Devotional on Malachi

2014 – Arches National Park, Utah

The practical book of the Old Testament
Malachi 1: God’s Word to Israel through Malachi.
The final book of our Old Testament has some interesting mysteries associated with it. Aside from his name the author is unknown to us. In fact, we may not even know his name! “Malachi” may be a title rather than a name. The word means “My Messenger” therefore the writer may be only identifying himself as a messenger of God. Another challenge is the date of the book. Malachi is unique because it isn’t associated with some coming disaster or some regional event that has everyone’s attention. Instead, this book highlights the danger that threatens when life is just rolling along at a normal pace. The scholars guess Malachi dates a little over 400 years before Christ because it appears the Temple has been rebuilt and the sacrificial system is in full operation. Since most of life is lived somewhere between wonderful, extravagant days and horrible, painful ones, Malachi is a practical book for most of us most of the time. Whoever Malachi is, he marches into their crisis-free lives and boldly proclaims that they’ve been lulled to sleep by the lack of perceived danger and because of that, are in a crisis and don’t even realize it. This little book has something to say to every day Christians just like me.
Take Away: The danger in common days is that we’ll be lulled to sleep and neglect that which really matters.