BIBLE STUDY: December 4th

Antiphon:

Cf.
Ecce vir, Óriens nomen ejus, et subter eum oriétur et ædificábit templum Domino [Zechariah 6:12]
Here is a man whose name is Daybreak, and where he is he shall arise, and he shall build the temple of the LORD.
and
candor est enim lucis ætérnæ [Wisdom 7:26]
For [Wisdom] is the radiance of eternal light
and
et oriétur vobis timéntibus nomen meum sol justítiæ [Malachi 4:2]
and upon you who fear my name, there will arise the sun of justice
and
visitávit nos Óriens ex alto illumináre his qui in ténebris et in umbra mortis sedent [Luke 1:78, 79]
the Daybreak from on high has visited us to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death

The Meeting

The meeting opened with prayer.
 

The Splendour of Eternal Light
As well as the biblical references above, other references to Christ as "light" found by the group were: "The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; Upon those who dwelt in the land of gloom a light has shone" (Isaiah 9:1); "... a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and glory for your people Israel" (Luke 2:32); "What came to be through [the Word] was life, and this life was the light of the human race; the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it" (John 1:4, 5); "Jesus spoke to them again, saying, 'I am the light of the world'" (John 8:12); "I, Jesus .... am the root and offspring of David, the bright morning star" (Apocalypse 22:16).
 

The Book of Malachi
We saw that the name Mal’aḫ-i means "my messenger" (or "my angel"). His name in the Septuagint and the Vulgate is 'Malachias' which suggests that earlier the name had been Mal’aḫiyah, "messenger of the LORD" (or "angel of the LORD"), and that Mal’aḫ-i was a later shortening of the name. But whatever the original form was, it is likely to have been a nom de plume rather than the actual name of the prophet who focuses largely on the corruption of the priests, the neglect of God's Temple, and the personal sins of the people.

He wrote sometime after the restoration and dedication of the Temple in Jerusalem (515 BC) and before Nehemiah's arrival in Jerusalem in 445 BC and the reformation of Jewish religion under Ezra and Nehemiah. As it is clear that Temple worship had not only been restored but had had time to become lax, it is thought Malachi wrote sometime around 450 BC, not long before Nehemiah's arrival, when the spiritual zeal of the people was low.

However, despite the spiritual laxness of the people, Malachi finds hope in the coming of the Messiah who will make all things right; and the book ends with a prophecy of the coming Messiah and his forerunner, John the Baptist.

We read the book of Malachi in seven sections, thus:

1. Malachi 1:1-5 (The LORD's love for Israel)
   

   1

   An oracle. The word of the LORD to Israel through Malachi.

   2

   I have loved you, says the LORD; but you say, "How have you loved us?"

   3

   Was not Esau Jacob's brother? says the LORD: yet I loved Jacob, but hated Esau; I made his mountains a waste, his heritage a desert for jackals.

   4

   If Edom says, "We have been crushed but we will rebuild the ruins," Thus says the LORD of hosts: They indeed may build, but I will tear down, And they shall be called the land of guilt, the people with whom the LORD is angry forever.

   5

   Your own eyes shall see it, and you will say, "Great is the LORD, even beyond the land of Israel."

   We were reminded that "to discover the sacred authors' intention, the reader must take into account the conditions of their time and culture, the literary genres in use at that time, and the modes of feeling, speaking and narrating then current" (Catechism of the Catholic Church 110). In other words we must take into account the time and cultural environment in which Malachi was writing. We must also bear in mind that we must be "especially attentive to the content and unity of the whole Scripture" (CCC 114).

   Christ showed us that "God is love" (1 John 4:8) and St Paul reminds us that God "wants everyone to be saved" (1 Timothy 2:4). We should understand Malachi's 'love' and 'hate' rather as 'prefer' and 'reject'. Malachi is writing from a Judaeo-centric position. He wishes to emphasize to his fellow Jews that they are a chosen people, and that God does care for them.

2. Malachi 1:6-14 (An Indictment of the priests: Part 1)
   

   6

   A son honors his father, and a servant fears his master; If then I am a father, where is the honor due to me? And if I am a master, where is the reverence due to me? -  So says the LORD of hosts to you, O priests, who despise his name. But you ask, "How have we despised your name?"

   7

   By offering polluted food on my altar! Then you ask, "How have we polluted it?" By saying the table of the LORD may be slighted!

   8

   When you offer a blind animal for sacrifice, is this not evil? When you offer the lame or the sick, is it not evil? Present it to your governor; see if he will accept it, or welcome you, says the LORD of hosts.

   9

   So now if you implore God for mercy on us, when you have done the like Will he welcome any of you? says the LORD of hosts.

   10

   Oh, that one among you would shut the temple gates to keep you from kindling fire on my altar in vain! I have no pleasure in you, says the LORD of hosts; neither will I accept any sacrifice from your hands,

   11

   For from the rising of the sun, even to its setting, my name is great among the nations; And everywhere they bring sacrifice to my name, and a pure offering; For great is my name among the nations, says the LORD of hosts.

   12

   But you behave profanely toward me by thinking the LORD'S table and its offering may be polluted, and its food slighted.

   13

   You also say, "What a burden!" and you scorn it, says the LORD of hosts; You bring in what you seize, or the lame, or the sick; yes, you bring it as a sacrifice. Shall I accept it from your hands? says the LORD.

   14

   Cursed is the deceiver, who has in his flock a male, but under his vow sacrifices to the LORD a gelding; For a great King am I, says the LORD of hosts, and my name will be feared among the nations.

   It was noticed that some translations had "LORD of hosts" (or "Yahweh of hosts") while others had "LORD Sabaoth" (or "Yahweh Sabaoth"). It was explained that 'Sabaoth' was from the Greek rendering of the Hebrew sebā’ôth (of armies). It is generally understood to refer to the heavenly 'armies', the hosts of angels. Some translations follow the tradition of the Septuagint and retain 'Sabaoth' while others adopt the translation 'of hosts.'

   Two things struck us in particular from this passage:

   1. That priests were exercising double standards. while they would be careful to present only the best to the governor, they happily present blind, lame and diseased animals to God.
   2. The priests are not offering God the best that they can; they are offering what they have no use for. In other words it is no sacrifice on their part; they are, in effect, offering God nothing.

   Indeed, the prophet unfavourably contrasts the behaviour of the priests of the chosen people, Israel, with the sacrifices offered by gentiles.

3. Malachi 2:1-9 (An Indictment of the priests: Part 2)
   

   1

   And now, O priests, this commandment is for you: If you do not listen,

   2

   And if you do not lay it to heart, to give glory to my name, says the LORD of hosts, I will send a curse upon you and of your blessing I will make a curse. Yes, I have already cursed it, because you do not lay it to heart.

   3

   Lo, I will deprive you of the shoulder and I will strew dung in your faces, The dung of your feasts, and you will be carried off with it.

   4

   Then you will know that I sent you this commandment because I have a covenant with Levi, says the LORD of hosts.

   5

   My covenant with him was one of life and peace; fear I put in him, and he feared me, and stood in awe of my name.

   6

   True doctrine was in his mouth, and no dishonesty was found upon his lips; He walked with me in integrity and in uprightness, and turned many away from evil.

   7

   For the lips of the priest are to keep knowledge, and instruction is to be sought from his mouth, because he is the messenger of the LORD of hosts.

   8

   But you have turned aside from the way, and have caused many to falter by your instruction; You have made void the covenant of Levi, says the LORD of hosts.

   9

   I, therefore, have made you contemptible and base before all the people, Since you do not keep my ways, but show partiality in your decisions.

   The beginning of verse 3 caused a few problems, not least because the 'Jerusalem Bible' translates it as "I am going to paralyse your arm ..." and the 'Christian Community Bible' translates it "I am going to break your arm ... ". The translation above means that the priests will be deprived of the shoulder, the part of the sacrificed animal reserved for priests (see Deut. 18:3). But in any case, we are to understand verse 3 as a prophetic warning that these faithless priests and the sacrifices they offer will be rejected and done away with in the reforms to come.

   We noted the contrast being made between the behaviour of priests of Malachi's time and of Levi. At least one translation seem to imply that God would break his covenant with Levi; but others seemed clearer, namely, that it is not God who breaks that covenant, but the action of these unworthy priests who make it void.

   We noted also that not only did these priests offend God, but by their example they also caused others to falter and stumble.

   We saw in this passage and the previous one, a call to ourselves to be serious in our service towards God, to give of our best and not to give a bad example to others.

4. Malachi 2:10-16 (Respect for marriage)
   

   10

   Have we not all the one Father? Has not the one God created us? Why then do we break faith with each other, violating the covenant of our fathers?

   11

   Judah has broken faith; an abominable thing has been done in Israel and in Jerusalem. Judah has profaned the temple which the LORD loves, and has married an idolatrous woman.

   12

   May the LORD cut off from the man who does this both witness and advocate out of the tents of Jacob, and anyone to offer sacrifice to the LORD of hosts!

   13

   This also you do: the altar of the LORD you cover with tears, weeping and groaning, Because he no longer regards your sacrifice nor accepts it favorably from your hand;

   14

   And you say, "Why is it?" -  Because the LORD is witness between you and the wife of your youth, With whom you have broken faith though she is your companion, your betrothed wife.

   15

   Did he not make one being, with flesh and spirit: and what does that one require but godly offspring? You must then safeguard life that is your own, and not break faith with the wife of your youth.

   16

   For I hate divorce, says the LORD, the God of Israel, And covering one's garment with injustice, says the LORD of hosts; You must then safeguard life that is your own, and not break faith.

   We were reminded that intermarriage of Israelites with foreigners was forbidden according to the Law (see Deut. 7:1-4). Malachi portrays foreign marriages as a violation of the convenant. They were all the more reprehensible, he says, when accompanied by the divorce of Jewish wives (see verses 14 to 16 above).

   It was suggested that verse 11 referred to Jews who had practiced idolatry or worship of other gods besides the LORD. It was observed that several Old Testament prophets used 'adultery' as a metaphor to describe unfaithfulness to God, e.g. idolatry (Ezek. 23:27) and other pagan religious practices (Jer. 3:6-10) were viewed as adulterous unfaithfulness to he covenant between the LORD and Israel. It was thought that the passage here did refer to Jews who had divorced Jewish wives and taken other wives, but that also the passage might have a double meaning in that by doing this and condoning, or even practising, worship to other gods, Judah had broken faith with the covenant between the LORD and Israel.

   We realized that "I hate divorce" would have sounded strange and possibly shocking to Malachi's contemporaries since divorce was allowed in the law of Moses. Verses 15 and 16 look ahead to Christ's words; so we find, for example, in Mark: "[The Pharisees] replied, 'Moses permitted him to write a bill of divorce and dismiss her.' But Jesus told them, 'Because of the hardness of your hearts he wrote you this commandment. But from the beginning of creation, God made them male and female. For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. So they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, no human being must separate'" (Mark 10:4-9); see also Matthew 19:3-9. In both the Mark's account and Matthew's, Jesus quotes from Genesis: "For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh" (Genesis 2:24); these words are quoted also by St Paul when he wrote to the Church in Ephesus (see Ephesians 5:31) and are recalled here by Malachi. The prophet is calling his people back to God's original intention which will be confirmed by Jesus, the eternal Word of God.

5. Malachi 2:17-3:5 (The Day of the LORD)
   

   17

   You have wearied the LORD with your words, yet you say, "How have we wearied him?" By your saying, "Every evildoer is good in the sight of the LORD, And he is pleased with him"; or else, "Where is the just God?"

   1

   Lo, I am sending my messenger to prepare the way before me; And suddenly there will come to the temple the LORD whom you seek, And the messenger of the covenant whom you desire. Yes, he is coming, says the LORD of hosts.

   2

   But who will endure the day of his coming? And who can stand when he appears? For he is like the refiner's fire, or like the fuller's lye.

   3

   He will sit refining and purifying (silver), and he will purify the sons of Levi, Refining them like gold or like silver that they may offer due sacrifice to the LORD.

   4

   Then the sacrifice of Judah and Jerusalem will please the LORD, as in days of old, as in years gone by.

   5

   I will draw near to you for judgment, and I will be swift to bear witness Against the sorcerers, adulterers, and perjurers, those who defraud the hired man of his wages, Against those who defraud widows and orphans; those who turn aside the stranger, and those who do not fear me, says the LORD of hosts.

   Malachi says that the sophistry of his contemporaries who attempt to justify their unfaithfulness to God simply wearies God, and that God will send the Messiah to purify the people of God. In verse 1 above, Malachi prophesies the coming of John the Baptist to prepare the way for the coming of Christ, the LORD.

   It was explain that a fuller was one who cleaned woolen clothing with lye, a strong alkaline solution. The theme of purification and cleansing was clear in this passage. The Messiah will cleanse the people of God and establish a New Israel, the Church, and "the sacrifice of Judah and Jerusalem will please the LORD" in the one, complete and pure sacrifice of the Mass.

   It was noted that some of the words here are familiar as they occur in Handel's Messiah:

   [BASS RECITATIVE]
   The Lord whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, ev'n the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in; behold, he shall some, saith the Lord of hosts.
   [BASS AIR]
   But who may abide the day of his coming, and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner's fire.
   [CHORUS]
   And he shall purify the sons of Levi, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness.

6. Malachi 3:6-12 (Temple Tithes)
   

   6

   Surely I, the LORD, do not change, nor do you cease to be sons of Jacob.

   7

   Since the days of your fathers you have turned aside from my statutes, and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you, says the LORD of hosts. Yet you say, "How must we return?"

   8

   Dare a man rob God? Yet you are robbing me! And you say, "How do we rob you?" In tithes and in offerings!

   9

   You are indeed accursed, for you, the whole nation, rob me.

   10

   Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, That there may be food in my house, and try me in this, says the LORD of hosts: Shall I not open for you the floodgates of heaven, to pour down blessing upon you without measure?

   11

   For your sake I will forbid the locust to destroy your crops; And the vine in the field will not be barren, says the LORD of hosts.

   12

   Then all nations will call you blessed, for you will be a delightful land, says the LORD of hosts.

   Once again Malachi turns to the unfaithfulness of his fellow Jews in cheating on the contribution of tithes to the Temple. We noticed also the stress of the unchangeability of God. He does not change; it is we who may change in our response towards him. Do we cheat God in any way?

   Verse 11 caused problems to one or two of our group. It appeared that God was 'bribing' his people in promising rewards of material goods if they behaved. Another observed that it was simply not true that plagues of locusts afflict the guilty and are withheld from the righteous. It was, however, observed that verses 10b to verse 12 are Messianic. Using language they would understand, Malachi is alluding to the rewards of heaven which Christ will secure for the righteous of all nations.

7. Malachi 3:13-24 [4:6] (Triumph of the Virtuous on the Day of the LORD)
   (The Septuagint, Vulgate and some English versions number verses 19 to 24 as chapter 4, verses 1 to 6.)
   

   13

   You have defied me in word, says the LORD, yet you ask, "What have we spoken against you?"

   14

   You have said, "It is vain to serve God, and what do we profit by keeping his command, And going about in penitential dress in awe of the LORD of hosts?

   15

   Rather must we call the proud blessed; for indeed evildoers prosper, and even tempt God with impunity."

   16

   Then they who fear the LORD spoke with one another, and the LORD listened attentively; And a record book was written before him of those who fear the LORD and trust in his name.

   17

   And they shall be mine, says the LORD of hosts, my own special possession, on the day I take action. And I will have compassion on them, as a man has compassion on his son who serves him.

   18

   Then you will again see the distinction between the just and the wicked; Between him who serves God, and him who does not serve him.

   19

   For lo, the day is coming, blazing like an oven, when all the proud and all evildoers will be stubble, And the day that is coming will set them on fire, leaving them neither root nor branch, says the LORD of hosts.

   20

   But for you who fear my name, there will arise the sun of justice with its healing rays; And you will gambol like calves out of the stall

   21

   and tread down the wicked; They will become ashes under the soles of your feet, on the day I take action, says the LORD of hosts.

   22

   Remember the law of Moses my servant, which I enjoined him on Horeb, The statutes and ordinances for all Israel.

   23

   Lo, I will send you Elijah, the prophet, Before the day of the LORD comes, the great and terrible day,

   24

   To turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers, Lest I come and strike the land with doom. Lo, I will send you Elijah, the prophet, Before the day of the LORD comes, the great and terrible day.

   Verses 13 to 15 reminded us of present-day attitudes of very many towards religion and the concern of so many with wordly success and celebrity. But the prophet again proclaims the truth of the coming of the Messiah and of the purification of the people of God. There is clear prophecy here not only of Christ's coming as Jesus of Nazareth but also of his second coming on the Last Day.

   Christ, the "true light that enlightens all men" (John 1:9), "the sun of justice with its healing rays" has already arisen, but the consummation of the Messianic promises will be fulfilled when "the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit upon his glorious throne, and all the nations will be assembled before him. And he will separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats" (Matthew 25:31-32).

   In 2 Kings 2:11 Elijah is described as taken heavenward in a fiery chariot. Malachi appears to be foretelling his return to earth and Jewish tradition has interpreted this literally. However, as we have seen, the prophets use imaginative language and imagery. We understand this to be a reference to John the Baptist, the 'second Elijah', who prepared the way for Christ's coming. Indeed, Christ himself declared this prophecy to be fulfilled in the coming of John the Baptist: "Then the disciples asked him, 'Why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?' He said in reply, 'Elijah will indeed come and restore all things; but I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him but did to him whatever they pleased. So also will the Son of Man suffer at their hands.' Then the disciples understood that he was speaking to them of John the Baptist" (Matthew 17:10-13).

 
For next week
Those present were reminded that next week shall reading the Psalm 117 (118) as we consider the 'O Rex géntium' Antiphon. Members were asked in the meantime to consider why verse 22 of this psalm is quoted three times in the New Testament and to find out why and in what context the psalm was written (see 'December 11th: O Rex géntium' in the menu bar).
 

Conclusion
We finished the meeting by praying the 'O Clavis David' Antiphon and calling on the intercession of Our Lady.

Most of the scripture texts on this page are taken from the New American Bible with Revised New Testament and Revised Psalms © 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Washington, D.C.