Line #38 Literature/BookOfMalachi


1	[[WMG:[[center:[-'''Literature/TheBible'''\
2	'''Old Testament/Tanakh'''\
3	[[Literature/BookOfGenesis Genesis]] \| [[Literature/BookOfExodus Exodus]] \| [[Literature/BookOfJoshua Joshua]] \| [[Literature/BookOfJudges Judges]] \| [[Literature/BookOfRuth Ruth]] \| [[Literature/BooksOfSamuel Samuel]] \| [[Literature/BooksOfKings Kings]] \| [[Literature/BookOfEzra Ezra]] \| [[Literature/BookOfNehemiah Nehemiah]] \| [[Literature/BookOfEsther Esther]] \| [[Literature/BookOfJob Job]] \| [[Literature/BookOfPsalms Psalms]] \| [[Literature/BookOfProverbs Proverbs]] \| [[Literature/BookOfEcclesiastes Ecclesiastes]] \| [[Literature/SongOfSongs Songs]] \| [[Literature/BookOfIsaiah Isaiah]] \| [[Literature/BookOfJeremiah Jeremiah]] \| [[Literature/BookOfEzekiel Ezekiel]] \| [[Literature/BookOfDaniel Daniel]] \| [[Literature/BookOfHosea Hosea]] \| [[Literature/BookOfJoel Joel]] \| [[Literature/BookOfAmos Amos]] \| [[Literature/BookOfObadiah Obadiah]] \| [[Literature/BookOfJonah Jonah]] \| [[Literature/BookOfMicah Micah]] \| [[Literature/BookOfNahum Nahum]] \| [[Literature/BookOfHabakkuk Habakkuk]] \| [[Literature/BookOfZephaniah Zephania]] \| [[Literature/BookOfHaggai Haggai]] \| [[Literature/BookOfZechariah Zechariah]] \| '''Malachi'''\
4	'''Apocrypha/Deuterocanonical'''\
5	[[Literature/BookOfTobit Tobit]] \| [[Literature/BookOfJudith Judith]] \| [[Literature/BooksOfMaccabees Maccabees]]\
6	'''New Testament'''\
7	[[Literature/TheFourGospels Gospels]] \| [[Literature/ActsOfTheApostles Acts]] \| [[Literature/BookOfRomans Romans]] \| [[Literature/BookOfCorinthians Corinthians]] \| [[Literature/BookOfGalatians Galatians]] \| [[Literature/BookOfEphesians Ephesians]] \| [[Literature/BookOfPhilippians Philippians]] \| [[Literature/BookOfColossians Colossians]] \| [[Literature/BooksOfThessalonians Thessalonians]] \| [[Literature/EpistlesToTimothy Timothy]] \| [[Literature/EpistleToTitus Titus]] \| [[Literature/EpistleToPhilemon Philemon]] \| [[Literature/BookOfHebrews Hebrews]] \| [[Literature/EpistleOfJames James]] \| [[Literature/EpistlesOfPeter Peter]] \| [[Literature/EpistlesOfJohn John]] \| [[Literature/EpistleOfJude Jude]] \| [[Literature/BookOfRevelation Revelation]]-]]]]]
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9	One of the books of Literature/TheBible, accounted as one of the Minor Prophets. In standard Christian ordering, it's the last book of the Old Testament; in the Jewish ''Tanakh'' ordering, it is the last of the prophetic books (''Nevi'im'') and is followed by the first of the Writings (''Ketuvim''), which happens to be the Literature/BookOfPsalms. Its focus is on admonishing the Jews, now living under Persian rule, for lax religious practices after their [[Literature/BookOfEzra return from Babylon to Jerusalem]].
10	-----
11	!!Structure of the book:
12	* Israel is loved by God (Malachi 1:1-5)
13	* Polluted offerings (Malachi 1:6- 14)
14	* Partiality to the Law of God (Malachi 2:1-9)
15	* Treachery of infidelity (Malachi 2:10-16)
16	* The coming Messenger of God (Malachi 2:17-3:5)
17	* Robbing God (Malachi 3:6-12)
18	* Harsh complaints and a Book of Remembrance (Malachi 3:13-18)
19	* The Great Day of God (Malachi chapter 4)
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21	-----
22	!!This book provides examples of:
23	* CoveredInGunge: Or in this case, covered in dung, as God threatens to do this to the priests who don't take the command to be impartial to the Law to heart.
24	* {{Curse}}: God calls a curse upon the earth (or land) in regards to His sending Elijah before "the day of the Lord" comes, that either he will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and vice versa, or this curse will happen. (In some translations, God threatens "utter destruction" upon the earth.)
25	* DudeWheresMyRespect: God invokes this trope with Himself in Malachi 1:6:
26	-->''A son honors his father, and a servant his master. If then I am a father, where is My honor? And if I am a master, where is My fear? says the Lord of Hosts to you, O priests, who despise My name.''
27	* FirePurifies: Malachi 3:2-4, regarding the Lord's coming:
28	-->''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. He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the sons of Levi, and refine them like gold and silver, and they will present to the Lord offerings in righteousness. Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasant to the Lord as in the days of old and as in former years.''
29	* {{Foreshadowing}}: In traditional Christian interpretation, Malachi 3:1 prophesies about the coming of John the Baptist, who would prepare the way of Jesus' first coming.
30	* GodTest: God actually encourages His people Israel to test Him in regards to bringing the full tithe to the storehouse instead of withholding it in Chapter 3, saying that He will pour out so much blessing that there will not be enough room to store it.
31	* JewishComplaining: What God has to put up with concerning the people of Israel with their attitude of worshiping Him, as voiced in Malachi 1:13:
32	-->''You also say, “What a weariness it is,” and you snort at it, says the Lord of Hosts.''
33	* KarmaHoudini: God deals with this issue in chapter 3 when He hears His own people speaking about those who "test God and escape", that He will write "a book of remembrance" for the people who thought on and revered His name and that they will again discern the righteous and the wicked before God.
34	* ListingTheFormsOfDegenerates: In Malachi 3:5 in regards to what God is going to do when He comes:
35	-->''Then I will draw near to you for judgment. I will be a swift witness against the [[MagicIsEvil sorcerers]], against the adulterers, against the [[MaliciousSlander perjurers]], against those who oppress the hired worker in his wages, the widow and the fatherless, against [[SacredHospitality those who turn aside the stranger]], and do not fear Me, says the Lord of Hosts.''
36	* MalignedMixedMarriage: Not just that, particularly marriages with women of foreign gods by the priests, but also divorce, which Chapter 2 in this book says God hates, because it's like covering violence with a garment.
37	* MeaningfulName: Malachi means "My messenger", and his book is one from God to His people, also prophesying the coming of God's Messenger before the Lord's coming.
38	* ParentalFavoritism: In the first several verses, God speaks of "accepting Jacob and rejecting Esau" (metaphors for both Israel and Edom, respectively) and making Esau's land a wilderness and a place for jackals. It's to remind Israel that, despite all the hard things He has to say to them through His prophet, He still loves them.
39	* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: The whole book is this to the Levitical priests, due to their mistreatment and indifferent attitude toward their duties of serving God. To wit: offering blemished sacrifices, showing partiality to the Law of God, marriages to women of foreign gods, divorcing their earlier wives for such marriages, complaining about people that "dared God and escaped", withholding their tithes from God. In the middle of that speech, God says that He will come and purify the sons of Levi so that they will present offerings in righteousness.
40	* ReligiousRussianRoulette: God directly tells people to "put Me to the test" by testing whether they benefited from being [[OfferingsToTheGods tithed]].

Context Literature / BookOfMalachi