Malachi 3: Let's be prophets like the editor of Malachi.
Chapter 3: Let's be prophets like the editor of Malachi.
6 "I the LORD do not change. So you, the descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed."
Verse 6 is both a promise and a fulfillment. Depending on the flow of time, it can be seen as a prophetic word, and from the perspective of the editor of Malachi, it is the fulfillment of the covenant. It is God's promise of action against the spiritual desolation caused by the priests' biased application of the law. Just as with other legal stipulations, the implementation of the proper tithe following verse 6 is essentially impossible. Harsh experience shows that even the protagonist priest of Malachi, supposedly the best among the Jews, cannot be perfect. So why did the editor of Malachi place verse 6 right before the instructions for a perfect tithe? He understood God's decree, which transcends the legal stipulations. Therefore, he is a prophet who has taken God's word (decree) into his own mouth. Verse 6 is a judgment from God on the priests before it, who are God's messengers, as well as on the perfect tithe and the proper conduct mentioned after it. God's judgment is not destruction, because God does not change according to human actions. God does not alter the perspective of His heart, which at creation found everything He had made to be 'good'. The authors of the Bible are like Noah, who found favor in God's eyes. Christians should not only become priests, as stated in 1 Peter 2, but also prophets.
6 "I the LORD do not change. So you, the descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed."
Verse 6 is both a promise and a fulfillment. Depending on the flow of time, it can be seen as a prophetic word, and from the perspective of the editor of Malachi, it is the fulfillment of the covenant. It is God's promise of action against the spiritual desolation caused by the priests' biased application of the law. Just as with other legal stipulations, the implementation of the proper tithe following verse 6 is essentially impossible. Harsh experience shows that even the protagonist priest of Malachi, supposedly the best among the Jews, cannot be perfect. So why did the editor of Malachi place verse 6 right before the instructions for a perfect tithe? He understood God's decree, which transcends the legal stipulations. Therefore, he is a prophet who has taken God's word (decree) into his own mouth. Verse 6 is a judgment from God on the priests before it, who are God's messengers, as well as on the perfect tithe and the proper conduct mentioned after it. God's judgment is not destruction, because God does not change according to human actions. God does not alter the perspective of His heart, which at creation found everything He had made to be 'good'. The authors of the Bible are like Noah, who found favor in God's eyes. Christians should not only become priests, as stated in 1 Peter 2, but also prophets.