The very name Malachi has long been a symbol of closure. However, it is not the closure of release, but of imprisonment. We find Malachi's writing difficult to date. It is clear the Temple is already old again, yet Judea is clearly still under Persian rule. Given a large number of factors, we would do well to place him publishing this prophecy around 425 BC. After him is a long period of silence from the prophets, and thus from Jehovah.
Malachi -- We see the numerous streams of spiritual failure converging into a flood in Malachi's words. We have previously mentioned how banking and finance became a major occupation for Jews in Babylon. Under the ministries of Ezra and Nehemiah, there was evidence of a hideous level of greed among the powerful and wealthy. Nehemiah struggled mightily with politics in the priesthood, but it was just getting started.
Malachi begins by reminding his readers they are deeply loved by Jehovah, quite unlike the descendants of Esau. Edom would eventually be forgotten in history, but not Israel. He then goes on to list how they have defied the commands of their God. A primary failing is in the priesthood. Under Persian rule, the returnees living in Judea were under a governor, but to our knowledge, the only Jewish governor they had was Nehemiah. He was rather independent of the regional governor appointed by the Syrian Satrap. Once gone, the priesthood gained the political upper hand. Primarily, it was the High Priest who served as the Persian proxy in Jerusalem and Judea. Politics raised their influence, but also opened the door to deep compromise and corruption.
So deeply enamored of their political power, the priests became more perfunctory in performance of their duties in the Temple. They came to see their calling as shepherding the Jews in a secular sense, jealously guarding their unique Jewish privileges. In the long run, they became so very good at pleasing their Persian masters, they forgot to please God. The Law was no longer obeyed, but mined for ways to maintain their power. The Law was clearly known, since Ezra had established the custom of public reading. However, the custom of targum became deeply corrupted. The Law was used as a club to keep the people in subjection.
The net result was a shallow ritual observance that offended Jehovah. People could see clearly the hypocrisy of the priesthood, and became cynical of observances. The stratification of society became rigid, and the status quo became god. It seems obvious the warnings of Malachi went unheeded. His was the last word from God in the Old Testament. It's unlikely there were no other prophets following him, but we find evidence of very few, and after a time, none.
Jewish prosperity in Babylon was already assured. It was the prosperity of Jews in Judea that weakened Babylonian spiritual and scholarly dominance over the faith. For a time, the center of learning for Jewish faith remained in Babylon. They could not be bothered to leave their power and comfort in Mesopotamia and return to the Promised Land. Instead, they declared the soil around Babylon more sanctified by the density of their scholars, by the massive synagogues, and the arrogance of having first broken free from the hesitation to declare there was no God but Jehovah. With the last bitter memories of Ezra and Nehemiah coming from Babylon to straighten them out, they were seeking an excuse to break the sway of the Eastern Elders. It came a century later.
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Ed Hurst
27 August 2005
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