Malachi: Intro and Chapter 1

Intro
Nothing in the text allows us to fix a date for Malachi’s prophecy. From his message we surmise he was easily a century after Haggai and Zechariah, perhaps somewhat after the reforms of Ezra and Nehemiah had worn off. We will assume here a date close to 400 BC. It seems obvious the people of restored Judah had failed to hold onto the fire of his predecessors’ message. Whatever it was God offered as the great possibilities for obeying the Covenant never came because the people never quite obeyed.
Chapter 1
His name means “My Messenger.” The prophet briefly introduces his writing as a prophetic burden, a common Hebrew expression for a heavy responsibility from which he cannot escape.
His message begins framed as the people questioning the declarations of God. The Lord says He loves Judah. The people look at their circumstances and say they don’t feel very loved. The reply begins by comparing Judah, as the surviving representatives of Jacob, against those of his brother, Esau. God doesn’t have to justify His choices to anyone, but He chose Jacob against all the rules and laws of human custom at the time. When Babylon’s troops came rolling through, they captured Judah for exile, but nearly wiped Edom from history altogether. A tiny handful of survivors were driven out into the wastes. No buildings were left standing in Edom; the old town sites became the haunts of wild animals.
Judah got a chance to return, while the Edomites were struggling to rebuild their very existence. So the Edomites proudly boast that they’ll return and rebuild, too. God says it won’t matter, because He had plans to crush them again. We note a Bedouin nation drove them out of their homeland a century or so later.
Then the Lord asserts the priesthood has treated Him with contempt. How does one state the utter stupidity of this? Their whole profession is glorifying Jehovah. They act so very innocent, asking how God could make this accusation. It wasn’t enough that they had reduced the whole thing to mundane routine, but they thought nothing of treating the Temple as a dumping ground for food no one would eat. God declares He can find no excuse for them even showing up in the Temple. Might as well seal the doors shut and pretend there is no God at all. Indeed, the Lord says He will respond as if they don’t believe He exists.