse, promising abundant blessings in return, as noted in Malachi 3:10-12. The prophecy in Malachi also points to the coming of a messenger to prepare the way for the Lord, a promise of divine presence and purification rather than immediate judgment. This messenger, linked to the forerunner of the Messiah, underscores God's gracious intent to refine His people like silver, removing dross until His image is reflected in them, as described in Malachi 3:1-3. Thus, Malachi conveys both a stern warning of judgment and a persistent call to repentance, rooted in God's unchanging love and justice.

The book of Malachi, the final of the twelve Minor Prophets, likely dates to the period of Ezra and Nehemiah's reforms, around 450-430 BC. Named "my messenger," Malachi's identity remains obscure, with no personal details provided beyond the name. The prophecy focuses primarily on the priesthood, alongside issues of marriage and tithing, delivering a stern rebuke to both priests and people for failing to honor God. The priests are criticized for their irresponsibility, profaning the altar with defiled offerings and viewing their duties as burdensome. God promises a curse on these corrupt priests for causing the people to stumble at the law. Turning to the people, Malachi condemns their treachery, particularly in their marriages to foreign women who worship idols, as the men of Judah divorce their Jewish wives. God declares His hatred for divorce and urges them to keep their vows, warning that the Messenger of the covenant is coming to refine and purge them of sin, calling for repentance. The prophet also addresses their failure to tithe, equating it to robbing God, but assures them that returning His portion will bring blessings. When the people complain that the wicked prosper while they see no profit in following God, He responds with a prophecy that those who fear Him are His special treasure, to whom He will grant true discernment. The final chapter of Malachi prophesies the Day of the Lord, a time of annihilation for the wicked, but a time of healing, blessing, and exaltation for those who fear God, heralded by the return of the Sun of Righteousness. The book closes with an exhortation to remember God's law and to look for Elijah the prophet, who will turn the hearts of fathers and children, linking the old covenant to future expectations.

Malachi, the last book written in the Old Testament, was likely composed around 430 or 425 BC, following the time of Nehemiah. It marks the abrupt end of Old Testament historical records, leaving a gap until the time of Christ. In this book, Malachi addresses a multitude of sins committed by the returned Jews, Levites, and Benjaminites. He rebukes them for offering profane and blemished sacrifices, maintaining a corrupt priesthood, cheating one another, divorcing their wives, stealing God's tithes, and speaking contemptuously against Him. Despite experiencing destruction, death, captivity, exile, return, and the rebuilding of the Temple and the wall, the people of Judah show no change in their behavior. They remain as carnal as their ancestors who suffered God's wrath, failing to learn their lesson or truly repent.