Latest Commentaries

The eastern tribes agree to Joshua’s demands to help their fellow Israelites conquer the west side of Jordan before settling in their allocated cities. They promise to obey Joshua just as they obeyed Moses, and urge him to be strong and courageous to fulfill God’s calling on his life.

Joshua instructs the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, all of whom will settle east of the Jordan, to help their brothers fight until they conquer the Land west of the Jordan.

Joshua delegates to the Israelite officers to speak to the people so they all can be ready to cross the Jordan River and conquer the Promised Land. 

The LORD commands Joshua to be strong and courageous as he leads Israel into the Promised Land. He urges the new leader to meditate on the Scriptures consistently to be successful in all his endeavors. 

Malachi urges the Judeans of his day to live out the Word of God as they await the future “great and terrible day of the LORD.” He also tells them that the LORD will send the prophet Elijah to unite them and reconcile them to Him so that they can avoid His judgment. The Old Testament then ends, and the Gospels pick up virtually where Malachi leaves off, with John the Baptist partially fulfilling this prophecy by coming in the spirit and power of Elijah. 

Malachi informs the post-exilic Judeans that the Suzerain/Ruler God will defeat the arrogant evildoers and give victory to the righteous who fear His name. Unlike the judgment fire that will refine His people, the judgment of the wicked will be like chaff in a furnace; they will be consumed. 

Some people decide to honor and follow the LORD. God pronounces “they will be mine” and become His treasured possessions. They will benefit from His compassion and, on return, to again distinguish between the godly and the ungodly.

The LORD rebukes His people for speaking arrogantly against Him because they say the evil are prospering and God is blessing them rather than the righteous. The inference is an accusation that God is not keeping His covenant promise to bless Israel if they follow His ways. As we have seen in prior sections, the fundamental problem is that the people have a wrong perspective about themselves—they have in fact not been obeying God’s covenant commands. 

The LORD now chastises Judah for neglecting to bring the entire tithe offering that He prescribed—which was to be given voluntarily. He exhorts them to bring the entire tithe in offerings to Him and watch how He will bestow blessings upon them. 

The LORD reminds the Jews of their history of rebellion and urges them to repent and return to Him so that they may experience His blessings, as promised in their covenant/treaty into which they entered with Him.

Malachi tells the post-exilic Judeans that they weary the LORD by saying they are seeking justice while doing evil. God says He will send His messenger, the Messiah (Anointed One), to be like a refiner’s fire and purify His people. He will cleanse the priests as well as the nation. In the meanwhile, He exhorts them to repent and return to Him. 

Malachi closes Chapter 2 with another complaint from the people related to their prior objection that God was not listening to them. They are expecting God to bring justice, and He is not living up to their expectations. In all this, Judah is wearying the LORD by celebrating evil and saying it is good. They are not getting justice because they are themselves bringing injustice to Judah.

Malachi confronts the Jewish men for divorcing the wives of their youth. Because they are worshiping while practicing intentional sin, God will not hear their petitions. 

God decries treating others with partiality because He is the creator and father of everyone. He chastises the people of Judah for engaging in the exploitative and immoral ways of paganism, thus breaking their covenant vow with Him.

The LORD rebukes the priests for failing to teach the people of Judah according to the standard He established with the Levitical priesthood. The priests have corrupted God’s covenant with them. Rather than having zeal for His word, God’s righteousness was not found coming from their lips.

Paul tries to enter the theater where his friends are held captive, but he is not allowed inside. The mob inside the theater is so large and frenzied that many there don’t understand what the cause of the riot is. They shout “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” for two hours until a city clerk comes. The clerk shames the mob for disrupting the city. He defends the two disciples whom the mob has captured, noting that these men have committed no crimes. The city clerk commands everyone to go home, or else Rome will come and occupy the city in full force to prevent future riots.

Paul begins to make plans to leave Ephesus and visit the churches in Macedonia and Greece. The smiths and craftsmen of Ephesus plot a riot against Paul, led by Demetrius the silversmith. Because so many Ephesians have put their faith in Jesus, they are no longer buying silver idols of the Greek goddess Artemis, and so the craftsmen are making less money than they used to. This mob of smiths charges through the city and storms the theater. They capture two of Paul’s friends there.

Through Paul, God works amazing miracles. People with physical illnesses are healed by the touch of Paul’s hand, as well as by handkerchiefs which Paul had touched. Evil spirits are cast out of the people whom they once possessed. With these miracles, God is confirming to the Greeks that Paul is who they should listen to. Some unbelieving exorcists try to copy Paul and cast out a demon in Jesus’s name, but the demon attacks them and harms them. Everyone hears about this event and are even more reverent toward the name of Jesus. Magicians burn a great many of their spell-books to show that they are trusting and following Jesus.

Paul returns to Ephesus. There, he baptizes men who put their faith in Jesus Christ. He begins preaching in the synagogue for three months, until some of the Jews speak evil of the gospel. Paul finds a lecture hall where he can teach every day about the kingdom of God. He is allowed to teach there for two years, and many people in the region believe in Jesus.

The LORD predicts a day when every nation will exalt Him, acknowledge His greatness, and honor His name. This puts to shame the priests of Malachi’s day. They offer stolen and sickly animals for sacrifice. They make vows they do not fulfill. God declares His glory and again warns the priests that all people, even Gentiles, one day will worship Him.