With the prophet Malachi, the golden age of the prophets in the Bible comes to a close. This prophet most likely wrote his book during the time of Ezra and Nehemiah. The Achaemenid Persian dynasty ruled Asia, and with the benevolence of this empire, the Jews were able to begin the reconstruction of their holy city.
Like every prophet, Malachi insisted on the importance of the law of Moses and its relationship with that eternal wisdom of God, because without these spiritual goods, the nation of Israel could not prosper, but would sink into its own errors.
Among other things, the prophet denounced the priestly class for showing favoritism, to gave in to greed, and for having forgotten the true meaning of the law given by God to the Israelites through the prophet Moses. For Malachi, the true spiritual meaning of the law was to instruct the Israelites in that wisdom which is life, path, and peace; that is why Malachi recalled the covenant with Levi with these words: "The purpose of my covenant with the Levites was to bring life and peace, and that is what I gave them" Malachi 2:5.
But after stating this in his book Malachi, he continued his warning, explaining that when the priestly class fails, all of society fails, because there is a truth that cannot be denied, and the prophet explained this spiritual truth with these wise words: "For the lips of a priest ought to preserve knowledge, because he is the messenger of the LORD Almighty and people seek instruction from his mouth" Malachi 2:7.
With this, the prophet taught that the education of man and spirituality are one and the same, because ultimately, to educate is to instruct hearts in the spiritual gift of fear of God. It is true that the fear of God is a grace from on high. This gift is that spiritual seed that the Lord puts in men, but fear at some point is also science, and the demonstration of this is the entire Bible. And it is the priestly class who is responsible for showing how this fear, together with wisdom, blesses and bears fruitful bringing life and peace to men and society.
The warnings of the prophet, more than two thousand years later, should serve as a warning for many spiritual problems in the modern world.
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