I. Date of the Book of Malachi.  Malachi in the Hebrew means My Messenger, and the word was apparently taken from the opening verse of the third chapter.  Like many of the writings of the post-exilic period, the book, therefore, is anonymous.  Its date, however, may be determined from its contents.  The reference to the desolation of the land of the Edomites suggests that it was written late in the Persian period after the Edomites had been driven out from Mount Seir by the Nabateans and had found a home on the southern borders of Judah.  The priests in the Judean community had become corrupt and the temple service was neglected, indicating that they had lost the early enthusiasm which followed the rebuilding of the sanctuary.  The Judean community was discouraged and a spirit of doubt and questioning prevailed in the minds of those who were faithfully striving to serve Jehovah.  The prophecy is an exact picture of conditions as Nehemiah found them, so that the book of Malachi may be dated not far from 445 B.C.

II.  Neglect of the Temple Service.  The prophet’s method is akin to that of Zechariah.  Evidently the early reverence for the word of the prophet has disappeared.  Instead of bare assertions, each conclusion is supported by detailed arguments.  The author of Malachi is also deeply interested in the ritual and regards the preservation of its purity as essential to the religious life of the Judean community.  He charges the priests with failure to observe the ceremonial laws, especially in allowing the people to bring for sacrifice animals that are blind, lame, and sick.  These acts are evidence of the religious apathy that had seized even the religious leaders of the people.  The prophet declares boldly that under the guise of religion the priests are robbing Jehovah.  Above all they are faithless to their responsibilities as the appointed teachers of the people.  In 2:5-7 he presents the clearest picture extant of the task of the priest as teacher.  His duty was to instruct the people, to help them to overcome temptation, and to make very clear to them the way of duty.  This ideal, the prophet declares, was realized by earlier priests, but now those who are the appointed religious guides are misleading the people.

III.  The Need of a Great Moral Awakening.  The evils which the prophet denounced were not confined to the priests.  The old Semitic law regarding divorce was exceedingly lax.  A husband could lead his wife to the door of his tent and tell her to be gone, thereby severing their marriage relation.  The Deuteronomic law sought to relieve this injustice by providing that the husband must place in the hand of his wife, as she departs, a document stating the grounds on which he had divorced her.  By the middle of the fifth century B.C. divorce had evidently become exceedingly common in Palestine.  The prophet denounced it on the basis of its injustice and cruelty.  He also maintained that marriage was a solemn covenant before Jehovah between man and wife, and that he who disregarded it dealt faithlessly and was the especial object of divine displeasure.