Sunday Lectionary: Malachi for Candlemas
Some of us are keeping Candlemas, or ‘the feast of the presentation’ this Sunday, so here are some notes on the specific Old Testament reading for that.
In this newsletter we will explore the historical context of the book of Malachi, its relationship to other books and how it fits with the feast of Candlemas.
Let’s begin with the text:
Malachi 3:1-5
See, I am sending my messenger to prepare the way before me, and the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple. The messenger of the covenant in whom you delight—indeed, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts. 2 But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears?
For he is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap; 3 he will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the descendants of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, until they present offerings to the Lord in righteousness.[a] 4 Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the Lord as in the days of old and as in former years.
5 Then I will draw near to you for judgment; I will be swift to bear witness against the sorcerers, against the adulterers, against those who swear falsely, against those who oppress the hired workers in their wages, the widow and the orphan, against those who thrust aside the alien, and do not fear me, says the Lord of hosts.
The Prophet Malachi, from Prophets and Sibyls, 1480 (Metropolitan Museum of Art) wikimediacommons.org
Context
Malachi is quite a late text, which has similarities with books like Ezra and Nehemiah. It was probably written in the Persian period, when† the people had returned to Judah after the captivity of the Babylonian exile (which we talked about recently here). This was possible because the Babylonians were overthrown by the Persians, led by Cyrus the Great. When this happened, Cyrus declared that the Israelites could return from exile, which you can read about in 2 Kings 36.
For this reason, scholars like Beth Glazier-McDonald argues that
‘it is Persian Rule which provides the backdrop against which Malachi, a subject of a Persian king just like the rest of his Judean contemporaries, must be viewed’1
Texts from this period, sometimes called ‘Persian Period’ or ‘Post-exilic’ texts are important for many reasons, but here we will think about just three.
The first is that they show us how the people were working out their theology in light of the experience of exile. Questions like ‘what does it mean for God to be sovereign when he let his chosen people be carried off to exile?’ are just under the surface of much of the material emerging from this period.
Secondly, books like Esther, Daniel and Ezra-Nehemiah reflect on important questions of identity. What did it mean for the people to be the people of God now, in light of all that they had been through? When you read Persian period texts, you’ll often find that these questions of identity are simmering away in the background.
Against this background, one of the main things that Malachi is concerned about is priesthood. In our portion of the text, the ‘messenger’ is described as coming to ‘purify the descendants of Levi’ so that they can ‘present offerings to the Lord in righteousness (v3).
The third significant thing that we find in these kinds of texts are discussions about what kind of worshipping life the people should build. After the exile, the religious practice became a particular point of tension among those who returned. When the temple was rebuilt, how should they worship? Who should facilitate that worship?
Here, Malachi seems to be advocating for a return to the priestly ministry of the Levites who had previously led the people in worship. This is one view among many represented in post-exilic texts - for another see Ezra-Nehemiah.
Intertexts: Deuteronomy
Last week I introduced you to the idea of ‘intertextuality’. This is a way of describing the relationship of one biblical text to another within the canon. In the case of Malachi, we find strong relationships with the law of Deuteronomy. This is particularly clear in the final portion of our text, vv 4-5, which moves away from discussing the priesthood. Here, the emphasis shifts to social justice issues. The reference to the ‘widow, orphan and alien’ is a hallmark of Deuteronomy – the three appear together in lots of places throughout the text.
Coggins suggests that
'the signfiicance of this kind of usage is lies the fact that Malachi appears to have been attempting to apply the particular emphasises of the Deuteronomists in the circumstances of his own day' 2
Here, we see the prophet revisiting familiar laws and attempting to apply them to his new post-exilic context. This is another example of the way in which this period was fraught with questions about how to live and worship in light of the exile. Malachi was concerned with preserving the teachings of the law as well as reinterpreting them so that they might make sense in his current context.
Candlemas
Since this is the text set for Candlemas, it is good for us to think about how this relates to our gospel reading.
Both of these texts reflect themes of purification and holiness but in very different contexts.
The firey eschatological arrival of the messenger in the temple in v 1-2 is in great contrast with the scene in Luke 2, which is the gospel reading for this Sunday, in which a tiny baby is brought to the temple by his parents for the rite of purification.
In spite of his unassuming appearance, the child is indeed the messenger of God and more than that – his son. This is the one who will refine all of us like fire and fullers soap in the proper time.
Glazier-McDonald, B., Malachi, the Divine Messenger (Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1987) p 7
Coggins, R. J., Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi (Sheffield: JSOT Press for the Society for Old Testament Study, 1987), p 76