Malachi: Covenant Faithfulness, True Worship, and the Coming Messenger

Malachi: Covenant Faithfulness, True Worship, and the Coming Messenger is a 12-lesson study of the final book in the Protestant Old Testament order. Students examine God's covenant love, dishonoring worship, failed priestly leadership, faithfulness in relationships and marriage, questions about divine justice, the coming messenger, the call to return to God, giving and stewardship, discouragement over apparent injustice, the faithful remnant, and the closing expectation of the Day of the Lord and the promised Elijah figure.

Learning Objectives

• Understand Malachi's post-exilic historical and spiritual setting.
• Explain the disputation style used throughout the book.
• Understand God's opening declaration of covenant love.
• Identify why defective offerings dishonored God's name.
• Evaluate Malachi's expectations for priests and spiritual teachers.
• Explain the connection between worship and covenant faithfulness in human relationships.
• Study Malachi's teaching about marriage carefully and responsibly.
• Understand the people's complaint concerning divine justice and God's answer.
• Explain the coming messenger and its New Testament connection to John the Baptist.
• Interpret Malachi 3:8-12 in its covenant context without reducing it to a prosperity formula.
• Understand the faithful-remnant and book-of-remembrance themes.
• Explain Malachi's closing promises concerning judgment, healing, Moses, Elijah, and preparation for the Day of the Lord.

Course Content

Twelve substantial self-study lessons cover Malachi 1-4: God's covenant love, polluted worship, the greatness of God's name, the covenant with Levi, communal and marital faithfulness, the God of justice, the coming messenger, the call to return, tithes and stewardship, discouragement about serving God, the faithful remnant and book of remembrance, and the final promise of the Sun of Righteousness and the coming Elijah. Each lesson contains substantial HTML teaching, one plain-text assignment, and four multiple-choice review questions.