Verse 4

THIRD DIVISION (Malachi 3:5 to Malachi 4:3) consists of an address to the people as a whole, who like the priests, are charged with three kinds of offenses. The first is certain public wrongs in The second is the failure to support the temple and its ministers (Malachi 3:8-12), in which case notice the charge of divine robbery, and the blessing promised to faithfulness in tithes. The third is the same kind of skepticism as with the priests (Malachi 3:13-15). The prediction concluding this section covers Malachi 3:16 to Malachi 4:3, and is more comforting in character than the preceding one.

Verses 4-6

FOURTH DIVISION (Malachi 4:4-6) This part is a grand conclusion in which the great day of the Lord is once more referred to, and Elijah the prophet named as His forerunner. We learn from Matthew 11:14; Mark 9:11 and Luke 1:17 that John the Baptist is to be considered the type of this forerunner, but that Elijah is to come again to this earth is the opinion of many. There are those who believe that he and Moses are the two witnesses in Revelation 11 that shall do wonders in Jerusalem during the reign of the Antichrist.

QUESTIONS

1. What is the peculiarity of this book?

2. Give the proof that Malachi is contemporary with Nehemiah.

3. How do you explain God’s “hatred” of Esau?

4. What argument against divorce is found here?

5. How do some interpret the prediction about Elijah?