Malachi has a legal tone. It was written to a corrupted priesthood. These are the disputes between God and the people.

There are six (possibly seven) sections or disputations.

Malachi might be the prophet Ezra, but his identity is not truly known. He was a prophet, writing around 450 BC.

v2-5... First disputation... This is not about the wrath or judgment of God, but the love of God! "I have loved you..." He loves his people. Specifically, he loves them with a familial love. (But the people love others).

Throughout Malachi, God speaks to people's questions and issues out loud. The Israelites thought, "how have you loved us?" And here God answers by showing he's Israel's protector. He has defeated their enemies.

v6-14... Second disputation...

The first one was about love, but this one's about God being dishonored by the priests through improper sacrifices. They lowered the standard, perhaps to increase sacrificial offerings; their focus was on the benefit they get from the sacrifice, not the glory God is due. They did this for their own gain, like a modern church lowering the standard of the gospel, watering down the message.

Sacrifice numbers may have been up, but the quality of the sacrifice was not to God's standard. The priests and the people were in sin when offering the worst of their livestock.

We should always give God our best! Bring him the best we have, for he is the great King! The authority above all authorities, the Almighty, the Lord of Hosts, of Heaven's armies!

And with his Word comes the authority of who he is! He is the great King, hated among the nations. If you reject him, you've made yourself an enemy of the most powerful being in the universe.

So Malachi 2 begins with a curse. That'll be for the next teaching.

Two things...

1. The snorting servant...

Serving in the temple was too wearying for some servants. Some of the priests seemed to serve begrudgingly, wearied that they had to process another sacrifice. They became weary of serving God! And so they misrepresented his name.

This can happen to everyone who serves in church, from the pastor down to the least visible of volunteers.

Serving God is an honor and a privilege! We must serve him out of a joyful and worshipful heart! If we can't do that, we need a break.

2. There are hints in chapter 1 of the coming of Christ...

When he says "from the rising sun to its setting," he's talking about his name being made great among all the nations... The spread of the Gospel through Jesus's ministry! Philippians 2:8. The name made great among all nations is Jesus!

But in verse 6, they're disgracing, despising the name of God. So the name of the Son will be made great among the nations, not only among the Jews, but the gentiles as well!

When Jesus comes, his name will be made great among the nations. There will be a pure offering, an offering of faith in the one who will have died for the sin of the world!

So we worship the Father in spirit and in truth through faith in Christ!