"everything was supposed to be better now. the jewish people returned to jerusalem from exile, excited by the promises of haggai and zechariah about the coming of God's kingdom. but many years had passed, and life seemed about the same as it had always been - if not worse.
the community was still poor. drought and locusts continually ruined crops. families were falling apart through divorce and adultery. the poor were being abused. and, worst of all, people had forgotten their faith. they just went through the motions of worshipping God.
in short, times were hard and God seemed far away. why even try? the people seemed to say. they were upset and impatient. it seemed that God had not carried through his part of the agreement.
enter malachi, whose name means 'my messenger'. he pointed out how the country's priests were abusing or neglecting their God-given responsibilities. their failure, the prophet said, was the main reason why things hadn't got any better. the prophet then challenged people to return to their faith. then, at the time of judgement, the faithful would receive God's blessing.
when things don't go as we expect or hope, it's easy to think that God has let us down. and it's easy to relax our faith. but the book of malachi urges us to stay strong. God loves us and is faithful, even when we can't see Him working. we can have courage and hope in knowing that, in the end, God has a great future for all those that follow Him."
taken from the introduction in the youth bible to the old testament book of malachi.
