Lesson 10b Zechariah 9-14

Zechariah 9-14 is a prophesy offered around 350 BC. It shows the inevitability of the victory of God over the nations. It makes use of Jeremiah and Ezekiel. Assyria and Egypt appear as symbols of all oppressors. I rely upon commentaries by Rex Mason and Joyce Baldwin.

Some scholars think that Chapters 9-11 piece together older prophecies, possibly due to attacks from Alexander the Great.

Zechariah 9:1-8 has the theme of the universal rule of God. It announces the victory of God. In this case, the word of the Lord is against the land of Hadrach and Damascus. The capital of Aram belongs to (will submit to) the Lord, as do all the tribes of Israel, suggesting that the rule of God is as effective in Syria as it is Judah. In addition, Hamath, Tyre, and Sidon belong to (submit to) the Lord. The enumeration of cities may signify an actual attack by God. It could refer to the attack by Alexander the Great in the 340s. Tyre has built itself a rampart and heaped up silver like dust and gold like dirt of the streets. However, the Lord will strip it of its possessions and hurl its wealth into the sea. Fire will devour it, for which see Amos 1:10. Ezekiel 28:2-6 and 26:12 also refers to Tyre. Alexander the Great will destroy Tyre. Ashkelon, Gaza, and Ekron shall become fearful, for which also see Amos 1:6-8, which says God will destroy it. The Lord will end the pride of Philistia. It shall be a remnant for God, becoming like a clan in Judah. As Baldwin puts it, the remnant shall become part of the covenant, turning the judgment into salvation. Ekron shall be like the Jebusites. The Lord will encamp at the house of the Lord and guard it, so that no one shall march back and forth. No oppressor shall again overrun them, for the Lord has seen all of this “with my own eyes.” Mason says the rule of God is universal and centered in Zion. God will overcome the enemies of God. Yet, the enemies are not just individual nations, but the sins they typify. Yet, if Philistia, all peoples have hope. Baldwin will also stress the victory of the Lord is certain and that people long alienated will come to the Lord.

Zechariah 9:9-10 has the theme of the coming of the king. It involves recovery of the house of David. It has the expectation of a humble and peaceful messianic king. We find a New Testament reference in Matthew 21:5 and John 12:15. Such a passage, as Barth[1] reminds us, prepares the way for New Testament talk of the parousia. The daughter of Zion and Jerusalem is to rejoice. Their king comes to them, triumphant and victorious, humble, riding on a donkey. Some scholars think this image reflects a festival of the New Year in which the king experienced ritual humiliation. Yet, the king usually rode a donkey. The character of the king is righteous. He is victorious, experiencing the victory of the Lord as does the servant of II Isaiah. He is humble, even as the suffering servant in Isaiah 53. The ass would be an especially appropriate for a mission of peace. In fact, we now see three lines of complete disarmament. He will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the war-horse from Jerusalem. He shall cut off the battle bow and command peace to the nations. His dominion shall be from sea to sea, from the river to the ends of the earth. This passage may reflect influence form Genesis 49:10-11, where the author says the scepter shall not depart form Judah until tribute comes to him and the peoples are in obedience to him. He binds his foal to the vine and the colt of his donkey to the choice vine, washing his garments in wine and his robe in the blood of grapes. Hesse refers to the tension between Messianic passages of endowment by the Spirit with this passage. The Messianic age will combine power, dignity, and greatness. Yet, such statements are in tension with the present passage. Here, the Messiah is poor and someone has to help him to his position. Humility characterizes him. In everything, he depends on the Lord. A typical feature is his love of peace. He destroys all weapons throughout the world, and does away with horses and chariots.[2] Moltmann proposes the thesis that by orchestrating his entry into Jerusalem along the lines of this passage, and by his symbolic cleansing of the temple, Jesus proclaimed himself to be the Messiah and confessed himself to be so in his trial before Caiaphas and Pilate. [3]  In contrast, Pannenberg grants that the entry into Jerusalem is a prophetic sign that presents the coming of the rule of God along the lines of this passage, but in contrast to a display of political and military power. Yet, if he proclaimed himself as Messiah, it would be strange that the Romans did not arrest him at once. One can also see the cleansing of the temple as symbolic prophetic acts but not as messianic acts.[4]

Zechariah 9:11-17 has the theme of promises to exiles. The Lord says that due to the blood of the covenant (Exodus 24:6-8 or the sacrifices in Jerusalem) the Lord has with them, the Lord will set their prisoners (Isaiah 42:7 refers to exiles as prisoners, as well as Mark 14:24) free from the waterless pit. Prisoners of hope, that is, those who live in expectation of the coming king, are to return to their stronghold, probably referring to Jerusalem. Today, the Lord will restore to them double. For the Lord has bent Judah as a bow. Ephraim is the arrow. The Lord will arouse the sons of Zion against the sons of Greece and wield them like the sword of warrior. In a war oracle, the Lord will appear over them and the arrow goes forth like lightning. The Lord God will sound the trumpet and march forth in the whirlwinds of the south. The Lord will protect them. They shall devour the slingers. They shall drink their blood like wine, becoming full and drenched. In another oracle, the Lord will save them, for they are the flock of the people of the Lord, reminding us of Ezekiel 34:11-16, where God is the faithful shepherd. Like jewels of a crown, they shall shine on the land that belongs to the Lord. Goodness and beauty belong to the Lord. Grain shall make the young men flourish and new wine the same for young women.

Zechariah 10:1-3a has the theme of false worship and false shepherds. It becomes a pastoral entreaty to avoid these dangers. In a likely reference to the New Year festival in autumn, they are to ask for rain from the Lord. Possibly applying an older text to his time, the reason is that teraphim (see Jeremiah 14:1-15:4 and especially 14:22) utter nonsense and diviners see lies. Dreamers tell false dreams and give empty consolation. The point is that Israel have left behind these pre-exilic methods of making decisions that rejected the word of God, for which see Ezekiel 34:6-8. Shifting to his own situation, therefore, the people wander like sheep. Placing the blame upon the leaders, the people suffer for lack of a shepherd. The anger of the lord is hot against the shepherds. The Lord will punish the leaders. He seems to think of the worship of his time as little better than idolatry. The leaders take advantage of the weakness of others.

Zechariah 10:3b-11:3 is the description of an armed theocracy.

Zechariah 10:3b-12 is an oracle of restoration. While resuming the battle imager of Chapter 9, the emphasis now is strengthening Israel for action. The Lord cares for the flock, the house of Judah. The promise is that due to the failure of leadership, the whole community will take on the qualities of leadership. The Lord will make them like a proud war-horse of the Lord. Out of them shall come the cornerstone, the tent peg, the battle bow, and the commander. In an admittedly bloody image, Judah becomes a mighty army, as together, they shall be like warriors in battle, trampling the foe in the mud. They shall fight, for the Lord is with them. They shall shame riders on horses. In another oracle, the prophet envisions the restoration of Judah and Israel, for which see Jeremiah 33:26 and Isaiah 58:9. The Lord will strengthen the house of Judah and save the house of Joseph. The Lord will bring them back because the Lord has compassion on them. It will be as though the Lord had not rejected them. The Lord will answer them. The people of Ephraim shall become like warriors. Wine shall make the hearts glad. Children will rejoice and their hearts exult in the Lord. The Lord will signal for them, for the Lord has redeemed (Isaiah 51:11) them, becoming a second exodus. They shall become as numerous as before. The Lord scattered them among the nations. Yet, in far countries, they shall remember the Lord, stressing that his oracle is not just about return to the land, rear their children, and return.  The Lord will bring them home from Egypt and gather them from Assyria. The Lord will bring them to Gilead and Lebanon, until the land has no more room for them. They shall pass through the sea of distress, while the Lord shall strike down the waves of the sea and the Nile dry up. The Lord shall bring low the pride of Assyria. The scepter of Egypt shall depart. The Lord will make them strong in the Lord and they shall walk in the name of the Lord.

Zechariah 11:1-3 has a theme, in the form of a taunt song, of judgment upon Lebanon and Bashan. Other examples are Amos 5:2, Isaiah 14:4-21, and Jeremiah 6:1-5. The doors of Lebanon are to open so that fire may devour their cedars. Cypress and oaks are to weep. Shepherds are to wail, for the Lord has despoiled their glory. In an image inspired by Jeremiah 24:34-37, they are to listen for the roar of the lions, for the Lord has destroyed the thickets of the Jordan. We are to imagine a forest fire. In context, it suggests that Judah will realize its hopes when God addresses the matter of the enemies.

Zechariah 11:4-17 has the theme of describing two shepherds, suggesting a reversal of the prophecy in Ezekiel 37:15-28. The oracle is pessimistic, announcing judgment on flock and shepherd alike. It seems to use prophetic symbolism. It could also be an allegory. The central subject is leadership. The point is that a ruler who brought harmony, peace, and happiness would receive hatred from the people. The Lord said to the prophet to be a shepherd of the flock doomed to slaughter. Those who buy them (rich oppressors) kill them and go unpunished. Those who see them (likely the priests) go to the temple and praise the Lord for their prosperity, receiving approval from the priesthood. Their shepherds have no pity on them. Next, the prophet extends the threat to the earth, saying the Lord will no longer have pity on the inhabitants of the earth. The Lord will cause each of them to fall into the hand of a neighbor and the king. They shall devastate the earth. The Lord will not deliver them from their hand. On behalf of the sheep merchants, the Lord became the shepherd of the flock doomed to slaughter. For Michel,[5] the prophet says that he fed the flock of slaughter. The reference is to the separating of some sheep for slaughter from others that are kept for their wool. He notes that from ancient times, the Babylonians distinguished between sheep for food and sheep for wool. Michel thinks this passage is a perversion of the idea of election when Israel receives treatment like sheep for slaughter. If the prophet is to feed these sheep by the commission of God, he directs the statement polemically this statement against the owners and sellers who pitilessly hand over the people or its members. If the original text laid special emphasis on the symbolic action of the prophet, the lager revision in verse 6 falls on the eschatological delivering up of people to alien shepherds. Yet, one cannot rule out the interpretation that someone will bring the sheep for slaughter to market, whereas the others will be used for the temple, that is, for cultic purposes. As the prophet continues, we will find the people reject the good shepherd. The Lord took two staffs (see Ezekiel 37:15-28, where this prophet reverses the imagery), one named favor (enjoyment of the presence of God) and the other unity (of the people of God). The Lord tended the sheep. In one month, the Lord disposed of the three shepherds (identity unknown), for the Lord had become impatient with them. They also detested the Lord. The Lord said he would not be their shepherd. What is to die, let it die. Let those left devour each other. The point is that the people reject the prophet and the prophet abandons them to judgment. The Lord abandons them to their own actions. The Lord took the staff “Favor” and broke it, and unlike Ezekiel, it symbolizes annulling the covenant that the Lord made with all the peoples. Leaders and people have forfeited their right to be a covenant people, reversing the hope of Ezekiel. Gracious rule has ended. [In a passage that some think is an insertion, the sheep merchants, who were watching the Lord, know that it was the word of the Lord. The Lord told them to give what it seems right as wages. They weighed out (suggesting the Persian period, for the Greek period used coins) 30 shekels of silver (a lot of money). Then the Lord told the prophet to throw it into the treasury, this lordly price at which they valued the Lord. He took the 30 shekels of silver and threw them into the treasury in the house of the Lord. In doing so, the prophet may have repudiated the temple and the official priesthood. If so, Ezekiel 22:17-22 would be the background. The passage in Matthew 26:15 reverses all this. In that context, Judas takes the place of the prophet with the 30 pieces, but now he is handing over the good shepherd to death, a view quite alien to the original context.[6]] In an inevitable outcome of the leaders and people rejecting the shepherd, the Lord broke the second staff, unity, annulling the family ties between Judah and Israel. This could refer to the Samaritan schism of 375 BC. As the prophet continues with a third act of prophetic symbolism, then the Lord told the prophet to take the implements of a worthless shepherd, a shepherd of doom. The Lord raises up in the land a shepherd who has the qualities of the unworthy priests in Ezekiel 34:1-10: those who do not care for the perishing, wandering, maimed, nor nourish the healthy. Rather, he will devour the flesh. Not fulfilling his duties to the flock, he will enjoy the benefits of leadership. Addressing the worthless shepherd who deserts the flock, the sword is to strike the arm and the right eye, the arm withering and the right eye blind. The shepherd becomes incapacitated and unfit for priestly office. The message is that responsibility for chaos is on human shoulders, for God has offered a shepherd and humanity has rejected them.

Chapters 12-14 are an apocalyptic description of Jerusalem in the last days.  Its messianic teaching is especially interesting for students of the New Testament, as Matthew 21:4-5, 27:9, 26:31 refer to it.  The text has recovery of the house of David. It has the expectation of a humble and peaceful messianic king.

Zechariah 12:1-9 describes the world besieging Jerusalem. This passage is a fitting introduction to these chapters. The point here is that Jerusalem has had to drink a cup of wrath. The Lord has removed the cup so that others may drink of it. The prophet offers the word of the Lord concerning Israel. Similar to Isaiah 42:5, the Lord stretched out the heavens, founded the earth, and formed the human spirit within. Look carefully, for the Lord is about to make Jerusalem a cup of reeling for all the surrounding peoples as they lay siege against the city. On that day, the Lord will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples. All who lift themselves against the city will hurt themselves, suggesting they will injure themselves in the attempt to hurt the city. The nations of the earth will come against it (Isaiah 28:16). Psalm 48 offers a comparison, suggesting a New Year’s Festival ritual of being attacked and experiencing deliverance. On that day, the Lord will strike every horse with panic and its rider with madness, the thereat in Deuteronomy 28:28 extends to all nations. Yet, the Lord will keep a watchful eye on Judah. The clans of Judah, seeing where Jerusalem draws its strength, will affirm that the people of Jerusalem have strength through the Lord their God. On that day, the Lord will make the clans of Judah like a blazing pot on a pile of wood, like a flaming torch among sheaves. They shall devour all the surrounding peoples. Yet, Jerusalem shall inhabit its place, suggested the scattered exiles have now returned. The Lord will give victory to the tents of Judah first, so that the glory of the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem will not exalt themselves above that of Judah. This may suggest that tension between Judah and Jerusalem exists. On that day, the Lord will shield the inhabitants of Jerusalem so that the feeblest shall be like David, the house of David like God, with the angel of the Lord at their head. The prophet envisions the renewal of the entire community. He does so in a way that shows how closely a human being can represent the personal presence of God.[7] On that day, the Lord will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. The text assumes a world conflict with victory belonging to Jerusalem.

Zechariah 12:10-13:1 has the theme of mourning the one the city has pierced, the martyr of God. Mourning replaces the elation of victory. They need a new spirit and a new cleansing attitude connected with the death of a man. The Lord will pour out a spirit of compassion and supplication on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. They will look on the one whom they have pierced (could be Josiah as in II Chronicles 35:25, the prophet, the good shepherd of Chapter 11, the suffering remnant, or God, Onas IV (170), or Simon Maccabee (134) and not necessarily killed) and shall mourn (as the result of repentance) for him, as one mourns for an only child. John Calvin favored that they wounded God with their sins. Baldwin connects the grief to Isaiah 53:5, with the inhabitants of the city experiencing the pangs of collective conscience for its part in the death of the man of the Lord. They shall weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn. The point is to match the outward victory with inward renewal. On that day, the mourning in Jerusalem will be as great as that for Hadad-rimmon, the storm god who went through rituals of death and life, in the plain of Megiddo. Each family shall mourn by itself: the house of David, Nathan (a son of David or the prophet), Levi, the Shimeites, all the families left. On that day, a fountain shall open for the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to cleanse them from sin and impurity. The reference is to a purified temple and cultivation of worship.

Stahlin[8] refers to the mourning for the wonderful figure of this passage. The passage seems to fuse a retrospective prophetic view of the past, the painful experience of the prophet himself, ancient Messianic hopes, and a tentative preview of the mysterious salvation of God that is the theme of prophetic inquiry and reflection. He refers to 11:4-14 as a reference to this figure in prophetic action under the image of the good shepherd, possibly with King Josiah as the model. He thinks 12:11 is possible allusion to the death of Josiah. God’s own counsel smites him with the sword in 13:7-9. However, now a miracle takes place. The one who has been laid low in 12:8 and pierced through in 12:10 by the people rises again, and like David he becomes an angel of God in 12:8. However, rather strangely there begins at the same time a mourning of great intensity, as for an only son in verse 10 and of national scope in verses 12-14, as if for a beloved king. Why does this mourning take place? The mourning took place due to the guilt for the death of the divine martyr, and grief at the misfortune that has come on the people of God due to his death. One point is decisive, however, namely, that the mourning is held against a background of light. The mourning of penitence is possible only because the divine spirit of grace has already been received. Moreover, the reawakening of the good shepherd obviously implies the renewal of the Davidic monarchy, with which the restoration of Judah and Jerusalem is linked. It is thus a blessed mourning, and its gracious acceptance by God is confirmed by the welling up of a purifying fountain in Jerusalem in 13:1. For Stahlin, the application to Jesus in the New Testament occurs in several ways. In Luke 23:34 in particular, Jesus admonishes those who bewail Him to weep rather for themselves and their approaching fate. In so doing, he takes up the prophetic demand for mourning, and yet at the same time he demonstrates his self-forgetful pit and love. Mourning for him can become a way of penitence and hence to escape from destruction. He points out, however, that mourning in an eschatological sense is the mourning of oneself in one's final and hopeless distress. The New Testament takes this passage to mean that once people see what they have done to the Messiah, it will already be too late.

Zechariah 13:2-6 has the theme of cleansing of the city of false prophets. On that day, consistent with Ezekiel 36, the Lord will cut off the names of the idols so that people no longer remember them. Apparently, worship at this time was little better than idolatry. The Lord will remove their prophets and the unclean spirit as well. If any such prophets appear again, their fathers and mothers shall disown them. Their parents shall (justly) pierce them. On that day, the prophets shall experience shame and admit they are not prophets. They are tillers of the soil. They shall receive noticeable wounds on their chest which they will ascribe to neighbors, but in reality came from idolatrous worship.

Zechariah 13:7-9 has the theme of the Lord striking the shepherd. Mason believers these verses should be after Chapter 11, recognizing their close connection. In this passage the Lord strikes the shepherd, the flock becomes leaderless, experiencing testing that results in deeper assurance of their identity as the people of God. The Lord has the sword awaken against the shepherd (the prophet, the good shepherd, the one pierced in 12:10) of the Lord, against the associate of the Lord. Whoever this shepherd is, the shepherd is a gift of the Lord and dwells at the side of the Lord. The likely pattern is Isaiah 53. The sword shall strike (see Isaiah 53:10 and Mark 14:27) the shepherd so that the sheep may scatter. We find Jesus quoting a portion of this verse in Mark 14:27 that if one strikes shepherd, the sheep will scatter. The reference is to the great affliction prophesied for a Messianic figure and his followers, though this will ultimately bring salvation. As the flock loses its rallying point with the death of the shepherd, and is gripped by panic and scatters, so the death of Jesus causes the disciples to fall away from him. As the loss of the common focus and center, it brings about the disruption of their fellowship. The denial of Peter follows Jesus quoting this passage. Peter will not accept the application of this prediction of general apostasy to himself. As the prophet continues, the Lord will turn a hand against the little ones. Two thirds of the people shall die, leaving one-third as a remnant still alive. The Lord will place this third into the fire (as a metaphor for removing impurities) and refine them, as one refines silver and tests gold. They will call on the name of the Lord, and the Lord will answer they are “my people” and they will say that the Lord is our God. The writer builds on Ezekiel 5:1-12, especially verses 3-4, thee will not be total destruction. The Lord will save a remnant.

Zechariah 14:1-15 has the theme of a battle of nations against Jerusalem, but the Lord defends them. Look carefully, for a day is coming for the Lord when others will plunder them, for which see Joel 1:15, 21. The first stage of the end is defeat. The Lord will gather all the nations (suggesting the threat of one world government) against Jerusalem to battle. They shall take the city and houses looted and the women raped. Half the city shall go into exile. The rest shall stay. A similar image is in Isaiah 1:9. This suggests that the nations leave behind a remnant.  Yet, in a reversal of the just stated defeat, the Lord will intervene and fight against those nations. On that day, the feet of the Lord shall stand on the Mount of Olives and shall split it, half going north and half south. They shall flee by the valley, which shall reach to Azal. They shall flee as they did from the earthquake (a symbol of a theophany) in the days of King Uzziah of Judah (Amos 1:1). The Lord will come with the holy ones. Echoing Genesis 8:22, on that day, there shall not be either cold or frost. There shall be continuous day. On that day, echoing Ezekiel 47:1-12, living waters shall flow out from Jerusalem, half to the east and half to the west. It shall continue in summer as in winter. The long-standing dream of abundant water shall become fact. For the image in the New Testament, see John 7:38. Finally, the longing of the enthronement psalms will find fulfillment. The Lord will become king over the earth. On that day, the Lord will be one, and the name of the Lord one. The entire land shall turn into a plan from Geba (6 miles north-north-east) to Rimmon (35 miles south-west) south of Jerusalem. However, Jerusalem shall remain aloft on its site. People shall inhabit it, a challenge in post-exilic times, for leaders had to compel people to live there. The Lord shall not doom lit for destruction again. It shall live in security. The Lord will strike those who wage war against Jerusalem with a plague, with their flesh, eyes, and tongues rotting. A great panic from the Lord shall fall on them, so that each will seize the hand of neighbor. Even Judah will fight at Jerusalem. They shall collect the wealth of all the surrounding nations. A similar plague shall fall on the horses, mules, camels, donkeys, and other animals.

Zechariah 14:16-21 has the theme of true worship restored in Jerusalem, with the nations coming to the city to worship the Lord. All who survive of the nations shall worship the King, the Lord of hosts, keeping the festival of booths (fertility of land and the kingship of Yahweh were themes), along with the Jewish people. If any do not go, they will have no rain. If the family of Egypt does not go up, the plague shall come upon them. Any nation that fails to worship the Lord will meet with disaster. On that day, the bells of the horses shall have the inscription, “Holy to the Lord.” Thus, even warhorses will submit to the Lord. Cooking pots in the house of the Lord shall be as holy as the bowls in front of the altar. In fact, every cooking pot in Jerusalem and Judah shall be sacred to the Lord, so that all who sacrifice may come and use them to boil the flesh of the sacrifice. No traders allowed in the house of the Lord on that day. Important here is that all aspects of life become sacred. The distinction between sacred and secular will find transformation. Interestingly, Wolfhart Pannenberg,[9] however, sees this passage in an interesting way. He uses Hegel as an analogy. For Hegel, the Infinite that merely negates the finite is not truly Infinite. For Hegel, the Infinite is truly infinite only when it transcends its own antithesis to the finite. In this sense, the holiness of God is truly infinite, for it opposes the profane. Yet, it also enters the profane world, penetrating it, and making holy. In referring to this passage, he says that in the renewed world that is the target of eschatological hope, the difference between God and creature will remain, but that between holy and the profane will be abolished.

Mason says there are differences in the vision of the future in 12:7-13 and Chapter 14. In Chapter 14, we find nothing about Davidic leadership, the temple is less important, and the text is more apocalyptic. However, both speak of the community being cleansed, presence of water, a dependence on earlier prophetic literature, a critical stance toward the Jerusalem cult, and the centrality of a restored Jerusalem. Chapter 14 may even anticipate the Qumran community.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

---

[1] Church Dogmatics IV.3 [69.4] 292.

[2] (TDNT, Volume 9, p. 580)

[3] (The Way of Jesus Christ, p. 138-139)

[4] Systematic Theology Volume 2, 312-3.

[5] (TDNT, Volume 9, p. 936)

[6] Barth, Church Dogmatics II.2 [35.4] 463-4.

[7] Barth Church Dogmatics III.3 [51.3] 513.

[8] (TDNT, Volume 3, 849-851)

[9] (Systematic Theology, Volume One, p. 400)

Lesson 10 Joel

Joel is difficult to date, but he could have prophesied any time between 445 and 343. My study will depend on Hans Walter Wolff in Hermenea, John D. W. Watts, Roland Murphy in Interpreters.

Wolff advocates a dating of 445-343.  Murphy presents the idea that he lived in Jerusalem and was probably a cultic prophet. He seems to be dependent upon earlier prophets, even Obadiah, as well as Malachi.  He presents evidence that confirms a post-exilic date.  Suggesting a post-exilic date are the role of elders in the community in 1:2, 14, 2:16, concern with ritual and sacrifice in 1:13, 2:12, 14, the relatively small size of the community in 2:16, the reference to Israel scattered among the nations in 3:2, and acquaintance with the Greeks in 3:2. Wolff defends unity of authorship, seeing 2:17-18 as a turning-point and that there is a symmetry between the lament portion and the divine response portion.  Murphy accepts unity of authorship except at except at 3:4-8, 18-21. Because of this balance presented, it is primarily a literary work rather than a compilation of speeches. Though Joel uses liturgical forms, he is not among those who believe in conformity to Torah and worship forms is enough.  By studying previous prophecies, he believed in new acts of God. His major concern is the Day of the Lord.  The event prompting the prophecy is a locust plague devastating the land.  He urges repentance, offering a lament in 1:2-2:27 that call forth a religious ceremony and prayer.  Yahweh replies by promising a cessation of the plague and return to prosperity.  He views the event as an image of the Day of Yahweh. They are a penitential liturgy, ending with a prophetic promise of forgiveness.  Thus, Joel may have been a cult prophet, though it may also be an imitation. The second section is a time of salvation, apocalyptic judgment on the nations and final triumph of Yahweh and of Israel. 3:1-5 is the answer to Moses' prayer in Numbers 11:29.  See Acts 2:16-21.  He is a prophet of repentance, exhorting to fasting and prayer. Thus, in one of the shortest books in the Hebrew Bible (three chapters), the prophet Joel presents a picture of both judgment and redemption that encapsulates centuries of Israelite religious thought. With the insight peculiar to the prophetic imagination, Joel interprets natural and political events as manifestations of both Yahweh's judgment and Yahweh's compassion. It is to awaken his contemporaries to Yahweh's magnificent and terrible activity in their world

Klaus Koch[1] offers an alternative view to the post-exilic date. If toward the end of the sixth century, the day of holy war against the nations at the valley of Jehoshaphat near Jerusalem is also aimed at the Assyrians.  For Joel, the day of the Lord is a sinister war-like event.  A plague of locusts is the background for the book as complaint, petition, and assurance.  There becomes a connection between that plague and the day of the Lord.  The problem with a post-exilic date is that the "day of the Lord" does not occur anywhere else in post-exilic literature!  It is a term for seventh and ninth cent prophets.  The day of the Lord was a new development in Israel, making them cease looking back at salvation history and look forward to a future act of God.  Thus, the work of Yahweh has still to be perfected.

Joel 1:1 is the title. It says simply that the word of the Lord came to Joel, name means "Yah[weh] is God/El," son of Pethuel (Vision of El). Today, we know nothing about this family.

Joel 1:2-2:27 is a lament around the event of a plague of locusts. Joel invites the elders and the people to listen. Has such a thing happened their days or that of ancestors? The question implies that it has not. The devastation is so great that they are to tell their children of it, and so is each successive generation. He notes what the cutting and swarming locust has eaten. Drunkards are to wake up and weep. The fruit of the vine is cut off from them. A nation has invaded the land, powerful and innumerable. Its teeth are that of a lion and it has the fangs of a lioness. It has lain waste the vines and fig trees. It has stripped off their bark and burned their branches. He invites them to lament as a virgin child-bride dressed in sackcloth for the husband of her youth. One cannot even offer a grain or drink offering in the house of the Lord. Priests mourn as ministers of the Lord. Workers will weep, suggesting they will have no work. They have devastated the fields. Trees have dried up. Joy withers among the people, suggesting no reason for the joy of harvest. Then, the priests are to put on sackcloth and lament. As ministers of the altar, they are to wail. They are to pass the night in sackcloth, “ministers of my God.” Grain and drink offering do not come into the house of God. They are to sanctify a fast and call a solemn assembly. They are to gather the elders and the people to the house of the Lord and cry out to the Lord. They are to express their “Woe,” for the day of the Lord is near and destruction from the Almighty comes, for which see Amos 5:18-20, Zephaniah 1:7, 14-16,  Mark 1:15, Matthew 3:2. Joel borrows the notion of the day of the Lord from the prophetic tradition and applies it to his present circumstance. Food does not come to the house of the God, nor does joy and gladness. The seed shrivels. The storehouses and granaries are empty. The animals groan. Cattle and sheep have no pasture. Yet, Joel turns his cry to the Lord. The fire has devoured the pastures and trees. Wild animals cry to the Lord because water has dried up. Then, in 2:1-11, Joel refers to a formal community lament. He describes the invading locusts as an invading army. The text seems to rely upon Isaiah 13. They are to blow the trumpet (shofar) in Zion and sound the alarm. Trumpet blasts regularly accompany liturgical action (e.g., Exodus 19:19; Leviticus 23:24; 2 Samuel 6:15, etc.) Sounding the trumpet was used both for summoning the people to action (especially military action, e.g., Joshua 6:5; Judges 3:27; 6:34; and 2 Samuel 2:28 and 18:16, where it signals the end of the assault). Israel also used it for announcing information of widespread significance. For example, I Samuel 13:3 Saul used a trumpet blast to announce Jonathan's defeat of the Philistines at Geba. II Samuel 15:10 Absalom used the trumpet blast to announce his kingship at Hebron. I Kings 1:34 shows a similar use of the trumpet for announcing a legitimate king, Solomon. In this context, sounding the trumpet was used to raise an alarm, and this is one of the most common uses of the sound of the trumpet in prophetic literature (e.g., Jeremiah 4:19, 21; 6:1, etc.). As the prophet continues, the people are to tremble, for the day of the Lord is coming and is near, a day of darkness (Amos 5:18), gloom, and clouds. Joel raises the alarm not for the usual reasons, such as preparation for battle, but to announce the impending arrival of the "day of the LORD," an important concept found only in the prophetic writings of the Old Testament. The idea forms one of the central themes in Joel, occurring here and at 1:15; 2:11, 31; and 3:14. Only the prophet Zephaniah uses the image more frequently than Joel (six times:  1:7, 8, 14, 18; 2:2, 3). As the prophet continues, a powerful army comes. No one from of old has seen anything like this, nor will it be again in the future. Fire devours in front of them. Behind them, a flame burns. Before them is a land like the Garden of Eden, but after them is a desolate wilderness. Nothing escapes them. They have the appearance of war-horses. As with the rumbling of chariots, they leap on the tops of the mountains. A fire devours like a powerful army drawn up for battle. The people are in anguish. The prophet is impressed with the discipline of the locusts. Thus, like warriors, they charge. Each keeps to its course. They do not jostle one another. They burst through the weapons. No one can halt them. They leap upon the city and run upon the walls. They climb upon houses enter through the windows like a thief. The earth quakes before the heaven and the heavens tremble. The sun and moon darken. The stars do not shine. The voice of the Lord is at the front of the numberless army. They obey the command of the Lord. The day of the Lord is great and terrible, who can endure it? In fact, not even Israel can endure it, for this day is bringing judgment upon Israel. Then, in 2:12-17 is the theme of true repentance. The people are to return to the Lord with all their hearts, with fasting, weeping, and mourning, for they had turned their backs on God. They are to rend their hearts and not their clothing, the latter being only an external sign of repentance. They are to return to the Lord, for the Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, relenting (repenting) from punishing. In fact, who knows whether the Lord will not turn and relent (repent) and leave a blessing, a grain and drink offering, for the Lord. Thus, repentance now will make worship and praise possible in the future. They are to blow the trumpet (shofar) in Zion and sanctify a fast, calling a solemn assembly and gather the people. This time, the shofar summons people to the temple rather than warns them of impending doom. They are to sanctify the congregation and assemble the aged, children, and infants. The bridegroom is to leave his room and the bride her canopy. Between the vestibule and the altar, the priests, ministers of the Lord, are to weep, keeping a physical distance as a symbol of their separation from God. The priests are to accept the role of interceding for the people, asking the Lord to spare the people of God, not making these people a mockery and byword. In fact, if the Lord does not respond, the nations will ask where their God might be. The concern here is that they will not fulfill their responsibility of being a light to the nations. 2:18-20 is the turning point of the book, reversing 1:6-7. It promises spiritual and material blessing. The alteration in the message of this prophet depends on a change in the mind of God. The Lord has a unique claim in this people, and therefore, the Lord became jealous for the land that belongs to the Lord, and had pity on the people who belong to the Lord. In response to the people, the Lord sent grain, wine, and oil, stressing the covenant relationship and the deeds that make it real. They will not be a mockery among the nations. The Lord will remove the northern army (could be a nation but it would fit locusts as well) far from them, its front into the eastern sea and its rear into the western sea. Its stench will become strong. Truly, the Lord has done great things. 2:21-27 is a call for a response from those who benefit from the goodness of the Lord. Reversing the conditions to which Joel refers in 1:6-7, 10-12, and 19-20, the soil is not to fear, but be glad and rejoice, for the Lord has done great things. The animals are not to fear, for the pastures are green. The trees and vines yield their fruit. Children of Zion occurs only here, Lamentations 4:2, and Psalm 149:2, Zechariah 9:13, Zion being the ancient Jebusite stronghold that David captured that symbolized the chosen quality of the city and the people. Joel, who has described the disaster and calls for the people to repent, has also described an announcement of divine pity and deliverance. In an appropriate response, these children of Zion are to be glad and rejoice in the Lord their God, not just for the blessings they shall receive, for the Lord has given early rain (from the end of October to the first of December) to vindicate them as in the past. The drought referred to earlier shall end. Threshing floors will be full of grain and vats overflow with wine and oil. In the ancient world, the chief duty of deity was to provide the natural resources on which an agricultural society depended. Failure to do so meant the divine had rejected the people, had punished the people, or had become weak. The Lord will repay them for the years that the locust has eaten, thereby healing the effects of the locusts. They had become a great army of the Lord, recognizing here that the Lord is the source of evil, rather than some other malevolent force of which we read in Genesis 3, I Chronicles 21:1, Job 1-2, Zechariah 3:1-12, Matthew 4, and Revelation 12. Especially among those influence by the Deuteronomistic school, as we learn in 11:26-28, 28:15, 45, misfortune is a sign of divine displeasure. Job challenges this view, as does John 9. They shall eat in plenty and experience satisfaction. They are to praise the name of the Lord, who has dealt wondrously with them. The Lord will not allow “my people” to experience shame again, referring to exile. They shall know that the Lord is in their midst, that the Lord is their God and there is no other. The people of the Lord shall never again be put to shame. The statement reminds us of Exodus 20:2, stressing that restoration means meeting physical needs, genuine worship, and true knowledge.

Joel 2:28-3:21 is a vision of the outpoured Spirit of God. 2:28-32 stresses that God will make the next period better than before. “Afterward,” the Lord will pour out the spirit of the Lord on all flesh. The Spirit will flow without measure. This is life-power. God will shower the Spirit upon all humanity, establishing a new way of life. There will be a new awareness of God in immediacy. Thus, their sons and daughters (think Deborah in Judges 4:4, Hulda in II Kings 22:14, Noadiah in Nehemiah 6:14, the wife of Isaiah in Isaiah 8:3) shall prophesy. Old men shall dream. Young men shall see visions. “In those days” the Lord will pour out the Spirit of the Lord on slaves, reminding us that prophets among slaves would be rarer than among women. Joel envisions a universal religious revival unlike anything seen before in Judah, part of the apocalyptic end he is describing. Such prophets were part of the religious establishment in ancient Israel, even while they could challenge it. The vision, far from repudiating prophets, envisions the divine spirit that gives rise to prophecy overflowing to everyone. Pannenberg[2] says Jewish hope expected the outpouring of the Spirit of God on the people of God, as we see here. This entire final section is an anticipation of the final consummation. The point of this outpouring of the Spirit is the imparting of prophetic inspiration to all members of the covenant people. As the prophet continues, he uses apocalyptic imagery, such as we also find in Ezekiel 32:7-8, Amos 8:9, and Isaiah 13:8-10. The Lord will show portents in the heavens and earth, blood, fire, and columns of smoke. The sun shall turn to darkness; the moon shall turn to blood. All of this will happen before the great and terrible day of the Lord arrives. Nature is part of the drama of salvation. At that time, focusing on Israel, the Lord will save everyone who calls on the name of the Lord. In Mount Zion some shall escape, among the survivors are those whom the Lord calls. 3:1-3 supports the proclamation of salvation just given. “In those days and at that time” the Lord will restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem, suggesting the post-exilic period. Judgment had been upon Israel, but that time is past, as they enter into a new phase of blessing and peace. The Lord, being in charge, will gather all the nations, bringing them to the valley of Jehoshaphat, a valley that will become a courtroom, and enter into judgment with theme, because of the people of the Lord, because the nations have scattered them among the nations, referring to Assyria and Babylon. They have divided the land that belongs to the Lord and cast lots for the people of the Lord, traded boys for prostitutes and sold girls for wine. [3:4-8, for some scholars a later addition, has the Lord asking Tyre (destroyed in 332), Sidon (destroyed in 343), and Philistia (Gaza destroyed in 332) what they are to the Lord. Alexander the Great (356-323) was active in the area. Are they paying the Lord back for something? If they are, the Lord will turn their deeds back. The first charge is that they have taken the silver and gold and have carried the rich treasures of the Lord into their temples. The second charge is that they have sold the people of Judah and Jerusalem to the Greeks, removing them far from their borders. The Lord will arouse the people of God to leave these places and turn their deeds back upon their heads. The Lord will sell the children of these nations into the hand of the people of Judah, and they will sell them to the Sabeans.]  3:9-14 is a summons to the nations. The prophet returns to the theme of judgment. The nations may declare war on the Lord and march on Zion, as we also read in Ezekiel 32, 38-39, Zechariah 12:3-4, 14:2, but there is the Valley of Decision where they will meet their judgment and final defeat. The prophet proclaims that the nations are to prepare (sanctify, war regarded as a sacred undertaking) for war. In a reversal of the paradise described in Isaiah 2:4, 11:6, Joel urges them to beat their plowshares into swords and pruning hooks into spears. The weakling is to say he is warrior. Nations are to gather quickly and bring their warriors. The Lord will bring angels, heavenly champions, to carry out judgment. The nations are to rouse themselves to the Valley of Jehoshaphat, for the Lord will sit to judge all neighboring nations. The harvest is ripe. Tread, for the wine press is full the vats overflow, for wickedness is great. Multitudes will be in the valley of decision, for the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision. 3:15-17 returns to the theme of the Day of the Lord. The sun, moon, and stars darken. The Lord roars from Zion (Amos 1:2) and his voice comes from Jerusalem. The heavens and earth shake. Yet, the Lord is a refuge and stronghold for the people of the Lord. In this, they shall know that the Lord is their God, who dwells in Zion, the holy mountain of the Lord. Jerusalem shall be holy, a sanctuary inviolable, for them. Strangers shall never pass through it. [3:18-21 describes the glorious future of Israel in a way that suggests to some a later addition. “In that day” the mountains shall offer sweet wine, hills shall flow with milk, streams overflow with water, a fountain shall come from the house of the Lord and Wadi Shittim. Egypt and Edom shall become a desolate wilderness, because of the violence done to the people of Judah, in whose land they have shed innocent blood. However, Judah shall be inhabited forever. The Lord will avenge their blood, for the Lord not clear the guilty, for the Lord dwells in Zion.]

---

[1] The Prophets, Vol I, p. 158-159, 160-163.

[2] Systematic Theology Volume 3, 6, 13.

Malachi

(11) Malachi (468, 445, 433, 4 Chapters)

As anonymous prophet could have written Malachi, with the title of the book being 'my messenger." Scholars identify 468, 445, or 433 as possible times when Malachi preached the oracles.  Though related to the times of Ezra and Nehemiah, it is difficult to know where he fits in.  He writes after the revival under Haggai and Zechariah and the completion of the temple. He is mostly concerned with the covenant.  He criticizes the way worship is practiced in the rebuilt temple, which suggests a long time since the completion of the temple. The unwillingness to part with money for the temple also suggests a distance from its completion. He also must deal with leaders taking advantage of poor and oppressed. He has a concern for inter-marriage with non-Jewish families. He believes that the ceremonies led by those who cultivate public worship must be performed reverently before God. From this reverence will come justice. The prophecies of Isaiah 40-55 prophecies were unfulfilled, but they became open to re-interpretation.  He makes the conduct of worship the decisive standard of behavior that is faithful to the community.  The world vision of previous prophets is given up in favor of the smaller, everyday concerns of the little community in Jerusalem. He will urge priests to lead the way in a turn toward God. If people do their part, God will open heaven to bring blessing. The belief that priests are messengers of God leads the way toward the end of prophecy. Interpreters of the law, not prophets, would become the key personnel of Judaism.

            The resources on which I rely are Joyce G. Baldwin in the Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries and Roger N. Carsten in Interpreter’s.

            Klaus Koch will say that the book has six discourses. In them, the prophet seeks relevance to the spiritual needs of the people more so that other prophets. Malachi’s prophecy of the messenger has a ling to II Isaiah’s prophecy of the divine highway. He mentions two messengers. The second will purify the priests, the sons of Levi. Malachi relativizes the oracles of Haggai and Zechariah. Is the thinking of a priest or prophet? The sacrifices “in righteousness” mean priests will offer correct sacrifices and that the Lord will accept the cultic community. He points out that with Malachi, prophesy contracts from the world of politics to the everyday world of a little cultic community. Unlike Trito-Isaiah, Malachi makes cultic practice the decisive criterion of behavior that is faithful to the community. [1]

Malachi 1:1 is the title. It identifies itself as an oracle of the word of the Lord to Israel (used for the whole nation, which we also find in Zechariah 9:1, 12:1).

Malachi 1:2-5 is the first oracle, dealing with the reaffirmation of the proclamation of divine love for Israel. It begins with an affirmation that the Lord loves Israel. Immediately, the affirmation meets with skepticism, for Israel wonders how the Lord has loved it. The Lord responds that Esau is the brother of Jacob, yet, the Lord loves (by establishing a covenant) Jacob and hates (by refusing to enter into a covenant ) Esau, emphasizing the choice on the part of the Lord rather than anything done by the brothers. If the point is the freedom of God to choose or eject, then the point would be a warning to Judah to be careful. Romans 9:13, 18 refer to this passage. The land of Esau has become desolate (by Arabian invaders, thereby emphasizing the divine hate for Esau) and his heritage a desert for jackals. If Edom thinks it can rebuild its ruins, the Lord will tear them down, until people call them the wicked country with whom the Lord is angry forever. Their eyes shall see this. The praise by Israel will be that the Lord is great beyond the borders of Israel. The same message is in Zechariah 9:1-8, but with a threat. One should note the friendly tones in the reign of Josiah toward Edom in Deuteronomy 23:7-8, where they are not abhor Edom, since they are brothers.

Malachi 1:6-2:9 is the second oracle, dealing with the denunciation of the priestly class. The prophet begins with indictment against the priests. Reminiscent of the proverbial saying in Isaiah 1:2-3, designed to bring home a truth, a son honors his father (sixth commandment) and servants their master. If the Lord is the father, where is the honor due to the Lord? If the Lord is master, where is the respect due to the Lord? The heart of the problem, says Baldwin, is the broken relationship. The Lord asks these questions of the priests, who despise the name of the Lord. Yet, the priest asks how they have despised the name of the Lord. The priests show their neglect of God by offering polluted food on the altar. Their question is how they have polluted it. The Lord says by thinking that one may despise the table of the Lord, for which see Ezekiel 40:34-43, 44:16. When they offer blind animals in sacrifice, they do so wrongly. When they offer the lame or sick, they do so wrongly. Would the governor find pleasure in such an offering? They are to implore God to show favor and be gracious to Israel, although could be an ironic saying. Will the Lord do so? Someone should shut the temple doors (a reference to excommunication or simply to make no sacrifice) so that no one kindles the fire on the altar in vain. The Lord has no pleasure in them and does not accept an offering from their hands. The name of the Lord is great among the nations, possibly meaning that everywhere people acknowledge the mystery of creation and give thanks would be more acceptable than the blood sacrifice of these priests. This suggests that people offer worship to one God, regardless of the name used. If this interpretation is correct, he is the only Hebrew author to have done so. Baldwin will say that the saying refers to the future, a time when they will know the name of the Lord. He does not mean that the nations are worshipping Yahweh under a different name. Yet, the priests profane the name of the Lord with polluted offerings. The priests say Micah is simply wearing them. They “sniff” at the Lord. Yet, they bring what they have received by violence, or the offering is lame or sick. They will even vow to bring an offering, and then bring a blemished offering. Yet, the Lord is a great king and the name of the Lord finds reverence among the nations, not by name, of course, but their worship of the creator. One could think of Rahab and Ruth as obvious examples. Here is the judgment on the priests. It appears that the time for the possibility of change is past. The Lord commands the priests. Will they listen? If they will not lay it to heart to give glory to the name of the Lord, then the Lord will send a curse on them, of which we read in Deuteronomy 27-28, especially among the ancient Shechemite 12 commandments and 28:15. The Lord will rebuke their offspring and spread dung on their faces and offerings. The Lord will put them out of the divine presence. The command of the Lord is that the covenant with Levi will hold. See Jeremiah 33:21, but note Aaron in Numbers 25:11-13. Recalling Zechariah 3:7, the covenant with him was a covenant of life and wellbeing. This calls for reverence. What we will read is that the priest of the choice of God is lived what he taught. Failure began in turning away from a godly life. Levi revered the Lord and was in awe of the name of the Lord. He offered true instruction. No wrong was on his lips. He walked with the Lord in integrity and uprightness. He turned many people from iniquity. The lips of a priest should guard knowledge. People should seek instruction from him. The priest is the messenger of the Lord of hosts. Yet, the priests have failed to live up to their sacred calling. Yet, these priests have turned aside from the way. They have caused many to stumble by their instruction. They have corrupted the covenant of Levi. Therefore, the Lord makes the priests despised and abased before the people, inasmuch as they have not kept the ways of the Lord and have shown partiality in their instruction. Malachi appears to favor the Levite over the Zadokite and Aaron line of priests. 

Malachi 2:10-16 is the third oracle, dealing with the theme of mixed marriages and divorce. The point here is that as the priests have violated their covenant, so the people have violated the marriage covenant. The indictment begins with a question: do we not all have one father? Has not God created us? Pannenberg says that he finds here the view of God as Father linked to the thought of election that extends to the creation of the elect as well. Such a notion links the fatherly care from the people of God with the fatherly care of God in creation. For him, such a statement is a hint in the direction of the teaching of Jesus. [2]  For Baldwin, however, the point of Malachi is the oneness of the Jewish people, not universal quality of humanity. As the prophet continues, the people are faithless, in the sense of the neglect of contractual duty, to each other, profaning the covenant of their ancestors. [In a portion that some think is a later addition that reflects the Chronicler, Judah has been faithless. People have committed an abomination (apostasy) in Israel and Jerusalem. Judah has profaned the sanctuary of the Lord, which the Lord loves. Judah has married the daughter of a foreign god, with the implication that the foreigners did not become worshippers of the Lord. The prayer is that the Lord would cut off the tents of Jacob, meaning that such marriages would have no children. Ezra 9:1-2 refers to Levites and priests involved in such marriages.] They have excessive displays of emotion, covering the altar of the Lord with tears because the Lord no longer regards the offering or accepts it with favor at their hand. The people ask why the Lord does not do this. The answer is that the Lord was a witness between them and the wife of their youth. Yet, they were faithless to her, even though she had been the companion by way of the covenant, a view shared in Genesis 31:50 and Proverbs 2:16-17. One God made her. Both flesh and spirit belong to God. One God also desires godly offspring. They are to look to themselves, refusing to allow anyone be faithless to the wife of their youth. The Lord hates divorce and covering one’s garment with violence. Barth points that the context is a denunciation of Israelites who have wooed foreign women and have therefore separated from the Jewish wife of their youth. The point here is a pure Israelite posterity. The prohibition of divorce is to protect Israelite women. The prophet continues, therefore, they are to take heed to themselves and not be faithless. [3]

Malachi 2:17-3:5 is the fourth oracle, dealing with theme of prophesy concerning the coming of God in judgment. The indictment begins. They have wearied the Lord with their words, resembling Isaiah 43:24. Their complaint is in the form of a question as to how they have done so. The response is that all who do evil are good in the sight of the Lord and the Lord delights in them. They also ask where the God of justice is. Baldwin points out that it seems the audience of Malachi has become cynical, giving up the quest for right and therefore dismissing the word of the prophet. This may mean that disillusionment settled in when the prophecies of Haggai and Zechariah concerning the glories of rebuilding the temple and the new age to follow did not happen. The pronouncement of judgment begins. However, they are to look carefully, for the Lord is sending a messenger to prepare the way before the Lord, for which see Isaiah 40:3. Remember, Malachi means “my messenger,” and thus, he may refer to himself here. The Lord whom they seek will come suddenly to the temple. The messenger of the covenant (the one who will prepare the way) in whom they delight is coming. Barth, in a discussion of the roots of the Christian teaching concerning the Trinity, refers to this passage as an instance of the alteration between the messenger of the covenant and the personal presence of the Lord. [4] However, who can endure the day of that coming or stand when God appears? The question implies a searching ordeal in which no one will pass the test. [In a passage that some scholars think is an insertion, God is like a refiner’s fire and fuller’s soap. God will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver (giving full attention to the metal), purifying the descendants of Levi (Zechariah 13:9) and refining them like gold and silver, until they present offerings to the Lord in righteousness. The goal of such purifying was never the elimination of the cult but its purification and continuation in righteousness. Pannenberg sees here that judgment is the purifying fire of the smelter. He discusses this notion under the theme that God is creator as well as judge. As creator, God will not allow what God has created to make shipwreck of the dissonance we find in creation. Those who turn away from God are the ones whom God has sought for that reason, moving them to reconciliation. Even those who turn to God in faith will find judgment a reality, but it will be the purifying fire. [5] As the prophet continues, the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will please the Lord as in the days of old. However, one struggles as to when this time was, for Amos and Hosea also criticized such offerings. Baldwin suggests the wilderness period, for which one can compare Jeremiah 2:2-3.] Then the Lord will draw near to them for judgment. The Lord will be swift to bear witness against sorcerers, adulterers, those who swear falsely, those who oppress hired workers in their wages, the widow, the orphan, those who thrust aside the alien, and those who do not fear the Lord.

Malachi 3:6-12 is the fifth oracle, dealing with the theme of current social and economic distress that originates in payment of tithes. The indictment begins. The Lord does not change. Therefore, they have not perished. Ever since their ancestors, they have turned aside from the statutes of the Lord and have not kept them. The invitation is to return to the Lord. Yet, they ask how they can return. The call to repent finds no response of repentance. The Lord asks them if anyone will rob God. Yet, they are robbing God. Note that “Jacob,” their ancestor, had a name that meant, “Cheat.” They wonder how they are robbing God. They are doing so through their tithes and offerings. For this notion, see Leviticus 27:30-33 and Numbers 18:21-31. It refers to gifts offered for the upkeep of the temple. The judgment is that is their robbing of God means a curse resides on them, for which see Proverbs 11:24. They are to bring the full tithe into the storehouse, so that there food may come to the house of the Lord. Doing so, the Lord invites them to put the Lord to the test. The tithe becomes a test of their faithfulness. Obedience is a precondition for experiencing the blessing form God. They are to look carefully to see if the Lord will not open the windows of heaven for them and pour down for them an overflowing blessing. The blessing in Zechariah 14:16-19 says the nations share in the blessing. The Lord will rebuke the locust for them, so that it will not destroy the produce of their soil. The vine shall not be barren. In a reminder that spiritual blessings come to the generous, the prophet says that all nations will count them happy, for they will be a land of delight.

Malachi 3:13-4:3 is the sixth oracle, dealing with the theme of the day of judgment and the problem of the moral ordering of life. The indictment begins with questioning the ways of God in the world. They have spoken harsh words against the Lord. They wonder how they have spoken in such a way. The Lord responds that they have said it is vain to serve the God. They do not profit by keeping the command of the Lord or acting as mourners. Now, they count the arrogant as happy. Evildoers prosper and put the Lord to the test and escape. Those who revered the Lord spoke with each other. The Lord took note and listened. The prophet sees a book of remembrance before the Lord, in which he sees the names of those who revered the Lord and thought on the name of the Lord. The Lord says they shall belong to the Lord, the special possession (reserved for the faithful instead of all Israel) of the Lord on the day when the Lord acts, and the Lord will spare them as parents spare their children, in contrast to Zechariah 14. Then once more, in a contrast of which we should take note, they shall see the difference between the righteous and wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not. The righteous serve, the wicked do not. They should look closely, for the day is coming, burning (fire this time is one of judgment that destroys the wicked) like an oven, when all the arrogant and evildoers will be stubble. The day that comes shall burn them up so that it will leave them neither root nor branch. However, for those who revere the name of the Lord, the sun of righteousness shall rise, with healing in its wings, the only occurrence of this phrase. Barth will refer to this phrase as looking forward to the morning, to the rising, eventually, of the sun of righteousness, to the end and goal of all things and therefore to their new beginning light, which no further end can follow. [6] As the prophet continues, they shall go out leaping like calves from the stall. They shall tread down the wicked. The wicked will be ashes under the soles of their feet, on the day when the Lord acts. Some scholars think that the original book ended with these words, which, as vindictive as it may appear, is a promise that God will destroy evil.

Malachi 4:4-6 is the conclusion. The style is that of Deuteronomy that some think of as an addition. They are to remember (obey) the teaching (torah) of “my servant Moses,” as well as the statutes and ordinances that the Lord commanded them at Horeb for all Israel. The Lord will send them the prophet Elijah (refers back to Malachi 3:1, maybe because he is the one prophet who does not die, but see Ecclesiasticus 48:10, Mark 6:15, 15:35) before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes. Such a day is a day of darkness, close to Joel 2:11, 31. He will turn the hearts of parents to their children and the hearts of children to their parents, so that the Lord will not strike the land with a curse. Barth speculates that these final words of the Old Testament according to the Christian canon may find fulfillment as God turns the hearts of children to their parents, but more particularly, the hearts of parents to their children. Perhaps the inevitable conflict between children and parents will solve itself as God illuminates parents, realizing their children may have superior wisdom in certain areas, accept their testimony.[7]

 

 

 

 

---

[1] The Prophets, Volume II, p. 175-180.

[2] Systematic Theology Volume 1, 263.

[3] Church Dogmatics III.4 [54.1] 205.

[4] Church Dogmatics 1.1 [8.2] 322.

[5] Systematic Theology Volume 3, 611.

[6] Church Dogmatics IV.3 [73.2] 933.

[7] Church Dogmatics III.4 [54.2] 264.