Read all of Malachi. What is the condition of the Jewish people as he writes? What are the particular problems he addresses? How is the situation different from that addressed by earlier prophets, e.g., Isaiah and Jeremiah? What keys to Jewish survival do you see here?
Monday, April 28, 2008
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In the book of Malachi the condition of the Jewish people seems to be one of constant questioning of God. Things are not good so the people say things such as it is useless to serve God, there's no profit in keeping his ordinances. Even though they had not done so. They offer impure sacrifices and worst of all these sacrifices are not heartfelt. The priests are corrupt and injust. They tell people they are good in the sight of the Lord even if they do evil. Even today there are some who say we are all perfect the way we are. No we are not. Basically they were not following the laws of God. The situation if different from the time of Isaiah and Jeremiah because times were good during that period and times are not good in the time of Malachi. The people are complaining and questioning because they believe they had followed Gods laws and it only brought them strife. The keys to Jewish survival would be change, follow God's laws and live for Him. Ms.Coulter would say their key to survival is to believe in Jesus Christ. I don't understand why Jewish people won't accept Him as the Son of God. Any thoughts on this Art?
The condition of the Jewish people is good at the time of Malachi. He writes the Book of Malachi sometime after the Jewish people had reclaimed their land. The Jewish people are prosperous at this time, but once again they seem to be slipping away from God.
Malachi seems to be addressing mainly the lax religious and social behavior of the Israelites. The Israelites are not respecting God as he deserves. People are also questioning God’s judgment.
Malachi assures the faithful among his audience that in the eschaton, the differences between those who served God faithfully and those who did not will become clear. This is key to Jewish survival, because it separates the faithful from the unfaithful. For Jewish beliefs to continue on there needed to be a strong base that would adhere to the rules and regulations set forth from the Tenak.
Many of the people of Jerusalem and Judah stopped fearing the Lord. They married pagan wives and broke their covenants with divorce. Many also did not honor God with tithes and offerings even praised His name for the things that He had one for them. They offer blemished sacrifices and the priests are causing people to stumble instead of preserving God's knowlege. Since many are not fearing the Lord, the book of Malachi seems to be the last warning to the Jewish people to repent compared to the other prophets. The only hope for Jerusalem and Judah is to repent and return to the Lord for the day of judgement is coming. If they do not, they will be cursed.
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