The prophet Malachi lived about 100 years after the Jews returned from Babylonian exile and a few years after the temple was rebuilt. At the time, the Jews had not changed their ways, were corrupt, and propagated injustice. This book is a series of conversations between God and the Jews. On the one hand, God exposes the corruption by the Jews, and on the other he confronts it. God tells the Israelites that He loves them and asks them to take better care of the rebuilt temple and be just in marrying and taking care of their wives. The Jews voice their counterarguments. In the second series of conversations, God tells them that He will send them a messiah and rid the land of corruption. He further tells them that they need to contribute one-tenth of their annual income to the temple. God narrates the story of the faithful people and tells them that a scroll should be written in their honor. He tells them all the people will read and learn from these faithful people. God further says that He will establish His kingdom and the Day of the Lord will come and rid the land of the wrongdoers and evil people. The message of this book is for the people to remain true to God, to love and honor Him by obeying His commandments, and, in return, they will be among the favored ones.
