Sunday, we finished finish up the Summer in the Minor Prophets and I hope that you’ve grown to know and love these books of the Bible and spend time in them — finding Jesus — and the joy that’s found only in him.

The Book of Malachi, the last of the Minor Prophets, serves as a crucial bridge between the Old and New Testaments. Delivered around 400 years before Christ, Malachi’s message addressed a spiritual rut that had taken hold of the people of Israel. Though the Temple had been rebuilt and life had returned to some semblance of normalcy, the people—and even the priests—had lost the joy of truly worshiping God.

Malachi’s prophetic words highlight the people’s decline in faithfulness. He condemns the priests for their corrupt practices, the people for their mixed marriages with foreigners, and their neglect in paying tithes and caring for the poor. The book is structured around a series of debates where God makes statements of truth, only for the people to respond with defensive questions, revealing their hardened hearts.

Despite their spiritual backsliding, Malachi emphasizes that God continues to speak, calling His people back to a genuine relationship with Him. This is not merely about religious routine but about restoring the reality of a close, heartfelt connection with God.

Malachi’s message is timeless: God speaks to us, not to condemn, but to correct and guide us back to Him. Our challenge is to listen, to remove the distractions that drown out His voice, and to cultivate a relationship that goes beyond mere religious formality. As Malachi reminds us, God will tell us what we need to hear, but we must be willing to listen.